Gym programme advice?

[t84]

Just booked in with a trainer at my local gym and this is the program they gave me:

Warm up:

5 minutes on Concept2 Rower, Level 5

Weight machines:

Bicep Curls 3x8 (Failing on 8th rep)
Tricep Dips 3x8 (Failing on 8th rep)
Leg Press 3x8 (Failing on 8th rep)
Chest Press 3x8 (Failing on 8th rep)
Shoulder Press 3x8 (Failing on 8th rep)
Lat Pull Down 3x8 (Failing on 8th rep)

Abs:

Crunches 3 x Unlimited
Cycles 3 x Unlimited
Plank 3 x Unlimited
Side Plank 3 x Unlimited

Cardio

Treadmill Incline 4 Jog -3-5 mins Brisk walk 3-5 mins 20 mins
Bike Level 5 plus 60 – 70 rpm 15 min
Concept 2Rower Just row Level 10 Aim to beat 2,000 metre time every week

Any fitness gurus on here reckon that's a good program? One of my mates reckons I should be using free weights instead of machines

And also is it ok to to the 3x8 reps all on the same machine in one go instead of circuits (With a brief rest in between sets)? I did circuits today and looked like a right idiot wandering around trying to find the right machines

Thanks and sorry for posting in lounge btu I don't think anyone posts in the Health forums!

[HOGEPH]

Forget the gym programme, try the 3 step guide.

Cycle/walk more.

Eat less chips.

Have the occasional angry wk to keep your heart rate up.

[Sim89]

Im far from a fitness guru, I have a fitness program myself but far from taking it really seriously.

All depends on your goal, im sure you have heard it all before about heavier weights less reps for size etc etc.

I think free weights are better for balance and stability as they allow more movement and correction.

I found chin-ups and pulls ups one of the best exercises if you do them correctly and I think that is another point to make about free weights, its easier to do it wrong using them.

And lots of rest of course.

[Animal]

If you're new to training then I'd suggest starting with lighter weights and more reps - say sets of 15 reps for example?

Also, always start with the largest muscles, so leg press, chest press, shoulder press, lat pulldown, tricep dips and then curls.

Do a light set or two of a relevant exercise as a warm up for each muscle group before going on to your working sets. You should only need 60-90 sec rest between sets, no more. Do your 3 sets for one exercise and then move on.

Without wanting to sound patronising, if you're new to weightlifting of any sort then machines are a pretty decent starting place. Many people are unappreciative of how technical some exercises are, so unless you've been taught by someone who knows what they're doing and is qualified to teach I'd stay away. Free weights are beneficial because the fact that the weight is not moving through a set plane of motion (like a chest press for example) means that other muscles will be called into play to stabilise you, but until you're comfortable with the movements machines are a safe bet.

If you've got a chinup bar at your gym I'd suggest you dump the pulldowns as soon as possible (I'm assuming you can't do pullups at present) and replace them with pullups (palms facing away from you, usually with quite a wide grip) and chinups (palms facing you and a slightly narrow grip).

HTH,

Animal

[t84]

Thanks, it does help

My main goals are to lose fat and gain muscle, I need to lose about 3st

I'm not really strong enough to do the pulldowns (There's a weight assist) but I'm much stronger on the legs which means I can leg press a large amount relative to the amount I can do with my arms!

[Alexdaredevilz]

free weights are much better

cardio's for fat people

instead of x3 id def go for x4

if your trying to achieve for arguments sake a bruce lee toned body, u want to be doing 12x4,
if u wana look like arnie and go large with big bulk, you want to do 8x4

also diet is very important, you wana be going 5-6 days a week

Edited by Alexdaredevilz on Tuesday 24th November 22:59

Edited by Alexdaredevilz on Tuesday 24th November 23:00

[t84]

I am fat (16st)

[Maxf]

Dont bother with level 10 on the rower - quick way to lose technique and have all kinds of problems. A half decent boat on water is the equivalent to level 4 (ish) FYI.

ex-rower.

[_DeeJay_]

Alexdaredevilz said:

free weights are much better

cardio's for fat people

instead of x3 id def go for x4

if your trying to achieve for arguments sake a bruce lee toned body, u want to be doing 12x4,
if u wana look like arnie and go large with big bulk, you want to do 8x4

also diet is very important, you wana be going 5-6 days a week

Edited by Alexdaredevilz on Tuesday 24th November 22:59

Edited by Alexdaredevilz on Tuesday 24th November 23:00

Christ on a bike.

Cardio is for fat people: better tell all the sportsmen/women in the world to stop then. They're not fat for a reason - a good diet and lots of cardio.

Free weights are better than machines: With good form, you're right. For a beginner it's a great way to get injured

4 sets instead of 3: Really doesn't matter, it's all about the total number of reps, and with his programme he'll be there all day with 4 sets

I doubt Arne did an 8x4 routine, though you're right in that more reps and less weight will build smaller muscles (which isn't a bad thing)

Diet is important: Bloody Hell, I actually agree with one of your points!

5-6 days a week: Without splits is completely pointless, and even then 3 times a weeks should be more than enough until you split weights from cardio.

If he's trying to lose weight and get toned up, then I'd be eating properly and focusing on finding some cardio that I enjoy and can therefore stick to. I'd then do a routine 2-3 times a week that involves compound exercises as mentioned by a previous poster.

Edited by _DeeJay_ on Wednesday 25th November 03:29

[bales]

Alexdaredevilz said:

if your trying to achieve for arguments sake a bruce lee toned body, u want to be doing 12x4,
if u wana look like arnie and go large with big bulk, you want to do 8x4

_DeeJay_ said:

I doubt Arne did an 8x4 routine, though you're right in that more reps and less weight will build smaller muscles (which isn't a bad thing)

Can I just ask where this myth is perpetuated from, sets of any significant weight i.e 60%+ of 1RM at 6+ reps actually promotes hypertrophy so you will get bigger muscles from doing lighter weights more reps.

