Looking for some general fitness help

the_syco

Hi all,

For a couple of months (at least six), I have been going to the gym every Tuesday, and football with the lads every Thursday (up until 2 months ago).

The (work) gym at the time consisted of walk 3 mins at 6km/h, run @ 16km@h for 30 seconds, walk 4 or 5 mins at 6km/h, walk 30 seconds at 12km/h, walk 4 mins at 6km/h, and then slow it down.

I'd then go onto the weights. Not sure what the exercises are called, so Googled the names

2.5lb Seated Rear Dumbbell Lateral Raise (also called "bent-over flying")
3 sets of 15 reps

15lb Seated Shoulder Press
3 sets of 15 reps

I would then do a routine of 3 sets of the below:

15* 15lb Flat Bench Dumbbell Press
15* single 15lb dumbbell skullcrusher thing (also called a "dumbbell pullover)
15* ab crunch

Check the picture to see what "dumbbell skullcrusher thing" I meant. Can't find the correct name for it.
/edit
Found it's referred to as "dumbbell pullover" in the weight-lifting book I have "The New Hardcore Bodybuilding" © 1990

Also, when lifting weights whilst on my back, my legs would be bent, and my feet also on the bench, as opposed to on the floor. Found that my back would stay on the bench, and not lift off it when I on my last few reps. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing?

=-=

About two months ago, the football stopped, and I joined tag rugby at work. It's on twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays), so this has kind of helped me get fit quicker. Football was run and stop. Would usually break a sweat, but would get a chance to stop. Tag rugby is mainly non-stop short distance sprinting.

I also changed gym. The new gym, the Glenroyal (Maynooth), has a swimming pool (only reason for joining it), and is nearby.

So I now do (twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays):

2.5kg Seated Rear Dumbbell Lateral Raise
3 sets of 15 reps

10kg Seated Shoulder Press
3 sets of 15 reps

I would then do a routine of 3 sets of the below:

15* 10kg Flat Bench Dumbbell Press
15* single 10kg dumbbell skullcrusher thing
15* ab crunch

followed by shower and then I swim.

Back stroke and inverted breaststroke (both using legs only) to start off, followed by some normal breaststroke, and some more backstroke.

=-=

Also, if it means anything, my diet is:
3 Weetabix, full fat milk, and honey for breakfast, random sandwich (using half b half brown/white bread) for lunch, and then random dinner (after gym/tag rugby).

Wondering is there any sort of liquid food that I could intake before gym/tag rugby, as I'm usually hungry half-way through either or. I say liquid food, as I don't want a cramp from eating too soon before exercise. If it included milk or water, and something else, it'd be great. Thinking of maybe whey powder (I think you can get it in strawberry flavour), and I was wondering how much of it should I drink before the exercise?

=-=

So, in a nutshell:
Monday: tag rugby
Tuesday: gym & swim until I can swim no more
Wednesday: rest legs are usually stiff
Thursday: tag rugby
Friday: gym & swim until I can swim no more
Saturday & Sunday: rest. Sometimes swim only on Sundays.

Any thought or suggestions would be nice.

gant0

what would you like suggestions on?weights routine,cardio or diet and what result do you want to achieve?Lose weight,bulk up or just get fitter?

the_syco

gant0 wrote: »

what would you like suggestions on?weights routine,cardio or diet and what result do you want to achieve?Lose weight,bulk up or just get fitter?

Heh. I was pretty vague I suppose. Bulk up on the arms/chest area, and get fitter in the legs department. The belly is going down by itself, and I believe the exercise will help get rid of the bulk of it.

Orla K

I've never done Seated Rear Dumbbell Lateral Raise but the weight your useing 2.5lb (about 1kg) I've got an underweight kitten that weighs more than that! I would say you could lift heavier than the lot of the weights. I know I do the seated shoulder press and I'd do about 17lbs and I'd say I'm smaller than you and I still feel like I'm just starting so I even feel I should be able to do more.

But I don't know that much just that my kitten weighs more than that.

the_syco

Orla K wrote: »

I've got an underweight kitten that weighs more than that! I would say you could lift heavier than the lot of the weights. I know I do the seated shoulder press and I'd do about 17lbs and I'd say I'm smaller than you and I still feel like I'm just starting so I even feel I should be able to do more.

Just to say that the "Seated Rear Dumbbell Lateral Raise" is also called the "Seated Bent-Over Rear Dumbbell Lateral Raise". Have a look here from the one minute mark. In the new gym, it's KGs, so I now use the 2.5KG weights. The "seated shoulder press" uses completely different muscles than the "Seated Bent-Over Rear Dumbbell Lateral Raise", so it's not something I'd be physically able to do with a heavier weight yet for 15reps * 3sets. Heck, my arms tire after half way through the 2nd set at times.

gant0

right well firstly you should up the weight and reduce reps if needed.You should also concentrate more on the compound exercise(e.g bench,deadlift and squat) as not only will the work upper but lower too and help with overall bulk.
Cardio wise all I can speak of is what I do and I do HIIT on threadmill,bicycle and rowing machine.In an average session I might do around 40-50 mins.Now what I'm trying to do is cut and gain fitness but since you mianly looking to bulk up maybe reduce cardio for now as not to have a calorie defecit.
Meal wise,you should control these "random" meals:D and have some sort of menu to go by as nutrition is one of the if not the most important things.Make sure to take in lots of proteins,veg/frit and carbs.

the_syco

NOOOOOOOOOOOOES - Pressed CTRL+W instead of SHIFT+W, and deleted a post Will write it again

gant0 wrote: »

right well firstly you should up the weight and reduce reps if needed.You should also concentrate more on the compound exercise(e.g bench,deadlift and squat) as not only will the work upper but lower too and help with overall bulk.

