Newbie Questions

Tony said:

My objective is to increase muscle size, particularly arms, neck,
shoulders and chest (I am working legs aswell).

Look up HST (hypertrophy-specific training).

Also see www.exrx.net

Quoted message said:

I have questions like: how many sets should I be doing? I am
currently aiming for 5 sets with 8-10reps each (to failure). Should
I reduce this to 3 sets?

I do one warmup set and one heavy set of 8-12 3xWeek and see slow
reliable gains, but 2-3 sets seems to be the norm.

Quoted message said:

How long should I leave it between sets? I currently wait 60secs.
Should I be still, or active during rest?

I do 60 sec. More if I feel queasy.

Quoted message said:

When I'm working my chest, shoulders or back I generally seem to
also be using my arms... should I therefore work my chest and arms
in the same session?

The usual splits are either upper/lower or push/pull. You get some
minors in each major lift, but since they're "minor" and not specific,
you can get away with using them more often.

Quoted message said:

when doing benchpress, I am told (by books/websites etc) to place my
feet flat on the floor either side of the bench. I find this can
result in my back arching somewhat. It seems much more comfortable
and effective to have my legs raised on the bench also.... is this
ok? When I raise my legs, my back doesn't arch.

IMHO feet on the floor gives better stability. Back arching a little
shouldn't be a problem; just watch the positioning of your shoulder
blades (together, not apart).

Quoted message said:

supplements: I currently only take whey protein after a workout. I
have some creatine and may start using it in a phased approach in a
few weeks. Does this sound reasonable?

Whey+carbs is better. Some folks do half before and half after the
workout too.

Creating is good, but "phased" is wrong; with creating you *load* at
first then cut down to an ongoing level.

Quoted message said:

oh, and how long will I have to wait to see results? ;-)

If you're a newbie, strength results happen quickly, but mostly it's
due to adaptation and not muscle growth. You'll eventually hit a
plateau then start slowly improving again; this is where the growth
part happens.

Tony said:

Right, I'm completely new to the weight training game so please bear
with me!

My objective is to increase muscle size, particularly arms, neck,
shoulders and chest (I am working legs aswell).

The stuff you can see in a mirror. Yup, got it. Please remember to
work your back, too.

Quoted message said:

I've had some problems planning my routine. I am aware of the basics
(I've done lots of reading around the subject) and I'm following rules
such as: not over exercising by exercising the same muscles repeatedly
during a week (I leave 48hrs min for a particular muscle/group);
starting with large muscles and working to small; and keeping my sets
down to 8-10 reps to failure etc.

You should NOT go to failure, particularly if you're new to weight
training. Stop as soon as your form fails. Do more reading on this.

Quoted message said:

I have questions like: how many sets should I be doing? I am currently
aiming for 5 sets with 8-10reps each (to failure). Should I reduce this
to 3 sets?

I've heard 2 to 4 as being useful with three being a happy medium.

Quoted message said:

How long should I leave it between sets? I currently wait 60secs.
Should I be still, or active during rest?

I wait 60 seconds but try not to go longer than that.

Quoted message said:

When I'm working my chest, shoulders or back I generally seem to also
be using my arms... should I therefore work my chest and arms in the
same session? e.g. benchpress seems to also work my tris/bis.. although
actually it is my chest which "aches" the morning after... Is it okay
to do benchpresses one day and curls the next? (or is there a risk of
not allowing arm muscles to heal?)

when doing benchpress, I am told (by books/websites etc) to place my
feet flat on the floor either side of the bench. I find this can result
in my back arching somewhat. It seems much more comfortable and
effective to have my legs raised on the bench also.... is this ok? When
I raise my legs, my back doesn't arch.

You can put some weight plates down to rest your legs on. Styles
differ. I was initially taught to keep my back flat, but then I got a
coach to help me prepare for a powerlifting competition and she taught
me to arch my back. At that point I had been lifting for a couple of years.

Quoted message said:

supplements: I currently only take whey protein after a workout. I have
some creatine and may start using it in a phased approach in a few
weeks. Does this sound reasonable?

I dunno. I don't know what else you're eating, how old you are, your
sex or your overall goals.

Quoted message said:

oh, and how long will I have to wait to see results? ;-)

Immaterial.

Quoted message said:

be kind to a newbie! Thanks!

This is what passes for kind here.

Dally

Quoted message said:

My objective is to increase muscle size, particularly arms, neck,
shoulders and chest (I am working legs aswell).

I've had some problems planning my routine. I am aware of the basics
(I've done lots of reading around the subject) and I'm following rules
such as: not over exercising by exercising the same muscles repeatedly
during a week (I leave 48hrs min for a particular muscle/group);
starting with large muscles and working to small; and keeping my sets
down to 8-10 reps to failure etc.

