What are some good muscle building exercises?

[cheeseman007]

I am looking to try and build up muscle mass in order to have a more toned look (gotta impress the ladies ya know what I mean?  ) Right now I weight 173 lbs and am 5'10'' so I'm not so much looking to lose weight as I am looking to work on the arms and abs and stuff. Any good workout suggestions?

[jackulator]

squats are great for pretty much your whole body

but with building mass what you want to do is really high weight and low reps -- like the most weight you can do 6-8 times and like 4-6 times the second set (after a few minutes rest), rather than doing a weight you can lift 12-15 times and three sets of it (with very little break between sets)-- that's more for endurance and toning

for building muscle you also have to make sure you eat enough calories -- a little more than you need to maintain your bodyweight -- depends on  how much lean muscle mass you have, but the BMR calculators on the internet are probably pretty close -- just eat about 200-500 more calories than you need and when you work out go HEAVY and hard and get plenty of rest (2-3 days for whatever muscle group you work) and good nutrition (some protein and high-quality carbs within 45 minutes of your workout finishing) -- stay hydrated, and always warm up well before you lift

for abs I like the incline situps and doing crunches on the exercise ball -- or planks

for your arms, don't forget to work the shit out of the triceps -- most of your upper arm is tricep and having big tris makes your biceps look bigger when you're flexing for the chicks... 

so yeah -- build muscle until you're a little bigger than you want to be, and then do a ton of cardio and bump your calories down to what you need to maintain your new weight -- and when you lift, do a low enough weight that you can do it 12-15 times for three sets -- that should cut you up nice

that's what I've been able to gather from all of the research and advice -- but in case I got anything wrong, guys like Buster on the site here would be good to ask -- he'll probably chime in before too long

[buster01]

Well, I feel kinda obligated to chime in now. 

Jack is mostly right but I'd say if you're wanting to get "toned," as you said cheeseman07, there's no such thing as weight training to get toned. That's nonsense. Being toned only comes from having low body fat levels which comes from dieting and just doing any kind of exercise. High reps will not "tone" you any more than low reps or any kind of reps. So if you want to look better and have visible abs and what not focus on eating a high protein, moderate carbohydrate and moderate to high in good fats diet. Check out simplyshredded.com if you want more detail about what kind of foods you should eat, when you should eat them, etc. One important thing when dealing with carbs is to focus on low glycemic complex carbs in your diet (brown rice, oatmeal, beans etc.) Abs exercises won't do anything to make them more visible if your diet isn't locked in and despite what spammers and fitness model douchebags on youtube will tell ya there are no shortcuts.

For building muscle mass and strength nothing beats the bench press, barbell squat (either with a box or without), deadlift and standing military press. For arms the top exercises, despite what any curlmonkeys will tell ya, are dips and chinups. Tricep extensions and bicep curls should be seen as and are accessory movements. And unless you want to look like the West Hollywood type (big arms and chest and small everywhere else) base your routine around the compound movements (those involving many muscle groups working together) like bench, squat, deadlift, military press as well as chinups, dips, dumbbell presses, lunges, and rows and go as heavy as you can with good form. After all you don't want to look like a light bulb so don't forget to hit your pipes, buddy! 

[jackulator]

good point buster -- I didn't meant to suggest that lifting low weight high reps was in and of itself going to make him toned -- the 'toning' phase would -- namely reduced calories and more emphasis on cardio type aerobic exercise, which burns more fat for fuel than the anaerobic power-lifting type exercise

plus you're gonna lose some of the muscle you gained in the bulking phase along with the fat, so by doing resistance training, but with a lower weight and higher reps you might help preserve more of the muscle

you're definitely right though -- in order to see the muscle you have to get all the fat off it -- one way or the other   

and thanks for the tips on which exercises to do -- I found myself already gravitating to dips and pullups -- mostly because I want to be able to handle my own bodyweight -- plus all the guys in the gym who look the way I want do a lot of them

squats are fucking scary though, as is the standing military press... keeping balanced while holding a heavy weight over my head is not my idea of a swell time... probably why it's so effective.
dead lift sounds nicer, but I suppose if you're not careful you could blow one of your nuts out the side of your pants

[buster01]

Hey man I actually completely agree: I fucking hate squats. Hate. I'm using the word hate here about squats. I've also fucked up my lower back repeatedly when doing them but they will probably always be in my program since brutal and painful as they are for strength and muscle mass they are key. That said at least now I also do lots of lower back work and have improved my technique enough that I don't foresee any lower back injuries in the future.

