Which is better...

Martian Martin

for Weight loss.... to lift lighter weights with higher reps or Heavier weights with fewer reps?

Or is it a good idea to do say a circuit of 36 reps on different machines at lower weight (30kg) and then (after run/other cardio work) to go back and do a circuit of 12 reps of higher weights? (37.5kg)

One last question on running/xtrainer work, again for weight loss purposes, Are you better off keeping your Heart Rate at 60-70% of max in order to burn from fat stores more than readily available glycogen or is it better to train at the higher %s as ultimately the glycogen burned off at these levels will inturn be replaced by energy taken from fat stores.

I'm quite new to this so any help would be appreciated.

Just run man, run, like the wind, off a tree in a forest, moths fly with wings, you run with legs, like an ant, just less strong as a ratio of awesomeness.

Colm_OReilly

Deleted User wrote: »

Just run man, run, like the wind, off a tree in a forest, moths fly with wings, you run with legs, like an ant, just less strong as a ratio of awesomeness.

Huh?

Overall lifting heavier weights is going to incur more positive changes in your body composition. Focus on big, compound movements, and I'd generally avoid weight machines.

Again, with 'cardio', repeated sprint efforts will have a much better effect than steady state long distance stuff, which you will probably adapt to pretty quickly.

cmyk

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Huh?

You need only look at his other posts!

slicus ricus

Martian Martin wrote: »

for Weight loss.... to lift lighter weights with higher reps or Heavier weights with fewer reps?

Or is it a good idea to do say a circuit of 36 reps on different machines at lower weight (30kg) and then (after run/other cardio work) to go back and do a circuit of 12 reps of higher weights? (37.5kg)

Generally speaking, you are unlikely lose significant amounts of body fat from lifting weights (unless you are doing very intense, short interval lifting). For weight loss, sensible nutrition and cardio are most effective in my opinion. Lifting weights will obviously increase your strength and muscle mass so lifting as well as your cardio would always be a good thing.

Martian Martin wrote: »

One last question on running/xtrainer work, again for weight loss purposes, Are you better off keeping your Heart Rate at 60-70% of max in order to burn from fat stores more than readily available glycogen or is it better to train at the higher %s as ultimately the glycogen burned off at these levels will inturn be replaced by energy taken from fat stores.

I'm quite new to this so any help would be appreciated.

I think you are over complicating thing here. In terms of weight loss, it's a simple case of input vs. output. If you take in more calories in than you are burning, you will gain body fat and vice versa. I personally think that once you are burning off the calories required, it doesn't really matter how you do it in terms of weight loss alone. In terms of cardiovascular fitness and endurance though, you need to get the heart pumping.

Martian Martin

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Huh?

Overall lifting heavier weights is going to incur more positive changes in your body composition. Focus on big, compound movements, and I'd generally avoid weight machines.

Again, with 'cardio', repeated sprint efforts will have a much better effect than steady state long distance stuff, which you will probably adapt to pretty quickly.

Thanks.

Martian Martin

slicus ricus wrote: »

Generally speaking, you are unlikely lose significant amounts of body fat from lifting weights (unless you are doing very intense, short interval lifting). For weight loss, sensible nutrition and cardio are most effective in my opinion. Lifting weights will obviously increase your strength and muscle mass so lifting as well as your cardio would always be a good thing.

I would agree with that from what I understand of it. So, I always wonder why the hell, when you are being set a weight loss program, they will insist
on adding in weights? Puzzling.

slicus ricus wrote: »

I think you are over complicating thing here. In terms of weight loss, it's a simple case of input vs. output. If you take in more calories in than you are burning, you will gain body fat and vice versa. I personally think that once you are burning off the calories required, it doesn't really matter how you do it in terms of weight loss alone. In terms of cardiovascular fitness and endurance though, you need to get the heart pumping.

