Getting fit this summer

Come on, KC, you have to at least give Trader_J credit for giving a real response to something. It ain't normally in his nature, and should be encouraged. Maybe he'll do the same thing in D&D sometime.

 

This thing is a blast. $3 at a garage sale for my kid. I play with it more than him. You can work up a good sweat.

 

Alright all you experts out there really need to help me out. I work out about 3 times a week and do alot of different machines, but I have plateued for a while now. Here's what I do (same thing for each day):

Bench, 3 biceps excercises, 3 tricep, 3 shoulders, 3 abs, flies machine, squat, and cleans.

This is a lot but it usually only takes about 75 mins. Anyways I really haven't seen any results or moved up in weight for a while now. I'm sure you guys can find a million different things wrong with this so let's hear it.

 

If you want to bulk up your legs, try running or a stationary bike.
Also try sprinting, this activates your fast twitch muscles and thus you get more defined legs, calves and arms. Ever wonder why these Olympic runners are so built?

 

If you want to take the next step, you should switch to free weights instead of using machines. Dumbbells are better than bars. You should split your workout days so that each day you work on a different set of muscles that way you can maximize your workout. Overall, you have a decent workout. I don't know your exact body condition so I can't suggest anymore than what I have said.

 

do you have fat you want to lose all over or are you a little pudgy in the middle and skinny everywhere else? i ask cause unless you have the ideal body type, gaining all that muscle while at the same time losing that amount of body fat is either impossible or close to it. i can help you if you give me an idea of your body type, such as weight and bodyfat level(if you know it).

basically if you've never lifted weights any kind of strength training routine you choose(provided you do the excercises correctly) is gonna give results. the problem is that you're gonna plateau very quickly or show less than the maximum progress if you don't have a correct plan for your own body. for instance the plan T_J set out, while maybe perfect for him, would do little to nothing for me. though the excercises he used are all things you should incorporate. also forget about the machines completely. they only isolate the individual muscle and don't use any stabalizers which are key to mass muscle gain. even as a beginner, start out with the free weights and learn the proper technique.

 

like martian man said, first drop the machines. focus on free weights and you can also use the cables.

working out 3 times a week 75 minutes each time is perfect but you don't want to be doing all those things the same day. that's a very bad idea. you only need to work out each body part ONCE a week. i can't stress that enough. your muscles are built when you're resting not when you're working out. if you don't give your muscles enough time to heal than your workout is basically for nothing which is probably why you've plateued for so long. i noticed you don't have any back excercises in your current workout which is also bad. it's as important as working out your chest or your legs and if you're doing it properly it works out your biceps enough to were you only need to do a small amount isolation work on those.

this is the bare minimum layout of what you should do but it's a good general guideline no matter what you're body type.

day one - back workout followed by a little isolation bicep work

day two - zero weight training

day three - chest workout, shoulder press, lateral raises followed by isolation tricep work

day four - zero weight training

day five - leg workout

rest a couple days then back at it from day one. the only excercise your doing everytime you're at the gym is you're ab workout. also if you're a small guy trying to add alot of muscle you're not going to get anywhere without eating a significant amount of calories and protein each day.

 

In Martian Man's case he should definitely shift from machines to free weights, but this is not the case for everyone. If a free weight exercise gives you trouble it's better to use the machine then not do it at all. For an individual looking for a basic workout there is nothing wrong with circuit training on machines.

When your core (abs) muscles are weak many other exercises become more difficult -- so plan on doing sit-ups or leg lifts etc. I recommend one of those big exercise balls for ab strengthening -- better for the back and it just feels great to stretch (arch) over them between reps.

 

Focus on the major muscle groups. The bigger the muscle group the more calories that musccle group will burn fat even when not working out.

Starting out suck it up and don't let your pride get in the way. Do lots of reps (12-15), which means lower weighs. Turn you body into a fat burning machine.

After you work out eat a lot of protein within 45 minutes (good protein bar or a shake can do the trick) because protein helps the muscles grow. Also eat 5-6 smaller meals 3 or so hours apart. That will keep your body going and therefor continu to burn calories.

