Not getting much results.. Is it my routine?

Mr.Blue

Got some good advice on here a couple months ago when I was considering doing weights.

Well I have been keeping up a routine which I put together myself now for about a month and, apart from a few weight increases in some excercises, I'm not seeing the results/gains I'd like. I still have no visable muscle which is the main thing I want to achieve. Could I possibly be overdoing it?

I exercise (full body) 3 days a week. Here is what my routine consists of:

Bench Press - 3x8
Shoulder/Military Press - 3x6
Bent over row - 3x8
Squats - 3x8
Deadlift - 2x8
Barbell/Dumbbell curls - 3x8
Single arm tricep extensions - 3x8
Crunches - to failure

Even though at first I thought I was overdoing it, I eventually stopped experiencing muscle aches (DOMS) at all so felt my body was quite able to continue being excercised with this frequency. What do you think? Is this counterproductive? And perhaps some comments on my routine as well would be appreciated. Thanks.

King of Kings

I'd recommend you try 3 days of total body workout with different exercises rather than continually doing the same exercise 3 times a week.

For example for your Legs (and repeat likewise for other bodyparts)

Monday do squats
Weds do leg press, calf raise
Friday do quad and ham curls.


Also you don't say what weights you lift, I'd say benching, squating and deadlifting in same session on a continual basis is over taxing your body.
Spliting the big three over the week will allow more energy to improve on them and therefore lift more and get better results. Try doing 1 of the big three a day.

also I'd prob only do bicep & tricep work one session a week, they get hit anyway with most other lifts.

d'Oracle

Mr.Blue wrote: »

Got some good advice on here a couple months ago when I was considering doing weights.

Well I have been keeping up a routine which I put together myself now for about a month and, apart from a few weight increases in some excercises, I'm not seeing the results/gains I'd like. I still have no visable muscle which is the main thing I want to achieve. Could I possibly be overdoing it?

I exercise (full body) 3 days a week. Here is what my routine consists of:

Bench Press - 3x8
Shoulder/Military Press - 3x6
Bent over row - 3x8
Squats - 3x8
Deadlift - 2x8
Barbell/Dumbbell curls - 3x8
Single arm tricep extensions - 3x8
Crunches - to failure

Even though at first I thought I was overdoing it, I eventually stopped experiencing muscle aches (DOMS) at all so felt my body was quite able to continue being excercised with this frequency. What do you think? Is this counterproductive? And perhaps some comments on my routine as well would be appreciated. Thanks.

Try Starting Strength.

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki

Or

http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/

Mr.Blue

King of Kings wrote: »

I'd recommend you try 3 days of total body workout with different exercises rather than continually doing the same exercise 3 times a week.

For example for your Legs (and repeat likewise for other bodyparts)

Monday do squats
Weds do leg press, calf raise
Friday do quad and ham curls.


Also you don't say what weights you lift, I'd say benching, squating and deadlifting in same session on a continual basis is over taxing your body.
Spliting the big three over the week will allow more energy to improve on them and therefore lift more and get better results. Try doing 1 of the big three a day.

also I'd prob only do bicep & tricep work one session a week, they get hit anyway with most other lifts.

Ah yeah I think I know what you mean. Basically I should pick say 3 exercises for each body part and do one of each over the 3 days? Good idea, and that way I can keep up the full body workputs which enjoy more so than splitting it up. I'll definately give it a try.

Tbh I'm embarrassed to mention the weights I'm lifting.. I have progressed a little bit though (especially with my bench press). However I will mention that I am not lifting as much as I probably could lift for the leg exercises, mainly because exercises such as the deadlift scare the hell out of me!

d'Oracle, I've considered those programs before but due to the low ceiling in my exercise room, I would be unable to perform some of the exercises unfortunately. Thanks for the suggestion.

King of Kings

yeah, you picked up what I meant.

leaving the big lifts to different days will allow you more energy to improve them

I like the body workouts or an upper/lower split myself - gave up splits routines a year ago and things are better as a result.

Good luck.

Canis Lupus

Mr.Blue wrote: »

d'Oracle, I've considered those programs before but due to the low ceiling in my exercise room, I would be unable to perform some of the exercises unfortunately. Thanks for the suggestion.

?? You're already doing the main lifts of starting strength. Get a pull up bar for your doorway and you're sorted for the practical program on the wiki page.

I can't recommend SS enough personally. I'm lifting heavier than I ever have with that program.

Mr.Blue

Canis Lupus wrote: »

?? You're already doing the main lifts of starting strength. Get a pull up bar for your doorway and you're sorted for the practical program on the wiki page.

I can't recommend SS enough personally. I'm lifting heavier than I ever have with that program.

