Exercise me: Make me gain muscle

Originally Posted by turbozed

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Are you doing strict pullups or are you kicking up? Even doing the latter, that's awfully strange (and might be an indication of muscle imbalance). What push exercises do you do?
FWIW if you care, I browsed around and found some other people whose chest are their weakest links on various bodybuilding messageboards and such. Seems what they post and I have something in common, that after we're done with a bench press, it's the triceps that feel sore and seem to get hit during the workout way more than the pecs. Leads me to think I'm doing it wrong. I'm going to shelve bench pressing for now and do pushups instead when it's time to work my chest. My guess is I'm cheating or something in my form doing presses on the bench, and doing pushups for a while instead would even things out where they should be. Hopefully heh. Starting to think I should be able to do 100 pushups before even thinking about getting under a bar at my size now. Not a total waste though I guess. Even though my pecs are the same size as I started out, my triceps are pretty damn bitchin atm.

Originally Posted by javyn

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FWIW if you care, I browsed around and found some other people whose chest are their weakest links on various bodybuilding messageboards and such. Seems what they post and I have something in common, that after we're done with a bench press, it's the triceps that feel sore and seem to get hit during the workout way more than the pecs. Leads me to think I'm doing it wrong.

I'm going to shelve bench pressing for now and do pushups instead when it's time to work my chest. My guess is I'm cheating or something in my form doing presses on the bench, and doing pushups for a while instead would even things out where they should be. Hopefully heh. Starting to think I should be able to do 100 pushups before even thinking about getting under a bar at my size now. Not a total waste though I guess. Even though my pecs are the same size as I started out, my triceps are pretty damn bitchin atm.

no no no no no no no no no no no

do not shelve bench press in favour of pushups i can not stress that enough

seriously people. there's a reason I screamed STARTING STRENGTH at all of you in my thread. watch the videos, learn the form. then your chest won't be weak

pushups are useless unless you want to get a nice pump going on

pushups are useless?

Originally Posted by javyn

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pushups are useless?

yes, useless. Your chest will get bigger as you get stronger, and doing pushups will not make you stronger. Doing pushups will only make you better at doing pushups. You make your chest stronger and bigger by adding more weight to your bench press.

Think about it. If you want your jeans to fade, do you wear go back to chinos because you're wearing your jeans lightly and they arent fading fast enough? No, you wear your jeans properly. Go back to the basics in form.

Slight arch in the back, shoulder blades in, chest pressed outwards. Walk your feet back so that your back arches, and hold that position.

Position yourself so your eyes are looking straight up behind the bar - so the bar would be directly above your nose. Unrack the weight, keep it locked out (arms fully extended).

Inhale, and slowly lower the weight to your nipple line. You do not want to bring it directly up and down over your shoulders, there should be a slight lever arm at work. Let the bar "kiss" your chest slightly, then squeeze and accelerate the weight upwards. When the bar is at its lowest point, your elbows should be at a right angle. I think you specifically may be benching with too close of a grip, which over-involves your triceps. Adjust your grip and have somebody watching to tell you when your elbows are right angle at the lowest point.

Do not bounce the weight off your chest. Think about your pecs squeezing the weight up, and don't let your triceps do the work. Lock out the weight fully each time, and repeat. Focus on your pecs throughout the movement; you'd be suprised at how much conciously thinking about feeling that muscle work will help you.

Thanks. I guess now that you mention it my grip probably is too narrow, since I feel the stress in my triceps during the workout, and they are the only thing sore afterward. I'll definitely try it with a wider grip to keep my elbows in line.

I prefer to stick with barbells over doing pushups, but sorry I can't buy you saying pushups are useless and doesn't make one stronger. The exercises are pretty similar and I figured getting good with pushups would do well to get my form good since it's harder to do them wrong it seems. Besides I know too many people who have gotten bigger and strong doing pushups, in and out of the military. I do indeed agree a barbell is far superior, but you're talking to a 120 lb lightweight here. I can't do many pushups, but when I do, I certainly feel that **** in my pecs. But I will indeed try a wider grip barbell push.

Thanks again for the advice!

^ you are almost definitely using a grip that is too narrow if your triceps are doing most of the work in a bench press. Do you also find yourself lowering the bar to your solar plexus instead of to your chest?

Triceps are the prime mover in bench press. Overusing the triceps won't inhibit bench press gains much, only the 1RM.

Most people who get stuck on a lift try to break the plateau by doing more and invariably end up hurting it even more. I suspect this is the case.

I have one update:

protein shake = gas city

Wow, I'm really flabbergasted with how much bad advice this thread has garnered. Look, if you want to get big and strong, it doesn't come without dedication and patience. First off, I'm going to assume that you've had no previous strength-training experience. As such, before you begin any sort of vanity-based bodybuilding routine that focuses purely on bi's, tri's and abs, you need to build a baseline foundation of strength.

You wouldn't build a house without a proper frame, right? The same goes for bodybuilding/strength-training. Don't dabble in the details until you've established your base. So how do you do that? Stick to the barbell. I'll break it down for you in two parts:

Exercise/Training

Someone on the first page of this thread posted the Starting Strength routine, which is an excellent way to start off.

