Just about to start gym, need different ideas/training plans for 3 days a week

[EyeBRollin]

There are two programs you should google and read. Don't ask why, just do it. They are all you need.

Starting Strength by Mark Rippletoe, and Stronglifts 5X5 (which is based on starting strength).

 

[foreverAFC]

strength training is not needed for building muscle, dont worry about the weight, worry about the muscle contractions

 

[Infern0]

strength training is not needed for building muscle, dont worry about the weight, worry about the muscle contractions

Mate..... nah

 

[foreverAFC]

if building muscle and toning muscles is all we are talking about, then creating microtrauma in the muscle fibres and letting them heal up is all we need to do right ? it doesnt matter if you create the microtears with low weights or heavy weights, but using lower weights can be safer and just as effective. a lot of people never realize the difference between bodybuilding and strength training. i see guys at the gym trying to build up their chest by benching weight they struggle to get up because in their mind the amount of weight they bench is whats most important to them, when they could just lower the weight and pump out some good reps and good form to get those chest muscles ripped up. this is why a lot of powerlifters have the same exact physique as my uncle who spends all his time sitting on the couch in front of the tv, smoking cigs and drinking beers all day long, and all of them have messed up knees and shoulders. what kai greene was explaining in the video was that if you go too heavy you can actually impede your range of motion and stop yourself from contracting the muscle properly and that you could stimulate more growth with lower the weights and not focusing on how much you are lifting. kai green is the number 2 bodybuilder on planet, some argue he is number 1, so his opinion should matter.

this concept has worked well for me, i have been able to induce hypertrophy in all my muscles and i dont go to heavy, i just try to get the microtrauma with different exercises and higher reps and focusing on the muscle contractions. i dont care about benching more and more weight, i care about getting that pump in the muscle as easy/efficiently as possible

 

[stovepipe]

I've tried more workouts routines than your average person over the last 20 years. The one that has worked better than them all is.....Push, pull , legs twice a week. Meaning you do all your push exercises, chest, shoulders and triceps on Mon. Tues you do pull exercises, back and biceps on Tues. Weds you do your leg workout. Take Thurs off and repeat that again for Fri, Sat and Sun. Obviously you don't have to go in that order, so do what works best for you.

Do no more than 2-3 exercises per muscle, 3 sets of 8-10 reps. In a sense, you are working out each muscle twice as much per year. The few people I got on this have had great gains from it. Of course you want to switch up exercises every so often. Always remember nutrition will yield greater results than the gym, so eat as healthy as you can.

Tip: It's not about how much you can lift, but how much you look like you can lift. Don't let the number on the side of a dumbbell get to you. Its all about proper form, rather than how much you can lift. Work on perfecting your form of each exercise and that muscle with each rep. Also focus on negative resistance just as much as you do with positive.

 

[EyeBRollin]

This is not true, actually. In order for the body composition to attain a higher level of fitness, it must become progressively stronger.

The caveat is that your body responds to effort, not speed or weight. In other words, doing lighter weight but reducing the rest intervals between sets often has the same effect as lifting heavy (greater when you factor in injury risk and volume). This was discovered in depth by 400m record holder Michael Johnson's college coach. His athletes became faster and stronger by using less intense speed and strength work, but with much shorter rest periods.

What does this mean?

Go do a heavy compound exercise like the bench press, and go rip off 5 sets of 3 using 80% of your 1RM, with at least 3 minutes rest between sets.

Then go do the same exercise, but do 5 sets of 6 reps using only 40% of your IRM, but reduce rest to 1 minute.

The last two sets on option two will feel just as bad as as option 1, but you'd technically finished the same amount of work in much less time, with less stress on your joints.

 

[bigneil]

I work out for one hour at 6am, M, W, F (legs, chest/back, arms) and it's made a noticeable difference (four months now). I even met a hot girl and ran into another decent .girl who had twice hit on me at a bar. Both work out there regularly. My girlfriend said "it's not the texture that changed, it's your strength". It immediately helped my libido (age 46). We went from having sex 3 times for 5 minutes to having sex 4 times for 20 minutes.

