Weight lifting-getting bigger?

Question

Im 23 yrs old and have been working out for a few months. I work out by myself cause my friends are too lazy to join me. I have been noticing that my strength is getting stronger and i've be getting more viens popping out, but my muscles aren't growing? What should I do to make my muscles grow bigger? Can I avoid taking any suppements or should i take protein shakes to help build bigger muscles? I heard those things aren't healthy like creatine. I usually do weights that I can do 10 reps-three sets, i've been told to lift heavier and do less reps and the same sets to help with the muscle growth. Is that what I should be doing?

Answer 1

Yup, heavier with less reps.
Try doing a pyramid, where the 1st weight you can do 10 reps, the next one slightly heavier u do 6-8 reps, and the 3rd, the heaviest you can do 3-6 reps. Every month or so try to increase the weight so your muscles don't get used to it.
You may want to increase the amount of protein you eat in your diet, that way you are doing it naturally. Good luck!

Answer 2

Go to a fitness website or pick up a magazine. Your muscles will react differently to various training excersices. Also, your muscle groups react differently too. Working out your biceps is totally different then say doing squats. Generally I do three sets of reps, one at 10, one at 8, and one at 6, then I run about three miles for the cardio and definition, not to mention a great leg workout. Each time I increase the weight. Eventually your muscles will get used to this and adapt. When you see yourself not gaining anymore strength, you'll need to switch it up. Either start doing more reps with less weight, or go more weight with less reps.

A general rule with lifting weights is that if you want to build size to your muscles you should go more weight and less reps. Start out doing reps of 6/4/2. Find out what your max is and then for the first rep do about 60% of your max. For the second do about 70%. And for the third do about 80%. You should try it out and adjust the weight (do 65%, 70%, 80% or whatever), because not everyone is the same. If you are trying to get definition you should go with more reps and less weight. A good way to do this is to make sure that any combination of sets you do equals thirty reps i.e. 10/10/10, 10/8/6/6, etc.

Oh, btw make sure you do some variety, don't hit the same workout everytime, try to use every machine in the gym, trainers there can give you some good ideas also.

Answer 3

First, you need to hit the weights with more intensity and increase your daily protein consumption. Also, supplements aren't a bad thing, they enchance your gains when combined with protein and carbohydrates (the two essential ingrediants in muscle building). Your protein/carb ratio should be 1:1, meaning you consume about equal amounts of both. Depending on your body weight, you should try to consume between 30-60 grams of protein every 3 to 4 hours... Don't rely only on protein shakes because they're inferior to white meats such as fish and chicken.

Also, make sure you find time to sleep at least 8 hours a day. Sleep is when your muscles are actually growing, not immediately after a workout.

Do about 5-10 minutes of cardio prior to lifting weights to warm your body up and get your blood flowing. This will assist in your heavy lifting.

Try to increase your sets and diversify your exercises. Do one warmup set with light weight and then switch to 5 working sets in a pyramid fashion (lighter to heavier) until you fully fatigue the muscle. One tip that will help you is to focus exclusively on one muscle group at a time. If you do one set of biceps, for example, don't jump straight to chest or shoulders. This is a waste of time.

Also, you say you've only been working out for a few months. It will take about a year to see 'dramatic improvements'. You might want to think about investing in some creatine. It's expensive and I container will last about 2 weeks, but the results are proven to increase muscle mass, endurance, and strength.

Also, imagery is a powerful tool when working out. Try buying some muscle magazines and visualize yourself with one of those physiques. Your mind is a powerful asset when it comes to time hit the gym.

Answer 4

Yes, you will build more mass with heavy weight and 4 sets. Start out with less weight and then your last set should be beyond failure. Mix up your routine. For example: Chest and Bi, Back and Tri, Shoulders and Legs, and do abs every other day. This will confuse your muscles and you will notice results faster. Protien shakes are a great way to increase mass. Just be sure to stay away from shakes high in sugar. Look for shakes with BCAA's (branch chain amino acids). I personally like Isopure. I mix vanilla with some skim milk, ice and add honey (very small amount) for some sweetness. Good luck and don't give up!

Answer 5

Everyones body is different so it's hard to say. I've always had a tough time putting on weight too, but the main thing to realize is that working out is only half the equation, the other half is nutrition. If you're what they call a "hardgainer" make sure you're eating lots of protein and carbohydrate rich foods within an hour of working out. Other than that, just eat lots and lots of calories, preferably ones that aren't junk food, like lean chicken breast, %90 lean ground beef, and complex carbs like pastas. You have to always have a full stomach so your body can use those nutrients to build muscle. Check out Bodybuilding.com too, there's lots of usefull articles there.

Answer 6

Congrats.on improving your body.Too bad about your friends.My advice is to not take any advice from the side walk GURUS,especially your non iron buddies.Pumping iron can be really dangerous if you don't know what you'r doing.A charles Atlas body does'nt happen over night so do'nt get impatient.My advice to you is to join a gym if you have one in your town and get on a program.Take some before and after pictures and in about a year you'll really notice some differance.Good luck.

Answer 7

Are you drained via the 0.33 set of 10? specially, are your muscle mass fatigued? If no longer, then you incredibly would desire to probable do 3 instruments of 8 with HEAVIER weight. except your muscle mass are fatigued after a set, then there will be minimum muscle restore mandatory -- muscle restore makes the muscle mass larger. this is the biggest. continually, continually have a protein shake after a energetic artwork out.

Answer 8

hey add more protein in your diet

and yah you heard right, heavy weights with less reps.

you need to stay consistent to

their is also this drink called muscle milk, its a delicious lifters drink. check it out if you want to gain serious muscle.

Answer 9

American vistas dot com website might help you