Wanna get more buffed!

[organ]

OK, I started working out in high school when I was in grade 10 or so. Did that for about a year and stopped for a loooooooooooong time.

I started again and I've been working out for over 1.5 years now. Only once a week and plenty of cardio everyday. I'm in the best shape of my life now. I've been getting great results. My body responds very well to weight lifting.

Here's my issue. I'd like to speed up the process. I wanna gain MASS! I'm still getting bigger but just wanna get there faster. My routine is working out great so it's my meals that I need to pay more attention to.

After each workout, I have a big meal. Plenty of carbs and protein. Same thing for the next day when my muscles are sore from the workout. Then, for the rest of the week, I eat normally again with a few big meals here and there.

Now, here's my question to the workout guys. What's the best type of meat to feed your muscles so they get bigger faster and stay at that size? Now, I don't want to get into the whole protein drinks and stuff. I wanna get there without the help of shakes, protein bars, etc.

I'm thinking steaks would be best. I work in a restaurant and I can get a big steak for under $10 with the discount anytime I want. I'm sure med/rare is best because the inside part that haven't been cooked yet and it has plenty of protein. I heard that when you cook something, you burn away a lot of the nutrients and stuff.

I want to keep the routine I have now and don't want suppliments in my diet.

Thanks

Maurice

[dorokusai]

I highly recommend steroids...so you get a little angry and physically abusive every now and then, who doesn't?

[audiobliss]

Man...big juicy steak anytime you want it for $10...*drool*

I know where I wanna work for the summer! :D

[organ]

LOL Doro:D That **** scares me.

Bliss,
Actually, it's $9.18CDN dollars which is like $2US ;).

[Zero]

Been hitting up the gym 3-4 times a week. Aint doin sh!t. Ah well (Scarfs down another cake)

As for beef - Steak is typically a higher concentration of meat and less fat so its a good choice. But for the most part - go chicken. bawk bawk..

[danger boy]

my friend used Creatine for two weeks on, then two weeks off. then back and forth.. and really targeted the areas of his body he wanted to add muscle to.

which areas are you trying to bulk up?

BTW, my friend did the creatine thing for about 4 months.. no longer uses it. because he's reached his goal of what he wanted to add muscle to. he looks great too. Just an idea.

[MrNightly]

Whey protein. Not "Fancy drinks" or expensive bars, but just a natural supplement. If you do any research at all on the body, natural supplements are traces that we can't fulfill naturally. :) So, in other words, you aren't doing anything but taking 6 steaks and downing them with a few swigs.

I think you would be very happy with those results.

I am just starting my workout routine back up, after taking the last 6 months off. I feel the worst I've ever felt these past 6 months, and am ready to roll again! Keep us posted, cause I know any fellow worker'outter's always helps keep the drive.

Peace

Edit: On the Creatine topic, just be careful. It had really strange side effects on me, that really ate away at my insides, and I was always hungry. The stuff will make you feel bloated at first too.. After I stopped using it for about a year, I'd say it took me 6 months to get back to a normal appetite. A friendly tip. :)

[organ]

Sean,
Keep it up, it may take up to a month before you get any results. But 3-4 times a week a little much IMO. Going "hardcore" on your workout once a week with a lot of food should be enough. By hardcore, I mean hardcore. Keep doing those curls and whatever until you feel your muscles are about to explode, and add five more reps to finish it off. When your muscles are engorged and swollen with blood afterwards, it means you messed them up good. They'll repair themselves and get bigger within the next few days.


Remember that you have a 45 min time window to pig out after your workout. Within this 45 mins is when your body can take in the protein real quick for repairs.

[Polkersince85]

The best way to do it is pick up a couple of blondes everyday':D

[organ]

DB,
Want to get the chest, tri's and shoulders a little bigger. Not much but a little. Maybe I'll give Creatine a try. Now, what I gain is not gonna go away once I get off the stuff right?

Mr,
Is that some sort of drink or a pill? I'm probably gonna hit the workout shop next week to get some Creatine. I'll see if they have whey protein.

Thanks for the tips guys. I wanna turn into a MANOWAR aaaarrrrggghhh!!!

Polk85,
I'm not into blondes LOL. Will brunettes work?

[Zero]

Maurice,

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually, your window of opportunity is much smaller than 45 minutes. It takes your body time to break down the food and get to the protein... hence why those that are hardcore go strictly for the protein bars after a work out.

3-4 times a week is good. I've been doing this routine since September of 05'. Ah well, it gives me something to do. I cant stand the gym, what a boring repetitive place to be. If there were (more) attractive women there, it would almost be worth it....

