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Need advice from someone with experience working out

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by runallday4, Nov 21, 2012.

  1. runallday4

    runallday4 Guest

    This is less LGBT related, but I guess it's still advice, so I'll ask it anyway.

    This winter I'm part of a "running club" I guess, and we'll be running 4x a week. At the moment I'm already pretty skinny and weak, so I wanted to start getting at least somewhat bigger before I go off to college. I really have no clue what to do, so if anyone can help me, or has links, that would be great.

    1. Is it even possible to gain significant amounts of muscle while also running?
    2. I prefer machines to free weights by a lot, but I keep seeing online that squats and bench press are the best things for getting bigger.
    3. How important are protein shakes? If they are actually pretty helpful, then I could start taking them, but if the impact is minimal then I'd rather not waste my time/money. Also, will they make me gain fat? I'd rather not do that.
    4. I have Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday in the gym. I'll be running beforehand also. Any advice for what to do each day? What part of the body? How many different machines? How many sets? How many reps?

    Thanks so much to anyone who can help.
     
  2. Gravity

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    First of all, there are different kinds of work outs you can do with weights - strength-training and muscle-building. Both will probably build muscle mass, the latter will just do it quicker (obviously) - but in either case it will probably take a while, and it may not be quite as dramatic as you would suspect (a lot depends on your frame, etc.).

    Protein shakes will help. They'll build muscle a little quicker, and help repair your muscles faster after working out. That said, they can be a little expensive and can be hard on your stomach, if that's an issue for you. If you're careful about timing meals within three hours after a workout, and you eat something with a lot of protein and foods that help you absorb protein (spinach is a common one), the effect can be more or less the same.

    As for what to do specifically, I don't know enough to tell you online, because different workouts are better for different people - and if you have a weak back, or knees, or whatever, and you try the wrong thing, it is possible to hurt yourself (though you would in most cases notice stress in the joints first and be able to stop). The best thing to do would be to get in touch with a personal trainer (most local gyms, of whatever size, will probably have one) and schedule a single session with them - they will be able to figure out where you're at and what you should do to get where you want to be, and on top of that they'll be able to tell you the healthiest way to do it (and one session won't cost all that much - some may do it for free).

    Finally, I'm moving this to Health and Wellness, since it might get more feedback there. :slight_smile:
     
  3. Ridiculous

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    1. Is it even possible to gain significant amounts of muscle while also running?

    Yes. Everyone should be doing cardio whether they are trying to build muscle at the same time or not.


    2. I prefer machines to free weights by a lot, but I keep seeing online that squats and bench press are the best things for getting bigger.

    You prefer machines because they are easier! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

    Squats and benchpresses are compound exercises, meaning the work more than one individual muscle at a time. This is a good thing for most people, because it will ensure you grow 'naturally'; you won't end up with one muscle being very strong while the neighbouring muscle is imbalanced and weak. All muscles in the area will be involved in the lift and will grow together as a result

    Machines on the other hand often target very specific muscles in isolation, and therefore the opposite is true: if you aren't careful it can result in imbalances. Machines limit your movement and provide support, allowing you to use weight larger than you can with freeweights, and therefore you will be able to see better gains on a machine. However the downside is that its usually only on a very specific muscle or muscle group.

    As a beginner, you shouldn't be using machines. Stick to freeweights. Freeweights will ensure that you aren't neglecting your stabiliser muscles and ensure you build everything evenly. This will help prevent injuries (if you've got one really strong muscle next to a really weak muscle, you will hurt yourself because the weak muscle can't keep up).

    (benchpresses and squats only target the chest and upper legs respectively (squats do work other muscles too, but not by much), so you will have to do other exercises along with these two)


    3. How important are protein shakes? If they are actually pretty helpful, then I could start taking them, but if the impact is minimal then I'd rather not waste my time/money. Also, will they make me gain fat? I'd rather not do that.

    They aren't that important. You can get enough protein from your normal diet, as long as you are eating healthily - however they can be a good supplement if you want to make sure you're getting enough protein.
    Protein shakes will cause you to gain weight if they are providing an excess of energy to your body, just as anything else you eat will.

    Protein shakes come in two kinds - premade liquid drinks, or protein powder that you make into a drink yourself. The premade ones are usually flavoured and contain other things like honey or sugar for sweetening, preservatives, and a bunch of other crap. The powders should just be pure protein (check the label), and therefore obviously much better.


