Working Out...Time Of Day/Motivation

[Teren_Kanan]

You said it exactly. I want to bulk but am afraid I will do it wrong and be fat again. I can't tell how much weight gain would be muscle mass or fat.

Nod. I'm still on my first cut, I haven't bulked before so I wouldn't feel comfortable giving bulk info. Check out the Bodybuilding.com forums there is a huge plethora of information there. I'm pretty sure so long as you are hitting Protein/Fat/Calorie goals and hitting the weights pretty hard, you will gain mostly lean muscle mass, and a small amount of actual fat. Once you've put on some muscle, you cut back down. The cycle repeats until you are where you want to be strength/muscle wise then you drop down to maintenance levels of working out/diet.

Some really impressive stories on BB.com too for motivation. There is a sub forum for pictures, and a huge thread titled something like "From Fat to Fit" with lots of before/after pictures, and most of them give info on how they accomplished it. Really helped get me motivated.

 

[TheCowboy]

Incline benched 225 today at 1 rep. Never have done that before. I flat benched 225 4 times as well. That Madcow program really might be working one week into the program.

 

[Stryker44]

Incline benched 225 today at 1 rep. Never have done that before. I flat benched 225 4 times as well. That Madcow program really might be working one week into the program.

How do you know what weight to start with when you do Madcow? How do you plan your rest? You do the circuit 5 times basically right? How do you handle it if someone tries to change the weight you have on the bench while you are deadlifting, or squatting etc?

 

[TheCowboy]

How do you know what weight to start with when you do Madcow? How do you plan your rest? You do the circuit 5 times basically right? How do you handle it if someone tries to change the weight you have on the bench while you are deadlifting, or squatting etc?

Google "5x5 calculator" and it should be the first link. MWF I lift and T,R I do more cardio and core work. And I've never had that problem man lol. I cheat and test my max sometimes because the initial weight is so pathetically low IMO.

 

[Stryker44]

Google "5x5 calculator" and it should be the first link. MWF I lift and T,R I do more cardio and core work. And I've never had that problem man lol. I cheat and test my max sometimes because the initial weight is so pathetically low IMO.

Thanks! Do you do all the sets of a particular exercise before moving to the next type of lift, or do you do the workout in a circuit 5 times through?

 

[TheCowboy]

Thanks! Do you do all the sets of a particular exercise before moving to the next type of lift, or do you do the workout in a circuit 5 times through?

You need breaks in between sets so do all sets of the same exercise before moving on. After all there's only 4-6 exercises per workout day.

 

[Stryker44]

Google "5x5 calculator" and it should be the first link. MWF I lift and T,R I do more cardio and core work. And I've never had that problem man lol. I cheat and test my max sometimes because the initial weight is so pathetically low IMO.

Good idea about not lifting and doing cardio the same day. I feel that in order to do either lifting or cardio all out, the focus has to be on that for that particular day.

Yeah, to be honest right now I have no idea what my max squat, deadlift, barbell row, bench, and overhead presses are. I've been doing alot of low weight high rep lifting.

I guess I'll just start low, work on technique, and eventually I'll start to realize where my limits are. Planning to start with the 5 x 5 StrongLifts on Monday as I'm finishing my beginner program this week.

 

[TheCowboy]

Good idea about not lifting and doing cardio the same day. I feel that in order to do either lifting or cardio all out, the focus has to be on that for that particular day.

Yeah, to be honest right now I have no idea what my max squat, deadlift, barbell row, bench, and overhead presses are. I've been doing alot of low weight high rep lifting.

I guess I'll just start low, work on technique, and eventually I'll start to realize where my limits are. Planning to start with the 5 x 5 StrongLifts on Monday as I'm finishing my beginner program this week.

It's discouraging when I look twice as big as the guy benching next to me, but he's benching twice as much as me. I dont understand that.

By the way, what's your goals on the core lifts?

 

[Stryker44]

It's discouraging when I look twice as big as the guy benching next to me, but he's benching twice as much as me. I dont understand that.

By the way, what's your goals on the core lifts?

I'd like to eventually be able to bench 250 five times, squat 400 five times, no idea about the other lifts in terms of what would be a good goal.

Do you have a workout partner? Seems like it could get risky to workout alone once the weight really starts getting heavy.

 

[TheCowboy]

I'd like to eventually be able to bench 250 five times, squat 400 five times, no idea about the other lifts in terms of what would be a good goal.

Do you have a workout partner? Seems like it could get risky to workout alone once the weight really starts getting heavy.

Usually with the bench, I test my max with a spotter but other wise I do a rep at a weight I know I can do. I haven't maxed out or tried to max out on the squat in a long time.

 

[Stryker44]

Usually with the bench, I test my max with a spotter but other wise I do a rep at a weight I know I can do. I haven't maxed out or tried to max out on the squat in a long time.

Just bought a weight belt for when I start with these lifts.

