Analyse my routine

[DamianBPhoto]

Hi all, I have just started the gym and been reading all the forums and websites and have created a routine and would like some criticism on it.

I have marked down my first two trips and planned out the rest of my visits. I plan to do it 3 times a week.

First trip arms, Second legs and then Third arms again. I need to work out my leg workout so that will put into tomorrow.

For my third week I plan to try intervals to shock my muscles then apply free weights. Need to work out how much I can lift first before I feel those bits in. But so far how does it look?


In Microsoft Office Excel 98 format.
http://damianblades.co.uk/picture/WOR.xls

[mcelliott]

DamianBPhoto said:

Hi all, I have just started the gym and been reading all the forums and websites and have created a routine and would like some criticism on it.

I have marked down my first two trips and planned out the rest of my visits. I plan to do it 3 times a week.

First trip arms, Second legs and then Third arms again. I need to work out my leg workout so that will put into tomorrow.

For my third week I plan to try intervals to shock my muscles then apply free weights. Need to work out how much I can lift first before I feel those bits in. But so far how does it look?


In Microsoft Office Excel 98 format.
http://damianblades.co.uk/picture/WOR.xls

I'm a bit confused... you've made no mention of chest or back? These are integral parts of any workout. Also, don't get too hung up about training arms - twice a week should be more than sufficient. If you concentrate on your chest and back, a decent amount of muscle could be packed on to the arms anyway. It's not rocket science, just keep the "exercises" basic, don't overtrain each muscle group and don't neglect your diet. Not sure if there is any scientific evidence in shocking muscles to make them grow.

[Animal]

Damian,

What is your goal? This will determine what your workouts look like. Quick question though: why do start with a light set, then move to your heaviest set then decrease the weight for your remaining sets?

[DamianBPhoto]

Animal said:

Damian,

What is your goal? This will determine what your workouts look like. Quick question though: why do start with a light set, then move to your heaviest set then decrease the weight for your remaining sets?

I really want a more filled chest, shoulders and arms with a toned back and abs. I don't want to go for the body builder look.

Well my first two trips where to just get a feel for the gym again and get myself back into the swing of it. But generally I thought stepping the weights up and down would make my muscle work harder because they wouldn't be able to get use to the weight.

[Animal]

OK, what are you like at the minute:

Age/build?
Any injuries?
Have you always had regular exercise?

[DamianBPhoto]

Animal said:

OK, what are you like at the minute:

Age/build?
Any injuries?
Have you always had regular exercise?

21/medium build/athletic?
Only my ankle when I was 8, sprained it.
I have kept up regular exercise, biking, swiming, golf, badminton, squash, table tennis, weights propably 10 times in a month? Less of recent due to weather.
At work I lift heavy weights to so not adverse to exercise.

[Animal]

Try this:

Monday
Squat (or Leg Press) 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Leg Extension 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Leg Curl 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Supermans 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Hanging Knee Raises (or Leg Raises if you can) 3 sets of 6-10 reps

Wednesday
Bench Press/Chest Press 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Close-Grip Pressups 3 sets of 15-25 reps
Side Bends 3 sets of 15 reps

Friday
Deadlift 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Wide-Grip Pullups 30 total
Upright Row 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Seated Dumbbell Curl 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Crunches 3 sets of 20 reps

A Couple of Rules of Thumb:

1) Start with the largest muscle groups and work towards the smallest
2) Start with compound exercises (e.g. Deadlift), don't put these at the middle or end of your workout
3) For muscle growth a rep range of 6-10 reps is considered the most productive. You should choose a weight that allows you to complete 6-10 reps with strict form: if you can't manage 6 reps then the weight is too heavy; if you get to 10 and can manage rep #11 then the weight is too light. After a good warm-up start with your working weight and keep with it for 3 sets (unless you need to go heavier or lighter)
4) Eat!

HTH,

Animal

[DamianBPhoto]

Animal said:

Try this:

Monday
Squat (or Leg Press) 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Leg Extension 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Leg Curl 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Supermans 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Hanging Knee Raises (or Leg Raises if you can) 3 sets of 6-10 reps

Wednesday
Bench Press/Chest Press 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Close-Grip Pressups 3 sets of 15-25 reps
Side Bends 3 sets of 15 reps

Friday
Deadlift 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Wide-Grip Pullups 30 total
Upright Row 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Seated Dumbbell Curl 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Crunches 3 sets of 20 reps

A Couple of Rules of Thumb:

1) Start with the largest muscle groups and work towards the smallest
2) Start with compound exercises (e.g. Deadlift), don't put these at the middle or end of your workout
3) For muscle growth a rep range of 6-10 reps is considered the most productive. You should choose a weight that allows you to complete 6-10 reps with strict form: if you can't manage 6 reps then the weight is too heavy; if you get to 10 and can manage rep #11 then the weight is too light. After a good warm-up start with your working weight and keep with it for 3 sets (unless you need to go heavier or lighter)
4) Eat!