    4. I have Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday in the gym. I'll be running beforehand also. Any advice for what to do each day? What part of the body? How many different machines? How many sets? How many reps?

    As Gravity said, if you can get someone there to help you sort out a routine, it'd probably be best. However if I were you I would be doing:
    Monday: abdominals and shoulders
    Tuesday: legs
    Thursday: chest and back
    Friday: arms

    and each would be composed of about 5 or 6 different exercises.

    General guidelines for sets/reps is 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions, with each repetition taking 6 seconds (2 seconds lifting up, 1 second at the top, 2 seconds lowering, 1 second at the bottom). 30 seconds rest before doing the next set. If you can't do 6 repetitions like this, then you are using too much weight, and if you can do more than 8 you are using too little.
    6 seconds per rep may seem like a long time, but the faster you go, the more prone to injury you are and the less effective the workout will be. Gains come from the lifting and lowering phase, which is why you should spend a relatively long time doing them.

    However my advice for beginners would be to target about 10-12 repetitions: this will require less weight, which is a good thing as it allows you build up some baseline strength with a low risk of injury. As you get more confident you can increase the weight and decrease the reps.

    Doing this during, for example dumbbell rows, will take just under 6 minutes as you have to do each side separately. Exercises where you do both sides at once (such as squats) should take about 3.5 minutes. If you're doing about 5 different exercises per day then each workout should take about 30 minutes.
     
  4. KaraBulut

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    Depends on how much running. Long distance running makes it very difficult to add mass. If you're running a moderate amount- for cardiovascular fitness- it can actually help encourage your body to build muscle instead of storing fat.


    Squats and bench press are good exercises but they're also the exercises that guys tend to over-obsess about. If you're a beginner, work on basic exercises and strengthening. If the machines are what is most comfortable to you at the moment, that's an okay place to start until you're ready to add more focused exercises using free-weights.


    If you're able to afford natural sources of protein- milk, cheese, eggs and meat- you don't need protein shakes. Protein shakes are for people on the run who don't have time to eat a healthy meal or for a quick boost after an intense workout (protein is absorbed best immediately after a workout).


    Run on different days than weight workouts.

    If you've never lifted before, focus on exercises that are complex and work all major muscles and the core muscles that support the spine. Generally 8-15 reps x 2-3 sets is what most people recommend. For a beginner, it's less important to focus on reps and sets and how much weight - instead focus on working the muscles to exhaustion and increasing your reps/sets/weight over time to continue pushing yourself. Generally, you make the most gains in the first 6 months of working out but it is a slow, steady process.

    As you increase your reps/sets/weight, the you'll switch to working different groups of muscles on different days.

    Oh- one thing that people always forget to mention- as important as diet and exercise is sleep. Sleep is the period when the body grows and repairs itself. If you don't get an adequate amount of sleep, you will find it harder to make gains.
     
    #4 KaraBulut, Nov 21, 2012
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2012
  5. AAASAS

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    1. Is it even possible to gain significant amounts of muscle while also running?

    Depends on how much you eat. Running is for cardiovascular strength and endurance, and if you do not eat enough calories to supplement for the amount you burn running; which is a lot. You can lose mass. Some people go for this and prefer to be toned. I find the majority of people that run a lot usually are not massive, but have nicer fitter bodies. Running is bad on your joints as well, the more mass you have, the more wear and tear you do, which is why it is good to be skinny if you are considering running being your main workout.

    If you are going to mass, I would simply run 20 minute trials 3-4 times a week only, just to keep your heart in shape, and because running is good for you. If you do several hours of running a week you will need to eat a lot to keep mass. Again if running is your primary workout, then you are going for a slimmer body, I know people will argue me on this, but being a runner is only really recommended for slimmer less massive people as it is less strenuous on joints and ligaments and it burns a lot of calories, which people who want mass want to keep.

    2. I prefer machines to free weights by a lot, but I keep seeing online that squats and bench press are the best things for getting bigger.

    I have never used machines before, and when I did work out, and use free weights, I got pretty good results, pretty quickly. I know that a free weight imitates a more natural work out that our bodies are meant to do, and machines isolate muscles, and don't give you that overall strength that a free weight does.

