Pegesus

Damn 3 hours is a heck of a long time to workout.

Do you mean like Arnold Presses? Or like swinging your arm in a windmill fashion?

Pro's and Con's Please... What are the main benefits to doing a double workout split routine. I've seen a lot of bodybuilders do this gearing up for a competition but can this be done successfully normally to help increase development. Can it hurt and be over training. I am planning are giving myself a goal that by Jan. 1st 2011 I will have packed on 20 lbs of good clean muscle. I am wondering if sticking to my 5 day single workout routine would be better or working to split that up with maybe a 2x day workout for a few months or longer Thanks for you input

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Thanks for the info. I'm gonna try pistol squats and stationary lunges. I just have a real hard time with the pistol squats for some reason maybe its balance or who knows I never can get them down right. Guess I just have to practice them more.

I have a strong tendency to favor my right side. My right quad is larger than my left so I am trying to even them out. I do normal squats heavily I just always notice that I push more with my right leg, I figure if I throw in on isolation exercise it will help out.

Yeah fantastic numbers. I wish I was hitting that mark. Keep it up!

Not Pistol. Lunge Squats. Same thing as a regular Barbell Squat except I balance my leg on the bench behind me. This is it one not on a smith machine. http://videos.bodybuilding.com/watch/29901/exercise-guides-one-leg-barbell-squat-maleshort-clip

I've added the One Legged Squat to my leg routine, however I truly hate it due to the fact I need to use the Smith Machine to balance myself since doing it with the barbell just ain't gonna cut it. I am not a fan of how the Smith makes my back feel when doing this exercise. I am wondering would I get nearly the same isolation on an individual leg with a stationary lunge?

I like VeganEssentials use Anytime Fitness. Its a great place and their key cards can be used anywhere in there is a location. With regards to Canada. If I am not mistaken Snap Fitness is based out of Canada so there cards will work here and there. There is a Snap Fitness down the road from me as well and they actually do have alot of free weights. Only thing the don't have is a power rack. How busy one place is varies on its location and the time you go. If I hit the gym around 3-4pm its packed. But get there around 7pm and its me and maybe 2 other people. Friday nights and nearly anytime on Saturday and Sunday a handful of people. I think I weight to use a bench once is the year I've been going there.

I will vary use of both. I like to use dumbells in conjunction on my chest and arms due to the fact that I have a tendency to over push/press/pull with my right arm. With dumbells I can even the weight out and get a distributed lift with both my arms. I would never just use one or the other unless I had no other choice.

This weekend i came across an old edition of Flex Magazine. It was February 2010. I don't normally read Flex but I figured hey what the hell it was a throwback to Arnold and his days. All that aside there was an article about Jay Cutler and his leg workout that it did this year to help him get ready for Olympia. What i thought was odd was the fact that he said he did not do conventional squats anymore that he used a smith machine. Now my question is this...why? Why would he use the Smith machine, I was my impression that a Smith puts your body in an unnatural angle when doing squats and that it is potentially more harmful. Am I wrong? Does working a Smith on squats actually just work your legs more than your entire body when doing conventional squats. Thoughts?

Anyone doing this? I am thinking about trying to go back to a 4 day split. Right now I'm doing a 5x5 program which is 3 days. I enjoy the 5x5 but I am thinking that a 4 day split will work better for me. My question is how would you incorporate a 4 day with more compound lifts. Most 4 day splits seem to use alot more isolation it seems rather than compound. For me working out a muscle group once per week doesn't show the results I am looking for I need twice a week per group it seems.

Ephedra or Ephdrenie never really had the potential in my opinion for weight loss / fat loss. It works great for sinuses I used to take it alot when my allergies were kicking my ass. But I used to know alot of people who took the pure form prior to its ban and they never really noticed anything. Its something you don't want to over use and since it doesn't show that good of results I would say don't bother with it since it does has side effects.

I used to train 5 days a week. I saw some results but not many. I was training some compound but mostly isolation. I moved to a 3 day 95% compound routine and I have noticed the best gains so far. In my opinion as others have stated and has been stated alot here time and time again is get yourself a good 5 x 5 program (Stronglifts, Starting Strenght, etc.) If you hit a good strong high weight compound routine every say Mon, Wed, Fri and you eat right your gonna notice the gains.

You sure you picked up Yohimbine not Yohimbe. Yohimbe if I remember correctly is for male sexual enhancement.

I view everything with the mantra of "moderation" If you incorporate seitan into your diet along with everything else and you have no allergen to gluten then your gonna be fine. Don't make it your go to food of choice 3 times a day but eating seitan along with, soy, tempeh, and beans and your balance out a well rounded diet. Oh and seitan is super easy to make and is way cheaper than buying prepackaged product in the stores. I make it regularly and I went out and bought a Kitchen Aid Mini Commerical Slicer at Lowe's and make thin Deli Slices. Its like an eighth the price of buying Tofurky.

Are you hungry after your workout. I know for me I eat a mix of slow and fast digetsting carbs with little protein about 45mins to 1hr before working out. By the time I'm done with my workout I'm starving. I could never make it an hour without eating something. I usually take a Pro Bar with me and eat it on the ride home. I workout in the evening so I usually will have dinner within 1 to 1.5 hours after working out. I would say maybe take something with you just to keep your body from feeling fatigued and then worry about a good solid meal when you get home.

