<p>I work out 3 days a week (MWF-->M/F were dedicated to upper body and W to lower body). I started 2 weeks ago, so yesterday made my 7th day of working out. I started with a 15 lb dumbbell and felt pain waking up after my workouts on M&F 2 weeks ago; I felt pain waking up my first week and last week. Now I woke up this morning and haven't felt any pain. </p>
<p>Is this a bad sign? There's truth in the saying no pain, no gain (However, I do feel inflamation and pain when working out so I know there's muscle tears and stuff). Does this mean my body is used to the 15 lb dumbbell and that I should increase the lb of the dumbbell? </p>
<p>I know I'm doing the workouts right because I watch videos of it and read the directions carefully (I'm in college so I don't have a PT). I'm really serious about getting toned, muscular, and building strength, so that's why I care so much LOL.</p>
<p>The reason you feel pain at first is because you “shocked” your body into something it normally doesnt do - and now, it has “grown accustomed” to this type of activity and it won’t hurt. </p>
<p>Keep in mind doing the same exercises over and over, even if differentiated by days, etc… will take forever to show results. </p>
<p>I workout 5-6 days a week, and do anything and everything, the most ridiculous exercises. For example, one day I use NO WEIGHTS. I use only my body weight and max out everything I can - lunges, pushups, pullups, situps (v-ups and mad russians w/ a 25lb plate - the only weight I use). Other days I will do solely 2-3 exercises in rotation, like doing tricep dips, curls with a relatively light bar (maybe 70% of max), and pushups. Keep in mind I do these for 30-45 mins and then throw in another 30 minutes of cardio - I usually either run or do the stairmaster.</p>
<p>Nice to know someone else as serious as me! </p>
<p>So it’s fine to not feel pain after waking up? I’m just asking because I made a thread a while back and I think they said if you didn’t feel pain “you must be doing something wrong” but by the looks of things, it just seems as if my body got used to the weights. I think I may increase the lb of dumbbells. Do you feel pain the next morning after working out?</p>
<p>I spend 6 hrs/wk (2 hrs per workout day) in the gym. And yeah, that’s what sucks about working out. Like you’re so serious and pasisonate about getting buff/muscular but it takes like months to show muscle growth. </p>
<p>How long have you worked out and how long did it take you to start noticing results?</p>
<p>I’ve worked out for the last year and a half seriously.</p>
<p>I was 5’6", 175lbs with NO MUSCLE - I mean, I could barely do a girls pushup.
Now, I’m 6’1" verging on 6’2", 150lbs (my lowest was 144) and in pretty good shape. I never feel any pain after working out. </p>
<p>I really saw results in stages. I first saw a major difference when I went from 175-165 in about 3 months, then I was stuck for maybe 2 months, I got sick, and dropped another 10 over a weeks time and kept it off, then another stall for some time before I got sick again and dropped more.<br>
To really start seeing definition in my arms and my chest and such, that has just come within the last 6 months, although my first 6 months of workouts were 90% cardio/aerobic rather than anaerobic/lifting.</p>
<p>The “no pain no gain” rule is really applied while inside the gym, not the next morning. The goal is to get blood in your muscles, which will cause discomfort, regardless of who you are or how long you’ve worked out.</p>
<p>I walk out of the gym everyday in “pain”, but typically I don’t have any discomfort the next morning. </p>
<p>However, it kinda sounds like you are doing all your exercises with the same amount of weight, which is wrong. You need to change weight/reps for each exercise and muscle group.</p>
<p>I’ve worked out for the last year and a half seriously.</p>
<p>I was 5’6", 175lbs with NO MUSCLE - I mean, I could barely do a girls pushup.
Now, I’m 6’1" verging on 6’2", 150lbs (my lowest was 144) and in pretty good shape. I never feel any pain after working out. </p>
<p>I really saw results in stages. I first saw a major difference when I went from 175-165 in about 3 months, then I was stuck for maybe 2 months, I got sick, and dropped another 10 over a weeks time and kept it off, then another stall for some time before I got sick again and dropped more. </p>
<h2>To really start seeing definition in my arms and my chest and such, that has just come within the last 6 months, although my first 6 months of workouts were 90% cardio/aerobic rather than anaerobic/lifting. ~ Binks</h2>
<p>Damn bro, 6"2" 150 lbs?</p>
<p>You gotta lay off the cardio, let yourself bulk.</p>
<p>So use different weights ever M/F? Like this friday use a 25lb ad then the next monday a 30lb etc?</p>
<p>I use different weights for machines though, for example, when I do the latpulls, arm extensions, rear delt flyes, etc on the machines I use 40 lb, 50lb, and 70lb options (when you have to lock in the weight option). </p>
<p>Do you guys think it’s reccommended that I try 100+ lb on the machines or should I wait it out?</p>
<p>that’s too much information. how much difference would it be if I do just push ups, pull ups, and situps 7 days/wk? And then, after a couple of weeks, switch into different variations of pushups and situps. I mean I don’t know about you guys, but I always prefer to stay with simplicity. If it gets too complex, like p90x, I throw in the towel.</p>
<p>Make sure you’re eating too. I have a moderate amount of strength, but I have twig arms. So even though I was doing curls with 30s, my bicep was only getting more defined, never wider. Someone told me to eat more meat, because you need to give your body the resources to build muscles.</p>
<p>Sweet jesus, there’s a lot of bad information in this thread.</p>
<p>First of all, define pain. Do you mean soreness or legitimate pain?</p>
<p>If it’s just soreness, push through it. It WILL get better eventually.</p>
<p>Secondly, find a good workout routine. </p>
<p>If you’re going to get serious about this, then you’re going to need a strict, consistent routine that emphasizes compound lifts as opposed to isolation exercises. Stop doing bodyweight exercises, they will become obsolete eventually and you can get the same effectiveness early on doing exercises with actual weights (+ you will learn good form).</p>
<p>A lot of people start out by doing Starting Strength or Rippetoes 5x5 (google them for more details).</p>
<p>Third, don’t be that guy. And by that guy, I mean the typical college meathead who only does chest/triceps/biceps.</p>
<p>You should never be feeling pain during your workouts. Pain is a sign that your body is injured and is telling you to stop. Soreness, on the other hand, is just DOMS and will go away.</p>
<p>Aryakk gave you some good information, but his weekly breakdown contradicts the routines he recommended for you. Focus on compound exercises, but don’t neglect bodyweight exercises. Those are some of the best compound movements you can do. Gymnasts are ripped, and they don’t lift weights.</p>
<p>Besides Rippetoe’s Starting Strength and Bill Starr’s 5x5, Westside for Skinny Ba$tards by DeFranco is also a good routine.</p>
<p>In my opinion, if you’re a beginner and skinny, eff those frigin silly splits like the guys are mentioning above me, those are for when you already have a good base. You should be concerned with building your legs back chest and shoulders with compound movements (bench/military press, dead lift, squat, bent over rows etc). These are generally the hard exercises to do. Honestly don’t bother with isolated bicep and triceps exercises (curls, tri extensions) yeah they’re fun to do, but if you’re skinny they’re not gonna help ya. Build up your back and your biceps will follow, build up your chest and shoulders and your triceps will follow. And I think any routine without legs is garbage. </p>
<p>I’d recommend a simple split like a push/pull and spending an hour or less in the gym. And after all this talk about your routine, your diet is probably going to be responsible for 80% of you putting on weight.</p>