Gym/exercise advice

[JakeR]

Hi Folks,

I am currently on a fitness drive (which I hope to maintain ad infinitum). There appear to be quite a few knowledgable gym-heads on here, so I thought I might post a few questions.

My current regime is:

One/two days a week Shoulders and arms
one/two days a week chest and upper back
One day a week abs and lower back

Not interested in weight training on lower body.

I do kickboxing and rowing for general fitness.

All my exercising is done at home...

For weights I use dumbbells (lightest I've got is 7.5kg, heaviest 22.5kg). I've also got a 7kg medicine ball (which I bought because they look cool )

I currently do 3 sets of 8 (or to fail on the last set) for each exercise. I try to use the heaviest weight I can and still complete this.

I try to mix it up, varying the exercises I do.

I try to eat healthily, and I try to eat a good portion of protein after a workout.

Now the questions/advice seeking:

- my dumbbells, while great, are getting a bit light on some exercises. They are very pricey too. I was thinking of getting an olympic bar instead for the 'next stage' instead of just adding more pricey dumbbells. Any recommendations? I have a flat bench, so I guess I would need some kind of squat rack?

- Anything I am missing? Is the sets/reps thing OK? I want an all round workout, but most important is strength I guess. Dont want to slow my punches for KB down though...

- Are supplements or shakes worth the bother if you're a fairly casual gym goer?

- Any good suggestions for good exercises with the medicine ball?


Many thanks and sorry for the rambling post!

JakeR

[deadmau5]

Definitely get an Olympic bar and some more plates so that you can do deadlift and squats. These will do your lower body as well. I initially didn't do any squats or deadlift, then found out how important they are. They should be in everyone's repertoire.

[JakeR]

deadmau5 said:

Definitely get an Olympic bar and some more plates so that you can do deadlift and squats. These will do your lower body as well. I initially didn't do any squats or deadlift, then found out how important they are. They should be in everyone's repertoire.

cheers for the reply deadmau5.

As I said above, I dont really want to do lower body stuff. Kickboxing and rowing keep my lower body going, and I was born with massive thighs anyway

I do do Romanian Deadlifts once a week as it goes (but only with 45kg).

could you please expand on what you say about

'...found out how important they are. They should be in everyone's repertoire...'


what else do they do other than the leg type area?

thanks

JakeR

[Animal]

Squats and deadlifts are compund exercises that work the entire body.

A heavy deadlift workout will strengthen not only your legs but your grip, back (frop top to bottom) and core too. Ditto squats.

These compound exercises are very demanding and require a lots more exertion than isolation exercises like calf raises or dumbbell curls. As such, they promte increases in strength and fitness throughout the body.

I note your comment about not wanting to train your legs, but if you were to ask a bunch of bodybuilders (guys that generally know a great deal about bow to strengthen and train the body) I would bet that most would say that the one exercise they couldn't live without would be squats.

If you don't want to do any heavy squatting then how about bodyweight squats? These will work your muscles without necessarily making your thighs much bigger, you need no equipment and if you do them on one leg you can really improve your balance - great for kicking!

Best,

Animal

[JakeR]

Cheers Animal... useful stuff. I will look at these bodyweight squats as you say.

[JakeR]

One more question if I may... I have deffo decided to get an olympic bar set, but I need a squat rack. Space is a bit limited (my gym is effectively a loft)... anyone got a good recommendation? I was looking at the 'powerline' job...

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/multi_press_ra...

not sure if this is a bit budget though?

cheers



JakeR

[Halb]

When I get my gym sorted I would like to buy a cage. It's a cube and you stand in it, and can adjust bars to prevent you from crumpling up if you can't press the weight back up.
Only seen it in old style gyms, but I reckon it is far better than th rack in my local high street gym.

[JakeR]

Hi Halb,

Yes, I would love one of those cage things, but sadly I dont have the space...

I am looking to get the best rack I can fit in, but a bit unsure as to which to go for...

