39 need advice

[JesseMay22]

I am 39 years old. i am 6'4" and i weigh about 210. I have been in sports and active most of my life but never really the weight room. I decided to start lifting to try to get back in shape after being laid off of work and being completely lazy for a few months. Now i am totally hooked and plan on working out forever. My goal is to get in the best shape of my life then go from there. I go to the gym and lift 5-6 days a week for 1.5-2 hours. All i do is lift. I play baketball and have children and am on my feet most of the day. I dont do much cardio because i want to get bigger and im really not even husky most people would call me skinny.

Ive been implemented the Pull/push/legs method for about 6-8 weeks now and i have been able to maintain my body weight so far but the struggle is real. I want to gain like 10-15 lbs of muscle and i understand this takes time. I really could use some serious advice about workout split. I want to know what im doing is working and not wasting my time. Also the food trying to eat more then i ever had is more challenging then the gym. Is it ok to have more protien shakes in the beginning when forcing down the food is so hard i usually have 2 a day. I need all the help i can get any advice is greatly appreciated.

[air2fakie]

I really could use some serious advice about workout split. I want to know what im doing is working and not wasting my time.

You gave no info about your workout so there's not much advice to be given there. The "split" itself isn't very important compared to the details. But as a beginner, if you're working out 1.5 to 2 hrs 5-6 days/week, your programming likely isn't great. "All I do is lift" isn't the way to get it done. You should get on a proper novice program; some exs are in the stickies in the Workout forum but there are plenty more out there. Regardless, your lifts should be going up & you should be seeing results (muscle gain) in the mirror over time, otherwise you're likely wasting your time.

You're also unlikely to gain 10-15 lbs of muscle if your weight is staying the same, unless you have a lot of extra fat to lose. 2 protein shakes/day are fine, but in the end it's about how much you're eating overall, regardless of where it comes from.

[xsquid99]

You should be able to get a sufficient workout done in about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. Any longer than that likely includes what I would call a lot of "junk volume". That is, excessive volume that likely isn't resulting in improved strength or building muscle, wasting your time and energy. (watch Jeff Nippards YouTube video on Junk Volume for more on this)

Air2Fakie is correct, you would better be served by following a structured novice program that focuses on progressive overload.

6-8 weeks is nothing in terms of bodybuilding, and a goal of 10-15 pounds of muscle will generally take you a few years at your age. You should not have to "force down" any food to do it either. Eating in a very small calorie surplus (about 200-300 cals a day over your maintenance), gaining about 1-2 pounds a month is more that sufficient to build muscle, and depending on your current level of bodyfat you may not even need to do that.

[JerryB]

I am 39 years old. i am 6'4" and i weigh about 210. I have been in sports and active most of my life but never really the weight room. I decided to start lifting to try to get back in shape after being laid off of work and being completely lazy for a few months. Now i am totally hooked and plan on working out forever. My goal is to get in the best shape of my life then go from there. I go to the gym and lift 5-6 days a week for 1.5-2 hours. All i do is lift. I play baketball and have children and am on my feet most of the day. I dont do much cardio because i want to get bigger and im really not even husky most people would call me skinny.

Ive been implemented the Pull/push/legs method for about 6-8 weeks now and i have been able to maintain my body weight so far but the struggle is real. I want to gain like 10-15 lbs of muscle and i understand this takes time. I really could use some serious advice about workout split. I want to know what im doing is working and not wasting my time. Also the food trying to eat more then i ever had is more challenging then the gym. Is it ok to have more protien shakes in the beginning when forcing down the food is so hard i usually have 2 a day. I need all the help i can get any advice is greatly appreciated.

Resistance weight training 5 to 6 days a week is excessive for the long term. I suggest you review the many training and nutrition articles in Buildbuilding.com. Do not fully rely on our personal experiences for your approach to training and diet.

[JesseMay22]

I have a tendency to go into things wrecklessly and i want to make sure im not over doing it. I will definitely use this advice.

[johnvee73]

Get on a novice strength training program like starting strength and start eating more, 6 foot 4 at 210 lbs isn't particularly big, get to like 250 as fast as possible.

Mark Rippetoe (the creator of the starting strength program) states that a true novice lifting and dieting correctly should be able to gain 20 lbs in 3 to 4 months, and claims 2/3 of that would be lean mass.

If you don't know who Mark Rippetoe is, or what starting strength is, I would recommend doing a google/youtube search.

[weiss1967]

.. Now i am totally hooked and plan on working out forever. ..

IMO passion is the most important part, and you got it right. Gaining weight is a struggle, perhaps bigger than losing fat. And you will always come up short and unsatisfied. Just the way it goes.