Blunt

I know a few of you go to the gym alot.

Do any of you guys have any good workout routines you could pass on to me??

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tikki

Here is my current routine. I don't do a leg workout because my knees don't like it. I just do impact-free cardio 4 days a week instead (HIIT).

Day 1

Dumbbell Incline Press 2x9-11
Close Grip Chins 2x9-11
Flat Dumbbell Flies 2x9-11
Wide Grip Pull Downs 2x9-11
Decline Barbell Bench Press 2x9-11
Seated Cable Row 2x9-11

Day 2
Seated Dumbbell Press, Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raises, Front Dumbbell Raises 3x3-6 (superset)
Skull Crushers 2x9-11
Incline Dumbbell Curls 2x9-11
Dips 2x9-11
Hammer Curls 2x9-11

Blunt

Thanks alot!

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Mael

what are you trying to do? put on muscle, hard core body build, lose weight, gain strength?

lemz

Mael's right... it all depends on your goal... the BEST thing to do is to get a personal trainer... the time you gonna need with one depends on your previous experience at a gym... and how much you actually KNOW about working out. when i first started last october i got one for a month and a half... yeah, it IS expensive, but it's an investment in yourself. But he helped me ALOT. Now i actually have a basic understanding how muscles work, basic nutricion knowledge and all...

for example, my current goal is cardio and drop some body fat a long the way to get a small six pack. i'm on a second month into my DAILY routine. 10-15 minutes basic weights and abs workup plus 30 minutes on a bike. I eat oatmeal for breakfast and i noticed that a can of coke classic and a mars bar about an hour before workout give me quite a boost. This routine dropped me about 8lbs in the last month... and that's considering that i already had 11% body fat, I'm now at 10% and seeing muscles on me i never thought i had LOL

tikki

Totally agree there. My two years of personal training in High School helped me immensely when I transitioned to working out on my own in college. I am now fully able to deal with my nutrition wisely, make my own workouts, and even offer advice to some friends about things.

Blunt

Lose some weight accually, and gain turn it into muscle.


Right now
i'm doing like 40 minutes of cardio every day
and each day i'm switching the part of body i work on
yesterday was arms
today was chest
tomorow will be legs i think.


and then i take one day off of the 7 day plan.

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stinkynutz

I, personally, trying to go for the cut, slim look. i'm almost there, just needa better abs.

i run 3-6 miles (depending on how bad my sheen splints are) 3 times a week. in between, i do this:

- Triceps and Chest one day because they are complementary muscles. That includes doing Incline Bench Press, Flat Bench dumb-bell press, cable flies, cable pulldowns for triceps, reverse curls/pulldowns for triceps, dips, then the sitting chest press for a "complete muscle failure."

- Next day I do Biceps and Back b/c they complement each other just like triceps and chest do. simply do bunch of different curls for the biceps and rows/pulldowns for back and stuff. finish off with a burn out on my biceps just like i did for chest to the point where i cant even curl 10 pounds.

- Another day i do legs: squats, extensions, hemies, calves.

- then maybe on a sunday i'll do shoulders and treps.

try to do abs here and there. i just really slack off on those cuz i HATE doing abs. always feel like i'm gonna vomit ...ugh...but gotta do it.


that's bout it

tikki

Sounds like you are over training my friend.

Cut the cardio to about 20 minute of HIIT and only do it on days you are not lifting.

Lift for about 30-45 minutes three days a week. Split it however you like. Do your abs three days a week as well. I do abs on my cardio days usually.

Pop that in with a healthy diet, and you will be set.

Sun Tzu

How much time do you have to spend?

Under the muscle confusion principle its optimal to change your workout every 8-10 weeks anyway.

A runner gets better (lowers their time) because the body has gotten used to the amount of stress being put upon it. The anaerobic/aerobic threshold takes long to cupple thus the naggin pain in the side subsides, legs go further without aching, and so on.

In weight training you actually (injuring) your muscles in a sense. This is why the soreness is sometimes present. You spend whatever amount of rest time (varies) recovering from the stress. The muscles grow in size and are able to handle the same stress better thus you go up in weight. This continues until a plateau is reached: the maximum amount of weight that can possibly be lifted for that particular exercise (naturally), or lean mass growth reaches its peak. the plateau happens because the body has gotten better at whatever particular workout you've bestowed upon it. It takes fewer muscle fibers than it did when starting the work out. If the goal is size this is not what you want.

JUst as the body has grown accustomed to the workout you probably have a comfort level in, changing things up (done in many ways) throughs it back into a state where its forced to use a maximum percentage of it physical tools. THis means you'll be sore more often. Its a good day when you learn to love the pain.