Doing very heavy and only 2-3 reps is what builds strength but doesn't necessarily increase size.

Your program looks fine for your aims, you don't need to start using free weights yet as your body isn't used to weight training, once you have lost the weight and your body has become used to the training then swapping to free weights would be a good idea.

[_DeeJay_]

bales said:

Alexdaredevilz said:

if your trying to achieve for arguments sake a bruce lee toned body, u want to be doing 12x4,
if u wana look like arnie and go large with big bulk, you want to do 8x4

_DeeJay_ said:

I doubt Arne did an 8x4 routine, though you're right in that more reps and less weight will build smaller muscles (which isn't a bad thing)

Can I just ask where this myth is perpetuated from, sets of any significant weight i.e 60%+ of 1RM at 6+ reps actually promotes hypertrophy so you will get bigger muscles from doing lighter weights more reps.

Doing very heavy and only 2-3 reps is what builds strength but doesn't necessarily increase size.

Your program looks fine for your aims, you don't need to start using free weights yet as your body isn't used to weight training, once you have lost the weight and your body has become used to the training then swapping to free weights would be a good idea.

What I said was that I'd concentrate on cardio and lots of repetitions. Given his goals, I'd personally do lots of reps as that will aid weight loss and increase muscle endurance and tone. If his routine was, say, 20 reps of relatively light weights then I'd argue he wouldn't increase muscle size as much as doing sets of 6 reps for example.

Attempting to increase strength with very few heavy weights seems at odds with what he's wanting to achieve?

[bales]

_DeeJay_ said:

What I said was that I'd concentrate on cardio and lots of repetitions. Given his goals, I'd personally do lots of reps as that will aid weight loss and increase muscle endurance and tone. If his routine was, say, 20 reps of relatively light weights then I'd argue he wouldn't increase muscle size as much as doing sets of 6 reps for example.

Attempting to increase strength with very few heavy weights seems at odds with what he's wanting to achieve?

I didn't say any of your other comments were wrong, just that both of you made reference to the fact that lighter weights and more reps means that you don't build muscle - this seems to be a commonly held belief which isn't actually true, obviously it depends on the exact percentages and reps. But in general higher reps i.e 6 to 8+ at around 60-80% of your 1RM promotes muscular hypertrohpy.

This is why weightlifters/powerlifters in their training very rarely ever lift more than 4 reps and why body builders would do sets of 10+ on certain exercises. Their is a big difference in the appearance of a weightlifter and a bodybuilder for these reasons.

I didn't suggest he should increase his weights I even said at the end that I thought his program was fine.

[t84]

Thanks for the help guys.

I do have the time to go 5-6 times a week, but I'm aware rest is as important as the actual exercise, I think splitting Cardio from weights would be a good thing but I was advised to do weights first in my program as I wouldn't burn as much fat doing the Cardio first (Or words to that effect!)

Thanks again,

T

[bales]

t84 said:

Thanks for the help guys.

I do have the time to go 5-6 times a week, but I'm aware rest is as important as the actual exercise, I think splitting Cardio from weights would be a good thing but I was advised to do weights first in my program as I wouldn't burn as much fat doing the Cardio first (Or words to that effect!)

Thanks again,

T

2-3 times a week will be more than enough if you are just beginning and you are absolutely right about rest being just as important! The actual sessions are where you break down the muscles the rest periods are where you actually get stronger so therefore potentially more important, i.e at your stage it would probably be more beneficial to have a rest day if you are feeling weak/achey than going back to the gym.

Also as with any exercise, but I think especially weights, try and get into the routine of stretching. So many people hit the gym hard and then 12 months later realise they have lost a great deal of flexibility and it takes even longer then to get it back. They then get injured and it becomes a vicious circle of frustration and then injury as you are desperate to get back to where you were and over train!

[Firefoot]

I think your overall plan looks fine to begin with, it is certainly along the same lines as the trainer at my gym teaches for beginners.
The only thing I would say is that you need to get above 60 - 70 reps on the bike at level 5 pretty quickly. I do 25 minutes interval cycling varying between level 5 and 9 at a minimum of 95 reps which provides a good workout.

[Maxymillion]

Alexdaredevilz said:

free weights are much better

cardio's for fat people

instead of x3 id def go for x4

if your trying to achieve for arguments sake a bruce lee toned body, u want to be doing 12x4,
if u wana look like arnie and go large with big bulk, you want to do 8x4

also diet is very important, you wana be going 5-6 days a week

Edited by Alexdaredevilz on Tuesday 24th November 22:59

Edited by Alexdaredevilz on Tuesday 24th November 23:00

Yeah...don't listen to this person, they know precisely wk all.

[t84]

Firefoot said:

I think your overall plan looks fine to begin with, it is certainly along the same lines as the trainer at my gym teaches for beginners.
The only thing I would say is that you need to get above 60 - 70 reps on the bike at level 5 pretty quickly. I do 25 minutes interval cycling varying between level 5 and 9 at a minimum of 95 reps which provides a good workout.

I found level 5 piss easy, I'm on 8 at the moment doing about 80-90 for 15m

[Matt_N]

Is that program for one session or is it being split down into different days?

Thats quite a lot to be doing in one session if it is.

[t84]

One session!

[Matt_N]

t84 said:

One session!

Blimey, I think Id die doing all that.

I split my weights and cardio up into different days, and then subsequently my weights into different muscle groups.

Gyms will often not recommend a split routine for weight lifting if your a beginner, but as you progress and your strength increases I would look to split it up into a 3 day split, exercising just two muscle groups per day.