Some people just don’t get it though.  So here’s my public service announcement to those without a clue:

1. Filling up a water bottle at the water fountain with 10 people in line behind you. It’s a water fountain, not a bottling plant.  Either fill up your water bottle at home, get a larger one that lasts you longer or let people cut you.  When people are getting a sip between sets, you don’t want to be that jackass that they’re waiting 5 minutes for just so you can fill up your water bottle.
2. Sweating like a pig and not wiping down the equipment. Some people sweat a lot – and that’s fine – but at least have the courtesy to wipe down the equipment for people that are using it after you.  Your mom isn’t at the gym with you – clean up after yourself.
3. Not re-racking the weights. Listen – part of working out at the gym is carrying the weights you are using.  You have no idea how many ancillary muscles you’re NOT working out by being a lazy bum.  You’re at the gym to work out, so look at every part of the gym experience as part of the workout – including putting away your weights.
4. Lifting right by the weight rack.  Courteous people won’t want to get in your way, but you shouldn’t be there to begin with.  Make sure you are far enough away from the weight racks that others can get what they need.
5. Talking to someone during their set. I don’t know about you, but when I’m maxing out or trying to get that last rep or two, I don’t want some jackass asking me if I’m using the bench 5 feet away from me that I’m clearly already not using.  If you want to talk to someone, wait until they’re done with their set, don’t interrupt their focus.

Avoid these mistakes, and go get big!

The bottom line when it comes to gaining muscle mass and bulking up is the need to keep your body in an anabolic state by stimulating the muscles to grow and consuming more calories than you’re burning.

Track what you eat on a daily basis and add 500 calories. This can mean an extra two-three glasses of milk a day (easy, right?!) and/or a few hard-boiled eggs.

Alternatively, there’s plenty of protein powders and shakes available that can help you up your intake of protein (most are either vegetable or milk based).

Read more about bulking up and building muscle mass naturally on the rest of the site.

I received a text message 10 minutes ago from ‘3649′ that said:

12532511924@onlinebanking.com / / You have received a new message . Call now : 1 253 251 1924 to hear it.

After calling the number, a recording said my “bank account” was compromised and they need to verify some information after pressing the # key. The recording proceeded to ask me to enter my “Credit card” number and expiration date along with the CVV code on the back of the card then ended the call.

If you receive a similar message/call, DO NOT enter your credit card information. It’s an attempt to steal your credit card information and put you at risk for identity theft. DO NOT give away any of your information. Credit card companies and banks never ask for this information through text message/automated calls.

Here is a simple bench press program. I wrote it on my spare time. I have not included any estimated max because I don’t believe in that crap. If you must figure it out, then just add 30 pounds to your 4 rep max. That would be a good estimate. Theses are workouts and not strength testing sessions. The first 2-3 sets are warm ups. The last three sets should be pretty hard to do. You will use 1 minute rest in between the warm ups and 3 minutes between the hard sets. The numbers (#1-42) DO NOT represent weeks. Just keep doing the workout you are on until you can finish it like it is on the chart. This chart starts with one who benches lets say in week #1 215 and ends with a 430 bench. I decided not to go any higher on the scale because if you can bench 430, you don’t need my help. Like damn!!! Notice that the sets change and so do the weights. Sometimes the third or forth set may be a lower weight. That way it helps you to increase your last set’s weight. Hope you enjoy it.

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6

100×10 100×10 100×10 100×10 115×10 115×10

110×10 100×10 110×10 115×10 120×10 120×10

125×8 125×8 135×8 145×8 150×8 155×8

155×6 165×6 170×6 175×6 185×6 185×6

175×4 185×4 190×4 195×4 200×4 210×4

#7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12

120×10 120×10 125×10 130×10 130×10 135×10

120×10 120×10 130×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

165×8 175×8 175×8 185×8 155×8 165×8

195×6 205×6 215×6 205×6 225×6 230×6

210×4 225×4 230×4 235×4 245×4 255×4

#13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

185×8 195×8 205×8 215×8 225×8 225×8

235×6 245×6 245×6 250×6 250×6 255×6

260×4 260×4 270×4 270×4 280×4 285×4

#19 #20 #21 #22 #23 #24

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

225×8 225×8 225×8 225×8 225×8 225×10

260×6 265×6 270×6 275×6 275×6 285×6

290×4 295×4 300×4 310×4 315×4 320×4

#25 #26 #27 #28 #29 #30

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

225×10 225×10 225×10 225×10 225×10 225×10

260×8 260×8 245×8 245×8 275×8 295×8

290×6 295×6 315×6 315×8 325×6 330×6

325×4 325×4 335×4 345×6 355×6 360×4

#31 #32 #33 #34 #35 #36

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

225×10 225×10 225×10 225×10 225×10 225×10

295×8 295×8 315×8 315×8 315×8 320×8

325×6 330×6 340×6 345×6 350×6 355×6

365×4 370×4 365×4 370×4 375×4 380×4

#37 #38 #39 #40 #41 #42

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10 135×10

225×10 225×10 225×10 225×10 225×10 225×10

325×8 335×8 335×8 335×8 340×8 345×8

360×6 365×6 365×6 370×6 375×6 380×6

385×4 385×4 395×4 400×4 400×4 405×4

CHEST

(Flat Bench Press)

Equipment = Flat bench

How to = Too many people, like to use a too close of a grip. Because they feel stronger that way (triceps). When you grab the bar your forearms should be parallel to the wall. Then you should lower the weight to your nipples or slightly lower and then raise it back up. Do not lock your elbows. Always keep your feet on the floor! Never put your feet on the bench! I don’t care who does it. No one does that in any power lifting event. Your feet will help you drive the weight up. When you lift, drive your feet into the ground. Never arch your back! That can hurt you!

(Incline Bench press)

Equipment = Incline Bench Press

How to = I see a lot of people lowering the weight too low to the chest. You want to lower the weight to the collar bone and then raise the weight up. This will work the upper chest greater. Do not lock your elbows. If you don’t have an inline bench, then just use a flat bench and lower the weight to just below your neck. That works very well.

