After much needed help from you guys on here, I have started doing Squats, dead lifts etc. The only problem i have now is this, I am not sure how to put them all together I mean I train 4 times a week but not sure of a work out plan to put them all together? For instance, after doing squats what other exercises can be done? I know squats focus on legs but I am looking improve my upper body, abs etc. I need a work out for 4 times a week but i can't think of one that contain the basics as I am new to the gym scence. Can any of the fitness guru's out there help me build a better programe please!! :love: Thanks in advance
Do a full body routine say 3 times a week or more if you want. Go with bench press,military press,squats,deadlifts,dips and chin-ups these will be all the exercises you need to start and i can see your already doing these. For the abs i would say do full contact twists theres a thread which has a video clip on how to do them the thread is called weighted ab exercises. Do the above at either 3sets of 3 reps or 3sets of 5reps or 5 sets of 5 reps just experiment and see what works best for you and gives the best results. If you want to go abit for the body builder type look you will probably need some isolation just make sure you include all the exercises above or make sure that at least 75% of your program is made up of compound exercises. Hope this helps.
Cheers Sharkey, this is one thing that i was going to ask? Should you keep say Squats and Deadlifts for different days? ie, Monday Squats Chin Ups Dumbells Tuesday Deadlifts tricep dips abs Thursday Bench/incline/decline Military press Abs Friday Bit of cardio? How would that sound for a rountine? Cheers
I'm gonna post my personal routine. Sharkey probably won't agree with me (from what I've seen, his approach is a little different from mine) but I've had great success with it. First, a little critique: My routine is as follows: Day 1: Chest & Triceps -Bench: Incline, Decline, Flat; usually with dumbells -Cable exercises (crosses/"hug the tree") -Wing machine -Occasionally pushups -Dips -Skullcrushers -Cable extensions (different handles, sometimes overhead) Day 2: Back & Biceps -Wide grip pullups- sets of 6-8 until I get to 50 (this is really hard for me) -Sometimes various pulldowns (close or widegrip) -Various rows -Roman chair exercises (a favorite of mine) -Overhand barbell curls -Underhand barbell curls -Concentration dumbell curls -Alternating curls -Just to finish strong, I usually do overhanded pull ups until I can't do anymore (no more than 2 or 3, at most!) Day 3: Shoulders & Legs -Squats or Leg Presses *Recently I've been using a hack-squat machine, just to change things up a bit -Leg extensions -Hamstring curls -Hip and inner leg machine exercises -Calf raises (I walk up stairs holding 45 lbs, doing 10 raises on each step, maybe 15 steps total. I only do that once) -Dumbell Military press or "Arnolds" (altered style of dumbell press) -Upright rows -Side and fron raises -Shrugs All 3 days: Abs -Usually do about 120 crunches, 45 decline situps, leg raises and a few other ab exercises each day. (My abs aren't great- Sharkey is probably a better source in this regard) The other days I do light work (streching, cardio, sauna/steam room, etc.) I do all 6 groups in 3 days because I'm never sure I will be able to make 4 or 5 days a week. Usually I do, so when that happens I break out the lift accordingly, or just do a superset. This is a long post, so I'll stop here. Reply if you want more specific info. Good luck!
Thanks for that. I'm so glad you took the time to offer an educated, thorough, and polite reply. At least I took the time to write a full response. And, because I'm curious, what is ridiculous about it? I've had great success with it personally. I didn't get into the details of it in my post because it was getting long. However, it is a pretty standard workout for a weightlifter. The only major variation is that I do all the groups in 3 days (like I said, because if my schedule). A lot of lifters don't do that. How long have you been lifting? What is your routine?
Cuchulain, your workout looks like a modified bodybuilders workout; I don't think bburns is looking for this type of workout, there's a lot of unnecessary movements that you use....just for example-no need to do all 3 planes of db bench, no need for leg extensions, no need for all that direct bicep work, no need for the high number of ab movements you do. It's over doing it by doing pull ups, pull downs, and rowing motions in the same workout, in fact wide grip pull ups decrease the range of motion. Here's something simple M- bench bent over bb row push press T- squat lunges cable pullthrough or lying hamstring curls 2 abdominal movements Th- dips chins deadlift However, on Thursday, the Bear and farmers walks would be fun
@blessedsamurai I anticipated the sharkey would say that my routine was a little excessive, and I really can't disagree with it. However, since I don't know bburns personally, I thought I should just post what I do for his information. I do most of those exercies on a given day, but not all of them. That is what I like about my workout- I have enough that I can mix it up. If you are seriously training MA, sharkey's approach (using compound exercises) is probably a good place to start. However, if you want to hit specific areas or need lower impact exercises, then you have to get more specific, and my routine does that. Really, my main problems with most of the exercise advice that focuses on compound motions are twofold: (1) They are difficult movements to execute properly (2) They are high impact This just means that they are harder to learn and easier to do incorrectly (causing injury, etc.) ie- squats are great, but alternating with a leg press makes my knees appreciate it.
