EDIT: Long post is long. Just a warning, some of my remarks are tongue in cheek.
Some initial questions that will probably help develop some suggestions and critique:
Are you a guy or a girl? ( I am assuming a guy otherwise you have a really strong upper body)
What is your height, weight and age?
Do you have any prior injuries or other circumstances that may affect your training?
Did you just start working out or do you have prior experience? If so how long have you been working out?
What are you training for? Is this connected with some other sport activity or martial art?
Is the primary focus getting bigger, I. E put on some weight and muscle? Or is the intention to lose weight perhaps?
Do you want to get bigger, stronger, faster or a combination of all of the above?
For the purpose of this post I am assuming you are a rookie.
If you're working out in a proper gym do you have access to trainers that can show you the ropes?
JLV, on 20 November 2011 - 01:59 AM, said:
Usually I don't do the same routine, but I'm going to put this here as a personal note that I can add to so I don't forget.
I need help with what to fill in my workout with, and advice on existing things if you see something wrong.
My first suggestion would be to pick a programme and stick with it for 6-8 weeks. See what it is doing for you. Maybe change it up or choose a new programme after that. Doing different exercises or reps every time you work out is not a good idea when you're just learning the basics. Muscle confusion which is what you're toying with is only advisable when your body and mind has matured to a level where you're in peak condition and know your body's strengths and weakness.
JLV, on 20 November 2011 - 01:59 AM, said:
Monday:
10x3 Chest press 220lbs (+10lb asap)
10x3 Tricep pulldown 150lbs (+2 reps asap)
10x3 Tricep pulldown machine 180 - 170 - 160 (Maintain 180 asap)
10x3 Hammer Curls 35 lbs (+lbs asap)
8x6 Pullups/Chinups alternating (Maintain all 8 more often asap)
10x3 bench press 180 lbs (+lbs asap)
Like the other guys mention above your programme is all fucked up. You're training secondary muscle groups before primary ones and using machines where you should be using free weights and all in all the priority of the muscle groups are jumbled.
I'm not sure what chestpress is but I'm assuming it's a machine? Ditch that bitch. I can see you have benchpress on there. That is going to be your main chest exercise from here on in, do it with a barbell or a dumbbell.
I am not sure what a triceps pull down is either but I bet it is some kind of pull over machine am I right? Not a bad exercise but once again I would do that one lying on a bench using a heavy dumbbell.
Drop the hammer curls they put too much emphasis on your forearm and not enough on the actual biceps.
Good to see you doing pull ups instead of using a machine but you want to train something like your chest and back before you train your triceps and biceps since the latter are just the muscles that assist your bigger muscle groups which we for ease of understanding with name your back, thighs and chest.
JLV, on 20 November 2011 - 01:59 AM, said:
Tuesday:
10x3 Chest press 220lbs (+10lb asap)
50 pushups - 50 crunches - 50 situps - 20 triangle pushups - 30 each of two other ab exercises that I don't know the names of - 30 decline situps, left side, 30 right side, 30 middle, 10 reps in ab machine, 80lbs. Repeat circuit x3 (Less breaks asap)
First of all if you're doing 50 proper push-ups you must be one strong and skinny motherfucker which is a good basis to work on.
Second of all you've got waaay too much volume in there. Quality over quantity is what you want to strive for when working out. Your lower back and abs and obliques, what I would call your "core" does not need to be trained any differently than the rest of your body, meaning less is more. When you can do 10-20 of something, like a sit-up for example, it is time to work on how fast and controlled you are doing the concentric and eccentric movement, add some weight by picking up a plate or a sandbag, etc. You also want to stick with just a few exercises that target specific areas or purposes. For example for my core, all I train is "decline sit ups" with a sand back on my chest where I make certain to go all the way down and all the way up, hanging leg raises with a sand bag, back extensions with a sand bag. I don't do much more than 2 or 3 sets for 15 reps. That's it. The crazy thing about abs is that they actually need very little work. Studies show that about 2 months of heavy training and your abs reach a physical peak where they don't really grow much stronger or bigger with out excessive training.
Also fuck crunches. What a stupid exercise that is.
JLV, on 20 November 2011 - 01:59 AM, said:
Wednesday:
Legs day. I don't have any idea what to do. I usually do back exercises and some leg machines because I don't know any good exercises.