Yeah, most likely

corkcomp

Martian Martin wrote: »

I would agree with that from what I understand of it. So, I always wonder why the hell, when you are being set a weight loss program, they will insist
on adding in weights? Puzzling.



Yeah, most likely

thats is definately NOT true - for starters IMO cardio is very important for fat loss, but fat loss is not exclusive to cardio and cardio is not essential. Lifting heavy (especially leg work and compound lifts) will use a huge ammount of calories for muscle repair afterwards. if you combine heavy weights with cardio and half decent diet that is the best way to get results .. judge fat loss by waist size more so than scales..

Mellor

slicus ricus wrote: »

Generally speaking, you are unlikely lose significant amounts of body fat from lifting weights (unless you are doing very intense, short interval lifting). For weight loss, sensible nutrition and cardio are most effective in my opinion. Lifting weights will obviously increase your strength and muscle mass so lifting as well as your cardio would always be a good thing.

i completely disagree, obviously cardio and diet have a part to play, mostly diet btw. But to dismiss weights is nonsense. The simple fact is, and it really is simple, lifting weights needs energy, if you lift enough weights to burn more calories than you are consuming then you have to lose weight, specificly fat stores. Weights can't increase mass if there is a calorie deficit, the obvious exception being beginner's gains.

slicus ricus

corkcomp wrote: »

thats is definately NOT true - for starters IMO cardio is very important for fat loss, but fat loss is not exclusive to cardio and cardio is not essential. Lifting heavy (especially leg work and compound lifts) will use a huge ammount of calories for muscle repair afterwards. if you combine heavy weights with cardio and half decent diet that is the best way to get results .. judge fat loss by waist size more so than scales..

I completely agree that heavy weights with cardio and good nutrition is the best way to get results. It's what I've always tried to do myself, although I haven't always been the best with the cardio mainly because I could get away with out doing it - that, however, is steadily changing!

The point I was making to the OP though was that he is unlikely to shift a lot of bodyfat at a decent rate through weights and that cardio combined with good nutrition would be a far quicker and more effective way of losing bodyfat. If the goal is to lose bodyfat, which he says it is, cardio and diet are the quickest and most effective way of getting it done IMO. Adding weights to that can only help but if it was me, i'd be focusing on cardio and diet until i lost the weight I wanted to.

Martian Martin

corkcomp wrote: »

thats is definately NOT true - for starters IMO cardio is very important for fat loss, but fat loss is not exclusive to cardio and cardio is not essential. Lifting heavy (especially leg work and compound lifts) will use a huge ammount of calories for muscle repair afterwards. if you combine heavy weights with cardio and half decent diet that is the best way to get results .. judge fat loss by waist size more so than scales..

Pardon my ignorance again but when you say 'Heavy weights' do you mean heavy enough that you could only get done one set of 10-12 reps?

Am I right in thinking compound lifts use/work more than 1 muscle like a Bench press lift? What would be some other good compound lifts?

Thanks.

cmyk

Martian Martin wrote: »

Am I right in thinking compound lifts use/work more than 1 muscle like a Bench press lift? What would be some other good compound lifts?

It's defined as any exercise that uses more than one joint, so there are quite a few....squats, single leg squats, lunges, directional lunges, step ups, deadlifts, pullup variations, bench press variations, rowing variations, pressing overhead variations etc.

corkcomp

Martian Martin wrote: »

Pardon my ignorance again but when you say 'Heavy weights' do you mean heavy enough that you could only get done one set of 10-12 reps?

Am I right in thinking compound lifts use/work more than 1 muscle like a Bench press lift? What would be some other good compound lifts?

Thanks.

at most 10 - 12 reps . but I was thinking more 8 reps max

slicus ricus

Martian Martin wrote: »

Pardon my ignorance again but when you say 'Heavy weights' do you mean heavy enough that you could only get done one set of 10-12 reps?

Am I right in thinking compound lifts use/work more than 1 muscle like a Bench press lift? What would be some other good compound lifts?

Thanks.

