I have some questions about weightlifting to get bigger and stronger. First, I'll give a little about background. I'm 24 years old, 5'11" 155lbs. I lifted a lot when I was a teenager and have been lifting consistently for about the last 6 months 2-3 times per week (I started out at 148lbs). I've been splitting up the muscle groups on different days throughout the week (i.e. legs/shoulders, back/bis, chest/tris). I'm extremely lean and toned, and in phenomenal physical conditioning. I've come to a point in training, however, where I need to start getting much bigger and stronger . I compete in mixed martial arts, and coaches believe target weight should be about 168-170 lbs. question is, how should I alter current weightlifting routine to safely build the muscle and strength without losing flexibility. Realistically, I only have 2 days per week to weight lift. I've been mostly doing 3 sets x 10-12 reps. Should I shoot for 3-4 sets x 6-8 reps per muscle group? Should I continue to split up the muscle groups on different days or work all the muscle groups on each of the two days? Also, should I start to focus on incorporating more dumbbells in workouts instead of machines? Finally, I was told to start using protein powder. Is this really a necessity, and if so, how much should I take and how often per day/week? I eat a lot of food throughout the day, but I have an extremely fast metabolism, so I've always tended to stay on the slender side.
I would really appreciate some feedback. Thanks.
Altering routine to get bigger/stronger
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
-
mmafighter24
- STARTING OUT
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 1:30 pm
Protein powders are good for after training, just take around 50-60 grams, which is around 2 scoops, depending on the one you have.
They aren't necessary, but due ot the increased ability of the body to have more Protein for around 30-60 minutes afdter training, they make sense, but if you go home and eat and good meal afterwards, or put something like a couple of small Chicken Breast in the oven on the timer, or a 6OZ cut of lean Steak as examples, you don't have to have a Protein powder.
The thing with protein powders are, they allow quick Protein comsumption, post-workout.
Not sure how you gain mass without losing flexibility, unless perhaps you did stuff like Yoga, Pilates, Yogilaties etc etc, to help maintain flexibility, or you did something like a bulk up then a cut, so you would have less fat mass, which could possibly affect flexibility.
They aren't necessary, but due ot the increased ability of the body to have more Protein for around 30-60 minutes afdter training, they make sense, but if you go home and eat and good meal afterwards, or put something like a couple of small Chicken Breast in the oven on the timer, or a 6OZ cut of lean Steak as examples, you don't have to have a Protein powder.
The thing with protein powders are, they allow quick Protein comsumption, post-workout.
Not sure how you gain mass without losing flexibility, unless perhaps you did stuff like Yoga, Pilates, Yogilaties etc etc, to help maintain flexibility, or you did something like a bulk up then a cut, so you would have less fat mass, which could possibly affect flexibility.
-
mmafighter24
- STARTING OUT
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 1:30 pm
Thanks for some feedback. Typically after a workout, I'll go home and cook about a 1/2 lb of steak, chicken, or fish and try to combine that with some vegetables. Is there such a thing as taking in too much protein that could have an adverse affect on the body. For example, if I were to consume protein shakes throughout the day and in addition to that eat a high protein meal for dinner?
i'm not a nutrionist but from overall good sources excess protein will be stored as fat and processing it puts strain on the kidney.
also try to add simple and complex carbs to your post workout meal
solid complete protein from animal sources (eggs, milk and meat) are better than protein powders because of the way the body digest them .
also try to add simple and complex carbs to your post workout meal
solid complete protein from animal sources (eggs, milk and meat) are better than protein powders because of the way the body digest them .
you do need a protein to have straight after working out...as soon as you finish you have a window about 45mins long to consume and get recovery started...if tou take longer such as going home than cooking something, the window can shut and you've lost most of the oppurtunity to grow, get stronger etc...during the day they can be userful for exctra cal's as it easier to fit in liquid meals but I'd rather you have as much solid's as you can...as for training look up chad waterbury's article called Hammer Down Strength i think which is geared towards MMA fighters...it's only 2/week for memory...the one thing you want to do is to maintain all yuor current qualities as you get bigger such as quickness...flexibilioty will only decrease if you're training isn't balanced (i.e too much bench not enough rows)
-
mmafighter24
- STARTING OUT
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 1:30 pm