Any of you guys like to workout at the gym? I am 6ft. and 120 pounds so I am trying to gain some muscle and look more cut. So far I have been doing about an hour and a half of at the gym. I try to go 5-6 days a week. I alternate between muscle groups.

So for day 1 I would do back and bi. Next day chest and tri. Then repeat. I am not working my lower body right now cuz I have Runner's Knee. Resting my knee for a bit before I hit my calves, hamstrings, and quads.

But my workout routine feels out of whack as I am still an amateur. I feel like I am missing some muscle groups and not efficiently using every second of my time. Yeah, if I work out for a year, 7 days a week, I know I will get results. But I would rather do it efficiently and correctly to gain results in 6 months.

So if there is a person out there who knows this stuff, I would like some advice and maybe some tips on building a routine that fits my body and goals.

Also, do I need to eat a lot? And what types of foods? Is it essential that I drink protein? Before and after?

Thanks bros

 

Wow, where to start.

Routine,
Some will advocate training the smaller groups (tris,bis) after larger groups such as you are doing. I personally don’t do this because I don’t feel its efficient. I like to hit each group fresh, for me in the past I tried what you are doing and could never get a good workout of my arms after doing the larger groups. My personal routine is:

Sun – Back
Mon – Chest, Calves
Tues – Quads, Hams
Wed – Rest
Thurs – Tris, Bis
Fri – Shoulders, Traps
Sat – Rest

And you’re right, you’re missing shoulders traps which are an essential part for a good physique.

As far as frequency, it sounds like you could overtrain real quick doing the same groups 3 times a week consistently. I would recommend, depending on your training intensity and overall goals, to give each group their own day, ie, back one day, chest the next, rest, arms after that, and shoulders traps to finish it up. Or you could to chest back on the same day and do that twice a week although I wouldn’t recommend doing that after shoulders.

Mon – Chest, Back
Tues – Arms
Wed – Rest
Thurs – Chest, Back
Fri –Shoulders Traps
Sat – Rest
Sun – Rest

Now, what exercises to do. Stick with the basics and try to stay away from machines. While machines have their place and can be good, for now keep it basic.

Chest:
Incline Dumbbell/Barbell Bench
Flat Dumbbell/Barbell Bench
Decline Dumbbell/Barbell Bench
Incline Flys
Flat Flys

Back:
Deadlifts (be careful, do research before attempting these please)
Rows (cable, barbell, dumbbell)
Pullups (shoulder width, wide, underhand, neutral)
Pullovers

Shoulders:
Press (dumbbell, barbell(also called military press))
Side Laterals (cable, dumbbell)
Rear Laterals (cable, dumbbell)
Upright Rows (cable, barbell)

Traps:
Shrugs (barbell, dumbbell)
Hang Cleans (and a lot of other variations ie power cleans, clean and press, etc)

Bis:
Flat Curls (barbell, dumbbell)
EZ Bar Curls
Reverse Curls (barbell)
Hammer Curls

Tris:
Rope Pushdowns
Skull Crushers
Close Grip Bench

That’s a very rough overview of various exercises. Check out http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

As a beginner I would pick 3 maybe 4 exercises and do a total of about 12 sets for each group (not 12 for arms but 12 bis 12 tris). Rep range I would keep between 6-12.

Diet is a whole nother ball game that not many people pay attention to and the wonder why they aren’t getting results. They lift with sh!tty form eat mcdonalds and then wonder why they just can’t put on any lean mass.

Without getting to in depth, there are good and bad forms of all macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats).
Wonder bread is not a good carb, brown rice is. Sausage and bacon are not good proteins, chicken is. So here you go, sources of good macronutrients:

Protein:
Beef (steak, ground beef, etc (reasonably lean))
Chicken
Tuna
Eggs(the worlds best protein, no joke)
Protein powders (whey, casein, egg, soy)

Carbs:
Oatmeal (not those little apples and cinnamon packets, plain oats in the big round containers)
Brown Rice
Sweet Potatoes
Ezekiel Bread (Trader Joes is my best friend)
Whole grain breads (they have their place depending on whether I’m dieting or bulking)

Fats:
Nuts (peanuts, almost, walnuts, pecans)
Oils (olive, flaxseed)
Eggs (some of the best fats known, about 6 grams in a yolk)

With that said, a lot of people make the mistake in thinking that fats will make you fat. They will, anything will, if consumed in large quantities.

