weight lifting

[jerryriceisking]

does anyone know how to convert bench press from dumbbells to barbells. For example, I do 50 lbs each arm with dumbbells, but could obviously do more with both arms. I want to know how much my max would be for bench press.

 

Also, i have been lifting weights but have not been gaining any weight. I'm 5'9" , 125 lbs, and have lost five pounds over a year. I don't seem to be getting any skinnier or anything. Can you lose weight and still gain muscle?

 

what is the best food for gaining muscle mass? i drink a lot of milk but am never hungry, so i can never eat that much.

[PT]

Hey

For the dumbbells to barbells there isnt an exact calculation to do, id say you could do about 120-140 with a barbell. Its a bit of trial and error.

 

Lifting weight is just 1 part of what it takes to gain muscle. You need a good diet too. Since you are kind of skinny i would presume you have a lightning fast metabolism so you need to eat LOTS. Not lots of fast food but lots of pasta, bread, steaks,chicken, fish. Lots of fruit and veg and drink lots of water.

You can train your body to want to eat more by gradually increasing what you eat. So maybe for the first week add an extra meal in, then the next week add one more, then increase your serving sizes. Then if you dont eat much one day you will feel very hungry.

[jerryriceisking]

thanks for the advice PT. the problem about eating a lot is that i always seem to have something on my mind that stops me from eating (most of the time a girl). I wish i could eat more but i always feel like throwing up. its got to a point that i don't eat until 3:00 PM each day. i drink tons of milk so i don't lose weight.

[Exocet]

Hey dude,

 

First off, I'm not sure what you mean by converting dumbbell to barbell. Dumbbells and barbells are separate things for a reason. If all you want to do is find out your one rep max, well, on average, a normal person with no weight training experience can bench probably 75% of his body weight.

 

Next: You cant lose weight and gain muscle at the same time. You have to gain weight first (yes, muscles and fats) then cut it down to the desired shape. This is the essense of professional bodybuilding, where they actually eat tons of crap in the off season and only start cutting down prior to a competition. Perhaps only Flex Wheeler can look good all year round, that freak.

 

There is no best food, but take into consideration that protein is the single most important nutrient for training. Other than taking supplements like mass gainers or whey protein, plan your diet to include more natural protein like chicken, nuts and beans. Don't neglect other nutrients like carbohydrates (for energy), creatine ( for that extra juice when working out), vitamins (all round goodness and body repair), and various assorted stuff like glutamine, zinc, magnesium etc.

[BrandonBo]

the best way to find out how much u can do on bench press is to "max out for example start light say 120 put that on try it do one put 5 more lbs on do one put 5 more on do one put 5 more on do one so on and so forth see what i mean the best way to gain muscle mass is eat protien rich food im 6' 225 i bench max out around 205 how much u can lift can go up and down if u want a steady gain u have to lift regularly as possible usually 3 days a week is best have a day focused on lower body and mid section and have a day mainly for upper body but the best way to tell how much u do on bench is to test yourself hop on er and just see how much u max out at start at an easy pace first week do 3 sets of 3 at a weight u can lift with some pressure the next week do 3 sets of 5 the and keep at that for a few weeks then move up to 10 reps 5 reps and 3 reps on at that weight u were doing 555 with u should find yourself gaining at this point majorly do other upper body excersises tho well have fun remember bigger. stronger. faster. cya

[abcd1234]

As said above, there is no accurate method of converting it. You just have to try it out with a barbell and see what you can manage.

 

As an estimation i would say that if you can do 50lbs with dumbbells then you can probably do somewhere in the region of 100-130lbs with a barbell. It is hard to estimate accurately because there are so many variables that need to be taken into account, these include the weight of the barbell, grip strength, hand positioning, form and experience.

 

My advice is to stick with the dumbbells because they allow the targeted muscles and shoulder joints to follow more natural paths of movement in the exercise, whereas with a barbell your movement is far more restricted.

 

Regarding the questions you raised about gaining muscle mass...

