Need Some advise

20 days ago we started working out for the first time, never been in a gym. Our workout routine is bench pressing, curls, and military presses, we have done this workout routine 15 times out of the 20 days. We were wondering if this is too hard on our body and will that routine get us big quick we started out by maxing out at 130 lbs and by the 20th day we could bench 170. Today we started us a workout program where were not working out the same muscle group over twice a week. Is this better than our old routine which was the same muscle every night? Give us some feedback tell us what we need to do or change and what would help us the most to get bigger and stonger quicker.

You don't need to be working out everyday... 3-5 X's per week is that is necessary...
First- At this moment you'll respond from less movements and you should focus on increasing poundages in certain movements. Example, instead of doing countless movements on your chest, just focus on developing your bench press, then you can add in the extra work as necessary...
Next- Focus on primary compound movements- Rows, benches, pull-ups, squats, deadlifts, dips, incline presses (if you feel they're necessary)... eat like a horse, lots of protein, veggies, grain.. do cardio on your off days.. then you're on your way.

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant 

Ok im not sure that i understand, what do u mean focus on increasing our poundages in certain movements, we are doing 130lbs bench 3sets of 10, curls is 60 lbs 3 ssets of 10, and military press is 70 lbs 3 sets of 10 we sometimes work our calves and do very few dead but were going to start doing more.

What I mean is...bench presses, overhead presses and curls are good movements. Focus right now on increasing the weight you're using...try to increase every 1-3 weeks. If you cannot increase them in three weeks, then reduce the reps/sets to 3 X 8, use the same weight and then continue to try to increase...then when you plateau, drop the reps/sets to 3 X 5, continue to add more weight until you plateau..

In general- A BB row did more for my biceps than a dumbell curl during my first few months of training, why? Well, in order to progress you have to use a progressive overload approach where you're making each workout better than the other, there should be a change in something, reps, sets, rep speed, weight, exercises, etc.. It's generally easier to progress in a barbell row than it is in a dumbell curl, you'll plateau much quicker when dumbell curls and it gets difficult to continue to grow. Add weight as often as possible without having detrimental consequences on your form...

In general, here's a good program to start out with..

Day 1 - Upper Body (Push)
- Flat Bench Press
- Standing Overhead Press
- Bodyweight Dips
- Hanging Leg Raises

Day 2 - Lower Body (Pull)
- Deadlift
- Power clean
- Hamstring Curl
- Sit Ups

Day 4 - Upper Body (Pull)
- Pull-up
- BB Row
- Face Pulls
- Dumbell Curls

Day 5 - Lower Body (Push)
- Squat
- Lunges
- Leg Press
- Leg Extensions

Great routine..

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant 

thanks man that will help ill let u know how it works

Not so fast

If your goal is to build muscle, you'll need a calorie surplus through healthy foods.

A calorie surplus with bad foods = a fat powerlifter.

A calorie surplus with healthy foods = a strong person with a healthy internal body and a nice physique.

A non-calorie counter that lifts heavy = a strong guy with not a lot of muscle.

So you'll need the diet, it's the most important factor.

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant 

tell me more about it haha im new to all this so sorry if its inconvenient

right now i was taking whey protein shake in the morning and one after i work out, and i was taking nitric oxide overdrive but i changed to 17 hd i dont know if u can take them together or what let me know what u think on them too

OK, whey upon wakening is ideal... so is whey post-workout.

The three times when the body is in the most need of protein is

• Upon wakening
• Post-workout
• Before bed

The next think you'll need to know is how complex carbohydrate sources should fall into your diet... glycogen (stands of glucose) that comes primarily from carbohydrates and fatty acids are responsible for the production of ATP in the mitochondria. ATP is the body's primary source of energy for exercising muscles.. so without it you're pretty screwed and not going to get anywhere near an optimal workout.

Secondly, protein repairs muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is damaged when you workout, when it repairs to the extent of being trained again (I say this because in order for it to fully repair it takes a few weeks).. it is stronger and usually bigger. Capable of moving more weight and with a smaller increase in size which is called hypertrophy. If you fail to give your body enough protein, it steals it from your muscles resulting in catabolism (muscle breakdown)... the average athletic weightlifter needs about 1.2-1.8g of protein per kg of bodyweight (kilograms= lbs / 2.2)..

Protein --- chicken, fish, beef, steak, shrimp, eggs, whey protein powder
Complex carbohydrates --- brown rice, pasta, veggies, corn
Fats --- fish oils, almond butter, peanut butter, almonds, peanuts

Next, I've discussed why fats are appropriate for gains, they are (with glycogen) responsible for the production of ATP. Fatty acids needs to be consumed, because it is something the body cannot make on it's own from other nutrients. If you get in too much protein, it's used for energy or deposited in the form of fat... most likely fat, because protein is not a primary source of energy....and the body usually gets enough energy from carbohydrates and/or fats..

Your muscles are 70% water, so that is vital. The average adult should consume around 2 quarts of water per day, I recommend close to a gallon personally. Now invest in a multi-vitamin and get to training.

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant 

i appreciate all your input and time and if i got any further questions u will be the first one i ask because u seem to know what your talking about rather than being a good actor. thanks man

one more quick question and tell me what u think, is this doing more harm than good or should we stick with yours or change around some stuff on ours u tell us your the expert 


Wednesday: Military press
                        Triceps
                    Shoulders
                    calves
Thursday: Bench press    
                Curls    
                 sit ups
                Shrugs
Friday: Squats    
            Dead lifts    
            Military press
            Calves
sunday:Tricepts
              Shoulders
              Sit ups
Monday: Bench press
                Curls
                Squats
                Dead lifts

Either one would work- Just pick whichever one you feel you'd stick to the best...both would work, but if you got bored with one or didn't like the set up and didn't stay consistent with either then neither would work..therefore, just pick whichever one you'd be consistent with, because regardless of the quality of the workout, anything will work if you stick with it.

Just make sure you use movements that balance each other, you're benching and not rowing, you're overhead pressing and not doing pull-ups... you're prone to potential shoulder imbalance.

Benches are a horizontal push, therefore anterior deltoids will be the antagonists, if you reverse the force in the same plane the posterior deltoids become the antagonists. Same philosophy with overhead presses and pull-ups.

If you work the pushes and not pulls... the anterior deltoids will develop while neglecting the posterior deltoids resulting in the shoulders pulling forwards resulting in a shoulder imbalance, this could lead to potential rotator cuff injuries.. so include rows and pull-ups with whatever routine you do.

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant