I'm 5'9'' 155lbs...goal is 170-175lbs.

Basically, I watch youtube videos of proper lifting techniques and go to the gym and lift. I'm not an expert nor do I have a personal trainer.

The exercises I do are...

Dumbbell Curls - 40lbs
Bench Press - 145lbs
Squats - 185lbs
Dead Lift - 185lbs
Shoulder Shrugs - 70lbs

Reps 5x5

Is this good for someone my body weight? I'm also doing the GOMAD diet. Any tips to put on more weight? How often should I increase the weight?

Have a look: http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

When you pass Intermediate on all lifts then you're OK. Get to Advanced and you're good.

Personally I think the exrx.net standards are a little easy, but a good place to start with.

YT827 said:

I'm 5'9'' 155lbs...goal is 170-175lbs.

Basically, I watch youtube videos of proper lifting techniques and go to the gym and lift. I'm not an expert nor do I have a personal trainer.

The exercises I do are...

Dumbbell Curls - 40lbs
Bench Press - 145lbs

start using a low incline barbell add 100 lbs to it for reps in the next 2 years or something and do incline/flat dumbbell work

Squats - 185lbs

Do front squats, leg press, hack squats
Dead Lift - 185lbs

do rack deadlifts to and why aren't you not doing any barbell/db rows?[/B]

Shoulder Shrugs - 70lbs



Reps 5x5

Meh if you're going for size pick a higher rep range...say 6-15 rep range..

Is this good for someone my body weight? I'm also doing the GOMAD diet. Any tips to put on more weight? How often should I increase the weight?

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I think designing your own routine is a lot better if you can get in the gym 4-6 times a week and eat big every day to support it DO IT..especially if you're young. 16-30 years old is the best time to just take advantage and pack on a **** load of mass, hit the gym frequently....

here learn all about routines here and how to design one for your goals in mind ....throw up some exercises and ill help you tweak the selection /rep ranges what not.

http://www.tmuscle.com/readArticle.do?id=1701042

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_.../how_to_design_a_damn_good_program_part_2&cr=

Strongly agree with reading that Christian Thibadeau article that CarlitosWay posted.

Honestly, I'd cut out bicep curls entirely. Hit the deadlifts harder, and add something like pullups or cable rows, or both, and you'll work your biceps just fine.

Aim for squatting 300. Once you've reached that, then aim for 350. Then aim for 400.

Evzone said:

Honestly, I'd cut out bicep curls entirely. Hit the deadlifts harder, and add something like pullups or cable rows, or both, and you'll work your biceps just fine.

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Compound Rows + Pulldowns have never failed to pump my arms hard, forearms included.

Evzone said:

Strongly agree with reading that Christian Thibadeau article that CarlitosWay posted.

Honestly, I'd cut out bicep curls entirely. Hit the deadlifts harder, and add something like pullups or cable rows, or both, and you'll work your biceps just fine.

Aim for squatting 300. Once you've reached that, then aim for 350. Then aim for 400.

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grrr.........c'mon guys. How do you expect most guys to hit 17-18 inch arms with out hitting heavy curls? Pullups and cable rows providing enough stimulation to help them grow? lol c'mon now....

He needs to hit his ez bar drag curls, cable curls, barbell curls, preacher curls, pinwheel curls, hammer curls and reverse curls just as hard as everything.......Ask any guy who got his arms from 12-13 inches to 17+ plus how he did it....most likely it'll be because lots of food,getting strong on everything, especially on his CURL exercises.

CarlitosWay said:

grrr.........c'mon guys. How do you expect most guys to hit 17-18 inch arms with out hitting heavy curls? Pullups and cable rows providing enough stimulation to help them grow? lol c'mon now....

He needs to hit his ez bar drag curls, cable curls, barbell curls, preacher curls, pinwheel curls, hammer curls and reverse curls just as hard as everything.......Ask any guy who got his arms from 12-13 inches to 17+ plus how he did it....most likely it'll be because lots of food,getting strong on everything, especially on his CURL exercises.

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Definatly agree on this, the talk of back exercises giving you huge arms isn't true, at least not for everyone. Arm work is essential if you want the arms to grow at their true potential.

Maybe we should ask the OP if he wants arms like popeye before we suggest a routine.

There's never a reason to NOT do curls, unless they aggravate some kind of injury. If you want arms and want to improve your strength in back exercises, why would you ever NOT want to make your arms stronger?

YT827 said:

I'm also doing the GOMAD diet. Any tips to put on more weight? How often should I increase the weight?

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With GOMAD increase the weight every friggen time you go to the gym

Kerpal said:

Your biceps usually aren't the weak point in your deadlift...

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Biceps femoris is usually a limiting factor/weak point in deadlifts yes. :yes:

On a serious note thought I see no reason to exclude a specific major muscle group because it gets worked in other exercises. Back exercises doesn't involve the biceps as much as the triceps is involved in pushing exercises imo which is a reason as good as anyone to do some curls to get the biceps strength up.

