Darky,

I've a few questions, hope you can find the time to answer them. Some of the questions may seem a little naive but there is just too much information on the net. I'm not looking to get bulked like yourself but would like to put on some muscle mass. At the moment, i've only managed to trim myself down but have not put on that much muscle. Anyway, here goes;

a) How does one increase the thickness of their arms? I understand that the triceps play a large part in this albeit the belief of many that focusing on biceps is the way to go. Is there a specific exercise or is it just a matter of hitting them hard?

b) I'm not sure if I provided you with sufficient information in terms of what I want to achieve, but what kind of routine would you recommend to someone like me. If you need more information, please tell me what more you need to know.

c) I've seen people with different routines. Some start of with a warmup set before increasing their weights as they move along sets. They then end it by taking the weight down a notch (warm down set???) I dunno. As I am looking to put on some muscle mass (if this term even makes sense at all), what kind of routine should I be looking at?

d) As I am not looking to get to large, how many sets and reps would you suggest I do for each muscle group? Also, how many different types of routines for each group, per session?

Hope my questions make sense, and I am looking forward to your reply. If you need me to provide you with more detail, please do ask.

I just read your other thread. Ah well, do let me know if anything I asked isn't covered there. From what I understand from the other thread, one needs to go for intensity if one wishes to increase his muscle mass. What will one achieve from doing more sets, with more reps (lower weight)?

Cheers.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Feb 14 2008, 05:23 PM

I wan to gain weight. Just that i don't feel like eating, sometime even forget. Eating can be a chore.
And if i eat 5 times a day, dunno if i can afford that much chicken breast.

Just keep some whey protein in shaker bottles in your car, or in your knapsack. Back when I wanted to pile on more mass, instead of eating all round the clock, I just drink whey protein during tea time instead of taking in empty calories like roti canai and teh tarik.

In addition to the usual 3 meals a day (which wasn't always regular back then, while I was a project engineer), I had one protein shake before workout, and one after workout.. one protein shake during tea time (around 3 to 4 pm, between lunch and gym time) and one more at night, around 1 hour before bedtime.

Whacking protein shakes all round the clock like that had its benefits - I found it easier to pack on mass. But it has disadvantages too - my stomach got a bit gassy at times, and my stool is always loose because of the liquid diet. I was using Myoplex, and that stuff is a little denser compared to the regular protein shakes, so it feels quite filling.

Muscle builds from food. If you can't fuel your muscles with regular and the right amount of food, they just can't grow.

a) A matter of hitting them hard, with a mixture of low rep high poundage and relatively low poundage high rep sets to hit all muscle fiber types. Hit them hard, get in proper nutrition, rest and watch them grow. And yes, triceps form a large part of the upper arms but it's not the full equation. You need overall muscle mass to have big arms. You've not seen 17 inch arms on a 60kg trainee correct?

b) How long have you been training? What're your foundations in your lifts? What body type are you and how old?

c) I warm up with 60% of what i'm aiming to lift, then hit a bodypart with a mixture of different rep ranges, like explained in a). Then i end it with a burn set (high rep/low poundage but not baby weights, something i can lift with 12-15 reps.

d) It is not easy to get large, period. I hear a lot of trainees saying they don't want to get too huge but they're puny lil' sticks in real life. It takes tremendous amounts of dedication and effort to achieve some level of decent size and making sure all factors in and out of the gym are optimal. So no worries, just hit it hard in the gym. Imo, after years of experimenting, volume is the way to go if one already has decent foundations in strength levels. I hit each bodypart once every 6 days with 3-4 different exercises.

Intensity can be upped by utilizing intensity extending techniques such as drop sets, forced reps, negatives, etc. Again, volume is the key word here. Taking less rest between sets is also another way to increase intensity as you do more work over a shorter period of time. When one says more reps, more sets and lower weight, i say good, but it depends on what percentage of 1RM are those poundages utilized. Too low and they're a waste of time. Reps from 1-20 stimulate hypertrophy. There're so many exceptions to these rules, they're never set in stone. Doing 20 reps every set is obviously a waste of time, doing 1 rep every set is also a waste of time. I keep my reps between 8-15.

I used to think this kind of post exist in ProBuffedBodies forum and not LYN forum (Sorry guys, I'm still new to this forum thing)

I'm a 25-year-old endomorph (or endo-mesomorph hopefully) and have been training for almost 6 years, with planned training and supplements for the past 2 years.

I used to be like jswong, training via his "hardcore" method and manage to lose around 7 to 8kg. This continued for 4 years with little improvement in weight and muscle mass. Back then, "the more pain the more growth of muscle i will achieve" backboning "no pain no gain" was my motto - hit the heaviest weight in the gym with every machine. LOL. It was fun when it lasted.

It wasn't until 2 years ago when i was preparing for a climb that my friend thought me the planned way of training i.e. 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps with specific muscle groups a day, that i continue to progress. Standing at 5"7' and weighing 67kg now, i'm quite satisfied with my progress i'm making. imagine buying a formal coat size L although my torso could fit a size M just because my arms cant fit!! LOL. sweet.

