Wolfovich
08-14-2012, 04:27 PM
Hey everyone. I am 18 years old - a 6"4 ectomorph (somewhat skinny fat), 146lb, with about 8% B.F. I have a high metabolism.
I have been working out since last September (3-4 times a week for no more than 1 hour, 1-2 day rest in between) (with a few 2-week long breaks), but I now realize that at least 80% of that time was wasted due to ineffective workouts and no real foundation/guidance. The only real progress I've made is with my legs (which happens to be my favourite day), but even that progress was minimal. I am self-motivated to get myself to a better place, but I usually don't quite know what I'm doing in the gym. Being a university student in debt, I simply can't afford a personal trainer.
I eat 4-5 meals a day. In the morning I'll have an omelette (4 eggs with 1 tomato) and some whole grain bread. During the day, I eat chicken/fish with complex carbs and greens, and before bed, I eat cottage cheese. I only drink water, green tea and sometimes 2% milk. In between meals, I find myself hungry often, so I eat some whole grain crackers with milk or something to make sure I get extra calories (and I'm aware carbs are the main source of fuel for an ectomorph). I get 7-8 hours of sleep a day. I know that once I learn how to workout properly for all areas of my body, I will naturally start eating more to replenish the burnt energy - so I'm not worried about that. Please don't tell me to "eat more" as a final solution to get bigger.
I feel I'm at a dead-end right now, and I can't keep stubbornly pushing on like this because it's getting me nowhere. I feel my confidence is slowly going down the drain. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get myself to a much better place, but I know that I can't do it alone - I need someone to teach me how to train properly. I don't have any friends to train with. In the gym, I feel uncomfortable asking anyone for further help in fear of being misguided again. The limited knowledge I have learned so far has been from my older 25 year old brother, who is mostly endomorph. I always took his advice with a grain of salt, and now realize after many months, what works for him clearly isn't working for me...
This has been my workout the whole time. I do each set until failure. I take 30-45 second rests in between, and after the 3rd set, I lower the weight and do the 4th set with no break in between.
LEGS
Squats (x4) (12-15 reps)
Leg Extensions (x4) (15-20 reps)
Leg Press (x4) (15-20 reps)
Lying Hamstring Curl (x3) (10-12 reps)
Dumbbell Calf Raises (x3) (10-12 reps)
PULL
Bent over barbell row (x3) (10-12 reps)
One arm dumbbell row (x3) (10-12 reps)
Lat pulldowns (x3) (10-12 reps)
Standing barbell curls (x3) (10-12 reps)
Seated alternating dumbbell curls (x3) (10 reps)
PUSH
Smith bench press (x3) (10-12 reps)
Incline smith bench press (x3) (10-12 reps)
Barbell overhead press (x3) (10 reps)
Dumbbell shoulder press (x3) (8 reps)
Cable tricep pulldowns (x3) (10-12 reps)
Thanks in advance for your help guys.
I have been working out since last September (3-4 times a week for no more than 1 hour, 1-2 day rest in between) (with a few 2-week long breaks), but I now realize that at least 80% of that time was wasted due to ineffective workouts and no real foundation/guidance. The only real progress I've made is with my legs (which happens to be my favourite day), but even that progress was minimal. I am self-motivated to get myself to a better place, but I usually don't quite know what I'm doing in the gym. Being a university student in debt, I simply can't afford a personal trainer.
I eat 4-5 meals a day. In the morning I'll have an omelette (4 eggs with 1 tomato) and some whole grain bread. During the day, I eat chicken/fish with complex carbs and greens, and before bed, I eat cottage cheese. I only drink water, green tea and sometimes 2% milk. In between meals, I find myself hungry often, so I eat some whole grain crackers with milk or something to make sure I get extra calories (and I'm aware carbs are the main source of fuel for an ectomorph). I get 7-8 hours of sleep a day. I know that once I learn how to workout properly for all areas of my body, I will naturally start eating more to replenish the burnt energy - so I'm not worried about that. Please don't tell me to "eat more" as a final solution to get bigger.
I feel I'm at a dead-end right now, and I can't keep stubbornly pushing on like this because it's getting me nowhere. I feel my confidence is slowly going down the drain. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get myself to a much better place, but I know that I can't do it alone - I need someone to teach me how to train properly. I don't have any friends to train with. In the gym, I feel uncomfortable asking anyone for further help in fear of being misguided again. The limited knowledge I have learned so far has been from my older 25 year old brother, who is mostly endomorph. I always took his advice with a grain of salt, and now realize after many months, what works for him clearly isn't working for me...
This has been my workout the whole time. I do each set until failure. I take 30-45 second rests in between, and after the 3rd set, I lower the weight and do the 4th set with no break in between.
LEGS
Squats (x4) (12-15 reps)
Leg Extensions (x4) (15-20 reps)
Leg Press (x4) (15-20 reps)
Lying Hamstring Curl (x3) (10-12 reps)
Dumbbell Calf Raises (x3) (10-12 reps)
PULL
Bent over barbell row (x3) (10-12 reps)
One arm dumbbell row (x3) (10-12 reps)
Lat pulldowns (x3) (10-12 reps)
Standing barbell curls (x3) (10-12 reps)
Seated alternating dumbbell curls (x3) (10 reps)
PUSH
Smith bench press (x3) (10-12 reps)
Incline smith bench press (x3) (10-12 reps)
Barbell overhead press (x3) (10 reps)
Dumbbell shoulder press (x3) (8 reps)
Cable tricep pulldowns (x3) (10-12 reps)
Thanks in advance for your help guys.