So, yes it is essential that you eat a lot. When I'm bulking I eat pretty much only whats listed and hit about 3500 cals/day. I'm 5' 10'' 215lbs. I’m not sure how in depth of an answer you were looking for but any more questions just send em over.

Disclaimer: I am not a personal trainer, dietician. This is personal experience and knowledge as an amateur bodybuilder gained over about 4 years.

Hope this helped

 

^...wow

go to your local book store and find a work out book and read it like the bible..

I superset all of my workouts chest and back,arms and legs

 

I got carried away haha

Read arnold schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, he covers everything, its worth a look.

 

For somebody of your size the only way you will gain any weight to get the look you are going for is steroids......I know several people with your build who eat and eat and eat and tend to lose weight. Try P90X, that **** works.....You will get more cut, now gaining might be a problem.....

 

+1

i agree with this for the most part im 6' 130 lbs. its extremely hard for people our size to gain weight due to a metabolism... now being cut isnt a big deal im still relatively well cut...

when i was in hs i was in weight lifting and after doing a large amount of arm and chest work i did see some gains but i wasnt by any means busting out of my cloths....

here is what my arms looked like by the end of my senior year im by no means big but relatively well cut for 130 lbs...

to look like that i was doing mostly push ups, curls, bench, dumbbell bench, tri. extensions, wrist curls, and sit ups

wasnt watching what i eat (prolly why i didnt gain much weight) but basically ide set up sets i could do say three sets of 20 on 35 lbs dumbbell curls... and once i got done with those sets go till i couldnt anymore... take a break then move to the next exercise... and was doin it 5 days a week resting on weekends



P90X is insane lol and it does work.... but its also pretty pricey....

 

Thats an extremely ignorant statement. People that have a smaller build are considered "hardgainers". They can gain but it is not easy.

People have no idea what it takes to build quality lean mass. Eating and eating is a waste of time if you're not eating the right things. I know a guy who is smaller, 150 lbs and has put on incredible size. It takes dedication which is the key ingredient people don't realize. That means,

8+ hours of sleep every night
no drinking
lift your *** off
6+ meals a day
zero sh!tty food (fast food and pretty much any processed food)

For me personally I'm putting down 330+ grams of protein a day and 400+ carbs strictly from the list above. Ask any serious lifter and he will reaffirm exactly what I just said.

Oh and just an fyi, steroids DO NOT BUILD MUSCLE. They are simply testosterone which allows longer, better workouts and faster recovery. Taking them will not magically make you bigger. You can take steroids all day long but without proper diet, rest, and recovery your body has no fuel with which to build.

 

At graduation from high school I was 6'1" and weighed in at 145. I could eat anything (and did) without gaining an ounce. Six years later I got married, still at 145 despite working out and eating massive amounts of junk food. Six months later I weighed 175 and looked pretty good.

Soooo, my advice: find a good woman and marry her. Marriage causes weight gain.

 

Aww I really appreciate this man. You covered everything. I am definitely going to get arnold's book on body building. I have a girl but I love you. lol


I guess I am going to start eating like crazy and gulp down eggs

Thanks for the routines but I have a question. Sunday, for example, you workout back. But how long and how many exercises? 4 exercises with 3 sets and 12 reps? 1 hour?

Then on Monday, do you do 4 exercises of chest and then another 4 exercises of calves? 2 hours?

"As a beginner I would pick 3 maybe 4 exercises and do a total of about 12 sets for each group (not 12 for arms but 12 bis 12 tris). Rep range I would keep between 6-12."

Sir, 12 sets for each exercise or 12 sets total for a muscle on that particular day? So far, on each exercise I have been doing 3 sets. But a total of 4 exercises, which brings total number of sets that day to about 12 sets.



lol to the guys who recommended I take steroids. funny stuff. Well I am going to take before and after pictures and work at it. I just want to look like Bruce Lee. Not looking to "burst" out of my clothes but just extra cut and toned.



Thanks rocketsauce, I will start working on the routine you gave me and focus more on non-machine exercises. btw you should be a personal trainer

 

i dont believe he was talking in a literal sense on the steroids lol... i think he was just saying its very hard with a tall skinny body build

and +1 on not using machines... free weights are the way to go