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Tips on bulking up

J

jmammo

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So after much thought and debate I am going to start playing rugby with some of my buddies. I am going to get killed.
The reason I say I am going to get killed is because I am 16 yrs old about 5ft 8in. and weight 110lbs. :injured:
I don't really like to work out but I feel now I am going to have to start doing something. I am going to play winger, which is o.k. for because I am fast.
But I need some tips on how not to get totally killed when I go and play.
Any help or advice is really appreciated.
By the way, I did use the search button and read all of those wikipedia articles.

Cheers :bonne-de:
Jack
 
Hey Jmammo,

I recently joined just like you (ha, i am more recent!) and I too have been bitten by the rugby bug. If you're just looking to beef up your muscle mass (and maybe even a little fat mass) I think the best advice anyone can and will give you is to start eating up (healthily of course, with an emphasis on lean proteins, veggies, fruits, not too many simple carbs)! If you're not already eating a lot, I would suggest to up your calories until your weight starts reflecting the intake increase. Of course, at the same time, you should be hitting the gym and, I presume, working on speed drills to keep the fat from accumulating and to keep your speed up as your weight increases.

As far as an actual lifting routine, I am not really an experienced rugby player (yet) so I'm not sure which lifts are the most important, but it seems like the gold stars for rugby excellence come from having powerful, explosive bench presses, squats, deadlifts and perhaps the important body weight exercises (pushups/pullups, etc).

I've been lifting pretty seriously for the past 4 years, and I'll be honest, I have made a lot of mistakes in getting to know how my body works, and getting to know how I personally pack on mass and strength. So, of course, this may not work for you as our physiologies probably differ, but what has really worked well for me in terms of these things is to stick to relatively low reps and high weights for the basic lifts, and only doing at most 4 sets of each basic lift per exercise.

I know bodybuilders will tout the 15-20 set per bodypart workout (say, doing 5 sets of bench, 5 sets of incline bench, and 5 sets of decline bench), but I really feel like these workouts cannot be used all the time, as they produce too much muscle damage and fatigue to be used consistently. This is why, after years of using the "only one bodypart per workout theory", I have found the most success splitting my workouts into different exercises working different muscle groups.

For example, tomorrow I will perform 4 sets of bench, 4 pullup sets, and 4 bicep curls sets (I realize that biceps are hit pretty hard in both of the latter exercises, but I am seeing considerable mass gain in my biceps lately, so I'm not gonna jinx it!).


Thats my 2 cents. I'm by no means saying im an expert - I have a long way to goal to hit my goals of matching Andrew Sheridan's one rep max bench haha - but these have worked from my experience! Good luck, and hopefully this will all open up a healthy debate!
 
eat a lot of starchy food to bulk up.

If you don't want to get killed just tuck the ball in one arm away from the defender and stiff arm the defender right before he makers contact with you...
Tips
*tape up your sleeves and tuck your shirt in tight so they don't grab you by the shirt and swing you and throw you to the ground..because once you stiff arm them or freeze your opponent they'll try to shirt tackle you.
*Never bring both feet together..always keep them apart...one foot always in front of the other...
 
What's that soup that the Sumo's eat? Look at the difference to Sumo japanese and regular japanese, that's proven success to bulk up anyone....
 
It all depends on you really if you wana bulk up cause everyones bodies react differently to certain foods. I got a friend that had a hard time trying to put on weight because he has a really fast metabolism so no matter what he tried he just couldn''t put on weight.

This will sound stupid but the only way he ended up putting weight on was to eat unhealthy foods because if he ate healthy no matter what amount he just couldn't put on the weight. Your still young as and you wana just stick to doing high reps with low weights because if you try to bulk up with heavy weights it will fatigue your muscles and can end up doing more damage then good.

You should eat more often throughout the day like 6 times instead of 3 because going long periods of time without eating makes your body break down your muscle tissue to compensate for the calories it needs especially if you've got a fast metabolism. So eating more often helps your body from doing this so your more likely to put on weight.
 
just skimmed through this really, looks like a load of **** advice wise

i'd reccomend checking out

www.bodybuilding.com

you can browse their forums, its by far the best training/lifting website on the net in my opinion.

you can browse about clean bulks or dirty bulks, different programs, supplements, etc.
 
eat eat eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

power clean, deadlift, squat, bench!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

eat eat eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sleep lots
 
where are you playing rugby?
school/ college or club


the best way to bulk up if its just for school is press ups, sit ups, chin ups, dips off benches etc as if you use proper/ too heavy weights, it can stunt your growth by placing too much strain on your muscles.

also, so that you do not get killed, never run straight at someone bigger than you.
put in a little shimmy/ step to move the balance and you dont need to be big!!!
 
Even if you put on bulk you'll still likely to get smashed maybe just not as bad so you want to work on your agility too because look at Jason Robinson or Shane Williams. Small men but agile as ever and masters of the game.
 
something like fats fats and more fats. thats what a whle bar of butter is.



mate there's a difference between bulk and hulk. so is this topic about bulk or hulk? by the looks of the ***le i'd think its about putting on fat weight instead of muscle weight
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I thought this thread was going to die,
Anyways, right now I just play with some friends. However, next year (my senior year) my high school is going to start a rugby team.
jawmalawm24, I am a lot like your friend in the fact that I have a really high metabolism. I just can't put on weight no matter how much junk food I eat. I think I am going to go with what you said about high reps with low weights. I also run 3 miles 3 times a week so I think I have the speed thing down.
Any other tips on bulking up or possible positions I should or damn near anything is good.
Thanks
 
Compromise. For a while do no cardio. Let eat loads and rely as weight training to be your only form of exercising.
You want to consume more calories than you burn.
Train 3 maybe 4 times a week.
Eat 5 meals a day and get some whey protein shakes for after training and casein protein for before bed.

I wanted to make this post basic and i'm already going too far.
Ok:

Eat more calories than you burn. But be healthy.

That'll be my key message.
 
sorry i cant comment on this too much but im wondering if you guys could just say if you think its allright for me to be gyming at 15 years old. I've done it before, and for a while now but just started a new program to bulk up. it involves exersises with 3 sets 8-10 reps. also do you think its good idea (safe) to take a high protein bar everynow and then
 
sorry i cant comment on this too much but im wondering if you guys could just say if you think its allright for me to be gyming at 15 years old. I've done it before, and for a while now but just started a new program to bulk up. it involves exersises with 3 sets 8-10 reps. also do you think its good idea (safe) to take a high protein bar everynow and then [/b]

A lot of blokes will disagree with me on this, but IMO, no no and no. Rather go for the bodyweight exercises- pull-ups, chins, pushups, dips for the upper body, short sprints, lunges and jumps for the legs. At the very least `till you`re 16 IMO. Your bone structure`s still busy developing at 15, and you could do some serious damage especially to your knee cartilage if you start with weights too soon. Remember that you`ve got a whole life ahead of you for heavy lifting, so why risk your bone structure development?

On the issue of the odd protein shake/bar, can`t really do much harm, but you can probably get the same benefit from just eating lots of lean protein. Fish `till you develop gills, chicken `till you start croaking at sunrise. But just make sure you stay away from creatine- at 15, it`ll stuff up your kidneys to hell and gone.

If I were you, I`d concentrate on perfecting the basic skills of catching, passing, kicking and tackling, as well as building up your cardio, speed and strength at this stage of your career, depending on the position you play mate.
 

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