I need help (regarding my gym routine)

Ok here's the deal guys: I'm 5'11 and way about 160. I didn't do almost any exercise for about two months because of overwhelming work and gained about 5 pounds in that time. Before that I would go to the gym reguarly and have started to pick it up again. before the break though I trained hard and gained very little. the only change I saw was my butt got 'better looking' (?). My biggest problem is my arms are still skinny.

What exercise would you guys recommend or routine? Do you guys have a link to a good routine I can follow for my particular situation?

what.... do..... you...... eat...... every day, every meal, list it out....

Lack of progress has more to do with what you put in your mouth than how you lift.

sometimes my job, want to quit

Originally Posted by Eason

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sometimes my job, want to quit

Just recommend 3 servings of Muscle Milk per day and be done with it

Again I recommend www.bodybuilding.com. People there review products, give sample workout routines for different body parts, and a whole bunch of other info. You can really get a ton of knowledge on that site.

But be aware that quite a few workouts are meant for people who are on gear, eat maybe 7000 calories pr day, and sleep, eat, and then sleep some more.

Start with something where you're training 3-4 days a week, where you're benching, deadlifting, and squatting. You want to be doing 5-8 reps in most exercises, and 3-5 sets. Add a few isolation exercises after you've done the compounds, but do fewer sets and preferably more reps.

At your size you're using 2350-2550 calories pr day. To gain weight you're going to want to eat 3000+ pr day. Expect a few pounds of lean muscle mass / month.

You'll want 160-200+ grams of protein pr day, and at least half a galon of water pr day. Try to get eight hours of sleep every night.

Originally Posted by whacked

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This is not entirely correct. Assuming you take in enough food to make up for the expendited calories AND still maintain a caloric surplus, doing some cardio won't hurt. Done in >30min continuous sessions, it actually helps cut down the fat gain, among other cardiovascular benefits. I read that many BB-ers do >45 min cardio session everyday, if not more, during bulking phases.
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Sorry, strongly disagree. Most bodybuilders, who focus on bulking, do not do cardio during the bulking phase and certainly not more than 45 minutes since that would burn in excess of 500 calories. See, e.g., http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dean14.htm; http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark64.htm

If you start gaining fat as soon as you stop lifting, even assuming you continue some exercise, you need to look at your diet. Perhaps you have too many carbs and sugars "sneaking" into your diet in the form of excess amounts of fruit juice, bread, pasta, power bars (hmm maybe even a few too many beers??). I'm not saying to drop these but a nominal drop in activity and maintaining your full diet will lead to fat around your middle, especially from the sugars and starches, unless you cut back on them.

A nutritionist had me keep a log of everything I ate for one week. It is pretty interesting to see the "extras" that work their way into your diet. It made it much easier for me to adapt my diet and loose weight around my middle while still eating well and feeling full. I simply substituted more protein and veg and cut back on starch and sugars. So for example, for breakfast I will have soft boiled eggs rather than toast and cereal. The protein sticks with me all morning so I don't get hungry. I alternate with granola and milk but no extra toast or fruit. I keep the fruit for later in the day and eat plenty of salads with meat especially salmon or chicken.

Dropping beer, switching to wine and keeping it to one glass or two for social occassions really made a difference too.

Good luck with it!

Thanks for all the input guys and the site! I'm starting to see what I should be correcting!

Originally Posted by Eason

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Yeah FYI you don't want to be in the gym for extended periods of time. Studies show that after about 45 minutes, your cortisol levels shoot up and will negate a lot of the benefits.

hang on. If you spend 45 min per session, you wont have time to even workout that bodypart. For example if you do quads, 45 min aint enough to do squats, incline leg presses and leg curls. For back, its not enough too.

You end up doing more sessions like 7 times a week in the gym which also makes it worse because you have no rest time after that.

Originally Posted by beasty

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hang on. If you spend 45 min per session, you wont have time to even workout that bodypart. For example if you do quads, 45 min aint enough to do squats, incline leg presses and leg curls. For back, its not enough too.

You end up doing more sessions like 7 times a week in the gym which also makes it worse because you have no rest time after that.

Say hi to HIT and/or high weight, low rep olympic lifts then.

Originally Posted by beasty

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hang on. If you spend 45 min per session, you wont have time to even workout that bodypart. For example if you do quads, 45 min aint enough to do squats, incline leg presses and leg curls. For back, its not enough too.

You end up doing more sessions like 7 times a week in the gym which also makes it worse because you have no rest time after that.

You can't do 3 different exercises in 45 minutes....? You seriously need to reevaluate what you're doing.

Originally Posted by beasty

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hang on. If you spend 45 min per session, you wont have time to even workout that bodypart. For example if you do quads, 45 min aint enough to do squats, incline leg presses and leg curls. For back, its not enough too.

You end up doing more sessions like 7 times a week in the gym which also makes it worse because you have no rest time after that.

try squatting with weights that will really exert you and see if you need to do more leg exercises after that.

if you can still lift effectively after 45 mins or an hr, maybe you should considering raising the weights and concentrating more during your lift. concentrating on good form/posture while lifting demanding weights is mentally taxing on to of being physically challengingl. 45 mins is plenty of time for a good workout.

I don't think my workouts have ever been more than 45 minutes even with HST... the only way your workouts will be longer is if your gym is really busy and you have to wait for equipment. Even then you can probably arrange your workout such that you can get it done.

Originally Posted by adversity04

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You can't do 3 different exercises in 45 minutes....? You seriously need to reevaluate what you're doing.

word, don't think homey knows how to work out