Alright then! I guess i’ll start lifting. I dont really know anything about it though. I mean i’ve lifted before, played football in junior high, but I dont remember much of how to go about it and how much to do etc etc.
My school schedule allows me to lift Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so that should be pretty good right? I can do cardio on saturday and tuesday, is that good? I guess i’ll go back through this thread and read the tips, but if anyone wants to save me the trouble and shoot me a few general tips, that’d be great.
Well with what you’re trying to do. I would recommend relatively light weight (by that I don’t mean easy, I mean failure between the 12th and 15th rep) and try to be strict and keep the rest between sets to a minimum…maybe a minute and a half. U’ll keep ur heart rate up that way and burn more calories just by lifting…which will help tremendously with ur ultimate goal of weight loss. Since ur lifting only 3 days a week I would recommend this split…
On monday do back and biceps…I’m not going to get into too much detail about reps/sets/exercises…but pull-ups(or any similar motion on a machine) and rows (barbell, t-bar, pulley, or dumbell rows doesn’t matter) are the main emphasis on back day. After you’ve worked ur back out sufficiently do some curling exercises to finish off ur biceps and call it a day.
On wednesday u can hit chest and tri’s. U played football so you know how to do this I’m sure…stick to pressing exercises of ALL angles and flyes, and finish off ur triceps with any kind of dumbell or barbell extensions or maybe close grip bench press.
On friday try to get legs and shoulders…start with legs, maybe some squats/leg extensions/leg press/leg curls/calf raises and for shoulders just a good military style pressing exercise with a barbell or dumbells or a machine, and if u feel up to it maybe some frontal dumbell raises and reverse flyes…
If you try lifting out and eat right and still do cardio, I think you will be pleased with the results, just be patient and stick to it…Oh yeah and when you work out ur legs u might get nausious, especially if ur not resting more than a minute and a half between sets, don’t worry though it’s completely normal…Hope I was of some help to you and if you have any more questions I would be happy to try and help some more.
Man i’m having a hard time motivating myself to go work out alone. Something about working out in a place with other people, but doing it without a friend, alone, makes me feel weird.
Anyone else have this problem? I mean if i was at my house working out alone wouldn’t be a big deal…i’m not sure why it feels so weird in public.
School stinks, takes up my time in the mornings for walking. I’m having to try to like shoehorn it in here and there, in the afternoons, when it’s rainy outside, whatever i can whenever i can. Must not quit though. I gotta get down to at LEAST 250 before i can even think about slacking (by which i mean not losing, but not gaining, i never ever want to gain again unless it’s pure muscle).
Usually when Im at the gym and I see a guy whos benching cars,running 40’s in a short time or have really ripped abs ,that motivates me to workout harder , but you must have a conviction to do it.You have to want it.
More and people seem to be having sugery done to reduce fat .
They get critisized for doing it, but whatever takes the weight off I guess
what’s REALLY sad about the surgery thing is it doesn’t make you lose anything, it just makes it impossible to gorge yourself…effectively removing willpower and conviction from the equation. That’s why SOOOO many people gain ALOT if not all of it back…cuz they stretch their stomach back out after so long.
GGPO right there. I’ve started doing some cross training as of right now. I run 5 days a weeks and lift 3 days a week. I like to workout Monday through Friday to give myself the whole weekend to rest. Here’s a typical week for me.
Monday - Chest/Triceps/Run 1.5 miles
Tuesday - Core Workout(Lower back/abs)/Run 2 miles
Wednesday - Back/Biceps/Run 1.5 miles
Thursday - Core Workout/Run 2 miles
Friday - Forearms and Calves or Legs/Run 1.5 miles
I’m taking protein too. I really love that feeling after you work out when your arms just feel huge from all the blood still pumping.
Lan Di - You shouldn’t feel weird about working out by yourself. I usually go and work out when all my friends are in classes, so it can’t be helped. As far as motivating yourself just think about all the good that your doing for your body. You can also do what I do and just make it a part of your schedule. After I get done with classes everyday I simply go to the gym and get my workout done. It’s just a part of my routine like brushing my teeth or showering in the morning. After doing something for 21 days straight it will become a habit.
Also a tip to anyone doing running or any kind of cardio workout. If you are running, swimming, cycling, or whatever that is strenuous on your heart you should do a cooldown after you get done with your workout. After I finish running I never stop moving completely. Nine laps is a mile on the indoor track that I run on so after I get finished with my 18 laps I always walk 2 more for my cooldown.
The whole reasons some runners throw up after a hard run is because they stop running completely and have their heart rate come crashing down from 200 beats per minute to resting heart rate which is what makes them sick.
Also, when I work out I like to feel the “burn” but I also like to get a bit of muscle to me. Maximum weight that I can move while keeping form - 5-6 reps. I could do the 3 rep thing but then I lose form or cheat. I believe in maintaintaing good form above all. then after those 6 reps I inmediatly go to the next low weight till exhaustion.
EG from 35 I go to 30 till exhaustion. I can usually do about 6-7 of those. I do this for my 3 sets and in the last set, I just keep going further and further down on weight gradually till the 10 pound barbell fells like the 35, this is when I get the “burn” If I was keeping count, the last set can go in to the 30th rep sometime. Also when I work, I always try to keep my rest periods under 1 minute. 30 seconds if I can. And when I’m done the set on say - Biceps, I hit the biceps again from another angle. Example.
Preacher Curl followed by Sitting Dumbell Curls, followed by standing bar curl followed by cable curl. I follow the “burn” method for all of there. The question is, what is this doing? I’m doing it because it feel good. My body feels like it has worked out.
So yeah, what is your imput on that?
PS: I always work out by myself La, I hate people.
I’m not as well versed in the physiology of lifting as chaos…but from what I’ve been told the burn is a build up of lactic acid and/or lack of oxygen to the muscle…if that’s not correct then it wouldn’t be the first time for me…I always feel a burning sensation when I’m in the rep range between 12 and 15 reps OR I’m supersetting/drop setting…as of right now I shy away from supersetting as much as possible and the highest amount of reps I do is between 8 and 10 reps, and I rest quite a bit between sets as I am more concerned with strength then size…I will slow a set down and concentrate on flawless form and an increased negative before I do more reps…so to each his own. What you are doing is great for muscular endurance IMHO and also great cardio. I would recommend changing the rep range every 6 to 8 weeks though and moving up in weight. E.G. phase 1 (hypertrophy) 12th rep being a failure rep…phase 2 (strength) 6 to 8 reps…phase 3 (power) 4-6 reps doing enough weight mind you that a 7th rep in good form isn’t possible…then wash rinse repeat…if ur really into lifting then changing things up on a regular basis is not only good for shocking the body but it makes things alot more fun and interesting to me…Every time I work out a body part I change at least one thing, even if it’s just doing incline with dumbells instead of a barbell…
On a side note, I got 255 today twice (flat bench) YaY.
Working out is the easy part of gaining weight and getting into shape.The hard part is making yourself eat right and to have the dedication and drive to goto the gym 5 days a week