Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5418|Sydney
Lucky you. I only moved up to 37.5kg in plates yesterday. I could do more but I wanna take it slow, especially because I only have a rack and not a cage. Plus I've still got a looooong way to go

Just did my HIIT. Option was sleep in a little or do that. Glad I did it but I'm feeling fairly fucked right about now.
pirana6
Go Cougs!
+691|6530|Washington St.
added 10 lbs to my bench press today. went down from 10 reps to 8 but it feels good, especially knowing Ill be able to work up to 10 again soon.

hurray for progress
Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5418|Sydney

pirana6 wrote:

added 10 lbs to my bench press today. went down from 10 reps to 8 but it feels good, especially knowing Ill be able to work up to 10 again soon.

hurray for progress
Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5418|Sydney
Upped a couple weights today, absolutely loving this routine I'm on, feelsgoodbro.awsm
PrivateVendetta
I DEMAND XMAS THEME
+704|6431|Roma
Think I'm going to have to get some 1.25Lb plates, it's too much to increase by 5lbs for the Overhead Press.
Anyone else finding it tough already on 5x5 for the Press?
https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/29388/stopped%20scrolling%21.png
m3thod
All kiiiiiiiiinds of gainz
+2,197|6911|UK
just be careful guys how much you stress your muscles and espically skin.  up the weights slowly and in a controlled manner.  Allow the skin to adapt around the growing muscles.

Its pointless have all these muscles when the skin has been torn to shit.  Stretch marks are not cool.
Blackbelts are just whitebelts who have never quit.
nukchebi0
Пушкин, наше всё
+387|6563|New Haven, CT
I've altered my workout schedule. This is the old routine:

nukchebi0 wrote:

Here is my current program (thanks Jaekus for the 5x5 suggestion, but I have time to go to the gym everyday and need to):

Monday: Legs, Shoulders, Abs
Tuesday: Chest, Biceps, Abs
Wednesday: Back, Triceps, Abs
Thursday: Cardio/Sprint intervals, Plyometrics, Abs
Friday: Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Bicep Curls, Tricep Extensions, Abs
Saturday/Sunday: Rest one, repeat Thursday on the the other

I'm doing 4 sets with reps of 12, 12, 10, 10.

How does it look? Any suggested modifications to splits, sets, or reps?
Here is the revision:

Monday: Legs, Shoulders, Abs
Tuesday: Chest, Triceps
Wednesday: Back, Biceps, Abs
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Squats, Deadlift, Cardio/HIIT, Plyometrics, Abs
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Bench, Cardio/HIIT, Plyometrics, Abs

Again, how does it look? Any recommendations for plyometric exercises that don't require the use of a box, seeing as neither my residential college gym nor Payne Whitney (the main gym) have them?

Also, I'll enumerate specific exercises once I have the splits set.
Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5418|Sydney
Have you thought about a full body workout instead? I only ask because now I'm doing one I find it to be really good. Hit all my main muscle groups 3x a week and yet not so hard that I need extra time to recover.

Just a question really.
Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5418|Sydney

PrivateVendetta wrote:

Think I'm going to have to get some 1.25Lb plates, it's too much to increase by 5lbs for the Overhead Press.
Anyone else finding it tough already on 5x5 for the Press?
I bought some 1.25 plates the other day. I'm not doing the 5x5 program and are doing extra exercises on my workout days so I've decided to only up the weights each week. So far I'm still pretty light compared to some of you guys, but that's because I want to go slowly and focus on maintaining really good form to the point it becomes second nature. I certainly feel the stretch on my big compounds but nothing I can't finish all my reps on. I'd rather take it slow than rush it, do an injury and take even longer to recover.
nukchebi0
Пушкин, наше всё
+387|6563|New Haven, CT
Is it really as effective as grouping muscles on specific days?
Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5418|Sydney
It depends on your workout level. I tried a split for about a month or so but the more I did it the harder it became to complete. I did some reading up on it recently and it was suggested that for a beginner like myself it is best to do a full body workout for at least the first 6 months. Apparently this has been backed up with research studies, according to the reading I did.

I think it's because my body is still adjusting to the workout, so by doing 3-4 exercises for each muscle group on their day (which I was trying to do, but it was fucking hard when I started upping the weights a bit more) they get an intense workout and aren't used to recovering properly. I think with a full body you don't work them out as hard but you do work them evenly, so the body becomes used to it over time and because it's not so intense the recovery is better. When your recovery is good, you make gains. And it's much better to ease yourself into a routine than smash it from the start and nearly kill yourself, or so I'm led to believe (my housemate's new personal trainer seems to believe otherwise, she nearly threw up after their first session and could barely walk for a couple days).

I dunno, do some reading on it. This is one I found pretty useful to get a grasp on things - http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-ulti … t-routine/
Zimmer
Un Moderador
+1,688|6995|Scotland

nukchebi0 wrote:

Is it really as effective as grouping muscles on specific days?
If you're starting out then you're going by it the wrong way.

