17 replies to this topic

[health_nutty]

1 hour of ultimate frisbee 3x per week (think 1 hour of intervals)
45 minutes of running 0-2 times per week

Full body workout 2x per week (done in my home gym == power rack):
1 set of the following:
Bench press x 8 reps
Full Squats x 10 reps
Weighted Chinups x 8 reps
Sumo deadlifts x 10 reps
Weighted crunches x 8 reps
Seated press x 8 reps
Barbell curl x 8 reps

[Athanasios]

Very nice, looks like a good program. Fitness is a HUGE part of overall health, and am glad to see you taking care of that aspect. I wish there were more exercise regimens posted.

Have you thought of adding in some dips? I grabbed some rings from http://www.ringtraining.com/ to do mine. They work great on a power rack.

[shadowrun]

Maybe throw in a Back Row to hit your mid back - Deadlifts and Chin-ups hit my top and lower back - I throw in the Row in to get a burn on my middle back

Since your doing an arm exercise I would recommend a tricep movement to balance out your bicep movement (plus triceps account for more of your arm muscle mass if you want them to look bigger)

[DukeNukem]

One bit of fine-tuning...It looks like you're making a mistake practically everyone makes: sticking with the same rep range each workout.

I'll be brief here. Each time you workout, you need to alternate between a high-rep day (11-13 reps) and a low-rep day (5-7 reps). The idea is to use a weight on your final set of reps that will force you to reach technical failure within he rep range you're shooting for that workout (either high or low). Technical failure simply means that you cannot complete another rep using perfect form. You only need to do one set at this maximum weight, and your previous sets should be warm-up only sets of no more than 3-4 reps. (Another mistake most people making is doing too much volume in their warm-up sets, burning up a lot of precious energy that should have been saved for a heavier final set.)

High-reps and low-reps hit different muscle fibers, which is why you need to include them both in an overall workout.

Note that full-body workouts force you to lift considerably less weight overall. I strongly recommend splits such as a leg/arms day, and a back/calves/stomach day. It's beneficial to do legs and arms on the same day because if you do back and arms on the same day, for example, your arms will be pre-exhausted from doing the back exercises (rows, chin-ups, etc.) and therefore you will lift less weight for arms, and get less results.

There's so much more to proper workouts, but this is a good start.

[health_nutty]

Thanks all for the comments. I've read quite a bit about creating the optimal training routine and they differ quite a bit! I've read and tried the following: the Stuart McRobert's method, HIT, HST, and routines by Casey Butt, and Heavy, Medium, Light ala Tom Bourg. I made progress on all the routines, but none really stood out as being superior.

I before I had kids I took weight training very seriously for about 2 years. Went from 140 pounds to 185 (Unfortunately I gained more fat than I would have liked). Now that my kids are 3.5 and 1.5 and I have some time to dedicate to training again. However I need to keep it brief and about 45 min twice a week. Now I'm concerned more with overall fitness than gaining muscle, but being on the twiggy side some extra muscle would be nice.

[health_nutty]

Very nice, looks like a good program. Fitness is a HUGE part of overall health, and am glad to see you taking care of that aspect. I wish there were more exercise regimens posted.

Have you thought of adding in some dips? I grabbed some rings from http://www.ringtraining.com/ to do mine. They work great on a power rack.

Thanks for the tip. Based on what I've read, dips are slightly superior to bench for building muscle. However I like benching and have a longtime personal goal to be able to bench 200lbs. I've gotten at high as 185x5 in my peak (starting out at 70lbsx8), but now I'm practically starting over and can only bench 110x8 or so.

[health_nutty]

Maybe throw in a Back Row to hit your mid back - Deadlifts and Chin-ups hit my top and lower back - I throw in the Row in to get a burn on my middle back

Since your doing an arm exercise I would recommend a tricep movement to balance out your bicep movement (plus triceps account for more of your arm muscle mass if you want them to look bigger)

I think it would be a better routine to replace the curls with db rows, but I'm too wiped to do anything but curls at this point. As far as triceps work my bench and press hit them pretty hard.

[health_nutty]

One bit of fine-tuning...It looks like you're making a mistake practically everyone makes:  sticking with the same rep range each workout.

Note that full-body workouts force you to lift considerably less weight overall.  I strongly recommend splits such as a leg/arms day, and a back/calves/stomach day. It's beneficial to do legs and arms on the same day because if you do back and arms on the same day, for example, your arms will be pre-exhausted from doing the back exercises (rows, chin-ups, etc.) and therefore you will lift less weight for arms, and get less results.

There's so much more to proper workouts, but this is a good start.

