Bodybuilding Exercises and Workouts

Im headed off to college and i’ve been working out for a few years now and i want to make a brand new workout schedule for when im at college, im going to go to the gym everyday please help try and make one that will get me really really jacked as fast as possible im used to bodybuilding workouts so i can handle whatever!

This is what im thinking…

sunday cardio day
monday chest/tricep
tuesday back/bicep
wednesday cardio day
thursday shoulders
friday legs/core
saturday rest day?

im not positive thats a rough outline but i need help and i want the most details schedule u can come up with please take the time to help me! i need help and advice thanks!

I think that is a great schedule. No two local muscle in a row with rest and cardio days spacing things out. Just do at least 3 different exercises for each muscle group for a month, then do 3 different ones to mix things up. Oh, and do abs every day you lift!

Ive recently decided that i want to become a bodybuilder and compete. Ive been lifting weights since 2007 but ive never really considered bodybuilding mainly because i was heavy into powerlifting and looking like a bear lol. so im already pretty advanced when it comes to lifting weights. but now i want to start my journey into bodybuilding. i was 215 at my biggest (last summer) and have been losing weight since then and am currently now at 185, im already muscular but im struggling with my belly (of course right lol?).

as far as the going to the gym, thats nothing, i go to the gym mon-fri and i love it.
the 2 things i was concerned about and needed quick tips on was nutrition and workout routine.
NUTRITION: i eat a lot, i was a powerlifter therefore i was always on the hunt for food, so i have a little belly. question is, exactly how important is nutrition when it comes to bodybuilding? explain plz

WORKOUT PLAN: ive been doing higher reps/lower weights to burn fat and cut. how long should my workouts be? time between sets/reps. how often should i do cardio? etc… just need some quick tips please.

As far as nutrition and bodybuilding it is very important.

Try and eat six meals per day focusing on protein first, then healthy fats last clean carbs.

For protein go with lean beef, turkey, chicken, etc.

For fats, natural peanut butter, fatty fish like sardines, or fish oil, I like Carlsons Liquid fish oil.

Healthy carbs, things like sweet potatoes, yams, brown rice, vegetables, and fruits.

Also, post workout is the idea time to take in a protein carb mix.

Try Beverly Internationals Muscle provider mixed with dextrose.

For your workouts, forty-five minutes to an hour is good.

Since you are trying to lose some fat you can keep the rest periods between sets to thirty seconds or less.

If you were trying to put on muscle I would recommend that you did not work about the time between sets so much.

Good luck

Hope this helps

I haven’t exercised in years plus i’m overweight and type 2 diabetic. I want to turn myself around and bodybuilding really looks like it fills my needs. I am now nearly 45 and I must do something! I need to lose weight but I also want muscle.

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!! Six years ago when I was 46 years old, I lost 86lbs and gained muscle. I had a personal trainer for 11 months and he showed me how to use the machines and also kicked my ass. Best thing I ever did, worth every penny. I highly recommend it. I still go to the gym and use the machines and do cardio. Don’t feel 52 at all!! Good Luck………

I’m 23…. am I late to start? I did not to any workouts till now… Will my muscles cooperate for bodybuilding? Will there be any side effects if i start bodybuilding at this age?

around 18 when the hormone the growth is pretty well established

ive been training with high volume for about two years, im 17 and without any drugs i have put on about 80 pounds, most of which being muscle, and i have been following a very schwarzeneggerian theory of training which is that more is better.

However i have started reading about mike mentzers "Heavy Duty" approach to training where he says that less training, when done to failure with good form and full reps, will lead to more muscle growth and in a lesser amount of time.

Now i can’t decide which will be better because Mentzer’s approach makes more sense, but i have gained a lot of muscle following Arnold’s and i don’t want to just abandone something for another if the other doesn’t get me as good of results

I would like to know from people who have experience doing both routines, the HVT and the HIT, and which is actually the better way of training.

