I went out and bought a bench with lat pull down attachment, leg extension attachment and a 260 # Olympic weight set.
I have not lifted weights in years but I’m trying to build a basic routine I can use to get back into lifting. I’d like some input on what I have together so far and help filling in some blanks. I’m not to keen on squats but anything else I can do with my set up and dumbbells I’d appreciate input on.
Here is what I have so far:
Mon
Flat Bench Press
Triceps pull down
Lat pull down
Wed
Swiss ball crunches
One arm dumbbell rows
Bent over barbell row
Fri
Straight bar curls
Hammer curls
Seated press (alternate from session to session in front of head/behind)
Incline press/decline (alternate)
I don’t have anything in the routine for legs using the attachment yet.
I’ve been doing this routine for a couple of weeks and it’s pretty light so I know I can add plenty to it. I’m doing 3 sets of 10 for now just to get back into the swing of things.
I used to lift until I got more into using my own body weight (chin-ups, dips, push-ups, various core work) to stay lean and strong. However, a few things…
3 days a week is not enough. I would not worry about breaking up routine into various body parts until you find you run out of time to get it all in during one workout.
There is nothing magic about 3 sets of 10. For real gains, learn to find enough weight and do enough reps so that the last set is done to exhaustion. In other words 10 reps is just a guideline. If on the last set you can only do 5 to complete exhaustion then you’ve done some real work.
Supplement the weight lifting with cardio (Run, Swim, Bike, Eliptical, etc…) for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
For legs, nothing (I mean nothing but cycling) beats single leg straddle squats. Hook one foot behind you on the bench and with back straight steadily squat with the leg still on the floor until knee is near 90 degree angle (thigh parallel to floor). Slowly rise up. This will cover all the major thigh and butt muscle groups. For calves, the cadio will suffice.
For tri work, sit on edge of bench, heels of hands on the edge. Feet up on chair in front of you. Slide butt forward off bench and do dips s-l-o-w-l-y. Alternate with curls.
Don’t neglect your abs or you’ll hurt your back and put yourself out of action.
One of those large balls for abs is good for various other core workouts.
No matter what routine you start with, it will change and evolve and you should keep looking for ways to challenge yourself. I find that Women’s M&F mags provide much better workout routines than the one meant for men… unless you really want to get into hard core body building.
It’s a little tough given the equipment you have, but some things from what my trainer has shown me come to mind.
Your workout sounds pretty good, but you’ll definitely want to mix it up. Off the top (and I am NO expert), it seems most of the exercises you describe use lots of muscle groups - I’d look to focusing on smaller numbers in the groups. Also you want to make sure you get your abs and back more into the routine.
For abs/core one-arm, dumbbell bench. The key here is to only use one dumbbell at a time - only one is being held - the other hand is empty. As you do each press (10 each arm, 3 sets), place your free hand on your abs and make sure the abs are engaged. Since you won’t have any weight to offset the benching arm, your abs/torso need to compensate - this is more for the abs than for the arm.
For triceps - “skull crushers”. Two dumbbells (start with 15lbs. each). Lying down on the bench, extend the arms, but instead of “press” position, have palms facing each other. Lowering only the lower arms (from elbow down to hand) to 90 deg. (toward your head - hence the name), then back to straight. Try to keep the upper arm (from shoulder to elbow) as still as possible during the motion.
For lats. Using your lat pulldown setup, instead of sitting for normal lat pulldowns, stand behind the seat a bit. Use about half to 30% of your normal lat pulldown weight to start. Standing, but slightly bent forward and with slightly bent knees, grab the bar about shoulder width. Keeping your arms STRAIGHT, lower the bar from shoulder height down to about a 60 deg. angle (not quite hitting your thighs), and back to shoulder height only (do not let the bar go above your head). 3 sets of 10.
Actually, my trainer had me go through a set of 1) normal (sitting) lat pulldowns (in front), 2) gripping the bar with a “chin up” grip (palms facing back toward your face, with a closer grip), and 3) the lat exercise I described above. 10 each exercise, 3 sets.
Try mixing these in. And be sure to warm up before you start.
When you get stronger, try it with a couple of dumbells in your hands.
BTW, make sure your knee remains pretty much over your ankle; don’t jutt the knee forward past your foot.
And those lat rows that cormac262 recommends are really good as well.
Wanted to mention, you may want to reconsider doing the military presses with the benching bar. Particularly those behind your head. It hyper-extends the shoulder and may do more harm than good. Instead, with the bench in as vertical position as possible, do Arnie presses (yes, made famous by Aaarnold Schwartzenager) using the dumbells.
Stronger schmonger, more balance is what I’ll need before attempting it. Lucky for me I can reach out and touch something with a fingertip for stability otherwise I’d be in trouble.
On the other hand you shouldn’t strenuously work the same muscle groups on consecutive days, either. What I’ve usually read is that three days a week can be enough, but it means doing a longer workout and hitting every muscle group.
Three days a week is PLENTY. If I could have my first few years of weightlifting back I would have lifted smarter and not more. Ultrafilter put together an intelligent and concise work-out perhaps a month or two ago in a similar thread.
Just for shits and giggles, here’s the program I posted earlier:
You don’t like squats? That’s an even better reason to do them than if you do like them. People avoid the exercises they’re bad at, especially the ones that have high training value.
Now on to a couple points:
As the spicy doctor said, three days a week is plenty. It’s all about quality rather than quantity, and this is one area where more is not always better.
Nope, but it’s a good protocol for a beginner or someone in rehab. It’s overused, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
This is absolutely right. Boredom and lack of progress will kill your desire to train faster than anything else out there.
I can read all of the words, and on their own they make sense to me. But together? It might as well be Sanskrit.
The single biggest thing wrong with modern training methodologies is that they view the human body as a collection of parts. This is not how we are built, and this is not how we should train for best results.
It’s not that I don’t like them; I’m worried about doing them safely. For whatever reason I feel like I’m more likely to injure myself with squats. What I should do is take a good look at proper form and start with light weights.
Thanks for posting that work out I’ll be able to fill in some blanks with it.
