BritNoob

I workout 3 times a week now Mon, Thurs and Sat. Usually I do: Incline Dumbell bench press 4 sets Arnold presses or military press 4 sets Lateral raises 4 sets Rear raises 2/3 sets Bicep curls or hammer curls 4 sets Leg press 4 sets leg extension 4 sets Shrugs 4 sets Back rows 3 sets I want to add a workout inbetween maybe on a wednesday or friday, what could i work on if i have done these exercises the day before? I only have an hour or so to workout so as I am learning new exercises I am finding it difficult to fit them all in. Something needs to give....

I've got a bench and some dumbells and I've started working out an extra day a week when i wouldn't normally be able to get to the gym. How do the rest of you warm up? Without any cardio equipment I find it really hard to exercise for 5 minutes in preparation for lifting. I try to just copy warm up techniques learnt at Karate which can be done on the spot but they're nowhere near as effective as 5 minutes solid on a row machine. Also, if you're doing bench presses (which I'm new to anyway after mainly using machines before now) how do you lift really heavy weights with no training partner to assist? I find I have to lift lighter weights and could still risk injury by putting the weights done wrong or something.

Thanks for sharing your workout, very interesting. I tend to only be able to spend an hour or so in the gym and I was also told that as a hard gaining ectomorph (I think?) it's best to keep the workouts short and intensive. I like the idea of mixing it up every few weeks to keep the muscles from hitting a plateau (lol sp again). Do you just do 2 high rep low weight sets during this period then?

I think I notice the clicking more when i exercise at home, which leads me to believe that the more warmed up you are the less clicking there is (I don't have any cardio equipment at home so warming up for 5 minutes can be difficult). I think when I'm at the gym there is less clicking...I'll have to check next time I'm working out.

I've started to add single arm rows to my workout, what do they work and are there any other back exercises I can do with dumbells? Are shrugs worth doing? I want to try and build some muscle around the neck/collarbone area, will this do? Keep the help coming, lads, very helpful!

When I'm performing certain exercises (bent over rows, press ups, or even general movement sometimes) I get a painless click in my shoulder and occasionally the elbow too. Is this a warning sign I'm doing something wrong? My knees have both clicked for years with no injury (and they click/pop much louder) but I'm a little more concerned about the shoulders as they're apparently easy to injure aren't they? Anyone else experience pain-free clicking or crunching?

Ok, thanks for the suggestions so far. One of the problems I have is that my local gym has only limited equipment. I have access to dumbells and a bench, but no barbells. There are mainly machines (which I have been sticking to until recently when I realised i was getting no growth ) and a dual adjustable pulley machine which can be used to do lots of stuff. With that in mind, what would be the most benficial exercises available to me? I have started to do seated shoulder press with dumbells (in place of the old machine i was using for it) and lateral raises for the shoulders. For the forearms I do wrist curls and reverse wrist curls For the biceps I do dumbell curls. Now apart from that I am a little stuck now. I have been wasting my time on the machines I think so now I need to learn the free weight equivilents. I found doing the shoulder press with dumbells FAR harder than using the machine and with a lower weight...which shows its working better I guess. I'd be happy to work out a decent 2 day full body workout... as like you said working t out two days in a row isn't going to work for me.

Those exercises are a tad advanced for me (ie I have no idea what they all mean LOL) but all I really wanted was specific muscle groups. Do you think its ok to work on the back muscles the day fter working the chest shoulders and arms, is that ok?

I have been lifting weights 2 days a week for 6 months or so now and can now add a third day. I have been doing full body work outs before but now I can split them up. I can go to the gym Monday Thursday and Friday so I was thinking of doing maybe shoulders, chest and arms on mon and thursday and back and legs on Friday? I have previously included no back exercises at all....occasionally lat pull downs. I am trying to gain mass so I have started doing 4 sets starting with 15 reps, then 8-10 then 6-8 then 12 (varying the weight obviously to match the reps). Could I use this system with back exercises or should I take it easy to begin with?

I'm 26 :/ I can only fit the gym in 2 days a week and I'm only a beginner so alot of what you said goes over my head lol Should I basically increase the amount of sets I do? So start with 10/12 then lower it each set? Is it best to do the sets straight after each other? Currently I move my way around the gym doing one set of each exercise, then when i have done 1 on each I start again 2 more times. Is it better to just sit and do 3 sets one after another? It's my arms and shoulders i want to mainly focus on, then the chest.