Bench Press, Deadlifts and Squats are 3 very good compound lifts - if you base you're weight training around these 3 lifts, you won't go too far wrong. By this I mean - A bench day along with more chest exercises + either biceps & triceps; a squat day with more leg exercises; and then a deadlift day with more back exercises and whichever of biceps & triceps you didn't do on bench day. If you have a 4th day available, a standing barbell shoulder press day with more shoulder and trap exercises would be a good idea.

Make sure you leave enough time for cardio and always consider your nutrition if you're trying to lose weight. If you're doing a lot of weights training, you need lots of foods that are high in protein.

Just out of interest, how much weight are you trying to lose & what weight are you currently (no worries if you'd rather not say)? Are you just interested in losing weight or are you looking to gain muscle as well?

Martian Martin

slicus ricus wrote: »

Bench Press, Deadlifts and Squats are 3 very good compound lifts - if you base you're weight training around these 3 lifts, you won't go too far wrong. By this I mean - A bench day along with more chest exercises + either biceps & triceps; a squat day with more leg exercises; and then a deadlift day with more back exercises and whichever of biceps & triceps you didn't do on bench day. If you have a 4th day available, a standing barbell shoulder press day with more shoulder and trap exercises would be a good idea.

Make sure you leave enough time for cardio and always consider your nutrition if you're trying to lose weight. If you're doing a lot of weights training, you need lots of foods that are high in protein.

Just out of interest, how much weight are you trying to lose & what weight are you currently (no worries if you'd rather not say)? Are you just interested in losing weight or are you looking to gain muscle as well?

Thanks - that's great.

Well, I started around 215 and am now down to bout 197 after bout 6weeks or so but as I seem to have plateaued a bit I wondered if I could be doing anything better. I am just interested in losing some weight (mainly beer belly ) though not really interested in gaining/refining muscle too much.

shootermacg

Martian Martin wrote: »

Thanks - that's great.
I am just interested in losing some weight (mainly beer belly ) though not really interested in gaining/refining muscle too much.

Then it's diet + cardio or heavy, intense, compounds all the way.
You could try uping the workout intensity, this woud be something like:

light cardio for 10/15 mins

4 sets of squats (to failure)
4 sets of bench presses (to failure)
4 sets of deadlifts (to failure)
4 sets of chins/pull downs (to failure)

Cool down cardio for 10/20 mins.

Take at least one day rest between exercises and take the weekend off.

but...

Do one set of each and start again (minimal/no rest time). I challenge you not to be shaking at the end.

TBH you should look at alternating the lifting with another routine every second day, but there is a lot of programs for alternate compound splits already made out.

Sample alt routine would be:

light cardio
4 sets of leg raises (to failure)
4 sets of bent over barbell rows (to failure)
4 sets of military presses (to failure)
4 sets of cable cross-overs (to failure)

more cardio

As I said there are better programs out there, I'm just trying to find balance off the top of my head.
I think corkcomp spelled it out pretty well TBH, you can initially build muscle while losing weight, all it takes is a calorie deficit + some heavy lifting.
Cardio is like icing on the cake, you can actually measure approx the amount of cals you'll burn thru running. 5K run = 400/500 cals burned. There are around 3500 cals in 1 pound of fat, so to lose 1 pound a week through cardio would mean eating your upkeep and running 5K - 7 days a week. I think it's better to split out the damage, so this would mean say, eating 500 cals less per day, and following something like the program above.
This will initially mean you'll be losing 1 or 2 pounds per week (could even be 4lbs/week starting out (weight-loss is faster at the start because of the shock to the system))

Remember to stay hydrated!

BTW you might not be interested in gaining muscle at the moment, but that may change, most natural builders don't resemble the roid freaks.