Now also compare which physique looks better the HIT physique(Mike Mentzer)
http://www.davedraper.com/pmwiki/uploads/PmWiki/MikeMentzer2.jpg

Or the HVT physique (arnold schwarzenegger)
http://blog.extremebodybuildingtips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/arnold-schwarzenegger-bodybuilding.jpg

I say HIT, how are you going to improve on volume training. You can only add so many sets to your rutine, and if you keep adding, you need more time to recuperate. I use a middle one, like max-ot, check it out online, on Skiplacour . com. this is the best natural routine i’ve found so far. And it is considered a high intensity routine too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TlbDQUWs0s do this 4 days a week

My 13 year old boy is very overweight. He is kind of lazy, he hates to run and he doesnt have any access to equipment to workout. What is a good workout routine for him?

oh man that’s tough! I have a 11 year old brother that is beginning to put on some weight and doesn’t like exercise or sports. He looks up to me and wants to work out like I do, however I live thousands of miles away from him (senior in college) and am not around to inspire him.

Before you go find an exercise program you have to encourage him to change his values/attitude about exercise. Most people, adults included, believe exercise is "work," but in truth it can be FUN. When I am around my little brother he all of a sudden gets a strong burst of encouragement to go biking up hills with his older brother. My mother (who is a health nut) is perplexed at how I do it.

I recommend finding him some role models that have good attitudes about exercise. Kids are very impressionable and if their heroes exercise, believe me, they will too. If you force him to do a workout routine then he’ll roll his eyes and say " awwww do I have to?" and won’t put 100% into it.

Good Luck

I was looking through "The New Encyclopedia for Modern Bodybuilding by arnold schwarzenegger and Billl Dobbins and on page 318 this is what Arnold recommends for developing maximum power, mass, and strength in the chest. The program is as follows:
1) Begin with Bench Presses. Do 20 reps the first set, then 10 reps. At this point, raise the weight so you go down immediately to 5 reps, 3 reps, and 1 rep.
2) Continue doing as many sets as you can (at least 5) with a weight that allows you only 1 or 2 reps.
3) Perfrom the last set with a lighter weight that allows you to go back up to high reps.
4) Go on Incline Presses and do them the same way. Afterward, follow the same program with Dumbbell Fly’s.

So I have a couple questions about interpreting this program and chest training itself. Does he mean not to rest at all between all of these sets. Does he mean to do them right after each other or work in another body part then do your other chest exercise the same way? Lastly, does chest training such as this actually work well because after that hour that you spend doing this your chest wont get hit for the rest of the workout. Any thoughts, opinions, or personal experience would be extremely appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read and listen!

i believe you should rest before going to the incline and then again before he fly’s to give your arms a rest… eventually you can probably go straight thru, but it’s best to pace yourself and catch your breath. i’ve never done this particular workout, but you will feel it in your chest the next day for sure if not later on that day… the way muscle builds up is by it getting torn down and growing back bigger and stronger

I once deadlifted 600 x 5. Now I just do 10 sets of 20 with seated rows. Far better gains. Everyone, take note—isolation exercises are where it’s at. My back is so ridiculously toned right now, people come up to me at the pool and ask me how I did it. I saw some kid deadlifting the other day and I asked him wtf he was doing. He told me that he had heard on some bodybuilding site that he should deadlift to get a big back. I sent him over to the seated row machine and omg, he was so happy, I could literally see his back getting huge.
btw, I use to weighted dip 400 x 10 when I was ignorant. I saw this kid, decently jacked, he was doing weighted dips. I walked over to him and asked what he was doing. Said weighted dips, like I’m blind or something. He took one looked at how ridiculously toned I am and he asked me for some advice. I of course took him over to the bench press. He had him do 50 reps of 65 pounds. I told him to do this EVERY DAY. I know it’s intense but that’s how you get the ladies. All these weighted dips and stuff, completely unnecessary. Chest every day, supersetted with curling the orange dumbbells, along with proteenz shakes and you’ll gain 5 inches to your chest and 4 to your biceps in two weeks. No lie.

Pretty ironic becasue during my workout today i was looking at my shoulders/back in the mirror and I was like "damn, I need to catch them up to the rest of my body" thanks!