(Flyes)

Equipment = Flat bench and dumbbells

How to = Lay down on the flat bench, then lift the dumbbells above your head. Then lower them with your arms at a slight angle. Lower the weight until the weight is slightly lower than your chest. Then repeat.

LEGS

(Squat)

Equipment = Squat rack, Smith Machine (knee wraps: optional)

How to (For Free Weight Squats) = Form is a big thing with this exercise. If you don’t do it right, you can seriously hurt yourself! First of all if you have never done these before you got to take your time. First of all your legs may be strong they may be very strong! But is your back ready for heavy poundage? That’s my problem. My legs are strong, but my lower back is not as strong (I am tall, and tend to lean over too much. So I am really working on my form right now.). I don’t like bar pads, they make balancing the bar very difficult. So, what you want to do, is place the bar slightly lower than your neck. You can adjust the bar even lower, but if you do you will create stress on your elbow joints. I try to grasp the bar with the same grip I use for benching. Now, that you have the bar on your shoulders, you got to get your footing right. Slightly more than shoulder width is good. You can even work the outer thighs, by adjusting you stance closer in. Then you lower yourself. Keep the back straight! Have someone who is known for doing good form to watch you. Look up, don’t look down! This keeps the back, even straighter. You only want to lower yourself until your upper thighs are parallel with the floor. What ever you do, don’t ever put anything under your butt (like a bench, to make sure you are going low enough! What happens is your butt hits the bench, a great shock will go up your spine and hurt you. This is called by most idiots as “Butt to Bench Squats”. ). Then you want to raise back up to the original position. I have bad knees, so I wrap them. If you have them also, I suggest that you do too. Just buy a good pair of knee wraps ($20.00). To wrap them, just start from the bottom of the knee and wrap up. Don’t worry about making a “X” across the knee. Just a simple wrap will do. Don’t wrap them too tight. Remember they will get tighter when you descend as the knee bends. Then after your set, you will need to unwrap them. They also help to warm up the joint in the process. Some people like to put a plate under their heels, to take stress of the knees. I don’t recommend that. I have not heard anything good about doing that. I always use a weight belt to help protect my back on these. I hope that you do the same. Also NEVER LOCK YOUR KNEES!!! That can cause knee problems!!!

How to (Smith Machine Squats) = This is the machine that attracts the most idiots. Squat the same as above, but read further! I see too many people hurting themselves on this machine. First of all, if your feet are directly under the bar when you squat, you are hurting your self! Your feet should be about 1-1 ½ feet in front of you. You should be leaning back on the bar when you start. But Fig why? Because if your feet are under the bar, when you lower yourself, your knees will be past your toes! That is the best way to hurt yourself. I like to place a couple of plates on the floor to mark my feet positions. Also NEVER LOCK YOUR KNEES!!! That can cause knee problems!!!

(Dead Lift)

Equipment = Barbell (you can also use a squat box to stand on and give yourself a greater range of motion if you want. If you have never done these before, I suggest that you get used to them first without the box before you start. So you can get used to the stretching effect of this exercise.).

How to = Stand if front of the bar. Then grad the bar with a shoulder’s width grip. A dead lift grip is different from any other grip! One hand will have a over hand grip and one hand will have a under hand grip. This way when you pick up a real heavy weight, the dead lift grip will help you keep the bar from twisting. I strongly recommend gloves or chalk for these. Then you want to squat down close to the bar. The bar, should be close to your shins. Now straighten out your back and look up. Then lift up with your legs and keep your back straight. As soon as you are standing up, then squat back down to the original position. Do not bounce the weight on the floor. Remember this is a leg exercise and not a lower back exercise! If you feel strain on you lower back then, STOP and get someone to help you with your form. I always use a back belt on this exercise.

(Leg Extensions)

Equipment = Leg extensions machine

How to = Sit on the machine so that your knees are at the edge of the seat. Then raise the weight up. Do not lock your knees! Keep you feet straight. This takes stress off of the knees. Lower the weight slowly. Never jerk the weight up!

(Leg Curls)

Equipment = Leg Curl Machine

How to = Varies on the type of machine! Read the manufacture’s directions or get a trainer to help you. Sorry no help on this one : (

(Leg Press)

Equipment = Leg Press Machine

How to = Here is another machine that attracts idiots. A complete idiot will be about 6 feet tall and then place their feet at the bottom of the sled. Remember never let your knees go past your toes!!! The taller you are the higher you feet must be on the sled! Sit in position and find out where your feet should be. Use the same width as you would for squats. Push with your heels and not your toes. If you push with your toes, you are creating more stress for the knees. Then lower the weight, as far as you can (without hurting yourself. This exercise likes to hurt the groin muscle, so make sure you stretch out well.). Also NEVER LOCK YOUR KNEES!!! That can cause knee problems!!!

(Calves on the Smith Machine)

Equipment = Smith Machine and Calve box (Some gyms don’t have a calve box, so just use the leg press.)

How to = Just stand on the box with the bar on your shoulders. Edge your feet to the edge of the box, so that just the balls of your feet are on it. Make sure your legs are slightly bent. Then lower and raise yourself up and down. Do this exercise movement slow, for best results. Don’t bounce up and down. That does nothing.

SHOULDERS

(Shoulder Press)

Equipment = Shoulder Press. Or you can use a flat bench and dumbbells.

How to = First warm up. Very important when you work the shoulders. Sit on the bench. Make sure that your back is straight! So many people lean back, when performing these. That is cheating! Basically if you lean back you are doing incline bench presses. Some of the Shoulder presses are poorly made and you cannot help it. I would find another way to do them if you have a poor bench like that. The one at my current gym, sucks. It wobbles and makes you lean back too far. I just use the Smith machine. I like using the Smith Machine, because I can take a adjustable bench and adjust it so it is at a slight recline (a slight recline, will help prevent leaning back). Now when you select a bar for the shoulder press bench, make sure you grab a bar that does not have any file mark grips in the center of the bar (because if you lower the bar behind you neck, the bar could rub on your neck, and take off some skin.). Some people like to use a close grip on the bar. I don’t, like close grips, they tend to work the triceps too much. I recommend the same grip that you use for the bench press. If you are doing these from the front, just lower the weight to the collar bone and not any lower than that. If you are doing these from the back, then lower the weight to the base of the neck and not any lower than that. So many people lower the weight too low, on these and create injuries. I recommend the use of a back belt on these and a spotter.