 

The first thing to take into account is how many calories you need to consume each day in order to gain muscle, obviously you need to take in more calories to gain muscle and less to lose fat, so here is where the maths comes in (dont worry ill do it all for you because you gave your weight above!):

 

Step 1: Your weight in lbs x 11 = your basic calorie needs

So: 125 x 11 = 1375

 

Step 2: Your basic calorie needs x caloric cost of your activity level (probably 50% for you) = your metabolic rate

So: 1375 x 0.5 = 687.5

 

Step 3: Your basic calorie needs + your metabolic rate = your maintenance total

So: 1375 + 687.5 = 2062.5

 

I cant make any guarantees that this is accurate but id say that you should check with a proffessional (doctor or other expert) to be sure that this is safe. Once you get into the habit of reading labels on the food you eat you will find it easy!

 

Protein is what your muscles need for growth and you want to be consuming slightly more than a gram of it for every pound of bodyweight each day. I recommend a fairly high protein snack in the hours both before and after your workout. Things like eggs, milk and fish contain a decent amount of protein so try to eat them if you can!

 

I hope this is helpful and hasnt been too complicated! If you have any queries then dont hesitate to PM me, ill be happy to help!

[jerryriceisking]

thanks for all the info. I also have another question. when lifting weights, i can notice my biceps and triceps getting bigger, but don't see much in my chest or shoulders. i'm just wondering if i'm doing the right exercises for those muscles or if it is simply more difficult to notice growth in those areas.

[PT]

Post your routine for us so we can see what your doing and be able to help you better.

 

Id say do these

Dips, Squats, Deadlifts

and base a workout around them.

 

if you want a good workout ill post one for you but i run out of time right now> going on holidays for 4 days.

[jerryriceisking]

well, i don't know the names of the lifts, but here is what i do. My main focus is the arms, chest, and abs.

 

hold dumbell by my side, lift it with one arm by flexing my elbow (classic lift for bicep)

 

hold dumbell with two hands behind my head, lift it above my head (seems to work triceps)

 

hold two dumbells at my side, raise them outwards (like a T)

 

lift dumbell over my head, starting at shoulder position

 

two different kinds of bench press; one is where i just push the dumbells away from my body, the other is where i start with the dumbells at my side and move my arms sideways in a hugging motion bringing them together

 

those are the lifts that i do. I basically go by what muscles feel tired when i am done lifting, but don' t really know if it is doing any good.

[abcd1234]

hold dumbell by my side, lift it with one arm by flexing my elbow (classic lift for bicep)

Thats a bicep curl. (works biceps)

hold dumbell with two hands behind my head, lift it above my head (seems to work triceps)

Thats an overhead triceps extension. (works triceps)

hold two dumbells at my side, raise them outwards (like a T)

Thats a lateral raise. (works deltoids and upper traps)

lift dumbell over my head, starting at shoulder position

I think you're talking about a shoulder press. (works deltiods, triceps and lower traps)

 

The first bench press you described is just called a dumbbell bench press (works pectorals, triceps and anterior deltiod), the second you described sounds like a dumbbell flye (works pectorals and anterior deltoid).

 

They are all good exercises but heres what i think you should do:

1. Dumbbell bench press

2. Seated hammer curl with twist

3. Standing calf raise

4. Dips

5. Squats

6. Incline dumbbell bench press

7. Crunches

8. Reverse crunches

9. Leg raises

10. Dumbbell lying row

11. Reverse dumbbell fly

 

If you are not familiar with any of these exercises then just cpy the name into google or go to link removed and find them there!

 

Good luck!

[corvidae]

Don't forget that knowing the exercises isn't enough, you need to know how to put them together for a good regimen that achieves the goals you want. Your body won't get any stronger unless it is pushed... My personal trainer keeps upping the weights so that typically if I do three sets of twelve, I almost reach my limit by about half way through the third set and have to push very hard to finish. The fact I'm doing so many reps is because I working towards muscle growth at the moment. That usually means (and I know I'm generalising) 8-15 reps of moderate weight. For strength training which focuses on increasing strength but does not result in a large increase in mass, you'd want to do fewer reps with a much heavier weight and this mainly involves neuromuscular adaptations and only slight muscle growth. I would recommend getting a tailor made regimen from a professional. They will probably also push you much harder than you can push yourself, and remember, improvement only comes through constantly pushing the limits.

 

On the question of the dumbbells vs. barbell do you mean you max. at 50lbs per arm? That means you can do one lift and no more? Or do you work out doing many reps with this weight? I use about 50lbs per arm when I work out, but I do three sets of twelve. On the barbel I do reps with about 160lbs and max around 180lbs.