i wanna get BUFF (mango?)

[Brak]

dont get me wrong, i'm in decent shape. I'm 6'1" and about 180, im not scrawny or fat, and im stronger than the majority. but because of this i realized that my body is a good base to work on to get really strong. I just finished the ski season, and i do no spring sports. i want to dedicate all this new-found extra time that i have to working out and getting in better shape.

here are the problems i have had in the past, and things that i really want to work on:

1. ABS! i cant, for the life of me, figure this out. i would kill for a six pack, and i cant. even when i used to be skinny as a bone and did sit ups every day, i couldnt get it no matter what. i knoiw that i need to cut out all the fat, and build up the muscle, but how to i balance that, and how to i really get my ab muscles stronger? i really need to work on my mid/lower abs, because i can see my upper abs coming through, but those mid and lower abs are lost.

2. My chest, bench presses especially. i cant seem to up my benchpress AT ALL. before the season i had been working out and the weight on all my workouts went up, except my benchpress. is felt like my triceps and chest were weak. what are some really good workouts i can do to really work on my triceps and chest to get my benchpresses up? my goal is 200 by the end of june (end of school)

3. legs. how do i do squats the right way? and how else should i exercise legs? i have stayed away from doing legs because i was afraid of hurting them and having bad legs for skiing. now i need to start doing my legs so i can be strong for next season.

i know that weight training isnt the only part of working out, so i'll be doing cardio also. and i need to work on stretching also. any help here would do me good. im thinking running a mile, then working out every day. heres what im thinking my schedule will be:

M- mile, chest
T- mile, biceps
W-mile, back/shoulders
Th-mile, triceps
F-off
Sat-legs
Sun-off

should i spread things out more? im only doing one part at a time, even though im working out 4 days in a row, im not repeating the same workout twice a week. im also putting triceps later in the week so i have time to recover from benchpresses on monday. and where do i put in abs in there?

mango, if youll forgive me for trying to beat you in stupid picture battles way back when, and help me out here, it would be greatly appreciated. anyone else who can contribute will be appreciated also. i need to get leaner and stronger.

[Demobilized]

I can asnwer the Abs question for mango. Everyday. If you workout you should work your abs.

Also if you really want to build up your ab muscles you have to remeber that they are muscles. Do you build up your bench by lifitng a broom 200 times a day? No, do some weighted crunches to really add some strength. Usually though, you should be fine with just losing weight and the abs showing up. Weighted crucnhes or sit ups can really help your defintion though.

I tried.

[gamarada717]

Also, you should switch between the mile and sprints. Sure, I can run for almost 60 minutes nonstop, and I'm faster than the majority, but I can't beat around 15 of the guys on the soccer team speed wise during sprints. Sprints will build lots of muscle, especially if you run uphill.

[felony]

my tummy wont go away.. sigh.. at least my muscles are coming back.

squats are tough tough to describe, so I wont. search on the net, there are probably tons of pictures.

dan

[cockerkiller68]

Abs are COMPLETELY about diet!! DIET, SLEEP, WORK OUT. Honestly, diet and sleep are FAR more important than working out. You NEED to eat lots of protein. You NEED to sleep very well (muscles only build during sleep). Honestly, you only need to work out 2-3 times a week for 30-40 minutes. You MUST work out HARD though. Failers.
Hope this helps!!

Jason

[MantisMag]

muscles only build during sleep

wrong

Honestly, you only need to work out 2-3 times a week for 30-40 minutes.

need to maybe. but you can benefit from working out more. especially if he's looking to build muscle and not just boost his metabolism.

You MUST work out HARD though. Failers.

wrong. research shows that you do not need to work till failure or push maximal weight to induce muscle growth.

[WicKeD_WaYz]

dont get me wrong, i'm in decent shape. I'm 6'1" and about 180, im not scrawny or fat, and im stronger than the majority. but because of this i realized that my body is a good base to work on to get really strong. I just finished the ski season, and i do no spring sports. i want to dedicate all this new-found extra time that i have to working out and getting in better shape.

here are the problems i have had in the past, and things that i really want to work on:

1. ABS! i cant, for the life of me, figure this out. i would kill for a six pack, and i cant. even when i used to be skinny as a bone and did sit ups every day, i couldnt get it no matter what. i knoiw that i need to cut out all the fat, and build up the muscle, but how to i balance that, and how to i really get my ab muscles stronger? i really need to work on my mid/lower abs, because i can see my upper abs coming through, but those mid and lower abs are lost.

2. My chest, bench presses especially. i cant seem to up my benchpress AT ALL. before the season i had been working out and the weight on all my workouts went up, except my benchpress. is felt like my triceps and chest were weak. what are some really good workouts i can do to really work on my triceps and chest to get my benchpresses up? my goal is 200 by the end of june (end of school)

3. legs. how do i do squats the right way? and how else should i exercise legs? i have stayed away from doing legs because i was afraid of hurting them and having bad legs for skiing. now i need to start doing my legs so i can be strong for next season.

i know that weight training isnt the only part of working out, so i'll be doing cardio also. and i need to work on stretching also. any help here would do me good. im thinking running a mile, then working out every day. heres what im thinking my schedule will be:

M- mile, chest
T- mile, biceps
W-mile, back/shoulders
Th-mile, triceps
F-off
Sat-legs
Sun-off

should i spread things out more? im only doing one part at a time, even though im working out 4 days in a row, im not repeating the same workout twice a week. im also putting triceps later in the week so i have time to recover from benchpresses on monday. and where do i put in abs in there?

mango, if youll forgive me for trying to beat you in stupid picture battles way back when, and help me out here, it would be greatly appreciated. anyone else who can contribute will be appreciated also. i need to get leaner and stronger.

