What advice can you give for a newbie like me?

[Rockboy]

Hi, I just joined and I'm looking for some advice. I'm a total newbie to weightlifting and whatnot, so please don't make fun of me. I know zip.

I am 29 years old, 5'7", and 150 lbs. My waist size is 29/30 inches, I have strong legs (used to run cross country) and good pecs, but a bit of fat on my lower stomach. In other words, you can see the definition of my upper abs, but not lower ones. My arms are small but growing.

About two months ago, I started working out at the gym about 4 times a week usually in the afternoon. I have noticeably slimmed down and gained muscle weight. While I was worried that I wasn't losing any weight because I initially wanted to go down to 135 lbs, I've noticed I've been getting more muscular so I'm not concerned about it anymore. Now, I want to get bigger arms and shoulders. See, I was kind of overweight and still am a bit. But people tell me that I look slim and athletic, so it's hard to say.

Anyhow, this is my usual (healthy) day:

11am: Banana and water

1pm: Steamed chicken sandwich (w/ lettuce, tomato, and onion in wheat pita) and water

4pm: Apple, cigarette, water

5pm: Treadmill 5min, Stretch 10min, Crunches x200, Backraises x40, Weightlifting 30min, Stairmaster 35min, Stretch 10min, Crunches x100. (Total: 2hrs) plus about 48oz of water

7pm: Steamed salmon 2/3lb, broccoli 1 cup, grape juice

8pm: Chocolate ice cream 2 scoops

9pm: Beef jerky, cigarette, water

11pm: Can of tuna, M&Ms, water

Please tell me what you think and what I can do to improve. I know a lot of you are probably shaking your heads by now, but I can't change my entire lifestyle. I'm not going to quit smoking, but I just wanted to include everything I can think of. I can't force myself to go to bed early and wake up early so that is not an option. I like to eat as natural as possible, but I won't give up candy, junk food, and whatnot either.

I am not looking to become a bodybuilder or count calories but just look and feel good. I'm just looking for a few tips to get in better shape. I don't want a bulky muscular build, just an athletic, lean build that is noticeable and healthy-looking.

Anyhow, I was thinking of adding a serving of Isopure once a day. I know a lot of you take several servings of whey protein supplements, but I think I may only need one. When should I take it? After the workout or before I go to bed? Which flavor is better, strawberry or vanilla?

Thanks!

By the way, how do you measure your chest size exactly?

 

[RusPA81]

Victorian guy should answer this post. He advocates smoking and drinking as part of a healthy training regimen. Adding a bottle of whiskey may be something you might want to consider? Hahahaha. On a more serious note there is evidence to suggest that training while smoking may be worse for you then smoking and not training at all. Something you may wanna think about.

 

[supersizeme]

Whatever the study is that says smoking while training may be worse than not training at all....ppppfffffffttt. I smoke. I've put on forty pounds of muscle and dropped bodyfat(au natural) in a little under three years of training. Smoking's going to leave you short of breath on cardio and during intense sets of weight training, and that's about it(besides the obvious health risks).
Anyways, you say you want some bigger arms and shoulders. You posted a "healthy day" in your post, I'd really hate to see what an unhealthy day looks like. You also said that you're not going to give up your junk food. You realize that's equivalent to walking into a Porsche dealership, saying that you'd like a new 911 Carrera, and that you'd like to not have to pay for it? Fortunately you do seem to have a metabolism that burns most of that daily ice cream and m&ms off, otherwise you'd be sitting at around 180+ pounds with a 35+ inch waist. A lot of people don't have that luxury.
If you'd like bigger arms and shoulders, you're going to have to gain muscle, which involves regular weight training and a stricter diet with more frequent intakes of quality protein. Go do some research on the diet board to get an idea of what a bulking diet looks like. Countless examples of what people eat to gain size is on there. Then come back over here to the training board, and do a search on "splits" or "routines." You'll find a ton of examples of how you should be lifting weights to build muscle all over your body. You can't add mass just to your arms and shoulders. Your arms and shoulders will grow along with the rest of your body, so you need to train all of it. As a general rule, you'll thicken your arms up an inch for every 15-20lbs you put on.
Good luck!

 

[RusPA81]

The studies actually refer to stress on your heart, and refer more to cardio, but weightraining puts a huge stress on your heart as well. I am not telling you guys to change your lifestyles or that you cant you put on muscle while smoking. I have even seen runners that smoke. I was just stating a fact.

 

[HulkRow]

EAT
SLEEP
TRAIN
KNOWLEDGE

Training = Squating, Deadlifting, Benching, Dips, Curls and afew extras but you may not use most of these as they make you stronger, bigger....

 

[zackdarnell]

Here are my thoughts:

Hi, I just joined and I'm looking for some advice. I'm a total newbie to weightlifting and whatnot, so please don't make fun of me. I know zip.

Everyone started somewhere. We are here to help.

Now, I want to get bigger arms and shoulders.

You need to work your whole body, not just arms and shoulders. I suggest you find a good lifting routine and stick with it. Make sure you squat and deadlift.

Anyhow, this is my usual (healthy) day:
11am: Banana and water

You need some protein in this meal. Some slow-burning complex carbs would probably help, too. Oatmeal, perhaps?

