I’m not an expert bodybuilder or trainer. I just decided to put this guide together after seeing so many threads about getting into shape. The guide focuses on building muscle for the most part. I will explain the main muscles in your body, where it is on your body, and what exercises you can do to tone that muscle. This is NOT the only thing you have to take into consideration if you plan on gaining muscle or losing weight. Diet and cardio exercises play a huge role in weight loss and muscle gain.
A couple eating tips:
-Eat a big breakfast and decrease the size of your meals throughout the day instead of having a huge supper and sitting on your arse for the rest of the night.
-Eat more frequently (5 or even 6 times a day) with smaller portion sizes. Make sure to include a bit of protein, veggies, and fruit with each meal.
Just a couple words that you should know:
Reps: “The number of times an exercise is repeated without significant rest” 1
Sets: “a certain number of repetitions constitutes a set; for example, a lifter may do three sets of six repetitions per set.” 2
I’m going to start from the top and work my way down the body listing different muscles and what exercises you can do to strengthen them.
I don’t mention how much weight you should use because it varies from person to person. You’ll have to experiment and find out what you’re comfortable with. Gradually increase the weight if you feel it becoming too easy. Also experiment with the amount of reps and sets you do.
I apologize for the ginormous empty space below, I don't know how to get rid of it.
Some tips from BF2s members:
Seremaker's choice of workout
GodFather's choice of workout
Resources used:
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/leg_ … a/leg1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calf_muscle
http://www.uwstout.edu/faculty/naatzd/W … iagram.htm
http://fitness.scoobysworkshop.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/scooby1961
http://www.mensworkoutguide.com/
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Gas … Raise.html
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/du … cises.html
http://www.building-muscle101.com
http://www.zimbio.com/member/Kandace3/a … ss+Workout
1http://www.geocities.com/d_medernach/ar … erview.doc
2http://umanitoba.greenmaplewellness.net … ssary.html
3http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/vi … amp;id=127
Edit 1: added pics, Edit 2: added Power Clean exercise + a few more pics, Edit 3: added quote from wah1188
A couple eating tips:
-Eat a big breakfast and decrease the size of your meals throughout the day instead of having a huge supper and sitting on your arse for the rest of the night.
-Eat more frequently (5 or even 6 times a day) with smaller portion sizes. Make sure to include a bit of protein, veggies, and fruit with each meal.
Just a couple words that you should know:
Reps: “The number of times an exercise is repeated without significant rest” 1
Sets: “a certain number of repetitions constitutes a set; for example, a lifter may do three sets of six repetitions per set.” 2
I’m going to start from the top and work my way down the body listing different muscles and what exercises you can do to strengthen them.
I don’t mention how much weight you should use because it varies from person to person. You’ll have to experiment and find out what you’re comfortable with. Gradually increase the weight if you feel it becoming too easy. Also experiment with the amount of reps and sets you do.
I apologize for the ginormous empty space below, I don't know how to get rid of it.
