Basically, plus making sure there's balance in opposing muscle groups. A muscle needs to lengthen well, not just shorten, to be strong. I think sometimes what is seen as a plateau, is just the muscle shortening so much it can't perform as forcefully anymore. It's like a rubber band, you want to load it up first by lengthening it, if you want it to snap forcefully.
I've got bad knees, slowly using eccentric exercises to build them back up before going too hard on the squats.
Would this be a good schedule? Mon - wed - fri - Chest, Shoulders, Calfs, Cardio (running a mile or two w/ incline decline) Tues- Thurs - Sat - Bicep, Triceps, Hamstrings, Abs
No...you dont want to lift with the same muscles 3 times a week. Unless you're doing light lifting for aerobic purposes, it's just going to hurt you. One day of rest isn't enough. Muscles get torn up when you lift and need time to repair, otherwise you're going to get hurt and/or not see good gains. I think you've got some problems with grouping the right muscle groups. To keep it simple focus on these movements: Horizontal push (bench, etc) Horizontal pull (rows, etc) Vertical pull ( pull ups, lat pulls, etc Vertical push (military press, etc) Glute/ham dominant (dead lift, etc) quad dominant (squats, etc) Try something like this Monday- HIIT Tue- Horizontal and vertical push wed- glute/ham dominant and quad dominant thur- horizontal and vertical pulls fri- HIIT sat- off sun- off don't worry too much about abs and calves....abs will come with lower body fat and calfs are overrated. It's a beach muscle, looks good, but you're better off using your time doing more than calf raises. Plus, a lot of people don't realize the gastrocnemius muscle (calf) also helps with knee flexion, so calf raises aren't the only way to work them out. You're activating them with other movements too.
no. divide your body into 3. LEGS + CHEST + BACK. these are the 3 major muscle groups you have to train. when you train chest, you are also training shoulders in some ways and definitely triceps. you cant work on your back without using your biceps. Monday -Legs (1 major compound exercise) like squat, leg press. 3 sets x 5 reps each set. -Chest - bench press, or a solid machine substitute like hammer strength flat bench. 3x5. -Back - a row exercise like barbell row or machine substitute. 3x5 Wed -Legs (1 major compound exercise) like squat, leg press. 3 sets x 5 reps each set. -Shoulders - standing overhead barbell press. I don't like to substitute for this exercise. This builds core strength also aka..ab work. 3x5 -Back - a row exercise like barbell row or machine substitute. 3x5 Friday Same as monday. I pretty much gave you a basic version of the starting strength program. Do cardio on your off days IF YOU REAAAAAAALLLY WANT TO. I do low intensity fasting cardio earling morning. HIIT is hard to recover from when you're in a calorie deficit and strength training. you may find that's not the case. i prefer LISS cardio.
^^^^ I'm not sure that he's going to get the gains he wants working out his whole body 3 times a week. I think that would work best for someone who just wants to be generally fit, as that is closer to a circuit work out. Perhaps he can start with that, if he feels he needs to perfect his form, but i think he's going to eventually need to cut back to something similar to what i posted. If he's trying to gain muscle, like he mentioned.
the goal is to get stronger. depending on his calorie intake he will put on muscle as he gains strength. look up bill starr 5x5, madcow, starting strength, stronglifts and see who is making gains before you dismiss it. beginners and intermediates are the best candidates for fullbody 3x a week workouts.
and it's not circuit. he is resting 2-3 mins between his sets. the key is to give your 100% to each of those 3 exercises every time u hit the gym.
The most important part of this is your calorie intake. Don't fill up on empty calories or you will get fat + muscle which will make you big but it won't make you look toned or defined. Also to answer your question cut first, then start adding on muscle after that. Remember once you start doing heavy weightlifting you are going to intake calories like crazy.
So just 3 days.. full body workouts.. and only 3 different workouts? One workout for each body part?. And when you workout in the morning.. do you eat before you go workout?
you made this thread wednesday... how many times have you worked out since then? if it's zero then the least of your worries should be what routine to use.
But muscle development isn't based solely on calories and workout, but also rest. I'm not necessarily dismissing the routine entirely, but questioning if it's right for the OP. Beginners, especially young males who are not monitored, have a tendency to over do it with weight amounts. I would be worried he would try to push too much too soon each time, which may set him up for injury at 3 times a week, since the muscle would be worn out too much. You've go to crawl before you walk. He can always change it up later. yeah, nevermind that comment, i didn't see the rep suggestions at first..
Alright, I'm going to start a routine today. I'm going to use the one Sajan gave me for 2 weeks and see how it feels. Then if it doesn't work, I'm gonna go with RV6.
Sajan, can you quickly tell me.. DO I only do 3 workouts a day? NO more.. And no bicep or tricep workouts?
Correct. You should be done in like 30-40 min. If you've never done squats before, you should definitely read up/youtube proper form. Even better, get a trainer at the gym to show you how to properly do one.
http://www.jcdfitness.com/2008/11/starting-strength-a-beginners-strength-training-program/ And when you get a chance read about ****arounditis by Martin http://www.leangains.com/2011/09/****arounditis.html You don't need to switch routines every 2 weeks. How the fk are you going to know if a routine is working in that short period of time? Start out with lower weights, PERFECT your form, and slowly add weight during each workout. Work on your diet. There's wayyy many things you should be focusing on right now than switching routines every 2 weeks.
