Newbie wants help with routine

[MAnewbie]

Ok..i was planning to start martial arts earlier this year, but an injury stopped me. Now I'm trying to get into shape for martial arts which i plan to start in september. My leg still bothers me a little when i do high impact stuff like running and jumping too much, so those are absent from my routine.
I'm really a newbie at anything to do with fitness as well, so can someone tweak my routine for me, or trash it altogether?

This is my current routine. Its limited by college and the amount of work I have to do, so I have to cram the workout into monday, wed, and friday mostly. I'll add as much detail as I can,

Monday:
Benchpress 3x10 reps
Military press 3x10 reps
Squats 3x10 reps
Deadlifts 3x10 reps
Incline benchpress 3x10 reps
Bodyweight dips 3x10 reps
Seated rows/bent over rows 3x10 reps (depends on which machine is taken...cant decide which is better)
Lat pulldown/pullups (can't decide. I can only do about 4 pullups right now, so should I do pullups and slowly progress with them, or stick with pulldown machine for more reps and weight till i get stronger)
Bicep curls 3x10 reps (sorry, this ones for the ladies)
Leg raises 3x 15 reps
Leg press 3x 10 reps
Weighted situps/crunches - number varies

Comments: I get my butt kicked this day. I stay sore until thursday...I dont know if its due to improper warmup/stretching or cooldown. My warmup and stretch is very short due to impatience, and I have no cooldown. I also think I have too many exercises that target the same muscle groups. By the time i get to leg presses for example, my legs are so tired that I struggle to leg press weights I'd normally consider nothing.

Tuesday: I'm ridiculously sore, and have tons of work to do, so I either walk 2 miles or so, or do nothing, depending on how I'm feeling.

Wednesday: Sometimes I'm even sore on this day. I usually don't have time to go to the gym, so I do bodyweight exercises. I'm pretty out of shape, so this is what I do:

Hindu Squats - 60 reps random number of sets at random times throughout the day - whenever I get time
Stances: Horse stance right now - hold till my legs start shaking too much, sadly about 1 min 20 secs right now - random times through day
Situps/crunches/leg raises - performed till failure - sets vary depending on time
Push ups/hindu pushups - sadly both around 30 reps, random number of sets throughout day

Thursday: No time to work out. If I do anything, I walk about 2 miles, all i have time for.

Friday: Same as monday.

Saturday/Sunday: Rest, random exercises for fun. Some heavy bag work, because its fun. Don't know what to do. Stretching occasionally. Also walking.


So...I want to add stretching into my workout, but I don't know when to do it. Any ideas? Eating a lot more to have energy for this. I've done this routine for about a week now, and I feel great after rest on the weekend. During the week i feel like crap. As I continue will my body get used to it, or should I tone down my workout?

[Dragon Brush]

Woot and yay! I applaud you on all the compound exercises in your workout! There is only on thing I would really remove from your weight training routine, and that would be the leg extensions. They put a whole lot of shearing force on the knee joint, and if yours are already bad, thats double jeopardy.

Also, I would change up your reps and sets. Try to step up the weight a bit, and do 5 sets of 5. The 10 rep sets are more geared towards mass developement, so its fine to do this if you're to build beach muscles; but for optimal strength training, stick with 5 sets of 5.

Also, there has been a lot of talk about hindu squats around this forum lately, and how bad they are for your knees, so I would run a search on those before you keep doing them.

Now, for your ab work. How many reps is failure for you? If you're getting past 20, you're not trying hard enough :p While doing cruches, etc, focus on contracting the muscles of you midsection as hard as you can, and take the negatives (the downward motion) of the crunches slowly, so they work your abs too. In other words, don't flop to the ground after each rep.

If you can't get the hang of hard crunches, try holding a weight plate behind your head while doing them. This will force your abs into the stress.

A favorite of mine (which help me to build the foundation for my abdominals) is to strap leg weights on when you do leg raises and other ab exercises that involve moving the legs. However, while doing these, make sure you keep concentrating on using your midsection, or your legs will tire faster than your abs.

Hope that helps!

[MAnewbie]

Thanks for suggestions Yukuji. All I want is strength development for MA, and not mass, so ill try 5x5 reps now. I just saw others at gym do 3x10, so i tried it.

Actually, I put leg press down and not extension. Oh, and if you want to know my injury, its not anything to do with knees. I think it is a hairline fracture on the inside of my tibia which has healed for the most part, after months of rest, but I'm a moron that hasnt seen the doctor, so I don't know. I think I'll go see one.