Brian?

shootermacg wrote: »

Then it's diet + cardio or heavy, intense, compounds all the way.
You could try uping the workout intensity, this woud be something like:

light cardio for 10/15 mins

4 sets of squats (to failure)
4 sets of bench presses (to failure)
4 sets of deadlifts (to failure)
4 sets of chins/pull downs (to failure)

Working to failure on every set would be a recipe for disaster. You're going to burn out sooner and gain strength slower.

You'd be much better off doing a 3x5, where you ramp up to using about 80% of your 1RM.

ragg

Squats to failure - if its ok with you, i'll pass

corkcomp

it depends on your goals .. Ive added a fair bit of mass over the past year and I always go to failure on each exercise once per week .. obviously its not pleasant and shouldnt be done in every session but lifting to failure has its place.

ragg

Ok, well my issue was that telling a beginner to train squats to failure is a little dangerous. its a big exercise, with a lot of weight on your back, potential injury risk is too high.

I still work to failurwe sometimes too. Its been bet in to me a few times over the last few months to stop, but sometimes i slip back into old habits also.

shootermacg

Don't train to failure then, I'm fine with that.
As I said there are lots of programs out there that have been put together by experts, mine was just an example of various compounds, thrown together in the time it took to write.

My point was minimal rest and move on to the next exercise in the program, this will keep the heart pumping.
when you finish one of each exercise, start again. This will allow for recovery of muscle groups while not allowing you to stop. I guess it'd be a form of cross training, I'm aluding to.
But that ain't really my bag tbh...there are many others on this forum that could direct you to a better program.

There's nothing I hate more than doing a defined rep range.
Although atm I aim for 12, 10, 8, 6. Some days I'm a lot weaker or stronger than other days, but rather than change the weight right away, I'll do more reps with that weight, and up it for the next set. if that's 20 reps with a weight then so be it (as was the case last night for some reason). Personally I like to progress my weights in a steady incremental manner regardless of my strong/weak days.

I personally always go to failure when it's safe. When it's unsafe I go to the rep before failure, we all know that rep. I don't find this to be an issue atm because I'm only training a muscle/group once per week and the DOMS last for me a maximum of 2 days at most.
My ass still kills me on saturdays after friday leg day ^ ^.

I would say it's important to keep a note of your progress, I just use a dairy from work and note the reps + weights in it + the way I felt on the night. This way you'll rarely be taken by surprise by a weight.
And of course don't work a muscle if it's still sore.

Martian Martin

That's great guys thanks. I've obviously got a long way to go yet before becoming more familiar with working out in general as I had to Google the phrase "to failure" to see what it meant :pac:

I have one or two other questions
1. Is there a major difference in effectiveness, for burning fat/calories, between running on a treadmill and "running" on the cross trainer - if both are done at the same level of intensity, RPM, and Hear Rate??

2. Due to not having a job at the moment (:mad:) I have more time to work in the gym so I have started to double-up my workouts. In other words, doing cardio warm up for 15mins, then the various sets of weights, then crunches and stretching and then repeat the whole thing again. My question is though, will that double up the benefits or am I being to simplistic about this?

3. I have heard that doing your weights 1st before your cardio helps burn more fat/calories as when your doing your cardio you have depleted your ready-available energy and your body is burning off stored fat. Is this just plain old bollocks?

Thanks for the help.

TommyKnocker

Hi There

IMHO

1. I actually think the cross trainer would be a little better as you actually have to work to move the cross trainer, where the belt on the threadmill moves under you.

However I would say that you should try and avoid putting all your eggs in one basket. Use the threadmill, one day, X trainer the next, maybe the rower after that. Basically keep mixing it up so your body does not get used to doing the same thing.

2. Doubling up will not get you double the results and it could well lead to over training. The key is to train smart not hard

3. I think that there may be some truth to this. However I would advise to do weights before cardio because

• If you do cardio first, you may tire yourself out and therefore not be able to lift weight you would be capable of if you were fresh.
• Being tired from cardio can cause your form to go to pot, which could lead to injury.

