Exercise

[Gandalf]

Chrostas, that's odd, because every personal trainer I've ever had has been big on increasing the weights fairly often.

Wong, cngrats, BTW. Here was me being proud of myself for being able to lift over my own body wieght using the power fo my arse alone!

Pardon?

Can you fart out at ultra high pressure or something?

[Sea Skimmer]

Pretty much all I do is jog and bike, I lift enough weight at work

[Kuja]

Pretty much all I do is jog and bike, I lift enough weight at work

Same here, minus the biking part. *curses the truck driver who destroyed his precious mountain bike*

[Lord Pounder]

I go swimming twice a week after work. I get to work every major muscle group in my body AND i get to check out hot swimmer guys and gals.

[Cpt_Frank]

Weightlifting is nice, but personally I like swimming and climbing.

[Gil Hamilton]

I work out by taking my dog on several kilometer walks and swim alot. Works wonders for me.

[CRUCIBLE]

In spite of what my Trainer (Kung Fu) is telling me, i train to increase my strength in addition to he athletic, cardio and pure endurance training.

What Chrostas said is right, playing russian roulett with your health is a stupid idea. Your muscles and tendons need to adapt to the new job, and that takes some time. 8 weeks for a beginner sounds ok, depending on weekly training dosage. After that you should increase the weight every 2 to 4 weeks, depending on actual increase, till you reach the desired level of liftable weight.
Btw, reps are your best friend, no matter if you go for optics, power or speed. And repetitions shouldnt be made with the max weight you can lift.

[Durandal]

I'd really like to start working out, but I find that at the end of my days, I'm just too damned burned out to bother. I just want to sit down, surf and possibly jerk off.

Like Mike, I've always had very strong legs (in high school, just for the shit of it, I had one of my friends stand on top of the weight stack on a leg press machine and pressed it once; I think the total was something like 400 lbs) and mainly want to work my upper body. I am mainly going for tone. Last summer, I started doing pushups and situps each night before bed, and I definitely felt better, but I wasn't sure how much better I looked. I'd really like to tone my abs, chest and shoulders.

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

I'd like to get in shape, as I have almost no muscle, and weigh only 130 pounds, but I can't find the time to go to a gym for a good amount of time, probably because I can't find a gym.

[Wicked Pilot]

I hate running, but since I'm in the Army, I have to be able to run, and we run a lot.

I'm with you on that one captain. I freakin' hate to run. I can currently do only a seven minute mile and I'm 21! I've known full colonels who could do it in 5 and a half.

[Durandal]

I hate running, but since I'm in the Army, I have to be able to run, and we run a lot.

I'm with you on that one captain. I freakin' hate to run. I can currently do only a seven minute mile and I'm 21! I've known full colonels who could do it in 5 and a half.

Running blows. That's why I was a goalkeeper when I played soccer. Let the rest of them run. I'll stand here on my line.

[HemlockGrey]

I'm 5' 11" or maybe 6', weight about 165 lbs. Not much stamina(could be due partially to my asthma), rather average upper body strength, and a bit too filled in around in the middle. I mean, not enough to notice at a glance, but I definetly notice it.

Any suggestions?

[Enforcer Talen]

I'm 5' 11" or maybe 6', weight about 165 lbs. Not much stamina(could be due partially to my asthma), rather average upper body strength, and a bit too filled in around in the middle. I mean, not enough to notice at a glance, but I definetly notice it.

Any suggestions?

dammit, when the hell did you get taller then me?

and weigh more, for that matter/

[Next of Kin]

I'm 5' 11" or maybe 6', weight about 165 lbs. Not much stamina(could be due partially to my asthma), rather average upper body strength, and a bit too filled in around in the middle. I mean, not enough to notice at a glance, but I definetly notice it.

Any suggestions?

Take a martial arts class...you'll get in shape very quickly.

[HemlockGrey]

The only martial arts places near me are full and or hideously expensive.

[Next of Kin]

The only martial arts places near me are full and or hideously expensive.

Crack open the yellow pages and have a look for a good club. Not all places will have neon lights, golden arches, and such. Stay away from the McDojo anyhow. Why don't you try to bargain with the instructor. I was able to knock down my monthly fee from 60 to 45 per month. Try to haggle and if they won't then walk out the door and try another club.

[EmperorChrostas the Cruel]

First, Innerbrat, most of the personal trainers in health clubs are MORONS, and salesmen before athletes.

Second, this not about what works for most, but what works for you! Every body is unique, in it's genetic and environmental strong/weak points.
Some individuals shout NEVER use heavy weights, because there spines have weaknesses built in. (spinal athesis, genetic time bomb)
Aerobic exercises lower body fat %, but tend to lower muscle size. (follow the path of blood)
Short duration high strength reps give brute strength, and size. (semi contradictory, this increase in mass makes you burn more callories, and leans you out, but is bad for your heart. Blood pressure)

For what you have stated as your goal, your routine should use muscle groups, not single muscle specialty execises. Specialised ones like concentration curls, are a waste of time.
Above all, I recomend squats, feet flat, knees bending past the 90 degree
point. If your heels come off the ground, be patient and work on flexibility.
Squats are the "master" exersise for building mass.
Muscles repond to stress, by giving of enzymes, that in turn trigger hormonal releases, leadsing to growth. The squating stresses SO MUCH of your overall skeletal musculature, that the growth is "kicked in the ass" into high gear.This one exercise is the most bang for the buck there is in bodybuilding.

Do NOT overlook flexability training! Flexability/strength are two sides to the resistance to injury coin.

The big thing here, is that you are new at this. Coordination comes, (or returnes!) much faster than true strength. Ask the weekend wariors! You know, the ones that come in groaning and stiff to work monday!

Consistency is more important than intencity.
Showing up makes you a winner already.

Use everything at your disposal.
Also, recovery. Uberlifters only work a muscle twice a weak, but intensly.As a middle of the roader, you should be woringout one group of muscles one day, an other group the next day, and no groups the third day.

Stick with weight you can do 12/20 reps per exercise, the first 3/4 months.
Then I personaly recomend the "pyramid" plan.
Start with a weight you can easily do 20 reps with. That is your warm up.
From there, you go up, to a weight you can only do 12/14 reps.
Go up 5/10% in weight, or something you can only do 9/12 reps.
Go up progressively, 7/9, 4/7, 1/3.
Be VERY careful with the last two sets, and always have a spotter.
ALWAYS!
This allows you to work to failure.
If you want more cuts, reverse this process as well.
DON'T work a sore group!
Shit, the more I write, the more I remember!
This is, in fact, a science, called sports medicine!
All for now, I think I got all the impotant parts, but you never know!
Edit: D'oh!
I almost forgot. ALWAYS use PERFECT tecnique. If you can't, use less weight!
Cheating, negatives, and forced reps are for the advanced/semipro.
Cheating is the fastest way there is for a newbie to permanently hurt the weak link in the chain. Usualy it is the back, or rotator cuff. Both are serios, and PERMANENT!