[Scottish_ninja]

JakeR said:

One more question if I may... I have deffo decided to get an olympic bar set, but I need a squat rack. Space is a bit limited (my gym is effectively a loft)... anyone got a good recommendation? I was looking at the 'powerline' job...

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/multi_press_ra...

not sure if this is a bit budget though?

cheers



JakeR

Jake,

I'd like to advise against the above bar stand. I appreciate that space is limited in your loft, but i find these stands dangerous.

They obviously have no side bars, so if you fail on a rep, (be it through fatigue, cramp, muscle pull) you have no safeguard and you could end up with 200kg on top of you.

Also when re-racking in a squat rack,, you just walk the bar against the rack and lower the bar. With this it can be dangerously difficult to align each side of the bar when your well fatigued.

Sorry for being so negative.. but if you cant fit a rack in your loft then dont squat. Ive failed max repping several times and if it wasnt for side bars in the rack i'd be a cripple.

Stephen.

[JakeR]

Cheers for the advice... I was looking at another one that had 'spotters' which I guess is a safety thing. Mainly planning to use the rack for bench pressing tbh as this is the area my dumbells are most inadequate for...

Thanks

JakeR

[triggersbroom]

Agreed, I wouldn't touch that contraption either.

I do a full body workout at home, and that includes leg extensions and curls. I go to a local gym to do squats and calf raises as I too do not have enough room. It costs me a tenner a month for peace of mind.

[Animal]

Remember golden rule #1: make sure you can train again tomorrow.

The whole idea of a power rack or some such in a loft sounds like you're asking for trouble. Your neighbours won't notice anything's wrong for about 3 or 4 weeks until you start to rot, trapped underneath a barbell. Google Jean Pierre Fux. Promising pro bodybuilder whose legs buckled on him whilst squatting. Don't think he competes anymore.

Much better to use dumbbells if you're training alone.

[JakeR]

Animal said:

Remember golden rule #1: make sure you can train again tomorrow.

The whole idea of a power rack or some such in a loft sounds like you're asking for trouble. Your neighbours won't notice anything's wrong for about 3 or 4 weeks until you start to rot, trapped underneath a barbell. Google Jean Pierre Fux. Promising pro bodybuilder whose legs buckled on him whilst squatting. Don't think he competes anymore.

Much better to use dumbbells if you're training alone.

hi Animal, cheers for reply... I agree as far as safety goes, the last thing I want is to get injured. As it goes, I train with my wife, so I wouldn't end up trapped!

my plan for the Olympic bar and squat rack was mainly for bench pressing, as 45 kg is a bit light! I am of course aware that one should exercise with care, especially where weights are concerned. Do you have any other ideas for upping the weight for home use?

Squats wise, I plan to follow your previous comment re bodyweight squats, and focus on quality and repititions...

Cheers for your input

JakeR

[Neil.D]

My advice would be to combime Chest/Shoulders with Back/Arms, they go together better than the other way round. Also, forget upper/lower back. Do back as one, but say do deadlifts once every 2 weeks. Doing them every week is quite harsh.
Abs you can do as a little finisher or even at home or incorporate it to your kickboxing training.

If you're doing a cardio day + kickboxing, weight training 2 days a week - but for a good hour will be more than enough to keep you in great shape.

[Animal]

JakeR said:

Animal said:

Remember golden rule #1: make sure you can train again tomorrow.

The whole idea of a power rack or some such in a loft sounds like you're asking for trouble. Your neighbours won't notice anything's wrong for about 3 or 4 weeks until you start to rot, trapped underneath a barbell. Google Jean Pierre Fux. Promising pro bodybuilder whose legs buckled on him whilst squatting. Don't think he competes anymore.

