whats the best way to train for strength?

[Eisenfaust]

whats the best way to train for strength? my workout isnt working, ive been working on gaining strength for awhile now and i havent been able to add weights.

[Pumpdogg]

At 16 your hormone levels should be through the roof. This is a great time to train and grow. What are your stats?... weight, height, and diet as well as what you are doing for your training. Post this info, and it will be easier to help you make changes to your current regimen.

PD

[Eisenfaust]

5'6'' bout 155ish, i take a whey-caesin protein shake and gennerally eat pretty healthy. i eat loads of chicken and beef. ive been lookin up power nutrition and i'm workin my way into that.
my coaches are really pushing the "Bigger Faster Stronger" lifting program, but my general work out is:

Monday: chest- bench press, dumbell flys, dumbell press
biceps-barbell curls, concentration curls hammer curls
triceps-rope pulldown, skull crushers, over head
extensions

Tuesday: cardio (running, swimming, ect.)

Wednesday: parralell squats, quad extension, hamstring curls,
glute/ham raise, calf extensions.

Thursday: cardio

Friday:shoulders-lat raises, millitary press, horizontal lat raise
front raises
Back- lat pulldown, chinups, row, deadlift, trap pullups.

Saturday: abbs- weighted sit ups, twisting situps, leg raises

Sunday: nothin

[Pumpdogg]

Originally posted by Eisenfaust
5'6'' bout 155ish, i take a whey-caesin protein shake and gennerally eat pretty healthy. i eat loads of chicken and beef. ive been lookin up power nutrition and i'm workin my way into that.
my coaches are really pushing the "Bigger Faster Stronger" lifting program, but my general work out is:

Monday: chest- bench press, dumbell flys, dumbell press
biceps-barbell curls, concentration curls hammer curls
triceps-rope pulldown, skull crushers, over head
extensions

Tuesday: cardio (running, swimming, ect.)

Wednesday: parralell squats, quad extension, hamstring curls,
glute/ham raise, calf extensions.

Thursday: cardio

Friday:shoulders-lat raises, millitary press, horizontal lat raise
front raises
Back- lat pulldown, chinups, row, deadlift, trap pullups.

Saturday: abbs- weighted sit ups, twisting situps, leg raises

Sunday: nothin

Okay, I am a firm believer in the basics. From your post I assume you perhaps are playing football. I am not familiar with the "Bigger Faster Stronger" program but that is of no concern right now. I think you are overtraining. You said your diet is pretty clean, but how much and how often are you eating everyday? At your age I think you should be hammering down the calories and not be sooo concerned about your diet being perfect as this is maybe the only time in your life where you will be able to eat most of the things you want without the nasty sides of turning into a fatass like I would at my age (30). IMO you should be eating 3200+ calories a day but I did not say what I did above meaning you could eat all crap. Try to get the most of your protein from whole food sources like chicken, steak, tuna in water, fish, pork tenderloin, lean ham and turkey. I think you only need to eat your whey protein after a wrkout. Make sure you consume carbs b4 your workout and afterwards eat your whey shake and I always reccomend a piece of tropical fruit like a banana or pineapple. Wait about 40 minutes and eat a meal. Make sure you are getting enough sleep at night as well.
As for your training I like the 3 days weights and no cardio, for mass and strength gain.If your coaches make you do squats and deadlifts each week then try and space them on workouts 1 and 3...meaning wrkout 1 do squats and wrkout 3 do your deads. ex.

Day of week exercise sets reps

Monday: Legs squats 4 15>12>10>8
leg ext 3 12>10>8
leg curls 3 12>10>8
calf raise 3 15>12>10
seated calf raise 3 15>12>10

Tuesday: Eat Eat and Rest

Wednesday:chest Flat Bench 3 10>8>6
Incline 3 10>8>6
Shoulder press 3 10>8>8
Tri's Scull crusher 3 10>8>8

Thursday: Eat Eat and Rest

Friday: Back Deadlifts 3 4-6 reps
Lat Pulldown 4 10>8>8
T-Bar Row 4 10>8>8
Bi's Preacher curls 3 10>8>8

Saturday: Abs

Sunday: Rest Rest and Eat some more


This of course is not the holy grail by any means but I think it may help you gain mass and srtength. Every person reacts differently to weight training. This could be too much for some and others could do more... it is an individual thing. At your age I know training arms is important and that is why I threw them in. Basic compound movements are going to be what adds mass to your frame ie.. squats, deads, bench press, military press, cleans etc... not flyes or crossovers or endless sets of arm curls. If you have to do cardio ( coach makes you) then try and limit the amount. Cardio and mass building do not go hand in hand usally.

Lastly eat what your momma cooks for you and be happy that she did it. Dont turn away what is on the table for dinner in the idea that you will ruin your body. These are the best years you can have in life and you should enjoy them. Dont spend too much time worrying about your body as that it takes away from your life. There will be plenty of time in the future for that. Play hard and make the best of it all. Good luck little bro, I hope this helps somewhat

PD

[Eisenfaust]

thanx for the info!!!

[Eisenfaust]

is it best to take time off when you over train?

[Pumpdogg]

Go ahead and take a week off for yourself anyways. You would not have to but it wont hurt whatsoever. Start fresh with your body much more recovered and ready to grow. Make sure you eat enough this next week while off and get plenty of sleep. Good luck

PD

[Eisenfaust]

thanx PD