(Side Lateral Raises)

Equipment = Two dumbbells and if you can, stand in front of a mirror. How to = If any exercise is done wrong in a gym, it is this one! I see a lot of people swing the dumbbells up and then dropping them (don’t forget the back swing). I have only seen one guy do these right, when using 40 pound dumbbells. That guy was friggin’ huge! But I see hundreds of idiots swinging up 35’s and 40’s daily. Now how to do these: First stand up and grab both dumbbells and keep your back straight. To start off, you want the dumbbells in front of you by the front of your legs. Then raise the dumbbells to your sides. At the top when you can’t raise them anymore, then rotate the top of the dumbbell forward (like you are pouring a pitcher of water). Then lower the weight to the front of your legs.

BACK

(Pull Ups)

Equipment = Pull up bar, or you can use a pull down machine.

How to = I have always done these and always will. Pull ups are the best back exercise. You can use a under or over hand grip. I like to use an over hand grip, and do them to the front and back of the neck. I use lifting straps on these (If you don’t know what lifting straps are, the help you hold heavy amounts of weight *about $5.00). You can use any size grip on the bar that you want. Just remember that a inner grip works the inner part of the back and an outer grip works towards the width of the lats. Make sure that you go all the way down, with these.

(One Arm Dumbbell Rows)

Equipment = 1 Dumbbell and a flat bench.

How to = This exercise works one side of the body at a time. It almost resembles a person starting a lawn mower. Don’t be an idiot, and jerk the weight up! To work the right side: Put your left knee on the side of the bench. Then put your left hand on the side of the bench (in front of you). And then bend over, so it sort of looks like you are crawling with your left arm and left knee on the bench. Then, with the right hand grab the weight. Then raise the weight up until it is at your side. Then lower the weight. You also want to keep your elbow as close to your body as you can, while performing this movement.

(Bent Over Rows)

Equipment = Barbell

How to = Stand in front of the bar. Then grab the bar with a shoulder’s width grip. You can use a over hand or under hand grip on this one. Bend over slightly and while keeping your back straight. Then raise the bar to your belly button. Try to keep your elbows in. Then lower the weight. I always use a back belt on these!

(Shoulder Shrugs)

Equipment = Barbell (Power rack = optional) Dumbbells can be used also.

How to = I like to use a power rack (a power rack is a cage that holds the weight so you don’t have to pick it off of the ground). Stand in front of the bar and take a shoulder’s width over hand grip. Then keep your arms straight. Then just pull up the bar, just using your trapezes muscles. You want to raise your shoulders up, as far as you can (till the almost touch your ears). Then lower the weight. I use a back belt on these. Remember keep your back straight!

BICEPS

(Barbell Curls)

Equipment = Barbell

How to = Here is another idiot exercise! I see so many people swinging the weight up and bouncing the weight off of the front of their legs. I see people performing, half of the reps. I see people start off cheating on the first rep. And on and on and on… To do these right, just read. Grab a bar with a shoulder’s width grip (under hand). Then keep the back straight and curl the weight up. Keep your elbows in! Then lower the weight. DO NOT DROP THE WEIGHT!!! I WANT YOU TO LOWER THE WEIGHT! That helps to stretch out the biceps! Longer biceps, means bigger biceps !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do not move your elbows when performing these. If you move your elbows, more than a inch or two, then you are cheating!!! Moving the elbows forward will take stress off of the biceps at the top of the movement.

(Dumbbell Curls)

Equipment = 2 Dumbbells

How to = Put a dumbbell into each hand. Start with the dumbbell at your side and have the handle’s long side against your the side of your leg (your thumbs should be pointing to your legs). The start to curl the weight up. When you get to about ¾ ‘s of the way up, turn your pinky towards your chest. Then lower the weight in reverse.

(Preacher Curls)

Equipment = Preacher curl bench and a curl bar or dumbbell.

How to = I usually use the least amount of weight on this exercise, than anyone else in the gym. That’s because I do them right! First you want to adjust the bench to your height. There usually is a height adjustment on the pad. Just raise it up and down. Your arm pits should be resting on the edge of the bench. You want to adjust the bench so that you can fully lower the weight, without hitting the rack. Then you want to grab the curl bar. Then curl it up. When you get to the top you want to squeeze the biceps. Then lower the weight fully. The whole point to this exercise is to stretch the biceps! The more stretch, the more size!!! When you feel that you can’t possibly do another rep with a full range of movement, then you want to start doing partial reps. Always keep your feet on the ground! Don’t lean back too.

(Reverse Curls)

Equipment = Curl bar or straight bar.

How to = Follow the same format as regular barbell curls and just switch your grip. Use a over hand grip. Make sure that you keep your elbows in!

TRICEPS

(Cable Push Downs)

Equipment = Cable machine and a “V” handle or straight bar handle.

How to = Grab the bar with both hands. Use a over hand grip. But with that grip adjust your grip, so that your thumbs are over the bar as well (that helps to prevent tennis elbow). Pull your elbows to your sides. Then straighten out your back. Then push down to the floor. Do not bend over to do so!!!!!!!!! Then once you push the weight all the way down to the floor, slowly let the weight return to the original position. Don’t let the tension get loose. Try to leave some tension at the top, then repeat.

(Skull Crushers)

Equipment = Bench and a curl bar.

How to = Lie down on the bench (belly up, long ways) so that your head is leaning off the edge. Then grab the bar behind you (placed at the edge of the bench towards your head). Use a over hand grip that is six inches apart in the center of the bar. Then raise the weight up above your chest. Now lower the weight, behind your head. Keep your elbows in the same position (parallel to the wall). And then raise the weight back up to the starting position (DON”T LOCK YOUR ELBOWS AT THE TOP. YOU MUST KEEP TENSION AT THE TOP!!!). Then repeat.

