(this is not directed towards OP)
time and time again people come on NS asking for advice on working out. i am not sure if you have noticed but the vast majority of NSers are skin and bones and know nothing about working out. would it not make more sense to go on a forum like bodybuilding.com or t-nation.com and ask your question?
everyone comes on here after gaining 20lbs and think they know everything about lifting weights. they talk about what they did and think that their training methods are far superior than others. what people do not seem to understand is what works best for you may not work best for the next guy. you must understand your own body and what exercises, rep schemes, training frequency, etc work best for you. tons of people when they start out research arnold's workout and go and replicate it at the gym. arnold was huge so if you do the same exercises as him you can get huge also right? wrong, arnold was on steroids, has great genetics, large amounts of experience (among other things) and therefore needed a large volume of training but that amount of volume would lead to over training and minimal gains for the average person.
the training method that worked best for me was an upper/lower split 2x each/week. i stuck to primarily compound movements, 4-6 exercises/workout, and generally 8-12 rep scheme (not super picky)
i notice too many people in the gym 6 days a week for two hours doing every exercise under the sun. while this make work for some people, i can guarantee it is not the best method for the majority of the people i see doing it. there is a common misconception that going into the gym everyday and lifting for three hours is the best method because in sports the more you practice the better you will get. when working out often less is more. rest is very important to muscle gains and if it is not benefiting you to spend extra time in the gym why do it?
i notice a lot of threads asking how to gain weight. when i was in high school i was stupid skinny 6 foot 140lbs soaking wet. after three years of hard work i put on 75lbs and was 6'1'' 215lbs while still having a waist size of 32. the most important part of putting on mass is to eat, eat and eat some more. to me this is the most important and difficult aspect of putting on weight. constantly eating is very time consuming and difficult to do when you are working, skiing, getting an education and trying to also have a social life but if you are determined enough to get bigger you will. a lot of people will say they eat a bunch but still cannot put on weight but for most people that is bullshit
(finally my response to OP haha)
i have yet to master balancing skiing and weightlifting. i have found it extremely difficult to make any gains during the ski season because i do not find i eat enough/eat the correct food that is required to build muscle. usually i do not work out during the ski season but sometimes i do my best to maintain my current weight/strength but my priority is skiing and my eating habits and training methods reflect that. i have all summer to train like an animal but have a limited time to ski so i try to make the most out of the ski season
sorry for that rant i probably should have spent the time it took to write that on studying
