BF2S Forums Workout Programs & Diet

flattered lol

im flattered

Jaekus wrote:

Sure man, as a beginner I'm quite flattered you'd even think to ask!

I got some MAN - Scorch caps yesterday. Quite a buzz, early days so no review yet, but at least for me they seem to be doing pretty well. Trying to burn off gut fat so we'll see how it looks in a month (yes, my diet is *mostly* good)

As far as shoulders go, seated Arnold presses, seated reverse flyes, standing side lateral raises and standing front lateral raises give me a GREAT workout, along with standing upright DB rows to work the traps (barbells work well here too, as well as cables, but I don't have easy access and DBs feel good to me so I'm sticking with it for the time being). I'm not sure if my technique is perfect on the front raises though, as after each set I tend to feel some muscle pain with the newly increased weight (started on 2.5kg 2 months ago, now on 5kg and getting stronger). Should I be pulling my shoulder blades back whilst doing this exercise, to retain proper form?

Feeling great with it all. I feel like a reformed smoker in the fact that I'm failing miserably at explaining all the advantages to a good workout and nutrition program without sounding like a smartarse, lol. Had a lot of good comments recently, about how much better I'm looking. Nowhere near ripped, but anything that's a confidence boost is a sign you're on the right track.

You contribute more to this thread than most others, so I thought I'd ask.

Seated arnold presses are fantastic, but fact is that the simple military press (which you missed out!) is the best for big shoulders. Seated or standing, whatever you choose, but that is the best exercise for nice shoulders.

And actually, lateral raises don't make your shoulders particularly big, they tone a small part of the lateral deltoid, but as far as a storng exercise for shoulders I'd put it very low on the list. They feel great, but they're actually not even close to a good shoulder workout. The reason for this is that the movement you do with them is a very strange movement for the body to do with a weight on it, so you feel like you're really burning them, when in fact you're only making them a bit more toned (there are several books about this, Tom Venutos explains this). I actually stopped doing them and concentrated on presses, arnie presses and upright rows.

Good to hear you're progressing well man.

got back to gym after a long break which i was sick and busy with the holidays

it feels good!, although i'm in not shape that i was before, my form sucks right now.
i hope to catch up in 2 weeks or so

For my back/bi/forearms day, I don't have access to machines for back exercises, so I use free weights. I'll post and those more experienced can offer suggestions for improvements for others (and me!)

Back:
BB Deadlift (great compound exercise, everyone should do these) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … l-deadlift
Reverse Grip Bent Over BB Rows (I have been doing the palms-over ones, I'll give these a shot this coming week. I don't recommend doing these directly after the deadlifts as they put strain on your lower back. So let it get some rest whilst you do another exercise, like curls) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … -over-rows
One Arm DB Rows http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … mbbell-row

Biceps:
Zottman Curls (work your forearms well too) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … ttman-curl
Incline DB Curls (I find the incline works the muscles harder. I also do them simultaneously instead of alternately) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … bbell-curl

I would do concentration curls too but I find after these two exercises my biceps are exhausted, so I move onto my forearms.

Forearms:
Palms-Up DB Wrist Curls http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … er-a-bench
Palms-Down DB Wrist Curls http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … er-a-bench


I typically do this routine in this order, to give the focused muscle groups a break between sets. They're still worked as secondary muscles though, so they stay warm.

Warmup (cardio, 3-5 minutes or whatever breaks a light sweat)

Deadlift
Zottman curls
BB rows
Incline curls
One arm DB rows
Wrist curls (superset both palms-up and palms-down)

Stretch
Recovery shake

Last edited by Jaekus (2011-01-09 00:07:05)

My chest/tri day (which is tomorrow) goes like this.

Again, I use my own home gym I've been building up, which consists of a barbell, dumbbells, flat bench, incline bench, squat rack and door pull-up bar, which I also use to do push ups with.