Seems you're right. And I thought power cleans involved overhead lifting, which I would not have the space for, but after checking up again I realize I must have gotten mixed up. Don't really like the look of that exercise though tbh..

Now I know it's a famous program and I don't doubt it's effectiveness but I personally just don't really like the look of it. Mainly because it just seems so plain but also due to the reason that I just simply don't enjoy doing those quick jerk type exercises. That said I don't enjoy deadlifts or squats either but I find it less annoying doing them along with a range of other exercises I do enjoy.

I also can't do pullups/chinups at all (one or two at best....) so those exercises are basically not an option.

I reall want to put equal focus on my biceps/triceps and that program doesn't include any exercises that specifically target those muscles.

I understand why you guys would suggest it though. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Transform

bigger arms are not built using curls and direct triceps work - just get better at chins they ARE an option if you can do even 1.

rccaulfield

Yea split your days for the big lifts-do some cardio if you want to see your muscles under the fat and hey-if your adding weight to the bar you ARE progressing!

d'Oracle

Mr.Blue wrote: »

That said I don't enjoy deadlifts or squats either but I find it less annoying doing them along with a range of other exercises I do enjoy.

I also can't do pullups/chinups at all (one or two at best....) so those exercises are basically not an option.

I reall want to put equal focus on my biceps/triceps and that program doesn't include any exercises that specifically target those muscles.

I understand why you guys would suggest it though. Thanks for sharing your experience.

You don't have to do Cleans.
You could do the other routine with the Pendelay rows.

Also there are lots of ways to improve your pull-ups.
One or two is better than I have, but there are posters on here who could point you in the way of good ways to improve them.

Also, Bench Press should work your triceps plenty, I think.
And Chins (Pullups with palms towards you) will work biceps.
You will get plenty GUNZ.

But hey....different strokes.

Rosedale6

This is a really good read.


If your looking to slim down and lose the gut and/or gain some lean muscle, here is some information you might want to know.


"A BEGINNER's GUIDE TO BODYBUILDING"


MYTHS

SPOT REDUCTION

NO SUCH THING!!! Doing a hundred crunches will strengthen the abs, but won't do anything to the fat. Only through hard work, cardio, and a healthy diet will you achieve this.

HIGHER REPS = MORE DEFINITION AND "TONENESS”

The truth is, higher reps will NOT tone your muscles or make them more defined. Once again, this is having a low body fat %. Higher reps will work on endurance though and is great for some athletes and marathon runners.

GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT

When we all start out lifting, we have this lucky gift of being able to lose fat yet get muscle at the same time. Over time, this completely goes away. I notice a lot of posts are "oh my goals are to lose the old gut while getting my chest bigger...". This isn't going to happen unless you are a beginner (a.k.a newbie) or on steroids. Think about it. How can you gain muscle on a calorie deficit and/or lose fat on a calorie surplus? Once you feel you gotten to the point where you can no longer do the above, then you have a choice of doing a cutting or bulking phase.

THE MORE THE BETTER (RIGHT?)
Ever hear the phase "muscle grow outside the gym". Well, this phase fits in right here. When people first start out lifting, they tend to think that more is better. This is definatly not the case. Your muscles and body needs time to recover. Also, around an hour or so (differs from everyone), cortical is released from the body which can actually kill off muscle tissue and cause muscle catabalism. This can be prevented if you train smart. Do no more then a 5 day split training each muscle once a week (smaller ones twice most) and working out no more then an hour. Now don't get me wrong, everybody is different and people respond to different methods, principals, techniques, etc. But this most likely all you need to do. Most people say "oh, I'm training each body part 2x a week and only have one rest day and getting good results" but what they don't realize is that they aren't giving their body (central nervous system) full time to recover as well as their muscles. Even though muscles only need 48-72 hours to recover, they still don't recover fully which is why it benefits you to take a week off every 2-3 months.

I DO CARDIO FOR MY LEG WORK..THAT'S ALL I NEED
The truth is, legs also need heavy anaerobic sets just like the upper body. Running is to aerobic to call it a leg "mass builder". Besides, the best exercise known to us bodybuilders is for legs (SQUATS!). By the way, chicken legs and a huge upper body will look very unproportianal and kind of weird.

I DIDN'T GET A PUMP OR WAS SORE THIS MORNING...
"Pumps" and soreness in your muscles doesn't mean too much (for hypertrophy [ muscle growth]). I could get a good pump from picking a weight and lifting it for 100x. This will porbably deal way more with endurance then hypertrophy. Samething goes with soreness. The real way you can tell if your workouts are good is over time.

