Weightlifting Questions, Please Help.

[Leandros]

I have been running cross-country for two years now, and i am very active. I recently started weightlifting continously. One thing i would like to know is what i need to do to get a reasonable amount of muscle mass and be as cut as possible. This includes how many reps and sets i should do, and how i should move up in weight. And how often should i work different groups, like chest on monday, bis and tris on tuesday, shoulders and back on wed, etc... Or if i should do upper body on one day and lower on other, and rest on weekends. I know extensively on which excercises i should do, but which ones are the best for me. And lastly, should i work out my abs everyday? Please respond to this, i am in need of mentoring, i go to a school full of nerds who dont exercise. My coach, is a highly accredited coach, and has trained olympic runners from saudi arabia and other foreign nations, but thats all he knows is running.

 

[lifesgood17]

It's really simple. A good start would be to work each muscle group one time a week. For instance to Chest/Arms on Monday........Back/shoulders on wednesday..........and legs on friday. But your biggest problem is going to be gaining muscle mass. To do this, you must eat.......eat..........and eat again. High protein foods are a start. When you lift weights......you want to use the most challenging weight that you can.......but not to the point where you have to compromise your form. This will stimulate muscle growth. It doesn't matter if you work out 3 days in a row or break it up with a day in between, because essentially all you are doing is one muscle group once a week. A good tip when you're picking out which exercises to do.........don't over do it. Do only 2 exercises per muscle at a time. (for example for biceps.......do 3 sets of 6 reps of dumbell curls..........then 3 sets of 6 of alternating hammer curls)

Good form in exercising, using very heavy weights, and eating more calories than your body naturally burns (ESPECIALLY since you do cross country running) will give you the results you want.

Good luck.

 

[Leandros]

thank you for the tip