Full body program; comments needed.

[Janne]

Hey there, fellow TT-members! I will start off by sharing my age with everyone, since that's an important part of how much I can and should do. Im 19 years old. Now that you know that, we can move forward. You see, I have this annoying little problem that I just can't put on weight no matter how much I eat due to a fast metabolism. Ergo, I have decided another approach: gaining weight by gaining muscle. The goal is also to become stronger and gain some muscle definition. This has led me to start working out at home using dumbells and my own body weight. For three months I was doing OK with my 8kg dumbells and body weight, coupled with some 5-6 simple excercises, but I feel they aren't giving anything to me anymore, nor have they done that for the past month.

To address this issue I have bought myself a weight set (45kgs) and tried to create myself a good, full body workout schedule that I can go through every third day, meaning I get two days worth of rest between every work-out. Here is how the program looks now, and here is where I need your expertese, my fellow tennis-players:

Legs:
Lunges with dumbells
Squats with dumbells
Toe-lifts with body weight.

Chest:
Push-ups with weights on my back
Leaning push-ups (legs on a chair, sofa, bed)
Flyes with dumbells

Shoulders:
Shoulder-press with dumbells
And an excercise that I can't find the English name for. One foot on the ground, the other knee on something elevated like a chair, you lean forward and lift weights. Don't think that description helps anyone, but I'm hoping it will.

Back:
Chins
Lying cobra.

Stomache:
Crunches
Leg-lifts whilst lying on my back.

För triceps:
Dumbell-extentions.
Dips between two chairs

Biceps:
Dumbellcurls
Hammercurl

Again, the goal is to gain weight, become stronger and gain some muscle definition. Is this an acceptable full body workout program that I can do 2-3 times a week, with 2 days rest between every workout? I've been given 3kgs of quality protein powder for free from a friend, and I will drinking two protein-drinks every day between my meals, so as to not let my body enter a state where it starts breaking my muscles down, and to aid the recovery process which is so important when working out.

Thank you in advance, and I do hope I'll receive some much needed help in this!

Sincerely,

Janne Kämäräinen

[Gmedlo]

And an excercise that I can't find the English name for. One foot on the ground, the other knee on something elevated like a chair, you lean forward and lift weights. Don't think that description helps anyone, but I'm hoping it will.


I think that's the bulgarian split squat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7IOa5WxfDQ&feature=related

I think your program looks good for an intro to weightlifting. If you're training for size/strength though, you're going to have to be working with more weight if you want measurable results.

[Janne]

Thanks for the help, man!

For some odd reason, YouTube hasn't worked for me for over a year, so I can't really comment on that.

I have upped the weight from 8kgs. During hammer- and dumbellcurls I use 11kg dumbells, and during leg excercises I up the weight a bit more. When training my back I use 10kgs in each dumbell, but for shoulder excercises I take off a bit weight again.

I try to use the max amount of weight for me be able to pull off 5-6 reps and three sets of each excercise. Does that sound ok, or am I missing something here?

[Gmedlo]

Thanks for the help, man!

For some odd reason, YouTube hasn't worked for me for over a year, so I can't really comment on that.

I have upped the weight from 8kgs. During hammer- and dumbellcurls I use 11kg dumbells, and during leg excercises I up the weight a bit more. When training my back I use 10kgs in each dumbell, but for shoulder excercises I take off a bit weight again.

I try to use the max amount of weight for me be able to pull off 5-6 reps and three sets of each excercise. Does that sound ok, or am I missing something here?

Hmm, well, the exercise was basically one leg on the ground, the other crooked back at 90 degrees with the foot on a bench, then they squat down on one leg with dumbells in their hands.

What's your height and weight, just for reference? If you're 5'7, 110 pounds like my brother, then 45kg will probably be enough for now, but it's a different story if you're an average-sized person. :)

If you're using the max weight that you can do 3 sets and 5 reps of (3x5) then the amount of weight is good for strength development.

[D. Dokas]

to gain muscle, you gotta lift big and eat big.

most important thing in mucle building is the diet, your diet must be in a calorie surplus to gain muscle or else your working out for nothing.

a tip weigh yourself every week and keep track of your weights, if you are not gaining weight, add another 300 calories to your diet.

the stronger u get the more muscle u get, which means more calories burnt so after a while u will need to keep increasing you food conumption to gain more mass.

hope i helped :)

[Gmedlo]

I wouldn't weigh in weekly, as it will give you an inaccurate view of how your training is working. You're only going to gain a few pounds a week, and that's if you have a huge caloric surplus, and if your only goal is to gain weight, you may end up with more fat than you want. The scale doesn't tell you how much fat you've lost or gained, and it fluctuates too much to be a reasonable way to measure progress (at least in short periods of time).

[Janne]

Thanks guys, your help is much appreciated! :)

What's your height and weight, just for reference? If you're 5'7, 110 pounds like my brother, then 45kg will probably be enough for now, but it's a different story if you're an average-sized person. :)
Average size? Ha, I wish! I'm standing short at168cms above the ground and weight 50kgs (I am sorry, but here in Europe, we're all about the metric system!). ;)

To put it in other words, I'm a short stick. When a strong gust hits me, I pray my life.

to gain muscle, you gotta lift big and eat big.

most important thing in mucle building is the diet, your diet must be in a calorie surplus to gain muscle or else your working out for nothing.
That I knew! However, it's hard to eat much all the time, especially at work. We don't have any fixed lunch-hours, as we eat when we get hungry. However, I work with a 60-year old man who is hardly ever hungry, and I have to go by his hours, so to speak. So at work, I can sometimes go 5-7 hours without food. At home, this isn't a problem, as I can eat whenever I want to, whatever I want to.

Any tips on that? Should I start bringing some sandwiches or something to work? I've started bringing in fruit and when I can afford, a protein bar, but I feel that isn't cutting it.