Well, my ab work consists of this: I usually do situps/crunches with a dumbell on my chest near my shoulders supported by my arms, and do 1 straight up, one to the right, and 1 to the left for about 45 reps in all, or more if I have energy. Of course as I increase the weight, my reps decrease, and I usually end up cheating and resting between reps. I'll try with lighter weight behind my head so I don't flop to the ground as much.
Hmm..I cant believe I didn't think of my leg weights before for my leg raises. Ill try that :) .

Again, thanks for help.

[Dragon Brush]

Actually, I put leg press down and not extension. Oh, and if you want to know my injury, its not anything to do with knees. I think it is a hairline fracture on the inside of my tibia which has healed for the most part, after months of rest, but I'm a moron that hasnt seen the doctor, so I don't know. I think I'll go see one.

Oh, sorry. I thought you said it was a knee injury :p

Well, my ab work consists of this: I usually do situps/crunches with a 0-40 lb dumbell on my chest near my shoulders supported by my arms, and do 1 straight up, one to the right, and 1 to the left for about 45 reps in all, or more if I have energy. Of course as I get closer to 40 pounds, my reps decrease, and I usually end up cheating and resting between reps. I'll try with lighter weight behind my head so I don't flop to the ground as much.

Just a couple things; make sure when you do your crunches you go up with the chin first. And if you are doing situps (as in FULL situps), make sure your form is correct, or you will be putting too much pressure on your lower back.

Full sit ups work your lower, middle, and upper abs. When you are doing them, each level of abdominals should kick in one at a time, starting with your lower abs, and will release in the opposite order on the way down. I hope thats not too confusing > < And take the downward motion slowly, again.

[Jamo2]

Why are you doing so much in one day?
I would take out the incline bench press for a start. Three chest exercises in one day? May be cause of adverse affect.

Theres a lot you could take out of that program. And then with less time in the gym you could put a bit more time into stretching.

[aplonis]

Seems to me you should best stretch out before any tough workout. Either that or else on the days you do not work out. Your muscles will be all bunched up directly after a workout.

Stretch while watching TV or with a book to study laying open on the floor.

I don't have any specific workout plans myself. I get to the Y whan I can, do my TKD forms in one of the side rooms, then use whatever machines are open until I tire or get bored of them. The main thing is to keep busy, to do something. I know that's not very professional. But way back when I used to belong to a gym that insisted upon a plan, a program, the members had their plan on these little cards and spent a lot of time standing and waiting for the machine to open which was next-on-their-list. I threw my list away and just did whatever looked interesting and was available.

Gan Uesli Starling
http://wmtkd.us
Kalamazoo Chapter
Western Michigan Tae Kwon Do

[TheMachine]

Good but it can be made even better by simplifying it

[Jamo2]

Just read your "feel like crap during the week part". Well, i read somewhere that anymore than six compound exercises in one workout is overtraining. Now im not even going to count how much is on that list, but im pretty sure theres more than six ;)
Even if your getting a major amount of sleep, and perfect nutrition, that workout is a lot.
THIS (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=04-073-training)
Workout is what was recommended to me, and i must say is a brilliant workout. Even if for some reason you cant do this workout, i still suggest you read the article, as it has some good information on compound exercises that it seems you need to know.
Happy reading.

[TheMachine]

Its too complicated... Keep it simple...

I also don't see any pullups

[Dragon Brush]

Its too complicated... Keep it simple...

I also don't see any pullups

It was there with pulldowns. He mentioned that he could only do a few now.

Lat pulldown/pullups (can't decide. I can only do about 4 pullups right now, so should I do pullups and slowly progress with them, or stick with pulldown machine for more reps and weight till i get stronger)

If he's doing a full body routine, chances are he'll have to do at least 6 exercises, but I don't see how its overcomplicated...

[ItalianStallion]

If you can do 4 pullups, might as well do them instead of the pulldowns, you do want low reps after all. If you want to do pulldowns, dont use too wide a grip and make sure you dont do those behind neck pulldowns.