Great, so what's your routine? What exercises do you do, in what order, on what
days....

Quoted message said:

I have questions like: how many sets should I be doing? I am currently
aiming for 5 sets with 8-10reps each (to failure). Should I reduce this
to 3 sets?

Yes, maybe less. 5 sets to failure?! Ow.

Quoted message said:

How long should I leave it between sets? I currently wait 60secs.
Should I be still, or active during rest?

Still, IMO.

Quoted message said:

When I'm working my chest, shoulders or back I generally seem to also
be using my arms... should I therefore work my chest and arms in the
same session? e.g. benchpress seems to also work my tris/bis.. although
actually it is my chest which "aches" the morning after... Is it okay
to do benchpresses one day and curls the next? (or is there a risk of
not allowing arm muscles to heal?)

Whole body workouts make more sense than split routines.

Quoted message said:

when doing benchpress, I am told (by books/websites etc) to place my
feet flat on the floor either side of the bench. I find this can result
in my back arching somewhat. It seems much more comfortable and
effective to have my legs raised on the bench also.... is this ok? When
I raise my legs, my back doesn't arch.

No. Arch is fine, as long as your butt stays on the bench.

Quoted message said:

supplements: I currently only take whey protein after a workout. I have
some creatine and may start using it in a phased approach in a few
weeks. Does this sound reasonable?

Sure. What about food?

Quoted message said:

oh, and how long will I have to wait to see results? ;-)

If the first thing you do three days a week is heavy full squats to failure, you
should see results very fast.

If you're doing machine work, I don't know.

Tony wrote: (snips here and there)

Quoted message said:

Right, I'm completely new to
weight training

I read the other replies to your post and recommend that you take what
you've been offered (here and in the books you've read so far) and see
what works best. But this next part you wrote caught my eye:

Quoted message said:

My objective is to increase muscle size,
particularly arms, neck, shoulders and
chest (I am working legs aswell).

Time out.

If your goal is to increase muscle size, particularly arms, neck,
shoulders and chest then you shouldn't be /working legs *as well*/ but
should be working legs *First and Foremost!*

Squats. Full, breathing squats. Stimulating leg muscles will get your
whole body growing. I've read, a million years ago, that to gain an
inch on your arms you have to gain about ten or fifteen pounds. You're
not going to gain that weight by doing dumbbell laterals or barbell
curls.

So, when you say working legs as well, I hope that means that you're
punishing them.

Quoted message said:

I have questions like: how many sets
should I be doing?

This varies and is up to individual preference. The one beginner book
that I had in my hand when I was 15 years old was Lou Ravelle's
_Bodybuilding for Everyone_. He recommended, if I recall correctly, one
set for the newbie and then increasing to three sets per exercise after
a few weeks. He also included chapters on really hammering a bodypart
with five sets, again, iirc.

Quoted message said:

Should I reduce this to 3 sets?

Whatever you decide, one set, five sets, three, stick with your program
for a few weeks at the very least to see if it's doing any good. You
won't see results immediately.

Quoted message said:

How long should I leave it between sets?

The typical 60 seconds is not a bad idea, but when I do power cleans,
deadlifts, squats, even heavy benching I've taken a longer rest. Two,
even three minutes isn't unreasonable.

Quoted message said:

I currently wait 60secs.
Should I be still, or active during rest?

heh

You should remain immobile. Frozen! Or your arms will never gain
another quarter-inch! 8^p

Sit on a bench, walk around the gym, get a drink of water, whatever.
You don't have to be still. Eventually, I'm sure you'll be doing super
sets as well, so, yeah, being active during /rest/ is an option.

Quoted message said:

Is it okay to do benchpresses one day
and curls the next? (or is there a risk of
not allowing arm muscles to heal?)

Many people work five days on and two days off with their arm day
following their chest day. I doubt it will kill you, but as a beginner
I worked three days a week and a full body workout. There's nothing
wrong with old school techniques.

Quoted message said:

when doing benchpress
seems much more comfortable and
effective to have my legs raised on the
bench also.... is this ok? When
I raise my legs, my back doesn't arch.

I've seen people bench with their feet raised on the bench. Some
authors/trainers even recommend this as a way to isolate the pecs, but
I prefer feet down for stability's sake. If you're going heavy, you
don't want to roll off the bench! 8^)

Perhaps you should work on your flexibility with some basic stretching
movements. Those should add to your comfort. Google is your friend if
you're unfamiliar with stretching.

Quoted message said:

oh, and how long will I have to wait to
see results? ;-)

Again, this is an individual thing. Some guys will pack on the pounds
simply or seemingly by *looking* at the weights while others will lift
forever and not see much progress. Best of luck, of course, but with
enough quality food, rest and exercise - especially SQUATS and other
compound movements - you'll make your own luck.

--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/