For muscle definition
Let's just say today is Biceps, Back and Abs day
8-10 reps, 4 sets per exercise
Do i do it Biceps, Back, Abs, Biceps, Back, Abs, Biceps, Back, Abs OR Biceps Biceps Biceps, Back Back Back, Abs Abs Abs?
Total exercise per session = 9
Thanks!

I have a question but before that, this is what I know.

To gain mass, we need to have calorie surplus.
To lose weight, we need to have calorie deficit.
We cannot gain mass without adding a little bit of fat.
Low calorie deficit burn fat, extreme calorie deficit burn fat + muscle.

My question is:
Why do I lose my hard earn muscle although I do gain fat?

These are some info:
1. Been taking fat burner for 4 weeks and managed to lose 6 kg of fats.
2. During my 4 weeks cutting phase, I'm on low-carb and low-calorie diet.
3. Stopped taking the fat burner for a week (6/4 - 13/4).
4. During that one week, I only managed to workout once on 9/4.
5. During that one week, I didn't controlled my diet. I ate fast foods, potatoes, a bit of rice, mee hoon, kuey teow (have some calorie surplus every day).
6. On 6/4, my weight was 95.1kg and I have 33.5 kg of muscle mass, 35.9 kg of fat and fat free mass of 59.2 kg.
7. On 13/4, my weight was 93.8 kg and I have 32.4 kg of muscle mass, 36.7 kg of fat and fat free mass of 57.1 kg.
8. Total weight loss = 1.3 kg, total muscle mass loss = 1.1 kg, total fat gain = 0.8 kg, total fat free mass loss = 2.1 kg.



This post has been edited by alien9: Apr 16 2012, 02:47 AM

type 1
bicep,back abs
you will feel hard to do back once your bicep is fired up

type 2
back bicep abs is better
P/S newbie cant do this as their bicep is not well conditioned after it is being used at back workout, well, you try first, if you cant do bicep workout after back, then shift to back tricep

type 3
back,bicep,back bicep
this hit the bicep hard... you can cheat a bit.. e.g. bicep curl, lat pull down, precher curl, then can do back flyer(where usage of bicep is minimal), then back to concentration curl

in the nutshell there is no right or wrong, just how you strategy and hit your muscle

This post has been edited by Awakened_Angel: Apr 16 2012, 11:15 AM

I always to back, biceps and abs
Chest, triceps and shoulders
What is the best advice you'd give me for muscle definition?

like many have said, for definition, it is to shed body fat to reveal its line and curve and pieces of it

where did u get that calculation?and did u consume enough protein during that time?

All those muscle mass, fat mass info? My gym have an InBody machine. Yes, I do consume enough protein during the week albeit I didn't keep a record of what I ate.

Gain weight too fast, most of it will be fats.

Lose weight too fast, you'll lose lean mass

And you should concentrate on losing weight. Seriously


Problem right there. Unless you're as experienced as Darklight, you should keep track of what u eat.

Yes man, I do know about that but how come my fat mass increase while muscle mass decrease? Protein intake too low?


Been living in 'fat' situations for 22 years and now I know that I need to trim all that fat away. This is my journey to become jacked and ripped. Haha

Hey guys, imma beginner who is looking for a program to start with. So, I have been working out with a trainer for almost 2 months now (lost almost 6kg in weight) and my sessions are almost finished. So i was looking at 5x5 and westside but im worried about safety and form cos i'll be working out without a spotter. So i looked for programs involving more machines and stumbled upon this. What do you guys think about the program. My aim here is still to cut.

Source: bodybuilding.com

Monday - Chest, Biceps
Body Part Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Upper Pectorals Incline Press Machine 3 12, 8, 6 60-90 sec
Pectorals Smith Machine Flat Bench Press 3 12, 8, 6 60-90 sec
Pectorals Pec Fly Machine 3 12, 8, 6 60-90 sec
Biceps Bicep Curl Machine 3 12, 8, 6 60-90 sec
Biceps Preacher Curl Machine 3 12, 8, 6 60-90 sec

Tuesday - Back
Body Part Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Latissimus Dorsi Lat Pulldown 3 12, 8, 6 60-90 sec
Latissimus Dorsi Smith Machine Bent Over Row 3 12, 8, 6 60-90 sec
Latissimus Dorsi Compound Row Machine 3 12, 8, 6 60-90 sec
Lower Back Lower Back Extension Machine 3 15 60-90 sec

Wednesday - Rest Day

Thusday - Legs
Body Part Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Hamstrings Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Hamstrings Seated Leg Curl 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Hamstrings Lying Leg Curl 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Quadriceps Leg Extension 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Quadriceps Incline Leg Press 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Quadriceps Smith Machine Squat 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec

Friday - Traps, Abs, Neck
Body Part Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Traps Smith Machine Upright Row 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Traps Deadlift/Shrug Machine 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Abs Machine Crunch 3 25 60-90 sec
Neck 4-Way Neck Machine 3 15 60-90 sec

Saturday - Shoulders, Triceps
Body Part Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Front Deltoids Smith Machine Shoulder Press 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Side Deltoids Seated Machine Lateral Raise 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Rear Deltoids Rear Delt Fly Machine 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Triceps Close-Grip Bench Press 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec
Triceps Triceps Extension Machine 3 15, 12, 8 60-90 sec

Sunday - Rest

You must be doing something wrong though I can't say what is wrong with ur diet or workouts.