 

[17 shots]

if building muscle and toning muscles is all we are talking about, then creating microtrauma in the muscle fibres and letting them heal up is all we need to do right ? it doesnt matter if you create the microtears with low weights or heavy weights, but using lower weights can be safer and just as effective. a lot of people never realize the difference between bodybuilding and strength training. i see guys at the gym trying to build up their chest by benching weight they struggle to get up because in their mind the amount of weight they bench is whats most important to them, when they could just lower the weight and pump out some good reps and good form to get those chest muscles ripped up. this is why a lot of powerlifters have the same exact physique as my uncle who spends all his time sitting on the couch in front of the tv, smoking cigs and drinking beers all day long, and all of them have messed up knees and shoulders. what kai greene was explaining in the video was that if you go too heavy you can actually impede your range of motion and stop yourself from contracting the muscle properly and that you could stimulate more growth with lower the weights and not focusing on how much you are lifting. kai green is the number 2 bodybuilder on planet, some argue he is number 1, so his opinion should matter.

this concept has worked well for me, i have been able to induce hypertrophy in all my muscles and i dont go to heavy, i just try to get the microtrauma with different exercises and higher reps and focusing on the muscle contractions. i dont care about benching more and more weight, i care about getting that pump in the muscle as easy/efficiently as possible

I agree that you can get a great looking body lifting lower weights, but I think heavy weights should be thrown in too. I like to alternate each day between lifting light and heavy... you don't want to just look big, without real strength to back it up

 

[EyeBRollin]

kai green is the number 2 bodybuilder on planet, some argue he is number 1, so his opinion should matter.

Kai Green, like most professional bodybuilders, is on steroids. They use a ****tail of various performance enhancing drugs. I wouldn't pay any advice they have any mind.

 

[Infern0]

Kai green is pumped full of so much steroids he cant barely breathe.

Look everyone is going to have different opinions but its real simple.

Lift the heaviest you can in a hypertrophy rep range (8-12) with good form and increase the weight as often as possible.

The key is just consistency. I see people at my gym all the time who go for a few weeks then stop coming for a few weeks then start again. Also the people who routinely skip days because of various reasons.

These people dont progress.

Its damn hard to build muscle you need discipline and determination and dedication.

Those last three things i mentioned are whats really important.

 

[foreverAFC]

yes i know kai takes steroids, but the concept works the same for natural people. ive never taken any steroids and i dont even eat that much and im happy with my results, im not a big guy but all of my muscles are well defined

 

[foreverAFC]

kai green is a cool guy, i actually like him more for his philosophies than anything else

another guy whos concepts i always liked was mike mentzers, he promoted HIT. he was about working out briefly but very intensely and doing to the lifts slowly and then taking a few days off until you were completely recovered. mike was all about tracking your strength and rep gains and making sure to always increase, but i personally never followed that part of his advice.

 

[foreverAFC]

rich piana explains it well here too, yes i know he takes steroids

 

[Roober]

Kai green is pumped full of so much steroids he cant barely breathe.

Look everyone is going to have different opinions but its real simple.

Lift the heaviest you can in a hypertrophy rep range (8-12) with good form and increase the weight as often as possible.

The key is just consistency. I see people at my gym all the time who go for a few weeks then stop coming for a few weeks then start again. Also the people who routinely skip days because of various reasons.

These people dont progress.

Its damn hard to build muscle you need discipline and determination and dedication.

Those last three things i mentioned are whats really important.

And this is really it. Even if you have crappy form, but are consistent with 4-5 days a week, you will see more gains than someone with great form that is inconsistent. You see tons of guys at the gym who have absolutely ****ty form, but likely go consistently...

Biggest things I feel help with the gym
1. Consistency
2. Focus on your reps - focus on contracting that one muscle you are working
3. Negatives - Personally, I don't care how big my muscles are if I am physically weak. Negatives help a ton with actual strength building. Cracks me up when you see guys that are huge and can't lift anything, or neglect their legs, and have $hitty form
4. Sleep is critical. Muscles build when you sleep
5. Well-balanced diet... If you jsut start avoiding processed foods, that is a good start... Once you get solid on your routine, you can splurge more frequently unless you are trying to get sub10% bodyfat

 

[EyeBRollin]

Look everyone is going to have different opinions but its real simple.

Lift the heaviest you can in a hypertrophy rep range (8-12) with good form and increase the weight as often as possible.

High reps has nothing to do with it. It's the weight increase that causes the gains. The body adapts to progressive resistance.

 

[stovepipe]

Taking advice from pro bb should be taken with a grain of salt. Consistency and eating wel

High reps has nothing to do with it. It's the weight increase that causes the gains. The body adapts to progressive resistance.

Muscle growth will plateau, but high reps and using the same weight will cause muscle growth. Everyone's has their own advice on what works and what doesn't.

Just get your ass in the gym and stick to a strict, consistent program. Switch up your routine every once and a while. The body will grow as long as you're putting in the consistent work.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Muscle growth will plateau, but high reps and using the same weight will cause muscle growth. Everyone's has their own advice on what works and what doesn't.

It won't unless you increase the reps or reduce the rest time between sets. Muscle growth is a biological adaptation. The effort value must increase in some way for growth to occur.