I've been doing Karate for nearly a year now and visiting the gym twice weekly for 6 months. I'm a really tall, skinny guy and really want to put some weight on. At the gym I do 3 sets of 8-10 reps of various exercises, bicep curls, chest press, shoulder press, leg curls, leg extension etc working pretty much the whole body. Since I started I have steadily increased the weights i use and I'm happy with my progress there but in terms of actual visible progress there is almost none. I am slightly more toned now and I can notice my chest and shoulders are very slightly bigger but I would still be called scrawny rather than muscular if you asked anyone to describe me. I have adjusted my diet to include 5 meals a day and as much protein as possible but I don't seem to put on any weight at all. Is it just a case of keep at it? Do I need to do something to move to the next stage after the initial improvements I gained? How long should it take to build muscles? I need to gain 2 stone ideally. Although currenly I'd be happy to put on half a stone as every day i seem to weight the same. I'd really appreciate some advice on this, thanks in advance

Very helpful, thank you. Any particular brand/design/colour you personally recommend? What are the ones I linked to like?

Thinking of getting these: http://www.blitzsport.com/weapons/images/metalweapons/saichrome.htm They aren't that cheap at over £30......will they do for a beginner? I don't want to pay out for these then have to get some more if they break quickly.

K I'll get the longest ones. You make them sound worrying badly made though - are they fragile then? Is it better to get black if the chrome ones flake?

Hhmm...that only works out to about 15 inches for me and I thought I was lankier than most? Am I doing it right? lol

I'd also like to know this one. I'm going to be buying mine soon. I'm 6'2" and my arms are about 18inches from longest finger tip to elbow - can anyone of similar size tell me what I will need? I presumed I would need the longesst as i'm a tall guy?

I did start eating healthy 3-4 months ago which is part of the problem i think. I have also joined a gym (but only use machines while I get used to it). I have noticed slight improvement in the muscles on my arms, chest and legs but I'm still far too skinny. Like I said I can see my ribs and this is not good for a guy. I can't use weights to build the rib area can I (it's just below my pecs)?

I'm in my mid twenties :/ If I do put weight on it just seems to go on my gut, but even taht rarely happens. I just don't seem to be able to gain it.

I'm a skinny guy, always have been, but since I started cutting out the rubbish in my diet and exercising and doing Karate I seem to have lost even more weight rather than build myself up. I'm concerned because I've noticed I can see my ribs quite clearly when i look int he mirror...I've not noticed this before. So my question is how can I get fitter and build my muscles up without getting scrawnier and bonier? When i get hit during Karate I really feel it because I've so little body fat but I'm also worried about the visual side of things.....I didn't realise I'm lost the weight, I actually thought I'd bulked up a little. Like I said, I've always been skinny, I'm currently 6'2" and only about 150lbs (about 11st). Should I not bother cutting down on fats and just eat what I want as I'm exercising and burning some off? I've stopped eating crisps, mcDonalds, fizzy drinks and other rubbish like that. I'm not a big eater so I can't eat loads of meals or really big meals. Advice would be good, guys.

I've noticed different school shave different ways of saying the numbers, and indeed most japanese words. We pronounce out numbers differently to how they are written above. Good luck with the training Sandhoppa, I only started in Goju myself a few months ago and I'm loving it.

I signed up to a gym yesterday and got myself weighed for the first time in while I was surprised by how litle I weigh. Since I started Karate a few months ago i have changed my dieting habits and have lost weight off my stomach area but I've always been a skinny, lanky guy and I've noticed that during Karate my partner will always find it easy to get me off balance because I am tall and mainly because I weight so little. I am 6'2" and just under 11st and the machine told me I need to gain about a stone to be ideal weight. Anyway, as I've signed up to this gym i'd like to know what exercises and what machines to use to build up my mass. I want to put weight on without putting it on my gut. I aim to work on my upper body, mainly the arms, shoulders, chest and abs as these will help me in Karate. I find that where I am skinny it's easier to land a hit on a bony shoulder for example I don't want to get massive, I just want to get a little chunkier and stronger. How many reps and sets of each exercise are good to begin with? I do plenty of sit ups and push ups during Karate so my Triceps and abs are used to the exercise but my deltoids and biceps aren't so accustomed to it. I'd appreciate some tips frm the experts here, thanks in advance

If I'm not out or busy then I try to do 200 every other evening. Twice a week I do Karate and I'll probably do more than 200 during class. I'm also curious as to whether this is a good idea (I've only been doing it a few weeks at the most but intend on keeping to it now, and increasing it every so often when I get stronger).

I'm very new to Karate and what I tend to do is practise whatever I learn at home. Right now I don't know much but I do things like gekisai dai Ichi and basically anything I can remember doing in class. I try not to do it too much at home though as I may pick up bad habits. I just do it a little bit to keep it fresh in my mind before the next lesson.

Are they safe to use on any door? I would have thought the weight would damage the doorway. So is it worth doing chin-ups on a regular basis then? Is it the biceps they work?

Some great suggestions here. What are dips? I didn't realise you could get doorway chin up bars. What muscles do chin ups work? I'd like to increase the mass and strength in my arms and shoulders. Chin ups work teh biceps don't they? Are there any bodyweight exercises that work the top of the arm/shoulder (deltoids is it?)