LOw protein intake may be the cause.

How much protein are u taking now ?

Hey brother, figures as in ur body stats are just figures. Things can be wrong, mirror is always the better indicator.

But please be aware that you lose ur muscle and ur fat free mass which means it could be skeletal muscle, water or bone, but u gain fat.

So in this case, you need do check back your whole diet and even workout. Because it's not a correct situation when u try to lose fat but gained fat and go opposite losing ur fat free mass and muscle mass (losing bone mass is even worst than losing muscle mass).

Do not over rely on fat burner (I'm not sure how ur workout is) and do aware when it come to fat losing, ur body is smart enough, that u can depress or surpress it by using a lot fat burners but it will somehow counterback. And once you lose control then it gains more than what it lost.

It's not practical to lose 6kg in a month (exclude the biggest losers) and it's even much more harder when it come to 6kg of fat (how much total mass could you have lost then) in a month?

Fighting fat is a long journey, do not be too harsh to ur body.

Eat right,Work hard,rest well and be positive.

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Added on April 17, 2012, 12:48 amSome of these machines i dun even seen it before like machine crunch,4 way neck machine.

It may be danger of doing free weights, but same goes to machines, if u used it with wrong posture, u still get screw up.

Of course there are pros who do just machine and grow well like darklight.

I think this routine is good enough but u do can use these machines for a 5X5 (which is a concept of 5 sets of 5 reps and add more weights once u able to do a 5X5 for that particular weight.)

This post has been edited by van_takawa: Apr 17 2012, 12:48 AM

Since I'm in low-carb low calorie diet, I'm taking 190g protein per day which is 1.5 X 126 (lean body mass in pound).

I think you are correct about my protein intake during that one week. maybe I'm having lower protein intake since I don't keep track my macro during that week (and Saturday and Sunday since it is my half cheat day for both days).

Thanks for the kind words man. I've been experimenting on how to lose my fat and yes, I don't want to be relying on the fat burner to lose my fat. After I finished my fat burner, I'm gonna try another method called EC Stack. Experimenting as I have a family background of obesity (my sister is obese, siblings etc) and I do want to help them.

This post has been edited by alien9: Apr 17 2012, 02:00 AM

why not just continue doing the routine that u did with your trainer since it worked so well. 5x5 programs are great for beginners, u wont need a spotter if u start light and practice good form.

try smith machine....

I was training alone once, try 5x5 with heavy loads on bench press.... on fifth set, I told myself, lets go to 6,7 or maybe 8reps lastly just to blast

guess what? on 7th rep half way, my muscle fails and the barbell just drops like hell... luckily I was able to hook on just merely it hit my chest....

yea but if i screw up a bench press, then thats the end of me , to some extent im also worried about squats.

and what do u mean by using these machines for a 5x5? Issit increasing the weight to an amount where i can only do 5 reps per exercise? And how would that eb superior compared to this programs no. of sets and reps (3 x 15/12/8).

Err im not so sure but i dun think there is a set routine with him he kinda goes with whats available for the part of body he wants me to workout.

And if i was to do a 5x5, shouldnt i be using heavier weights? Wouldnt going light slow my progress by alot?

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Added on April 17, 2012, 9:00 amThats what im scared of haha...but with the smith machine, its still a machine right cos u dont need to balance the barbell by yourself. Isnt it much easier compared to bench presses with the barbell?

This post has been edited by confusedkid: Apr 17 2012, 09:00 AM

try get the middle point, align your body and its alright...

all my squat, bench press etc is done one smith machine as I am training alone...

Since van_takawa said its a good routine, would it be better to start off with the program i mentioned earlier and slowly try to replace most machine workouts with free weight ?

Maybe i can start off by replacing Smith Machine Flat Bench Press with a db flat bench press and doing regular squats (with lighter weight).

3X15/12/8 and 5X5 are the concept of reps and sets. It just a matter of choice of weight. Some choose the 80% of ur max 20reps weight some choose 60%. It's up to u to choose. Basically a 5X5, means u do a 5 reps per exercise for 5 sets with the amount of weight u can just do around 20 reps.When u can do a 5X5 for the weight add in more weights. 5X5 isn't new, it's an old school but until today still proven working for increasing strength and of course mass.

However, bodybuilding isn't abt a fixed formula, after all, variation will be important to avoid pleateau. 3X15/12/8 is good too, as long as u r able to play wif the weight and rest time,gains should be just a matter of time.

My man, chill out... quit relying on those fancy machines that ur gym carries. seriously at ur stage u really need not to be so meticulous bout such details... set a goal that's not too hard to reach. once ur're close to ur goal, give urself a treat and set a new goal. progress is a slow process if quality is a concern... quit using the machines. and seriously dont take everythin the PT says for a fact. (MOST) of them are idiots...