Military presses are actually not too bad once you learn to keep your core and lower body really tight for stability. I have actually learned to enjoy those. Especially when my poundages go up.

And there is nothing nice about deadlifts, Jack. They are almost as bad as squats in terms of making you feel like you might spit up a lung and making you sore as shit the next day. That said the best exercises are usually the harder ones. Bench presses when done correctly are brutal too but they're so damn effective as well. And dips and chinups/pullups kick ass both for muscle development and improving pressing/pulling power. You better believe it. 

[jackulator]

haha nice... makes me somewhat glad to know my apprehensions were correct. but I believe it was Pat Sajak who once said something like, "In order for a thing to impress itself in the mind it must first be terrifying"

so, likely one day squats and deadlifts will be the mainstay of my workout regimen, if only so I will have conquered my fear of them

but I got a question for ya -- why do people use those stations where you lean forward against a padded thing, bend way over and then use your back muscles to pull you back up?



I tried it the other day and compared to the Cybex machine I call 'the leanback machine' (pic below) it's nothing..



I do one or two sets of 12 reps with the whole stack on that machine (230 pounds?), and it's ten times harder than using my own bodyweight on those little padded platforms.. I actually went and grabbed a 45-pound weight and held it to my chest when doing the platform and it still wasn't half as hard as the whole stack on the cybex machine -- my question is basically, since it would appear I have an inordinately strong back, should dead lifts be much easier for me than other people my size?

also, how long should it take -- how many workouts that is, to move up say 5 pounds on an exercise like the bench press?

by the way, it took me a few minutes to find, but the quote I tried to throw down above was actually from Nietzsche: "All great things must first wear terrifying and monstrous masks in order to inscribe themselves on the hearts of humanity."   

[buster01]

Those are called hyperextensions and they're good for rehab and strengthening the lower back. The problem is most of them aren't build right. Here's a glute ham raise/hyperextension bench built correctly:

http://www.elitefts.com/images/PICTURES/gluteham/collegiate-glute-ham.jpg

You should be in a parallel position before you lean forward not at a 45 degree position. Also the weight should be held behind your head or on your back when you dip down in my opinion. I feel the lower back working much harder this way. I don't know if you'd have an edge with it since in my opinion that cybex machine is a piece of crap but you said you could row 120 with one arm for a set which would indicate good upper back strength which does help with your lockout in the deadlift. I know Matt Kroczaleski does heavy one arm rows as his main upper back exercise and he credits it with helping him get pack a plateau in the deadlift. That said quad, glute, hamstring and lower back strength are also crucial so I can't say if you'd have an edge or not. Give 'em a try, man. Best way to find out.

Hard to say. It could be one workout. I find the best strength program out there is Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program. Anyone trying to improve their bench, squat, deadlift and military press should give it a try. As far as form on the bench I follow Christian Thibadeau's advice:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/f1e4Jp34iPQ&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/f1e4Jp34iPQ&rel=0</a>

Ignore the French-Canadian accent the man knows his stuff. The better your technique is the faster your poundages will go up.

[jackulator]

I'm just gonna have to watch that another 20 times to get that shit ingrained -- I like the idea of pushing with the legs -- I don't think I'm doing that at all... plus the motion he shows on the press itself is more upward than I imagined it

oh also -- when I was doing the 120-pound BORs it was about halfway up... which I learned from using 75-pounders and realized I was going up 'all the way' with them... so I can lift it up off the ground and pull a 120-pounder toward my chest, but not all the way up by any means

[EDIT] JESUS! your Jim Wendler's got it down to a science: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=112382761&page=1

and after watching a few of his videos on youtube it's amazing that he can lift as much as he can because he doesn't look as big as you'd think someone who can bench 700 and squat 1,000 should be

that appeals to me because I'm going for the most strength possible in a basketball player like body if possible (Kevin Willis comes to mind)

so it's nice to know you can still be motherfuckin strong and not have to look like captain creatine