The problem is most people dont give their body adequate time to rest or stretch out everyday. Remember your size is coming from when you rest not when your tearing it down.

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Blunt

But won't cardio lose the weight, and thats what I am looking on doing the most, weight lifting is just there because I can do it.

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tikki

Weight lifting won't hurt you. It's a great form of cardio.

Blunt

Hmm, I think i'll just keep going as I am.

I'd like to look someone better for when I go back to school in less than two months.

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Sun Tzu

The higher percentage of lean mass to fat ratio you have the faster and mroe effecient you will lower your fat percentage. I think thats the big key here also.

If you look at this in terms of losing weight: in the long run it could be counterproductive. Have you ever seen anyone thats skinny, but still flabby?

If someone is losing weight, but actually doing it through breaking down their muscle tissue while they're fat stays the same can give a false sense of accomplishment initally. One advice I will give you is how your measuring your progress.

Dont just use a scale.


Get skin fold calipers
nylon tape measure
scale

if your fat percentage is going down and your lean mass increasing, you may gain some weight, but its good weight which in turn will help you burn fat

if you fat percentage stays the same or even increases and your lean mass decreases, but you loose a few pounds your not going in the right direction I assure you, it will eventually backfire causing a great deal of discouragement.

Weight training will help you burn fat.

If you do your weight training routine first 30-45 minutes intense training your burning glycgen, and tapping into energy you have gotten if your hopefully have eaten some complex carbs (not simple carbs)

then do your cardio after; guess what your using as fuel to power through that session?

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Blunt

What i'm trying to get it at is for me to lose some of this flab. Not accually read thinner on the scale, but look better..


Do you have any routines you could share that could help me lose some of the flab?

Even better if it shows GREAT results in a few months?

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Sun Tzu

Doing something is better than doing nothing, but if you like allot of guys I know (including myself) the goal is to put on size while lowering the fat percentage. To do this in the least amount of time (meaning weekly) possible because we have so many other things to do. Therefore finding the optimal routine to do in the amount of time possible.

Working out is only half the equation; your eating habits are every bit as important. The third part to this is consistency; without that element you’ll make gains and lose them, make gains and lose them; kind of like spinning tires in mud.

How many days a week do you have to work out?
How much time in a day?
Are you an early riser? Or more of a night person?
How much do you weight?

If you can go to GNC or Hi Health and get some cheap skin calipers ($5-$6)
Get a cheap cloth tape measure.
If possible buy a book that breaks down food in to calories, fats, carbs, proteins (they’re usually really thick-if you can’t buy check one out from the library. They’re invaluable because your able to design your diet according to foods that you will eat. There’s nothing like paying $350 to have someone put together something for you and literally hate everything on the menu-setting up for failure.

Chart what you eat for three days (don’t change anything, just jot down what a normal three days is for you)

If you can do those things, I’ll take the time to work with you. (I’m qualified; I used to get paid for this until I changed professions)

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Loup

This is a split full-body routine that is designed to strengthen your core.

BB = Barbell
DB = Dumbell
SB = Swiss Ball

Split A
BB squat
BB deadlifts or DB split stance lunge*
SB twist
DB's and SB around the world w/ DB's
Push-ups on SB
Pullover on SB w/ DB
Bicep*
Triceps*

Split B
Snatch w/ DB
Multi-directional lunge
Squating lat pulldown
Bent over BB row or seated row*
SB shoulder press
Push-ups on SB
Dips
Bicep curls with cables

* Mix up the exercises used to keep your muscles guessing
You can add ab exercises at the end of each split if wanted, but it shouldn't be needed.

This is just a plan to give you some ideas. If it's the first time lifting weights, start slow and focus on the correct posture/movements. That's how you build your structure - too many people just throw on heavy weights and cheat on the lifts. All they are doing is cheating themselves and increasing the chance of an injury. Best of luck with your goals.

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Blunt

Sun Tzu - Thanks alot for all the help man, I'm going to Edmonton in a day or two, so i'll pick up some of those things while i'm down there.

To answer your questions..
How many days a week do you have to work out? 5-6
How much time in a day? 2 hours
Are you an early riser? Or more of a night person? night person
How much do you weight? 165

Djp - Thanks alot too, for those splits, do you rotate them every day? and take the odd day off each week or what? How about cardio?

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Loup

Blunt, I would suggest Split A, off, Split B, off, and so on.
As for cardio, I am active enough in sports so I don't worry about it all too much. On my off days though I will put in a 15 minute run.

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"If you cannot lift the load off another's back, do not walk away. Try to lighten it."
~ Frank Tyger