HTH,

Animal

Cheers for the advice. Down there tomorrow so will give it ago. But what do I do about cardio? is it something I do or leave out?

How long do you think it will take to see results with this routine?

I have a few quibbles, I might struggle with the close grip push ups and pull ups, anything to try as well whilst I build up strength for those exercises?

[Harry Flashman]

Animal - liking that routine, considering it.

I like my arms and chest though, and this would mean less focus on the bicep/tricep isolation exercises, and on delts. Is there enough there to keep them nice and touchable by wimmins as they are now, or will they be sacrificed for better all over stuff?

Have nice shoulders, chest and arms at the moment, but my legs are neglected and goal of a bit more fat loss means some more heavy leg exercises, right? But want to keep my chest and arms...

I mean, some of your exercise are just once a week. Is this enough? Have been training each muscle group twice a week (and have admittedly plateaued)

[Animal]

Damian,

Remember, my suggestion was just a guide - if an exercise isn't working for you then don't do it!

The close-grip pushups will be easy, don't worry. Make sure your hands are beneath your shoulders (or a little narrower) and keep your elbows by your sides. If you're having trouble with the pullups (i.e. can only manage 3 or 4 at a time), then drop that total target to 15 or so. If you're really having trouble then start by jumping up so that you're starting at the top of the movement and then lower yourself slowly (the negative portion or a rep). Do 10 or so of these and keep at it until you can do the full pullup (positive and negative portions) and build from there.

Try arranging your workouts like this:
Cardio (10-minute warm-up)
Stretching
Weights (60-90 sec rest max. between sets)

If, after this, you have more time then you can certainly do some cardio. As a guide, high intensity/intervals for fitness and lower intensity cardio for fat loss. If time is a factor then you can always have a very short, very intense cardio piece, e.g. burpees or star jumps against the clock or a fast 1-mile run.

You should have results every workout, but I would guess that you should be seeing results after 4-6 weeks, provided you're doing everything right.

Harry - My suggestion for Damian was based on what I gave to a friend who was starting to use a gym: simple, quick and hopefully covering all bases without being too taxing for someone who was new to regular exercise.

If you're a bit more advanced, and can handle the frequency how about a 4-day split working the whole body twice a week? If you can only make 3 times a week but cna handle more volume then yeah, why not throw in some more isolation work. However, the great thing about being a beginner is that you can't help but grow even from doing just a few exercises - as long as you're training hard enough to trigger growth.

Best,

Animal

PS - I should point out that I'm not a qualified fitness instructor nor do I work in that industry, so would suggest to anyone starting a gym routine that they refer to an instructor first. Also, always check you're using correct form!

[mcelliott]

Harry Flashman said:

Have nice shoulders, chest and arms at the moment, but my legs are neglected and goal of a bit more fat loss means some more heavy leg exercises, right? But want to keep my chest and arms...

No amount of heavy leg exercises will burn fat. The best way is to incorporate aerobic exercise into your routine, and of course cutting out all the crap from your diet.

[okgo]

Looks like a lot like the one I posted. Which is basically Frankies NY Mass routine from muscletalk.co.uk. It works.


Rest is important, and I reckon doing the three days a week with rest inbetween will be more than enough.

Edited by okgo on Wednesday 10th February 19:17

[okgo]

mcelliott said:

Harry Flashman said:

Have nice shoulders, chest and arms at the moment, but my legs are neglected and goal of a bit more fat loss means some more heavy leg exercises, right? But want to keep my chest and arms...

No amount of heavy leg exercises will burn fat. The best way is to incorporate aerobic exercise into your routine, and of course cutting out all the crap from your diet.

Of course you cannot get rid of fat on any spot, apparently, it just comes off where the body sees fit, with cardio. But I found cycling toned my legs up a lot, and I lost a couple of inches on each one, whilst building muscle.

[Halb]

mcelliott said:

Harry Flashman said:

Have nice shoulders, chest and arms at the moment, but my legs are neglected and goal of a bit more fat loss means some more heavy leg exercises, right? But want to keep my chest and arms...

No amount of heavy leg exercises will burn fat. The best way is to incorporate aerobic exercise into your routine, and of course cutting out all the crap from your diet.

Everything burns fat. If you throw in lunges, squats, side squats, split squats, front squats, back lunges, overhead squats, romanian deadlifts and olympic lifts your heart rate will increase and you'll get in some good workouts.

