[The Fantasist]

(09-19-2012 12:47 PM)Caligula Wrote:  

Also they don't have barbells at my gym - any suggestions for substitutes? (eg. on bicep curls with bar)

Caligula get yourself another gym bro. How can it not have bars?? How do you bench or squat,hopefully not in a Smith machine.

[WanderingSoul]

There are no substitutes for barbell squats or deadlifts. Vork is 100% correct. Gotta find a new gym.

[Caligula]

It's a small gym that I have free access to - finances tight at the moment so wanted to get the most mileage out of it. But consensus seems to be that barbell is a must.

I might just buy the barbell, bring it over and leave it there. Would be cheaper than paying for a gym membership.

[freshfresca]

Sorry for the bump but I understand westcoast doesn't contribute to the forum anymore but can anyone remember any details to his workout plan or anything similar to recommend?

[JayJuanGee]

(09-21-2014 01:18 AM)freshfresca Wrote:  

Sorry for the bump but I understand westcoast doesn't contribute to the forum anymore but can anyone remember any details to his workout plan or anything similar to recommend?

Welcome to the forum. Why don't you describe what it is that you are attempting to achieve more specifically and even introduce yourself in such a context could be helpful since you are new to the forum (only one other post) because otherwise guys here may get the impression that you are trolling?

Your only other post to date also gives a stalking / trolling vibe, and guys here don't really want to be quized with general open-ended questions until after they get to know you and you have contributed some to help make your questions easier to answer..

The newbie section of the forum could be more helpful and forgiving to allow you to practice the tone of your posts - that is if you have any such intent.

[freshfresca]

Hey Jay, forgive me for the trollish vibe but I've never really lurked on any other forums unless it's for recruiting tidbits or what 49ers player is getting arrested that week. But from what you can see from my last post, which was posted in the newbie forum, I'm at a crossroads and not very happy with life in the present. I've always been an optimist but have been pretty pessimistic for the last couple months (oneitis).

But never the less, I have received tremendous info after stumbling across this site. This place is an amazing learning center which I hope to contribute to- so I apologize if it looks like I'm just trying to milk information outve y'all.

I bumped the thread because I was curious about OP's original workout plan. I'm about 5'9 150. I'd like to bulk up to 160-165. I've worked out in the past but chalk it up to laziness for not sticking to the weights. I always feel self conscious about my body, but then would get hot girls so would say to myself "I don't need the gym to get girls" which is somewhat true but doesn't help with the fact that I'm not happy when I look in the mirror.

My biggest issue is my chest- always feeling bad about my chest. I wanted to start a program to get that V shape look that all the girls melt for.

So chest/back day
Incline dumbbell press
Barbell bench press
Dumbbell flies
Dips
Pull-ups
Lat pull downs
Barbell rows
(Also want to do a lot of pull-ups and push-ups at home) 50 pull-ups and 200 push-ups per day?

[britchard]

You need to add in a few more compound excerices such as deadlift or squats if you want gains at your current weight.

[Ingocnito]

I've experienced a massive weight gain, no gear, just killing the food, shakes, milk, mass gainer, you name it. And lifting so hard I'm screaming to complete last few reps. I had to be somewhere around 6500-8000 calories daily. It was too much I'll admit but it did the trick.

In 2009 entered the gym on a mission to gain mass at 6'4" 198 lbs. on May 15th, and checked weight on Oct 30th 5.5 months later at 254 lbs. I hit legs twice a week religiously, never lifted less than 4 days a week, usually 5-6 a week during that period. If I felt what seemed to be a minor tweak or injury, I lifted through it. I worked very hard on my weakest parts, to the point what used to be my strongest muscles are my weakest in comparison now.

Right now I'm 231 lbs, and way leaner. I retained most of my muscle since then, but I've not had more than 1 week off since I gained that mass, 5 years of straight lifting. Feels great.

Ectomorph battles are won in the kitchen. However, I always kept that mindset in the gym;"I'm converting this bloated gut into muscle..." And I could literally feel my body metabolizing the energy, and giving me the power to lift very heavy. I permanently changed to homeostasis of my body in 2009, never knew I could. Best of luck to the ectos, I feel your frustration.

