How to work your muscles? How often??

[joe d]

How to gain muscle mass over the summer with 20 rep squats

this is a good start for you. do this for 3 months and take notes. after that pick a new program and make diet alterations.

 

[ark94]

@joe - hey thanks a ton man!!! i will definately try this out for sure, seems like a really good program . But i will most likely start that out in about a month after i gain some more muscle in general, so i can lift a bit more.

@dialtone - Thank you, i will most likely now be putting together a little program so i can stick to working out certain muscle groups each day.

I appreciate all the input everybody. If anyone has anything else im open to suggestions

*edit* i was going to also ask am i still able to do an hour of cardio a day on top of lifting? I had been doing before my buddy told me, but i am going to start it again doing 21minutes of HIIT , then 30minutes on the elliptical. Is that okay too, or will i just be burning away muscle?

 

[JDid23]

the idea behind the program joe d told you is to build muscle i don't think that gaining "more muscle in general" will help you out with that program specifically, unless you learn the correct way to squat.

Has squatting been prevalent in your previous routines? If yes, how far down do you squat?

 

[ark94]

the idea behind the program joe d told you is to build muscle i don't think that gaining "more muscle in general" will help you out with that program specifically, unless you learn the correct way to squat.

Has squatting been prevalent in your previous routines? If yes, how far down do you squat?

It hasn't =( I don't know a lot of free weight legs, or back workouts yet. So i am making an appointment with a trainer just to learn the proper form for squats, and some other free weight exercise, then i can fit in what joe told me.

By the "more muscle in general" i just meant that so i can lift heavier and i can get used to my the exercises and i can get a good form on some of the new things i need to learn. Thats why i would try it out in a month, or 3 weeks or so.

 

[JDid23]

It hasn't =( I don't know a lot of free weight legs, or back workouts yet. So i am making an appointment with a trainer just to learn the proper form for squats, and some other free weight exercise, then i can fit in what joe told me.

By the "more muscle in general" i just meant that so i can lift heavier and i can get used to my the exercises and i can get a good form on some of the new things i need to learn. Thats why i would try it out in a month, or 3 weeks or so.

Meeting with a trainer is a good idea, just be extrememly careful. Many trainers at gyms will tell you to only squat to parallel, including the ones at my gym. When i squatted to parallel, I hurt my quad which also put me out for soccer for 2-3 weeks. The correct way to squat is as far as your flexibility allows you to go. The trainer also told me deadlifts are bad for my back, and to bench in the smith machine. Long story short; he has been training my friend for 5 months 2 days a week and he goes 1 day on his own, and he has seen very minimal strength gains while I have seen a lot more gains during the short duration of my training. You are very correct about getting the form down and are headed in the right direction. What helps me is keeping a log to track my training and also getting advice from guys on here

 

[joe d]

meating with a trainer is a verry bad idea when you dont know what your doing because most trainers you find in a gym dont know shit. they will teach you bad form. use the internet and drop the trainer. talk to some people on here that really know how to lift.

put on muscle first??? i thought you where asking how to do that.

 

[joe d]

@joe - hey thanks a ton man!!! i will definately try this out for sure, seems like a really good program . But i will most likely start that out in about a month after i gain some more muscle in general, so i can lift a bit more.

@dialtone - Thank you, i will most likely now be putting together a little program so i can stick to working out certain muscle groups each day.

I appreciate all the input everybody. If anyone has anything else im open to suggestions

*edit* i was going to also ask am i still able to do an hour of cardio a day on top of lifting? I had been doing before my buddy told me, but i am going to start it again doing 21minutes of HIIT , then 30minutes on the elliptical. Is that okay too, or will i just be burning away muscle?

30 mins of cardio 3-4 times per wk is all you should be doing.

 

[ark94]

@jdid - yeah i am pretty careful with most of the trainers ( i dont pay for one, they come with the membership cost, and you can have a trainer whenever =D

Basically i have gone through like 5 trainers to find out which one actually shows me the correct things i want to do, and i found one guy and will most likely be making another appointment with him monday.

I will ask him to see if he knows his stuff how far i should be going down to squat.
Also, i use the smith machine to bench when i don't have a buddy to spot me, or somebody i know, is it all that bad? i like benching just with the bar, but the smithmachine helps just for safety when i do it alone, is that still fine to bench on the smithmachine?

oh, and joe you have any links to other threads, or sites that could show me some exercises i may not know and teach a good form?

 

[joe d]

the trainer comes with the membership? i guessing 99% chance this guy also is no good. google mark rippetoe. it seems to me you are asking for help because you du not know what you are doing then not listening to anyone because you know better.

 

[ark94]

the trainer comes with the membership? i guessing 99% chance this guy also is no good. google mark rippetoe. it seems to me you are asking for help because you du not know what you are doing then not listening to anyone because you know better.

I know to a sense what i am doing, but i am also still listening to everyone on here. I have learned quite a bit from this site, and i am still learning important information. Thats a harsh judgement.