Nope. 5 x 5 means 5 sets of 5 reps. 25 total reps at your working weight when it's all said and done. Percentage of your 1 rep max isn't really important here. Just find a weight that you can hit 5 x 5 with. The last rep of the last few sets should be difficult, but not an all-out effort. If you are able to complete 5 x 5, increase the weight for the next session. If not, stick with the weight you failed until you can.
The other main exercises you can/should do are Barbell overhead press, this is probably more important than the bench press Pull ups Dips Barbell Bent over row Good Mornings seated military dumbbell press incline dumbbell bench press Front Squat Try to stagger the workouts so you're not hitting the same groups two days in a row, for example don't do back squats and good mornings on Monday then dead lifts and front squats on Tuesday. With compound lifts like these you really don't have to do more than two or three exercises every time you hit the gym, for example MBP has you do Monday: Bench, Dips, BB OHP Tuesday: Squat, Deadlift and that's it. Trust me, as long as you go balls out and eat enough you will get bigger and stronger much faster than the guy doing 30 sets of isolation work everyday. And it hasn't been explicitly stated yet, but leg press is NOT a suitable substitute for squats, there is no suitable substitute for squats. Unless a qualified medical professional has stated that you personally can not do them for medical reasons, there is no excuse, just do them. Edit - One more thing, a lot of guys like to time lifts with cadences or do the lift as slowly as possible, but for a beginning strength program you should be doing the lifts with good speed while maintaining control.
Is there any special thing I should look for in a multivitamin? I currently take just a regular GNC Mega Men everyday, but I'm about done with my first bottle, and was wondering if there is something better I should be taking before I buy another. Also, I take two every morning with breakfast- should I be breaking that up and taking 1 at a time at different times of the day? As a quick side note, after being hounded relentlessly by everyone I know, I finally weighed last night. I'm down to 212 at 6'6. That's about 18lbs lighter than I thought I was. Sweet! I don't think I need to lose any more weight, so I guess it's time to level everything off. I have gotten to where I really enjoy my 3 mile runs in the morning, so I guess I need to up my food intake during the day. Any other tips for just maintaining, other than just taking in the same amount that I burn?
Ive switched up routines this week and started a 5x5 workout. It is M/W/F and Ive decided to throw in some light swimming on T/TH to get some sort of cardio into my life, since getting winded ten thrust into sex is just sad. Since Ive started Ive gotten major headaches after most of my workouts, particularly after swimming. Maybe I never pushed myself hard enough on MBP, I'd only be huffing and puffing during leg days, but this new cardio (the first real cardio Ive done in a long while) seems to be the cause. Is there any good way to avoid or prevent these headaches? Side note: I have cut back my coffee consumption quite a bit this past week as well and have random headaches from that as well. They are usually around the times I crave it and are way less intense than the work out ones.
I'd say it's from pushing yourself too hard from swimming. I only swim 3-4 months in a year and then stop until the next year. When starting up again I tend to get moderate headaches. My best advice is to make sure you're in proper form while swimming so you're breathing properly. Don't just poke your head up to breathe whenever you feel like it while swimming like a maniac. Go slow, take your time and you'll get faster/go longer eventually. Sadly, I tend to not listen to my own advice for the first week or two and end up with the headaches. Hopefully that solves your problem.