(One Arm Triceps Extensions)

Equipment = One Dumbbell

How to = You can sit or stand with this one. Grab the dumbbell (over hand grip) and raise it above your head. Then lower the weight behind your head. Keep your upper arm parallel to the wall. You can use your free hand to spot your self. Then raise the weight back up. Do not lock your elbows at the top!!!

After a lot of thought, I believe I can make a much better weightless workout. I have learned a lot in the last 3 month. My knees started acting up and I could not do squats or any type of leg workout. So, after searching the internet, I found a lot of new exercises to hit legs. I am talking about good mass exercises. I figured that I had a maltracking of the patella in my knees. So, I needed to bring the strength up in my quads.

I tried to use the leg extension machine but my knees creaked and then hurt afterwards. After a few months of keeping the fight going, I am now able to use almost the whole weight stack on the leg machine. Which is better than before the injury. I never really liked the leg extension machine very much. Maybe because I stopped using it, after an injury I had on it years ago. But, I keep the form good and it is really helping. My knees don’t creak anymore on it. In a few months I should be normal.

Another thing since I was doing these home exercises, was to do a few sets of push ups. My push ups have really come down over the years. So, I am going to start working on getting those up as well. I really liked the feel of the push ups. But, the main problem with doing push ups is that after a while you are left with tons of reps. I figured out some ways to keep push ups challenging.

You can get an impressive physique from push ups and other at home exercises. Don’t ever let anyone tell you, you cannot do it. I am going to start incorporating some of these exercises in my normal routine. Not much sets, but some here and there to improve on. I want to be able to do 100 push ups without a sweat.

I am going to write this section much differently that any other page out there. I am going to out in some expectations. I am going to have goals for you that I want you to beat. I want you to beat the hell out of what I do.

I am going to list the exercises in groups. You can do these exercises every day with 3 sets of each or you can split them up into separate days. It matters to you. If you already hit the gym, then do these as burn out sets after your normal workout. It is okay to do a few sets of push ups or any other exercise every day. I know I write don’t workout the same bodypart more than 2 days a week, but with these you can to a point. Just as long as you don’t do more than 3 sets. If your reps are going down after a day or two then add time off.

I will say that, you can get much bigger using this program. Not everyone has a gym. This should get you on the right track. Don’t expect a big bench press or a big squat, just the same I don’t expect a big bencher to do as many push ups or one legged squats as you can do. Most of these exercises will get your power to body weight ratio up. The gym is the best thing to do, but if you don’t have one this will get you in the right direction. You will be able to have a bigger bench if you do push ups. Like I said you got to use other ways to get more out of a push up.

This program is free and I put my reputation on it. I would not post crap on my page if it did not work. You will see gains in 2-3 months. The leg program works. I have tested this program and I feel it is one of the best I have ever used. I have put a lot of thought into this program and I have found many ways to use your bodyweight to lift with.

This workout requires hard work and determination. If you don’t want to work, then it is not for you. It should take about 1 hour to complete.

As a base program, do the whole workout 5 days in a row and then 2 days off.

Motivation is the key here. You will get motivated. When you get done with a set of push ups, go to the mirror and see what you just did. See, what the pump just did and try to get that chest pumped to the max.

Optional equipment is as follows:

1. Set of dumbbells 10-25 pounds.

2. Milk jugs filled with water.

3. Pull up bar.

4. Towel (you need this one)

5. Two chairs (you need them)

6. Monkey bars if you have play ground in your area.

Sets and reps will consist of 3 sets of what you can do to failure. A log will be made and every day you will try to add a rep here and there. A rep here may be on the first set or the second, but try to get another rep somewhere.

CHEST:

Push ups on ground. When these get too easy, raise you feet up on a chair. ( try to get 3 sets of 50)

Incline push ups on chair. Put your two hands on the chair and have your feet on the ground. You can spread the chairs out or in to make it harder.

Pillow squeezes. Place a pillow in between your elbows while standing up and squeeze like you are doing a peck deck and hold for 10 seconds.

TRICEPS:

Some of these hit the chest as well. So don’t worry if the push ups did not hit them as much as you wished. These will kill the arms.

Chair dips. Use the two chairs and face away from the chairs. Put your hands on the edge of the chairs and lower your self to the ground. Now lift up using your arms. You can make these harder by adding weight on your lap. ( try to get 3 sets of 30)

Close grip push ups. Put both of your hands together and do a push up. ( try to get 3 sets of 50)

Towel pulls. If you have someone that can help you, you can do these. Lay on your stomach and hold the towel behind your neck in the middle. Now have your partner try to pull the towel down to your feet. Pull away from the feet and try to work the arms.

Donkey kick back with towel. Tie the towel to a door or something that will not get broken if the towel is pulled. Now grab the one end of the towel. Lean back a little away from the wall to give the towel resistance. Now try to straighten out the arm, at the same time you have to move your body to work the resistance.

BICEPS:

Oposite resistance curls. Hold one arm down with the other arm and curl up. Try to focus and the bicep.

Towel curls. Lay down on the ground. Place a towel under your feet. Now hold both ends of the towel and use your legs to pull down on the towel as you curl up. You can also tie the towel to a wall and lean back and curl up as well.

Underhand pull ups. Need pull up bar.

BACK:

Front grip pull ups. Need pull up bar. Or you can slide under a table to where you have your head by the edge of the table. Now grab the end of the table and pull yourself up. Make sure the table will not tip over or have anything that can drop on you.

SHOULDERS:

Side lateral raises with milk jugs or dumbbells. Just raise the just to each side.

Front raises. Raise the jugs or dumbbells up to the front of you.

If you have a small pair of dumbbells and you want freaky ass shoulders, then do this:

You will need a pair with about 10-12 pounds. We are going for reps here. You do all three of the following exercises in one set and keep repeating them until you cannot move. So, you may do all three exercises 5 times in one set. Do 7 reps and then move onto the other exercise and then repeat the cycle until you cannot no more. I have been doing this for 4 months and I see a difference.