Chest:
BB Bench Press (if there's only one chest exercise you will do, this should be it) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … edium-grip
Incline DB Presses (incline chest exercises work more of the upper chest than flat exercises) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … bell-press
DB Flyes http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … bell-flyes
Incline DB Flyes (again, works more of the upper chest) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … bell-flyes
Push Ups (there's a few variations. I use a pull up door frame bar on the ground so I don't strain my wrists. If you find these too easy you can elevate the feet for more weight) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … me/pushups

Triceps:
Tricep DB Extensions (similar to Skullcrushers) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … -extension
Bench Dips (I elevate my feet using a milk crate, this is a pretty hard one for me right now) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … bench-dips
Tricep DB Kickbacks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/d … l-kickback


The order I do them in (still working it out tbh)

Warmup

Push ups
Bench press
Bench dips
DB flyes
Incline DB presses
Tri extensions
Incline DB flyes
Tri kickbacks
DB flyes (flat)

Stretch
Recovery shake



Just a couple things off the top of my head...

From what I've been reading and through my own (limited) experience it's always better to do your big compound exercises first, after a good warmup. If you lift heavy then a couple warmup sets of reduced weight (around 50% of a working set is decent), but assumedly you'd already know this too. Mainly because the compound exercises use more energy. Then you put your isolation exercises towards the end of your workout to really hit those muscles with whatever you have left. I've also found swapping from, say a chest exercise to a tricep exercise and back again allows those muscle groups to get a bit of rest. They're still worked as secondary muscles (such as in push ups) but since they're not the target muscle they can still recover so you can hit them hard again.

Pay attention to your body. It should burn and you should strain to get those last couple reps out, but it should not be painful. If it is you're likely to be using incorrect form, and this is where people injure themselves.

If you're starting out it's better to go a little too light than a little too heavy, no matter what routine you are following. You can always up the weights a bit next time you workout, and going lighter allows you to focus on adopting perfect form, which is way more important than trying to lift the heaviest weight you can (until you have good form of course).

Finally, no workout plan is complete without a good nutritional plan. If you want to change your body (which I do and am) you can't be half arsed about it. Zimmer's guide (check his link on the previous page of this thread) has some amazingly good information that is essential to know and understand if you want to see results.

If there's anything I'm incorrect about, tell me. I'm still just a beginner and I'm trying to learn as much as I can. I still have a looooong way to go to get where I want to be, but I've made the commitment and will not look back. As the saying goes, if you want to know how the next 5 years of your life will turn out, look at the last 5 and change nothing. In the past 5 I've simply gotten fatter and less fit. So I'm making a change and will get there eventually.

Last edited by Jaekus (2011-01-09 06:27:22)

Wow that sucks bro. Maybe it's time to build up one at home? I've managed to score some pretty good gear for a good price looking at second hand classifieds. Bought the squat rack and barbell brand new though.

Ah I forgot sorry. I guess it's either go to the other gym or find one further away. In the meantime you can still do some workout I guess (push ups, dips, pull ups) but I can imagine it must be pretty frustrating.

Jaekus wrote:

Ah I forgot sorry. I guess it's either go to the other gym or find one further away. In the meantime you can still do some workout I guess (push ups, dips, pull ups) but I can imagine it must be pretty frustrating.

Meh, I suppose I'll be going to the gym further down the street, but I haven't heard much good (nothing, really) of it.. We'll see.

My gym is still open for the rest January.

This is making me feel sad tbh, the owners were such nice folks..

If he can't pay the rent already, why would I be able to :p

I think I'm trying to push myself too hard. I had to quit my routine early just now. Got through push ups, bench dips, bench press, skullcrushers and incline DB bench press. Then tried one rep of incline flyes and my left shoulder pinched with pain. Didn't want to push it and strain something. Might cut back on the number of exercises in one day as I'm probably over doing it.

Ahh yeah. My first couple leg days made me walk funny for a whole week at a time. Now I'm good, still feel a little tight in the calves from Friday though, and slightly in my quads.