In regards to P90X the workouts are good, I use elements of them in my own program but the DVDs are hard to follow unless you like listening to some Tony Robbins-esq douche telling you to "push it", "hit it", "Doooo it" in the gayest way possible. Also if you really want to get the most out of the workouts you need the equipment they use which unless you're already equipped can get pretty expensive.
Everybody has great tips on this, but I don't think that anyone has touched on the frequency that you eat. If you're building mass, you're burning more calories throughout the day and you need to eat more frequently. Here's the catch- we can only absorb so much protein at a time. That's why it's important to eat every couple of hours or so. I would suggest eating at least five, but as many as seven times a day. Try to limit the fat and pay attention to lean protein. Protein is the cornerstone to muscle generation. I look for at least 100 grams of protein per day. I have burned in the neighborhood of 65 lbs. of fat and gained a lot of muscle of the the past 15 weeks or so using this method. The difficult part for me has been sourcing the protein. Here are a few good places to start for quick, convenient protein- Nuts- I will take a can of almonds, run them in a 325 degree oven for 20 minutes or so, then throw them in the food processor with a tablespoon of canola oil, a tablespoon of honey, and a half teaspoon of salt until I get almond butter. It's slightly sweet, slightly salty, slightly smoky, and fucking delicious. Two tablespoons is a good portion of protein and great on an english muffin. You can do the same thing with peanuts. Seafood- Lean, high in protein, low in calories. I buy frozen de-headed, de veined shrimp and keep them around. They take about five minutes to sautee, and again, they're loaded with protein. Salmon is another good option. Salmon has a bunch of beneficial fatty acids and supposedly helps in testosterone production. I don't know if that's true, but I did grow a full beard in about 20 minutes through the strength of my will. No bullshit. Cottage Cheese Greek Yogurt- Creamy, slightly tart, and loaded with protein. It's a go-to in the evenings. Game- Deer, duck, pheasant, etc. is incredible for building muscle. Beef Jerky- Quick, easy, tasty. Couple jerky with a banana and you have a great pre or post-workout snack. If I were in your shoes, I would skip the doughnuts and use those empty calories on something equally as gratifying but with some type of health benefit. Cheese comes to mind. So does steak.
Re: P90X I actually have a couple buddy's who have had alot of good things to say about it, they completed it and loved it. It's a sound theroy (shocking the muscle) something we have all heard or read about in one form of another. By never really doing the same workout twice your body never get's used to any of the execises and is constantly challanged. We have all been in a place were we went through a monster chest workout but were not the least bit sore because your chest was used to all the movements you did. I'm not sure you need to pay for the CD's (I'm sure you know enough about nutrition) but it is always a useful tool when you have a structured workout and diet. My advice, try and borrow the DVD's from someone when they are done!
I'm going to pick up Robert dos Remedios' new book Cardio Strength Training. A lot of what I've been reading has been suggesting that (newly-coined) "Metabolic Resistance Training" is going to gain in popularity, due to the fact that a lot of bodyweight and outside the gym workouts have become popular, and because people's self-diagnosed ADD gets worse every day. I'm coming to the end of the month of my current program, so after reading through his book I might integrate some of it into what I do next. Dos previously wrote the extremely popular Men's Health Power Training and people seem to respect him.
Just wanted to throw out the link to where Mike and a lot of the guys serious about training moved to. There is a wealth of information there. <a class="postlink" href="http://saturn.phpwebhosting.com/~instrength/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://saturn.phpwebhosting.com/~instrength/forum/</a>
I used to be quite skinny, i gained around 15lb's, mostly by eating every 3 hours and switching exercises every 3 months. I mostly did supersets and then 8 weeks low rep training. I can vouch for supersets as the ideal way to create an athletes body. I name this specifically because going for the bodybuilder body isn’t the thing you want as a young professional in any workarea or if you have a half decent brain and your still in college. Be buffed, but don’t be associated with thickness. I’m currently following the skinny bastards program which should get me another 7lb’s. The great thing about this program, is that it aligns with other sports. You gain pure strength without losing speed needed for instance for Football. Give it a good look (scroll down to about half the page for the schedule) http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/38-articles/60-westside-for-skinny-bastards-part1.html
CONSIDERING I LACK ACCESS TO A GYM, CAN ANYONE POINT ME TOWARDS A SITE THAT CONTAINS FREE WEIGHT EXERCISE ROUTINES? THANKS.
Kanye, is that you? But in seriousness, I would look into milk jug workouts. Its light on the equipment and I used it when I lived in a dorm with no gym for the summer to not lose any progress I had made.
