Others have commented on what I was going to say anyway, but I thought I would point this out:
Your bicep strength seems strong, your max weight for reps is what, 66 lbs (sorry, I’m a big fan of the imperial system)? It looks like your tricep and bicep exercises are balanced. No, my issue comes when you posted this:
That seems awfully light, no offense. I didn’t check to see what you were pulling on back, but if you can’t find any more weight (which I don’t think is the problem), then you should concentrate on doing push-ups. Don’t worry, I’m unbalanced too between back and chest. I start my sets at 245lbs., but my back weight starts at 160, and I don’t deadlift that much either.
A question for anyone:
I’m trying to get under 15% bodyfat. Hopefully, under 10%, is that more a function of diet or aerobics?
Thanks for the input guys. I know I’m taking the piss asking all these questions but I feel it’s really important I get this right. Since my gym apparently doesn’t do personal training (not that I could afford it anyway) I hope you don’t mind if I shamelessly take advantage of your experience a little longer.
slortar
Yeah I know it’s a little punishing on the legs but, then again, what good aerobic exercise isn’t? At a moderately strenuous pace a 3 mile run takes me 30 minutes. Apparently the optimal length of a cardiovascular session is 45 minutes so to be honest I’m a little concerned that I may not be doing enough running. I could, I suppose, do a low impact aerobic exercise like cycling or elliptical training but cycling doesn’t seem to be an especially good calorie burner (admittedly I’m only going by the digital readouts on the machines) and the last time I did 45 minutes on an elliptical trainer I got off feeling as though I really hadn’t done anything.
Of all the things I could ditch from my planned workout program, the 5KM run is the one I want to keep the most, only because running is possibly the best cardiovascular exercise there is and really want to lower my body fat percentage to around 12%.
I’d also plan to have a rest in between my cardio and my weights. Not too long, probably around 15 minutes or so, just so I could get my strength back for the lifting. I also know from experience that the maximum amount I can lift before a heavy cardiovascular session is more or less the same as the maximum amount I can lift afterwards, although if I dropped the running I’d probably have the energy to do, say, five sets of 10 on the Bench Press rather than the absolute maximum of three I can do after a run.
However, I don’t really want to do that either because ultrafilter said that if you lift for more than 60-75 minutes your body starts producing cortisol which actually makes all subsequent lifts counterproductive. It’s all very confusing.
Thanks. That sounds like a good idea. Burrido’s point about plateauing is well taken as well. From what I’ve read, it seems that even the most ardent gym enthusiasts experience plateaus the only way to break through a plateau is to pile on the weight.
Ok. This conflicts with what Burrido was saying about how mazinger_z
No offence taken. I am an absolute beginner so my maximum load for the Bench Press is pretty abysmal at the moment. Still, with your help I hope to increase pretty quickly. I’ve just got a few quick questions for everybody:
While probably riddled with flaws, if I stick to the workout program I outlined in post 13 and eat the required daily amount of protein, could I expect to see results? If so, how long do you think it’d be before I’d see them?
According to this workout plan, I would do my Bench Presses on Monday and would do 3 sets of 10 on the Bench at 30 Kg. If I were to throw in 3 sets of Seated Rows at 30 Kg on Monday as well, would that make my workout more balanced?
What parts of your body does the Deadlift actually exercise? I’ve read some conflicting reports about which muscles this exercise targets.
Thanks in advance for your help. I may come back with yet more questions if any occur to me.
Some of your questions, answered at random as the mood strikes me.
I wasn’t so much concerned about the cardio as having deadlifts and squats in the same workout. They’re both extremely exhausting exercises which use a large number of your body’s muscles if you’re doing them properly.
If you want to try something amusing, try deadlifting and then squatting. Falling down with a heavy bar on your back is fun.
Another concern with having workouts beyond an hour or so is simply how much time you’re willing to spend on it. If you’re blowing several hours a day on exercise, it might get harder to stick with over the long term. Remember, you have to live with the routine, and while it might look good on paper, sometimes in practice it doesn’t work out that way.
