Mono victim, recovers, then bitten by iron bug

[madferit]

This is my first post to these boards, so laugh while you can at the newbie. This post is a tad long, so bear with me if you can.

Anyway, about 2 years ago, I came down with mono and went from an out-of-shape 180 lbs at 6' tall to a measly 150 lbs. After I got over my illnes, I wanted to gain back the weight so I started weightlifting about 1 year ago. In about 3 months I gained 30 lbs and was in the best shape of my life, but I wasn't satisfied. I was bitten by the iron bug. In the past 9 months, I have seen little to no gains in the gym.

I am currently about 180-185 depending on whether I have taken a shit yet (j/k) and have about 11% bf. My routine is a 4 day split.

Mon-back/bis
Tue-chest/delt/tri
Wed-OFF
Thur-Quads/Hams
Fri-bis/tris/delts
Sat/Sun-OFF

I consume about 3200 calories a day in about the proper proportions (50-30-20, prot, carb,fat). I am very dedicated to whatever routine i am performing. I usually switch routines every 2 months. I take protein shakes and vitamins and that's it for supplements

Well, now that you know my life story (lol), it's finally time for the questions. The following are probably typical newbie q's, but hey, I have nothing to lose.

What supplements should I be taking? Am I eating enough and in the right proportions? What routine/exercises should I do? And finally (this is the one I really care about), how do you know when you are at absolute failure?

A note on failure: I always read about training to absolute failure, but I don't think I have experienced yet. I don't train with a partner b/c I can't find anyone with enough dedication. I really want to perform some ballbusting routines, so suggestions are WELCOME.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post.

 

[supersizeme]

madferit -

?'s for you. are you squatting and deadlifting? if not, these compounds are a must for growth.
you don't sound like you are training to failure. what range do you keep your reps in and how closely do you monitor your progress? do you go into the gym and know how many reps you got last week on a certain lift and what you need to shoot for this time? always focus on your progress or you will make none.
up your calories a couple hundred or so, get some more carbs in there since you are already doing 50% protein. see if that helps you at all.

don't worry about supplements as all you should really need is food, training, and sleep.

 

[madferit]

supersizeme-

I am squatting, but not deadlifting. I have tried deadlifting before and I never seem to be able to get the form down. I feel like I am always about to injure myself while I am doing it. Any suggestions on how to ease into it?

I do about 6-8 reps on each exercise. However I do not keep a log. Are they really that helpful? Seems like a pain in the ass to me, but then again I hardly think writing is as bad as working out.

[This message has been edited by madferit (edited March 30, 2001).]

 

[WannaBeHUNG]

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