Jaekus is 100% right when suggesting full body workouts on days. You're doing far too much if you're a beginner.

In short: It's actually a LOT more effective for you to do full body exercises than to group muscles.

Explanation: Due to your body not being used constant weight training and workouts, it needs to be introduced to the routines carefully without pushing to advanced levels instantly. The reason for this is that your muscles just wont cope. You won't notice a great increase in strength or size because all you will be doing is hurting your muscles' development. You need to train your entire body to start with so that everything grows at a constant rate and your body is introduced to heavier and heavier weights. ONCE you feel you cannot gain more with full body workouts (I did them for over 8 months, and they're incredibly effective) then you switch to muscle grouping and do more concentrated workouts on specific muscle groups.

If you start off muscle grouping, all your muscles will do is get too tired too fast, due to them not being conditioned first of all to cope with such workout intensity.

To be successful at building muscle and working out, you need to start with small steps and lead up - that doesn't mean you won't see great improvements, but it means you need to start off at the beginner end and not dive in to muscle grouping and ridiculous 1.5 - 2 hour sessions.
Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5418|Sydney

Zimmer wrote:

nukchebi0 wrote:

Is it really as effective as grouping muscles on specific days?
If you're starting out then you're going by it the wrong way.

Jaekus is 100% right when suggesting full body workouts on days. You're doing far too much if you're a beginner.

In short: It's actually a LOT more effective for you to do full body exercises than to group muscles.

Explanation: Due to your body not being used constant weight training and workouts, it needs to be introduced to the routines carefully without pushing to advanced levels instantly. The reason for this is that your muscles just wont cope. You won't notice a great increase in strength or size because all you will be doing is hurting your muscles' development. You need to train your entire body to start with so that everything grows at a constant rate and your body is introduced to heavier and heavier weights. ONCE you feel you cannot gain more with full body workouts (I did them for over 8 months, and they're incredibly effective) then you switch to muscle grouping and do more concentrated workouts on specific muscle groups.

If you start off muscle grouping, all your muscles will do is get too tired too fast, due to them not being conditioned first of all to cope with such workout intensity.

To be successful at building muscle and working out, you need to start with small steps and lead up - that doesn't mean you won't see great improvements, but it means you need to start off at the beginner end and not dive in to muscle grouping and ridiculous 1.5 - 2 hour sessions.
Well said. And I can say from my own recent experience that the muscles would just exhaust too quickly once I tried increasing weight and reps. In hindsight I feel like I kinda wasted the first couple months there, but I did lose some weight and did get stronger, so I still have something to show for it. But for all intents and purposes I consider the proper start of my workout being last week. Ah well, you live and you learn.

Since I started the full body workout I designed for myself (after doing a lot more reading up on how to design a routine correctly), this past week has been really, really good. Just as I get to the end of each workout I feel like it really is just enough and I shouldn't go anymore, but I also feel I can safely take an exercise or two up a notch each time and am already noticing slight gains in strength. Or maybe I'm just not exhausting those muscles like I was and they want to go a little harder the next time, instead of the other way around. Takes approximately an hour, including a brief warm up at the start and a few stretches at the end.
nukchebi0
Пушкин, наше всё
+387|6563|New Haven, CT
It's not like I have never lifted before. I did so in high school, though not year round, and the routine above is based loosely on what we did then. I've gotten terribly out of shape in the interim, but my muscles have experienced strength training before. Does that alter your recommendation?

Edit: With that said, I am certainly not opposed to the idea of a full body workout rather than muscle grouping, I just want to make sure I am doing the proper thing so that my hard work is not wasted.

Last edited by nukchebi0 (2011-01-23 10:12:59)

Zimmer
Un Moderador
+1,688|6995|Scotland

nukchebi0 wrote:

It's not like I have never lifted before. I did so in high school, though not year round, and the routine above is based loosely on what we did then. I've gotten terribly out of shape in the interim, but my muscles have experienced strength training before. Does that alter your recommendation?

Edit: With that said, I am certainly not opposed to the idea of a full body workout rather than muscle grouping, I just want to make sure I am doing the proper thing so that my hard work is not wasted.
How long ago was high school, and how old were you when you were lifting?
nukchebi0
Пушкин, наше всё
+387|6563|New Haven, CT
High school was 2005-2009; I started lifting when I was 14.
Zimmer
Un Moderador
+1,688|6995|Scotland

Then you need to start from the beginning.

Your muscles are now fully developed and respond differently to exercise.

I went out of working out for 4 months due to a rotator cuff problem and went straight back to basics and built it up. It's like not running for a year and then trying to run 3 miles... your body just can't do it effectively or well.