1pm: Steamed chicken sandwich (w/ lettuce, tomato, and onion in wheat pita) and water

Looks good to me.

4pm: Apple, cigarette, water

You need some protein here too.

5pm: Treadmill 5min, Stretch 10min, Crunches x200, Backraises x40, Weightlifting 30min, Stairmaster 35min, Stretch 10min, Crunches x100. (Total: 2hrs) plus about 48oz of water

You should not be spending 2 hours in the gym. Also, you need to have some protein right after training, IMO. You also probably do not need to do 300 crunches a day, and I would drop the stairmaster time to 20 minutes since you are doing it right after your lifting.

7pm: Steamed salmon 2/3lb, broccoli 1 cup, grape juice

This meal looks pretty good.

8pm: Chocolate ice cream 2 scoops

I'd switch to some sort of sugar-free low fat icecream.

11pm: Can of tuna, M&Ms, water

Tuna is good, and if you have to have the M&M's, I'd say its ok.

...I can't change my entire lifestyle. I'm not going to quit smoking, but I just wanted to include everything I can think of. I can't force myself to go to bed early and wake up early so that is not an option.

Yes, you can. You just dont want to.

Anyhow, I was thinking of adding a serving of Isopure once a day. I know a lot of you take several servings of whey protein supplements, but I think I may only need one. When should I take it? After the workout or before I go to bed? Which flavor is better, strawberry or vanilla?

Post-workout. I prefer chocolate.

By the way, how do you measure your chest size exactly?

Put a measuing tape around and measure.

By the way, great advice from HulkRow.

 

[zackdarnell]

Also, what does your training routine look like?

 

[Tarheel]

Training = Squating, Deadlifting, Benching, Dips, Curls and afew extras but you may not use most of these as they make you stronger, bigger....

Bent over rows, chins, shrugs, overhead press too. Stick with basic compound movements on free weights.

 

[Rockboy]

On a more serious note there is evidence to suggest that training while smoking may be worse for you then smoking and not training at all. Something you may wanna think about.

I think what you are referring to is that smoking causes higher blood pressure and when you lift weights (esp. if you make the mistake of holding your breath) you could possibly have a heart attack or something like that.

Anyhow, I only smoke between two to six cigarettes a day and I try to skip days so I avoid addiction. I don't think that's any worse than just inhaling pollution in the air in somewhere like Los Angeles or New York.

 

[Rockboy]

You posted a "healthy day" in your post, I'd really hate to see what an unhealthy day looks like. You also said that you're not going to give up your junk food. You realize that's equivalent to walking into a Porsche dealership, saying that you'd like a new 911 Carrera, and that you'd like to not have to pay for it? Fortunately you do seem to have a metabolism that burns most of that daily ice cream and m&ms off, otherwise you'd be sitting at around 180+ pounds with a 35+ inch waist. A lot of people don't have that luxury.

I don't know what's the big deal with eating some ice cream and M&Ms. Don't you ever do stuff like that? Well, an unhealthy day would be eating a couple of slices of chocolate cake or cinnamon buns or chowing down on a buffet or a lot of carbs (spaghetti, Chinese food, pizza, etc). Anyhow, I've never been more than 155lbs. I'm worried because I'm 150lbs, but I know that I'm looking better. I used to go for that slim look of 135lbs, but now I think it looks too boyish.

You have to understand that I'm not trying to be a bodybuilder or anything like that. I'm just trying to be realistic and part of that is that I won't give up candy or whatnot for the rest of my life. That's like asking someone who loves meat to become vegetarian.

Originally posted by supersizeme If you'd like bigger arms and shoulders, you're going to have to gain muscle, which involves regular weight training and a stricter diet with more frequent intakes of quality protein. Go do some research on the diet board to get an idea of what a bulking diet looks like. Countless examples of what people eat to gain size is on there. Then come back over here to the training board, and do a search on "splits" or "routines." You'll find a ton of examples of how you should be lifting weights to build muscle all over your body. You can't add mass just to your arms and shoulders. Your arms and shoulders will grow along with the rest of your body, so you need to train all of it. As a general rule, you'll thicken your arms up an inch for every 15-20lbs you put on.
Good luck!

I tried to access that "Basics of Bulking Diet" thread and couldn't because I'm not a member of that site or whatnot. Anyhow, I will try to cut down on candy and stuff, but I still go out and have a brownie if I feel like it. Believe me, I don't eat donuts or cake unless it's a special occasion and I stay away from frappuccinos and crap like that.

As for splits and routines, I don't know what to do. I don't want bigger legs, so that cuts one day out. Everyone says I have great legs and big calves, so I don't want them to become bigger. Anyhow, the stairmaster seems to give me a good workout there.

I go to the gym about four times a week and do the same thing as I've described above, except I alternate between working out on my arms (standing and lifting a barbell or dumbells and machine lift) or chest (bench press and sitting back and lifting dumbells over my head). I do these for about 30-40 minutes at a time.

I know I'm supposed to do only do a part of the body once per week, but I don't want to do any exercises with my legs, calves, or butt. I've got all of that. So, do you think it's terrible if I stick to this exercise? What else can you recommend? Is there a good easy book for expanding my workout or should I hire a personal trainer for one session a month? I can't afford even that really right now.

Thanks really for all your detailed advice!