A few basic building questions - Help me devise a plan!

[ReachMax]

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[mihorne]

read the stickies

take a few hours to read posts in the body building / diet / supplement forums

then ask a question

[METALASIAN]

So basically you don't have a gym membership.

[bill]

Well like they said read the stickies, read Chris Mason's article for teens. State some goals so people can help. Like do wish to get big, workout for wrestling or what?

[jack_of_all]

1. nothing wrong with eating both before AND after, though i believe that for maximum protein use, its probably best to eat afterward at the least. (also, dont eat so much that you feel full if you eat b4, because this could impede you)

2. generally if you want mass, you should be doing sets to near failure (ie: you could do one more rep if you reall tried) and sets should be composed of 6-8 reps. for max strength gains, lower reps ( like 3-6) are more appropriate, also, training for failure (ie: you have a failed--or succeeded one that is shortly followed by a failure--rep attempt at the end of your max effort sets) tends to be more accepted in strength training programs. on warm up sets, dont do to many reps because you can cause lactic acid to build up in your muscles even if your not straining that much, and lactic acid will make you weaker.

3. consistancy is in a way, both good and bad. if you are overly consistant you may platuea (i cant spell this word) in strength or size faster than most people, if you are under consistant your volume of work wont be very appropriate. i train for max strength, and i often dont do or change my assistance excercises, so if you look at the routine i actually did, it can change between given workouts. if your feeling up to more volume, it might be a good idea, if you are mentally fatigued and start to hate lifting maybe dropping some volume will help you. also, i reccomend an off week every 2 months.

4. aside from push ups/sit ups. pull ups, dips (<--these 2 are the best non weight excercises in existance imho, partially because you can easily strap weight to yourself) prison pull ups (like a reverse push up, ie you grab a bar that is a few feet off the ground and get in an upside down push up posit and row yourself. these are ok, but like nearly all non weight excercises cant do it alone.) muscle ups (pull up and dip in one slow movement, this requires ALOT of strength, so its a good excercise but very fatiguing, and ill bet you cant do one. i know most people on this board and myself sure cant) you can also do weightless squats and many more calisthenic excercises (the us navy seal physical fitness guide has TONS of calisthenic excercises). in the long run, you need 4 things though. a bar, weights, a bench, and a squat rack. so join a gym or buy them. also, dont feel that you need 'base strength' before you can lift free weights, this is far from the truth.

here are some links.

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

http://www.wannabebig.com/article.php?articleid=25

[ReachMax]

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate the help. As far as my goals, I'm just looking to bulk up a bit to get rid of my skinny appearance. I'm also doing it to get ready for the upcoming swim season.

Does anyone happen to have a link to Chris Manson's Teen Article? I can't seem to find it.

I'm guessing it would be much easier if I joined a gym. Hopefully this summer I'll join one.

Thanks!