There is 3 things involved in getting muscle growth.


1. Diet- Probably the most important. Decided what your goals are with working out, and plan your diet accordingly. For example, if you want to bulk, this is what I do. Pretty much eat EVERYTHING you can, except fatty, greasy foods, so no fast food. I cut out soda and most all candy too. I consume over 6500 calories a day now, but I might way a bit more than you so theres no good number for anyone. Theres a certain number of protein to be had per pound you weigh. Personally I say 1.5 to 2 grams for every pound but thats just me. Also Carbs are a necissity when bulking. Talk to a nutritionist about specifics or pm someone who knows(hmmm Mango?).

2. Workout program- Lift according to you goals too. For example if you are going to bulk, its traditionally more weight and less reps. To get cut is lower weight and more reps. Work with a trainer to develope a workout program to fit your needs. There are sooo many different theories on how often to hit each muscle group and whether or not you lift untill failure. You have to play with it a little to see what works for you. I get every muscle group very hard around 2 times a week. Some body builder will argue 1 time a week. Mango(from what I hear) is into HST which is a whole different ballgame.

3. Sleep- This is so overlooked. You have to rest your body in order to grow. Sleep is almost if not as important as the above 2 things. Dont forget about this part. Sleep as much at night as you can it really makes a difference especially if your on a tough training schedule.



From reading what you said it sounds like maybe you want to cut up a little. This isnt really in my league of lifting because im bulking for football 95% of the time. So I dont know what to tell you but Ill sort of adress what you asked.

Chest- Make sure your doing everything. Bench press, Incline press, and Decline press. Chest flys, and Dips are equally as important. Pushups will really help on your chest. I do them every other night and notice a BIG difference on my bench when I started doing them. (which was god knows how long ago)

Abs- The top 2 are always the first to come! I help some of my fat O linemen with ab workouts and they get the top 2 first. In order to get abs though its all about weight loss, which goes back to diet and cardio. Ab workokuts are good too but probably not as important as just weight loss. You dont see too many fat guys with six packs no matter how much they lift. Get your weight down and the abs will come. Its hard to explain specific excersizes in writing.

legs- man its hard to tell you how to squat online. Ask someone in person to show you correctly if not youll kill your back. I qould say leg press, calves, and hamstrings too. O yea and lower back and glutes.


the only thing you need to get out of all that rambling is DIET, WORKOUT PROGRAM, and SLEEP.

happy lifting

[bratch]

DO NOT completely cut fat out of your diet. I believe you need around 20% fat intake for your body to function properly. One thing that drops off with less fat intake is testosterone...

[cockerkiller68]

wrong


need to maybe. but you can benefit from working out more. especially if he's looking to build muscle and not just boost his metabolism.


wrong. research shows that you do not need to work till failure or push maximal weight to induce muscle growth.

Let's nitpick a little more.

Anyways, what I was saying is that you only need to work out 2-3 times a week for 30-40 minutes HARD. If you don't work out as hard, maybe you need to work ot a little longer. Failers rips the crap outa your muscle in a little amount of time. He seems to work out already, maybe he needs to do failers for a couple months like I said and just see if it works. I'd be willing to bet that it does. I've worked out for years, my friends work out very seriously. Many of them way too seriously.



1) Do the failers 2-3 times a week, NO MORE THAN 30-40 MIN. , tear those muscles up!!



2) Eat well, eat a LOT of protein, drink a LOT of water, NO SODAS, cut fat but not all fat (fat breaks down vitamins for your body), cut carbs by a lot, not completely though. The best news you can imagine....................eat a really unhealthy meal once a week, it won't hurt you.. .pizza, burger, whatever...but keep it to once a week.



3) SLEEP 8 hours a day or all of this will be in vain.



4) Have someone to join in with you and keep you accountable



Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bornl33t]

I found these awesome weight loss bars tat reese's makes called fast break. I haven't looked back..... (not that I could if I wanted too).

[MantisMag]

Let's nitpick a little more.

sorry. mango has converted me to HST. something about a training program based on actual research instead of dogma just tickles my fancy.

[cockerkiller68]

Hey everyone's free to do what they like. If it works then it works. I'm not going to sit here and argue with you about workout schedules. Whatever, I'm out.

[WicKeD_WaYz]

Have you noticed bigger gains with HST Mantis? Strength, size or both?

[MantisMag]

i just started. only been doing it for about a month. but wooo is it kicking my butt. i do feel a lot firmer in certain areas. it's been two years since i seriously lifted. i just haven't had time or energy. i saw an old picture of myself while backing up some files and decided it was time to get back to it. i feel like such a fatty now. so mango designed a program for me. strength went way way up very quickly and my muscles are much firmer. i've gained 3/4" on my arms 1" on the chest. keep in mind i'm only 5' 5". i expect to see more size gains when i start my next cycle.

[bornl33t]

I found these awesome weight loss bars tat reese's makes called fast break. I haven't looked back..... (not that I could if I wanted too).

cmom guys, I though that was hilarious! no one laughing?