What is it with all the people who advocate not to do biceps exercises? Are they afraid to be seen as disco lifters? Is it cool not to work the biceps?

ATP said:

Biceps femoris is usually a limiting factor/weak point in deadlifts yes. :yes:

On a serious note thought I see no reason to exclude a specific major muscle group because it gets worked in other exercises. Back exercises doesn't involve the biceps as much as the triceps is involved in pushing exercises imo which is a reason as good as anyone to do some curls to get the biceps strength up.

What is it with all the people who advocate not to do biceps exercises? Are they afraid to be seen as disco lifters? Is it cool not to work the biceps?

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It depends on priorities. No one will advocate someone not to do biceps work if they want big arms. But when we get someone who wants to generally get bigger and be stronger, then telling him to do preacher curls, hammer curls, dumbbell curls etc is just overkill when something as simple as chin ups/pull ups will do for arm strength.

So before we get into the whole Bodybuilder vs powerlifter argument, let's ask the OP what HE wants, not what we want. So if he wants big arms? Cool, I don't really care what arm work he does, just make sure he is squatting and deadlifting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4GzrW2-ovM

Is there anyone who doesn't get motivated to train their arms when you see someone curling 140 kg for four reps? :rockon: And closing CoC 4 two times... and benching 270 kg.

YT827 said:

Is this good for someone my body weight?

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Yes. But I think the weight is too high. You're doing more strength training rather than bodybuilding. I'm betting your body is pretty efficient with what it does but not that much muscular endurance. Lower the weight and increase the reps. No more than 10, 12, whatever works. Control that weight too, slow it down. If you want to add some power, then fast explosive movement on the way up (contracting moevement) and slow on the way down (relaxing movement). 2 seconds up, no pause, 3 seconds down, no pause... repeat.

You should do some more strength training later when you need to break through plateaus.

Any tips to put on more weight?

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Eat more. Stay away from easy sources of calories like sugars and simple carbs. Meat, complex carbs and fats are the best for you. Milk is all right, but it only gets you so far.

How often should I increase the weight?

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Whenever you get comfortable with the current weight. Stick with it for a little bit, get comfortable and then increase the weight after a couple of workouts when it gets too easy.

Alle_Gory said:

Yes. But I think the weight is too high. You're doing more strength training rather than bodybuilding.

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Has it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe the OP wants to do strength training rather than bodybuilding?

Again, don't give someone advice unless you know what they want, otherwise you are just going to confuse them.

Sorry guys, I've been busy.

I don't want to be a body builder with huge muscles everywhere. I just want to get rid of my "skinny look" (I consider myself now slim and toned).

The reason why I'm working out is to get stronger. I don't want to eat, eat, eat and not work out.

I'm having problems with my diet though. I work 40 hours a week and I'm often on the road going to different locations. I can't bring my lunch in because it's too incovenient to eat, so I eat out for lunch everyday.

Are there any meals I can make in bulk at the beginning of the week, that's rather simple to prepare and will pack on the pounds? I'm thinking something along the lines of "meat and potatoes". Is brown rice \and meat good?

I'm a complete amateur when it comes to diet and working out.

So my goal is gain 15lbs, increase strength with having a solid toned body.

YT827 said:

Sorry guys, I've been busy.

I don't want to be a body builder with huge muscles everywhere. I just want to get rid of my "skinny look" (I consider myself now slim and toned).

Hmm you make it sound so easy to just get "huge muscles" Well buddy it's not, not at all.

I'm sorry this is so naive I have to stop you right here....Wtf does this really mean? It's like saying I'm fat but I don't really want to lose weight. You either want to put on a noticeable amount of muscle or you don't. IF you actually want to put on muscle you're going to have to train like a bodybuilder and a powerlifter regardless... I don't give a **** what anyone says. There's a few ways to put on muscle but why are you going to ignore the fact that BODYBUILDERS know how to do it BEST? Want to get size on your back, tris and hamstrings? Talk to a powerlifter. Want to get a balanced physique and learn a variety of exercises to add mass to your chest, arms, quads, back and hamstrings? Talk to a bodybuilder. You can learn from both but, saying oh I'll only take advice from this group or that group is just plain ****in' stupid if you ask me.

Back in the day bodybuilders and powerlifters trained in the same gyms utilizing all the same **** and there wasn't much discrepancies in how they trained, except that the powerlifters trained the squat, deadlift and bench press more and getting big numbers in those was their long term goal.

Bodybuilders main goals were size and symmetry/aestheticism, but threw in those exercises also here or there. Yet it's nothing new to see say Matt Kroc or another powerlifter throwing in some dedicated arm days, curls, machine work, or Dave Tate for instance who had many years full of injuries from powerlifting, switching to some machine work and just blowing up in more size (read their logs at elitefts.com ).