I’m trying to bodybuild for mass and have been for months and months but haven’t been upping in weight or size despite having a good understanding of when to push to failure point and wen not to.

Apparently the key is in my rest day ignorance – so i asked two pro bodybuilders what rest days i should be taking and got two opposing orders.

One said for natural bulk building eat well and make sure to keep at least 6 rest days between arm workouts to inspire a natural recovery cycle.

The other then offered an answers which typically confused me to almost surrender point.

He said to use the three day building workout that bodybuilding.com suggests in which you do the same full body workout three times a week.

Obviously this leave up to a maximum of two days rest as opposed to the stern 6 day rule.

Sometimes only the use of a bit of modern terminology can communicate our feelings…WTF

Answers please!
Jack
Thanks Lone Wolf thats good advice. Do you have a muscle group plan that you are convinced works for each day of workout eg: -monday – arms
-tuesday – chest etc
It’s important as i spent four months working different body parts everyday exhausting myself but not seeing any change to keep my determination strong. Thanks

Two days rest (for muscles worked) between exercises will give you maximum results. Best I’ve found is to do a three way split routine – work out every day (different muscles/groups) for six days a week – then you get an extra day of rest every week.

There are some muscles which can/should be worked out every workout day for maximum results:
Calves
Forearms
Abs

*Yeah, I can rough out a plan fairly quick (I’ve done this an awful, awful (I mean awful!) lot:

1st day of rotation: (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
Thighs (squats – leg extensions – leg curls – lunges )

2nd day of rotation: (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
Lower back (stiff-legged deadlift is what I mostly use for this)
Upper back (bent rows)

3rd day of rotation: (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
Pecs (push-ups – incline/decline dumbell presses – bench flyes)
Deltoids (overhead presses – front, lateral, & bent raises)
Biceps (D.B. curls – B.B. curls w/Blaster & curl bar)
Triceps (overhead extensions – bent over extensions)

Every workout day (do these in order after the 1st/2nd/3rd day sets):

Calves (calf raises is all I know here – I use a 2×6 under ball of foot for extended range of motion) 5 sets of 12-15 reps
Wrist curls (5 sets of 12-15 reps)
Reverse wrist curls (5 sets of 12-15 reps)
Abs (crunches w/weight held to chest – L/R side crunches – reverse crunches) 1 set of each, to exhaustion if you can stand it.

In general:
Do stretches for each group before and after workout – either all before any lifting (probably better), or just do 1 set of the lifts with a much lighter weight and exaggerate the extensions. This is important and will increase the effectiveness of the exercises, besides preventing damage/decreasing initial soreness.

Don’t eat for at least 3-4 hrs before exercises (best way is to do them before breakfast). Digestive process takes blood away from muscles which decreases effectiveness of the workout. Some fruit carbs are ok if you feel the need – cherries, peaches, pears, citrus, apples are about the best. Don’t overdo it. Bananas and grapes are about the worst (look into "glycemic index" to see what I’m talking about here).

Take one minute rest between each set – be strict about this.

Use full range of movement and maintain full control of the weights at all times (do not "throw/toss" them).

Keep hydrated – load up a little on water before starting – keep some handy for whenever you want it.

If it works better for you – combine the 1st and 2nd day workouts into one and just make it a two day workout rotation – you then take one day of rest after each two days of workout. This still gives you two days of rest between repeating major muscle group exercises and is also a bit more efficient since the thigh exercises are related to the lower back exercises.

Creatine is effective – take as directed.

A whey protein shake is also helpful in building muscle – take anytime other than the fasting period before excercise.

The exercises have been put in proper order – always work out larger muscles/groups before going to smaller ones.

Use the amount of weight that keeps you in the range of the sets/reps – err on the light side to start to prevent damage, overexertion, excess soreness. After the first couple of days some soreness will occur, you don’t want to overdo it at first because the soreness will discourage you to some degree. Just start out easy – ok? (trust me)

This is a lot of info and it’s off the top of my head, I might well come back and make some additions/changes, but this is pretty complete.