Strength and conditioning guidance for the TEEN AXE DUDEs and other young men.....

[jason_mazzy]

Well this started as question I recieved from a forum member here. So I am here to offer some opinions to help you boys get big and strong while your testosterone levels are at there highest.

Q: hey, I'm 16 weight 120 something and I'm around 5'8. My question is: do I need to gain more weight if the answer is yes, how can I do this I eat a lot and can't seem to gain weight also what workouts do you recommend? I'm asking you this because you seem to know your way around all this stuff. Thanks, ****


A: its all about eating and lifting. cut out the cardio if you do any. hit big weights, for low reps. work out a plan to cover each major muscle group, and hit em till you puke. if you wanna grow you need a minimum of 3000 calories. i prefer 5000. at your age you can use em because you are burning through em fast. your testosterone levels are high enough to be considered on steroids. so from age 15-20 are the most important years to weight train if you ever wanna be big. First get some protein shakes. even if all u can afford it walmart whey. also eat protein all day. You need 40-45% of ur cals to be protein 40-45% carbs, and the rest fats. If you are lifting hard don't even worry about how much fat you take in. U need to eat eggs, tuna, steak and chicken. great mass builder taco bell. pay 8.90 for 10 bean burritos. thats 400 calories a piece, you eat 5 of those a day thats an extra 2000 calories. you do this for 8 weeks, and hit the weights hard, like I say and you will put on 15 lbs or so, and be stronger than ever. follow it till your 20 and you'll be a solid 220lbs.

Q: Wow, that's a lot of calories!!!! Will lifting weights keep me from getting taller?

A: Not if you don't do heavy leg squats. Carrying excessivly heavy loads on your legs doing squats, lunges, walking around the gym, can place enough pressure on your growth plates to cause stress fractures causing immature sealing. MEANING you stop growing. For legs for the young guys I suggest light squats 3 sets for warm ups, then medium weight leg presses with out locking out (locking out xfers the weight from the muscle onto the joint, try to go about 95% of full rep as to work the whole muscle while keeping the tension on your muscle), then finish with heavy weight on leg extensions and leg curls. This should keep alot of pressure off the joints while maximizing your strength and size. For cardio try to do 15 - 30 minutes on the eliptical machine. Not only does it incorporate more muscle involvement, it is designed to put less pressure on your joints enabling you to skip that replacement surgery when you hit 40.

Take care of your body and it will take care of you.

Any questions about physical fitness, strength and conditioning, nutrition, dieting, supplementing, sexual health, please bring them here.

Thanx guys. Jason!!!!


Please consult your physician before taking or changing any diet fitness or program advice. Jason Mazzy is not a liscensed physician. All opinions expressed here are just that. most are based in research and fact but are only layed out here for entertainment purposes

 

[jason_mazzy]

Quick basic workout guide for mass building stage. Growth and power are key here. This is a combination of pure power lifting, and strength/mass program. We will cycle power lift over to strength and mass for 16 weeks.

First before we start the program those with out weight training experiance need to do a primer. a primer is 3 weeks not as part of your program. Your primer you are going to find weights that you can handle for 15-16 reps. that means if you can use a 15 lb dumbell for 10 reps try a 12 lbs. its important to find a comfortable weight. now do 15-20 of each exercise for 4 sets. you will do this for all your exercises for 3 weeks then you will take a week off. After a full week of rest you will be ready to start the program. use the execises posted in the program as the same exercises for your primer.

Program 1. beginning weight training for the young man. Primimg your body to grow. The purpose of this program is for the young lifter to teach his body to put on muscle and maintain it. Without doing this, you will find it very difficult to have good muscle mass while remaining lean in the future.

Week 1-4: Strength/mass

week 5: power/mass

week 6-8 : strength mass

week 9: power/mass

week 10-12: strength/mass

week 13: power/mass

week 14-16: strength/mass

week 17: rest

week 18: MAX LIFTS!!!!!!

monday chest
tuesday legs
wed off
thurs Bi's/tri's/back
Friday Shoulders, abs

this split should benefit you the best during your young immature muscle growth. we can also tailor it to less days or more days. But for now this should work best till you become more experianced. it is important that we use as much free weight as possible, and limit the use of machines at this point. 3-4 sets each 10-12 reps on strength and mass days, on power and mass days u will do 2-4 reps.

