tgo success story wannabe! Follow Along!

Nov29/09
Hi Im a 22 year old canadian! I have always been in pretty fit and lean, but have always wanted to be a bit bigger and have a better, healthier body.

I came across Scoobys sites a few months ago & had just started working out again. Ive been reading and learning as much as possible about body building and lifting recently, and found all his videos very informative and entertaining!

After a couple attempts in the last few years at weight training and to build a better body, I was overwhelmed with the amount of information and opinions there are out there. I didnt really know what to do or where to begin, and would just goto the gym and do random exercises for my workout.

But recently, after learning as much as possible (through a lot of research, and some personal trial and error) i have put together a workout and nutrition plan, and am determined to build a better, bigger, stronger, and healthier body!

Check My profile and start of transformation pics out! Add me, Follow me, Read my posts, and Give me +rep points as I strive to become one of Scooby's Success Stories!

tgo

Hey mate,

I noticed you said you do stretching. Although you didn't say when you do the stretching, it looks as if you do it before you lift. Stretching has been shown to reduce strength and have minimal effect on reducing injuries. So it is obviously not something you want to be doing before lifting, You can still do stretches to increase flexibility, but you should do them AFTER your workout.

Check out:
-  http://scoobysworkshop.com/simplemachinesforum/general-questions/stretching-1994/  
- http://scoobysworkshop.com/simplemachinesforum/bulking-up-and-gaining-muscle/stretching-before-workout/

Oh another thing, you are right about heavy lifting.  For maximum muscle mass gain, you should be aiming for a total of 25-35 reps per exercise. So there is no need to lift heavy to gain maximum muscle. I do 3 sets of 10 for a total of 30 reps on all my exercises. But obviously you could do say 4 sets of 7 instead and that'd be good for muscle gain.

that is a huge shoulder day! dang!

todays my birthday, so the only lifting im gona do is the lifting of food and beer into my mouth. ill run a little extra tomorrow or something hahah, ah well.

tgo

hahah thanks man! they definitely do... my theory is that every year seems shorter the older you get, becasue each year is actually shorter relative to your entire life. For example, when youre 4, a year is a whole quarter of your life. but when your 23, a year is a mere twenty-third of your life! Either way, i had a good year, and hope my 23rd one is just as good:)
as for my workout schedule.. by 'impressive' do you mean too much? 
I live close to the gym, and i dress and get ready before i go, so i dont have to change there. I get to the gym, put my stuff in a locker, put my headphones in, and go thru my entire workout with as little distraction as possible. I dont like to talk to other people much when im there, and if someone starts up a convo i try to politely end it and get back to my lifting. I do enough exercises to hit the muscle group(s) im working from all angles, and only rest as much as necessary between sets and exercises. The lifting usually takes me just over an hour. On lifting days i do 20-40 min of cardio, and then have a 15-30 minute steam. Then i shower, dress, and go home.
So from the time i leave my house to the time im home is usually about 2.5 hours, and shorter on days i only do cardio. I work all week, so i usually get home around 4 or 430, eat my pre workout meal, head to the gym, come home, cook dinner, and am free to enjoy the rest of the evening by about 730pm

tgo

Im very lucky- i get to work out at a fully equipped gym with a large array of equipment and machines
Here is a list of the muscle groups i work, and the exercises i usually choose from. On each given training day, i try do one exercise from each list. Each muscle group is just that- a group of different parts or heads, and in order to fully work each group, i feel you have to use different angles, equipment, methods, and exercises. Its also good to change things up from time to time, and not always be using the same exercise for each given muscle or part/head of each muscle!
As everyone knows, there are tonnnssss of exercises out there for each muscle, and tons of variations of each exercise. Virtually any exercise has grip or position variations, and can be performed with body weight, barbells, dumbbells, ezbars, smith machines, machines, cables... etc! So get creative and find what works best for you!
Try a few of these out, because who knows.. you might find something new that is just the exercise you need to add some new muscle or break through a training plateau!