[MrNightly]

DB,
Want to get the chest, tri's and shoulders a little bigger. Not much but a little. Maybe I'll give Creatine a try. Now, what I gain is not gonna go away once I get off the stuff right?

Mr,
Is that some sort of drink or a pill? I'm probably gonna hit the workout shop next week to get some Creatine. I'll see if they have whey protein.

Thanks for the tips guys. I wanna turn into a MANOWAR aaaarrrrggghhh!!!

It's actually in a powder form. You can mix with just water if you wish. GNC and the like sell it. For about 3 months supply, you are looking at $30-50 US. Well worth it, IMO.

If I were you, and i'm not, I'd try the Protein first, and save on the Creatine. (Just make sure it's pure Creatine Monohydrate, if you do go that way.)

Good luck

[organ]

Sean,
LOL:D Maybe you're going on the wrong days. You gotta think like women. I mean, if I were a hot mom, I'd go to the gym on Sundays and maybe on a Wed. I'd be too busy on Sat and Sun.

IMO, it's a good idea to add carbs to that meal too. I thought about this for a while. Say you take in carbs and protein. Your body is going to use up the carbs first for whatever purpose (walking, going up and down the stairs, etc). It's not going to use up the precious protein which your body is going to use up later for muscle repairs.

Oh yeah, thanks for the tip on eating chicken. This is something I eat just about everyday.

[organ]

Mr,
Cool. I like that. Just mix with water. Very simple. I'll go check it out. Any particular brands I should be looking at?

When I reach my goal and stop taking the whey protein, I'm not going to lose my muscles right? I mean, I'll still be working out.

[Zero]

Maurice,

I already got a few very hot mom's. ;) I just didn't meet any one of them at the gym.

Along with Chicken (best meat for you).... Tuna is also pretty darned good for ya too.

[organ]

AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH

[organ]

Damn Sean! Where did you meet the MILFs? I swear man, I don't like chicks my age but I'm too chicken **** to talk to hot moms.

I'll have to add tuna to my diet now.

[Zero]

Maurice,

I worked with one. Its all good. I love them Mexicans...

The other is an Asian. My friend (her son) still has NO clue. >:)

[organ]

Damn. You're one lucky bastard, that's all I'm gonna say. Rock on! LOL about your friend:D.

[MacLeod]

The best protein is egg whites first off. Then after that its fish. Steak is also good. Basically, if it walks, crawls, swims or flys eat it and lots of it!

As for the best and quickest way to get big, its like the old saying goes, "if you wanna get big, you have to lift big." That means lots of compound movements and big weights. Virtually eliminate machines and concentrate on barbell type exersices.

For example:
Take bench press and pick a weight you can get 3 times with good form. Now every other workout, youre going to lightly warm up and then give 100% at that weight on the 1st set and try to get 4 reps. Keep working on it til youre up to the 6-7 range then bump up the weight. If youre getting stronger, I guarantee you youre getting bigger.

Do this for all body parts. Squats, deadlifts, bent over rows barbell curls and so forth. One workout is heavy where youre trying to add a rep. The next workout is light where you workout mainly for a pump. This gives not only your body a rest but also your mind!

The downside is heavy lifting takes a toll so dont do it all the time like I did. I was a powerlifter for basically 15 years with hardly ever taking a break. It was great and I got big and strong 100% naturally but lately Ive been noticeing pains and things where they shouldnt be.....and they wont seem to go away.

[organ]

MacLeod,
Wow! Thanks so much for the very informative reply. Gonna keep your routine in mind. So the pain you're feeling is directly related to heavy workouts? I can see how some people can get back pain by not doing their stuff properly but I know you know better since you're a pro. Sorry to hear that man. Hope you get better soon.

[Zero]

One question I've always had is where do you draw the line with weight? Till' you can lift no more?

[mrbigbluelight]

runs EAS, the sports supplement outfit. (Jake somebody-or-other)

Answers a lot of questions about what to eat, when to eat it, etc, etc.

Good, good stuff.
Sure, he mentions EAS products but definitely doesn't shove it down your throat.

Read it, heed it, and you'll pump up.

[organ]

Well, the stuff MacLeod posted is for super hardcore body building.

The most common one you'll hear is: find the weight that you are able to push to 12 reps and no more. You should be struggling at rep 12 but able to complete a full rep. This is where you start. Do 2 sets of 12 for bi's, chest, etc. The one MacLeod posted involves 4 reps. This really shocks the body and allows you to get HUGE. I'm actually scared to try something like this. I'm just not ready for it yet.