Much better to use dumbbells if you're training alone.

hi Animal, cheers for reply... I agree as far as safety goes, the last thing I want is to get injured. As it goes, I train with my wife, so I wouldn't end up trapped!

my plan for the Olympic bar and squat rack was mainly for bench pressing, as 45 kg is a bit light! I am of course aware that one should exercise with care, especially where weights are concerned. Do you have any other ideas for upping the weight for home use?

Squats wise, I plan to follow your previous comment re bodyweight squats, and focus on quality and repititions...

Cheers for your input

JakeR

Jake,

'fraid not. The only two solutions I can think of are either to join a commercial gym whereby you can use a Smith machine or have someone spot you or get yourself some heavy dumbbells.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT, ever do heavy barbell benching by yourself! I've been stuck under the bar before, I've seen lots of other people do it too...

If neither of these is a goer then you'll have to modify your training - incorporate incline press-ups, plyo's, one-arm press-ups, etc, etc. One thing you can do is to put a 10kg plate or two into a rucksack, lob that on your back and then do some press-ups - simples!

[JakeR]

Animal said:

Jake,

'fraid not. The only two solutions I can think of are either to join a commercial gym whereby you can use a Smith machine or have someone spot you or get yourself some heavy dumbbells.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT, ever do heavy barbell benching by yourself! I've been stuck under the bar before, I've seen lots of other people do it too...

If neither of these is a goer then you'll have to modify your training - incorporate incline press-ups, plyo's, one-arm press-ups, etc, etc. One thing you can do is to put a 10kg plate or two into a rucksack, lob that on your back and then do some press-ups - simples!

Animal, thanks again... I hear what you're saying and it makes good sense. Time for a rethink for me then.

joining a gym is not an option unfortunately... we have small kids (babysitter issue) and the whole idea was that the gym thing was something the mrs and I could do together at home.

I think I will invest in some bigger dumbells and see how I go. I have read elsewhere that another thing you can do if your weights are light is leave the heavy exercises (such as bench press) till the end of the session, so your muscles are already quite tired. Will make the lighter weight 'feel' heavier as it were...

I will also look into the other bits and bobs mentioned (plyos?- will have to get googling on that one )

cheers mate, nice one...

JakeR

[Halb]

JakeR said:

I think I will invest in some bigger dumbells and see how I go. I have read elsewhere that another thing you can do if your weights are light is leave the heavy exercises (such as bench press) till the end of the session, so your muscles are already quite tired. Will make the lighter weight 'feel' heavier as it were...

I will also look into the other bits and bobs mentioned (plyos?- will have to get googling on that one )

cheers mate, nice one...

JakeR

Hiya Jake. I wouldn't leave bench till last. A wise practise it to work the larger muscle groups first, not the smaller ones. Chest is one of the larger. You really don't want to have exhausted your triceps and then try to bench press.;)

This is the idea behind plyos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyometrics

If you wish to make lighter weight feel heavier, then I recommend a routine called fit for life. I have done it on and off and it is very good. It dictates a strict 60 second recovery time between sets save for the last superset, and 2 mins between exercises. It will give you good strength/stamina and is good for those with less time to play aboot with. Even if you don't wish to do it, a strict recovery time will force you to lower your weights, and is very effective.

[JakeR]

Halb said:

Hiya Jake. I wouldn't leave bench till last. A wise practise it to work the larger muscle groups first, not the smaller ones. Chest is one of the larger. You really don't want to have exhausted your triceps and then try to bench press.;)

Hi Halb,

how about doing for example flys first to tire the chest and then going on to bench press?

cheers

JakeR

[Halb]

Flys is fine. It's till the chest muscle group.
When I did a split routine I would do chest > shoulders > triceps.
Flyes before press is fine.

Here's that routine
http://bodyforlife.com/exercise/weighttraining.asp

also, this is a really good book.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Weight-Training-Dummies-Li...

Edited by Halb on Tuesday 1st September 12:11

[JakeR]

Halb said:

also, this is a really good book.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Weight-Training-Dummies-Li...

alright, I know I come across as a dufus!