It's actually just <a class="postlink" href="http://www.instrength.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">www.instrength.com</a> It's only a forum at the moment, but we're going to make it everything we (or anyone else) ever wanted chasingkaz to be. Its going to be 100% pure info and science. No fluff, no stupid bullshit.
All your suggestions for protein sources are good, but you can eat more than a little bit of protein at a time and you don't have to eat that many meals. If you eat a large meal with say 100g of protein, what happens is that you digest the food more slowly. It sits in your gut waiting to digest by a process called the ileal brake. The argument that you can only absorb 30g of protein at a time was invented by supplement companies that produce protein powders in roughly 30g servings. It might have been EAS that started it. In any event, it's false.
The other component to this is more weight over time = more mass. If you goal is to improve your lifts as much as you can and eat properly, you'll grow.
5 lbs in 2 months is actually pretty good. And the critical thing that you have noticed is that you have gotten stronger. You don't really want to gain too fast or you'll start getting fat. I would suggest paying attention to your lifts more than the scale. If you stall out, then eat more. But right now, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Found this article a few days ago, and it seemed pretty interesting: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.menshealth.com/men/fitness/motivation/longevity/article/3b4b1ca01e91c010VgnVCM10000013281eac/6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.menshealth.com/men/fitness/m ... 13281eac/6</a> I have seen some campesino men who are 60+ and do daily hikes that left me breathless and sore the next day, so there may be some truth to this and damned if it didn't change my running style a bit.
I've heard when people try to lose weight, they should eat 5 to 6 meals a day so their metabolism is working more efficiently throughout the day. If I'm trying to gain weight, should I not be eating all day? I figured that if I'm eating more than I'm burning off, I'll gain weight. I've been trying to eat pretty much all day, just snacking in between meals. Thoughts?
If you're trying to gain weight you should still stick to the 5 to 6 meal plan. It'll keep your body from going into starvation mode and your work outs will be more productive. You'll have more fuel to get through a hard work out to get your gains in. Thing that you want to keep in mind is to eat clean, quality meals. Consume good quality protein so your body can build muscle. If weight gain is what you want follow the same formula as weight loss. Consume more calories than you can burn.
Re: P90X I did it religiously for two months and lost over 50 pounds never mind the muscle that I put on. What the guys have said is true, you should be in good shape but it isn't necessary if you're willing to put in the time. I pushed myself till I puked the first two or three days because that is what it took to finish the exercises. Is that what you should be doing? Doubt it, but you need to do whatever it takes to complete each day while doing the exercises and focusing on form over the number of reps. This is true when doing any physical activity ever. All you need is a chin up bar, and weights. I didn't bother with a yoga mat and was fine using my garage floor. Most importantly though is the diet. The whole system is based on the caloric deficit that you're putting your body through while using basic but proven exercises like push ups and pull ups. In short, you need to follow the diet very closely but don't forget that it can be adjusted to suit your needs. I never used the power bars or the protein powder they advertise only because that shit didn't fill me up. There is nothing wrong with protein powder though, as long as its good quality stuff. If you do go the same route I did, forget 6 meals a day. You are going to be eating (in controlled portions) like a monster 24/7 just to keep up with the protein you need. Finally, yes the guy can be a bit of a wiener so after the first two weeks of each month you can just mute him, put on music and go at it. If anyone has questions about this or gym exercises in general, feel free to PM me.
Is it bad to lift every day? I've been lifting every other day with the same routine. One day I do legs, shoulders and biceps. Rest the next day, and the day after I do chest/triceps. Is there a point of a rest day if I'm not doing the same muscle groups? Will it hurt my gains if I lift every day, or help them?
Hurt. You should probably be doing a full body routine too instead of this weird split. Where are the back exercises?
The standard 4-day I used for years is the trademark weight workout combination: Day 1- Bicep & Back Day 2- Chest & Tricep Day 3- Shoulders & Legs Day 4- Rest and/or cardio & Abdominals repeat. Almost any back exercise works your biceps as well as delts, all chest exercises work triceps (and some shoulder), and sets like squats and cleans the legs and shoulders go hand-and-hand. Of course everybody has their own program and there are more effective ones, but you really should get working out your back with several different sets. You'll be surprised at the strength and development you can get from it, because the back has to be "attacked" at so many angles and ways. The lat pull-down and the lat row is a must (offering several bars and angle options), and a variety of pull-ups to start. Whatever else is up to you. Also, keep at it. Taking usually more than 4 days off from working out will start to deteriorate your strength, and it will happen more rapidly than you expect. If you're looking to gain size, try "maxing out" your sets. The more weight, the more size. If you're looking for rip, then you can use less weight but you'll want to double the reps when weight lifting.