2008/02/21, 07:59 PM
Hey everyone, I'm looking for a program to gain mass/strength when I went through a fitness plan on this website it has me doing like 15-20 reps per exercise, which i thought i was supposed to be doing less and more weight for mass/str..
Any suggestions for a workout?
I have access to a lot of machines, can use free weights, but I can't do free weights to failure (i work out alone, no spotter!!)
I go to the gym about 4 times a week.
Thanks for any suggestions!
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2008/02/22, 10:08 PM
If you're looking to build mass then focus on the big lifts (squats, deadlifts, pullups, bench, rows, cleans, presses).
You don't have to worry about failure. Research has shown that 'leaving one in the tank' is just as effective, if not BETTER because you have a less change of losing form, thus decreasing chance of injury.
Keep your workout to around 45 minutes (sounds short) but there's a few reasons why. It really depends on how much mass you're looking to put on.
Reps wise, you're looking at 5-8 for the most part. You can do higher reps but that seems to be the range where you can add some serious mass quicker.
The bodybuilding style workouts may work for you but for the majority of people who actually want to build a solid frame then they aren't very effective. I mean whats the point of doing a bicep only workout when the biceps are only about 3% of your total muscle mass.
Your arms will follow the growth of your body. The general rule is to get an inch of growth on your arms you need to gain 10-15 pounds of overall muscle.
there's a lot more we can talk about here, but if you want to email me at dan@dangrantfitness.com I could answer questions a little better for ya or I could tell you about a couple guys who that's all they do is teach people how to build mass.
Don't forget your nutrition, either, eat like a friggen animal :).
hope that helps,
DG
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2008/02/22, 10:35 PM
There are 3 parts to gain, the proper workout, proper rest, and proper diet. I agree with dg's post above 100%.
bodybuilding isolation type exercises may make you 'feel' like you are hitting a certain area, but in actuality you cannot do enough weight on those type exercises to properly overload a muscle, the main growth inticer.
In fact, many of these 'isolation' type exercises are a muscle strain or worse waiting to happen.
-------------- Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer
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