There’s also a matter of recovery–once you get beyond a certain point, time spent in the gym/on the track is much better spent on your ass on the couch healing up all the microtrauma and growing bigger/getting stronger. I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing to spend a couple hours on working out, if you get more rest days as a result of doubling up (in fact, some experts recommend doing a routine like you planned–run/lift on the same day 3/week–instead of alternating running/lifting days 6/week because it allows more recovery time), but it’s just something to think about.
Part of the reason why I recommend 2 or 3 times per body part per week for a beginner is because you’re starting light and learning the lifts. If you only get one chance a week to learn good form on a lift, it’ll take longer for you to properly learn the movement. Good form is extremely important when doing squats and deadlifts.
Don’t sweat it. Number games are for idiots. Just do what you do and as long as the totals are going up over time, that’s all that matters.
Deadlift primarily hits your lower back and butt, with some quad work and upper back thrown in. It isometrically beats the ever-living crap out of your shoulders and forearms. It indirectly hits every other muscle in your body save…triceps and calves, I think. Yeah, you should be completely sore from the eyebrows down the day after you start doing them. They’re great.
Don’t obsess with numbers so much, except to track progress. Pick a weight that you can finish your sets with. If you find you can finish your sets with that weight easily, then do a slightly higher number next time.
And yes, doing both benches and rows in the same workout is not a bad idea.
Slotar is very correct concerning 2-3 times a week for the same group, however given the choice between the 3 times a week for the same group in your original routine versus once a week, I had to go with the latter.
I would have to second slotar’s comment about not obsessing about numbers. I stopped counting a long time ago. I go by energy level and effort. 4x8 for me doesn’t mean with any particular weight, it just means that I shouldn’t be able to the do the last 2 reps on that set without help.
Your glutes and hamstrings are the prime movers in this one, but it places a lot of stress on your traps, your biceps, your hands, your quads, and your calves. And if you go really heavy, you’ll even feel it in your chest. It’s the pinnacle of training economy.
I think it really depends on individual body mechanics. Some people are fine with them, some aren’t. For example, a lot of people swear by dips but they’re murder on my shoulders. I have no personal problem with military press, but it’s definitely in YMMV territory.
So, I had my first workout yesterday and am aching like an arthritic nonagenarian after a breakdance marathon. Still, it was all in good fun. I’d like to thank you for all your help without which I’d probably be more lot achey and a lot less motivated.
However, I have a couple of questions (betcha didn’t see that coming).
About cardio. Is it more effective to do it before the weights or after?
I’ve heard conflicting info about this. My brick shithouse mate Darren said that he always did his cardio first because (A) cardio knackers you out and if you do your weights first you won’t have the energy to do any cardio, and (B) cardio (running, specifically) gives all your muscles a bit of a warm up so you don’t have to waste any weight training time doing little rinky-dink practise sets. Now, he’s been doing this stuff for about a decade and has a fair idea about how it works.
However, I’ve also heard that doing cardio after your weights is more effective because (A) if you want to burn fat during your cardio you need to work through your body’s energy reserves and since this takes about 20-30 minutes, and since my weight training takes about an hour, I’ll have already used up my body’s energy reserves on weights by the time I start running and thus will burn more fat in less time by tacking my cardio onto the end of my workout. This guy said it better. Also (B) doing the cardio last means I’ll have more energy for my weights which means I’ll be able to lift more.
Secondly, I’ve been reading about this L-Glutamine stuff. Apparently it’s meant to aid muscle repair. It doesn’t really do anything to make your muscles bigger, but it does supposedly reduce the chance of an injury. Anyone here used that stuff? Does it work? Again, I’ve been hearing conflicting stuff.
I like after for the same reasons. Just gives me more energy to throw into lifting since that is my focus. Glutamine is present in protein supplements so if you take one, you’ve got it covered. I believe in it and take about 6 grams daily.