    I know guys which arms three times the size of me, and I can still lift heavier things than them because my entire body is toned to shit every single muscle; from furniture delivery for over 5 years. So though I am small I am an actual tank and surprise the shit out of people by what I can lift, and it is because all my back muscles, my abs, and my arm muscles plus my leg muscles are helping me life furniture. Free weights are similar, a machine allows the majority of your muscles to do nothing so you don't get that real strength, you may be able to squeeze something more, but I can climb a tree, do more push ups, and pull ups, than most "juice monkeys".

    I cannot stress how much better free weights are for you overall. Machines are good once you are already "bigger", know what you are doing, and want to target one specifc area, and most machine users will still use free weights as their main work out. They use machines to get the areas they feel free weights aren't 100% giving them what they want; because their other muscles are helping with free weights.

    3. How important are protein shakes? If they are actually pretty helpful, then I could start taking them, but if the impact is minimal then I'd rather not waste my time/money. Also, will they make me gain fat? I'd rather not do that.

    I never use them. Try eating a lot of carbs, and chicken. Watch your calorie intake not like a person trying to lose weight, but a person trying to meet a requirement. This is what I do. 3,000 a day, and I still manage to be tiny. Once you do this enough you start to know already about how many calories you are getting.

    Again though, carbohydrates, and protein from chicken is one of the best natural ways to gain mass. I do not like protein shakes and never will use them as they are no good for your kidneys. Of course you can take it safely, but I don't like the idea of taking anything that has to be monitored or done with caution. There are plenty of other ways to get your protein. I eat a shit load of peanut butter.

    4. I have Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday in the gym. I'll be running beforehand also. Any advice for what to do each day? What part of the body? How many different machines? How many sets? How many reps?

    Well, if you are gaining mass, you want two days of rest in between your "mass" gaining sessions. People say one is good, but if you don't take protein shakes, and other unnatural methods of gaining mass then two days is best. This doesn't mean you don't work out on those days, you can do your running, and maybe work on your abs. But all your intense weight lifting days should be seperated by two days followed by plenty of eating. I mean you want your arms to feel like they're going to fall off the day you exercise, and then you wait two days, and you will want to wait two days. If you worked out properly your muscles should feel tighter and almost burning for the following two days after your workout.

    No pain no game is 100% true when it comes to mass building.

    THere are other methods to do things than what I said, and I know a lot of people say that shakes, and all that are good, but they can be dangerous, and since there are more natural and HEALTHY ways to get your proteins, with foods that come with other vitamins that are just healthy for you, it is good to try to go that route. You can use shakes, but maybe not as many as recommended. Also note a lot of that mass is water weight, or just fattier muscles. I have smaller mass, but it is all muscles, so again, I find my self out working many guys at work that hit the gym everyday and take protein shakes. Even though I don't do anything like that, I just work hard at work, and when I don't work for long periods of time I do intense BURNING weight lifting.

    My first week at work where I am I felt like I got hit by a train, but after that I feel completely normal, and I see guys that work out, doing the same job as me, and non-stopping complaining about aches and pains, while I am fine. It is because I have conditions myself to do this type of work, and I am not afraid of feeling pain if it means later on the same weight will feel like nothing. I can toss 150 lbs chairs like they're nothing and I don't even weight that much. So again, you really do want to feel "hurt" almost after you work out one area. And then have plenty of rest for those muscles after. I don't gain much mass from my work because I never get rest for my muscles to build.
     
    #5 AAASAS, Nov 21, 2012
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2012
  6. The Queen Bee

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    1.- Running actually will keep you slim... Nonetheless, if you focus on speed and not endurance, then you could gain some muscle (compare marathonists' bodies vs speed runners).
    2.- Yep. For muscles you gotta put on some weight on...
    3.- Yep. Shakes are good. Though, you could always get your proteins from natural sources like meat and fish or lentils and soy if you're veggie. That said, it's possible that when/if you stop taking the shakes, you'll lose part of the muscle you've gained... So, natural is better.
    4.- 4 reps of 12-15. Work per groups muscle.

    I don't know these people, but I've found their motivational ads and comments very helpful.
    http://www.facebook.com/Road.To.Glory.By.JIL?ref=ts&fref=ts