They also say to give your muscles 48hrs before the next work out. I think you need more. Sometimes my muscles are sore for 3-4 days when I push hard. Some people swear by working out less and eating more. But in that little time you're working out, you have to really push it. This has been working for me since the beginning. An easy way to gain size. You'll have a thicker layer meat over your muscles. Gives that buffed look. I actually shrunk after I started cardio just about everyday. That extra meat turned into muscles. I just reached that size again now with both lifting and cardio. If you get a lot of cardio, your cuts show more and the muscles are more defined and bigger. But to get bigger fast is to just focus on lifting and less cardio.

[Zero]

Maurice,

I've tried both ways, and honestly, I find MacLeods to be by far, the easiest way to fly. For me, its more physcological than physical. First, it feels good to know how much you can lift (even though it really means jack ****). Now I am one of those that feels lifting dead weights at the gym is artifical and hollow when it comes to bulking up, but when you are out there pressing yourself reasonably well, the entertainment is almost worthwhile! Yeah I know - Im a downer/squidward!

Put aside your fear and try it out..! As you become more conditioned, you wont feel much need to wait 48 hours... at least, thats the case with me. But then again, this is coming from someone who joined the gym months ago just to lose 10 lbs and regain my old shape......and have failed to do so..... so grain, salt, all that goodness!

Good luck Maurice - while I haven't seen you, my mental image of your character with a build does NOT compute. haha

[Willow]

FWIW, chicken, eggs, tofu, any thing easy to difest and high in protein. I would not dismiss the whey drinks, they pack lots of protein and come in lots of good flavors. If you don't like the taste of whey, get chocolat and add a spoon of instant chocolate milk.

[MacLeod]

Dont get me wrong, Im not walking with a cane or unable to bend over or anything like that. I deliver kegs for a living so Im still very fit. Im just talking about some twinges and things in some joints and in my right shoulder, nothing serious by any means but more of a annoyance.

These didnt happen just by heavy lifting but by 15 years of constantly pushing my limits with heavy lifting.

Each person is going to have their limit as to how strong they can be (without steroids) and when you get there or very near it, youre pushing your body to its maximum limit and its easy to start wearing things down a bit. For example, I started out squatting 250 pounds and eventually worked up to the point where I was doing sets of 5 with 545. And then on a sunny summer day in 2002 I nailed a 600 pound squat with nothing but a weight belt! That I believe was 100% of my ability because I never got that weight again and actually started going backwards as I was starting to overtrain and my back started hurting. So I backed off big time and within a few months I was all healed up but when I started trying to cycle my weight back up, the gains were slower and the higher I got the more things started to hurt again. Same thing with bench press. A couple years ago I hit an alltime record of 425 pounds. Ive not hit that weight since either and now have developed some pain in my right shoulder when benching not to mention the fact that Im not gaining strength anymore. Cycling powerlifting into your normal workout routine for 8-12 weeks or so is perfectly safe and will give you great results but if powerlifting is ALL you do like with me then eventually it will start to hurt although it did take 15 years and none of the pain is serious. I also think job has something to do with it too. I guess you cant deliver 200 pound kegs for a living AND squat 600 pounds!

As for when to stop with the weight, if youre talking about how many reps to go for, I believe you should always go to muscle failure which is the point where you cant do another rep WITH GOOD FORM. Other than that it depends on what youre after. These are the rep ranges that worked best for me:

strength = 3-6
mass = 6-10
general fitness = 12-15

Any more than 15 reps was just not enough weight to tax my muscles to the point where I felt I was getting any kind of workout.

Now, Im staying in the 12-15 rep range. I start off my bench usually with 225 for 20 then move up to 275 for 3 sets of 10-12 then do 2 other exercises in the 8-15 range (usually inclines and flys). I dont do squats anymore so I do legpress and warm up up to 1100 pounds and then do sets of 12-15. For back, since I do plenty of heavy back work at my job, I stick to machines and keep the reps in the 8-15 range. Arms, I do one big exercise and go kinda heavy at 6-10 reps and then 2 exercises with machines much lighter at 12-15 reps. I believe arms can benefit from heavy training but since they get so much secondary work theyre very easy to overtrain. Thats the basic overview of my current routine.

[ruffjustice]

all that bluff can't stop a .45 ! wasting time..

[Willow]

all that bluff can't stop a .45 ! wasting time..

No but it may just help ward off heart disease among others

[MacLeod]

all that bluff can't stop a .45 ! wasting time..

Yeah, unless I catch you without that gun, then what are you going to do? ;)