need suggestions to add bulk

F

fullhouse

Member
Hi Cathe,

I'm a 48 year old male and I am writing on my wifes screen name. My wife got me going with your tapes a few months ago and I enjoy them very much. My goal is to gain bulk. I am 5'7 and weigh about 120lbs. I have been doing power hour and the pure strength series. I started to do CST and BB&A in one session. Great workout. My question is: would I be better off doing that one day and SL&A on the alternate days? Also how should I incorporate power hour. My wife has all your tapes including the new series so if you have any other suggestions as far as other tapes, that would be great.
Thanks Alot,
Scott:)
 
Though Cathe does some serious muscle work, and you could no doubt gain some lean mass I think that perhaps a gym would be the best place to start. Gain some quality mass and then perhaps maintain with Cathe? At a gym you have a more appropriate load selection (i.e. – heavy loads) and can stress the muscle fibre differently. Lifting heavy really is the way to go.
 
Scott, I think the Slow & Heavy Series would work great. You can really heavy-up with that series. Good Luck and let us know what you decide. Nice to "see" you here!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
Scott,
I incorporate Cathe into my cardio sessions. She is the Queen of cardio!! Heck she's the Queen of Fitness!! I tend to stick with her Imax tapes as I am addicted to intervals.
I was 6 ft. tall at 168 pounds about 3 months ago and now I am up to 183 pounds, mostly muscle, dare I say. I did this by lifting very, very heavy and with low reps. Say 3 sets of 6 reps. I constantly try to add more weight to the exercises also. I cut my cardio down a bit as I have a very high metabolism.
I also eat 40-30-30 as far as carbs-proteins-fats.
Anyway just my two cents.
Trevor
 
Hi Scott, I am doing well with Cathe's strength training workouts: the Pure Strength series, Pyramids, Slow & Heavy, and the weight training segments of Maximum Intensity Strength and Body Max. I just also started adding the Upper Body Split and Leaner Legs from the CTX series. I just viewed Push/Pull and Supersets and know immediately that I can use the premixes in my strength rotations.

I started out at 98 lbs. and am now 107. I am on my 7th month on Cathe. The most weight I could use when I started was a couple of 12-lb. dumbbells. The maximum weight I can now handle is 55 lbs. for back work. Getting flesh to grow on my bones is still a struggle. I think it's just the way I'm made.

I try to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of my body weight, as recommended by muscle builders all over the web. It's hard for me to do this as I am not so much of a meat eater. So I eat lots of dairy and add protein powder and protein bars as supplements. I also try to get most of my carbs from fruits and vegetables, although lots of weight lifters might also recommend pasta and rice. I choose to get my carbs from fruits and vegetables to keep myself from gaining fat. However, expect to gain some fat as you gain muscle.

I do split strength training twice a week, with two to three days of rest between body parts. I do cardio only once or twice a week. I have seen faster strength gains with this kind of routine than when I did strength training three times a week and cardio 4-5 times a week.

Good luck,
Pinky
 
Thank you all very much for your input. I'll try to incorporate them into my workouts. It will take some time to figure out what is best. Debbie H., My wife (who lurks here all the time) thinks you are a celebrity and she is quite excited that you wrote to me. She hopes Julie is feeling well. Trevor, We also live in Md; which football team do you root for? Thanks also to Wayne and Pinky. You have great suggestions!
So far this week, I have done PS twice: I do CST and BB&A together, and then SL&A on a different day. But I really enjoy Power Hour. Where would that tape fit in to your suggestions? It could be I would enjoy the other ones, too. Maybe I should try the Pyramids next? How often do you think I can do weights? I also run every morning, six days a week.
-Scott
 
Hey Scott, where in Maryland? I am in Arnold, near Severna Park.
My sports faves:
Pro football -- Pittsburgh Steelers all the way!!!

