Am i working hard enough?

[Youwantromance?]

Hi people. sorry if this sounds daft but im new to using weights etc.

Im of quite skinny build and i starting working out 2 weeks ago, the first workout really made my arms ache the next few days after but now when i workout they seem fine the next day.

Is this the body becoming used to the workout or should i usually feel a slight strain the next few days after?

Cheers:)

[relentless]

I'd try and increase the weight your lifting.

[Youwantromance?]

Ill try that, i dont have access to a bench at the moment, so iv mainly been doing the bells with lots of variations. Saying that i was gona try and increase slowly per week as i am quite weak at the moment. Fore arms need a great deal of work

[relentless]

Originally posted by Youwantromance?
Ill try that, i dont have access to a bench at the moment, so iv mainly been doing the bells with lots of variations. Saying that i was gona try and increase slowly per week as i am quite weak at the moment. Fore arms need a great deal of work

Keep it up mate, and you'll start to see the benefits very soon ;)

[Iknowyourmum]

Thats not quite true, if your working out you will regularly come to a stage where you dont feel you gaining much.

This happened to me with shoulders I was gaining arm and bench press strength but not shoulders.

What you probably need to do is more sets I moved from 3 sets to 5 or 6 and I feel the difference , Arnie used to do 20 to 25 sets of each exercise, so 5 or 6 should suite me.

Also althrough Cheese on Toast will disagree you should do sets to failure each one apart from the warm up set.
He will say not to do it but I think this advice is for older people who are just starting to work out your young and have been doing it a while, so I would say make sure you do each set to failure.

Dont necessarly increase the weight perhaps a different weight for a diferent set, there is the pyramid work out where you increase the weight each set try thet.


:sorry just read youve only been at it for 2 weeks:

In which case keep at it, exercise a different body part each time wait a couple of months before moving on to 5 or 6 sets.

[Youwantromance?]

Thanks for the helpful replies, i did slightly increase the weight of some of my exercises. I do normally do each set to failure, normally about 3 sets of each exercise unless i really cant manage it.

I am starting to notice a slight difference, hope i dont get lazy, nees to keep this up:)

[Iknowyourmum]

Originally posted by RNT
Sorry but these replies are useless. 25 sets?! Are you kidding? Arnie uses a mr olympia training regime so I doubt it's going to be useful for a newbie.

Different people has separate programs for WHAT THEY WANT. You want to build muscle mass? You need a program that puts some bulk on you, not one that will just tone up the muscles. However it is possible to bulk up with toned muscles if you keep to a good diet (lots of protein).

Don't do more than 4 sets for each exercise at MOST...and the first two should be pretty light warming up the muscle. Use the last one to failure and really push yourself, with someone to spot you for a few reps after you can push them out no longer. THIS set is where you are going to build any muscle. Do any more sets (apart from very light ones to warm down the muscle if needed ) then you will shrink the muscle or will just see no gain at all.

Try to keep the same routine and same exercises for the first 4 months at least while your body gets used to the strain of lifting heavier weights than you're used to. After a while you can rotate programs after a few weeks/months or whatever is good for YOU.

I have no idea how old you are but I found Teen Bodybuilding (http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/) pretty useful when I was younger. Read some stories people have written and decide what kind of program you want to fit around your life. Also theres lots of help with nutrition etc so remember to check that out as well. Nutrition is 50% of building muscle and a diet must be used if you want to see results quickly.

Goodluck!

As you might notice I said that as Arnie did 20 to 25 sets then 5 or 6 is enought for me, does that make sence.

Arnie was ttrying to build muscell size as our questioner was also, so my advice was over time to increase the number of sets dosnt that make sence also.

My advice is not bollox there is no "the right way to work out"

To quote you you disparage what Arnie did then say if you want to build muscell mass do it my way, hello isnt that what he was doing, are you honestly claiming you know more about putting on muscel mass than he did, I didnyt notice his muscels shrinking.

You notice I said wait a couple of monthes before moving on to more sets.

If an olymipc marathon runner runs 10 miles a day and I say to someone who's just starting, run 1 mile a day and work your way up , would you disagree with that.

[CheeseOnToast]

Mate if you increased sets everytime you felt the need, one day you'd be doing a million sets of something.

Best way to measure progression is sticking to the sets/reps you find works for you and progressively increasing resistance.

As RNT said, Failure on your last set of the exercise only should do the trick.

[Iknowyourmum]

Originally posted by CheeseOnToast
Mate if you increased sets everytime you felt the need, one day you'd be doing a million sets of something.


Whata crock of shit,

You might as well say that if a runner increases the amount he runs then
"he'd better be carefull cause soon youl be running a thousand miles a day"

Mover from 3 to 5 sets in a year, like the runner there comes a limit,

[Iknowyourmum]

This is "pretty Boy" Roy Shaw's work out regeime or what little says in this interview.


Q - Can you give an example of your regime?

Roy Shaw - It would be low reps and heavy weights. We would do 3 sets and then add some more weight and squeeze out another 2, finishing by stripping the weight a bit for 1 more set. I would train most days. I still train 4 times a week now but with less weight & more reps performed faster with less rest between sets. I am still in good shape for a 38 year old !!

Q - What were your best lifts?

Roy Shaw- Bench press- 365 1bs Squat- 500 1bs and deadlift 6001bs
All on prison food!!!!! I pumped up to about 16 stone.

[Iknowyourmum]

Thats his regeim from when he was fighting, so its applicable, plus Im younger than 38 and can recover quicker, so Ill use his old workout not his later one.

[CheeseOnToast]

Originally posted by Iknowyourmum
Whata crock of shit,

You might as well say that if a runner increases the amount he runs then
"he'd better be carefull cause soon youl be running a thousand miles a day"

Mover from 3 to 5 sets in a year, like the runner there comes a limit,

Not really, more to the point is that volume training, i.e. training large number of sets with less weight is shown to have a different effect on your body and muscles than training at a good medium or even loading up heavy and going to less reps/sets. At some point the benefit stops along with the growth, and the rest of the sets become a waste.

And there's not much of a limit is there, some BBers can do hunderds up on hundreds of sets of certain exercises at low weights.