Compound exercises, namely the big three (squats, deadlifts & bench), are the best exercises to start with, and should be the FOUNDATION of ANY bodybuilding/strength-building program. I don't care what anyone says, if you don't include at least squats or deadlifts in your routine, you probably have no ******* clue what you're doing or what you want.

Get a program (SS) and stick to it for at least 10 weeks. If you keep changing little things by adding a curl here or a "abz" workout there, you're going to **** up your recovery and growth.

I will say this again because it's so important: get a program and stick to it. Follow this program: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wi..._Strength_Wiki or www.stronglifts.com and you are nearly set.

Diet/Nutrition

I know the 120 pound twigs are going to disagree with me here, but the process of getting muscular requires that you eat more. A **** ton more. Depending on what you prefer, the source of your calories really don't matter when bulking, as long as you're eating in a caloric surplus. Eat McDonalds, KFC, whatever, just eat what you need to eat to fill that number.

Many are going to disagree with me on this point and suggest that you "clean bulk;" if you'd like to spend the time cooking up a ****-ton of broccoli, oatmeal and chicken, be my guest, but it's much easier to bulk as quickly as possible and to lose the fat afterwards. Trust me on this - losing fat isn't hard, but putting on quality mass IS.

So how much should you eat? A good rule of thumb is to multiply your bodyweight by 15-16 and add 500-1000 calories to that number a day. So for you:

150*16=2400 (baseline)
2400+500= 2900

Let's do 3000 to make it easier. If you eat 3000 calories a day in conjunction with the aforementioned program, you WILL add muscle to your bony-frame, I guarantee it. Don't dick around and start with iso exercises with high volume. You won't get there. Trust me, I spent 1 year doing what you're doing and realized that it was useless. Don't make the same mistake.

Good luck!

I forgot to add that as part of your diet, you've gotta ensure that you're eating enough protein. This is the most important macronutrient for your bulking phase. The rest will probably be covered by the rest of the junk you eat. Aim for 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Originally Posted by dimshum

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Exercise/Training

Someone on the first page of this thread posted the Starting Strength routine, which is an excellent way to start off.

Compound exercises, namely the big three (squats, deadlifts & bench)

I thought I said that?

Not so sure I agree with your diet advice, sure you need to eat a lot but it isn't difficult to cook and eat alot of healthy food unless you're a complete marsupial in the kitchen, it also tatses so much better than Big Macs or whatever other fast food crap is out there.

Originally Posted by dimshum

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Wow, I'm really flabbergasted with how much bad advice this thread has garnered.

I looked at your diet recommendations and agree with your quote above.

Originally Posted by dimshum

Click to expand...

Wow, I'm really flabbergasted with how much bad advice this thread has garnered. Look, if you want to get big and strong, it doesn't come without dedication and patience. First off, I'm going to assume that you've had no previous strength-training experience. As such, before you begin any sort of vanity-based bodybuilding routine that focuses purely on bi's, tri's and abs, you need to build a baseline foundation of strength.

You wouldn't build a house without a proper frame, right? The same goes for bodybuilding/strength-training. Don't dabble in the details until you've established your base. So how do you do that? Stick to the barbell. I'll break it down for you in two parts:

Exercise/Training

Someone on the first page of this thread posted the Starting Strength routine, which is an excellent way to start off.

Compound exercises, namely the big three (squats, deadlifts & bench), are the best exercises to start with, and should be the FOUNDATION of ANY bodybuilding/strength-building program. I don't care what anyone says, if you don't include at least squats or deadlifts in your routine, you probably have no ******* clue what you're doing or what you want.

Get a program (SS) and stick to it for at least 10 weeks. If you keep changing little things by adding a curl here or a "abz" workout there, you're going to **** up your recovery and growth.

I will say this again because it's so important: get a program and stick to it. Follow this program: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wi..._Strength_Wiki or www.stronglifts.com and you are nearly set.

Diet/Nutrition

I know the 120 pound twigs are going to disagree with me here, but the process of getting muscular requires that you eat more. A **** ton more. Depending on what you prefer, the source of your calories really don't matter when bulking, as long as you're eating in a caloric surplus. Eat McDonalds, KFC, whatever, just eat what you need to eat to fill that number.

Many are going to disagree with me on this point and suggest that you "clean bulk;" if you'd like to spend the time cooking up a ****-ton of broccoli, oatmeal and chicken, be my guest, but it's much easier to bulk as quickly as possible and to lose the fat afterwards. Trust me on this - losing fat isn't hard, but putting on quality mass IS.

So how much should you eat? A good rule of thumb is to multiply your bodyweight by 15-16 and add 500-1000 calories to that number a day. So for you:

150*16=2400 (baseline)
2400+500= 2900

Let's do 3000 to make it easier. If you eat 3000 calories a day in conjunction with the aforementioned program, you WILL add muscle to your bony-frame, I guarantee it. Don't dick around and start with iso exercises with high volume. You won't get there. Trust me, I spent 1 year doing what you're doing and realized that it was useless. Don't make the same mistake.

Good luck!

LOL your diet "advice" is absolutely crap. Do not listen to this guy.

Originally Posted by upnorth

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I looked at your diet recommendations and agree with your quote above.

POW!! Right in the kisser.

Yeah eating McDonalds is going to get you ripped heh. Thanks for neutralizing all that bad advice with that lol