Thanks for the posts everyone. I haven't been keeping up with my workout routine for about a week since school just picked up again REALLY quickly, but I'm planning on going back again this week.
Snugs - sometimes honesty is the best policy. Thanks for your input. Could you suggest a good lifting routine? I really don't have time to go to the gym, so if you have anything with either free or weighted body weight traing, or any resistance band exercises, I'm game. What with working 25-30 hours a week and taking 17 credits, my days are just packed with so much freakin' work! Thanks a lot for all of the advice!
An hour a day three times a week is all you'll need. I work 40 hours a week and am taking a full credit load too. If I can find time to hit the gym, so can you.
This routine is not a creation of my own. It is one put together by a person on a fitness forum I'm on. It's based on a routine put together by Bill Starr, a world-renowned fitness and strength coach. It works wonderfully.
A few things to keep in mind:
1) Learn how to properly do all of the exercises before you do them with any heavy weight. Done properly there is not much risk for injury. However if you screw up your form you risk really hurting yourself - especially with deadlifts and squats. Take a look around at various weightlifting sites for examples of proper form. If you can't find any, let me know.
2) The workout is only one aspect of adding muscle. What is even more important is your diet. To add mass you need to eat more calories than your body burns, and a large portion of those calories should be protein. You should get about 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Just how many calories per day you need can vary greatly dependingon the individual. I know guys who lose weight at 3500 calories per day. I can gain eating 2500/day. What you personally need is just something you'll have to figure out.
If you don't want to be anal about your calories, just pig out on generally healthy foods all day. Since you were once overweight I doubt your metabolism is so fast that you'll need to eat an insane amount of food.
3) Don't be afraid to put on some fat. That's just what happens when you're eating to gain mass. If you're really busting your ass in the gym you'll be adding more muscle mass than fat anyways.
4) If you start eating big you can put on 5 or 10 pounds of water weight in your first week or two. After that you should be gaining about a pound per week. If you gain less than that, try eating more. If you're gaining more than a pound per week and you think you're adding a lot of fat, drop your calorie intake some (250 to 500 calories/day is a good amount). If you don't think it's fat, just keep on doing what you're doing
This took me to 400 squat 250ish bench 425 deadlift in a very short amount of time. i think this kind of program is what a lot of people need to be using on f&n, as a lot of you have no base, muscle mass, and lack strength. quit worrying aobut elaborate programs, eat and do this and you'll have a strong base in no time. don't whine about bench/squat/dead in the same workout as most of you can easily handle that.
Monday
Squats-5x5(Do four progressively heavier sets of 5 with the 5th set being your 5RM.)
Deadlifts-5x5(Do the same)
Bench Press-5x5(Do the same)
Incline DB Press-2x12-20
Wednesday
Light Squats or Lunges-4x8 each leg
Good Mornings-3x8-12
Shoulder Press-5x5 or Dips-4xmax until you get 12 each time. then add weight.
Pullups-4xmax
Friday
Squats-warmup to a 3 reps with 5 more lbs than you used on Monday. On the following monday use this weight for your 5th set.
Bent Over Row-5x5
Incline Bench-5x5
Tricep Extensions-2x12-20