Pro Baseball -- Baltimore Orioles

College football -- Maryland Terps, Southern Cal Trojans, Georgia Bulldogs

College Basketball -- Maryland Terps

Pro Hockey -- Washington Caps

Pro Basketball -- don't follow it.

NASCAR --- JEFF GORDON IS THE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I covered everything. LOL!!
Good luck bulking up. Low reps, high weight......give it a shot

Trevor
 
Scott~Oh my goodness! I'm blushing. I wasn't sure your wife had the right person but Julie is my daughter!!! http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/aetsch/cheeky-smiley-028.gif[/img] Well you tell her I think she's pretty special too and to pop in MORE often, not JUST lurk! Also, Jul had an awesome day today. It is the first time in 10 weeks or so that she has been out of the house. Scott took the day off & they went shopping. We took Kennedy yesterday & today to give them a break and low & behold, she had a super day! Tell your wife thank you so much for asking!

I would suggest if you do PowerHour, to space it out with a few days between and do it twice a week. That way you will hit all body parts 2X/week. (AWESOME tape!) The Pyramids are wonderful! My DH likes them a lot too. Be prepared for the stabilty ball work. Whew! I think hitting each body part two times a week is plenty. Again, Welcome Aboard and look forward to seeing you (& your wife) around!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
I think you could gain some muscle doing Push Pull from the new Body Blast series. The reps for upper body seem to be between 10 and 16, and alternating between push muscles and pull muscles means that you can go heavier than in some of Cathe's other weight workouts. One thing I change though is that for lower body (eg squats), I go as heavy as I can for 16 reps and miss out the low ends (If I did these I would have to lower the weight, and it would be more endurance than strength). I have a squat rack so I can go heavier than I would otherwise be able to. Otherwise, keep the weight lower for safety.

Also, check out this site for a program designed to gain muscle: http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/ (I think Trevor is familiar with this program too.)

Regards,
Sharon.:)
 
Hi Scott,

I've had the best luck with the Slow and Heavy series. I've been using these workouts once a week and going as heavy as I can. Then I work each body part once more during the week using a lighter, faster endurance style workout. I've really been pushing myself to go heavier on S&H with my husband to help me get heavy loads into position.

A friend shared the book "Astro Fit" with me. It's written by William J. Evans, Ph.D., an adviser to NASA on nutrition and exercise. He advocates a form of slow/heavy training, but he emphasizes the negative instead of the positive portion of each rep - the opposite of what Cathe does in S&H. I've been trying this approach, using two counts on the positive and six on the negative when using these workouts and have been impressed with the results. You may want to give it a try.

Hope this helps,

Angela
 
Good point Angela.
The negative is actually the most important part of the lift, or so I have read. I do a 2 sec/4sec. count during the lifts.
Trevor
 
Scott

Just an observation---maybe the running is actually working against your building muscle. I'm a former runner (Marine Corps Marathon finisher in '95) and when I was running, I was really thin and had a hard time gaining weight. I wasn't much into strength training then, but I know that the running had my metabolism burning everything I ate.

Maybe you can try cutting back on your running? Go only a couple times a week? Maybe crosstrain with some rowing or kickboxing? I know that since I started adding rowing workouts, I've strengthened my upper body---arms, back, shoulders, and core, especially.

Good luck,
Suzanne

PS--I'm with Trevor---Go Steelers!!!!
 
Trevor I am from NY so I tend to root for the NY teams especially the Yanks. I will be rooting for the Ravens this Sun vs your Steelers. We are in Baltiomore by the way. Angela your commnent about the longer count on the negative is one i will take to heart. Suzanne I thought about what you said in terms of the running. i have cut back somewhat but I have been doing it for so long it has always been my mainstay. Plus it is a time I take the dogs out early in the morning, though our older dog is on the DL at the moment. Have been doing Pyramid both upper and lower this week. Enjoy it. My arms are quite fatigued. I like the pace of it. Have a great holiday and a happy new year. scott
 
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