 
day 1 - shoulders, traps
i usually do my shoulders and traps together, because i feel a there are lots of shoulder exercises which also involve the traps, and by training them together you get kind of a 'double shot' effect. Ive also trained traps and back together, and done shoulders on arms day... hey.. whatever works for you! Also, i dont like to do chest day that close to shoulders day, because i find incline chest exercises use the front delt as well, and i dont like to interfere with my shoulders when theyre freshly trained and in the healing/growth progess! again, everyone is different tho- so whatever works best for you!
There are 3 parts to your shoulders, so i always do at least 3 exercises
-general shoulder
smith machine shoulder press
barbell shoulder press
dumbbell shoulder press
machine shoulder press
arnold press

-side/outer delts
dumbbell lateral raise
cable lateral raise
dumbbell side raise
upright row
cable upright row

-front delt
dumbbell front raise
barbell front raise
single armed cable front raise
double armed cable front raise

-rear delt
bent over dumbbell lateral raise
decline bench dumbbell lateral raise
bend over cable lateral raise
decline bench cable lateral raise
reverse pec-deck flyes

-traps
barbell shrug
dumbbell shrug
smith shrug
cable shrug
behind the back bent barbell shrug
decline shrug
upright row
bentover row
cable seated close row
cable standing close row

day 2 - abs
i want abs just as bad as i want arms, or legs, chest, etc. For that reason, i train them just as i do my other muscle groups- a specific day of training just for abs, using weight and resistance, different exercises so i hit all the parts, and plenty of rest! Cardio obviously helps reveal your abs, but to build bigger, stronger abs, you must treat them just like any other muscle group! Choose one exercise from each category to ensure a full ab workout
-general abs/upper abs
crunches/weighted crunches
decline/decline weighted crunches
situps/weighted situps
decline/decline weighted situps
high cable crunches
low cable crunches
hyperextensions
bicycles

-lower abs
hanging leg raises
hanging leg front raises
lying leg raises
cable lying leg curls/cable lying v ups
bicycles

-upper obliques
high cable oblique crunches
lying oblique/weighted oblique crunches
low cable oblique crunches
high cable side bends
side bends on hyperextension bench
bicycles

-lower obliques
dumbell side bends
low cable side bends
side bends on hypextention bench
lying sideways leg raises
lying cable sideways leg curls
bicycles

day 3 - arms
on arms day i usually do 2 bicep exercises (one outer head exercise, one inner head exercise). Also, i like to do 3 types of tricep exercises- i do one where my arms are extended upwards, in line with my torso (like seated french press, overhead cable extensions, seated db extensions, etc), one where my arms are at 90 degrees to my torso (like close grip benching, or skull crushers, etc) and one where my arms are downwards in line with my torso (like weighted dips, or cable pressdowns, etc). Sometimes ill do a forearm exercise as well, but i feel my forearms are on par with the rest of my arm development and get enough training just by doing bis and tris, and holding onto weights.

-outer(long) bicep head (peak)
close grip preacher curl
close grip bb curl
hammer curls
cable hammer curls
close grip cable curls
db preacher hammer curls
cable hammer curls
concentration curls
high cable curls
decline db curls
lying dumbbell curls
21's, close grip
1 for you 2 for me, close grip
zottman curl
close grip bb drag curls

-inner(short)bicep head (real 'meat' of the bi's)
ez bar scott curls
wide grip/neutral grip preacher curl
wide grip/neutral grip barbell curl
wide grip cable/neutral grip curls
db preacher curl
21's, wide/neutral grip
1 for you 2 for me, wide/neutral grip
zottman curl
wide/neutral grip drag curls

-tricep inner head (long head)
lying ez bar/bb/cable scull crushers
close grip benching
ez bar benching
seated french press
seated overhead db extension
overhead cable extension
underhand cable pulldown
tricep dips

-tricep outer head (short head)
close grip benching
cable pressdown
db kickback
cable kickback
seated overhead db extension
seated french press
overhead cable extension
tricep dips