Thanks for taking time to comment. The high and low rep range is a good suggestion.

I would consider doing splits, but this workout is more practical for my schedule.

[Shepard]

For general conditioning, I see no reason to do anything other than a full-body workout if you wish.

I'm going to disagree on the warm-up bit. Most people generally start out with too much weight instead of volume.

Regarding the rep changing schedule, it depends on your goals. If you haphazardly go around changing rep ranges for every muscle group every exercise, you're going to be limiting your potential gains. Although, again, if you're just going for general conditioning, it isn't going to matter that much.

[DukeNukem]

Shepard, my advice is for building strength and muscle, not general conditioning...I totally agree that a total body workout is great for overall conditioning, because, in effect, it's more like an aerobic/endurance workout (because you're diluting the focus of a purely anaerobic workout).

Varying rep range is absolutely key to maximizing muscle gains. In fact, more than that, significantly varying the entire program from workout to workout is perhaps the most underused, yet most effective way to maximize muscle gains. (We all fall in to ruts of doing the same stuff over and over, when we should make substantial changes EACH workout. The idea is to never let your body adapt to a routine--keep your nervous system surprised and guessing.) So, not only should rep ranges be changed each workout, but so the routine itself, machines (if used), and even grip positions.

BTW, I've read quite a lot about the actors who trained for the movie 300, and the lead strength coach for that movie created a program in which no one ever did the same workout twice, and was quoted saying something very similar to what I've already preached above. The fastest way to build muscle to to stay one step ahead of the body's quick adaption response.

Again, this advice is strictly for muscle/strength gains. Aerobics and conditioning is an entirely different topic.

[Shepard]

My main worry with changing rep schemes that often is conflicted adaptation responses that will hinder athletic performance. Although, I think they do play a part in a structured workout program with designated breaks/changes for specific purposes. I'm all for changing grips and exercises fairly routinely for most athletes, though.

But, from a long term health perspective, rep changes like that probably are a good idea from a psychological and hormonal perspective.

[health_nutty]

Duke, I'd love to see your routine.

[wayside]

To me, your workout seems somewhat light on ab/core work.

Also, 7 total sets in 45 minutes seems a bit slow. How long are you resting in between sets?

[health_nutty]

To me, your workout seems somewhat light on ab/core work.

Also, 7 total sets in 45 minutes seems a bit slow. How long are you resting in between sets?

Thanks for the feedback. Come to think of it, I probably am done in substantially less than 45 minutes (more like 30-35). I take 1-2 minutes of break in between exercises (most of which is unloading the bar, loading the bar, adjusting the seat, moving the seat, etc.)

As far as core work, weighted crunches, squats and deads hit my 'core' pretty hard. I probably could throw some weighted db sidebends in as well (those were always fun). Anything in exercise in particular you think I should add?

[health_nutty]

To be honest I didn't think my post would get any attention at all, LOL.

[wydell]

I agree on the variety statement.

I like to vary my workouts - using different grips, exercise, speeds, sets numbers, rep numbers. But I do like to do the same kind of exercises for at least one or two months to consistently build the same muscle fibers. I throw something slightly different in each workout to keep it fresh.

Some exercises I really love and don't like swapping out, so I don't do things totally correctly. It is sometimes my ego that gets in the way of swapping out the exercises I perform better at.

I see that a lot of people workout at home on this forum. Getting good variety is probably easier at a gym as opposed to a home workout due to the amount of equipment.

[wayside]

You could probably get in two sets of everything rather than one in about 10-15 extra minutes if you hang a clock with a second hand on the wall and strictly limit the time between sets to 1 minute. This would give some cardio benefit as well.

I never really noticed any significant ab effect from squats, probably because I use a machine rather than free weights, which isolates the legs more I think. Plus I don't do super heavy weight (I was squatting around 150 lbs before I had shoulder trouble).

Here's an ab exercise I like, no equipment needed:

- Get in an upright pushup position
- Lift the left foot off the floor, and bring your leg under your body
- Touch your left knee to your right elbow. You will need to swivel your hips almost 90 degrees to be able to do this.
- Reverse, returning to pushup position. It should take around 2 seconds in each direction.
- Do the same on the side, touching right knee to left elbow.
- Do 10-12 on each side.

I find this really works my obliques as well as my abs.

If you are really strong you can do a pushup or two in between each one.

[health_nutty]

You could probably get in two sets of everything rather than one in about 10-15 extra minutes if you hang a clock with a second hand on the wall and strictly limit the time between sets to 1 minute. This would give some cardio benefit as well. ... .

Thanks for the feedback wayside.