Is it worth it?

[King Turi]

Apparently I have a "mesomorphic" body, I have a naturally good build and when I did martial arts a few years ago I had quite a good body.

Now it's a few years later and I am a good looking fella, I'm just about 6ft and I weigh 80 kilos, but I ain't fat or anything, but for some reason I seem to just lack power when it comes to working out in the gym.

I mean seriously I have a hard time doing some of the exercises and I'm only using 15 kilo weights, 10 kilo weights for a couple of them but I manage my way through those.

I feel like I'm going to faint.. first time I went was last Monday.. and no joke I thought I was going to drop to the ground and die.. I honestly felt light headed.
Second time was tonight, as I wasn't able to go during last week due to friend problems, though I didn't feel like I was going to faint this time, my muscles were very shaky and still are as I post this.

I got told after 6 weeks it'll be much easier and I'll be moving onto a harder workout, but I'm not sure whether I can keep this up or not.

Can someone who's gone from basically same situation as me and worked through it tell me if it's honestly worth it?

'Cuz I'm happy with my appearance as I am, I'd just like some muscle to flex.

 

[dispatch]

you sound like a girl.

it is always worth having more self-discipline, control and a sense of achievement - not to mention more power/strength/muscle mass. Read the intro to RIppetoe's Starting Strength. It'll give you a new lease on life ; )

man up bro - it's worth it.

 

[King Turi]

I realize I sound like a girl.

I'll have a read of what you mentioned.

 

[Unbridled_Phoenix]

Yeah, read it, or Ahnold will break off your ahms lol

But seriously, I've gotten back into working out in the last 2 months and there is NO going back. I'm getting bigger and more defined, and people are noticing. You will feel different, and it will show. You will feel like a MAN. Just do it.

 

[King Turi]

Well, I haven't had much time to go as often as I'd like, only been twice in the last 2 weeks, weird thing is I can already see that my arms are much bigger than they were, and I've had people comment on me and call me a "tank" over the last 3 or 4 days or so, not quite sure how this could happen when I've only been twice in the last 2 weeks.

Admittedly, I used to have a pretty nice body, but I had a 6 pack, didn't really have big arm muscles, I used to do martial arts.

I've heard about some kind of "muscle memory", is that what may have jacked things up so fast?

Because my arms are definitely looking a lot better than they did 2 weeks ago and I've only been to the gym twice, I really don't understand it, I also haven't really been watching what I eat or anything, just eating what I want when I want (I'm not a pig, I don't just munch down Maccas 'cuz I got the money on me or anything)..

But yeah, vast improvements already and I've only been twice, being quite fit a few years ago may have helped this out a little though, but really I don't understand it, but people have already begun to notice in a good way.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Try measuring your arms, waist, etc. That way you know if you increase or not. What kind of routine you on?

 

[King Turi]

I do 10 minutes of some bike exerciser thing, which I'm thinkin' of ditchin' since it wastes my energy before I get into the weights..

Then I do 3 sets of leg extensions, leg presses and hamstring curls, then I move onto arms and do 3 sets of various arm exercises, like lateral pull downs, dumbbell lifting, the ones where your arms goes out sideways, and a couple of other arm ones.

Yeah I'll measure my arms to keep track of my progress, I really need to be going more often but yeah, I've already noticed improvements and so have other people which I don't understand since I've only been there twice in 2 weeks.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Don't do the cardio preworkout or post. Instead, do warmups for your lifts. There is a good article in the VAULT (in the stickies here in H&F) on warmups. What you have going on in terms of a routine are pretty crappy. You're not even working your lower back at all. You need to stop working your biceps and triceps for multiple sets, which btw are some of the smallest muscles in your body, and work your legs, back, and chest.

We have an excellent workout and diet article on here in the VAULT. The best thing for a beginner to do is to get on a simple strength building routine with squats, deadlifts, and bench. I did option B for a year and I put on some good strength and muscle. Or do RIppetoe's Starting Strength, or Iron Addicts simple strength routine. You want to put on muscle, you need a good tested routine. Next is diet. If your goal is to put on muscle you need a meal plan too. With extra calories and plenty of proteins and fats. Not sure if you have one but if you do post it up so we can help you get on track. If you don't eat enough you don't grow, if you have a $hitty routine you'll end up looking like a freak and probably never get anywhere.

