Trying to bulk up? Ok, but I'd stay skinny (assuming you already are) and work on increasing your power-to-weight ratio, if your primary goal is improved racing performance. If it's improved female performance, well then, I can relate to you, brother. Bulk up.

To add power (and size), you generally want to do more sets, fewer reps, and higher weight. I have this strange physical makeup where I can get quite strong but never put on an ounce of weight. For example, I weigh 155 lbs (on a heavy day) and I can bench 235 (max). It's quite strange. I've been doing 5 x 5 sets for years after reading that they're about the optimal combination for strength/size gains. I take it even further and start with a weight that I can only do 5 x 3 initially. I work up to doing 5 x 5, and after doing it twice (in two different workouts), I add weight and go back down to my 5 x 3 sets and start the cycle all over.

With sets like these, you want to rest enough to feel as rested as you can before starting the next set of reps. You're training strength, not cardio, so you want to be able to give maximum effort each rep.

My motives are for both, improved performance as well as female performance (my female performance issues are really noones business but mine and the future Mrs. Dave G, but I digress). I have room to increase my weight as I'm 6'3 and 157 after a big meal. I'm not after body builder status but I don't think thats possible for me; I'd just like to be a little more solid up top. I had a thread a few weeks ago about gaining weight. Now I'm more after what the appropriate method is. I don't think I'm capable of really bulking up. [I know some people are going to read that and curse me but if losing weight for most people is as hard as gaining weight is for me I completely sympathize with them.] I'm not very strong with weights but I have super-human strength when needed. I did landscaping for 10 years and the guys I worked with were always amazed at my abilities for being a 'stick'.

Also, what kind of frequency should I be lifting? I've been trying to do it every other day if I can or every third at the most. Is this too often?

I had the best results when I lifted each muscle group only 2x per week. I'd do upper body Mon & Thurs, and legs/abs on Tues/Fri. The idea is that you want to really tax yourself and then have plenty of time to recover. Also, give Creatine a try. It really makes a difference for me. I take 1 tsp. with some juice about 30-45 minutes before I head to the gym. Be sure to drink lots of water. I stop taking it once spring rolls around and I transition out of my weightlifting program.

When you stop with the Creatine do you drop the weight / muscle you've added? That was the impression I got from a different thread so I decided to stay away from it because if I'm only going to drop the weight during swimsuit season (I can't believe I just said that) then whats the point. Also, is it ok to do upper, lower and sore in the same day? I only do two lower body excersizes and 3 core. I try to s / b / r the other days.

Some people say that Creatine causes you to retain a little extra water, and losing that retained water once you stop taking the Creatine may be what they're referring to when they say you lose weight. Personally, I've never experienced any water retention or weight gain from taking Creatine. It makes me able to lift more weight and recover faster. Over the course of a winter, this results in greater increases in muscle size and strength, which is a function of Creating making it possible for me to do more during my weightlifting sessions. I see a slight decrease in performance after I stop taking it, but that's to be expected as it's responsible for a slight increase in my gains. As an example, I might be able to go from benching 210 lbs to 235 lbs over the course of a winter without taking it, but with it I might be able to go from 210 lbs to 255 lbs, and then lose 5 lbs from my max to 250 lbs once I stop taking it, so there's a bit of a loss, but there's a noticable increase in net gain.

I'm sure you're fine doing upper and lower in the same day, so long as your total time in the gym isn't so long that you don't have the energy you need toward the end of the session.

Dave,

You're going to have a hard time putting on weight without the proper nutrition. You'll need about 1.6 to 1.8 grams of protein/kg of body weight. You can get this easily by making your own shakes and adding some protein powder.

Next, the lifting. The second type of rotation you described sounds like what are called 'supersets', alternating excercises. It's very effective if the excercises are chosen properly. The theory is that by choosing opposing muscles(biceps/triceps) and working them alternately, you speed up overall recovery and can perform more work and, subsequently, make bigger gains.

For an exhaustive discussion of the subject plus a lot of other useful infomation, check out this ridiculously titled book:
http://www.edtsecrets.com/8_23.html

There is a lot of information out there. The bottom line is you can make a lot of progress on 3 hours a week(3, 1 hour sessions) if you do it right. I'm a big fan of Pavel Tsatsouline's work, have been to one of his seminars and think he's the real deal. Check out some of his literature at: http://www.dragondoor.com

PM me if you ever have questions.

Have fun.

If you ask ten different strength coaches this question, you will likely get an even distribution of answers for every possiblity. The point being, if you are trying to bulk up, it depends on a lot of things. For hypertrophy, which underlies increased mass and bulk, unless you don't mind fat, the literature (science) indicates 3 days/week may be better than 2. Also, greater volume may be better than less (i.e. 3 sets better than 2). Large muscle groups before smaller groups, and highest intensity before lower intensity. So, a couple weaknesses I might identify in your approach would be doing a circuit approach as opposed to isolating groups, and starting with upper body before legs. The second will depend on the first to a certain extent. Since, I get the impression that you are more concerned with bulking upper vs lower body, doing upper first is probably okay for your goals. If that's the case then, you should probably exhaust the upper body before doing legs. The important point though is failure, and you seem to have a handle on that, although you should probably fail on, at least your 2nd if not 1st set. I assume you move up if you hit 10. The more being better approach probably only holds true up to a point though. The longer you spend lifting, the greater the elevation in catabolic hormones elicited in response to exercise. This will impair muscle growth to a certain extent. So, the benefit to lifting more sets is lost if you're at it more than 60, certainly 90 minutes.

Other suggestions would be to periodize in progression from relatively high reps (8-10) over time, to relatively lower reps (4-6). The HRM really isn't of much use for weights, but I wouldn't worry about being a dork. Who cares if it works? I would go with a 3:1 rest:work ratio, timewise. So, if you do 10 reps, a set should last about 45-60 sec, therefore, rest 130-180 sec. Also, to counter the effects of catabolic hormones and protein degradation, eat (or actually drink) a carb:protein drink during the workout. This will decrease protein degredation during the workout, and enhance recovery following. Similarly, eat/drink for recovery as soon as possible afterward. Unfortunately, "bulking up" and endurance sports are really counter posed objectives. So, the biggest thing holding you back from buking up is likely your triathlon training. Further, making progress in the weightroom will, mininally, sacrifice your endurance training progress, and potentially impair performance. If you are simply trying to be healthy, fit, and look good though, this may not be a concern.

Hope this helps.

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Steve

http://www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com