Body Building & Toning Sessions for Beginners

Muscle Mass Gain For Skinny Guys
by Colin Johnson

The most common question I am asked from skinny guys who are trying to bulk up and develop some muscle tone, is where they should start. Most have the drive and enthusiasm but are unsure of the best weight and exercise routine for optimum success. This simple and easy to follow outline is a brilliant one for those just starting out or for those just simply wanting to add some weight training to their already existing program. Low impact sports people such as golfers right through to high impact sports people can adopt this easy to manage routine and reap the rewards.

Always start with an activity that increases heart rate and gets the blood pumping through the body. You can simply do some star jumps, jogging on the spot or use a stationary bike or treadmill for this purpose. These apparatus can also be used on the off days from your weight training if you have the time. Make sure you drink water or a sports drink 15 minutes before you begin and it is imperative that you continue to hydrate during the session. Every 1% body weight lost (due to fluid loss through sweating) will cause a 5% decrease in performance. So keep drinking, it will help you get more out of your session!

Few people I know have spare hours every day to devote to body-building. I think it’s reasonable to expect that this process be completed 2 or 3 times every week. You must be a bit flexible in terms of weight loadings dependent on your sex and size etc. Whatever level you start at, though, I’m confident you will see an impressive increase in your capacity to lift weights just a few weeks after you start your routine. Only start with light weights as this will help you establish correct technique before advancing to the next step.

Starting with the larger muscle groups has always been a common format and one that I would advise. Remember the order; warm up, stretch, chest exercises, shoulders, legs, biceps and triceps. Complete 3 sets of 10 reps for every activity mentioned with a weight that allows you to complete the 10 reps without total exhaustion. Also stretching the specific muscle group you are working on between sets will increase growth as you address the tissue that has been under load. Give yourself about 1 minute rest in between sets. Keep this timing consistent, as well as your routine for the first few weeks so you can better judge your growth and development. I suggest having a training partner to encourage and spot for you for safety reasons. Spotting is mostly used in bench presses and involves someone helping you get the bar back onto the supports (rather than it landing across you neck!) if you find yourself struggling.

In terms of required equipment, there isn’t as much as you probably imagine. In a nutshell you should secure something which serves as a warm up, an exercise ball (these are readily available), a weight bench, barbell and weight discs of various weights which can be interchanged easily. If you can afford it, these are all usually available from large retail stores. If you’d rather bag a bargain, you can investigate local garage sales on the weekend, look in the second hand for sale column of your local newspaper or take a look at what ebay and other online auctions have to offer. Garage sales often have large pieces of equipment like exercise bikes and treadmills, but think twice before purchasing these. You will need to have enough room to store them.

To work your chest muscles, you’ll basically need to do flies and seated flies after your three sets of bench presses. Flies involve putting small dumbbells in both hands, lying on your bench and raising the dumbbells above your chest and back to your side in a big arc motion. Seated flies work best on an exercise ball, but if you use a ball make sure you keep your back very straight. Lean forward towards the floor in front of you and lift the dumbbells in both hands to the side of the bench, feeling your chest muscles work as you do so. In all these exercises your elbows should be a bit bent, movements should be fluid rather than jerky and your grip should be firm but not too firm.

Shoulders. Straddle the bench with a longer barbell in your hands. Lift to just below the chin, this is your starting point. Lift the bar past your face and all the way until arms are stretched, then lower to starting point. Next set is the same but done behind the neck. Follow by seated one hand lifts with dumbbells from the shoulder, past the ear and all the way to locking point above your head. Lift both at the same time. Next stand with dumbbells at your side and lift out in a flapping motion with elbows slightly bent. Lift and lower slowly. Do 3 sets of each exercise. 10 reps each set.

For working the legs, start with something like a stationary bike ride for one whole minute, using a steady rate of pedalling. Then sprint for 10 seconds followed by a slow pace for the next 10 and so on, for about two minutes. Then you can start three or four sets of leg raises. Those of you who have a leg raise bar on your bench can put weights on and complete three sets, one facing up and one down. This will benefit your hamstrings and quads. Squats can be your final step, first without any weights and then using a weight disc resting on your chest. Eventually you will be able to put a barbell on your shoulders and gradually increase its weight. Guard against overloading the bar (a pitfall of the overly enthusiastic!) as you do not want to put too much pressure on your knees. For those of you who already struggle with joint pain in your knees (or anywhere else), make sure you try the supplement which contains a combination of glucosamine and chondroitin: recent research is glowing in extolling its pain relief benefits. My own father is one of the ones who rave about it.

When working the biceps you can start by standing and using a longer barbell, resting it on your thighs with your palms facing forward. Keeping the upper arm by your side, curl the bar up to your chest whilst moving your lower arm in an ascending arc motion, then lower it to your thighs. The same idea works well with single hand dumbbells. Try lifting both together then. Beware of the tendency to swing down to lift, which feels easier but does not yield the same benefit. Finally, hold the dumbbells to the side with palms this time facing in toward your leg with your dumbbell facing straight ahead and lift, using the action outlined already.

To work your triceps start with sitting on the floor and placing your hands behind you, just a bit wider than the width of your shoulders, with your fingers pointing in a forward direction. Now the tricky bit: lift your whole bottom clean off the floor and bend you legs but keep your feet flat. You should now be able to lower and raise your whole body using your impressively bended and straightened arms. Then, on your exercise ball, sit in a leaning forward position with dumbbells in both hands. You will now move your upper arm behind you and parallel to the floor, and using your lower arm lift the dumbbell like a clock pendulum behind you and then lower it again. Try lifting at the same time. You can spice this one up with a bit of variety by leaning over the bench from a standing position and putting one of your knees on the bench, then working one arm in turn using this same idea.

After exercise is absolutely crucial and the key that many neglect. What you do after a workout can significantly enhance what you have just done or if you do nothing, can lessen the effectiveness. Regardless of the intensity of the session, your muscles cells will suffer some damage, as this is one aspect that causes growth and toning. Repair, recovery and growth can be sped up remarkably by taking a protein shake within 30-40 minutes after the session. Low fat and low carb shakes are fantastic if you don’t want to build muscle mass but are simply looking for better tone, shape and reducing fat. L Carnitine will assist fat reduction as well. If bulking up is what you want, then a protein shake that is higher in carbs, such as an xtreme mass gainer will do a super job. Adding creatine to the mix will lift the effect even more. Don’t waste your workout. The right supplement is vital.

Colin Johnson has been an elite sports coach majoring on technical side of sport. He highly endorses whey protein shakes for muscle recovery and development for the performance conscious. He suggests xtreme mass for muscle bulk. Click here to get your own unique version of this article.