You are at risk of turning into one of those curl bros you see on the beach with massive arms and chests but no legs to speak off. When in doubt sweep their leg for massive damage.
There are two leg exercises that you need to acquaint yourself with, the Squat and the Deadlift. These are two of the best and most effective exercises at your disposal for building muscle and strength.
The problem however is that they are also two of the more difficult exercises to master. BUT MASTER THEM YOU SHALL! If you are training in a proper gym ask an instructor to show you how to do them. If there isn't any instructors around look around for an old gym rat who knows his shit and ask him if he'll teach you. If, like me when I was starting out, there is no instructor and there are nobody around squatting or deadlifting, look to the internet and let youtube be your guide and for the love of god start out light and work on your form before you begin lifting heavy.
Also what ever you hear, always squat deep. Ass to the grass is a mantra you need to learn.
JLV, on 20 November 2011 - 01:59 AM, said:
Sat/sun: No lifting. Is this bad? I could find time on most Saturdays, but not Sundays.
Any helpful comments?
You don't need to train every day to get bigger or stronger. Less can be more. It depends on your programme and what your body can handle. What you need to remember is that your body doesn't become stronger or bigger while you are in the gym, it does that when you are resting. The more time you spend between training sessions the more time the body has to recuperate. The trick is finding out how much restitution you need. For example right now I am training a 3 way split programme where I train from Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday are resting days. When I begin my next programme I will be doing full body work out and as such I will only be training Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I will be doing some cardio and stretching exercises Tuesday and Thursday instead but effectively my body is only being pushed hard 3 days a week.
Okay, lets try and figure out what kind of programme you might be interested in. I'm going to out line 3 different options that you might be able to use as a beginner. I am sure that other will have some different input. Always remember that nobody reacts the same way to a programme or specific exercises. What you need to learn, and this takes months and years not days or weeks, is what works for you and how you like to train. But for the time being you should stick to some basic principles and some tried and tested methods that pretty much anyone will benefit from when they are just starting out.
Okay first of all you need to understand that the body consists of some major muscle groups and there are some very specific exercises that are very good at training these muscle groups.
To make things simple you can put it like this. There are 3 areas. Your quadriceps, your back and your chest/delts. These three areas are by far the strongest masses of muscles meaning they can move the most weight and recruit the most power and exert the biggest strain on your body overall. There fore you want to focus on these groups primarily. Everything else is aesthetics and assistance work.
Your back is used to lift and pull things, to do this it usually gets assistance from a secondary muscle group your biceps. There fore when you train, you train your back first and then you finish off with biceps exercises. If you even want to bother with that. Unless you are a bodybuilder there is never any reason to train more than one or two exercises for your biceps, it already gets plenty of action when it is recruited to help your back lift heavy weight.
Your chest and shoulders are used to push things away from you and lift things over your head. To do this it usually gets assistance from the triceps. Like the biceps there is not really much need go overboard with training triceps but just a side note, it is your triceps, the back of your arm, that makes your arm look big, not the biceps.
Your quads, the front part of the thigh is, the single biggest muscle groups of you body. Those are the one you use to rise up when your are squatting on your haunches and when you extend your leg while sitting down. But your lower body consists off all kinds of other major muscle groups namely your hamstrings on the back of your leg. Your glutes (that's your ass, and yes you want to train it) and your calves. To have over all synergy in your bodies strength and fitness it is important that you put as much attention to leg training as you do the rest of your body since your leg lets you recruit the biggest amount of strength you can muster.
Okay
Now, I am going to assume that you A) Have access to Barbells and dumbbells and B ) You're not afraid of trying some exercises that are going to test your co-ordination.
The reason why you want to use free weight over machines is that they also train your balance and coordination. Machines are for old people, the infirm and pussies.
-------------------------------------
Example 1: A full body workout.
You train your whole body in one go. You do this maybe two or three times a week. When you're training a full body programme you need to be effective in your selection of exercises. You need to chose compound exercises (exercises that target multiple muscle groups) that hit the entire body effectively.
It might look something like this:
Squat: For your quads, glutes, hamstrings, lower back, calves, core
Overhead press: For your shoulders, chest, triceps, triceps, core.