If possible you should do your cardio on days you don't lift. But if you must do both on the same day, then IMHO a 20 minute HIIT session at the end would be enough.

Best Regards,

M

Martian Martin

B-Builder wrote: »

Hi There

IMHO

1. I actually think the cross trainer would be a little better as you actually have to work to move the cross trainer, where the belt on the threadmill moves under you.

However I would say that you should try and avoid putting all your eggs in one basket. Use the threadmill, one day, X trainer the next, maybe the rower after that. Basically keep mixing it up so your body does not get used to doing the same thing.

2. Doubling up will not get you double the results and it could well lead to over training. The key is to train smart not hard

3. I think that there may be some truth to this. However I would advise to do weights before cardio because

• If you do cardio first, you may tire yourself out and therefore not be able to lift weight you would be capable of if you were fresh.
• Being tired from cardio can cause your form to go to pot, which could lead to injury.

If possible you should do your cardio on days you don't lift. But if you must do both on the same day, then IMHO a 20 minute HIIT session at the end would be enough.

Best Regards,

M

Thanks for that. On the rower, what would be a good 15-20 min workout on it? Is there certain times/intensity a beginner should shoot for?

Also, would I be right in thinking that with regards to HIIT you might be better off going at a higher RPM(75+) for 15mins as opposed to something like 1min (60rpm) and 1min (75pm) for 15mins?

itsallaboutheL

shootermacg wrote: »

Then it's diet + cardio or heavy, intense, compounds all the way.
You could try uping the workout intensity, this woud be something like:

light cardio for 10/15 mins

4 sets of squats (to failure)
4 sets of bench presses (to failure)
4 sets of deadlifts (to failure)
4 sets of chins/pull downs (to failure)

Cool down cardio for 10/20 mins.

Take at least one day rest between exercises and take the weekend off.

but...

Do one set of each and start again (minimal/no rest time). I challenge you not to be shaking at the end.

TBH you should look at alternating the lifting with another routine every second day, but there is a lot of programs for alternate compound splits already made out.

Sample alt routine would be:

light cardio
4 sets of leg raises (to failure)
4 sets of bent over barbell rows (to failure)
4 sets of military presses (to failure)
4 sets of cable cross-overs (to failure)

more cardio

As I said there are better programs out there, I'm just trying to find balance off the top of my head.
I think corkcomp spelled it out pretty well TBH, you can initially build muscle while losing weight, all it takes is a calorie deficit + some heavy lifting.
Cardio is like icing on the cake, you can actually measure approx the amount of cals you'll burn thru running. 5K run = 400/500 cals burned. There are around 3500 cals in 1 pound of fat, so to lose 1 pound a week through cardio would mean eating your upkeep and running 5K - 7 days a week. I think it's better to split out the damage, so this would mean say, eating 500 cals less per day, and following something like the program above.
This will initially mean you'll be losing 1 or 2 pounds per week (could even be 4lbs/week starting out (weight-loss is faster at the start because of the shock to the system))

Remember to stay hydrated!

BTW you might not be interested in gaining muscle at the moment, but that may change, most natural builders don't resemble the roid freaks.

it reads like you're trying to tell him to incorperate PHA circuit for a cardio boost with his weights but you're going about it arseways.

Are you?

if so then, it shoudl be something like Push-Pull-Push etc... not to failure and moving on after each set.

BigBraveBear

briankeating wrote: »

Working to failure on every set would be a recipe for disaster. You're going to burn out sooner and gain strength slower.

You'd be much better off doing a 3x5, where you ramp up to using about 80% of your 1RM.

Can someone please explain to me how far I should push it on each set of reps, I've been going to failure every set. Is it damaging to go to failure every time, if so, how far before failure should I stop?
Currently, I start out on the heaviest weight I can manage for about 10 reps. For the next set (about 1 min later) this goes down to about 8, then the next set goes down to 7 reps, all pretty much to failure. Is this the correct way to approach it?

Brian?

