how do you do it?

flexer505

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What do you need to do to bulk?

Does eating after a workout yield more results then eating before it?

How do you train?

Can any food hinder you from bulking?

How long does it usually take to see results?

Will running slow the bulking process?
 

Moyer

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"What do you need to do to bulk?"

You need to eat more calories than you burn and you need to exercise to turn those extra cals into new muscle.

"Does eating after a workout yield more results then eating before it?"

You should do both.

"How do you train?"

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=143006

"Can any food hinder you from bulking?"

Some foods are better than others, but I'm not sure if any food would hinder you unless it made you sick.

"How long does it usually take to see results?"

Depends on what you mean by results. Most beginners can gain at least 1 pound per week.

"Will running slow the bulking process?"

Running burns calories, so yes it will if you don't make up for it by eating a little more. It can also hinder your recovery time if you run too much.


Hope this helps. If you want more specific answers, please ask more specific questions.
 
jminis

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I have been reading the boards but some of those questions I did not find answers to.
Read more please. These are very basic questions. You'll get a lot more out of reading threads then people just answering questions 1,2,3 and so on.
 

flexer505

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"What do you need to do to bulk?"

You need to eat more calories than you burn and you need to exercise to turn those extra cals into new muscle.

"Does eating after a workout yield more results then eating before it?"

You should do both.

"Can any food hinder you from bulking?"

Some foods are better than others, but I'm not sure if any food would hinder you unless it made you sick.

"How long does it usually take to see results?"

Depends on what you mean by results. Most beginners can gain at least 1 pound per week.

"Will running slow the bulking process?"

Running burns calories, so yes it will if you don't make up for it by eating a little more. It can also hinder your recovery time if you run too much.


Hope this helps. If you want more specific answers, please ask more specific questions.
thanks! I really appreciate your help.

Is protein the main ingredient in the diet that is needed?
What would be second? third? ...

How long should you wait before you train a body part again?
If I'm sore, then should I wait until it goes away?

What is the best eating strategy? stick to 3 meals? 5 small meals? something else?

If I train too hard, will it deteriorate muscle?

How much sleep should I get?

Do most people become overweight when they bulk and then when the ideal amount of muscle is reached, burn more calories than they take in to get back in shape?
Is this the only way to do it?
 
xtraflossy

xtraflossy

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Wow- check out the Excercise science catagory of threads.

Like mentioned earlier,.. you'll get more reading up on them then having your questions answered.
But, realize that there is an order or inportance, and DIET is at the TOP!!
If your diet is failing you,.. it doesnt matter what you do in the gym (other then aid in fatloss perhaps).

Not to sound like an ass, I really dont mean to,. its just,.. your basicly asking for an introduction to bodybuilding it seems. And that can be a very extensive subject. Get the basics, follow the basics. Look at your diet now, read some information and then figure out what your goals are. Custimize your diet to meet those goals.
THEN, find you a simple routine you can do in the gym that involves compound movements (you'll find what these are in the threads. pick up a muscle anf fittness mag for some pictures if needed)
for the First few months, that basic routine your following should suffice, (along with your diet) allowing you to learn the about things in a little more detail.
Beleive me, .. knowlage is KEY. -you can train and think your doing things correctly for years, and wonder why your not making any gains.
Doing things correctly/smarter will yeild more noticable results, in shorter time, and give you a foundation to work with.
Start soon, LEARN the basics,.. BE CONSISTANT,.. and this summer could be entirely different then what your used to :twisted:
 
wideguy

wideguy

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**CK the summer!

It's even more fun when you don't have walk around half nekkid for people to have a pretty damn good idea how well your built. ALthough I am guilty of wearing more fitted clothes. And I can't deny I'm a large fan of walking around half nekkid. About 2 more months :)...I really don't know if I could ever not live near the ocean??

Ramble through, I know it can get frustrating answering "basic" questions like this one might be. You guys here do a very nice job helping out and I've taken to noticing that over the last few years, hence me registering and hanging out here more often. In other words I like it here and appreciate what most guys try and do. All that said, I might make a suggestion. These boards lack alot of dimension (sp?). You see the question but not where it's coming from. I'll use myself as an example, because I'm vain ;-) I've been a more active member at another board for awhile. On that board they have their own general reccomendation of what a good "lean bulking" diet might consist of. Overall the reccomendations are pretty similar here and there, except over there they reccomend more protein. However, they also seem to have the more vested interest of selling protein bars and shakes. So my natural sketecism remains in tack in regaurds to their reccomendations. Now that I'm here I've begun trying to ask some of the members that post here more regularly for their individual take on things. The responces are half and half. Which is still a great ratio, some are helpful some tell me go figure it out. That kinda strikes me as odd? If you're going to bother to respond to somebody you might at least want to try and look at why the hell that person would be asking such a seemingly obvious question. Then again perhaps if I stated ahead of time that the reason I was asking was for comparison of what I had previously learned and had been implementing, then their wouldn't have been that confusion.

