John's Workout Progress

john.macD · Post by **john.macD** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:54 am

Hi, names John and i'm 16 years old. Over the past couple of months i have posted on these forums about eating problems and the response has been great! I now eat so much more and i am a healthier human being.
I have also been toying with the of joining a gym for a matter months. The good news is i have finally joined! Despite starting off a scrawny 112 pound teenager, i am now 125. Ok not muscle but its a start

. With this added weight goal is now to build myself up with some muscle. I have decided to share progress with you guys because i love the friendly community within the forums

. Ok, over the last week i have started hitting the gym and i love it! program me is as follows:

Upper Body

Chest - Bench press 10x3 , chest press 10x3

Biceps - Hammer Curls 10x3 , Bicep Curl ( isolated Bicep with some sort of bench ) 10x3

Shoulders - Shoulder Press 10x3 , machine very similar to SP 10x3

Back - Lat pull down 10x3 , a rowing machine ( not an normal rowing machine has resistance weights on it )

Lower Body

Legs - Legs Press 10x3 , Step Ups ( with dumbbells ) 15x3 , calf raises 10x3

Abs - Crunch with a balance ball 20x3 , plank 30 secs x 3 , Hanging leg raises ( i think ) 10x3

weekly routine

Monday - Upper Body
Tuesday - Lower Body
Wednesday - Upper Body
Thursday - Lower Body
Friday - Upper Body
Saturday Lower Body
Sunday - Rest

As you can maybe tell i enjoy the gym

.

I also feel i have diet in order to be able to achieve goals.

Any suggestions or tips on programme would be highly appreciated.

Hope you guys can help me in goals and i will most certainly keep you's informed on progress

.

PandorasVise · Post by **PandorasVise** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:13 am

a plan is always a good first step. Now stick to it and you will succeed.

thekid24 · Post by **thekid24** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 10:39 am

its good that you enjoy the gym, but you should definitely decrease your frequency. too much lifting and no rest.

-you dont grow/put on muscle while lifting. you grow when you're at rest(with proper nutrition of course).
-you're overtraining BIGTIME. I only go to the gym 4 times a week and haven't taken a week off from training in a few months. I used to think over training is WAY overrated. but last week, I've been feeling light headed and woozy. I even puked a couple times in the locker room after a workout. so i took a week off.
-so if you're not feeling those now, you will soon if you stick to your current plan.

here's what you do:
MON-Upper
TUE-Lower
WED-Off/light cardio
THU-Upper
FRI-Lower
SAT-Off/light cardio
SUN-OFF

--You also need to add squats and deadlifts to your lower body routine; For upper, add Chinups, Rows and leave the machines to the older gym goers.

--I also started at around 112-115 and been training RIGHT almost a year ago. Now I'm at 130-132 at 5'5. I'm still tryna gain about 10 more pounds and planning to cut about 5-8lbs of fat after.

john.macD · Post by **john.macD** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:07 am

This message was posted to Kid personally but i would also like any other thoughts

Hi, thanks for the reply to journal. I understand what your saying about over training, i was thinking i may have been doing way to much. I have only one question, After workouts i don't feel muscle fatigued the day ( s ) after, this is why i train so often as i feel workouts may be ineffective. While doing the workouts on the other hand i normally do until failure. Could you maybe give me any advice? Also is 2 sessions on upper and lower body a week enough to stimulate muscle growth?

thanks
John

RK19 · Post by **RK19** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:42 pm

try full body workouts 3x a week (its better)

scrap all the machines and use compound lifts.

deadlifts,squats,bench press,chinups,pullups,military press,cleans are all examples.

sets/reps should be at around 4x6 or 6x4.

thekid24 · Post by **thekid24** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 1:41 pm

-like RK said, you can do full body workouts. This way, you can even lower the frequency to 3 times a week. or for upper/lower split, yes, two sessions a week is good enough.

-if you're not feeling fatigued, try going heavy. 5x5, 6x4, 4x6 and so on.... do less reps with heavier weights with compound lifts as listed.

john.macD · Post by **john.macD** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:47 pm

Hi, yet again thanks for the reply, i'm truly thankful

.

Ok, so if compound lifts are better which ones would you guys recommend.

Of course if i add - squat , deadlift , bench press , chin ups and military press this should improve workout. Do you guys recommend any other exercise i could complete?

RK19 · Post by **RK19** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:13 pm

the above (or variations of the above ) are good enough.

john.macD · Post by **john.macD** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 5:39 am

Hi, well i hit the gym this morning and tested out what you guys suggested. I must admit i really enjoyed doing deadlifts, squats and barbell rows. I did each exercise for only 1 set because i was preparing for tomorrow.

So workout from now on will be mainly built upon compound exercises

RK19 · Post by **RK19** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:02 am

good stuff, keep at it.