[Colucci]

This is my current routine.
Monday:
Benchpress 3x10 reps
Military press 3x10 reps
Squats 3x10 reps
Deadlifts 3x10 reps
Incline benchpress 3x10 reps
Bodyweight dips 3x10 reps
Seated rows/bent over rows 3x10 reps (depends on which machine is taken...cant decide which is better)
Lat pulldown/pullups (can't decide. I can only do about 4 pullups right now, so should I do pullups and slowly progress with them, or stick with pulldown machine for more reps and weight till i get stronger)
Bicep curls 3x10 reps (sorry, this ones for the ladies)
Leg raises 3x 15 reps
Leg press 3x 10 reps
Weighted situps/crunches - number varies
Like Yukuji mentioned, 5x5 is a time-tested classic (though, so is 3x10, sadly). The difference is, 3x10 is okay for adding muscle to new weight-trainers. 5x5 is great for adding strength to most people. Also, I'd split up the workout a bit, and do Workout A on Monday, and Workout B on Friday. If you want to keep Wednesday as a bodyweight-only day, that's fine. Or you could alternate workout A, workout B, workout A, etc... on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Either way. Here's an interesting article (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=05-076-training) about 5x5 workouts.

Surprisingly Simple Workout Plan A
Squat 5x5
Flat Bench Press 5x5
Bent-over Barbell Row 5x5

Surprising Simple Workout Plan B
Deadlift 5x5
Standing Military Press 5x5
Pull-up 10x2
Biceps curls 4x8

Done, and done. Two solid, higher intensity (meaning heanier weight) days like this will be tons more productive than a kitchen-sink, everything in one day routine like you had.

...I get my butt kicked this day. I stay sore until thursday...I dont know if its due to improper warmup/stretching or cooldown...I also think I have too many exercises that target the same muscle groups.
Good instincts. Some stretching after your workout would go a long way to reducing your soreness. I usually do some basic static stretches for the main bodyparts (hamstrings/low back, quads, chest, back, shoulders), holding each stretch for a 10 or 12-count, and repeating it 2 or 3 times. Note, the goal of this stretching is to avoid soreness, not necessarily to increase flexibility. That would require different methods.


Tuesday: I'm ridiculously sore, and have tons of work to do, so I either walk 2 miles or so, or do nothing, depending on how I'm feeling.
If you're "ridiculoulsy sore", a comfortably-paced walk would be a great method of active recovery. Just stroll around for 20 minutes or so, to stimulate healthy blood flow.

Wednesday:...
Hindu Squats - 60 reps random number of sets at random times throughout the day - whenever I get time
Stances: Horse stance right now - hold till my legs start shaking too much, sadly about 1 min 20 secs right now - random times through day
Situps/crunches/leg raises - performed till failure - sets vary depending on time
Push ups/hindu pushups - sadly both around 30 reps, random number of sets throughout day
I'm not a huge fan of leg raises, as I feel they work the hip flexors (which already tend to be overworked) too much. I'd stick with variations of crunches, and be sure to include some type of twisting or rotating exercise. Also not a fan of Hindu squats for knee reasons, but many people are, so...whatever floats your boat.

Thursday: No time to work out. If I do anything, I walk about 2 miles, all i have time for.
Ehhhhhh. Buzzzzz. I call "partially-digested droppings of a male bovine". :rolleyes: If you have time for a 2-mile walk, you have time to workout. So, that's not a valid excuse. But regardless, if you're hitting 2 or 3 intense weight sessions per week, another active recovery session (like Tuesday) would be a good idea.

Friday: Same as monday.
The same, or different. As I've said previously.

Saturday/Sunday: Rest, random exercises for fun. Some heavy bag work, because its fun. Don't know what to do. Stretching occasionally. Also walking.
Definitely have fun. Do what you're in the mood to do, but don't do too much (a fine line right there). As I've said, if you're "paying your dues" with serious 5x5 workouts, the weekends will be gravy, or icing, or sprinkles, or whatever bonus-type analogy you want to use.

So...I want to add stretching into my workout, but I don't know when to do it. Any ideas?
Wander through the Stretching links. (http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6306) There's some very good stuff floating around there.

Eating a lot more to have energy for this. I've done this routine for about a week now, and I feel great after rest on the weekend. During the week i feel like crap. As I continue will my body get used to it, or should I tone down my workout?
Continue to eat as needed (wow, that probably sounds dumb. Sorry), get some quality sleep (naps are always appreciated), a good protein powder or post-workout shake after your weight sessions could help. But in general, there is a transition period when you start exercising consistently. Right now, your body's trying to say "Um, excuse me, but we'd prefer if you stopped all this exertion. It's getting, well, it's getting tiresome and we're not quite thrilled. Thank you." But you've got to be all like "Listen, you're my body and you'll do what I say. And I say we're working out, so we can get strong, and built, and we can pick up chicks at the beach." And after a week or two, your body will be like "Okay, okay, alright. We agree. We like being strong and built. And we like the chicks too, so, please continue with this weight-lifting thing you're doing." :cool:

Good luck man. Definitely keep hitting us up with questions if you've got 'em.

