Some questions I have about weight training

[Vio1]

About 5-6 months ago I attempted to start weight lifting. It didn’t last long mainly because I wasn’t able to follow a structured routine/diet. The reason for this is because I’m only 16 and have no access to a gym. I created a custom routine tailored for the equipment I had but it was flawed. Now I’ve decided to give it a second try. I have a few questions that I could really use some answers to. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Considering the following circumstances will it even be worthwhile to weight train

1.As of right now I have to eat 3 meals a day. I can eat whatever I want for the first 2 but the last one, which is dinner I have no control over I just eat whatever is prepared. I can easily avoid eating junk food, but I cannot get access to specific diet related supplements.

2.About 4-5 times a week I run 2 miles a day for summer training for track.


Routine Related:
How many reps/sets should I be doing?
How many times a week should I work each muscle group?
Should I be lifting at my max?
How many days a week should I be weight lifting?

Misc.:
When performing an exercise should I be doing it slowly or quickly?
If I’m not sore the following day does that mean I’m not doing enough?
Does it matter what time of day I weight lift? Should I weight lift before or after a meal?
When you stop getting gains should you stop weightlifting for a week or two or just tone the weightlifting down?
Should I be doing other aerobic training besides the running I have to do? If so,how many times a week?

[Aurora]

Lets see if I can remeber everything you said.

1 you don't really need supplaments to start working out. Sure they help but they arn't absolutly nesseary.

Its hard to belive you don't have acess to a gym, not even a school weight lifting room. Eitherways to start out with all you really need is a good set of dumbbells, and a book telling you how to properly do the moves. A weight bench and cardio equiment would be great too. Consider joining up a martial arts program.

We can't tell you how many reps to do or how much weights. You have to do as much as you can while mainting the proper form. The more weight you lift, the bigger muscles you will get faster. The smaller and more reps you do you will build up endurance.

Basically what I do is go by what I feel. Trust your instinct and you really can't go wrong.

Don't forget to strech, good nutirtion = more results. If you can't buy books to help you should at least check them out from your local library.

hope I was some help
Aurora

[Aurora]

oh and the schedual thing, I didn't start a schedual until last week. I have been weight lifting for almost a year now. Just do it when it feels right. Just make sure you workout, and dont' slack off when you do then your in danger of getting out of the loop.

Be warey of overtraining it can have adverse effects, its what I did when I started like 8 hours a day working out, way too much. Anyways good luck

[Vio1]

"Its hard to belive you don't have acess to a gym, not even a school weight lifting room."
My school's weightroom is never open.

Right now I own a bench and a bunch of dummbells. It's hard working out my back though with my equipment.

[Aurora]

ok Dumbbell and Bench workouts to work your back-

One-arm Dumbbell row-
(from Teach Yourself Visually Weight Training I reccomment you buy this book)
1. postion your right foot flat on the floor beside a flat bench with your knee slightly bent position your left knee on the bench.

2. Lean forward and psotion your left hand on the bench to support your upper body- make sure your back is paralelle to the floor.

3. Allow your right arm to hang straight down. Rach down and pick up a dumbbell off the floor palm facing in.

4. Slowly raise the dumbell by pulling your elbow as far back as you can squeeze your shoulder blade and keep your arm close to your side. *tighten your abdominal muscles to protect your back.

5. Slowly lower the dumbbell back to the starting position

6. After completing a set with your right arm position your right hand and right knee on the pench and repeat with your left arm.

Remeber not to arch or bend you rback or your neck. can cause injury.

If you have a barbell as well you can do the barbell bent over row.

Theres the dumbbell shrug which is really easy hold dumbells in each hand and shrug pulling your shoulders up close to your ears pause for a moment and then drop them back down.

and there is another one for barbells.. you should really get this book.

Oh and to answer your question before to lift fast or slow. Alot of things are telling you to lift slow, you build up more endurance, but whichever you do be sure to take your time and pause, it doesn't matter how you look when youa re doing something or how much you even lift but how you do it to effectivy work your muscles.

[Vio1]

What I figure ill do is write up a basic routine and start following it. I’ll just change it as I learn different techniques and such. Last time I got way to focused on doing everything perfectly and was less focused on actually going out and weightlifting.

If I eat 3 meals a day that are healthy will I still be able to get good results. Because for me it would be difficult to eat 4-5 small meals a day.

[NateDogg]

You can still get "good" results, just probably not as "good."

[Aurora]

the more you work out the more your body will need to replenish yourself. They say its best not to eat till you are full, but eat enough to keep you sustained until your next meal. That way you can eat more meals a day.

[Vio1]

Could someone try to answer some of the questions below

Routine Related:
How many reps/sets should I be doing?
How many times a week should I work each muscle group?
Should I be lifting at my max?
How many days a week should I be weight lifting?

Misc.:
When performing an exercise should I be doing it slowly or quickly?
If I’m not sore the following day does that mean I’m not doing enough?
Does it matter what time of day I weight lift? Should I weight lift before or after a meal?
When you stop getting gains should you stop weightlifting for a week or two or just tone the weightlifting down?
Should I be doing other aerobic training besides the running I have to do? If so,how many times a week?

[NateDogg]

Originally Posted by Vio1

Could someone try to answer some of the questions below

Routine Related:
How many reps/sets should I be doing?
***6-8 rep sets, 4-6 sets for smaller muscle groups, 8-10 for larger. This is totally adjustable based on MANY factors.

How many times a week should I work each muscle group?
***Probably 1 or 2

Should I be lifting at my max?
***If you are strictly lifting for hypertrophy, then no, probably not. Maybe once in a great while.

How many days a week should I be weight lifting?
***3-5

***All of the above is subject to: desire, intensity, length of training, recovery ability (based on genetics, sleep, diet), time constraints, etc...***

Misc.:
When performing an exercise should I be doing it slowly or quickly?
***In a controlled fashion (again, assuming you are lifting solely for hypertrophy)

If I’m not sore the following day does that mean I’m not doing enough?
***Probably not.

Does it matter what time of day I weight lift? Should I weight lift before or after a meal?
***I eat a hour or so before I lift, I lift between 6 and 8 PM

When you stop getting gains should you stop weightlifting for a week or two or just tone the weightlifting down?
***If you're tired, hate the gym, feel sick a lot, then yes, take a break, if not, then take a closer look at your diet, routine, sleep patterns, etc.

Should I be doing other aerobic training besides the running I have to do? If so,how many times a week?
***Running's fine. If you want to do more, then go ahead. Just remember, endurance training actually reduces muscle fiber size to allow for "easier" oxidation.

My attempt. ^^^