[buster01]

Yeah Jim Wendler's a beast amond beasts. You should buy the book though since he goes into a lot more detail than in that write up. Here's some clips of the man lifting tons of weight raw:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/_NJIYwPDRvs&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/_NJIYwPDRvs&rel=0</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/i-v9gLsTT_c&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/i-v9gLsTT_c&rel=0</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/mjNwAa2TIGY&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/mjNwAa2TIGY&rel=0</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/SxXWLI5AjLY&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/SxXWLI5AjLY&rel=0</a>

And working at the elitefitnesssystems answering the phones:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/1kx1Ev8RwYM&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/1kx1Ev8RwYM&rel=0</a>

[marleycake]

that shits crazy

i heard good-mornings do more harm than good

i usually just benchpress, push-ups and once every year do some squats 

[cheeseman007]

thanks guys I will have to give this stuff a try. What's your guys' opinion on the various vitamins and supplements they sell? Are there any that actually work good without negative side effects? I went into a GNC store just to ask questions and some meathead immediately tried to sell me some stuff that is $75 a bottle 

[buster01]

Never never never go to GNC. Aside from their crappy selection all their supplements are way overpriced and they have their own brand of supplements that they will try to sell you on. Amazon.com has the best prices but if you find a good vitamin or nutrition store in your area go for it. Just not GNC. Protein powders are good for post workout especially if you're crunched for time. I like Optimum Nutrition Natural Whey or Hydrowhey or VPX Zero Carb but there's plenty of good ones. Just look for ones that aren't too processed and have good ratings. Or you could just have a grilled chicken breast and some fruit. A good fish oil or flax oil is a good idea but not super important. As for multivitamins I think they're overrated. As long as you're eating plenty of fruits and vegetables you're getting plenty of vitamins so I would say don't spent the money. I also like to drink Xtend which has amino acids during my workout but that's also not super important.

[jackulator]

I got some Jack3D 

tried it out for the first time today -- don't know if it was psychological or what, but it seemed like I could work out harder

plus as my brother pointed out, the name suits me 

have you tried Jack3D buster? it's got beta alanine in it, which I've heard good things about

so whadya think?

[buster01]

Haha I've heard of Jacked a bunch but never thought of it that way. 

Beta alanine in my experience is a good thing to look for in a supplement and my pre-workouts have it. So are citrulline malate, l-leucine, and l-glutamine. Don't ask me to explain why though. It's fucking complicated, ya know what I mean?

No I haven't tried it. I've tried Optimum Nutrition's Amino Energy, Muscle Pharm Assault, Controlled Labs White Flood, and VPX No-Shotgun for pre-workout. Amino Energy made me irritable and acted more like a fat burner, and Assault upset my stomach something fierce. White Flood on the other hand works pretty good for extra energy and No-Shotgun, aside from the goofy name, I like a lot.

I've been curious to try Jacked but after some bad experiences I'm wary of pre-workout supplements. Let me know how it works for you, Jack.

[cheeseman007]

Has anyone here tried the P90x before? I'm tempted to give that a shot.

[buster01]

It's a fad, man. Not to say it won't give you some results but it's a piss poor substitute for real weight training. And that "muscle confusion" theory behind it is bullshit. While it's good to switch your exercises around every 4-6 weeks the idea that you're muscles will grow faster when they have no idea what they're adapting to is nonsense. And it won't give you any results that a good diet and a well constructed weight training program, like Wendler's 5/3/1, won't give you and then some.

[marleycake]

Has anyone here tried the P90x before? I'm tempted to give that a shot.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UN3w-dhibcA&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/UN3w-dhibcA&rel=0</a>

[buster01]

Love how that guy has a huge chest and a pencil neck. Do some shrugs already. Although he does make some points I agree with.

[jackulator]

hahaha -- I knew there was something irritating about that guy -- now that you point it out it looks ridiculous 

[marleycake]

hahah i see it now He looks like a Turtle

TURTLE TURTLE