I to am more on the lighter side at least for my liking. I'm 6'0" at last weigh in 160 lbs. I used to train 5 days a week I ate around 4500 calories a day and never really noticed too much gain. I have a super fast metabolism as well. So bout 5 months ago I started on a Strength Training Program. Starting Strength but slightly modified. I workout now 3 days a weeks eat around 2500 - 3000 calories and I have noticed great gains as well and strength. I am now adding in at least 2 to 3 sessions of cardio each week around 1 hour since I am trying to cut the annoying bodyfat that lingers around the mid section in an effort to get the nice abs showing. I would suggest trying something like that and see where it takes you.

Seconded. Your monday workout will kill you. You want to try to keep your workouts no more than 1 hour. If your gonna do squats and deadlifts do them at the beginning of the workout as well. They take the most out of the body and the last thing your gonna wanna do is in the middle or end of your training. As far as Deadlifts go start with light weight and work on perfecting form then gradually increase your weight each time you lift. It will all be noted in Starting Strength as well. I started my deadlift at 135 that was about 5 months ago and now I'm averaging around 250 I do 3 sets of 5 reps with a long rest in between around 3 mins.

Anytime Fitness. Thought about doing one at my house but for the mere $35.00 a month I spend at Anytime its not worth the expense of putting one at my house.

Yes there saving grace was next to no weight. I just felt bad. His squats were nearly as bad he uses a Smith Machine and for some reason puts his feet all the way out in front of his body and what appears to me as using the bar to actually hold himself up as he squats. I mean with all the instructional videos on YouTube and nearly every other website around and the fact that there are two trainers on staff at the gym why not ask or do some research prior to attempting a lift you might not be that familiar with.

What Would You Do The Situation: Father and Son (Age 45 and 16 approx). Father is teaching his son how to Deadlift. Father takes the bar loads up 30lbs on each side puts it on the floor and then in what amazed me proceeds to bend at the hips down keeping knees locked and lifts the bar up using only the back. Now he has his son do the same thing only the son starts out with much less weight. Rinse and repeat this for 5 sets approx 5 reps each. I am next to them doing squats and while resting am totally amazed that the father is not only teaching his son how to destroy his lower back but that he has the ability to walk since this is his normal deadlift practice. Now I didn't say anything due to the fact that I didn't want to make the Dad seem like he didn't know what he was doing during a father son bonding experience but I almost did. My question is would you have said anything?

Without getting into exact numbers I am able to steadily increase my weight by 5 lbs each week. So my gains are ok as of now. Well I am mostly working toward strength training and with all strength training programs I have seen it incorporates only compound exercises done 3 days to 4 days a week. If I were to workout only 1 muscle group at a time I'd be hitting up the gym 5 days a week which I have done in the past but it just seems that if you work your compounds more you can achieve a great strength gain without the constant daily workouts. Even still I feel if you are hammering out say chest one day and then the next your gonna do arms for example you have less than 24 hours of rest and if you are pushing it every workout I just don't feel you have given yourself ample time for your muscles to rest. At least that's my opinion. Strength training and bodybuilding are two different things in my book not taking away from either but one I feel consists of multiple compounds and the other is single muscle groups both can achieve great results its just what results you are looking for. I am looking for better strength and size so at this point I am working toward strength training it my seem sporadic but I have made my best gains doing this. Thanks for the advice so far i appreciate it and if anyone else has been able to merge a 5 x 5 style workout with some isolation and its worked for them please chime in I would love your input as well. Thanks

Hey its been a couple of months since I posted here, I've been lurking just not posting. Due to excessive work and personal business barely got out to the gym for the past 2 months. I've been back now for the past 3 weeks and I've been having a damn hard time falling into a workout that I like. I was doing StrongLifts for a 4 months prior to taking my time off, I liked it but felt it was lacking something for me not sure what though. So when I came back I tried to create a new workout plan that merged alot of compound with some isloation, however I am not sure if its gonna work either here is my current routine and please comment on what you think about it: Monday: Squats 5 x 5 Dead Lift 3 x 5 DB Overhead Press 3 x 8 DB Incline, Flat, Decline 3 x 5 (alternating exercises between sets) DB Side Bends 3 x F Wednesday DB Curls 3 x 8 Single Cable Tricep Pulldowns 3 x8 Barbell Shrugs 3 x 8 DB Front Shoulder Raises 3 x 8 Barbell Curl Tricep Kickbacks 3 x 8 Thursday Squat 5 x 5 Bench Press 5 x 5 Cable Row 3 x 8 Back Raises 3 x F (weighted) Pull Ups 3 x F Saturday Incline DB Curl 3 x 8 Single Cable Tricep Pulldowns 3 x 8 DB Front Shoulder Raise 3 x 8 Wrist Curl 3 x 8 Barbell Calf Raise 3 x 8 Hammer Curl Cross Body 3 x 8 Dips 3 x F This is basically it but I am wondering if I am slightly over training and if I can work this into a 3 day routine and achieve better results. I do cardio for warm up nearly every day and try to get in at least one 30 min cardio a week. What I didn't totally like about Stronglifts was the lack of isloation on arms. When I work my triceps and biceps I have noticed that my compounds were increase in weight faster than if I did compound excersises only. So I wanted to add them back in but maybe I added to much. Or maybe I just need to play out this routine a little longer. Any thoughts would be great. Thanks! Man it does feel great to be back in the gym constantly again.