 

[jason_mazzy]

Repitition explenation: A rep or repitition is the completeion of a compound movement utilizing the muscle group you are working. In the case of the bicep a common repition exercise is the bicep curl. To complete a bicep curl you start with your hand in the neutral position grasping a weight in your hand. you then proceed to lift the weight in a controlled manner turning your hand towards the outside of your body until you completer the movement at the top position with your arm bent weight in front of your shoulder. Try to keep your elbow locked at your side and dont raise your arm with the weight as that activates the front deltoid portion of the shoulder. then slowly return the weight back to the neutral position. This constitutes one (1) rep, or repition.

A repition set is the number of times you can move the weight until you can no longer perform the rep correctly. So if i say 10 0-12 reps, by number 12 rep you should no longer be able to perform the rep in a correct manner. This is muscle failure. it is important to strive for muscle failure in each repitition set to achieve the greatest gain. So on days you do 10 -12 I want number 10 to be very hard and number 12 to be impossible. on 2-4 rep days, number 4 should be almost impossible for you to do yourself, or without the help of a proper spotter.

Chest: Incline Benchpress, Benchpress, (use barbells 2 weeks then dumbells 1 week, always use barbell on power days) incline flyes, dumbell pullovers.

Legs: light squats, leg presses, leg extensions, leg curls.

Bi's, Tris, Back: work bis and tris first together using super sets, then finish with back. Bicep curl dumbell, over head single arm tricep press, Barbell bicep curl, french press, hammer curl, kickbacks. Back: light deadlifts proper form, 1 arm dumbell rows, cable rows, low cable rows, cable pulldowns.

Shoulders: Military press, Arnold press, side lateral dumbell raises, reverse flyes or cable flyes, and upright rows. Upright rows are best achived 1 set wide on set narrow. go wide on the bar 1st and lift as close to the body in an upright manner fully contracting the side delt. next set work inwars till your hands are about 18 inches apart activating the front and side deltoid groups, once again lifting as close to the body as possible.


REST: I can not stress rest enough. First rest times between strength mass sets is 60-90 seconds. strive for 60. Second rest times between your heavy power lifts is 4-5 minutes. Yes that long you need complete recovery for power days. Rest also includes eating. Immediatly after your workout you must eat alot of calories during your anabolic window. the most muscle is built within 30 minutes of your workout. try to consume 600 or so calories ogprotein and carbs. 50% highglycemic carbs 45% whey or egg protein 5% fat. make a peanutbutter banana whey honey shake if you can. eat 2 burritos from taco bell with a whey shake. You will improve. 90 minutes later eat some clean protein and low glycemic carbs. Try to eat 6-8 times a day smaller meals = 5000 calories.

the next part of rest is sleep. The more sleep the more growth period. U repair while asleep. never go to bed on an empty stomach. drink a shake or eat a steak. it burns over nite when your body needs it to build. Your growth hormone levels and testosterone peak when you sleep, acn u say hello morning wood???? U build in the gym you grow when u sleep. pro's sleep 2-3 times a day for 12 -16 hours a day. they eat sleep train thats it. thats a bit excessive for you guys now, just work on what I've told you, and you will be great.

With this basic guide you should pack on the muscle in no time. u will see a bigger stronger and healthier you. Right now is the time to grow, and with dedication you can do it. Make us proud, Hoooooah GO ARMY!

 

[FrankieOliver]

A: its all about eating and lifting. cut out the cardio if you do any. hit big weights, for low reps. work out a plan to cover each major muscle group, and hit em till you puke. if you wanna grow you need a minimum of 3000 calories. i prefer 5000. at your age you can use em because you are burning through em fast.

