[Steve Awesome]

I left school a few months ago and have put on like 15 pounds... I used to think I could eat whatever I wanted and not put on any weight... Then I realised I just kept the same size and weight because of all the walking I had to do at school. So tomorrow I'm going to start running and riding my bike more... Definately have to work on my cardio cause I can't run for too long with out losing my breath. What sucks is that my local gym/swimming pool is being referbished and is closed for 9 months! bad timing...

Any tips on good workouts I could do at home?

[Something Savage]

Body weight exercises are simple, cheap, and effective for cardiovascular purposes. Pull-ups, push-ups, crunches, etc. done for high reps in intervals (and in a circuit with each other, back-to-back) will keep your heart-rate up.

I hate cardio, by the way. That shit should be a fucking sin, honest to God. I just can't stand it. I love lifting heavy weights. I'm not a runner. But I find when I force myself to do it, I almost enjoy the punishment of it all. Does that make sense?

To fellow bodybuilders, I'm sure it does. It's sort of like Legs day. I dread it like crazy until it comes, but the feeling of your quads knotting up & it literally hurting you to walk across the room makes it all worthwhile by that afternoon.

[TheRockIsCookin]

Just for interest, are there any runners in the WF forum? Just checking, I run the 100 and 200 sprints, I did 400 but decided that I didn't want to do it anymore. I represented my school last year provincial wide in the 200, did pretty well.

[bruteshot74]

Originally Posted by Something Savage

To fellow bodybuilders, I'm sure it does. It's sort of like Legs day. I dread it like crazy until it comes, but the feeling of your quads knotting up & it literally hurting you to walk across the room makes it all worthwhile by that afternoon.

I use to not be a fan of leg days at all but not that is probably the day I look forward to most because that is when I am lifting the most and the girls give you nice grin when you are leg pressing or squatting huge numbers

Originally Posted by TheRockIsCookin

Just for interest, are there any runners in the WF forum? Just checking, I run the 100 and 200 sprints, I did 400 but decided that I didn't want to do it anymore. I represented my school last year provincial wide in the 200, did pretty well.

I was pretty decent at the 800m back when I was in junior high and high school. Went to provincials several times. Placed 3rd the one year.

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by Something Savage

Body weight exercises are simple, cheap, and effective for cardiovascular purposes. Pull-ups, push-ups, crunches, etc. done for high reps in intervals (and in a circuit with each other, back-to-back) will keep your heart-rate up.

I hate cardio, by the way. That shit should be a fucking sin, honest to God. I just can't stand it. I love lifting heavy weights. I'm not a runner. But I find when I force myself to do it, I almost enjoy the punishment of it all. Does that make sense?

To fellow bodybuilders, I'm sure it does. It's sort of like Legs day. I dread it like crazy until it comes, but the feeling of your quads knotting up & it literally hurting you to walk across the room makes it all worthwhile by that afternoon.

I echo this sentiment and empathize with you on this. I hate cardio to the fullest extent possible as well and absolutely dread it. I actually don't do much now (three times a week - two hours after my weightlifting session) but during the summer & cut, I just can't stand running.

So, what I do now is high incline walking (11.5 incline @ 2.8 speed) which keeps my heart rate steadily around 155 as well as some HIIT (80 M sprints followed by 80 M slow jogs/walks). I alternate between the two nowadays and it really does keep me interested in going back to the treadmill.

Plus, cardio isn't always needed - it burns through muscle, too.

[Steve Awesome]

Originally Posted by bruteshot74

I was pretty decent at the 800m back when I was in junior high and high school. Went to provincials several times. Placed 3rd the one year.

I hate the 800m... I had to do it for a month or so in P.E... When I first did it I thought I would show off and sprint off in front of everyone. Was a lap ahead of everyone, then the watchamacallit acid started building up my legs... I ended up coming in last after the obese kid... and my legs were fooked for months

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by Steve Awesome

I hate the 800m... I had to do it for a month or so in P.E... When I first did it I thought I would show off and sprint off in front of everyone. Was a lap ahead of everyone, then the watchamacallit acid started building up my legs... I ended up coming in last after the obese kid... and my legs were fooked for months

What the fuck are you talking about? I mean, seriously.

[Champ]

Would like to hear from people who are focusing on massing up/gaining huge (say going for 200), feel free to talk about your workout sessions and food intake.

[El Conquistador]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/vm18.htm

Anyone with chronic elbow pain should really give this a view. I finally really looked into what's causing my issues and I'm convinced this is what I have as most of this article applies to my situation. Iced my elbow for the first time for about thirty minutes earlier and it did work pretty well by subsidizing the pain a fair bit.

I thought I'd post it up here for anyone who is encountering the same problems as I am. I really need to get my joints healthy if I'm going to continue to progress.

Originally Posted by Rock Bottom

Would like to hear from people who are focusing on massing up/gaining huge (say going for 200), feel free to talk about your workout sessions and food intake.

I'm currently 169 @ 8% body fat right now and I will be starting my bulk next week. It wont be anything extravagant but I plan on getting up to 195. At this point, it's a lot easier for me to cut weight and become vascular/lean than it is for me to add mass so I'm going all out on this bulk - sacrificing vascularity for more muscle mass in a mixture with fat.

I wont be restricting or counting calories. I plan on eating 1000-1500 calories over maintenance which is about 2700 calories a day for me (roughly). They say 500 calories over maintenance is ideal to minimize fat gains but I don't care to go that route.

As far as workouts go, my rep range will be sticking at 8 reps per set for the most part. Perfect rep range for mass & strength gains for myself.

Here's an example of an exercise:

DB Bench Press
50 lbs, 8 reps
60 lbs, 8 reps
70 lbs, 8 reps
80 lbs, 8 reps
90 lbs, 8 reps
100 lbs, 5 reps

In this example above, you add weight each set and try to stick at the same rep range. If you reach failure and struggle getting 8 reps but manage to do so, call it quits. If you reach below your target rep range, move on to the next exercise.

It's a low volume, heavy weight approach geared towards strength and overall mass. I believe a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle so that's how I approach training. Heavy weight gives you thick, dense muscle but wont give you a full, round look. My main goal in training is to become thicker and bigger overall.

[Something Savage]

Listen to -Flex-, kiddos. This guy definately knows his shit.

I'm also stuck in the same rut I've been in since LAST winter, by the way. Generally, I bulk every time around this year, and yet I let it pass me by last year. I stuck with the usual diet, focusing more on lower bf% and vascularity than anything else. Instead of taking the initiative to bulk & REALLY hammer some iron, I just stuck with the same old routine.

Somewhere along the way, I let work & school dictate my gains & diet. That's not to say I ate unhealthy. I just didn't eat enough - certainly not to bulk. And, of course, there were some days where there simply weren't enough hours in a day to justify that.

I fluctuate between the 165-170 mark myself. I'd love to reach something close to 200 pounds & find a way to maintain the mass gained from that, but it's kind of depressing when I think back & realize - hey fucker, that was your goal at this exact same time LAST YEAR.