Ok, i think this could be a really good thread for people who are interested. Women might not be all about looks, but look fit/strong cant do any harm. Now most people would just hit the gym doing everything they can to look good, but it might not always be the best way.
So, i thought of this. On here, you may ask a question on how to improve the look/strength of 1 part of ur body (say chest) and what it is like now and what you want it to be like. It is then the job of the next person who has an answer to find the best way in which to imporve that. They then give advice to the person above, and ask their question.

Ok, i will start by giving some advice! Abs are normally a big deal for younger guys, you want the whole 6 pack. Now, most people consider crunching and sit-ups to be the best way to get it and yes, to start with it is. However, once you are able to do a few sets of 20 sit-ups/crunches in a row without feeling like u need to call 999 give this a try.
Lift your legs to 45deg of the floor with them straight. Then with ur hands touching ur temples sit up and twist ur back to try and touch the opposite knee, dont go all the way however. Alternate side to side on each sit up and do roughly 20 (so 10 twists each way). This works the muscles to the side of your abs to give a more defined look aswell as increase your core strength.

Now my question. How can i build up my upper legs (quads and hamstrings). I want them to be thicker as SPAM i have very skinny legs compared to my upper body and aswell they arnt very strong. I have tried alternate dips but they dont work.

/madals

Squats, deadlifts, more squats and more deadlifts. Squats are the best exercise you can do. It targets almost every muscle in the legs and also releases anabolic hormones that help build muscle in both your upper and lower body. Start off with 12 to 15 reps to get used to the form then as you get better drop reps and start doing heavier weight. All in all you really want to focus on time under tension is your goal is size. To keep it simple make sure your working to failure in each set which should last to about 40 seconds.

Also for an effective "core" workout, sorry i hate the terms abs because the "6 pack" isnt the only thing that makes your core, make sure you hit all the muscles in the core. Which are the rectus abdominus, Transverse abdominus, Internal and external obliques, extensor spinae (low back), and your quadratus lumborum (love handles). You should be doing a workout that consists of a crunch, reverse crunch, rotation, back extension, lateral flexion, and stabilization. Also no need to do more than 20 reps, if you are either superset, compound set, or add more resistance.

For the next guy biceps

The best way to get a "performance" body is to use the P90X system. Its a 90 day program that really works. No pills or stupid diets, just a normal healthy diet and a lot of sweat. Muscle confusion is the key to this program and if anyone here is familiar with that term, you should know to take a look. Give it a shot. You can actually download it with the papers off Limewire. If you decide to buy it, it costs abou $130 or something.

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When you masturbate, God kills a kitten... so do your part to help control the overflowing pet population.

I saw some before and after vids on youtube, I'm definitely gonna check that out! Thanks man!

...Or you could just a follow a proven to work 3day per week lifting routine focusing on increasing the weight of main compound exercises.
I dont know shit about this p90x system but you say you just stay on a normal diet but in order to grow muscle you need to follow a calorie surplus diet, ie eating lots more so unless that program tells you to eat more calories than you burn with advice on what foods you should eat and when....then its worthless for muscle growth.

Looks wise, that is, for the purposes of gaming, the most important excersises are bench presses, curling, and pull-ups. Low body fat, good chest , shoulders, and biceps, are the only visible muscles in most environments

No the most important exercise are squats and deadlifts.
If you keep doing only benchpress bicep curls n pullups you'll look like a lightbulb and mostly end up injuring yourself in the end from having inbalanced muscles.
Either work the full body or dont bother.

I race road bikes (pedal) so this is my routine: 15 diamond push ups, 50 skullies, 15 glute kickbacks (15 for each leg), and 20 6-inches turns (hold your legs 6 inches off of the ground. Put your hands on your temples and try to turn toward each leg.) After that, I do either hot-laps on the bike around town (about 20 miles at an all out balls to the wall sprint) or a short uphill resistance ride. Couple this with my job (I work on a road paving crew) and it keeps me in good shape. If anyone wants me to explain the exercises a little more, just let me know.


Also, com.solo, lolwut is right. You also need to do some leg work and other types to keep the rest of your body up to pace.

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If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

haha, if you wouldnt mind explaining them all in more detail, or giving a link to good explinations it would be great

Depends on what you want to do. Personally I go for strength/felxibility/durability and the looks are just side effects. Here is a workout my coach gave me (mma). It's called the Royal Court.