Hey Jason, this is great. Good stuff. But having done everything you talk about here when I first starting lifting seriously after High School, I'm inclined to comment on the cut out the cardio if you do any suggestion. I would add that adding as substantial a number of calories as that ought to be done over time, perhaps several months, and without cutting cardio completely. Even at a young age such a large intake of calories can tax the body and cause significant health problems. Anyway, one thing that did cause me problems, especially as I went from my teens into my twenties, is not doing much if any cardio. Bulk was seemingly good, but not necessarily healthy and I paid for that because I couldn't balance weight lifting with even a modest cardio program. But as you stated in your disclaimer diet and such ought to be discussed with a Physician.

Anyway, it's a good program all in all and you obviously know what you're doing. It shows.

 

[Jason]

Having a drill instructor is about the only thing that kept me motivated. I was already skinny when I entered boot, but I lost 20 freaking lbs. 6' 0" and 145, you'd have been hard pressed to find an ounce of fat on me. Didn't gain any muscle, but it toned up pretty good. Wasn't strong, but wasn't weak either. 70 pushups in 2 minutes, not too bad for a skinny guy. 120 situps in 2 minutes, could run 2 miles in under 13 minutes.

My first 2 mile run was 19 minutes and I think I could do 30 pushups and 70 situps in 2 minutes. Pretty good improvement in just 6 weeks. If I'd kept it up and actually had an adequate amount of protein going in my body, it would have done wonders. After boot camp I felt better than I ever have in my life, but i didn't keep it up. It just goes to show you though, that if you push yourself you can achieve anything... and the improvements start much sooner than you'd think.

 

[ojedad23]

nice advice you have there Jason

 

[jason_mazzy]

This took me alot of work as I came up with this program and typed everything out freehand. This is not a written program this is what i culminated over the years and have just now typed for the first time ever just for you guys, So please use it, please ask me questions, and please appreciate this. It took along time for me to search my brain and give you something comprehensive for you begining lifters.

 

[ojedad23]

Is a gym a must, or just lifting weights at home?

 

[jason_mazzy]

Hey Jason, this is great. Good stuff. But having done everything you talk about here when I first starting lifting seriously after High School, I'm inclined to comment on the cut out the cardio if you do any suggestion. I would add that adding as substantial a number of calories as that ought to be done over time, perhaps several months, and without cutting cardio completely. Even at a young age such a large intake of calories can tax the body and cause significant health problems. Anyway, one thing that did cause me problems, especially as I went from my teens into my twenties, is not doing much if any cardio. Bulk was seemingly good, but not necessarily healthy and I paid for that because I couldn't balance weight lifting with even a modest cardio program. But as you stated in your disclaimer diet and such ought to be discussed with a Physician.

Anyway, it's a good program all in all and you obviously know what you're doing. It shows.

This was a reply directly toward a question I recieved. This person in my opinion is a complete ectomorph. and can not gain any weight, the only way to build his mass base is to cut out or signifigantly reduse any cardio load he is doing, for the first 6 months of this progra. obviously I'm not telling him to get a segway and quit walking. But to put on mass he needs rest, and weights.

the average mesomorph or endo morph can obviously do more cardio during this time. Overall cardio is veryimportant but generally counter productive to mass building. build some size, then change your program to include more cardio while working strength and definition.

 

[jason_mazzy]

please leave thanks if you appreciate this thread.

 

[Beerdog80]

Is a gym a must, or just lifting weights at home?

yes and no...

You can do quite a bit with a pair of dumbbells and straight bar (common home equipment). The key, and this goes with ANY exercise, is using proper from and concentrating on the positive/negative part of the rep. 'Cheating' on an exercise will get you nowhere.

Basically, you want to constantly challenge your body to stimulate growth. A home gym, unless you got a good amount of gear, will work fine for some gains but if your going for sheer size, it's easier to have a well equipped gym so you can move serious weight...if that is your goal.

If not, you can so all sorts of high rep/low weight workouts at home that will stimulate some growth while the high reps also knock out the need for a ton of additional cardio since high rep can be a hell of a challenge. If you need more, interval training is the way to go. You can do more for your cardiovascular system with 4 minuets of intense weight training than you can do in 30 running at a steady pace on a treadmill.