[JayJuanGee]

(09-21-2014 12:15 PM)freshfresca Wrote:  

Hey Jay, forgive me for the trollish vibe but I've never really lurked on any other forums unless it's for recruiting tidbits or what 49ers player is getting arrested that week. But from what you can see from my last post, which was posted in the newbie forum, I'm at a crossroads and not very happy with life in the present. I've always been an optimist but have been pretty pessimistic for the last couple months (oneitis).

But never the less, I have received tremendous info after stumbling across this site. This place is an amazing learning center which I hope to contribute to- so I apologize if it looks like I'm just trying to milk information outve y'all.

I bumped the thread because I was curious about OP's original workout plan. I'm about 5'9 150. I'd like to bulk up to 160-165. I've worked out in the past but chalk it up to laziness for not sticking to the weights. I always feel self conscious about my body, but then would get hot girls so would say to myself "I don't need the gym to get girls" which is somewhat true but doesn't help with the fact that I'm not happy when I look in the mirror.

My biggest issue is my chest- always feeling bad about my chest. I wanted to start a program to get that V shape look that all the girls melt for.

So chest/back day
Incline dumbbell press
Barbell bench press
Dumbbell flies
Dips
Pull-ups
Lat pull downs
Barbell rows
(Also want to do a lot of pull-ups and push-ups at home) 50 pull-ups and 200 push-ups per day?

O.k... you have NOT completely rid me of the idea that you may be trolling; however, that additional information may be helpful... to get guys to respond.. but I think you may need to describe a little more in terms of your overall package.. diet, sleep and exercise...

Anyhow, If you are going to the gym regularly, you probably need to rotate body parts and make sure that you are eating well and sleeping well, too, and maybe describe some of that to us.

I am about your height, and when I was in my early 20s, I went from 130 to 155 in no time by eating a lot and weight lifting. but then over the years, I got bigger.. so I am NOT an ectomorph.. so I cannot relate exactly to the ectomorph feeling.. even though when I was in high school I could NOT put weight on no matter what I did.. but once I left high school, I started lifting and eating more and in recent years (I am in my late 40s) I was up to 205.. and currently I am around 175.


I would also recommend NOT to overdo the cardio (maybe 10-20 minutes 3 times a week at most) and rotate the resistant training... which you seem to have pretty good variety - though you seem to be missing body parts in your described work-out..

When I was doing a lot of resistance training in the beginning (in my early 20s), I rotated parts but more or less my rotation was Day 1: chest and triceps, Day 2: back and bicepts Day 3: legs and shoulders. Of course, you can mix this up and have other parts in there too, which I recall that i was NOT exactly strict though I tried to mostly get on a kind of rotation.

Maybe resistance training 30-60 minutes at least 3 times a week.. but then you should make sure you are getting good sleep.. and probably if you are trying to gain weight, then make sure you are eating good and hardy meals.. I am a low carb high fat kind of eater these days, but there are probably ways you can tailor this kind of diet for gaining weight... I do NOT recommend carbs for bulking, even though some guys may add more carbs - and if you follow this route, at least attempt to eat the good ones that come from natural sources like potatoes and rice and oatmeal.. but in my view you gotta be careful NOT to overdo these kinds of carb products.

There may be a little grass is greener on the other side phenomenon going on here... because 150 lbs is NOT totally skinny.. but I can understand that you may at least want another 10 lbs and a V shape seems to be better than a stick shape...

It seems that I was kind of like you and wanted to bulk up.. but once you get bulky, it can be a bit challenging to take it off... so there is a certain advantage to the skinny look ... because it is likely NOT as frowned upon as you are making it out to be...

In LA there is the expression that "you can never be too skinny or too rich."

Actually, I have my own expression regarding girls and long term relationships (if a guy is interested in LTRs)... which is: "You gotta get them skinny because they will always get bigger as time goes on...". Same is true for guys in my thinking that guys are naturally going to get bigger with the passage of time - unless you are really engaging in some deprivation in the diet, sleep and/or exercise department.