The rep range really doesn't matter if you're stressing your muscle(s) enough. What makes you big/strong is progressive overload(adding weight is not necessarily the only way to go here). If you eat and sleep right, and add either weight, rep or are able to take shorter rest periods, you'll grow. There's really nothing wrong with isolation programs. They are useful in their own way and many are capable of gaining a substantial amount of weight following them. The reason a strength-based program woks better for a noob is because the noob really doesn't have that much muscle or strength to begin with. Most isolation programs will either simply burn him/her out (unless he's got wolverine like regeneration), causing him to break the muscle down, rather than building it up, or the noob won't stress his muscles enough because he's lacking strength and the progression will take forever. I consider the isolation programs to be fine-tuning. When you've built up a base, gotten a proper amount of muscle, you can make the small muscle groups, that you didn't know you had, pop out. A proper isolation program is of course much more time consuming than a simple strength based program, but if you're overly into looks, the isolation is the way to go. Also, from my experience the 5x5 program is more mentally tolling than the 3x5. Granted, the strength you'll gain with 5x5 is also more practical and easier transferred to other sports/everyday life/isolation program, considering it makes your muscles more endurable. I think 3x5 is more applicable if you're going into powerlifting. I think what you meant to say here is that the lifts are to be done with the explosive strength in mind, rather than maximal. Meaning accelerate on the way up, controlled descent. There's absolutely no excuse for a newbie to waggle the bar on the press, just because he wants to do it fast. Good technique comes first, then the speed. Also, as mentioned earlier, you can choose to lift as slowly as possible, if your goals are either muscle hypertrophy or maximal strength. This has been mentioned already, but oatmeal is a superb and cheap breakfast alternative. It gives you both carbs and fibers that are necessary throughout the day.
I won't lie Ive never swam for exercise before. This is exactly what I do. I have no clue what good technique is. Guess I need to read up and practice more on breathing technique.
What's a good way to get in calories for lunch? I don't have a go-to meal for lunch and am going grocery shopping today.
The general rule of thumb is to breathe when your dominant hand goes back (at least this is what I was taught in swimming growing up). So for example, If I'm just going at a easy pace whenever my right arm goes back my head follows it, and when the right arm starts going back forward my head goes back into the water. If I'm swimming at a faster pace, it's every two right arms. Make sense?
I don't quite get what do you mean. Eating is the best way to get calories for lunch. I certainly don't have a go-to because I don't like to eat the same thing every day.
Im currently doing the Mens Health Spartacus work out, not 3 times a week, but once a week next to 3 times a week lifting weights. Its a great for fatburning and keeping you body dynamic with jumps.
I think I've been having some issues with testosterone levels lately. I haven't been working out much (just running once a week pretty much) and have been eating pretty crappy. I've definitely noticed a decrease in libido (to the point where I'm with my gf and I might lose it half way through) and I'm at the highest weight I've been at (I'm 6'2" and about 240-245 lbs right now). I'm looking at starting back up on P90X and eating much healthier. Other than that, does anyone have any recommendations for what I can do to increase my testosterone levels? (I've also been getting not enough sleep, so that may have contributed to it. I've started looking at ZMA, does anyone have any thoughts on that?)
Any chance of you being able to join/compete in some level of competitive sports? If so, that's the single best way to get motivated and active all while increasing your testosterone levels. You also might want to see your doctor and have them check your levels. Getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and being active are all associated with natural testosterone levels. As for P90X... I'd start with something else if I was you. P90X is something many people feel you have to have a basic fitness level to have success with. Start by eating right and walking a few miles a day and work your way up from there. Basically, find something you'll have some early success with so you're motivated to keep it going.
I recently started working out every other day. I do 20 minutes of cardio (usually 10 minutes of running outside and 10 minutes of step aerobics), and around 15-20 minutes of ab workouts (generic crunches, planks, bicycle crunches, and reverse crunches). Also, once a week, my boyfriend and I take a mile walk to the store for whatever we need.
I've been working out with my roommate for the past few weeks and it's starting to pay off. Before we started I weighed a measly 146 +- 1 lb at 5'11". About a month later, I put on about 6 lbs and got to 152. I know, I'm a scrawny guy, but putting on weight has never been an easy task for me; the heaviest I've ever weighed was 156 at the end of last summer. I guess spending 2 and a half hours per day, 5 days a week at the gym working out with a short, dense, asian dude actually works. I finally know what I was doing wrong when I worked out by myself.
Out of curiosity, what was your routine? What is it now, and what are your goals? I take it you just want to add a bit of weight to your frame while maintaining a 300 PT score?