Here is the program I'm doing right now. It's a mixed workout plan that I do every couple of month just to keep things fresh. It's hard, 6 days a week (2 weeks only for me but some folks do a whole month) but VERY challenging. Basically, days 1-3, I'll combine a strength and size workout in one set. days 4-6 is strength and endurance.

Example (this is for days 4-6)...I'll do dumbbell curls 12 times at a weight about 65-70% of my 1 rep max. As soon as I do 12, I drop the weight to about 35-45% of my max and bust out 24 (or as many as I can do) while keeping perfect form. Then, rest for 30 seconds and do two more sets 10/20 and then 8/16. Rest for 3 full minuets and do it again only backwards. This is something you can do from home but I would HIGHLY recommend another 'beginners' program first or you risk injury since this type of work out is more advanced.

days 1-3 involves heavier weights and lower reps than days 4-6.

Set 1:
6 reps x 12 reps
5 reps x 10 reps
4 reps x 8 reps

Set 2:
12 reps x 6 reps
10 reps x 5 reps
8 reps x 4 reps

Basically for the low rep end, chose a weight that is about 80% of your 1 rep max and do six. Then, lower the weight to about 50-60% of your 1 rep max and do 12...and so on.

Days 4-6 is strength/endurance work:

Set 1:
12 reps x 24 reps
10 reps x 20 reps
8 reps x 16 reps


Set 2:

16 reps x 8 reps
24 reps x 12 reps
20 reps x 10 reps

I would not do EVERY exercise in this way since you will be burned out for anything else. This is meant to 'blast' a specific area, like biceps. I'll do a 'normal' set say 2-3 set for 8-12 reps using a seated barbell curl machine. Then, rest for about 2 minuets and grab dumbbells and blast the biceps with the plan outlined above. Then, move onto another muscle group like chest.

Oh, forgot...the program break down.

Day 1: Chest, Bi and Tris
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Back and Shoulder
Day 4-6 is the same as days 1-3, just doing the strength/endurance workout.

And before I get a comment about 'this is nuts' or 'your insane', I have a degree in Sports Conditioning from Oklahoma University. This is right out of a text.

 

[jason_mazzy]

solid acvice. I feel thats a little more of a novice to intermediate program. My program is for the young guys with out much bodybuilding experiance, who are short on mass. Your program would probably work great on the big guys trying to cut their total mass while increasing lean mass. I am giving these young men a base in which they can spend the rest of their lives working on and tweaking. If you wanna be big it is a great idea to put the mass on when you are young, and toning and hardening it up as your muscle matures.

 

[jason_mazzy]

any takers yet? i'm on my way to the gym now.

 

[Sky]

Sweet advice!

 

[Gunner]

Wow! Some great advice here. Thanks. (I'm a skinny guy, 5'9" 138lbs.)

 

[jason_mazzy]

bizump.

 

[jason_mazzy]

So anyone decide to try this?

 

[Bing17]

Recommending weight training to a teenager... not wise. Aside from potential growth-plate injuries, fractured vertebrae has be come so common in teens these days it's ridiculous. In my work, I have had 5 players under the age of 18 down with back fractures directly related to weight lifting this year alone.

 

[Beerdog80]

Recommending weight training to a teenager... not wise. Aside from potential growth-plate injuries, fractured vertebrae has be come so common in teens these days it's ridiculous. In my work, I have had 5 players under the age of 18 down with back fractures directly related to weight lifting this year alone.

I've encountered this in the past from coaching as well but it was mostly due to overtraining and improper over watch (not my players).

Generally teens, especially those in the younger range, should avoid heavy lifting. Only light, occasionally moderate, high rep type stuff combined with plenty of rest.

And in all aspects, they should be under the PHYSICAL supervision of qualified personnel and not just ‘reading’ how to do it. That obviously helps, but without someone making sure things are done correctly, it’s very easy to do it incorrectly and that can lead to permanent injury.

 

[Mr Insane]

I'm training at the gym now with some older guys.