misterp Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) I've started lifting again; it's been several years since I last pumped iron. But this time I want to change things so I take less time between sets, to explain: in my last efforts, I was doing sets of 8 and I had no problem with the intensity & strength gains but I would always need 3-minutes between sets rather than 2-minutes, and now I'm even worse with my recovery requirement and it's to the point where I cannot get a real workout done in less than 75-minutes and that's just craziness. I understand that I'm outta shape an pushing 40 but there's gotta be a way to improve my recovery time, or should I stick to a 2-minute rest between sets and fail with less reps because I've not recovered enough? Or am I using too much weight to begin with? Just to cover the basics, yes I'm getting 8+ hrs sleep now & drinking lots of water and eating/supplementing well, every 3 hrs so all that is back on track. Oh yeah, while I'm asking I've always had real problems building my triceps, major imbalance as I never could do more than 35-lb french curls (after 18-months of trying), any ideas for improving this personal problem area? Thanks in advance, any insights would be appreciated. Mr. P. Edited March 25, 2007 by misterp (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobradh77 Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) The recovery time may just infact be that your out of shape and that your getting back into it so give yourself a chance to get back into the swing of things. As far as recovery I was assuming you are just spent after each set? You might start adding 20 minutes of cardio after your work outs. Another idea could be your over training maybe post your routine (sets,reps,etc..) so some of us could see if your overdoing it. As for tri's I have found that for me its not how much you do weight wise but how many. I do 3 tri and BI excersises and I only use 35-45 #'s and I do 4 sets of each and I do them to failure. I also apply this to legs and I get pumps like you wouldn't believe and it was after that I started to see my arms get bigger. I only go heavy on chest days at which I do a reverse pyramid pick a good weight as for me I start @ 185 do 1 set of 12 and add 20 lbs. and drop two reps every set all the way down to 2 . I do this for Incline and decline. Heres an example on flat bench. 185 x 12 205 x 10 225 x 8 245 x 6 265 x 4 275 x 2 or more. Edited March 25, 2007 by brobradh77 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packjh Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Hmm hard to give you advice on tricepts since that side of my arm has always came naturally unlike my biceps. about the getting back into with your recovery time lacking. What supplements are you taking. I have discovered my combination works good but only works for me. Also muscle milk cookies and creme is by far the best tasting supplement i have had that contains protein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox_forma Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 hit the juice P and you will be good to go!!! but other than that the above ideas are good!!!! Although that muscle milk stuff i dont care for. Protein, creatine and water is the best bet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04CHASE Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Hmm hard to give you advice on tricepts since that side of my arm has always came naturally unlike my biceps. about the getting back into with your recovery time lacking. What supplements are you taking. I have discovered my combination works good but only works for me. Also muscle milk cookies and creme is by far the best tasting supplement i have had that contains protein. that stuff is pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsharpe13 Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Muscle Tech makes some really good products. As far as getting great energy for your workout NO-explode is pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanis520 Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 it also depends on what you're trying to gain by working out. i have 2 really close friends that are personal trainers and they've both told me the same thing. if you are only trying to get bulk and big you should do 3 sets with 5-8 reps in each, if you are trying to gain size and get toned do 3 sets with 10-12, and if you're only trying to get toned 4 sets of 15-18. also the more reps you're doin in a set there should be less down time between the sets, so if you're doin 15-18 reps a set you should only be resting around 30 secs, 45 at the most. you said you're doin 8, so if you are in that bracket (5-8) i would say maximum of 2 minutes, 3 seems a little high. are you doing cardio before your work out and stretching enough? that may also be a factor, you should always do a warm up and a cool down with every workout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted March 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) Thanks all. Some more answers: supplements = ON whey protein, AST Creatine, and a ton of vitamins, minerals, & amino acids. No test or prohormones yet, going to wait a few months. As for the cardio, no I haven't started wind sprints yet. Brad - no question I'm way out of shape. I'm going to put in a dedicated "arm day" so that's today! I will use your recommendation, but I already know that with the kind of workout you suggest I might be too sore to steer the truck to work tomorrow! Yes I go to exhaustion, after I put the weights down my muslces are quivering. When I worked-out last, I basically followed the AST MAX-OT program (5-days a week, 6-8 reps per set) and I always went to collapse on the 3rd (final) sets but I always needed 3-minutes between sets to keep the performance/intensity up. It's obvious I need a different approach. I was not happy with my physique, I got down to probably 12-14% BF (I looked good enough) and it was the healthiest I've been in my life by far but I topped-out at 175-lbs; no matter what changes I tried I could not gain any more mass than that. Towards the end I increased my nutrition for a couple months and the result was no change in strength and a 7-lb fat gain instead of muscle, and I've never gained