1. Behind the head side lateral raises. Raise the DBs like you are doing side lateral raises, but keep going up and touch the weights behind your neck. Then repeat.

2. Side laterals.

3. Front raises.

This will burn.

LEGS:

One legged squats. Stand on one leg and squat. Or use both legs a squat if you are a beginner.

Wall Squats. Lean back against a wall and squat down and hold at the 90 degree position for 10 seconds.

Sissy squats. Hold a wall, lean back and squat down. As you lean back it increases the weight on the legs.

Leg Raises. Lay down on your back and raise one leg up and down as many times as you can. I can do 60 reps each leg. Try and beat that. One leg at a time not both legs. These build quads. Do not over look these.

Leg curls. Lay on the ground and place a pillow under your heel. Now try to curl the pillow to the ground. You will only push it down a little. But, you can get a good isometric workout with it.

Let extensions. Lay on your stomach and have the towel wrapped around your foot. Now try to straighten the leg out while holding towel as resistance.

If you have a partner you can use the towel for all sorts of things. Like curls. Just have them be your resistance. Think up some of your own exercises.

I decided to make a revision of this section. I thought I got my point through the first time, but still I believe I could have done a better job of doing so. Some read it and thought I said “work the muscles with different angles, don’t try to use more weight, and go out like a bitch.”. That is totally wrong. That is why I am revising it.

There are all types of theories and ideas floating around. I am not expressing a new idea here. The first article was supposed to be about helping people remember that the main goal in body building is to gain muscle mass. The main reason I wrote this it to show people that weight goals and size goals are very similar. The only way to get a muscle to grow is to lift heavy weight. Let me define heavy weight here first. Heavy weight is not a weight you cheat with, swing up, take 4 minutes to half ass a rep up and have your training buddy break his back so you can look like you can bench 100 pounds more than you should be lifting. Heavy weight should be heavy to you. A perfect weight is a weight you get something out of. Not a weight that you use to satisfy your ego. You should be able to feel the muscle working. You should feel sore after your set. You should feel the target muscle fatigued. Trust me I have done heavy benches and I got nothing out of it. I did get stronger, but my chest was hardly hit. My shoulders and triceps bore most of the workout. This still happens t me quite often. That is what concentration exercises are for. Another thing that makes that happen (if you have worked out for a few years you know what I mean), is when a workout goes stale. You do not have to reinvent the wheel. But, to keep your muscles challenged you got to switch your workout up every so often. You got to try some different exercises. I like to keep my basic heavy lifts in any program (bench, squats, deadlifts, etc…). But, sometimes I get so wrapped up in going for strength, I forget about the workout’s purpose. Like the bench. Benching is for working the chest. It is not for working the bench press. I bet if you actually concentrate a little more on squeezing the chest, your chest will get more out of the workout. If you have a goal on getting the most out of your benching or other body part, then here is a plan for you: go into the gym and the first few sets you do are for strength and power. Get that out of the way first. Try to get as much as you can get out of your strength session. Usually that is the first exercise. Then once you get done with your strength training, then you can drop the weight a little and try to focus on concentrating on the target muscle. Let’s say you get 315 up on bench for 6 reps. Then you would drop the weight to let’s say 245 or 225. Then you would concentrate on squeezing the chest. Don’t just use a burn out set and flop the weight up and down. Squeeze the muscle. Do about 2-3 sets of it after your heaviest set.

One thing I have been doing lately and is working very well is to do the basic mass building exercises first, then I go and try some new concentration exercises. That way I am challenging the muscles further. Your muscles will get used to a program really quick. Here is what I have been doing lately:

Day 1:

Chest

Flat bench = 3 working sets

Incline dumbbell flyes =2 sets

Pull overs =2 sets

Peck dec= 2 sets

Close grip flat bench= 2 sets

Smith machine incline bench = 2 sets

cable cross overs = 2 sets

Day 2:

Legs

Squats = 3 sets

Lunges = 2 sets

Leg press = 2-3 sets

Leg curl = 2 sets

Hack squat = 2 sets

Smith machine calve raises= 3 sets

Seated calve raise machine= 3 sets

Find another calve machine to workout on and do 3 sets

Day 3:

Off

Day 4:

Back

Pull ups = 3 sets. Don’t lockout at the bottom.

Cable rows = 2 sets

One arm cable rows = 2 sets

Pull downs = 2 sets

Bent over rows = 2-3 sets

Forward pull downs = 2 sets

Dumbbell rows = 2-3 sets

Day 5:

Biceps and Triceps (yeah I know biceps after back day. But it works for me.)

Straight bar curls= 3 sets

Preacher curls= 2 sets

Incline dumbbell curls= 2 sets

Cable curls = 2 sets

Cable curls with handles behind the head = 2 sets

Reverse curls = 2 sets

Concentration curls = 2 sets

Wrist curls = 3 sets

Triceps push downs = 3 sets

Behind the neck triceps cable extensions = 2 sets

Skull crushers = 2 sets

Dips = 2 sets

One arm cable donkey kick backs = 2 sets

Days 6&7 off.

This is the workout I am doing. Notice that shoulders are not included. My rotator cuffs were giving me a little pain a few weeks ago. So, I am taking it easy on them for a month or so. I am going to add shoulders on bench day. Maybe some lateral raises, nothing too much. I always try to get more weight up on all the lifts each week. But, I make sure my concentration exercises are just that.

I have had one person write in and say that he tried this program and so far he has been in great pain. The reasoning behind the large selection of exercises is so that you know that the target of the day is hit every where. I have had workouts where I new I only hit one part of the chest, legs, etc… So far my chest is really gaining. It looks much bigger. Not to mention my legs are filling out very well.

Here is a story for you. About 8 years ago at one of my gyms was this guy who had the strongest legs in the gym. This is not a pussy gym either. He piled on the plates. I saw him working out on the sissy girl leg inductors machine. To see this guy with massive legs working out on a woman’s machine made me ask why. He told me that he does that because squats don’t hit that part of the legs. Well, I have not done them yet, but I am going to next workout. If doing that adds a little to my leg workout, then I will do them too. I’ll let you know how I do.

