[gtbike]

O.K.> I am 5'10" and weigh 145-150# and have kept this weight as a way to stay light and agile. I am 30 and have really decided to get in better shape after riding and abusing my body with bad nutrition and habits (somehow I still rode!).

I am lifting weights without a trainer (to expensive) and trying to do right by reading informative books etc. I am eating better but still learning this nutrition thing and hoping as I get used to it, it will get a little less inconveinent and complicated. I stopped drinking (90 days!! a record) and smoking. So here is my dilema.

All the lit. I read says to gain some mass as an ectomorph, that I need to limit aerobic activity. Does this include good hard enrgy sapping, leg killing rides? Or just roadie stuff? I can't stop riding!! I've noticed there are some real knowledgable people on this site and was wondering if anyone had any advice or ideas. Oh and nutrition advice on books,webites would help too. Thanks a ton in advance. Shreds-C (P.S. anyone wanna give me typiing lessons?)

 

[I Are Baboon]

I think you are on the right track. The first thing you need to do is educate yourself a bit, and you seem to be working on that.

As a fellow ectomorph, I feel your pain! It's hard to put on lean muscle, and the work sometimes doesn't seem worth it. But you just need to stick with it. Doing lots of cardio will make it tough for you to add mass. Just make sure you eat more calories than you burn. It is impossible for you to lose weight if your calories consumed are more than your calories burned. You might want to consider trying protein shakes or meal replacement powders, depending on your goals. They can give you anywhere from 500 to 2000 calories with one shake (mine gives me about 500). The key to adding muscle is to EAT EAT EAT, combined with a solid workout plan, of course.

Hope this helps somewhat.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Lots of hardcore bodybuilders say skip the cardio. Personally, I don't believe that.

Just make sure your intake of carbs is adequate for your cardio. And also try to not do cardio and weights in the same workout. Currently, Baboon and I lift in the mornings but cardio after work.

some websites?

well, if you want to track your food intake, I like www.fitday.com
for training and diet questions, there's http://forums.ironmagazine.com/index.php?s=


books - hmmmm
when I first started, I LOVED the bill phillips book, body for life - beyond that, I'm not sure.

Does that help?

 

[I Are Baboon]

Oh yeah, books and websites.

I love Men's Health magazine. A very good read every month! They also have a website (www.menshealth.com).

A couple of good reference books are "Ultimate Bodybuilding" by Joe Weider, and "The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding", by Arnold Schwarzenegger. They're about $15 each. Check them out at www.borders.com. Granted, I'll never be half the size of the monsters in those books, but the books provide hundreds of different exercises and lots of good science behind working out.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Free shipping at www.bn.com when you buy 2 or more books.

 

[Yossarian]

In the current edition of Dirt Rag, they talk about a book called, "Weightliftimg for Cyclists". It is recommended in the article about stretching. I will see if I can find my copy and post the author name. You might want to check it out.

 

[ATXjimATX]

this may or may not be worth a crap but you could also shift focus on rides away from lower gear spinning to more big gear mashing type stuff which gets up into anaerobic territory and will probably help to slow down the loss of lean mass. just go a few cogs higher than normal as much of the time as you can stand... also; at the gym; use heavier weights with lower reps (i.e. a weight at which you can do about 8-12 reps and no more [meaning muscle failure at that point ***not damage or weird sounds or anything...just the inability to do even one more****] )Take a brief rest; add 5-15 lbs and do and even shorter set there to failure. Brief rest, add a few more pounds, do even less reps. so say you get in a first set of leg presses at 960 and hit 10 of them; jack it to 975-80 and hit 8; go to say 1000 and hit 6. ( i add more than 15 for leg stuff usually) or do 8 - 6 -4 or whatever-- but if you wanna build--- more weight; less reps... also
hit a GOOD protein drink w/some carbs as well-- soon after you are done... the recovery period is VITAL.. and your body is crying for these things at the time (but lookout for some of those ones than have a jillion grams of caffeine in em... may not hurt ya; but will sure make it hard to catch some shuteye-- they may be better before a workout if you like that pounding heart kinda feeling). Just make sure you are getting enough protein; it's the main building block for muscle. also-- good sleep.
have fun;
o_d_d

 

[Old_Dude]

For newbies who might've read this thread & want more info, read on -->> I don't agree with everything this guy "preaches", but most of his information is valid - especially if anyone out there has no clue where to start -> get the book "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips - it's on sale at Barnes & Noble for ~$15.

