workout help??

Question

I'm a 38 yr.old male who has worked out ,off and on(mostly off) since I was 19.I started back into it full time with the intention of putting on some serious muscle about 1 1/2 years ago and made decent gains at first,but have been stuck for about 8 months now,especially arms.I have tried hitting them twice a week,once a week,6-8 reps,8-10 reps,supersets,with chest and back,by themselves, only 3 sets a once a week,protein powder,you name it- I've pretty much tried it,but I'm always willing to listen to new ideas.Any tips?I'm not very big-about 5'10 172 lbs.with only 15" arms and have always been a hard gainer.My metabolism is crazy and even at 38 I have no problem staying lean and ripped......any ideas would be appreciated

Answer 1

The amount of muscle tissue that can sustain on a body or that a body can gain is dependant of:
- the amount of testosterone in the blood
- the amount of fat (if 3-4% bodyfat percentage is achieved, gaining muscle tissue becomes increasingly difficult)
- genetics
- workout

PUMPING UP TESTOSTERONE
Once more I stress the fact (as I did in previous questions) that I am strongly against the use of steroids. They are very risky for your health and may lead to development of female characteristics at the longer term.

One should increase the production of testosterone naturally, by doing the following:

- Avoid alcohol
- Avoid stress and overtraining
- Consume zinc and magnesium
- Consume creatine (creatine is a natural substance found in salmon and beef, which does not only increase testosterone production; it also speeds up recovery and adds in muscle gains)
- Intenstivity of the workout (less rest between sets and lift to failure)
- Have at least 8 hours sleep at night
- Limiting ejaculation may also aid. Tests have proven that this causes a lower production in testosterone (if frequently practiced).

BODY SIZE LIMIT
You said you are lean are ripped. I estimate that is a body fat percentage of approximately 3-4 %. Every body has something what bodybuilders call a "full size body limit", that is the full amount of muscle mass you can put on. If you are already very ripped (your muscles are extremely hard without squeezing your fists), you will most likely have to gain more fat in order to create more muscle tone.

GENETICS
Genetics are another reason why some bodies produce more testosterone or recover faster from injury. Nothing can be done about this.

WORKOUT
Working out is also very important. In bodybuilding lifting to failure puts extra stress on the muscles. Lifting exercises like the bench press to failure may be dangerous, however.

Another point is that reps per set should be between 6 - 10. If you go for less reps, you will gain more strength, but less muscle tone. If you go for a higher number, you will gain more endurance, but less strength and muscle tissue.

The workout defines how huge you can get. If you train 30 minutes a day, it won't happen. Bodybuilders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger sometimes trained twice a day, what would be approximately 6 - 8 hours. If you wish to increase your workout time, you must higher it slowly, so the body can get used to it. A common workout would be 6 times a week, training each muscle group 3x (1 day rest in between) and performing 2-3 exercises wth each 5 sets. This is definitely required if you wish to get huge. But be careful, if not carefully practices, you may get injured.

Performing exercises that train multiple muscle groups are very beneficial in raising hormone release (naturally) in the body. They also cause a drastical increase in muscle tone. Such exercises are best known as bench press, squats, deadlifts, etc.

Taking less rest between sets also causes greater stress on the muscles and intensifies the workout, hence causing greater production of testosterone.

You can even pick muscles that are connected to each other (such as triceps and biceps) and train them right after each other. In other words the triceps exercises can put extra stress on biceps and vice versa.

Although muscles need approximately 1 week to heal, they are fairly healed within 2 days. You can keep working out. Your body will never be fully recovered, but that does not matter. Your body will increase its muscle mass greatly and will increasingly speed up its recovery.

Once more I stress the fact that you should workout intelligently and safely, not ruthless. Bodybuilding, if not carefully practiced, may damage the body irreversably. Don't work hard, work smart.

Hopefully this gives you an idea.

Answer 2

Well coming from almost the same background (I'm a hardgainer but my arms are huge but my body may sue my calves for lack of support).You need to take in a surplus of calories(I needed 7000 a day with 300 grams of protein) and eat 6-8 times a day.Protein every 3 hours is important to retain a positive nitrogen balance therefore remaining anabolic.Big compound movements like squat and deadlift will have a tremendous positive effect on your size.The fact of the matter is that I run very fast and have sqhatted 505 lbs at competion depth but still have tiny calves.It may just be your genetic blueprint because most of what you're saying should have a positive impact.Try the other big movements along with bent over barbell rows but train the biceps with bak once a week ONLY.They need to heel(the microtrauma) in order to grow.And everything made by AST is a scam.Designer Whey from Next proteins has invested 6.7 million dollars into R&D.It's the onlt protein supplement on the market with anywhere near the clinical evidence.Lactose free and glutamine(the most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue) enriched.I get mine from DPSNutrition.net.Also lower reps and more weight will increase microtrauma and hypertrophy as well as stimulating the white(fast twitch) muscle fibers.All of the above have helped me nearly double my lean body mass through the years with no steroids ever.

Answer 3

My ideas? Try to do 200 minutes of cardio a week. Remember fat does not turn into muscle, so you need to lose your fat while putting on muscle. Work hard, but don't over 60 minutes at a time. Do planks and other abs exercises on alternate days.

On training days, do 5-10 minutes of cardio to warm up, then do your weight training. Do 30 to 60 minutes more of cardio, then go home.

The best time to eat is just after your workout within an hour when your metabolism is raging. For your muscles, incorporate some isolated soy protein or whey protein. Whey is more potent but the soy tastes better!

Don't look at your scale as the be all and end all, but get a measuring tape to check your progress, and that will show more tangible results.

Read magazines like Shape, Womens Fitness, Fitness, etc to get tips and to stay motivated.

Good luck and stick at it. This plan has lost me 20 lbs in 12 weeks so far, just go for it!

Answer 4

try MAX OT. it's designed to give increased muscle mass with decreased workout time. I've been doing it for 6 weeks and I'm noticing a big difference. It's free to sign up, too.

Answer 5

Get a personal trainer and a membership at the gym. They have the best solutions. Cheers.