My theory behind all of this comes back to principle 1: overtrain and undereat. that's for me anyway. instead of doing a full body workout and only targetting at specific muscle group, i reduce the need for nutrients, specifically energy and protien, needed for the day but still sufficient to supply the targetted muscle - no money ma . whereas in jswong's case, he must have enough intake to meet the request for his body. good for him

To me, taking protien shakes act as an immediate / short term supply for building / boosting muscles. Usually taken before and after workouts. I still go for natural protein source like chicken, egg whites and fish for long term building. This is my idea for building muscles, please correct me if i'm wrong.

Here's my 2-cents about training for teenagers:
Unless u damage the growth plates, there's no reason to stop growing. Bones, like muscles, if properly stimulated, can help strengthen and might even promote lengthening, or become taller in a better sense. If u are worried that doing workouts that might "compress" ur growth plates in ur bone such as squats for example, do it in a stepwise manner instead of straightaway hitting the heavy weights. I strongly suggest that these teenagers, due to the lack of experience, get assistant from trainers or those who are more experience in this. Just don't bug ur seniors too much. I'm sure most of the seniors are willing to drop a hint or two, though they luk extremely like battling a tiger fierce during workouts. "seniors" right?

To darklight,
When u mentioned deadlifts and squats to achieve maximal potential, were u refering to free weights only? I have some problem with my left knee and thus i usually do them with machines. Do the principle still apply? Also, i'm looking forward to become a bodytoner and not a bodybuilder, do i still need to hit the legs hard? My current workout involves each muscle group twice a week except for legs which is only once a week.

Is it advicable to do 2 drop sets for biceps a week? At my current pace, i do not feel pain or fatigue after workouts, just that i can't increase the weights i'm lifting.

Do you have any advice on amount of water to be taken while on high protein diet? Or a guide? I'm worried that i might damage my kidneys due products of protein breakdown.


Anyway, thanks for the Iron Addict article

last month,i continue again my protein shakes..and then....i got diarrhea...cirit birit..for 5 days....aiyark...Thanks God..now,allrite..i thought i gonna be in a hospital...

Hmm.. Im a dude, 16, is 171cm, 48 kg, and eat a lot (lol) ... But i dont gain weight.. ;(

And i dance too.. (shuffle) xD

Is it that i have a high metabolisme?

Any recommendations! ?

This post has been edited by Chyan: Apr 12 2008, 09:59 PM

you have to pump in some huge calories into your body coz your body wont store much fat when you constantly pump it out by sweating a lot

darklight, it's been a nice sharing here, thanks

I've a question here, I believe I'm an ectomorph (60kg at 1.8m).

Started seriously measuring my calorie & protein intake since April & would say have seen some progress since then (from 58.5kg).
However, I find it hard to get enough protein from my food (try not to take whey cause it's not whole food and it's rather expensive) cause I read somewhere saying it's best to get a gram of protein for every pound I weigh.

Also, my condo gym does not have bench press or dead lift equipments, only those machines with exercises like chest press, incline press, squat press, overhead press.....errr don't know what else. Question is, can this be as effective dead lifts or bench press?

Hi Dark,

nice article here!!

I have some questions:



When you mean vary the training, what does it actually means? Changing the training style? What if I change the weight? Is that applicable for this?



I am taking some OTC multi-vitamin, taking 2 pills a day. The recommended was 1 a day. Any specific benchmark of vitamins or minerals needed?

Sorry for the noob questions.
Thanks

can tell me for men stop growing at what age ??

tough question to answer. Some say 21yo some 26yo. Different people stop growing at different age.

thats so true TS.. good post! ive a meal plan that any of u guys can follow if u wanna gain mass... http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=739437&hl=

until now i dont know why my growing stop
good in all food, diet, nutrient, excercise

maybe sexual thing make me stop growing

drinking that high protein drinks,like that mass gainer product that are sold at pharmacys,is that recommended option for instant mass gaining?

good list sums it up for anyone trying to gain strength and mass at the same time
7. Your micro-nutrient support SUCKS!
thats a first..I mean micro-nutrients are beneficial (eye sight,brain and etc) i love them(but i dont support them i just eat em )..using them as a weight gainer? "eat micronutrients become --> " WHAT?! do they even know what it is? ? Has nothing to do with weight gain AT ALL..You have met some pretty wierd folks my friend.

This post has been edited by kikikilly: Aug 8 2008, 04:00 AM

No lah. It's not as a weight gainer. You're not reading properly.
The micronutrients is there to support & promote growth. Vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients are involved in many bodily functions, metabolisms, energy utilisation and immune system.
If tak cukup micronutrient, how to enhance your growth?
It's also to maintain your health. I don't suppose you are able to gain weight/mass when you're falling sick or aching everywhere all the time?!

You're not thinking straight, m8.

I see my bad lol .. this shouldnt even be a topic..unless your in africa and suffering from malnutrition..oh and how do you put your picture as your avatar or bannar?

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Added on August 11, 2008, 2:32 amyay i got my image to show up! my god that took blooming ages soo like there you have it..the guy behind killy

This post has been edited by kikikilly: Aug 11 2008, 02:34 AM

Due to the fact that you are building muscles and strength, whatever micronutrient you get from food may not be enough. And consider how nutritious our local food are... I don't think it's enough. It's enough for normal people who are not bodybuilding.

Besides, as your body weight & mass increase, don't you think you'll need more nutrients to support your increased weight/mass?