BTW, Moyer once again you're helpful. Thanks :)
 

Moyer

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"Is protein the main ingredient in the diet that is needed?
What would be second? third? ..."

They are all needed when bulking.

"How long should you wait before you train a body part again? If I'm sore, then should I wait until it goes away?"

Everyone is different, but you should generally not train a muscle that is still sore. Beginners get sore very easily until their muscles get used to the stress.

"What is the best eating strategy? stick to 3 meals? 5 small meals? something else?"

Most people prefer 5-7 meals which includes shakes &/or smaller "snack" meals.

"If I train too hard, will it deteriorate muscle?"

This is a complex question. Short answer is: stick to one of the beginner splits in the link I posted earlier and you're good to go.

"How much sleep should I get?"

8-9hrs is probably best. People get by on 7 though.

"Do most people become overweight when they bulk and then when the ideal amount of muscle is reached, burn more calories than they take in to get back in shape?
Is this the only way to do it?"

Many people on this board go from less than 10% bodyfat up to maybe 14-15% at most(while building muscle), then cut back down to below 10% while keeping most of the new muscle. They never really get overweight though because 14% is still very lean by regular standards.



One thing I want to stress is to just print out a routine, go find a gym, and start making progress.

Definately keep researching (you need to), but believe me, you don't need to try and understand everything before you get started. Understanding everything will take forever.
 

flexer505

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thanks for the feedback xtraflossy, wideguy, and moyer.

moyer - thanks for all the advice. I'll do that then. I've already started working out for a while but I've never really had a routine or any kind of diet strategy.

oh, one more question if you don't mind answering. Are there any main things I should know to keep from hurting myself?
 
wideguy

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Not leaving your ego at the door. If you can't perform a lift with good form then, use less weight. When you first start lifting your body has alot of Central Nervous System adaptation (in other words your brain is learning how you use your muscles properly to learn how to best execute a lift) simply going through the motions with moderate to heavy weight will illicit some muscle growth. So what I'm saying is almost any program will put on muscle when you're starting, so focus on perfecting your form. Cheat sets, and other more advanced lifting techniques should be used when you're more advanced and sparringly/to maybe never at all depending on the individual and the circumstances. Always stick to squats, deadlift, and bench as the three main lifts of which the rest of your workout is centered around. There are some acceptable substitutes but save them for when you've burnt out on the best three. BTW, I don't know how many will agree but I always say this and still will, keep a lifting journal. That way you know what worked, what didn't, and what the hell you are looking to improve on from workout to workout.
 

Moyer

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I agree with Wideguy that a lifting journal is a great idea. And take it slow in the beginning. You don't need to lift the heaviest weights right away. Stick with 10 slow reps per set at least until you have a good feel for all the exercises.

Using good form is the most important thing you can do to avoid injury.

Here's a couple decent sites that discuss good form for many different exercises:

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exername.php
 

Moyer

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Also, after you get a decent routine and know what good form is, diet is what you should research. It will make or break your gains.
 

flexer505

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thanks, I'll study all of those things mentioned. Those links on form really helped Moyer, especially the vids, thank you.

the only other answer I'm having a difficult time finding is how much rest I should have in between a set.
Is it different when bulking?
Should I be rested enough to be able to do the same amount of reps at the same previous performance?

I'm thinking of only doing 1 set to failure per body part each day every other day or 2. So would resting between sets even matter with this routine? just as long as I can catch my breath right?
 
Pitbull954

Pitbull954

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Flexer you have alot to learn and thats the fun part. To your answer how much time should I take between sets/reps well if you look around at your gym you will see people on average take 1 to 2 minutes between reps/sets. Now you can do that and its fine push pretty hard when lifting BUT get perfect form!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who cares how much you can bench or squat trust me its not worth it just ask my shoulder!! But you should always shock your muscle so maybe for a few months take 45 secs between sets/reps you'll have to lighten the weight of course. Than maybe do 4 secs down 2 secs up (KILLER) etc etc etc. But these forms are the best for learning there is sooooo much info so read up. Like all these guys said DIET DIET DIET, goto fitday.com its free, you'll love it. Anyway good luck I'm off to the gym!
 
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