Start with full body workouts and progress from there, or you'll see little to no improvement in your workout routine.
Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5418|Sydney
Thing with a full body workout is the intensity isn't as high, because you aren't doing a range of exercises to the same muscle in a workout. You typically only do one exercise per body part, but if you include a lot of compounds those muscle will still be worked as secondary muscles, making your workout more effective.

I'll do a breakdown of one of my workout days to explain what I mean. Zimmer, you know more about this and are much more experienced, so if I'm missing something I'd love some input.
I've basically taken the Stronglifts 5x5 routine, changed the sets and reps to 3x8 and added some new exercises. This is because my primary goal isn't to build strength, it's to build strength at muscle. Some of the reading I've done suggests (through studies) that a 3x8 routine builds more muscle than a 5x5, but not quite as much strength.


Routine:

BB squats
BB bench press
BB bent over row
BB calf raise
DB arnold press
DB zottman curls
DB tricep kickbacks


Squats: they're meant to target the quads, but a heap of other muscles are hit too - posterior chain (glutes, hammies), lower back, core, calvses, probably more than that. So it's best to do this exercise first as it hits the most muscles and takes the most energy as a result. I always do a warm up set of about 60% working weight after 3-5 minutes of a moderate cardio warm up.

Bench press: gives the muscle used in the squats a break. Targets your chest but your triceps are engaged too and to a lesser extent the shoulders and forearms.

Bent over rows: targets the middle back, but also engages the shoulders and biceps (because I use an underhand grip for this purpose), as well as the lower back, hammies and calves whilst you're stabilising.

Calf raise: this is mainly just calves, but I like doing this one for this purpose as I feel my calves don't get a good enough workout anywhere else.

Arnold press: mainly a shoulder exercise, I do these seated and it hits a lot of the shoulder muscles.

Zottman curls: mainly hits the biceps but also hits the forearms and I can feel it a little in my middle back.

Tricep kickbacks: mainly just the triceps, by this point I'm starting to get pretty tired so this isolation exercise is a good one to put at the end as it really only hits a small muscle group, so it requires less energy.


Make sense? I hit my main muscle groups which then get hit again later as secondary muscles. It takes what feels for me quite a lot of energy to complete but I can bounce back quickly from it, meaning my body is ready on my next workout day.

Also, the routine itself is designed to engage a range of movement to balance out other movements. For example, the bench press is a pushing movement, the bent over rows are a pulling movement.  The zottman curls an elbow felxion, the tricep kickbacks are an elbow extension. I know I'm missing a vertical pulling movement to balance my vertical pushing movement (which is the arnold press) but I don't have any lat equipment, and can't do pull ups yet lol.
nukchebi0
Пушкин, наше всё
+387|6563|New Haven, CT
Should I do the same set of exercises every time? When should I integrate cardio/HIIT/plyometric exercises into the week?

Edit: The linked article is very useful. I'll finish reading it and post a new routine, one which I think would be more optimal for my current physical condition and expertise with weight training.

Last edited by nukchebi0 (2011-01-24 05:45:29)

Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5418|Sydney
Yeah, that link for me really just put a lot of things into perspective and really helped me to see where I was going wrong previously. It just gives you an overall understanding of what to do and more importantly, why.
Hurricane2k9
Pendulous Sweaty Balls
+1,538|5941|College Park, MD
Did cardio today, 20m of the stationary bike but it was irritating my ass so I then did 25 minutes of the elliptical

feelsgoodman.jpg
https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/36793/marylandsig.jpg
pirana6
Go Cougs!
+691|6530|Washington St.
what kind of music do you all listen to when you work out?

I set up a playlist but it's getting old quickly.

Is there a good Pandora station I can throw on?
Hurricane2k9
Pendulous Sweaty Balls
+1,538|5941|College Park, MD

pirana6 wrote:

what kind of music do you all listen to when you work out?

I set up a playlist but it's getting old quickly.

Is there a good Pandora station I can throw on?
I usually just listen to a full album. Some days I put on some rough metal, other days it might be ska, and yet other days it might be something like Dream Theater.
https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/36793/marylandsig.jpg
pirana6
Go Cougs!
+691|6530|Washington St.

Hurricane2k9 wrote:

pirana6 wrote:

what kind of music do you all listen to when you work out?

I set up a playlist but it's getting old quickly.

Is there a good Pandora station I can throw on?
I usually just listen to a full album. Some days I put on some rough metal, other days it might be ska, and yet other days it might be something like Dream Theater.
I put on Smash - The Offspring the other day and it got me pumped as hell but I don't want to do that everyday cause I don't want to wear it out
Hurricane2k9
Pendulous Sweaty Balls
+1,538|5941|College Park, MD
that's a fantastic album.

If you don't mind harsh vocals then get the album Fortress by Protest the Hero. Mainly fast, upbeat songs that are still heavy enough.
https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/36793/marylandsig.jpg

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