-100 Hindu Push Ups (or as much as you can. Do them in sets of however many you can. You want to eventually hit 100 straight. So lets say you start with 25x4 and than just keep increasing the first and decreasing your last set accordingly.)
-100 Squats (same thing.... try and do it in one shot and than up the number as you get used to it)
-100 Dips (Do sets of what ever you feel like)
-Hold a the Plank for about 2-3 minutes or so.
-Bridge on using your head. Hold for about 2 mins or so.
-Finish off with Chin Ups if you can. Do as many as you can.
-Stretch

Here I'll try my best to explain each exercise (I also recommend hitting up youtube)

Hindu Push Ups- For any yoga people out there, start in the Downward Dog position. In plain english, stand up straight. Now spread your legs past shoulder with. You should have a wide base. Now keeping your feet where they are, knees streight go down on your hands so your body forms a perfect triangle. Hands at shoulder width. Now do a dive/push up. It's hard to explain but think fighter pilots when they drop like mad and than pull up in the last second before hitting the ground. You do a push up in an arch motion, and than go back. Rinse and repeat.

Squats- There are a few different variations that you can do but here is the one I do. Stand up straight, feet at shoulder width, with your hands at your side and back straight. Sink down into a squat and "row your hands" up as you do the squat. Think like you're rowing a boat.

Dips- If you have a machine, great, if not grab 2 chairs and face them together, as far apart as you need them to be. Grab the side of one chair (the seat not the side, palms facing down) and rest your feet on the seat of the other one. Your body should be in the shape of an L. Now with your back straight just dip down until your elbow is bent at about a 90 degree angel. Come back up. That's it.

Plank- This is a core exercise. Go into a push up position with your back and legs perfectly straight. Now drop down on your elbows ( I personally form a triangle with my hands under my chin) Head straight, just hold this position. If you want to mix it up, after about 30 second lift your right arm and left leg off the ground and just hold that for however long you want, and than switch. Keep switching/going back to your original.

Bridge- This works your neck and back and if you did the exercises above you should also feel it a bit in your legs/hip in the end. This is hard to describe and definitely watch out so you don't hurt yourself. USE A PILLOW FOR YOUR HEAD (unless you have an iron skull). Youtube this if you can. You essentially go into a bridge using your hands like you normally would. You arch up and find your center and technique....now lower yourself onto your head and cross your arms in across your chest. Adjust yourself and hold the position. Its okay to change the angel through out the exercise. This is probably better for people who already have some neck strength

Chin Ups- I think we all know how to do chin ups. Experiment with different grips and widths, just make sure you do them properly. (proper extensions).

Stretching- This is just as important as anything else. It relaxes your muscles, gets you a chance to cool down in the end and also tones your body. Being flexible can also come in handy other places . I'm not saying be a yoga master but you should avoid being rigid like so many juice bags I see around. You are much more prone to hurt yourself or pull something. I won't go into details on the stretches (unless you guys want) but just stretch everything in general. Neck, shoulders, arms, core, legs...

The key in doing all exercises is BREATHING. This not only can it WILL make or break your training. Breath from your diaphragm, and breath out making a ssssshhhhhhh sound. If you want to add a bit of a twist to your routine, be explosive when you do your exercises (except for the bridge/plank obviously...no real way to be explosive there lol). Explode on your squats, dips, push ups etc.... or do the exact opposite and go slow...mix it up and find your rythm and if you decide to be exlosive or take it slow accommodate with your breathing. Hope this helps.

I don't know anything about working out or anything about what the best system is. All I do know is that when I left for Basic Training, I was the tall, skrany, lanky guy. Basically a tooth pick. All we did in Basic was push ups and sit ups. We ran for our legs and some of us did squats with your rucks on just to beef up our legs.

If you want to tone your legs, run. If you want to beef them up, do some calf raises and squats. But, you don't need some crazy diet or some crazy P90X stuff to do it. Just some weights and a whole lot of yearning.

You don't need a crazy diet, but you defininetly need a protein rich diet. That's where most people mess up, they don't include enough protein in their diet and they end up super skinny instead of muscular.

Im just going to throw this out there because it is by far one of the greatest way to tone muscle. Rock Climbing!

IVe been climbing competatively for 2 years and never hit the gym and ive got to say im not huge but im tone as shit. Works core A LOT and your arms tend to get larger, even your legs get very very tone but you dont tend to build large leg muscles but it builds on definition a lot. When it comes to general core strength nothing beats climbing, no workout.

One question i got SPAM is how do you get motivated to hit the gym? I dont have the time while going to school and working part time to get climbing as much so i was thinking of hitting the gym a bit more. Seems like the only problem i got SPAM is motivation.

Well I find if your doing this for yourself and only for yourself, then you should have all the motivation you need. If you're doing it to impress chicks/others I think it would be harder to commit.

So make sure this is for you and keep telling yourself while your at the gym or if you ever feel lazy about not going. Also I find embracing the pain and soreness helps as well (but I have a high pain tolerance and this could just be depending on the individual because I dont know how your mind works, lol)