CUTTING

Now lets say your goal is to look nice and thin and get rid of the old gut and get abs by the summer times Here you are going too need to start reducing your calories, increasing protein, decreasing saturated fats and carbs.

DIET
Some diets where people got good results from: Atkins diet, keto diet

Here are some estimations to help you figure out your calories and protein needs:

Calories: bodyweight x 11-13
Protein: bodyweight x 1.2-1.4

The key here is too keep saturated fats in moderation. Don't totally eliminate them from your diet. You still need some. Also, don't go overboard with decreasing the carbs (unless you are on keto which requires you too). Depending on your metabolism, try to split this into 4-6 smaller meals over the course of the day.

CARDIO
You are also going to have to start doing some cardio. Start out with one short cardio session. By starting out with a lot of cardio days, you are only hurting yourself and looking for an injury. Each week, start increasing it until you get around 20-45 minutes. You might also want to look into HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) cardio. Don't let the time (12-15 minutes) of these cardio sessions fool you. The sessions are very intense.

WEIGHT TRIANING
Training splits should stay the same. Like I said before, reps shouldn't go higher. I prefer a 3 day split while cutting because it is easier to fit in cardio and easier to recover while under a calorie deficit.

SUPPLEMENTS
Some good supplements too look are: whey protein, multi vitamins, glutamine, and fat burners (WARNING: only take a fat burner if you are in good cardiovascular condition and have good blood pressure with no history of bad cardiovascular health).

TIPS
A way you can minimize muscle loss is not decreasing the calories all over night. Don't just decrease your calories all in a day. Your body has to get used to what it has. Slowly decrease your calories by 200-300 each week until you get to your desired calories, carbs, and saturated fats.
BULKING
How many people out there no matter how hard they try, can't gain any muscle? There are a few reasons why this is so. Are you over training? Are you eating enough? Are you getting enough sleep? Etc.

DIET
Most people have a good workout, but ignore there diet. Like I said before, you must be eating. Take a look at these estimations:

Calories: bodyweight x 19-20
Protein: same as cutting

Keep carbs high too around 300-450 gram range (depending on bodyweight). If you limit saturated fats and bulk cleanly, you will limit the time you need to cut and minimizing muscle loss. Try to eat this in a matter of 5-7 meals.

TIPS
If you are getting too fat (do not do this if you aren't gaining at all) throw in a cardio session or two during the week.
If you are having trouble eating during class, eat a big breakfast and keep things that can be sealed like powerbars, peanuts, mrb shakes/bars in your locker.

www.fitday.com and www.calorieking.com are both great links for nutritional breakdown of certain specific foods.

WEIGHT TRAINING
Here I would recommend a 4-5 day split. There are a ton out there. Anyone will pretty much work as long as you are eating & sleeping enough, and not overtraining. Most people respond best to the 8-10 and 6-8 rep range. Some people respond better to lower reps like the 4-6 and/or higher reps like the 10-12. Anything lower then 4 IMO, is for strength gains,

SUPPLEMENTS
Some good supplements to look into are: whey protein, multivitamins, creatine, bcaa, liver tabs, zma and L-glutamine.

THE WORKOUT

When working out, you want to try and stick with heavy compound movements.

Back- Deadlifts, rowing movements, chinning/pull-ups
Legs- Squats, stiff legged deadlifts, calf raises
Shoulders - Shoulder presses (standing/seated, Arnold, DB/BB,etc) ISOLATION: raises
Chest - Bench press, Dips, ISOLATION flyes and crossovers
Biceps - Close-grip chinups, ISOLATION curls
Triceps - Close-grip bench press, skull crushers, ISOLATION tricep pushdowns
Traps- shrugs, upward row
Abs- weighted & decline crunches, hanging leg raises, lying side bends and twist crunches (obliques)


Here are some good websites for videos on proper form and exercises:

http://www.2-fit.com/video/index.html
http://www.theministryoffitness.com/exercises.htm
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Have a protein shake (Whey protein shake) and some sort of simple sugar like honey and/or dextrose after your workouts.

I recommend every month or two changing up your split. This will avoid a plateu when you no longer can gain anything. You can do something simple like superset or totally rearrange your split. Some great things to do are: pyramid (both up and down are good), supersets (and all variations), forced reps, down the rack, negatives (warm up properly before this), drop sets, etc. Bump up your calorie intake, protein, and carbs as well.

and also...
GET MOTIVATED!

The exercises you're doing are good, although I would add chin-ups/pull-ups and dips and split exercieses into leg day, arm day, back day etc.

Your reps are kinda high. Keep lower reps (5) with heavier weight.

These are purely my opinions, nothing else. Also, Starting Strength like suggested is brilliant.