I lost a bunch of weight last year focusing on doing lots of cardio and light lifting and core exercises. Now I want to put on maybe 10-15 lbs of muscle without adding bodyfat.

I read that you should never look to put on more than 1/2 lb a week if you are wanting to put on muscle but also keep the same degree of tone.

 

[TheCowboy]

Just bought a weight belt for when I start with these lifts.

I lost a bunch of weight last year focusing on doing lots of cardio and light lifting and core exercises. Now I want to put on maybe 10-15 lbs of muscle without adding bodyfat.

I read that you should never look to put on more than 1/2 lb a week if you are wanting to put on muscle but also keep the same degree of tone.

Sounds right. I can easily gain 3 lbs a week just by eating clean. Is it fat? Can't tell. January 2013 I was 300 lbs, now I am 220. I probably won't ever be ripped because of the loose skin I have. The point is, don't stress if you gain more then 1/2 a pound a week.

 

[Stryker44]

Sounds right. I can easily gain 3 lbs a week just by eating clean. Is it fat? Can't tell. January 2013 I was 300 lbs, now I am 220. I probably won't ever be ripped because of the loose skin I have. The point is, don't stress if you gain more then 1/2 a pound a week.

Same here. Tend to have weeks where I gain 1-3 lbs and others where I lose 1-3 lbs. It tends to depend on how much I eat and whether I drink any alcohol the weekend before on the days I don't work out.

Defintely not going to stress. Not trying to win a bet like the guy on the other thread.

Fitness is a lifestyle change so I won't let myself get disappointed if my weekly weigh-in isn't what I want.

 

[Nova]

Just bought a weight belt for when I start with these lifts.

I lost a bunch of weight last year focusing on doing lots of cardio and light lifting and core exercises. Now I want to put on maybe 10-15 lbs of muscle without adding bodyfat.

I read that you should never look to put on more than 1/2 lb a week if you are wanting to put on muscle but also keep the same degree of tone.

It's pretty tough to add muscle without adding fat. When you start out, you'll gain muscle without adding fat, but when trying to put on significant mass it's easier to bulk up a bit and then cut.

It can be done, it just takes longer. Do a lot of compound exercises-- deadlifts, squats, presses and rows if you're not doing a specific program. But above all, be disciplined with your nutrition.

You don't have to be a fried food/sweets **** or anything, just make sure you're hitting your goals

And get a good multivitamin. I struggle most with remembering to take a multivitamin so I actually got one of those large weekly pill boxes that old people use. I embarrass my girlfriend whenever I can with it, it's great.

 

[Nova]

For those still perusing the thread, how much weaker are you when your diet sucks?

I had somewhat of a binge weekend last week. Had plenty of beer on Saturday, doughnuts, fast food, sodas... the works. I maybe had about 50 ounces of pure water throughout the entire weekend from Friday night through Sunday evening, and I usually drink a little more than a gallon a day.

Anyway, my workout on Monday was pathetic. I could barely finish 3 sets of 8 with about 40 lbs less than I'm used to.

Anyone else see anything a dramatic drop off in strength/endurance like that?

 

[Stryker44]

For those still perusing the thread, how much weaker are you when your diet sucks?

I had somewhat of a binge weekend last week. Had plenty of beer on Saturday, doughnuts, fast food, sodas... the works. I maybe had about 50 ounces of pure water throughout the entire weekend from Friday night through Sunday evening, and I usually drink a little more than a gallon a day.

Anyway, my workout on Monday was pathetic. I could barely finish 3 sets of 8 with about 40 lbs less than I'm used to.

Anyone else see anything a dramatic drop off in strength/endurance like that?

Very much so...to the point where I feel so lethargic on Monday I find it difficult to motivate myself to workout at all that day.

 

[Stryker44]

Anybody get really sore after doing squats from the bar digging into the back of your neck?

 

[Nova]

Anybody get really sore after doing squats from the bar digging into the back of your neck?

It's fairly normal to feel somewhat sore, but you don't want the entire weight of the bar resting on your spine/neck. Try to align it where the bar is more on your shoulders/traps.

Typically the soreness for me is spread out a bit, but dissipates within hours. If it's sore for days with a bruising feeling you probably need to adjust your grip and/or lower the weight a bit.

The more you squat the less it bothers you, though.

 

[Stryker44]

Any suggestions on what to eat post workout for dinner? Eating too many carbs before bed is a bad thing from my understanding.

 

[CATCH17]

Any suggestions on what to eat post workout for dinner? Eating too many carbs before bed is a bad thing from my understanding.

Meal timing does not matter... Carbs right before sleep or first thing when you wake up make no difference as far as your body composition.

What matter is the total calories consumed through out the day. So if you need 1800 calories to lose weight and you have had 1200 for the day then eating 600 calories of something full of carbs right before bed is not going to cause you to gain weight. You will still lose weight.