Yet people in here act as if this isn't true and you're not "Hardcore" if you utilize machines also, I got a 600 lb bench presser in my gym and I'll see him use the power rack, smith machine and leg press machine on any given day...... He's a powerlifter but at times he trains like guess what? a bodybuilder. So don't be naive, get in a gym and train around real powerlifters/bodybuilders.

The reason why I'm working out is to get stronger. I don't want to eat, eat, eat and not work out.

I'm having problems with my diet though. I work 40 hours a week and I'm often on the road going to different locations. I can't bring my lunch in because it's too incovenient to eat, so I eat out for lunch everyday.

Are there any meals I can make in bulk at the beginning of the week, that's rather simple to prepare and will pack on the pounds? I'm thinking something along the lines of "meat and potatoes". Is brown rice \and meat good?

I'm a complete amateur when it comes to diet and working out.

So my goal is gain 15lbs, increase strength with having a solid toned body.

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Ok you have a goal good stuff, yes meat and potatoes will be suffice...IF you can afford some protein shakes, they sound like they would help you a lot. Quick trick throw 2-3 scoops of whey protein and some quick rolled/cooking oats (cup to cup and 1/2) and 2 tablespoons of olive oil or macadamia nut oil. or shovel two tablespoons of natural peanutbutter in your mouth. It's a quick mass shake I make daily, easy quick and gives you quality calories.

Your best bet is buying bulk amounts of ground round/sirloin and cooking it say on sundays. With rice and beans it's a great combo. Maybe cook some up enough for 6-7 days on sunday. Freeze some of it and have some for the next 3-4 days to eat.

When out and I don't have my food available or a shake and I need something quick I won't hesitate to walk into burger king and order 4-5 whopper jrs. (always say no mayo/ketchup on my burgers, mustard is k though) , 5 guys (kid give me the biggest burger on the menu) taco bell and get a chicken burrito/steak chalupa or two..Yeah some guys are gonna cry "like omg so not healthy for you" I live by the 80-90% rule I eat whatever the **** I want in those 10-20% ..AS long as there's a good amount of protein/dead animals it's game in my book.

eggs are damn cheap to...I make 6-8 egg omelets all the time.. Sweet potatoes are also good, oatmeal....main goal for the day should be a nice amount of protein spread out across the day... All I can say is just read read read...and ask questions. You have some good stickies at the top on foods/supplements.
Since you sound like a beginner...I imagine you can put those 15 lbs on in at the most 6-7 months....If you get your **** together training wise and hammer food like you should probably even do it less. Yet this greatly depends on your work ethics and genetics. Who knows you could do it in 3 months for all we know....

meh double post...

Train & eat like a weightlifter. They are stronger (pound for pound) than powerlifters and look better (more natural) than bodybuilders.

Google for some pics of Olympic weightlifters (ignore the super heavyweight 105kg+ as they aim to be heavy as possible).

e.g Ivan Stoitsov: http://stronglifts.com/how-to-get-a-body-like-ivan-stoitsov/

Or the Chinese Olympic weightlifters:

http://www.ptcfrankston.com/doc/newsletter/86/11.jpg

I'm pretty sure nobody here looks as good as these guys. Absolutely certain that none lifts as much as they do.

Those guys train heavy & low reps on compound lifts (with focus on fast, Olympic-style lifts), btw. And I'm positive they don't waste their time with bicep curls or tricep kickbacks.

If you aspiring bodybuilders train differently, I hope you look as good as they do.

Jitterbug said:

Train & eat like a weightlifter. They are stronger (pound for pound) than powerlifters and look better (more natural) than bodybuilders.

LOLOLOL....just don't know what to say...[/B]

Google for some pics of Olympic weightlifters (ignore the super heavyweight 105kg+ as they aim to be heavy as possible). At the end of the day MUSCLE IS MUSCLE...Doesn't matter if you get it training solely like a bodybuilder or powerlifter/bodybuilder.

e.g Ivan Stoitsov: http://stronglifts.com/how-to-get-a-body-like-ivan-stoitsov/

Or the Chinese Olympic weightlifters:

http://www.ptcfrankston.com/doc/newsletter/86/11.jpg

I'm pretty sure nobody here looks as good as these guys. Absolutely certain that none lifts as much as they do.

Those guys train heavy & low reps on compound lifts (with focus on fast, Olympic-style lifts), btw. And I'm positive they don't waste their time with bicep curls or tricep kickbacks.

If you aspiring bodybuilders train differently, I hope you look as good as they do.

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lolool this is tooooo funny..Yeah what does Elite level Olympic lifting/lifters have to do with a kid wanting to put on 15 lbs of muscle?

these guys are part of the worlds most genetic elite. Neither you nor I could handle how these guys train. A)We lack the coaches/training B) most prob don't have time to train 12-16 times a week

And I have yet to see pictures from ANYONE on here showing at least SOMETHING of a well built physique. Colossus is the only guy I've seen and have been impressed...with. Yet hmmm I see a lack of pictures from many. Seems to suggest something and I'll throw up pics any time ..as I have one in my profile (bit old will update)..