Outta gas

[waynesworld]

I'm trying to put on 5-10 lbs. of muscle. I know one of the things I have to do is lift heavier, but I find that I often run out of gas mid-workout and can't give it "110%". Any tips?

[Surrealist]

What do you mean by running out of gas mid-workout? Are you speaking in terms of muscular fatigue? Cardio fatigue? General fatigue? Are you getting ample rest between training sessions? How long do you work out for each session? Do you follow a program designed to build muscle? How long have you been training? What is your physical fitness like generally? What is your exercise history? Some more details would help.

[waynesworld]

What do you mean by running out of gas mid-workout? Are you speaking in terms of muscular fatigue? Cardio fatigue? General fatigue? Are you getting ample rest between training sessions? How long do you work out for each session? Do you follow a program designed to build muscle? How long have you been training? What is your physical fitness like generally? What is your exercise history? Some more details would help.

 

I work out 4 times/week, doing both weights and light cardio. My workouts typically last about an hour in total. I follow my own program, focusing on basic compound exercises (bench, squat, deadlifts, pullups, etc.). I do a total body workout, so I don't have dedicated chest, back, arm days, etc.

 

It's general and muscular fatigue. It's definitely a plateau I need to get past, because I'm not getting any results.

[Surrealist]

Yeah okay well your general approach sounds pretty good, though I personally don't like the total body workouts in one session, though a lot of people do. I prefer to break it down to chest, shoulders and triceps on Monday and Thursday, and legs, back and biceps on Tuesday and Friday or similar. Whole body workouts are just a lot of work even when sticking to the basic of basic exercises because you still need to do sufficient warming and working sets before you get to your heavier weights and it is a lot of sets for a single session. Anyway just my opinion as I prefer to do more sets to get to the heavier weights rather than not.

 

Are there other physical activiites that you are doing outside the gym that you can minimise or remove, as these can impede progress?

 

How is your diet? Are you on a good diet with sufficient macro nutrients (protein, carbs, fats)? As such, are you getting enough calories? If you are typically ectomorphic or otherwise have difficultly gaining muscular weight, you will have to eat more, but keep any junk foods to a minimum or just schedule in cheat foods once a week!

 

Do you take a protein supplement, and any additional vitamins? You don't have to go nuts on these things spending lots of money, just some basics can help lots (Vit C, fish oil, zinc, multi).

 

Results are painstakingly slow once the honeymoon period is over (those first few months where you grow easily) so you will have to understand that. But don't fall into the trap of neglecting diet with bodybuilding, plenty of skinny guys in the gym who fail to realise this and, years later, are still just the same.

 

For energy, you might like to consider taking some caffeiene or a good strong cup of coffee prior to training. Some of thos sugar free drinks are pretty good. Personally I'm not a fan of expensive supplements, but if money is no concern, supps such as jack3d apparently give good results and energy but be warned some of these supplements contained banned substances under any sport governed by WADA policy.

[waynesworld]

Yeah okay well your general approach sounds pretty good, though I personally don't like the total body workouts in one session, though a lot of people do. I prefer to break it down to chest, shoulders and triceps on Monday and Thursday, and legs, back and biceps on Tuesday and Friday or similar. Whole body workouts are just a lot of work even when sticking to the basic of basic exercises because you still need to do sufficient warming and working sets before you get to your heavier weights and it is a lot of sets for a single session. Anyway just my opinion as I prefer to do more sets to get to the heavier weights rather than not.

 

Are there other physical activiites that you are doing outside the gym that you can minimise or remove, as these can impede progress?

 

How is your diet? Are you on a good diet with sufficient macro nutrients (protein, carbs, fats)? As such, are you getting enough calories? If you are typically ectomorphic or otherwise have difficultly gaining muscular weight, you will have to eat more, but keep any junk foods to a minimum or just schedule in cheat foods once a week!

 

Do you take a protein supplement, and any additional vitamins? You don't have to go nuts on these things spending lots of money, just some basics can help lots (Vit C, fish oil, zinc, multi).

 

Results are painstakingly slow once the honeymoon period is over (those first few months where you grow easily) so you will have to understand that. But don't fall into the trap of neglecting diet with bodybuilding, plenty of skinny guys in the gym who fail to realise this and, years later, are still just the same.

 

For energy, you might like to consider taking some caffeiene or a good strong cup of coffee prior to training. Some of thos sugar free drinks are pretty good. Personally I'm not a fan of expensive supplements, but if money is no concern, supps such as jack3d apparently give good results and energy but be warned some of these supplements contained banned substances under any sport governed by WADA policy.

 

Thanks for the great response.

 

Question about your split routine: how many exercises/sets do you do for each body part?

 

I take whey protein and a multi-vitamin. I'll give coffee a try pre-workout though! Never thought of that. I admit my overall nutrition is not as good as it could be. I don't eat a lot because I'm concerned about gaining fat and losing definition. But maybe that's unrealistic if I want to gain muscle? Some people say you can do it, others say you can't.

[Surrealist]

I don't follow that routine per se but I think its a great routine for someone in the beginning stages of bodybuilding. My old gym trainer years ago put me on to that. I have unique requirements due to specific weaknesses, but since July, a serious injury so I had to overhaul my program accordingly. Typically though, it is only around 12 sets maximum for a body part (and that includes the warming up and working sets). If you're training intense enough you'll come away tired and well-trained. I noticed when people say they are doing 30 sets per bodypart, they are often only doing a few sets and then throwing in a whole lot of useless little isolation exercises that do little to put on muscle mass.

 

'Abs on show, no grow'. This is a cliche in bodybuilding to say that if you are not putting on any body weight, chances are you are not growing muscle. Unless you have awesome genetics, you are going to have to gain weight to build muscle but to minimise fat gain, don't eat rubbish foods such as high sugar laden foods, fast foods, and highly processed foods. Oats, rice, chicken, eggs, tuna, cottage cheese, lean meats, and other fish, vegetables and some fruit as opposed to coco pops, fries, sausages, ice cream, mcdonalds and so on. Some light condoments on your meals is fine to add flavour.

 

As you gain bodyweight, attempt to lift heavier weights in the gym. If you start gaining fat, then just cut back on the calories / portions a little.