Watch your diet. That is the easiest way to see results. Consult a trainer on how many calories you should be taking in. I'm still trying to cut weight and I'm on 2000 calories/day. Not as bad as it seems. I get my eggs (one egg and 3 egg whites) for breakfast. I also include some green peppers and onions in there. Throw in a apple before lunch. Workout at lunch time. Have a Premier 8 bar afterwards. Have some more fruit mid-afternoon (apple, etc), then have large dinner (usually like a 12 inch Turkey sub from subway). Finally I have an Apex (hi protein) cookie for a 7:30 snack. Finally I am really hooked on the fruity water (Flavor Splash, etc) it really helps me out with cravings for sugar.

Now I do cheat on occasion. If I'm working in the yard I'll have a beer and alot of times on the weekends I'll have several beers. Also if I have the opportunity to have a great meal, I won't just do a salad. So I have a plan of 2000 calories/day and I stick with it 6/7 days (or so) but I don't beat myself up when I mess it up.

 

I'd like to add that listening to your diet is the best way to hear results.

 

Alright all of this sounds good, but I just have one question. At first you said that 75 mins. was an ideal time to work out, but with your plan (even if I added a couple excercises), it would still only take about 30 mins. So where does the extra 45 mins go to?

 

That is normal (*cough* weak *cough*) for some people. Dumbbells and benching the bar is not the same thing. Benching 35 pounds on each hand with dumbbells is probably equivalent to benching 130-150 pounds. Dumbbells are always harder than benching a bar, so you really can't compare. In the long run, using dumbbells are better because they work more muscle groups. I remember I switched to dumbbells and I could only do 60-65 lbs. But then I got up to 80 lbs each hand. Then I switched back to the bar, and suddenly I could bench 40 pounds more on the bench because all my stablizer muscles got stronger. It's your choice.

 

you're totally totally wrong man. there is no general guideline about how much weight you should lift. not at all. if your max right now is 5 pounds then lifting that will make you stronger and get you to 10 and so on. see what i'm saying? don't worry at all about how little or how much weight you can lift. the only thing that matters is that you have the proper form. it is pretty weird that you're lifting more on the incline that your regular bench though. id check to make sure you're doing it properly.

definitely consider changing your routine so that you're not working two of your biggest muscle groups on the same day(chest/back). it's just more stress on your body and alot less effective than breaking them up. most people do chest/shoulders/triceps the same day because your triceps are given enough work during your compound excercises that you don't have to worry about so much isolation work on them. the same idea applies to doing your back and biceps on the same day.

like i was saying before it's very difficult to put on significant muscle while trying to lose a significant amount of weight. it's hard to give personal workout advice over the internet because i don't know exactly how your body responds and what your diet is but i'd suggest focusing on just one of those things first, probably the fat-loss. get your fat level down a little bit with the cardio and focus your weight training on proper form before you start the real heavy lifting at which point i'd cut back on the cardio.

 

i don't know what excercises you're doing or how much time your resting in between each set. i don't want to use clutch's space to type up my workout routine here on the bbs but if you're interested email me and i'll give you more help. chiefmhs@yahoo.com

feel free to do the same aggierocket.

 

For something different, you might try a long set of "hindu" pushups and squats, with some bridges - as promoted by Matt Furey in his Combat Conditioning products. You might Google the terms "hindu pushups" and "hindu squats" and you'll find more.

The push-up is just a rolling motion, starting in downward dog and rolling down and forward through crocodile to up dog, then back to the start. Sounds easy? The first one is. After 20 you'll be pretty tired. It engages the whole body - not just a targeted muscle group. Same with the "hindu" squats. It's a rolling motion up - like a wave from forward bend, with hands on hips, bend knees and roll up, lifting head and neck and chest and to back bend, then drop again. Requires you to engage your core to keep balance. Follow with some half-eastern bridges or full bridges and you've gone through a quick morning workout that will build overall body tone and burn some fat.

I also like yoga some days, the full stretch and quiet mind I get following my dvds is good. Working with an abs ball is good sometimes, and then dumbells, as mentioned above. This is all stuff I do at home. I'm going to do some more now that you've motivated me.