Best work out + turn around time

[DamianBlades]

Hi, I try and do the fitness thing by lifting weights to build strength and shape but I dont get much results so I tend to go off it.

I have two routines done every day at the moment.

Routine 1,
100 bicep curls reps of 20 followed by 100 chest pushes(dumbbells) reps of 50; Weight : 6kg


Routine 2,
100 overhead flys reps of 20 followed by 100 "head crusher's" reps of 20; Weight : 6kg

Now I do the routines every other day

s m t w t f s
r1 r2 r1 r2 r1 r2 r1

but I am not seeing any real results. does anyone have any good routines to build size and strength in the shoulders, arms, chest and back with an idealistic time to get results?

[Nardies]

Dude, if you want strength you're going the wrong way about it, in my opinion anyway.

You should be looking to build from the core, i.e back, glutes, abs and such. Having deadlifts, squats and lunges in your routine is a must if you want stability. This combined with the like of chest flies, and whatever shoulder exercises you fancy should see you be able to increase your weights.

I spent ages in my youth just doing bench press and arms, as such screwing up my posture as my core is so weak!

[Zip106]

7 days a week training?

I'd hazard a guess at over training.
Your muscles don't grow whilst you're training, but whilst you're resting.

Also, what about your legs?
Two of the biggest muscles in your body (quads) need to be trained to get all that blood pumping around.

And you need to up the weight.

Edited by Zip106 on Sunday 6th December 21:23

[ewenm]

Fitness or strength?

Fitness comes form cardio, strength from weights (body or free).

[Stevenj214]

3 or 4 compound exercises, 3 sets x 8 reps, every other day. Done.

[Lost_BMW]

DamianBlades said:

Hi, I try and do the fitness thing by lifting weights to build strength and shape but I dont get much results so I tend to go off it.

I have two routines done every day at the moment.

Routine 1,
100 bicep curls reps of 20 followed by 100 chest pushes(dumbbells) reps of 50; Weight : 6kg


Routine 2,
100 overhead flys reps of 20 followed by 100 "head crusher's" reps of 20; Weight : 6kg

Now I do the routines every other day

s m t w t f s
r1 r2 r1 r2 r1 r2 r1

but I am not seeing any real results. does anyone have any good routines to build size and strength in the shoulders, arms, chest and back with an idealistic time to get results?

But what is it that you a really after? Fitness, health, longevity? Speed, useable strength and power; some sports specific training? Or size?

To be honest with such high reps, frequent workouts and light weights I'm not sure you could expect to 'see' much of a difference but it might be making you fitter assuming they ranges do get your heart rate 'up there'.

[jasperwade]

DamianBlades said:

........
100 bicep curls reps of 20 followed by 100 chest pushes(dumbbells) reps of 50; Weight : 6kg


Routine 2,
100 overhead flys reps of 20 followed by 100 "head crusher's" reps of 20; Weight : 6kg

...

that's one of the funniest routines i've ever seen.

What are you trying to achieve?

To build muscle you need to lift heavy.

You also need a protein rich diet and plenty of rest.

3 sets of 10.

Do compound exercises.

Three days a week is fine.

Try a back day, a legs day and a arms day, say mon wed fri.

Monday do legs, start with squats, then extensions, then hamstrings then calves.

Wed chest/triceps.
Bench press, incline press, dumbell press, etc. Then biceps. Perhaps hammer curls, ez bar curls and cable pulls.
Then triceps, dips are best, plus rope pull downs

Fri back/shoulders
Dead lift
pull downs
shoulder press.

Most you should do is three separate exercise per muscle group. If you can do 10 you're lifting too light. you should start to struggle at 7-8.

[tricky69]

DamianBlades said:

Hi, I try and do the fitness thing by lifting weights to build strength and shape but I dont get much results so I tend to go off it.

I have two routines done every day at the moment.

Routine 1,
100 bicep curls reps of 20 followed by 100 chest pushes(dumbbells) reps of 50; Weight : 6kg


Routine 2,
100 overhead flys reps of 20 followed by 100 "head crusher's" reps of 20; Weight : 6kg

Now I do the routines every other day

s m t w t f s
r1 r2 r1 r2 r1 r2 r1

but I am not seeing any real results. does anyone have any good routines to build size and strength in the shoulders, arms, chest and back with an idealistic time to get results?

hmm sounds a bit like a girls work out to me... i.e. looking to get lean and not put on any muscle - if thats your aim great, but maybe try and vary the work out a bit so your body doesn't get used to it, and get some cardio in there... and don't do it every day

However if you are looking to increase muscle then there are a few options for you.

I would suggest first working on building your core ( massive buzz word at the minute but for good reason ) Start by getting pushups, situps and maybe pullups in there. If they are easy (i.e. you can do 5 pullups, 25+ pushups and 25+ situps) then maybe look to more of a full body workout. So do a routine that has pullups and pushups in but also deadlifts, lift and press and some kind of bench press and abs work. Also important to get some more protein in your diet to aid muscle growth.

ideally you want to do 3/4 hours a week of good strong weight training and 3/4 hours a week of cardio. If you don't see results after a few weeks maybe think about speaking to a personal trainer

[DamianBlades]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Additional information

What I am looking for - I want more toned muscle so you have shape without flexing. Dont want a massive boy builders body but at the same time increased strength.

All I have is free weights and no other equipment or gym pass.

I use to work on trolleys so my legs are quite sturdy along with my core and now I stand all day at my new job which I hear is good for the core and back?



My next steps

Make a new routine up out of your advice.

Increase weight - Does anyone know of a good place to go get it to? Got 8kg an extra 8kg from Tesco yesterday and it didnt fit my bars.

Get a pull up bar.

[clonmult]

Pull up bar would be good, but you can get an equally good workout with the weights you already own.

One thing I haven't tried for years that seemed to work at the time was "superslow" - taking considerably longer over each rep.

And on the biceps, doing a seated alternate arm curl, hold the "resting arm" with the weight at the shoulder position - that can apparently give good gains, as the muscle isn't getting the same time to rest between reps. Today was my first attempt, but after using a few kg less than normal I was getting a much better "burn" from the workout than I've previously got from any biceps session.

[Animal]

try www.sshealthfoods.co.uk (or is it .com?) - they've always given me good prices and prompt service.