| Muscle | Where it is | What exercises |
|---|---|---|
| Trapezius (traps) | Between the neck and shoulder | Shoulder shrugs – hold a dumbbell in each hand and raise your shoulders to about ear level. Try not to role your shoulder on the way down; this puts strain on the joint. Straight up and straight down. |
| Deltoid | Shoulder | Dumbbell press - take a fairly light dumbbell in each hand and extend each shoulder vertically, one at a time (slowly). Do this while sitting on a stool so you keep your back straight. Reverse Fly – again, take a dumbbell in each hand (light weights). Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and bend down so that your back is 90o to your legs. Let your arms hang down in front of you and raise them up to be in line with your shoulder. Bring it back down slowly. |
| Pectoralis major (pecs) | Chest | Bench press – preferably on a weight bench. Take a fairly wide grip on the barbell. Extend your arms out in front of you. Exhale when you push the bar up, inhale when you bring it back down. Push/press ups - lie down with your stomach facing the floor. Place your hands shoulder-width apart (widen to make it harder). You should be doing this on your knuckles by making a fist or using push-up grips. Dumbbell flies – Take a dumbbell in each hand and lie on your back (preferably on a weight bench). Start with your arms extended out to either side without locking your elbow. Bring the dumbbells up to meet each other directly in front of you. Bring them back down slowly. (If you’re using a weight bench, try not to go past the 180o mark, you’ll end up hyper flexing your shoulders). |
| Latissimus dorsi (lats) | Below your armpits | Pull-ups – Place your arms on the bar with your palms facing away from you. Pull up until your nose is about level with the bar. Widen your grip on the bar to increase the difficulty. If you have to kick and flail to complete one rep, DON’T do it – move on to the next exercise.Dumbbell rows - grab a dumbbell in one hand, and kneel on a chair or bench (opposite side to the dumbbell). Bend over so that your back and legs make a 90 degree angle. Let the arm with the dumbbell hang at your side, and pull it up to your hip to complete one rep. Try to keep your shoulder motionless. Barbell rows - bend over so that your back and legs make a 90 degree angle. Reach down and pick up the barbell. Pull up towards your stomach, following the line of your thigh. Your elbow should be at a 90 degree angle at the top of the rep. Keep your stomach muscles tight. Start off with a fairly light weight and work your way up. |
| Biceps brachii | On the top of your upper arm –between the shoulder and the elbow. | Dumbbell curls - grab a dumbbell in each hand. Hold them at your sides as if you were standing at attention. Bring the weight up to your chest, rotating the dumbbell as you do so that your palms are pointing toward your chest at the end of the rep. You can do both arms at once, or you can alternate. An alternate way is sitting down with your elbow resting on your thigh.Chin-ups - place your hands on the bar with your palms facing towards you (using a fairly narrow grip). Pull up, concentrating on using your arms, until your chin is level with the bar. You should feel it in your stomach as well as your arms. |
| Triceps brachii | On the bottom of your upper arm –between the shoulder and the elbow. | French Press - lie on your back and grab a barbell with both hands palms facing away from you. Start with the bar a few inches from your chin. Now extend your arm so that the bar is straight out in front of you. Bring it back down slowly. Keep your elbows motionless. Overhead dumbbell press - hold a fairly heavy weight with both hands behind your head (with the dumbbell vertical). Extend your arms and bring it back down slowly. Kickbacks - kneel down and make a 90 degree angle with your thighs and back. Support yourself with 1 arm and hold a dumbbell in the other. Keep the top part of your arm parallel with the ground and let your forearm drop so that it’s perpendicular to the ground. Extend your arm so that it’s in line with your spine. Hold the dumbbell for a fraction of a second before bringing it back down. |
| Abdominals (abs) | Stomach | Crunches - lie on your back and bend your knees. Place your hands at your temples, lightly against the back of your head or make a cross on your chest. The motion you make is like a rope pulling your head and shoulders straight up towards the ceiling. Don’t bend your neck. Squeeze your stomach muscles together. If you don’t feel it in your stomach then there’s no point in doing them. Keep your abs tightened, and don’t move your hips. To increase the intensity, lift your legs and make a 90 degree angle at your knee, or put your legs straight up in the air for a real challenge. -->  Leg raises - hold on to a chin up bar or something similar. Let yourself hang and bring your knees to your chest. Alternatively, you can point your legs straight out in front of you and hold it for a few seconds. |
