Building up Muscles

[15yrsandnervous]

Well I have decided i would like to build up my arms a bit but im not really sure on the best ways to do this or if there are any safty issues i should be taking into concideration.

[machwe]

Look on the internet. There are tons of sites out there for that kinda thing. Get a membership to a gym, do lot's free weights, and get a lot of protein. That's all I can tell ya.

 

8)

[aireyc]

mach, this is the internet and I think he has already started to look I know what you mean though. Anyway, I suggest you do some pushups. Make sure you don't slack, and just try to keep a healthy diet. Pushups are probably the safest though.

 

Chris

[antzca2000]

i say do a sport, spend like 4-5 hours doing that sport 3-4 times a week and eat ALOT of protein, if you lessen up on salt it'll also make you look leaner for a while. Just find a sport you like so you are entertained (if you workout and its a pain for you, then chances are you wont stay on it.) Just find something you enjoy doing, and non-stop do it.

[15yrsandnervous]

Can dumbells be dangerous ? is there anything i should know ?

[Prue]

I'd say join a gym... there are plans at most where you can pay every week or fortnight etc.... might make it more affordable than the outlay for say a 12 month membership.

 

At a lot of gyms you can get a first consultation with a personal trainer for free - and then any personal training sessions after that you'd pay by the hour (at least that's what I'm familir with - but I live in Australia).

 

In my case it's changed my life - and even though it was hard to get started I love every minute of it now.

 

And everyone's right about the protein, you need so much more when lifting weights, and you can't build muscle without it. Every 2nd day should be enough for lifting the weights - not 2 days in a row. Adn to build muscle you need to overload your muscles. Let's just say that for each muscle group you aimed for 15 repetitions, and then a a couple of minutes break and repeated that. You shuld probably be lifting a weight that only just allows to make it to 15 lifts. Or maybe even 12... and after a few weeks when you can make it to 15 you raise the weight a little.

 

What ever you do keep a diary of your progress always recording the weight your lifting, number of lifts etc...

 

Good luck!

[abcd1234]

Remember the two most important parts of your training though: warm-up and cool-down.

 

Warming up gets your muscles ready for the strenuous loads they are about to take, a good warm up includes stretching of the muscles you are going to work and usually lasts 5-10 mins.

 

A cool-down is basically the same as a warm up but in reverse. It helps get lactic acid out of your muscles and stops blood 'pooling'.

 

When you do hit the weights after your warm up i suggest you start on about half of the weight that you are going to be using for the main part of your workout. Then after one or two sets move it up to your 'training weight'.

 

I suggest that you do some research on the net and find out about all of the exercises you can do, which muscles they work (both primary and secondary) and the most important thing is how to maintain your form throughout the exercise. If in doubt, ask either us or someone at a gym.

 

If you decide that joining a gym is not for you then you can always get a set of adjustable bumbells for use at home (they are actually quite cheap). But remember to use all of the things i have mentioned above.

 

Dumbells can be dangerous but only if your form is incorrect, get someone experienced (trainer at gym, friend who works out etc.) to take a look at you doing each of the exercises and then ask them if you are doing it correctly and how to improve.

 

Be aware that as you get onto heavier weights on some of the exercises, you WILL NEED a spotter.

 

If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

abcd1234

[yogaroots]

Ive been lifting for years and have done well. I used to have string bean arms and a chicken chest. You need to eat well and eat enough. Keep the junk food to a minimum. Eat lots of good protien several times throughout the day and eat brown rice, veggies, oatmeal things like that. Im assuming that you have access to weights in school or at home so heres a routine you can do. Remember less is more!!! always let your muscles rest. Mon, Wed, Fri do this routine for starters

 

Squats or leg press

pushups or bench press

standing curls with dumbells or a straight bar

do this for a month then change things around a bit....add more wieght as you get stronger add more wieght

 

do 4 sets of each exercise

[DBL]

There seems to be a lot of misinformation on this thread about working out. First off you never stretch first. You need to warm up your body by doing 15-30 treadmill, eleptical, jump rope etc. This will warm your muslces up. You never stretch a cold muscle. After you do that, now you can stretch. It is also good to stretch after you complete each set. I know a lot of people are programmed to stretch before actually warming up because of what we were taught in school.

 

Dumbells are good and safe in my opinion. It eliminates the real need for spotters because you can always drop the weight off the sides. Even so I do recommend a spotter for safety anyhow.

 

I would also suggest you not doing the beach workout but to workout your whole body so it has sementry(sp?). The stuff yogaroots suggest is fine. Mon,Wed,Fri workout days. You can do different breaks in the routine. I change mine all the time. For the mean time I do chest, shoulders, and triceps on monday...all pushing muscles, quads, hams, calves on weds, back, bicep and wrists on Friday. Stomach every workout day. You should lift weights heavy enough so you can get 6-8 reps out of it. For starters do 2 exercises for large muslces(back, chest, legs) and one exercise for smaller muscles(bicen, tricep, shoulder). With this do a 4 set max, 3 set minimum.

 

As far as meals go...you need .75 - 1.5 grams of protein per body bound. Standard is usually 1 gram per pound. So if you way 150 you would need 150 grams of protein for maintenance and growth. You will also need to take a complete vitamin since we sweat out minerals that our body needs and we deplete what our vitamin reserves as well. Only other part of the meal part is breaking the meals betwen 5-6 different smaller meals. 2 of them should consist of protein powder. It is tough to get the proper protein from regular foods. Eat a lot of chicken, turkey, tuna, fish, and steak. Vegetables are important too, make sure you have a fruit or vegetable with every meal.

 

This may have went beyone what you information you are looking for, so in that case...biceps are best built with barbell curls and seated dumbell curls. Triceps are best built with close grip bench press and tricep pushdown...nosebreakers/skullcrushers should only be done with a spotter...I have experience the first name nose break before from doing this exercise...and I had a spotter, but he was too busy checking out a girl. You should also do your shoulders in your arm group...seated dumbell press will do the trick here.

 

As someone else mentioned, if your not really into it you will not stay with it. Staying fit is a lifestyle you have to live. It is not always fun, but when you get compliments on the results it makes it all worth it.

 

Good Luck

 

DBL

[Softcentered]

hey, im not so sure as to where u live, but if u can, then have a look at mens health magazine.. its full of stuff that i think u could find usefull. its got tips from proffesional body builders, instructers and also recomends various protein drinks, home fitness equipment etc..etc..

 

its a pretty informative little guide i suppose... allthough some issues are more usefull than others, they usualy all contain a nice large section on working out, with charts , pictures, exercises, exercise routines and tips on how to do them.

 

check it out if u can, the ones ive bought were very helpfull + also had a lot of other interesting to read articles in them. hope this helps + good luck !

[DBL]

I never been overly impressed with mens health. They do have some interesting articles. Be very weary about workout routines and diets inside magazines. Magazines need to sell every month, so people write articles that don't really have that much impact, but you have to have something new every month in order to have people to continue to buy their magazine. Also most body builder routines are way more intensive then a normal person workingout can handle. These guys in the magazines are using growth hormones, steroids, insulin, etc. Their bodies can handle this kind of intensity without the fear of over training, in which most exercise routies in magazines would present you with overtraining.

 

DBL