BigBraveBear wrote: »

Can someone please explain to me how far I should push it on each set of reps, I've been going to failure every set. Is it damaging to go to failure every time, if so, how far before failure should I stop?
Currently, I start out on the heaviest weight I can manage for about 10 reps. For the next set (about 1 min later) this goes down to about 8, then the next set goes down to 7 reps, all pretty much to failure. Is this the correct way to approach it?

I'm probably about to get this completly arseways, but here it goes.

I'd increase the rest period between your sets for a start to 90 secs, that will allow to get more reps on the 2nd and 3rd set.

Make sure you are ramping your weight properly, warm up with light weights before you start your worksets.

Test you 1 rep max for the big lifts every 6-8 weeks and use this as the guide to setting the weight for your worksets.

Keep a log so you know exactly what weight your worksets are going to be every time you step in the gym as well, this will help you over reaching and missing lifts. Try to work to a point where you feel you have 1 rep left in you and then stop.



What are you lifting at the moment for squat, deadlift, bench, press etc. ?

You might want to look at lowering the reps below 10 anyway, to the 6-8 range or 3-5 range and work on strenght.

BigBraveBear

briankeating wrote: »

I'm probably about to get this completly arseways, but here it goes.

I'd increase the rest period between your sets for a start to 90 secs, that will allow to get more reps on the 2nd and 3rd set.

Make sure you are ramping your weight properly, warm up with light weights before you start your worksets.

Test you 1 rep max for the big lifts every 6-8 weeks and use this as the guide to setting the weight for your worksets.

Keep a log so you know exactly what weight your worksets are going to be every time you step in the gym as well, this will help you over reaching and missing lifts. Try to work to a point where you feel you have 1 rep left in you and then stop.



What are you lifting at the moment for squat, deadlift, bench, press etc. ?

You might want to look at lowering the reps below 10 anyway, to the 6-8 range or 3-5 range and work on strenght.

Thanks for the advice.
Im currently able to bench 40kg to 7reps. So should I start my first set with a lower weight, say 30 kg and do about 12 reps. then up the weight to 35kg for the next set and do about 10, then up it again to 40 and do 7.
Or do I have that completly arseways? I do dont I

TommyKnocker

Martian Martin wrote: »

Thanks for that. On the rower, what would be a good 15-20 min workout on it? Is there certain times/intensity a beginner should shoot for?

Also, would I be right in thinking that with regards to HIIT you might be better off going at a higher RPM(75+) for 15mins as opposed to something like 1min (60rpm) and 1min (75pm) for 15mins?

Hi Again

I'm no expert and not a rower or anything, but IMHO as a beginner to the rower concentrate on you technique. See below for a decent viedo on indoor rowing technique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqVmMd7FdAA

Then, when you get your technique sorted what I personally aim to do is increase my distance per stroke rather then worry about the distance covered in a set time or trying to get my stroke rate as high as possible. So I set a target rate of say 22 strokes per minute (SPM) and see what distance I can cover in say 10 minutes. Then I try and increase the distance next time, but keep my stroke rate to 22 SPM.

On Wednesday gone I spent 55 mins on the rower. I started with a 10 minute warm up, concentrating on my technique. Then I did 24 minutes of intervals 12 x 1 minute intervals hard (up to 32 SPM) with a 1 minute recovery after each. Then I did 2 x 10 minutes stints of steady rowing (22-24 SPM) trying to cover the best distance each time (working on stroke efficiency).

HIIT is "High Intensity Interval Training" so the aim would be to go all out for say 1 minute, then recover for 1 minute to 90 seconds, then go all out again. Build this up to about 10 hard intervals and then start to shorten the recovery time bit by bit. A HIIT session should last no more 20 minutes, possibly 30 minutes when you are really fit and you should be absolutely fcuked at the end of it


Best Regards,

M

Brian?