This looks interesting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pfx_WOgttY
Still yet to incorporate this into my month
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WOP9J7QPwI

http://stronglifts.com/cardio-fat-loss-hiit-vs-lon...
http://stronglifts.com/cardiovascular-fitness-aero...
http://stronglifts.com/for-the-last-time-strength-...

[Harry Flashman]

mcelliott said:

Harry Flashman said:

Have nice shoulders, chest and arms at the moment, but my legs are neglected and goal of a bit more fat loss means some more heavy leg exercises, right? But want to keep my chest and arms...

No amount of heavy leg exercises will burn fat. The best way is to incorporate aerobic exercise into your routine, and of course cutting out all the crap from your diet.

Oh no - understood - I cross trainer half an hour every weekdayday and bike to work (although not at the moment due to me being a pussy about the weather).

Trouble is, I just can't lose that last bit around the middle. I have a flat(ish) stomach - actually saw a six pack in the summer, but was not drinking at all, and eating bugger all. Not the way I wanted to live. I like weekend beers too much. To be fair, I watch what I eat during the week. But I'm a little podgy at the moment around the stomach/love handles due to neglecting the gym. Would like to build a routine that deals with that extra 4kgs or so as quickly and healthily as possible.

It's just that I have neglected the big exercises (squats etc). Now I have naturally big legs, and don't want them bigger. But I had heard that neglecting exercising them meant not releasing enough testosterone, and not maximising fat loss potential. Or is this complete rubbish, and I can carry on traing my upper body and relying on the cycling etc to keep my bottom half trained?

Remember - I have no goal to be huge, nor to be enormously strong. I just want to be reasonably fit, and look good when on the pull.

Edited by Harry Flashman on Thursday 11th February 12:49

[Halb]

Harry Flashman said:

Oh no - understood - I cross trainer half an hour every weekdayday and bike to work (although not at the moment due to me being a pussy about the weather).

You may wish to read this.
http://stronglifts.com/for-the-last-time-strength-...

[bales]

Halb said:

Harry Flashman said:

Oh no - understood - I cross trainer half an hour every weekdayday and bike to work (although not at the moment due to me being a pussy about the weather).

You may wish to read this.
http://stronglifts.com/for-the-last-time-strength-...

Hmmm....I agree with parts of that and it probably is true that it does increase fitness...in terms of the fitness required to lift weights.

I have always been told that specificity is the key, so squatting will get you fit for squatting and running will get you fit for running.

The question is for the average bloke would they get the same increase in cardio fitness in terms of a basic fitness test i.e running/cycling/walking as they would from a basic cardio regime including the above activities.

I'd stick with a good mix of everything personally.

Edited by bales on Thursday 11th February 14:05

[Halb]

I think ultimately to get better at one thing, you need to do that thing and accept no substitutes. But Auxiliary exercises can also help. I get a running magazine and it routinely says how a runner should work on their core. I don't really need to add extra exercises as my core gets worked from the lifts I perform.

I have never done Olympic lifts before last November, but I am impressed mightily with how powercleans make me work, I feel more tired with these xplosive movements than that static strength movements. I am going to add other lifts on one off days in the month, like the bear, squat press, overhead press and bent press etc.

I have read that strength work can help runners. In my ETK book Pavel explains how runners who use his KB training system got stronger. I don't know. But I can only practise and train. I like to mix it up as well and do a bit of everything with 5x5 and running as my core, and adding other bits and pieces alternating thru the month.

[bales]

Halb said:

I think ultimately to get better at one thing, you need to do that thing and accept no substitutes. But Auxiliary exercises can also help. I get a running magazine and it routinely says how a runner should work on their core. I don't really need to add extra exercises as my core gets worked from the lifts I perform.

I have never done Olympic lifts before last November, but I am impressed mightily with how powercleans make me work, I feel more tired with these xplosive movements than that static strength movements. I am going to add other lifts on one off days in the month, like the bear, squat press, overhead press and bent press etc.

I have read that strength work can help runners. In my ETK book Pavel explains how runners who use his KB training system got stronger. I don't know. But I can only practise and train. I like to mix it up as well and do a bit of everything with 5x5 and running as my core, and adding other bits and pieces alternating thru the month.

Yeah I agree with all of that, I think its the 'core' activity that you need to do to improve in your chosen sport to 90% of your ability but its the supplementary 10% of different things that can elevate you above average.

I know that a lot of distance runners don't like doing weights but I think the ones that do have that extra tool that gives them the edge over the ones that just bang out the mileage.

Olympic lifts are good for getting you out of breath though, I do sets of 6 reps in the clean of approx bodyweight and that proper gets me gasping for breath for a minute or so after!