My disagreements with BP:

1 - you don't need his, or anyone else's supplements to have a sucessful program. Anyone can eat properly without them.

2 - I don't think it really matters "what time of day" you work out - just do it

3 - loosing weight is simply spending more calories than you take in - most aerobic exercises do nothing to change your body shape - strength training will do this

Keep in mind, a properly equipped home gym can be inexpensive & offers many advantages a commercial gym cannot - you can train & develop every muscle group in your body effectively in an inexpensive, but properly equipped gym.

Just in case nobody is aware of this, you can create & maintain your strength training program for as little as 3 hours per week - toss in at least three 30 minute aerobic sessions (strenuous) and you're done.

Get the book. Read it several times. Do it.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Originally posted by Old_Dude
For newbies who might've read this thread & want more info, read on -->> I don't agree with everything this guy "preaches", but most of his information is valid - especially if anyone out there has no clue where to start -> get the book "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips - it's on sale at Barnes & Noble for ~$15.

Personally, I think Bill Phillip's approach is too strict for my taste. He does not leave leave your workout with anything for the imagination. However, his message is positive and I think his program would be effective for someone who has the patience and discipline for it.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Originally posted by I Are Baboon



Personally, I think Bill Phillip's approach is too strict for my taste. He does not leave leave your workout with anything for the imagination. However, his message is positive and I think his program would be effective for someone who has the patience and discipline for it.

The book was designed for newbies who don't have any idea about how to structure one's diet and workout plan. The pyramid method is usually recommended for newbies.


I don't believe you need HIS supplements, but I do think it's very difficult to make sure you get enough protein without a shake or a bar now and then.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Originally posted by MtnBikerChk


The book was designed for newbies who don't have any idea about how to structure one's diet and workout plan. The pyramid method is usually recommended for newbies.

In his book, he says you should keep chanting "Body for life, body for life, body for life" when you are working out real hard. LOL I'd get beat up if I kept saying that softly to myself at the gym!!

It's ok....Bill has good advice to give.

 

[Old_Dude]

I guess I'm trying to take the Gary Fisher point of view - anyone on any type of bike is my friend, so to speak. I'd rather have folks start strength training using BFL (or the dozen's of similar programs out there) than to do nothing at all. Yes, Bill's method is very structured, but follow the structure & the results will be satisfying.

Some of you might want to consider there may be people who want to get into strength training but have absolutely idea where to start. When I started, I had no idea what muscle groups were called, what exercises to do, how to do them, or how often. For people who were like me, the book's a great start - chock full of motivation & sound, basic principles of strength training. By accident, I found the book & it was a perfect way to become educated in the basics of strength training.

Most of the people I see in the gym would benefit from learning the basics of resistance training. I especially like the quote: "Don't confuse activity with progression". Just because someone has been doing an activity for a long time does not make them an expert at doing it. I see people in the gym wandering around aimlessly, doing everything wrong, but, ironically, they've been doing the same thing for years - mind blowing, and very inefficient & their results prove it.

Yeah, you have to realize Bill Phillips' main goal is to sell you as much EAS stuff as he can using the same plan which has been proven for decades - he surely didn't come up with this plan first. If you take out the sales pitches, Body for Life is a decent place for a newbie to start - that's all I'm tryin' to say.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Old_Dude, I agree with you 100%. I wish I had a BFL plan to follow when I started lifting weights six years ago. Instead, I wasted two years trying to figure it out on my own. It's not a bad plan to follow if you are brand new. And once you have a good understanding of the basic principles and science involved, you evolve into a workout that works even better for you.

 

[MtnBikerChk]