BigBraveBear wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.
Im currently able to bench 40kg to 7reps. So should I start my first set with a lower weight, say 30 kg and do about 12 reps. then up the weight to 35kg for the next set and do about 10, then up it again to 40 and do 7.
Or do I have that completly arseways? I do dont I

Sort of, but not really arseways. There a few ways of training, the one you're describing is like pyramid training. This means you increase the weight and lower the reps on each set. This happens to be the type I know least about, as I never did it.

It would look something like this:

Empty bar x20
25x15
30x12
35x10
40x7
45x5

Another way of doing it would be straight set. Say a 3x5 or a 3x8.

So a 3x5 :

Empty bar x 15-20
25x5
30x1
35x1
40x1
45x5x3( 3 sets of 5 reps of 45, with 2 mins rest between each set)

Whatever one you do, the important thing is that you are working on getting stronger. Try to add weight every week, set goals and test your 1RM regularly so you can be sure of your progress.

I take it by your answer that you don't squat or deadlift? Learn to.


This is a great program for a beginner:

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki

BigBraveBear

briankeating wrote: »

Sort of, but not really arseways. There a few ways of training, the one you're describing is like pyramid training. This means you increase the weight and lower the reps on each set. This happens to be the type I know least about, as I never did it.

It would look something like this:

Empty bar x20
25x15
30x12
35x10
40x7
45x5

Another way of doing it would be straight set. Say a 3x5 or a 3x8.

So a 3x5 :

Empty bar x 15-20
25x5
30x1
35x1
40x1
45x5x3( 3 sets of 5 reps of 45, with 2 mins rest between each set)

Whatever one you do, the important thing is that you are working on getting stronger. Try to add weight every week, set goals and test your 1RM regularly so you can be sure of your progress.

I take it by your answer that you don't squat or deadlift? Learn to.


This is a great program for a beginner:

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki

Thanks for the advice. I think its time I started doing a more structured rep arrangement, I currently just go in and start horsing into the weights without thinking too much about the reps and weight progression. Thats prob why I've been stuck on the same weight for 4 months!
I also need to start squating and dead lift, but waiting for a lower back injury to clear up first.

Transform

BigBraveBear wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I think its time I started doing a more structured rep arrangement, I currently just go in and start horsing into the weights without thinking too much about the reps and weight progression. Thats prob why I've been stuck on the same weight for 4 months!
I also need to start squating and dead lift, but waiting for a lower back injury to clear up first.

totally agree - better structure of you are just pissing against the wind TBH but i have to say i see people do this all the time.

Think - work on strength, fitness, flexibility, rehab/prehab, core work and then anything else that you just want to do as a challenge

Martian Martin

B-Builder wrote: »

Hi Again

I'm no expert and not a rower or anything, but IMHO as a beginner to the rower concentrate on you technique. See below for a decent viedo on indoor rowing technique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqVmMd7FdAA

Then, when you get your technique sorted what I personally aim to do is increase my distance per stroke rather then worry about the distance covered in a set time or trying to get my stroke rate as high as possible. So I set a target rate of say 22 strokes per minute (SPM) and see what distance I can cover in say 10 minutes. Then I try and increase the distance next time, but keep my stroke rate to 22 SPM.

On Wednesday gone I spent 55 mins on the rower. I started with a 10 minute warm up, concentrating on my technique. Then I did 24 minutes of intervals 12 x 1 minute intervals hard (up to 32 SPM) with a 1 minute recovery after each. Then I did 2 x 10 minutes stints of steady rowing (22-24 SPM) trying to cover the best distance each time (working on stroke efficiency).

HIIT is "High Intensity Interval Training" so the aim would be to go all out for say 1 minute, then recover for 1 minute to 90 seconds, then go all out again. Build this up to about 10 hard intervals and then start to shorten the recovery time bit by bit. A HIIT session should last no more 20 minutes, possibly 30 minutes when you are really fit and you should be absolutely fcuked at the end of it


Best Regards,

M

Thanks Man.