Your Fitness Journey and Progress

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Really though, how many days should I exercise, how many reps should be in a set, and how many sets should there be in a session? I am interested in the upper body and this time I will say that I am willing to be vain and go for mass.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Really though, how many days should I exercise, how many reps should be in a set, and how many sets should there be in a session? I am interested in the upper body and this time I will say that I am willing to be vain and go for mass.

There is no one correct routine as long as each muscle worked has adequate time to recover between exercise days.

That said, three sets of ten reps each is a great start for a beginner and 3-4 sets per exercise seems to be quite popular.

For building mass, I’ve read that heavier weights and fewer sets or reps with an emphasis on intensity is preferred (as opposed to lighter weights and more reps for a leaner, swimmer’s physique).

Take the reps slow instead of flying through them, focus on maintaining good form, and on the last rep in each set, try to hold for 5 seconds before bringing the weight back down.

Once you can easily hit 3 sets of 10 reps with little resistance, then it’s time to increase your weight to the point of no longer being able to hit 10 in the third set. Work your way slowly back to being able to hit all 10 in the third set, then increase the weight again.

I usually do four days, rest 1-2 days, and repeat. I do chest and triceps one day, upper back and biceps one day, legs and abs one day, shoulders one day. I am usually in and out of the gym in 30 minutes to an hour and a half. I get my cardio from outdoor walks when I can.

You’ll probably find a preferred style and schedule that works best for you. I recommend trying different routines until you find something optimal. Just start slow and focus on avoiding injury at first. Warmups like stretches are nice. Hydrate frequently and remember to breathe during each rep. Take adequate rest between sets (at least 30 seconds and up to several minutes, depending on how hard you’re pushing yourself).

Since you’re interested in upper body, I would recommend push-ups for your chest and triceps, and bicep curls. Side and front raises for shoulders, but being smaller muscles, you will want lighter weights for those. If you have access to a gym, any machines for upper body exercises should be used. Both free weights and machines are good and each have their strengths, so it’s good to mix it up and incorporate both into a routine if possible

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Still skinny fat

Someone at work called me “stringbean” the other day.

I’m also sick of hearing things like “why do you even need to work out? You’re already thin!”

I’m not thin, I’m overweight but I guess being somewhat tall gives me a slender appearance. And I work out to stay (somewhat) thin. But ultimately I’m vain and butthurt because I wish I was buffer and would much rather be complimented on that.

 

[The Cat]

Still skinny fat

Someone at work called me “stringbean” the other day.

I’m also sick of hearing things like “why do you even need to work out? You’re already thin!”

I’m not thin, I’m overweight but I guess being somewhat tall gives me a slender appearance. And I work out to stay (somewhat) thin. But ultimately I’m vain and butthurt because I wish I was buffer and would much rather be complimented on that.

You're straight skinny, but you're still gay fat. I struggle with that too.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

You're straight skinny, but you're still gay fat. I struggle with that too.

This concept is new to me lol but yeah sounds about right.

Also known as American thin vs East Asian fat.

I don’t want to be shredded either. Ideally, I’d like to look like Jason Momoa when he’s not training for a superhero role. He’s obviously got some muscles but he’s got a healthy layer of body fat over them too. It’s insanely difficult to maintain body fat under 10% and I just enjoy food and wine too much to ever realistically get there. Momoa between movie roles is what most women really mean when they say they find dad bod sexy. They mean Momoa, not Homer Simpson or John Goodman

 

[GoggleGirl17]

When I start feeling anxious or impatient comparing my current self to my peak self (which I've found to be a trigger for self-sabotage), saying these mantras to myself really helps me to stay calm and optimistic:

"It can only get better" (just do 'x')
"Don't look at yourself, look forward" (the rest will take care of itself)
"Consistency is all you need" (quick fixes will turn 1 year into 5 years)
"You're doing better than last week" (change is a gradual trend, not perfection)

 

[Tomb1]

There is no one correct routine as long as each muscle worked has adequate time to recover between exercise days.

That said, three sets of ten reps each is a great start for a beginner and 3-4 sets per exercise seems to be quite popular.

For building mass, I’ve read that heavier weights and fewer sets or reps with an emphasis on intensity is preferred (as opposed to lighter weights and more reps for a leaner, swimmer’s physique).

Take the reps slow instead of flying through them, focus on maintaining good form, and on the last rep in each set, try to hold for 5 seconds before bringing the weight back down.

Once you can easily hit 3 sets of 10 reps with little resistance, then it’s time to increase your weight to the point of no longer being able to hit 10 in the third set. Work your way slowly back to being able to hit all 10 in the third set, then increase the weight again.

I usually do four days, rest 1-2 days, and repeat. I do chest and triceps one day, upper back and biceps one day, legs and abs one day, shoulders one day. I am usually in and out of the gym in 30 minutes to an hour and a half. I get my cardio from outdoor walks when I can.

You’ll probably find a preferred style and schedule that works best for you. I recommend trying different routines until you find something optimal. Just start slow and focus on avoiding injury at first. Warmups like stretches are nice. Hydrate frequently and remember to breathe during each rep. Take adequate rest between sets (at least 30 seconds and up to several minutes, depending on how hard you’re pushing yourself).

Since you’re interested in upper body, I would recommend push-ups for your chest and triceps, and bicep curls. Side and front raises for shoulders, but being smaller muscles, you will want lighter weights for those. If you have access to a gym, any machines for upper body exercises should be used. Both free weights and machines are good and each have their strengths, so it’s good to mix it up and incorporate both into a routine if possible

Hey not bad....only thing I would mention is that you can increase weight even before 3 sets of 10 reps feels easy. Especially in your first year, your brain makes adaptations very quickly...even with resistance on the last rep if you are still completing the reps with good form....neural adaptations tend to adjust to about five pounds over after proper rest and recovery....you don't even have to necessarily add weight, it can be adding reps, adding a set, adding pause reps, negatives, just train harder than the last time and the gains will come. After the honeymoon phase ends, these adaptations slow down, you hit a plateau and then its really grind city.

Naturally compound lifts are best for putting on raw, dense mass. Compound lifts allow you to train under heavier loads which results in greater stimulus for muscle growth so they are always good for starting your workouts when you are at peak strength...anything more than 10-12 sets per body part in your first year I would regard as junk volume....it also depends on the individual....some people can get high stimulus out of less volume than others. If you are doing 12 sets of chest on Monday and by Wednesday or Thursday your chest is sore, its time to scale back the volume. The easiest thing to do and best thing to watch out for is overtraining....myself, bet I could have done half the volume i did my first year and still made the same adaptations