Weightlifting for size and strength: The Basics

[PSHL]

Theres 2 types of hypertrophy (growth) in muscles. Myofibrillar hypertrophy is an increase in the contractile proteins meaning you also see an increase in the strength of the muscle. This is achieved with sets of 1-5 reps.
Then there is sarcoplasmic hypertrophy which is essentially an increase in the fluid within the muscle fibre. This is achieved with 10+ reps.

Its harrd to answer if a weight is 'too heavy' without actually seeing you lift it. u also didnt mention what rep range ur aiming for?

[hosay]

I'm not trying to get big, just loose fat and improve all my lifts. Should i just eat normally, like no protein shakes, extra milk, extra meat?
I'm round 173cm tall and weight bout 77kg

[hosay]

^ btw i just started doing compound exercises like squat, dead lift, barbel row bout two months ago, so none of my lifts are in triple digits.

[dajazza]

I'm about to start weights. I got a few questions to ask.
I'm eating normally at the moment, but i've got a bit of a gut, should I lose that first or just get straight into eating alot and bulking?
Won't eating alot make you fat and fat doesn't turn into muscle.
When i get the desired size how do i make the muscles pop out and stuff?
Last one, how do I maintain it?

[Stormey]

I'm about to start weights. I got a few questions to ask.
I'm eating normally at the moment, but i've got a bit of a gut, should I lose that first or just get straight into eating alot and bulking?

"eating normally" - I'm pretty certain that your diet won't be as good as you think it is. List what foods you typically eat.

If your diet is right, you'll be burning of the fats while you exercise and throughout the day. The larger your muscles get, the more energy they will require. That energy will come from the fat/energy stores around your body.

Won't eating alot make you fat and fat doesn't turn into muscle.

If you eat the right amount of foods, your body will use them properly. For example, if your body needs 1500KJ of energy, and you eat 2000KJ, the extra energy will get stored into your fat stores for later use, thus building the fat. However, on the flipside. If you need 2000KJ but are only eating 1500KJ, then you will need to get the extra energy from somewhere. The body will use fat stores and muscle as it's energy source. It's very important to eat properly.

When i get the desired size how do i make the muscles pop out and stuff?

I think you're talking about a technique called 'cutting'. It's just simply following a diet and exercise regime that will reduce the overall amount of body fat you store, thus making your muscles 'stick out' more often.

Last one, how do I maintain it?

Simple, continue with your exercises

Many people don't realise, but if they're serious about weight training and bulking up, they have to continue for life. Many people jump in the gym, get big and then stop after 2 months because they're 'big enough'. Give them another 3 or 4 weeks and they'll be back to where they started. Same goes for those who want to lose fat. Once they lose the weight, they will stop their diets and exercise. They eventually return to the same stage at where they started.

Good luck.

[Omie Jay]

quick question (doesnt deserve it's own thread), are dumbell chest presses better than barbell benching? (since with dumbells you use the exact same amount of weight in each arm, instead of subconsciously applying more force with your stronger arm).

also does this mean that i should completely disregard barbell benching and just stick with dumbell press?

[amirite]

quick question (doesnt deserve it's own thread), are dumbell chest presses better than barbell benching? (since with dumbells you use the exact same amount of weight in each arm, instead of subconsciously applying more force with your stronger arm).

also does this mean that i should completely disregard barbell benching and just stick with dumbell press?

Some people feel it more with DBs. I switched from BB flat to DB flat and its helped a lot learning how to contract my chest better and consequently has improved my strength. I switched back to BB bench last workout because my forearms were fried from DB incline bench. Strength has gone up noticeably. IMO you should do incline and flat with DBs for one and barbell for the other. Keep alternating because they are slightly different exercises despite being substitutes for each other.




Im 6'0 weighing in around 84kgs. Slowly bulking/recomping. Eating whatever I like which tends to be 3-4000 cals a day. I was going to cut to about 10% (im at around 15% now) but I cant find any motivation to do so yet. My lifts are going up and im gaining muscle plus its winter so im not gonna be showcasing anything for six months. Hopefully im around 90kgs by september and ill cut so im lean for schoolies + summer (get that teen puss, nomsayin..).

Recently ive started to stall, seeing as im basically eating maintenance. Potentially I wont even need to cut, body fat % will drop because ill gain lean body mass and it should all be swell. gaining muscle while dropping BF, the unthinkable. :roll:

Lifts are: Bench - 70x6, Squat 130x8, DL 140x8. Bit reluctant to max out or work in the 1-5 range without a belt or spotter.

[Omie Jay]

yeah, makes sense.

idk, doing db press doesnt seem like ur lifting much (simply because the numbers are smaller), but when you actually DO it, it's like 'whoa that's heavy'.

db pressing with 30kg each hand is MUCH harder than when i incline pressed 70kg (you wouldnt initially think so, you'd think 30 each hand is just like benching 60kg, but it most definitely isnt), and my spotter reckons that 30kg db press is equivalent to about 80kg on the barbell :/

[Omie Jay]

IMO you should do incline and flat with DBs for one and barbell for the other. Keep alternating because they are slightly different exercises despite being substitutes for each other.

by this do u mean bb one week for incline/flat and db the next week for incline/flat?