Best cardio to do is in the morning with a empty stomach. Take a scoop of whey and do some low intense cardio.

 

[King Turi]

Well, as for lower back, nah man my closest would probably be sit-ups honestly.

Food wise.. I'm not really watching what I eat, I love pasta (my favourite food) and I love steak and stuff.. so I really just eat what I want.
I do eat junk food occassionally but I also eat healthy stuff since my sister ONLY makes salads and stuff, which actually taste nice so yeah.. I don't eat unhealthily or anything.

I might have to look further into different routines and stuff, but the routine I got given was from the gym basically, as a "beginner" routine, they said it gets jacked up after a while.

Howcome no cardio before or after the work out?

 

[Captain Harlock]

Of course it's worth it. I read an article today that might motivate you.

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_..._funny_grok/the_embarrassment_of_bodybuilding

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Situps for lower back? haha.

Listen, you need a routine. The one you were given is a waste of time. You did it for 2 weeks, it's time to move on. If you want to put on muscle you need to start eating more than that. You need to follow the stickied meal plan in the vault called SIMPLE STARTING DIET.

All you are doing is throwing around weights with no plan and you won't get far. If it makes you feel good keep doing it but you are missing so many parts of your body to work out. I did machines too for like a week or two and dumbbells. But it's time to move on.

I'll give you example. I had my brother at 113 lbs do the routine I suggested for 1 year with a fairly high calorie and protein amount. He got up to 155ish in one year and with pretty low bf%. He never lifted weights before that.

If you are trying to put on muscle there is no point in doing cardio before hand because you'll waste valuable energy you could be using for pushing bigger weights. Cardio after a workout on a bulking is bad cause your body is craving carbs and protein after you hit the weights hard. There is a time frame you want to feed your body in. This will ruin it and possibly a good amount of your gains. There is more on it in the VAULT. Go to the VAULT and read Warboss Alex's PWO article. So many questions have already been answered in far more detail there.

 

[dispatch]

I think what Stallion's tryyyying to say is that you should read the stuff in the vault.

 

[King Turi]

I read the PWO post, I didn't know there were optimal times to eat specific kinds of food / drink, very handy..

Currently I'm 80kilos, which is 175pds right?
So I ain't a little dude.. I think I should ditch the cardio for the most part since it's not what I want to focus on really, I want to focus on beefing up, I'll follow the simple diet thing when I'm able to get some protein shake.. and when I can handle raw eggs.
I've never tried the raw egg thing before, it kinda weirds me out a little :/

 

[Quiksilver]

Don't ditch the cardio, even when bulking. You can easily get away with a 30-60 minute LOW INTENSITY cardio session during the day. Doing that will keep you healthy, help your muscles recover and grow faster, and allow you to eat more without putting on bodyfat.

Once or twice a week, go down to the track and run a few 100m sprints, to work some of your other energy systems.

Doing cardio and generally having a more athletic lifestyle can only benefit strength/muscle gains/bodyfat levels, as long as your eating enough to suit your goals.

 

[King Turi]

Espi, yeah, I'm not sure why I feel like I'm going to faint when I do it though, I should probably go and see a doctor or something, because the weights aren't that heavy, it's just doing them over and over on muscles I never use seems to make me feel light headed for some reason I think, I have previously had this same light headed feeling one other time - but all I was doing was waiting in line somewhere.. I got to the counter and dropped and had to go to hospital.
All I got told was it was a build up of blood in my feet or something, apparently it happens to soldiers all the time since they have to stand for so long, but I don't know. I ain't a soldier.

Quicksilver, what do you mean by "low intensity", like, just go for a walk?
'Cuz I walk around all the time.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Yeah the difference is for low intensity is you are waking up bright and early, taking a scoop of whey and walking for 30-45 minutes. Preferably on a hilly area but do it with what you got. If you have a treadmill set it at 2.5 speed and 3 incline. Elipticals are great too.

 

[rudygee2]

First, reexamine your diet...especially your pre-and post-workout meals...are you eating enough?

I'm no lifting expert (been doing it 4 years, but still learning), but this is the first thing I would have suggested. Are you eating about 1-2 hours before you go work out? I used to workout without eating, and after doing a big lift like squats or something, I would feel really nauseated and want to pass out. After I made sure to eat about an hour before lifting, I rarely ever had that problem again.