Workout routines and why you should have one.

[slyfox]

Yo, it's cool that you want to be a jock. It's great that you want to go to the gym, lift heavy shit, get big muscles, and be all confident and manly. Who wouldn't love that? (Well, besides all the people in the feminization forum).

But I'm gonna tell you straight: hypnosis alone isn't going to buff you up, and dicking around in the gym isn't going to do shit either. If you want to grow, you've gotta have a training routine, and you gotta stick to it.

(Diet is also SUPER important, but I won't go into that here. I'll save it for another post.)

There are two essentials a routine must have:

A balance of exercises,
Progressive overload

By a balance of exercises, I mean the routine should target every major muscle group in your body. That means you should make room for chest, arms, back, shoulders, abs, and - most importantly - your legs. You may notice a lot of dudes at your gym don't train legs; well they're all idiots. Train your legs, and train them hard, and you won't regret the incredible strength you'll gain from that training.

Progressive overload is simply changing the intensity of an exercise in a progressive way. Most of the time, and especially with strength-building exercises, this means increasing the amount of weight you're using. But you can also do things like slowing down the tempo, or increasing the amount of reps. The point is to progressively increase the amount of stress on your muscles, therefore forcing them to adapt and grow. You will not grow using the same weights at the same intensity every week.

http://www.rohitnair.net/pp/ This website is a program picker for newbs. Just choose what you'd like to do (gain muscle, lose fat, etc.), and it gives you a list of already-made programs that will do you good. There is no one "best" program. Choose one that fits you best.

I started out using Starting Strength. It's a basic 3-day program that is focused almost entirely on building strength in the major lifts: squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press. It helped a LOT and I'm really glad I started with it.

Once I had built up a good base for strength, I moved on to a more intermediate, muscle building routine called PHAT. It's a five-day routine that hits every muscle group twice a week. http://www.simplyshredded.com/mega-feature-layne-norton-training-series-full-powerhypertrophy-routine-updated-2011.html This article explains everything you need to know about it.

I'm currently running a program that is more tailored to my body but it still uses the same five day structure as PHAT. It's a very high volume program and I really love it though it kicks my ass sometimes XD

Get strong, bros! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! If I don't know, I can probably find out!

[rugbyjockca]

I know guys who don't have a set routine, but they intuitively hit all of the points you raised. I find having a routine or a program makes things a LOT easier, both in working at the gym and in tracking my progress.

For those who can afford it, I'd recommend getting a personal trainer. I started with a trainer after about a year of training on my own, and it made a huge difference: my form improved, I saw more progress, and I learned a shitload of useful info about how muscle grows.

But at the end of the day: consistency, progressive overload, diet, rest. That's all you need.

[WatDo]

My only problem was how to workout. Though after reading Arnold Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia to Bodybuilding I have a much better handle on things. Working out became really easy after I changed the way I did my sets.

Set 1, 12-16 reps with medium weight
Set 2/3/4, 8-12 reps of my 75% max lift

After I did that I was like WHOA THIS IS WAY EASIER! My body's looking better, but the lack of a weight bench and only having dumbbells is making it hard for me to get a routine that works everything. Pushups and using the perfect pushup will only get me so far so I'll have to crack down and buy an adjustable bench sometime soon.

[lew897]

I don't work out all that much, probably two hours a week. But I do have rest days immediately after the work out day for the muscles to relax and grow back. The one thing I noticed after a year of working out is to work out the muscles that I want to get better first in my workout session. Im not a blown out jock since my max weights are 50 pounds. The other days Im doing cardio for 20-30 minutes. So, I really only have one rest day. I also switch yoga with cardio days, basketball games, etc. As much as I like this routine my style varies and changes with what I want. Which is okay since all I want is to stay in shape.