fat that quickly before. I'm about 6' 2" and I wanted to reach at least 190 if not 200+. Mr. P. Edited March 25, 2007 by misterp (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobradh77 Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 The arm work outs are the ones that really make your arms jello later on. At the weights mentioned above my first set maybe 30 reps and slowly decline after that. It may seem like too many reps to some but thats what it took to get those pumps and make those bi's and tri's get hard and feel like they are going to explode in my case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted March 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) The arm work outs are the ones that really make your arms jello later on. At the weights mentioned above my first set maybe 30 reps and slowly decline after that. It may seem like too many reps to some but thats what it took to get those pumps and make those bi's and tri's get hard and feel like they are going to explode in my case. No I hear you. I did the same with pull-ups, I would do 50 whatever way I could and it made major difference in my lats and my serratus of all things just exploded; I looked like superman, with weenie arms! Mr. P. Edited March 25, 2007 by misterp (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSS04 Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) i've been getting back into it the last month and a half also, and i have been stacking cyto-gainer(weight gainer),nitrix(no complex), and cellmass(creatine ethyl-ester). i have gained 12 pounds in a month and a half and my strenth has gone through the roof. i have took these products before with similar results, but 12 pounds is alot of weight for a month and a half. i have also gained back muscle quickly because of my muscle memory. when you work out consistently for years and then stop for a long period of time, and then start back up again, your muscles remember the stressfull conditions and get back into the building process quite quickly. if i were you P, i'd get a quality weightgainer like cytogainer(to help with building muscle) and some glutamine(to help with the recovery time). after you get back into the swing of things and you arn't that sore after workouts anymore, get some creatine and you will start getting massive. just my 2 cents Edited March 25, 2007 by BlackSS04 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted March 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 i've been getting back into it the last month and a half also, and i have been stacking cyto-gainer(weight gainer),nitrix(no complex), and cellmass(creatine ethyl-ester). i have gained 12 pounds in a month and a half and my strenth has gone through the roof. i have took these products before with similar results, but 12 pounds is alot of weight for a month and a half. i have also gained back muscle quickly because of my muscle memory. when you work out consistently for years and then stop for a long period of time, and then start back up again, your muscles remember the stressfull conditions and get back into the building process quite quickly. if i were you P, i'd get a quality weightgainer like cytogainer(to help with building muscle) and some glutamine(to help with the recovery time). after you get back into the swing of things and you arn't that sore after workouts anymore, get some creatine and you will start getting massive. just my 2 cents I'm taking glutamine, like 16-20 grams a day. I'll look into the cytogainer, thanks for the tip. And I'm not sure what you mean about not being sore, I'm always sore after workouts, I always had soreness, there wasn't a time I wasn't sore. Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z4pp Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) Two ML of deca in your butt should do help a lot! GOGOGO lol jk What are you currently using to benchpress??? You also might be overworking your triceps and that will cause them to fail. I usually just do flat bench, pulldowns, tiger dips, and a few with dumbells... i was 155 lbs benching 315 :] So that worked for me, but I guess everyone has a different body type! Edited March 25, 2007 by Z4pp (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSS04 Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) I'm taking glutamine, like 16-20 grams a day. I'll look into the cytogainer, thanks for the tip. And I'm not sure what you mean about not being sore, I'm always sore after workouts, I always had soreness, there wasn't a time I wasn't sore. Mr. P. after getting back into it for about 2 months or so(with heavy lifting of course), you will not be sore after your workouts. i have lifted for a straight year and a half before(3 days on and 1 off, repetadly), and i did not get sore after the first 2 months of working out. if you workout consistently for a long time, then your body will get used to the stress invloved, and you won't even have to take glutamine anymore. the body recognizes that it is a everyday event, and becomes used to growing. so if you keep at it, eat well(4-5 good meals a day if your serious about gaining muscle), take your protein shakes(3 a day, morning shake, 1 hour before workout, post workout shake), and get 7-8 hours of sleep to let muscles regenerate, you will be on your way to be getting massive. hey, it worked for me and remember that food is the best supplement you can buy lift heavy+lots of good food=more muscle Edited March 25, 2007 by BlackSS04 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted March 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) Two ML of deca in your butt should do help a lot! GOGOGO lol jk What are you currently using to benchpress??? You also might be overworking your triceps and that will cause them to fail. I usually just do flat bench, pulldowns, tiger dips, and a few with dumbells... i was 155 lbs benching 315 :] So that worked for me, but I guess everyone has a different body type! Pfffftttt I wish - after 18-months the best I could ever bench was 160-lbs. And in all that time I was always sore, always. Mr. P. I just went and measured, I might have a 12.5" arm Edited March 25, 2007 by misterp (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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