i used to be --sort-- of a "big boy" im 6 foot 1, 180 pounds now. i used to be around 205, and not fat. a year ago i used to lift weights between one hour, and an hour +a 1/2 every other day. i was in the best shape id ever been in, i could bench 225 dead weight and 265 on a smith bench. i know it isnt "alot" but to me it was. it only took me a few months to get to that point. i was pretty proud and planned to keep on improving.

then i hurt my shoulder during a mysterious drinking incident. ( dont ask ) i didnt lift for 9 months.

so ive been going to the gym alot since the beginning of this feburary. but i feel so pathetic now. ive lost 25-30 pounds of mass. i FEEL LIKE I DONT HAVE ANY ENERGY

i never used supplements before. i dont want to now either.
before i go to the gym i like to eat a very healthy breakfast, apples, bananas, grapes, some chicken or meat, and natural fruit drinks. i drink alot of water, and ive cut back on pop. i wait an hour or two until i go to the gym, so i give my stomach some time to consume the food.

does anyone have any tips? what can i do to feel energized before i go to the gym? i want to get my "bulk" back and exceed my prior figures. any tips would be appreciated

 

On the lighter side of this question.
Because you are asking on a truck site ,I can only offer<>

You could have a V8 !

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How about energy bars,drinks ?

 

LOL i thought my V-10 would be more suitable!

 

hi: sounds like you,re doing what youre supposed to. i would make sure you get the rest or sleep you need on a daily basis , it does make a difference and work back into it easily at first.maybe cut back on your workouts to about a hour or so till your body gets used to things.your diet sounds good and every other day sounds good also.hope your not working out before you go to bed.that messes the body up a bit.try to work out several hours before you go to bed.preferably before work or at lunch time.that's all i can think of. you sound like you got it pretty much together......best to you............joezee

 

BTF250, I feel, er felt your pain. I had a shoulder injury that kept me off the weights for a few months. Physical therapy took care of that.

You don't say if you had surgery or not. Was the injury bad enough to keep you laid up for 9 months or did you back off on your own? Nine months is a long time to stop training. It's gonna take a while to get back into the swing of things. You sound like your doing the right things as far as diet and drinking lots of water.

You say your going to the gym alot since Feb. Be careful you don't try to jump back into the kind of intensity you were doing before your injury. A loss of 25 to 30 lbs. is a lot. Your gonna have to deal with the fact your not going to pick up where you left off. You probably know this already. Over training can lead to another injury, sap your energy, lower your immune system and leave you susceptible to illness. You'll get to the point of deminishing retruns if you go at it to hard too soon. Make sure your shoulder is up to the task! Check with your doctor first to see if there might be any problems with your shoulder and lifting weights.

You don't say how much weight training knowlege you have so I'll give you what little I know.

If it were me, I would start with light weight and high reps to improve endurence and muscle tone. Do full body workouts every other or every two days. Use good form and listen to your body, don't overtrain. Mix with aerobic exercises to boost cardiovascular circulation to help get oxygen and nutrients to the muscels to fuel your work out. Consume quality carbohydrates during this phase. After you feel your getting you energy back, then lower your reps. and add weight for strength and mass. Train upper or lower body and hit specific muscle groups. For example, train upper body one day, rest a day, lower body after that. Mix it up to achieve a good symetry. You don't want a 52 in. chest and skinny chicken legs to go with it. Or strong legs and a weak back. Remember in order to bench some serious weight, your shoulder muscles have to be up to the task as well. So don't try to train just your chest and ignor the shoulder girdle or you'll set yourself up for another injury. You get my meaning. Train your whole body with the same intensity. Add more quality protien during this phase. And as joezee said above, get plenty of rest. Your body needs to recover after a good work out. Your muscles grow during times of rest, not while your in the gym.

Your mindset has a lot to do with your training. Try not to view yourself as pathetic. Try to view this as a tempory setback. Put your mind on track to achiving your lifting goals and pursue them in an intelligent manner. You'll rebound and get back to your old self in no time. Good luck.

 

I know the feeling....

Sucks real bad to look in the mirror and see you hav'ent got it anymore .
I was always aproaching it from the opposite end however, I tended to be over weight-not obese or anything mind you, but prolly a good 30 pounds(at most) over what I should have been-slow metabolism I guess.

