best way to grow.

[ratman1]

hi there ive been training aboutr 8 mths now and see a bit of difference in size and shape. Drink protein shakes daily, esp after a session. Eat a fare amount of protein. Tend to eat healthy as well. problem is i still am not putting on the size i wanna be. I try to eat every 3 hrs, whether its tuna,eggs etc. I have started eating lot more potatoes, rice and pasta would that help gain size but am not talking about being fat. I say ive put on about 8lb since training and mu bf% is 9.2 so i guess i need to get that higher so i know im putting on weight but find it hard, have cut cv work for winter mths to bulk but its not happenening can anyone advise me please.
also want bigger shoulders finding harder to get big, any requirements recomended.
thanks

[sameey70]

The key to weight gain is consuming adequate calories and I'm glad to see that you are increasing your complex carbohydrates since they help maintain muscle glycogen concentration which can result in increased performance during workouts and increases protein synthesis rates. As long as you are eating a "balanced" diet and getting enough calories, you most likely are getting enough protein to support muscle building and repair. Genetics also plays a part in muscle development.

[Boss Man]

It may be possible to keep a bf% like yours, quite low without too much increase.

Chances are it's your training methods, perhaps you're not working hard enough, or not doing enough sets, or too few reps.

It can also be your portions / meal quanities. You may need to eat more meals, so you increase growth potential, and cut Catabolism.

You might also need more Water.

[ce7]

Slow the speed of your workouts.

[swanso5]

how about posting training and nutrition plan so we can more of a clearer picture

[ratman1]

1st of all i drink water every day all day mostly water if not it be milk, cut all fizz etc.

dailly nutrution intake.
morning - protein shake, cereal
10.30-tuna sandwich or jacket potato with beans
lunch - egg on toast or pasta
3.30 - tuna sandwich
after gym - protein shake
dinner - fish,meat,chicken or something like that with pasta,rice,potattos etc try 2 encourage veg most days as well.
again milkshake b4 bed.

training.
monday - chest, biceps.
smith machine flat
smith incline
freeweights decline/flat
cable flyes (isometric) mixed with flyes. crossovers
bicep curls,hammer curls, ez curl with hands together,wide apart and normal,

wed - back,triceps.
various pulling positions, freeweights and tie in cable machine. pull down machine.
triceps - dips,incline bench, skullcrushers, bar pulldowns.

fri - shoulders,traps
military press,shoulder press, with freeweights and olympic bar with weights, chin ups, front lateral raise,side lateral raise, cable raises(isometric) rear pulls, rear raises.
traps, shrugs infront,side,behind, cable shrugs, chin raises.

aim for about 3 sets each movement. aim for 10 reps 1st set, 2nd set around 6-8reps, 3rd set 4-6reps till failure. each set goes up by weight.

please help.

[ratman1]

also have a smoothie mostly every night to help increase weight.
i put in banana,ice cream,milk,honey and peanut butter. i have about 1 ans half glasses.

please also list meals i can eat during the day @ work which i can make day before or something. As eating the same every day is boring!!

cheers

[ratman1]

anyone help?

[Boss Man]

I would say Chest / Triceps, Back / Biceps. Chest work uses Triceps a bit, Back work uses biceps a bit, so that switch would be better for you, as it is, you're working Biceps, then next day training Back, when you need the Biceps as Synergists.

You could also possibly do Traps first, before Shoulders. as Traps are a bit bigger than Delts.

I also see nothing for Legs and Abs. If you don't put some bulk on Legs, you could end up adding enough bulk on the Arms and Torso, to cause your wealk Legs, (particularly the Joints), a few problems.

Maybe not now, but in the future perhaps.

[ratman1]

i dislocated my knee a few times so am in process of wating 4 an op so i cant implement any leg movements as of yet but will most certainly will do. abs i normally do days of not training but always find it hard to motivate my self 4 them until the summer, stupid i know but i dont ever see huge results by just doing sit ups, can you recomend personally what some of the best movements are?
cheers

[Boss Man]

Sit-ups could be replaced with things like Crunches, Mat and Swiss Ball.

Also the basic ones, like lying on a Mat, and sliding your Hands up to your Knees.

That kind of stuff should be good for you.

I would start off doing 3 sets of 10, for a while, and make sure when you do Abs stuff, you use the Abs the pull yourself up on the movement, don't make the mistake of pushing your Back into the Abs. That doesn't work as well.

When you do 3 sets of 10, give yourself about 10-15 seconds rest between sets.

Hopefully that helps.

[swanso5]

do you think you could still do some hamstring and / or glute exercises? what range of motion can you get through the knee?

also there's too many cable and isolation type exercises for my liking...fre wt compounds are the way to go so get off the smith machine and cable machines and move to bench presses and pull ups (if you can)...i would also go for 3 x full upper body workouts a week too for a liottle more frequency but you may need to alter intensity for each day or mix it up as you can't do 3 x 3 every day for example

i would something like this:

exercises - seated or bent row / bench press / pull up / shoulder press / dips / chin up (bicep focus)

each day you'll do 2 exercises 4 x 6, 90secs rest alternating in pairs...3 x 12, 1min rest in pairs...2 x 15, 2mins rest in pairs

order of each day:
mon - row/bench 4 x 6...pull up/shoulder press 3 x 12...dips/chin 2 x 15
wed - pull up/shoulder press...dips/chins...row/bench
fri - dips/chin...row/bench...pull up/shoulder press

add abs wherever

[swanso5]

oh you wanted ab seggestions...i thinm crunches are pretty much the most useless exercise there is...prone ab holds, woodchops, dragon flags and hanging leg raises are my best choices for you

[Boss Man]

Not trying to sound a bit controversial, but why do you think crunches suck?

Just curious .

[swanso5]

there's just many, many more efficient and better exercises i think. The abs/core works as a unit not in isolation so full body type exercises work it like it's supposed to. I'm more performance orientated these days which is why I stress compounds as you might have seen.

Also too much crunching can tighten up the abs from overuse and make the lower back weaker thus increasing injury risk to an already delicate area for most.

Progression is always a worry too if people don't really understand the concept and they'll often go for more reps over intensity or difficulty so if I give them harder versions, they won't be able to do 20 reps let alone 50!!