[amirite]

by this do u mean bb one week for incline/flat and db the next week for incline/flat?

No. What I mean is best explained by what I do. So my chest routine is this:

Incline DB Bench
Cable Flyes
Flat BB Bench
Chest Fly machine

If I use DBs on incline then I will use BB on flat. And vice-versa. I also alternate between starting with incline and starting with flat. The flyes straight after benches get the blood pumping and contractions feel awesome.

Dumbbells employ more stabilisers than a barbell. You need more balance and control. You get used to it pretty quick though. What you said about using more weight with a barbell is also true. I think people tend to use 15kgs or so less with DBs compared to BBs. That has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the exercise though. Im a big fan of DBs at the moment.

Last time I used DBs for flat bench (2 weeks ago) I did 25x10, 27.5x8, 30x8, 32.5x5, 30x8. My Bench a few weeks ago also was like 60x12, 65x8, 70x6.
The difference between my DB BB comparison is probably smaller than with most people. But I think im stronger with DBs than with BB bench.

[Omie Jay]

in my last 2 gym sessions.. first one i bb pressed 50x12, 65x10, 70x10, 70x6 or 7.
second sesh i db pressed 15x15, 25x10, 27.5x8, 30x5.

havnt gymed in like 5 weeks but yeah i'll probably continue db.

[t00l]

No. What I mean is best explained by what I do. So my chest routine is this:

Incline DB Bench
Cable Flyes
Flat BB Bench
Chest Fly machine

If I use DBs on incline then I will use BB on flat. And vice-versa. I also alternate between starting with incline and starting with flat. The flyes straight after benches get the blood pumping and contractions feel awesome.

Dumbbells employ more stabilisers than a barbell. You need more balance and control. You get used to it pretty quick though. What you said about using more weight with a barbell is also true. I think people tend to use 15kgs or so less with DBs compared to BBs. That has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the exercise though. Im a big fan of DBs at the moment.

sounds just like my routine minus the bb chest as i use db. db i feel has a more natural motion to the push. id like to ask whats the best angle for incline. i have mine at abt 40 but apparently 45 - 55 yields best results?

[hscishard]

Lol..am I the only one that uses dumbells for chest?

[t00l]

Lol..am I the only one that uses dumbells for chest?

i just sed that i use dbs for chest..

[ohexploitable]

Lol..am I the only one that uses dumbells for chest?

Me too, dumbells are better I reckon, you get a greater range of motion downwards, doesn't really make that much of a difference though...

[Omie Jay]

sounds just like my routine minus the bb chest as i use db. db i feel has a more natural motion to the push. id like to ask whats the best angle for incline. i have mine at abt 40 but apparently 45 - 55 yields best results?

try google searching, but u can tell that the steeper you go, the more upper chest/shoulders is involved.

i think i did incline bench at around 40ish degrees, cant remember exactly though.

[Ziva]

try google searching, but u can tell that the steeper you go, the more upper chest/shoulders is involved.

i think i did incline bench at around 40ish degrees, cant remember exactly though.

You would think that logically but going steeper has seemed to work better for my shoulders AND upper chest

made my return to the gym today, hadn't been in a month. Could only bench 80

edit: I use to weigh 78-80kg and now only 73-74kg FUCK

[Omie Jay]

yea thats wats i meant

edit: i went yesterday for the first time in a month, did 71.5kg on the chest press, then 84, then back down to 71.5 lol

[t00l]

You would think that logically but going steeper has seemed to work better for my shoulders AND upper chest

made my return to the gym today, hadn't been in a month. Could only bench 80

edit: I use to weigh 78-80kg and now only 73-74kg FUCK

lol. thats alotta muscle mass gone.

[hscishard]

Me too, dumbells are better I reckon, you get a greater range of motion downwards, doesn't really make that much of a difference though...

Works more on the stablisers too

[Ziva]

lol. thats alotta muscle mass gone.

yeah well i was benching around the 100 mark, and considering my weight loss, i'm pretty sure i just lost pure muscle.

I'll have it all back in 3-4 weeks anyway.

I seem to want to hit the gym more when I'm stressed out, and considering all these uni assignments I've got coming up, I should be smashing the gym

[amirite]

I do my incline at varying levels. I prefer the slighter inclin because I can use more weight and its less stressful on the shoulders. Thats probably at about 30-35 degrees. Then I use the higher 50-55 degree incline for a couple of sets. I really dont like incline, im weak at it and it messes with my shoulders. The benches only have about 4 different levels it can be placed at between flat and upright so I cant find an incline that suits me either. My shoulder press and incline press are basically the same.

[Dirtbag Fashion]

but cmon does it really matter

[amirite]

but cmon does it really matter

does what matter?

[Jimmy Recard]

wassup bros