To recap this section I want to add that I am not saying you should not worry about strength. Strength gains are a great indicator for muscle gains. But, I just want you to remember that gaining muscle is what it is all about and not to forget to get the most out of each and every lift.

Last and finally I want to include this for closing. I have done many different types of workouts. Some contradict everything I write on this page and some don’t. But, I would be a fool to say I didn’t get anything from all the workouts I have ever done. I have learned new things from every workout. For me to say “this workout is how I gained all the mass I have is asinine”. That goes for everyone else out there. The workouts on my page are just a stepping stone to your next workout. “Lift and learn” is my motto. Find out what works best for you and go for it. Take some of my ideas (or none at all, I am pretty crazy sometimes), your ideas, and everyone else’s and construct your workout. There is no best way to train. There are just results. That is it.

Well after many e-mails I have came to the conclusion I need to write something on weight training for woman. First I will say that lifting free weights will not make you look like a man, lifting weights will not make you less flexible, lifting weights will not make you look fat, and lifting weights will help you control your weight. Now I got that out of the way we can proceed. In my opinion I find that lifting free weights help to keep interest to keep going. Most woman’s weight lifting books suck. They have ridiculous routines that bore even the most dedicated person. Look there is only so much you can do with a pair of dumb bells and a stair stepper. I have read many of those books my wife buys and I can’t see how anyone would do a few hundred reps with 5 pound dumb bells. There is no way to really track progress. Machines to me are sort of a medieval slow torture rack. Those things bore me to death. Get away from the mind numbing machines and learn how to use the free weights. And I am not talking about doing a few dumbbell exercises.

Results is what it is about. I am not making any money writing this. So therefore, I have nothing to gain. I have no further products to sell you. So as you can tell, I am in it for you. I care. The others out there just want your money and after the deal is closed they don’t care. Most of them have the same crap. A simple workout plan, recipes, and a feel good about yourself section. Here is the difference between them and me. I will teach you to make your own personalized program. I want you to know what you are doing and why. I write in very simple terms as well. So you can understand it just like I do. After reading this you might know more than most guys in the gym.

Why weightlifting in the first place? Well, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn while sitting and doing nothing. More muscle will not make you look big or fat. It will make you look more defined and attractive. You will never look like a man. Also, just going to the gym will allow you to burn calories just by working out.

Back in the old days weight lifters used to work the whole body out in one day up to 3 to 5 times a week. That means they would workout their legs and upper body all in an hour or two. After a few years, someone figured out that they could recover better by splitting the body up into a few separate workouts. So, instead of doing the whole body they split the body up into 6 parts. Legs, chest, back, shoulders, abdominals, and arms. That allows them to keep from over training. Over training is when you workout a muscle very hard and do not give it time to recover from the last workout. Sort of like burning a candle from both ends. Symptoms of over training are as follows: Sore muscles that last for a week, trouble sleeping, and strength loss. Normal pain or a burn from working out should last about 2-3 days. If you stretch before and after your workout you can counter some of the effects of weight training.

So, now you have 4 body parts. They break down a little further into other categories.

Legs=

A. Quads (muscle in front of the legs)

B. Hamstrings (muscle in the back of the legs)

C. Glutes (butt)

D. Calves

Chest=

A. Upper chest

B. Lower chest

Back=

A. Lats (the muscle that covers your back and is next to your arm pits)

B. Traps (not really a back muscle. These are the muscles that are on either side of your neck)

Abdominals

A. Lower abs

B. Upper abs

C. Serratus (up in the rib cage by the arm pits)

D. Obliques (love handle area)

Shoulders

A. well, just shoulders, I am not going to get too complicated on them.

Arms

Forearms

Biceps ( the muscle on the front of the arm)

Triceps (the muscle on the back of the arm)

Now you don’t do an exercise for each different muscle. There are concentration and compound exercises. A concentration exercise is one that you use to work the muscle directly. A compound exercise is on e that you use that uses a few different muscles in one exercise. For example a concentration exercise is one that you use to lets say “bend your arm”. There you are only using your biceps muscle. An example of a compound exercise is like sitting down on a chair and getting back up. Here you are squatting. To squat you got to use your calves for support of your feet, hamstrings to lower yourself, and quads to get back up. Also there are all sorts of little muscles helping you keep control at the same time.

Here is a list of exercises that effect the following muscle groups: (I am not going to list every exercise. I will just list the ones you will more likely use.)

Legs=

A. Quads (muscle in front of the legs)

1. Squats

2. Leg extensions

3. Leg press

B. Hamstrings (muscle in the back of the legs)

1. Leg curls

C. Glutes (butt)

1. Squats

2. Leg press

D. Calves

1. Calve raises

Chest=

A. Upper chest

1. Flat bench

2. Incline bench

B. Lower chest

1. Flat bench

2. Decline bench

Back=

A. Lats (the muscle that covers your back and is next to your arm pits)

1. Pull ups

2. Lat pull downs

B. Traps (not really a back muscle. These are the muscles that are on either side of your neck)

1. Shoulder shrugs

Abdominals

A. Lower abs

1. Leg lifts

2. Leg raises

B. Upper abs

1. Crunches

2. Sit ups

C. Serratus (up in the rib cage by the arm pits)

1. Usually they get work with lat exercises or torso twists.

D. Obliques (love handle area)

1. Torso twists. Basically a sit up where you turn to one side.

Shoulders

A. Well, just shoulders, I am not going to get too complicated on them.

1. Shoulder side lateral raises.

2. Shoulder presses.

Arms

A. Forearms

1. Wrist curls

B. Biceps ( the muscle on the front of the arm)

1. Biceps curls

2. There are lots of different types of curls.

C. Triceps (the muscle on the back of the arm)

1. Triceps push downs.

2. One arm triceps extensions

3. Donkey kick backs

There now all you do is select a few exercises for each body part and press on. I recommend on working out the larger body parts first. Because you can push more weight to begin with. If you workout the supporting muscles first, it will take away from the compound movements. So, here is a sample workout. I tailored this workout for females. I added more reps to concentrate on burning more calories which in return will hopefully build more definition. One thing I want to point out is that there is no such thing as “Spot reduction”. Spot reduction is basically doing sit ups or any other exercise to burn fat in one area. Even if you did sit ups for 4 hours a day, your body will take fat from everywhere. So, that is one reason why it is best to work the whole body and hopefully you will take the fat off from where you want it to come off of. Okay on with the sample workout…

Reps and sets? What do they mean? Reps or repetitions are how many times you move a weight in a set. A set is how many times you cycle through an exercise. Therefore 3 sets of 10 reps is that I would lift the bar 10 times for 3 different times with rest in between them. Talking about rest, you should take between a minute and a half in between each set. Or until you catch your breath and feel ready. Oh and breathing!!! When you lift the bar just breath normal. Or you can get a little complicated and breath out when you push or pull and breath in when you lower the weight.