I had been lifting for a long time before I finally got the trick to strength and mass gains figured out.
For me it was always more is better, and that was how I trained.
I did this and also cut back carbohydrates, and up'ed my protein intake to 2 grams per lb of lean body mass per day along with a few grams of fat thrown in(this was long before people even knew what Atkin's was).
My weight came down from 250'ish to 225, and my workouts were getting ridiculous-I was able to work out 3 hours a day every day without mental or physical fatique.

I was also getting much more vascular and strong-looking, but my power strength never went up one bit. After a few months of this it got to the point where I was benching 225 for 20 reps, and 5 sets! But if I added even 20 lbs to the bar it was unbearable for more than maybe 4 reps.
I had lots of endurance strength but no power, and size was'int getting better either-if anything my arms were a bit smaller...17.5? Was starting to take a toll on me mentally.

After reading lots of articles about strength training I finally figured I'd give it a shot, It went against everything I believed in as far as training went, and I was skeptical to say the least.

I started by slowly bringing up my carb intake again, along with cutting my protien back to about 1 gram per lb lean body mass ( I was taking WAY too much to begin with!) Protein shakes are great for getting all the extra protein you need while weight training. Just stick to regular whey, or egg white- all those "designer" proteins out there are basically a waste, they work just as well, but no better and aren't worth twice the money. Bringing my carbs up had the added benefit of giving me more aerobic energy then I had previously had. I could oxygenate my blood more efficiently.

Last I changed the way I worked out, now I only lifted 3 days per wk and no more than an hour a day. In addition to this I slowly built up my aerobic activity to around an hour of jogging/walking every other day.
Let me tell you -the weight training was excruciating, I went from lots of sets to training so intensely that I always needed a spotter to help pull the weight from me with every set.

It was an hour of hell from the time I walked in to the time I crawled out....lol.( squats with forced reps will do that to you).
Reps never exceeded 5-6, if I could do more than this with the weight I was using, then I was lifting too light.

To make a long story shorter, it was a great day when I decided to "test" myself, and found that I could infact bench 315 for 2 reps, without a spot and if I'd been well rested. So it went with all of my other lifts too. I trained this way till I hit a personal best of 365lbs bench, 455lb squat(wrapped) and 565lb deadlift(sumo style). I weighed an all time low of 219lbs and my arms were just under 20".
Then I made a decision that killed it all, I started hanging out with people, drinking regularly after work( the bar replaced the gym as my home away from home), STARTED SMOKING AT AGE 21!, and then there were the women!
I don't know why, maybe it was cause I never really hung out with friends when I was younger, I had quit high school to go to work with my father, and did'int have much of a social life besides family, and the odd hunting trip(not that thats bad), but this is why I think the forbidden fruit of night life sucked me in so absolutely.
Being in landscaping and construction, I managed to keep most of the looks, but one day in the gym with the weights, and the truth would show!
As a side note-there's nothing quite like being with a woman, knowing yourself that you got an awesome body, and seeing the way she's mesmerized with it-I was built like a gorilla.
That shirt would come off, and the looks in their eyes would say it all" WOW!, I din't think you were that big!", lol- I LOVED it!

I could tell that they were going the extra mile to please me, if you know what I mean. To women, seeing, and touching a body like mine, brought on a deep primordial instinct to mate.
They finally got to know what it was like to be with survival of the fittest, and thats exactly the experience that they were looking for.
This may sound like lunacy to you -but trust me it's true.
There are LOTS of benefits to being fit.
It really got me goin, when I knew I was getting better service than anyone else these women had ever been with, (including a few husbands) because they thought more of me for who and what I was.

Anyway, I'm going off on past glory, the party days are long over for me, I still work out but I'm not like I was nor do I desire to be, I got alot more responsibilitys to worry about now.

So as a last bit of advice, make sure too get lots of water, take your vitamins, and above all else, get your sleep.


Regards.