| Quadriceps femoris (quads) | The top part of your leg – from your hip to your knee. | Lunges - if it’s your first time doing lunges, you don’t have to use any weight at all. If you’re more experienced, you can hold a dumbbell in each hand to add resistance. Stand with your feet together, and then take a giant step forward with one foot. Sink down until your front knee is bent at 90 degrees (no more or you’ll strain the joint). The knee on your back leg should be near or touching the floor. DO NOT overdo this exercise. It takes quite a while for the pain to go away if you end up pulling your hamstring or something else in your leg. Squats - very easy to do. Stand with a fairly wide stance. Grab a dumbbell in each hand, and sink down till your knees are a little past 90 degrees (not too far). Stand up slowly and repeat. The chair - I wasn’t sure what this was called so I gave it a name. Stand with your back against a wall and sink down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle. With your back still against the wall, hold it as long as you can. |
| Hamstrings | The back of your leg – from your hip to your knee. | Good Mornings - this is basically the reverse of the barbell row for the lats. Bend down so that your back and legs make a 90 degree angle. You start with the barbell at your waist and you slowly let it down to your feet. Keep the bar close to your legs while you do this. Keep it slow – take a few seconds to go down and a few seconds to come back up. |
| Gastrocnemius (calf) | The back of your lower leg. | Calf raises - stand with the balls of your feet on a raised platform (stairs will do). Use your arms to keep your balance against a wall or other object. Raise your heels by extending your ankle as far as it will go. Lower your heels past the stair you’re standing on so that you feel your calf muscle being stretched. |
| Total Body | - | Power Clean - I'm not comfortable explaining this so here's a quote from a fitness website."Start by standing as shown with the barbell at your knees. Space your feet shoulder width apart with your head up. Lift the bar powerfully using mostly your legs and calves while simultaneously pulling with your arms. As you explode up, turn your feet out to the sides and drop down to squat underneath the bar with your elbows out. Straighten your legs and rise to a standing position. Return to the starting position slowly." 3Video demonstration*Please note that this is an advanced exercise. DO NOT attempt this if you are a beginner!Contributed by aj0404 |
Some tips from BF2s members:
Seremaker's choice of workout
GodFather's choice of workout
Zimmer wrote:
Make sure you don't do more than 40 minutes of work out a day and compensate it with good carbs ( pasta, wholemeal food ) and leave one day a week to rest. Do not, for one minute, think that if you pump for a few hours your muscles will get bigger. They will not. The muscle building process happens AFTER the workout, you need to let your muscles rest and that is when they regenerate and get bigger.
**If you have an exercise you would like to add or if you see something wrong with what’s here, PM me and I’ll do my best to keep this thread up to date**wah1188 wrote:
A very good breakfast is oats and honey best thing ever gives you steady energy and fills you up. Tuna and pasta are pretty good too and easy to make.
Always try and go heavier the next week it doesn't matter if it's 2.5kg more as long as it's more. You literally need to be shitting a brick on your last rep, some of it is in the mind too. Say to yourself you're shooting for 12 rep's you'll probably get 10 that's what I find anyway.
Try and get a spotter or just ask someone who looks like they have a clue to spot for you. I swear I've posted this article before so I'll just leave the link.
It's the skinny man's guide to bulking up
http://www.myprotein.co.uk/?page=article&id=102
I would also say to people who are starting out to stick with compound exercises with the odd isolation one thrown in. Also barbell squats are better than dumbbell ones I've found I feel I'm worked a lot more anyway. On top of that your grip will give in before your quad's do.
Alcohol destroys about 70% of what you do in the gym so if you know you're going for a piss-up just do cardio otherwise all your hard-work will be in vain.
Yeah eat big lift big is pretty much the best advice you will ever receive. Use free weights not machines you will literally get no where with machines.
Resources used:
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/leg_ … a/leg1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calf_muscle
http://www.uwstout.edu/faculty/naatzd/W … iagram.htm
http://fitness.scoobysworkshop.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/scooby1961
http://www.mensworkoutguide.com/
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Gas … Raise.html
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/du … cises.html
http://www.building-muscle101.com
http://www.zimbio.com/member/Kandace3/a … ss+Workout
1http://www.geocities.com/d_medernach/ar … erview.doc
2http://umanitoba.greenmaplewellness.net … ssary.html
3http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/vi … amp;id=127
Edit 1: added pics, Edit 2: added Power Clean exercise + a few more pics, Edit 3: added quote from wah1188
Last edited by ebug9 (2008-12-18 19:33:37)