Deadlift: Similar to the Squat but now you're focusing on your back instead of the thigh and you're recruiting your whole back, traps and forearms,
Pull-ups: For your whole back, biceps, forearms, traps, shoulders.
Or maybe
Squat
Benchpress
stiffleg Deadlift
Barbell row.
In just 4 exercises you have hit the three major muscle groups several times.
If you think this is too simple you can always tag on some additional exercises like some dips or barbell curls for the arms. Or some leg curls or leg extensions of the legs. But over all you're hitting the entire body with very few exercises.
----------------------------
Example 2: A 2-split programme
Here you are trying to hit the entire body in two days giving room for more specialized exercises. Usually you'll train something like Monday-Tuesday, break, Thursdy-Friday, weekend break, begin again.
Usually people might split the body into front and back. So for example you might train something like this.
Day A:
thighs:
Squat,
Leg extensions
Shoulders and traps:
Overhead press
High pull
Chest and Triceps:
Benchpress
Dips
Skullcrushers (or if you don't like those, try doing bent over triceps extensions using a rope while resting your elbows on a bench for a kind of isolation)
Day B
Back and hamstrings:
Deadlift
Legcurls
SUDDENLY FOR THE HECK OF IT: Walking lounges until you puke although I prefer to do those with my quad work.
Back and biceps
Pull ups/Pull downs
Barbell rows.
barbell curls (Never with an EZ-bar, fuck your wrists)
Abs and lower back and maybe some calves.
Again if you want you can throw in some extra work here and there. Like some lateral raises for the shoulders. Some flies for the chest. The walking lounges for your ass, etc.
------------------------------
Example 3: A 3 split programme.
Now we're getting into bodybuilding territory. I've personally always preferred the 3 day split but I was also something of a curl monkey when I was younger. I've never seen a reason to split the body up into more than 3 groups though
When you're splitting the body into 3 days you have lots of room to get into details and do concentration work.
You'll usually train three days straight and take a break or maybe train from Monday to Friday or Saturday and then take a break and start again Monday.
It might look something like this:
Day A:
Chest and Triceps:
Benchpress
Dips
Flies
Pullover
Triceps extensions
One arm reverse grip triceps extension.
Day B:
Back and Biceps
Deadlift (regular or stifflegged)
x <-------- Maybe throw in some good mornings here if you're feeling frisky.
Legcurl
(Notice that I keep throwing hamstring training in with my deadlifts, this is a personal preference I've settled for because especially stifflegged deadlift uses the hamstring heavily and you don't have to put it in on your main leg day)
Pull-ups preferably with some extra weight added
Rows, dumbbell or barbell.
One arm cable pull downs.
Barbell curls
Isolated one arm dumbbell curls
Reverse grip barbell curls.
Day C:
Leg and shoulders
Squat
One legged leg press or Walking lounges
Leg extensions
Calves
Military press
One arm press
High Pulls
Maybe some lateral raises or shrugs.
Throw in some ab and lower back exercises on alternating days.
--------------------------------------------
These are basic exercises that will work for pretty much anyone. Next you need to decide how many sets you want to go for and how many reps.
More reps (15-10) means you'll be going for endurance and hypertrophy. Lower reps (8-4) means you're going for strength and hypertrophy. That doesn't mean that you're not getting all of the above what ever you chose, you're just going to get more of one than another depending upon you rep scheme.
Notice one thing, even with as many exercises as I put in the 3 day split programme. I did not put in many exercises that mimicked each other. When I did it was usually a one arm or one leg variant. There is no reason to train the same exercise twice. For example there is no point in doing a barbell benchpress and then next doing a dumbbell or machine benchpress. Not unless you decide to do one incline and the other decline for example. Or a bent over barbell row and then a rowing machine. It's about attacking muscle as effectively as possible from various angles with fewer exercises. That way you can put more effort in where it really matters.
EDIT: Another edit here. Keep in mind I am only preaching what I know. For example I have only given you programmes using "static movements" because those are the ones I use. I know for a fact that people get a lot of good results out of more explosive stuff namely Olympic lifts and their assistance work, things like Power cleans, Clean and press, snatch and pull, etc. Unfortunately I have no experience with them and can't recommend you anything other than seeking out somebody who knows something about them. I know I plan to eventually.
This post has been edited by Aptorius: 20 November 2011 - 07:55 PM
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