-forearms
seated db wrist curls
seated bb wrist curls
cable wrist curls
reverse db/bb curls
reverse preacher curl
hammer curls
weight on a string dowel wind-up
tennis ball squeezers
spring clamp squeezers

day 4 - legs
legs day! everyones favourite!! i pretty much always do squats..Also, i like to sometimes do my hams first, and sometimes calves first. Again- gota keep it interesting! and by doing things in a different order once in a while it allows you to lift more on certain exercises because your muscles arent as tired.. for example, if you always do calves last, try doing them first! you my spark some new growth and find gastrocnemius strength you never knew you had! The same goes for all muscle groups tho.. switch things up and itll keep things interesting and help you avoid training plateaus!

-quads
back squat
front(zercher) squat
smith back/front squat
bb hack squat
smith hack squat
bulgarian split squat
cable front squat
db lunge
bb lunge
machine leg press
machine hack squat
machine leg extension
bench leg extension
dead lift

-hams
machine lying leg curl
bench db leg curl
cable hamstring curl
hanging db curl
decline leg curl/weighted decline leg curl
bb hamstring extension/good morning
back raise/hyperextension
reverse hyperextension
bb lunge
db lunge

-calves/soleus
seated db calf raise
bb/smith/cable calf raise
standing machine calf raise
seated machine calf raise
leg press machine calf rasie
db calf jump
single leg standing calf raise

day 5 - chest
a well built chest is like.. the first thing you notice when someone whos all jacked walks upto you haha so for that reason, i want a big one. I always do an incline move, a flat move, and either a decline or a flye movement.  I also always try do one of my chest exercises using a barbell or smith/machine, one using dumbbells, and one using cables. There are sooo many chest exercises, and again, most can be performed using either bb, db, cables, or machines- so while you dont have to do all of them every day, work through them and switch them, and find which work best for you!

-upper chest
pushups/dive bomber pushups/triangle pushups/elevated feet pushups, etc.
incline smith bench
incline bb bench
incline db press
incline cable press
incline db flye
incline cable flye
db pullover
standing high cable flye
chest dips
incline close grip bench

-general/lower chest
pushup & pushup variations
flat bench
decline bench
smith bench
decline smith bench
db press
decline db press
cable press
decline cable press
db flye
decline db flye
cable flye
decline cable flye
standing low cable flye
db pullover
pec dec flye
machine chest press
towel flye
chest dips

day 6 - cardio
get creative!

day 7 - back
on back day i like to start with pullups. Sometimes ill do alternating grip, some days close grip, and some days wide grip. They really are the king of back exercises! i read there are 3 basic moves to use to build a well developed back, and so far this is the basis of how i do my back workouts. The moves are- a pulldown move, a rowing move, and a lower back/extension move. I always do all three, and i try to do one as a wide grip (like wide grip pullups or lat pulldown), and one closer grip (like db rows, close grip bent over rowing, low cable rows, or t bar rowing). Also, i like to do some light innies and outies and the end of my back workouts.
My back has gotten a lot stronger since i started training, so i must be doing something right!

-lats
pull ups/pull up variations
assisted pull ups
lat pulldown
straight arm lat pressdown
close grip pulldown
db/bb/smith bent over rowing
t bar rowing
cable seated high row
one arm db bench rowing

-lower back
squats
romanian deadlift
deadlift
hyperextensions/good mornings
low cable back extension

-rotator cuffs
cable innies and outies
lying db innies and outies
resistance band innies and outies



well there you have it! feel free to comment with what your favourite moves are, or with any that i may have missed or should try! I feel variety is the spice of life working out , so by switching between rep ranges, exercises, techniques, barbells, dumbbells, cables, body weight exercises, and... well.. everything i can, i feel that im getting the most out of my training. I want to keep training until im old and withered, and without constant change and variety, i would get bored of it and give up! But with all the exercises and techniques/methods there are out there, that will never happen

tgo