[KB50MJ]

Hi, my name is Kurt and I just turned 18 a few months ago. I'm 6'0 tall and I weight 196 lbs. I just started lifting weights during the second week of September.

Now I have a few questions about my training and my nutrition. I'll give you a summary of my progress and training.

I started the second week of September. First I started with endurance lifting. I did 3 exercises per muscle group and I did 2 muscle groups a day. For these I did 3 sets of 15 reps with low weights. Then about 2 weeks later I added an exercise to each muscle group. Then about a week or 2 later I moved away from endurance lifting and I moved onto Power/Bulk lifting (4 sets of 8 reps with heavy weights). And I was still doing 2 muscle groups a day. Then about a week after that I realized that I want to do 1 muscle group a day so I have all my strength and energy going into that one body part to get the most out of my exercises. Plus I added more exercises to each muscle.

Here is what my schedule looks like(keep in mind that these are all 4 sets of 8 reps with heavy weights):

Monday: Chest
- Flat Bench Press
- Inclined Bench Press
- Reverse Grip Bench Press
- Inclined Dumbbell Press
- Upper Cable Crossovers
- Middle Cable Crossovers
- Lower Cable Crossovers

Tuesday: Back
- Pulldowns
- Seated Rows
- Cable Lat Pulldowns
- Suitcases
- Straight Legged Dead Lifts
- Behind the Neck Pulldowns

Wednesday: Shoulders
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Front Lat Raises
- Shoulder Bar Press
- Shoulder Bar Raises
- Side Cable Lat Riases
- Dumbbell Rear Delts
- Dumbbell Shrugs
- Straight Bar Shrugs

Thursday I take a break

Friday: Arms
(Biceps)
- Straight Bar Curls
- Alternative Dumbbell Curls
- Reverse Curl
- Seated Hammer Curl

(Triceps)
- Dips
- Pushdowns
- Nosebrakers
- Reverse Pushdowns

(Forearms)
- Forearm Curls

Saturday: Legs
- Free Straight Bar Squats
- Lunges
- Leg Extensions
- Leg Curls
- Standing Calf Raises

And Sunday I take off again. And every other day when I work out I do abb work outs and 45 minutes of cardio.

Now with my nutrition. I consume about 120-140 grams of Protein a day. I have 2 protein shakes everyday, and I eat one 15(and sometimes 30) gram protein bars a day. I eat around 2-3 hard boiled eggs a day and I eat a lot of cashews, nuts, and pistachios throughout the day. Plus I eat around 2 oatmeal meals a day. Also I eat a medium sized dinner most of the time, usually something with meat.

And I've seen A LOT of improvement in my muscle gain since September.

Now that you know my workout schedule and my diet, I have a few questions.

1. I just got done with my 11th week of weightlifting, now with that said, Do you think a schedule like this is good? Or do you think I might over-train myself?

2. Sometimes I feel sore the next day and sometimes I don't. Even when I do all the workouts perfectly. Someone told me that I'm young and I shouldn't worry about that. What do you think about that?

3. After seeing my diet, do you think I'm eating enough foods and consuming enough protein to build mass muscle?

4. I heard that if you take long rests in between sets, it decreases your muscle gain. Like for the most part I take 1 min breaks in between sets. But sometimes I take maybe 1 min and 30 sec brakes. Is that bad?

5. Is there anything else I should know about power lifting, that you think might be useful to me? Anything you think that I could be doing wrong that you think I should change.

Thanks a lot for the help.

[Eileen G]

You didn't mention what number of sets and reps you are doing, or what sort of weight you are using, but judging from the volume of your exercise, I'm guessing you are are not going as heavy as you could. Aim for three sets of eight reps at 80% of 1RM. Go to failure at least once per workout.

You have some good lifts in there, but I would concentrate on the big lifts: squat, deadlift, bench press, pull-up, military press, stiff leg deadlift, bentover barbell row etc.

If you are thinking about power lifting, start doing some clean and press or similar lifts.

No, longer rests won't hurt muscle gain. If anything, a longer rest will allow you to attach the next set with extra strength, so you'll make greater muscle gain. You might annoy the other people in the gym who are waiting for your station.

Occasionally, have a day where you train your whole body, just to shake things up.

Food: you don't give calorie totals, but I think you are light on protein. I'd go for 1g of protein per pound of weight. Get it from real food. One protein shake after lifting, real food the rest of the time. Eggs are good, so is salmon and tuna, beef and chicken. Start eating vegetables. I didn't see a single vegetable in your list of food.

Open a free account with FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal and use that to track what you are eating.