This workout you can tailor to “YOUR” needs. Just select what you want and press on.

For reps do 3-5 sets each with 10-12 reps per set. The best way to do this is in a series of weight increases called a “pyramid”. First select a weight you can do real easy to warm up with. Something that you could do for 50 reps with ease. A warm up is very important. It allows you to loosen up a little and get the blood flowing to the muscle. Very important. Once you do a 2-3 warm up sets (15 reps each set), then you can proceed to your pyramid. So, then add a little weight to your warm up weight (about 10-20 pounds). It should get a little harder, your reps will drop a little. Here I will demonstrate a pyramid for you:

Okay you just warmed up with 35 pounds on bench press. Your max that you estimate is about 100 pounds. You got 35 pounds for 15 and it was really easy. So you then add 10 pounds to the bar. At that point 45 pounds felt a little harder but you could get it up for 30 reps, but you are following the pyramid, so you know that you are not up to your 4th or 5th set yet. So you add another 10 pounds. Now you are up to 55 pounds. You rep out 12 and on the last rep it was really hard. That is great. Now you can see that you are very close to muscle failure on your bench. So, now you got to figure something out. How much weight to add next. Now if you add 20 pounds you might not be able to get even 10 reps. So, you choose to add another 10 pounds. Now you are up to 65 pounds. You get 10 reps out of it. You can go for more weight if you want at this point. So you say what the hell and add 5 pounds and you are now at 70 pounds. You then get 8 reps. That is good now it is time to go to your next exercise. Remember you don’t have to go to failure on each set. Just the last few sets. Keep your reps between 8 and 12 reps. Pyramiding is all a personal call. Just add enough weight so you struggle to get 8 reps on your last set. It may take a few workouts before you get the feel of the weight and know your limits.

If you want you can even use the same weight for a few sets (3-5 sets). That is okay too. Just as long as you get something out of the workout. You can even try to add a little weight each week to the weight.

Just pick exercises from each “letter, a,b,c,d…”

Day 1.

Chest/Triceps:

Choose 1 compound exercise for chest:

a. Bench press or bench press machine

b. Incline press

Choose 1 concentration exercise for chest:

a. Dumbbell flyes

b. Chest fly machine

Choose 2 movements for triceps:

a. Triceps push downs

b. One arm triceps extensions with dumbbell

c. Skull crushers (**also called lying triceps extensions)

d. Close grip bench press

e. Triceps machine

Day 2:

Off

Day 3:

Legs/Shoulders

Choose 1 compound movement for legs:

a. Squat

b. Leg press

c. Leg machine with a squatting movement

Choose two concentration exercises for legs (there are only really two of them):

a. Leg curl

b. Leg extensions

Choose 1 compound exercise for shoulders:

a. Military press

b. Dumbbell press

Choose 1 concentration exercise for shoulders:

Side laterals

Front dumbbell raises

Day 4:

Off

Day 5:

Back/Biceps

Choose 1compound exercise for back:

a. Pull ups

b. Pull downs

c. Bent over rows

Choose 1 concentration exercise for back:

a. One arm dumbbell rows

b. Cable bar pull downs (grab a bar on the cable machine and straighten your arms so they are almost locked. Then lower the bar to your lower abs.)

Choose 2 movements for biceps:

a. Barbell curls

b. Dumbbell curls

c. Preacher curls

d. Machine curls

e. Cable curls

Next two days:

Off

Notice that I try to keep the muscle groups together. Like back and biceps. I am already using biceps when I do back. So, I include like muscles in the same workout to increase intensity and recovery time. On that workout, I kept the volume low. Some may say it is not enough, but this is a workout for someone to get into shape. Also it is very simple to do.

It would take too much web space to demonstrate how to do each exercise with pictures. Hopefully I will figure a way out soon. But, I have a “How to lift weights guide” on the page in the main listing. The best thing to do is to buy a weightlifting book. Arnold’s Encyclopedia of bodybuilding is a good book that demonstrates the exercises. Also it is a good reference for everything else.

Now if you are planning on doing cardio, then do the weights first and then cardio after. Most of the time one is worn out after their cardio session. You can even do weights in the morning or vice versa and then cardio at night.

If you are interested in adding cardio to your workout, then you might want to alternate your days. One day at the gym and the next cardio. What types of cardio I recommend is either walking, jogging, or bike machine. Stair steppers to me are too hard on the joints. And they are not very fun to use. Like most people I use cardio equipment to burn calories. I don’t need to be huffing and puffing. I don’t need my knees hurting either. But, do what you like. If you choose to do cardio I suggest no more than 3 days a week at 30 minute sessions. If you hit the gym very hard and do too much cardio, you could be burning the candle at both ends.

What ever you do, do not be one of those individuals that say “I work all day and I am too tired to go to the gym.” or my favorite “I just did some house work and that is my workout.”. In order to make some type of gains you got to do more than what you regularly do. If you are tired then go for a walk or something or drink some coffee and hit the gym. What ever you do don’t give up.