I wouldnt say Cuchulain82 routine was bad just that its not for the same goal as the poster wanted. It probably is a good routine if your a bodybuilder but for functional strength go with what ive said or what blessed has said. Cheers Chris Sharkey
Though the rule i go by is that if your routine contains less than 75% of compound, multi joint exercises then your wasting your time because you will probably be using too much time on isolation exercises which arent demanding enough on your CNS for physically enhancing benefits. Perferably i usually go with 100% of compound exercises.
looking at some of the exercises you have there: -Cable exercises (crosses/"hug the tree") -Wing machine -Sometimes various pulldowns (close or widegrip) -Overhand barbell curls -Underhand barbell curls -Concentration dumbell curls -Alternating curls -Leg extensions -Hamstring curls -Upright rows -Side and fron raises these are not exercises an athlete should be spending time on. Its a waste (not transferable). Wheres the posterior chain exercises? Heck you dont even have hypers in there. If you truly had great success with the routine, its the other exercises that gave you the gains (military, bench, squats, pull ups etc). Why do you need 4 different exercises to hit biceps? You dont even need to do biceps if you do pulling exercises. Oh and you may want to add weights to your situps since anything done for that many reps dont build hypertrophy or strength. And just b/c you asked, Im on the Bill Starr 5x5 routine (single factor, gonna switch to dual later on). edit: nvm, so you cycle through the exercises, meaning you dont do 4 bicep exercise in one day. My point still holds tho. Also, I think you got it the wrong way, squats help your knees and leg press mess up your knees. My knee problem got better from doing squats and I've seen people mess up their knees doing leg press.
There is a lot of info there, let me give you a little background on my current size, age and strengh levels. I am 22, weigh 12.2 stone, not sure on the fat level, Bench - I can push for 2 on 90k Squat - 120k for 4 Deadlift - 100k for 4 (haven't tried to do more weight as i am just getting the exercise right first I am looking not to get the size of a house, but just nice and toned as well as looking good for the beach. (sorry but most men do) Mondays, I train in TKD for 2 hours (cardio) Tuesday, Gym Wedensday, gym Soccer Thursday, TKD Friday, Gym Saturday, Golf and a 5mile run Sunday, Relax with a sauna,steam room etc. SO as you can see I have between 3-4days at the gym. At the moment I am not seeing that bigger gains. I have got a lot stronger and a little bigger but i have been training for 3months. Now you have a bit of background info, what do you guys think will suit me? Many Thanks
If you want the toned look then do loads of cardio this will lower your bodyfat % which will give you the ripped look. Stick to what your doing this will work all of the body if you include the military press and the bent over bb rows.
@bburns I think that Sharkey (and Adam McGuigan, and everyone else) is probably a good source for MA-orineted training. My routine is a bodybuilder's routine, probably because I learned to lift from a body builder. You probably won't want to lift like a body builder. I would say that you should make sure you get every muscle group once a week, with abs 2-3 times a week. You don't necessarily have to do this by lifting- I do, but I'm not training in anything else right now, so it's not a great comparison. If you want certain muscles to look bigger or different, you will almost certainly have to lift accordingly (duh!). I found that, for me, the aforementioned routine is great for changing how I look and feel. A lot of it is trial and error. I am also a big guy and I simply like lifting, so I do it alot. In terms of functional strength, I am much stronger when lifting consistantly (another duh!) The important thing is to lift well and do cardio- that is where you get the best results. @Leg presses vs. squats (Adam, harhar) I don't have great knees, and I think the switching of between the two exercises is what helps. If I do either one too much, I feel it in a bad way. (I only squat about 135 lbs.- not much at all). Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I usually do the squats with a trainer. The hack squat machine at my gym has been working well recently too. @harhar I cycle through the exercises, depending on how I feel. Yesterday, for Back, I just did the pullups, some rows, and a great Roman Chair exercise. For biceps I just did a lot of different dumbell exercises. After that I was wiped out. Personally, being able to shake up my routine and do new exercises every few weeks helps alot. Edit- off topic- harhar, are you a BGII player? I saw your picture...
Yes I love that damn game. Best rpg ever . I also have a knee problem by the way. Bugged me for 3 years now. Just watch your form. Squat is really about good technique and finding the groove.
Me too! Fear the hampster and all that You should check out www.gamebanshee.com There is a very active BG2 community there (SOA, TOB, NWN, etc.) (is there a rule about posting web addresses in text? I don't want to incur mod wrath...)
Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, and the sequel, Throne of Bhaal. It's an rpg game that is, at this point, pretty old. However, people are still playing it, modding it, and generally making sure it doesn't go the way of the dodo. Like I said, www.gamebanshee.com.
