How do you train weak muscles?
My chest and shoulders muscles are very weak. I can barely do 3 sets of shoulder and chest press using 15 pounds dumbbells. How can I strengthen my muscles in this area? should I do more upper body training?
I also have another question. What is wrong with lifting weight more than 3 times a week? what if my body is not sore and can lift 4 or 5 times.
I'd also like to see what the answer to that is. I have the same problem with my shoulders, chest and back. I would like to know how to strengthen them without overdoing it.
The only way to strenghten these muscles is to continue what you are doing, strength training exercises.
Also, you should only do strength training exercises three times a week because muscle is not actually strengthen while you are exercising them, but rather when they are resting and repairing. So, it is really important that you muscles have a day off to repair before your not workout.
Im sure I probably didnt explain it very well as I am just learning myself. Hopefully, someone with more knowledge will respond and give you a better answer.
How many reps are you doing?
If you are lifting heavy - 10-12 reps or less, you need to give your muscles some rest to build up what damage you did to them while lifting. That is why it is not good to weight train every day.
If you are doing more than 15 reps - then you need to decrease reps and increase weight. That is how you build strength. Alot of body builders will even only do 6-8 reps on heavy days.
I do whole body workout for about 45-60 minutes. While it is easy to complete 3 sets - 15 reps doing squats or deadlifts, I can barely finish 3 sets - 10 reps doing shoulders or chest press.
ok. I will give my muscles some rest but the question remains " how do I train weak muscles? ".
I also see some people who lift weight every single day. I guess they are professional bodybuilders, right?
Original Post by safina1:
I do whole body workout for about 45-60 minutes. While it is easy to complete 3 sets - 15 reps doing squats or deadlifts, I can barely finish 3 sets - 10 reps doing shoulders or chest press. Are you using the same amount of weight for squats and deadlifts as you are for chest and shoulder press? Most people can lift a lot more on lower body movements than on upper body movements.
ok. I will give my muscles some rest but the question remains " how do I train weak muscles? ". The same way you train strong muscles. Lift, rest, repeat.
It sounds like you're doing your shoulder and chest presses right but need a lot more weight for your squats and deadlifts.
No, I don't use the same amount of weight and I understand that most people lift more on lower body but I am talking about very weak upper body muscles. I can't even do push ups.
should I try an upper body program? or try to lift heavier weights? I don't know.
I think trhawley hit the nail on the head, your doing fine on your upper body but aren't lifting enough on your lowerbody (heavy squats and deadlifts will make your upper body stronger).
Use enough weight that your struggleing to do 3 sets of 8, do horizontal and vertical pushes and pulls for your upper body and do heavy squats and deadlifts for your lower body.
How did you know I do chest and shoulders press right? is that because I can barely finish the last set? I am upset over this. I can't lift more than 15lbs. It has been almost a year and I still can't do push-ups or lift heavier.
Because you said that you can barely finish the 3rd set of 10. You want to lift to failure which is what this sounds like you are doing.
Start using 20 lb. weights, even if you can only do 4 or 5 reps. Then keep adding reps each week. You won't get stronger unless you are challenging yourself.
Thanks, Trhawley. I will try using 17 lb weights. I think I will not be able to do 10 reps but I will aim for 5 or 6. So, it is not a good idea to train more than 3 times a week even with few reps?
I see some people lift weight everyday. Maybe this is something different.
Some people work out more frequently but use different muscles on consecutive days, so they still end up giving their muscles a break.
A few months ago, I couldn't do any push-ups at all. Full stop. I'm not great at them yet, but I can now do 12-in-a-row (barely). To get from no push-ups to some, what I did was push-ups agains the kitchen counter. Because you're only going down to about a 45ish degree angle, your arms and shoulders don't have to support your whole body weight so they're a lot easier than regular push ups. But they were still hard (to me). I did as many as I could in a row about once a day while waiting for the microwave to beep or kettle to boil or something like that. It worked wonders. When you get to the point that those push ups are easy, try using something lower down than the kitchen counter. An exercise bench, for example.
Original Post by safina1:
Thanks, Trhawley. I will try using 17 lb weights. I think I will not be able to do 10 reps but I will aim for 5 or 6
Keep aiming for 10, then the worst that can happen is you won't get as many as you want, if you only aim for 5-6 you'll only get 5 or 6.
Original Post by floggingsully:
Original Post by safina1:
Thanks, Trhawley. I will try using 17 lb weights. I think I will not be able to do 10 reps but I will aim for 5 or 6
Keep aiming for 10, then the worst that can happen is you won't get as many as you want, if you only aim for 5-6 you'll only get 5 or 6.
Agree. And no more frequently than every other day.
Floggingsully and Trhawley, I take it back.
I can't lift everyday. My chest muscles are still sore. Wondering if I have to do my weight training session tonight?
Thank you so much for the support.
susiecue
This is a great idea about the push-ups. I will try that.
yes... i am 13, and i am wondering how to get stronger chest/arm muscles. I bench like 50 pounds, and struggling at that. I just don't know what to do, i have been weight lifting for awhile, and my legs are great, 360 with the leg press. Dad won't let me use roids or anything, but i have a stash of protein shakes, i can also do it 5-6 days a week, just please someone post me back, i'm going to be doing high school sports and i don't wanna embarrass myself...
My gosh, why would you even want to think about using roids, you are only 13!!!!! Wait until your natural test levels kick in and take advantage of that. If you want to gain muscle, you have to eat a calorie surplus. At your age, you shouldn't be taking any supplements at all, it should all be about diet...and by diet I mean eating right. Keep lifting and eating right and your strength will naturally increase.
My arms are too weak to weight lift... i've been doing pushups though, when i watch TV, every commercial break i do 10 pushups. and I eat right, the only junk i really eat would be a small bag of hot cheetos at school almost every day.
Your arms aren't too weak to lift weights - they are too weak to lift whatever arbitrary amount of weight you've decided is heavy enough. Weights start at half a pound, and if you can't lift that, I take it back.
It might help to do some reading on weight lifting - Starting Strength or New Rules of Lifting would both be good for you to read.
Otherwise, you are going to base your workouts on what you see in the gym - guys using poor form to work only the muscles they can see in the mirror - doing a million versions of a bicep curl, popping their hips out because they can't actually curl that much, and not one row (sorry to generalize, but that is what I would see back when I had a gym).
Do some reading - both Starting Strength and New Rules will help you do lifting routines that avoid the machines, and use balanced, compound movements that will actually help you get stronger, as opposed to selectively trying to increase the size of the muscles you see in the mirror.