 

lol, frank your awesome


if you need energy, look into xenadrine. that stuff will get you wired like you wouldn't believe. its caffeine and ephedrine- and it can take you from being half asleep to an unstoppable machine in minutes. i don't like supplements either, but i have taken that in the past before lifting, it just makes you go nuts and attack the weights.

sleep is important, as is eating right. lots of carbs before you lift for energy, lots of protein after to rebuild your muscle.

i eat a can or two of tuna, at least a pound of red meat, and 3-4 eggs every day for my protein, along with 1-2 quarts of milk. i feel that it is a much easier way to consume protein than taking shakes, and its cheaper and more natural too! i love to eat so what better way to do it than pigging down on chicken or meatballs or hardboiled eggs etc...

for carbs eat lots of grains and pastas. they may put weight on, but you need the energy from them to be physically ready to work, and keep yourself mentally alert. if you don't have enough carbs in your diet you will find yourself having no energy and unable to concentrate on anything.

start yourself off slow if your gonna get back into lifting and you feel like you have no energy. take 2-3 weeks to get back in the swing of things, or you will just burn out and not want to do it. when i have time, i go to the gym 5-6 days a week for anywheres from 1-3 hours a day, depending on if i run or swim afterwards. chest and tris one day, back and bis another, legs and shoulders a third. anything your weak on you can throw in every day a little bit. any day when you need a break, you can just take a day off from the cycle, and then go at it again the next day.

i am by no means big or ripped, im about 6'2 and 210, and decently strong. more of my muscle mass is lean from swimming for 12 years, and i don't have a whole lot of bulk, at least not yet. hopefully in another 2 years by the time im 21 ill be 6'3 and 250 yea keep dreamin!

the best thing you can do for energy and motivation is lift with someone else. it will help so much. i have always lifted by myself, and its hard to motivate yourself to do anything at times. turn up the music as loud as it will go, and you'll get more energy too. it has been scientifically proven that metallica and ac/dc increase performance when lifting. grip strength especially increases.

hope this helps some!

 

i would not eat as much before workout since the body diverts most energy to digestion. That is why we get tired after eating.
Try to concentrate on 2 body parts at one workout,and while some say start out easy, i say go as heavy as you SAFELY can and your strength will return.Going easy yields very little results in my opinion. I am 44 and have the same problem you have at times and talk from MY experiances.Your body only gets stronger from the muscles and tendons being overloaded and your body adapting to the loads.Try coffee and aspiran together, it will give you a boost.

 

Quote:

if you need energy, look into xenadrine. that stuff will get you wired like you wouldn't believe. its caffeine and ephedrine- and it can take you from being half asleep to an unstoppable machine in minutes.

Yep, and it'll kill you just as quick. Ask Mark Bechler and Cory Stringer. There's a reason why it's banned in every pro sports league but MLB.

I don't want you up and dying on us now ya here.

Waxy

 

waxy, i know its dangerous... can you elaborate more on what it does? im interested. i haven't taken it in a long time cuz it screwed with my sleep patterns....

 

WOW i got more information than i anticipated.


my shoulder injury- i think i just tore something during a little bit of a brawl. never went to the doctors, just quit lifting and took it easy on the shoulder. it was to the point where i could even scratch my back.


when i lift, its usually around NOON, an hour or 2 after i eat. i dont eat as much as possible, i keep it sort of light.


as for carbohydrates---- bread is a good source right?

what ive been doing to get back into it- running, when i have been bench pressing ive just been keeping it around 165 pounds - 175 pounds, 4 sets of 8 reps. and curling ive been using 35-45 pound dumb bells for 4-5 sets of 10-14 reps by doing hammer-curl and straight curl. ive been staying away from squating, my knees tend to lock up without warning once in a while. but ive been using this one machine that sets weight on your shoulders, and you extend your calf muscles, usually 4-5 sets of 12 @ 160-190 pounds. i do military press with the dumbell over the back of the head, 3-4 sets of 15 reps at 55-65 pounds, and then i lean over a bench and do the one arm weight pull up, with a 55 pound dumb bell. so i feel that im building up my shoulders pretty well. i do some other things but i think ive rambled on too long already!

thanks everyone

 

I'm certainly no MD, maybe someone here is and can give us an authorative answer.

My understanding is that xenadrine has basically the same affect on your body as any form of "upper" or speed. In general, it causes all the funtions of you body to speed up, especially heart rate. These high heart rates lead to fatal heart attacks in otherwise healthy people, especially if the stimulant is mixed with strenuous exercise.

Thus the ban in pro sports.

From what I understand, the health problems are not limited to athletes, these stimulants have been marketed as weight loss pills and have caused numerous deaths. There is actually a push on in Canada and the UK to make them illegal, much like steroids.

That's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.