Now if the previous workout I just wrote does not fit your schedule, then you can always break the workout into different days. All you do is to split the workout up into different days. You can go to the workout part of my page for more ideas. I know you work or have kids and everything else one could think of. So make the workout fit to your schedule. Right now I a on a 3 day a week workout. My wife wants me to spend more time with her. So I had to adjust the workout. Well here are some examples:

Day 1:

Chest/Triceps

Day 2:

Off

Day 3:

Legs/Shoulders

Day 4:

Off

Day 5:

Back/Biceps

Day 6&7:

Off

Here is another example with cardio in it:

Day 1:

Chest/Triceps

30 minutes of bike, jogging, or ski machine

Day 2:

Off

Day 3:

Legs/Shoulders

30 minutes of bike, jogging, or ski machine

Day 4:

Off

Day 5:

Back/Biceps

30 minutes of bike, jogging, or ski machine

Day 6&7:

Off

If you could even do cardio on your off days. Just try to do it when you can.

Here are some more splits: “splits” means how a workout is divided into days. Now it does not have to be in the form of a 7 day week. A split can be any amount of days. Usually between 3 to 10 days on a split. So you would workout the whole body of hit each muscle once in once split. Usually the shorter the split the more days off you have.

Day 1:

Chest

Day 2:

Legs

Day 3:

Off

Day 4:

Back/Shoulders

Day 5:

Biceps/Triceps

Days 6&7:

Off

Now I know you are wondering how you figure out what exercises to do for each body part on a split. I am sure you have figured out how to arrange you workout days by now. It is sort of hard trying to cram everything into this page. I get a little confused just writing it.

I am sure you have already seen this written on this link so far. All you do is pick an exercise from each part of this list to the corresponding exercise you decide to workout that day.

CHEST:

Choose 1 compound exercise for chest:

a. Bench press or bench press machine

b. Incline press

Choose 1 concentration exercise for chest:

a. Dumbbell flyes

b. Chest fly machine

LEGS:

Choose 1 compound movement for legs:

a. Squat

b. Leg press

c. Leg machine with a squatting movement

Choose two concentration exercises for legs (there are only really two of them):

a. Leg curl

b. Leg extensions

BACK:

Choose 2 movements for triceps:

a. Triceps push downs

b. One arm triceps extensions with dumbbell

c. Skull crushers (**also called lying triceps extensions)

d. Close grip bench press

e. Triceps machine

Day 2:

Off

Day 3:

Legs/Shoulders

Choose 1 compound exercise for shoulders:

a. Military press

b. Dumbbell press

Choose 1 concentration exercise for shoulders:

Side laterals

Front dumbbell raises

Day 4:

Off

Day 5:

Back/Biceps

Choose 1compound exercise for back:

a. Pull ups

b. Pull downs

c. Bent over rows

Choose 1 concentration exercise for back:

a. One arm dumbbell rows

b. Cable bar pull downs (grab a bar on the cable machine and straighten your arms so they are almost locked. Then lower the bar to your lower abs.)

Choose 2 movements for biceps:

a. Barbell curls

b. Dumbbell curls

c. Preacher curls

d. Machine curls

e. Cable curls

Next two days:

Off

Now when you lift the weight, don’t tug at it or swing it up. Also don’t drop the weights. There are two movements in weight lifting: the positive movement and the negative movement. The positive phase of a lift is when you are contracting the muscle. The negative phase is when you are lowering the weight and keeping the muscle contracted enough to lower the weight under control. You do not want to drop the weight down ever. It can create muscle tears. You don’t want that. Just keep the speed of your reps to where you can feel the muscle through the whole range. About a 1-2 second positive movement and a 1-2 second negative should do fine.

Generally your muscles will hurt for 1-3 days after a workout. Usually the second day after they hurt the worse. Once you lift for a few months the pain of first working out is not so bad. Make sure you stretch good. That has a lot to do with prevention of sports related injuries. Just don’t stretch the muscles you are using that day. Do all of them. It only takes a few minutes and is well worth it.

That basically concludes this part of the page. If you need help, just e-mail me.

The weight you use should be just enough where you’re barely getting your last few reps up on the last set.

If you’re going for strength, pyramids work best. When doing pyramids, you increase the weight with every set and go for less reps. So for example, you can start with 50lb, do a set of 12 reps, go up to 60lb, do 10 reps, go up to 70lb, do 8 reps, go up to 80lb, do 6 reps. You want to pick a weight where you’re going to failure on each set (where you can’t do anymore, so on the last set of 80lb, 6 reps is as many as you can get up). Pyramids are very intense, however, and I’d recommend going with 3 sets of 10-15 for a few weeks before you consider doing them.

Different bicep exercises also achieve different things. Generally, standing barbell curls are better for size gains whereas more isolated exercises will workout different parts of your bicep. For example, concentration curls with dumbells (where you sit down and rest your elbow on your leg and do the curl) help give you that “peak” in your biceps.

More important than anything else is that you maintain proper form (you can REALLY hurt your back if you rock the weight back and forth). Pick a weight you can do PROPERLY, where the only thing moving is your arms. And count at least 2 seconds on the way up and at least 2 seconds on the way down. If you go too quickly, you won’t get as good of a workout and you’ll hurt your tendons.

Keep in mind also that if you want to get bigger biceps, in addition to your workout, you need to be eating well and getting enough protein. The general rule of thumb is that for every inch on your arm size, you need to gain about 10-15lbs.

If you want to get ripped, in addition to doing the right workout, you need to be dropping your body fat percentage. You can do this by eating leaner and doing cardio after your workouts or on days when you’re not hitting the gym.

Motivation is the toughest thing, so you need to basically outsmart yourself. Find little things you can do that added up will help you achieve the weight loss you’re looking for.

For example, when I try to lose some body fat, I completely cut out FRIED foods and desserts. I also take the stairs instead of escalators and elevators. Whenever I go out to eat, I try to get grilled foods and when I cook, I use less butter/oil than the recipe asks for. I’ve lose 20lbs in a matter of months like this.

Try to pick up a sport that you enjoy, too, so that it doesn’t feel like a chore. Tennis, basketball, bike riding, racquetball, softball, whatever you can stay active with.

Another thing you can do, is team up with a friend and go running with them or goto the gym together.

More important than anything else, though, is consistency. If you cut out fried food from your diet entirely, I GUARANTEE you will lose at least a few pounds over the course of time.