[MAnewbie]

Continue to eat as needed (wow, that probably sounds dumb. Sorry), get some quality sleep (naps are always appreciated), a good protein powder or post-workout shake after your weight sessions could help. But in general, there is a transition period when you start exercising consistently. Right now, your body's trying to say "Um, excuse me, but we'd prefer if you stopped all this exertion. It's getting, well, it's getting tiresome and we're not quite thrilled. Thank you." But you've got to be all like "Listen, you're my body and you'll do what I say. And I say we're working out, so we can get strong, and built, and we can pick up chicks at the beach." And after a week or two, your body will be like "Okay, okay, alright. We agree. We like being strong and built. And we like the chicks too, so, please continue with this weight-lifting thing you're doing." :cool:

Good luck man. Definitely keep hitting us up with questions if you've got 'em.

lol..nice response. Thanks. I'll try what you mentioned.

You are right, I'm just being lazy on thurs. If I have time for a 2 mile walk (which takes about 30 mins), I have time to work out.

[bushidoka]

Neither routine covers the back arm or tricep. Tricep is 2/3 of your upper arm size and body weight dips will not do, nor will relying on the bench or shoulder work to build them. Circuit training works good for general conditioning though, and will do fine unless you want to take it to the next level and build mass and/or strength

[TheMachine]

Did you see any pressing exercises there?

Neither routine covers the back arm or tricep. Tricep is 2/3 of your upper arm size and body weight dips will not do, nor will relying on the bench or shoulder work to build them. Circuit training works good for general conditioning though, and will do fine unless you want to take it to the next level and build mass and/or strength

[bushidoka]

pressing exercises are not tricep exercises. You will fail to hit that 250lb bench if you are relying only on bench and shoulder work to build the back arm. You will not break your sticking points and you will not have the control over the bar if your supporting muscles are not strong. Do you really want to limit your pressing exercises because you have a weak tricep?
Besides that, you will always have a small looking arm.

[Crimson_Stone]

pressing exercises are not tricep exercises. You will fail to hit that 250lb bench if you are relying only on bench and shoulder work to build the back arm. You will not break your sticking points and you will not have the control over the bar if your supporting muscles are not strong. Do you really want to limit your pressing exercises because you have a weak tricep?
Besides that, you will always have a small looking arm.

Thats a load of bull. Pascal Caron ( a Canadian bobsleder) benched 425 lbs while weighing in at 167 lbs. He has an incredibly thick chest with very little tricep development.

[bushidoka]

O.K., whatever.
I know hillbillies and lumberjacks too that could move a lot of weight naturally, but they are exception, not the rule.
BTW, 400 lb is nowhere near a record lift of any kind. Check out the guys who hold these records, and you will see some big ass triceps. Nuff said.

[bushidoka]

BTW Crimson, I guess he's got a small looking arm eh?

[Colucci]

Thats a load of bull. Pascal Caron ( a Canadian bobsleder) benched 425 lbs while weighing in at 167 lbs. He has an incredibly thick chest with very little tricep development.
http://www.t-nation.com/img/photos/05-119-training/image007.jpg
As seen half way down the page in this Thibaudeau article. (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=05-119-training) I don't know if "incredibly thick" is entirely accurate. But in any case, if the guy has a 2.5x Bodyweight Bench, he's doing something right. (Though, I should mention that he was suspended from 1996-2000 for testing positive for steroids. (http://www.canoe.ca/2002GamesTeamCanadaBiosA2M/caron.html), so that may throw the whole case out the window.)


Do you really want to limit your pressing exercises because you have a weak tricep?
See, that's the interesting part. You don't necessarily have to train the triceps directly, in order to build strong triceps. Heavy benching (including many variations of Flat Bench, like Floor Presses, Board Presses, Close Grip, and Reverse Grip) as well as heavy Overhead lifting will build strong triceps, in addition to other muscles. If you have a specific weakness, however, then it may be advisable to incorporate some isolation exercises. However, they would be included in addition to basic compound lifts. (Wow, I used a lot of italics.) :D

[flaming]

Handstand pushups made my triceps stick out prety quick. Overhead press would be the same.

[bushidoka]

lol. Right on water. I know you can get strong lifting heavy(a given), but your supporting or stabilizing muscles just are not there. You could not convince me that you could lift more just by working major muscle groupings, than you could if you also worked these supporting muscles specifically into your routine. There is no science to support that, and I was just digging at crimson to try and find some for me. All in good nature of course.
Buddy does have a good looking build, kinda small arms though. l&lol