Waxy

 

is your rotator cuff the part of your shoulder that's injured? i have real bad problems with both of mine from swimming. if that is the case, try doing dumbell bench instead of regular bench. for one, it builds your stabilizer muscles and you'll get much stronger there, and two, it allows you to turn your hands in, so you dont put so much stress on your shoulders. it will help alot. i am unable to do regular bench press with the bar. i can do decline with lighter weight and higher reps- usually 135x20-25 times, and incline 135x15 but can't put a lot more weight than that on.

it might also be a good idea to start off with higher reps, to get your muscles reestablished, and get some muscle stamina back. ive always believed in doing higher reps, mostly from swimming because i had to back then. like with deadlifting, i won't ever try and max out, ill do sets of 10 to 12 reps instead, i think you get more out of the workout that way, even though your not using as much weight. i might not look as tough deadlifting 315 a dozen times, compared with 455 once or twice, but it is safer- there is less chance of injury involved. and i think your body gains more from the workout that way.

it helps to play around with different routines and see waht works best for you. everyone is different, and everyone's body responds differently to different workouts.

if your still having shoulder problems, spend extra time at the beginning of each workout, make sure to stretch your shoulders out, and use light weights like 5 to 10 pounders and do light shoulder workouts. just stretching and warming them up will help you alot.

 

waxy, yea ill vouch for them taking weight off, they definitely do that, and they also speed up your heart and make you dehydrated. they will also cause a shortness of breath and dizziness if you take more than your body can handle. i did that a few times, and it scared me pretty good, thats why i don't take them any more.

 

Finally, a subject I know a little about. I have been lifting weights seriously for the last 9 years of my life. I started in high school and continued through college. The purpose of my weight training was to gain muscle mass, explosive strength, and to improve speed and agility. I used many programs over the past four years while at college, and saw positive results from all of them. I can also understand how an injury can affect you physical attributes to the gym, but most of all your mental. I suffered many injuries in college during our football season, all but one was minor and recovery was under a week. I did however blow my knee out my senior year, and have never been the same since. That injury kept me out of the weights for over a year. I started back up again three weeks ago and boy is it hard to lift when I can't even come close to what I was doing. My best maxes were Bench-400, Squat-525, and Incline Bench-315. We also did many of the Olympic style lifts for football such as power cleans, clean and jerk, and a push press, but never for a max. I wouldn't recommend the Olympic lifts, as it is really hard on joints and not useful outside of some sports.

My opinion is to start back slow. You have to know what you body is capable of. Do not rush back into it. Make sure to do a well-balanced workout meaning you do opposite muscles. For example if you bench you better be doing rows or lats to strengthen the muscles opposite the chest. Otherwise you will have rounded shoulders, which will make you hunch forward as your chest gets stronger. This can then lead to many shoulder problems. Also mix up your reps and workouts. I used 5 different workouts through the years. This would help with endurance and strength, and also did not allow my muscles to get locked into a routine. I usually did 8 weeks on, one week off, with a 2 week break over Christmas. My weight training also included plyometrics, sprints, and agility work. Now I do lighter reps and nothing under 6 reps up to 20 reps. Lifting heavy can put a strain on joints, tendons, and your mind. I believe the most important thing to serious weight lifting is your mind. I had to get in the mindset to do anything, and you must believe in your goals and yourself.

Supplements- During my days I tried many different supplements, never anything illegal. I mainly supplemented protein to gain muscle mass. I tried all of it. The brand I liked the most was Optimum Nutrition-Dutch Chockalott. It had some charbs for energy, but a good taste, which I needed as I was taking three shakes a day. I also tried Creatine. I think creatine was a joke, and only hope there are no long-term side affects. When I was my strongest I was just taking protien. As for ephedrine, I think it is very dangerous. I know many people who used it to "get up" for games and workouts, and some of them had heart problem. It basically increases your heart rate, which gives the affect of more energy. It can be fatal to a heart. It is also used to speed up your metabolism to help lose weight. It is banned in the NCAA, but some guys just couldn't get away from it. My own opinion is if you have to take a pill to get in the mood to lift or play a great game of football, then you aren't really dedicated to play and should reconsider your options.

Anyway these are my opinions. I do know that rest was a big part of my success. Lifting four days a week gave me no more benefits than a three-day a week workout. And a week off every now and again makes a difference. I hope you figure out a good routine, but keep your head in it. To me an injury was a test to my mental state. I was done with football, but just starting my life. We will see just how mentally tough I end up. Good luck, Levi