Well, joining the new gym has meant I have went from 15lb to 10KG weights. I have only being able to do 10 reps since this. Question: when I can do 15 reps again comfortably enough, should I
a) try to increase the reps
or
b) increase the load again, drop back to 10 reps, and work up to 15 reps again, and repeat?

gant0 wrote: »

Cardio wise all I can speak of is what I do and I do HIIT on threadmill,bicycle and rowing machine.

Threadmill and bicycle I find boring (I only really cycle for pleasure since I snapped an elbow on the ice cycling the winter before last), but the rowing machine I can do. Will look into incorporating 10 minutes of rowing machine into my gym & swim routine (after 10 minutes I get bored).

gant0 wrote: »

In an average session I might do around 40-50 mins.Now what I'm trying to do is cut and gain fitness but since you mianly looking to bulk up maybe reduce cardio for now as not to have a calorie defecit.

Well, although I want to bulk up, it's second to fitness, as I need fitness to enable me to sprint for longer in the tag rugby. The tag rugby helps my fitness, it helps the goal to be fit, and is a purpose to get fitter, if that makes sense.

As for calorie deficit, I dunno my calorie input or output, so I'll take a log of it the week after next (only working two days this week, so my weekly food intake routine will be messed up).

gant0 wrote: »

Meal wise,you should control these "random" meals:D and have some sort of menu to go by as nutrition is one of the if not the most important things.Make sure to take in lots of proteins,veg/frit and carbs.

Random lunch is a white+brown "best of both" sandwich, with some the following (most often placed first): cheese, ham, egg, banana. Depends on the mood, usually.
Random dinner is the joys of living at home.

May increase the amount of fruit I eat, though. Would having a whey shake before rugby/gym&swim be of any benefit to me?

Kadongy

Gym routine is rubbish, as indicated by the very light weights you are using after going for 6 months.

As said, do compound exercises. The ones already given are the best. Pullups also. You will see improvement much much faster with compound exercises.

As said, reduce reps and increase weight. 8-12 for size. 6 or less for strength.

As said, pay attention to nutrition. You won't need to set a menu to see improvement at your current level. I would guess you could do with eating a lot more protein though.

If you want to start consuming whey, the best way would be to drink it mixed with water and glucose right after weight training. 25-30g should be plenty for you, with about twice as much glucose.

I arch my back a lot when doing bench press. This helps lift heavy weights. I also pull my shoulderblades together. This helps support shoulders.

also; "Treadmill" people. You are treading, not threading.

the_syco

Kadongy wrote: »

As said, do compound exercises. The ones already given are the best. Pullups also. You will see improvement much much faster with compound exercises.

Will look into the compound exercises. I don't think I can pull my own body weight up yet (have tried it in the past), though. I'm 6 foot 6" (198cm), and weight is 18.4 stone (116kg) so it'll be a while yet

As said, pay attention to nutrition. You won't need to set a menu to see improvement at your current level. I would guess you could do with eating a lot more protein though.

Kadongy wrote: »

If you want to start consuming whey, the best way would be to drink it mixed with water and glucose right after weight training. 25-30g should be plenty for you, with about twice as much glucose.

Will look into this. I assume it'd be okay to swim after this? I don't know any reason why not, just checking.

Kadongy wrote: »

I arch my back a lot when doing bench press. This helps lift heavy weights. I also pull my shoulderblades together. This helps support shoulders.

The arching of the back has confused me. I've been told that it's bad for my lower back to arch my back when lifting dumbbells whilst standing up, but have read it's good to arch your back when on a flat bench, once you keep your ass on the bench when doing so. Is this correct?

Dravokivich

the_syco wrote: »

NOOOOOOOOOOOOES - Pressed CTRL+W instead of SHIFT+W, and deleted a post Will write it again


Well, joining the new gym has meant I have went from 15lb to 10KG weights. I have only being able to do 10 reps since this. Question: when I can do 15 reps again comfortably enough, should I
a) try to increase the reps
or
b) increase the load again, drop back to 10 reps, and work up to 15 reps again, and repeat?

Increase the weights. Increase reps as far as I've read just increases the efficiancy of a muscle, but to promote growth, you need to increase the weight.

3 sets of 8 - 12 reps. the idea is that you should start feeling tired with the end of the third set. Once your comfortable after the third set, increase the weight.

the_syco

Dravokivich wrote: »

Increase the weights. Increase reps as far as I've read just increases the efficiancy of a muscle, but to promote growth, you need to increase the weight.

3 sets of 8 - 12 reps. the idea is that you should start feeling tired with the end of the third set. Once your comfortable after the third set, increase the weight.

Aye.

Increased the weight of the "Seated Rear Dumbbell Lateral Raise" to 7.5KG (from 2.5KG), couldn't lift it half way through the 3rd set.

Increased the weight of the "Flat Bench Dumbbell Press" to 15KG (from 10KG). Couldn't finish the 3rd set. Think I got to 4 of 10 reps, and thought "jeasus, I can't lift it up".

Also did a leg press*, with 69 (I think KG, could be LB) of weight. Did 4 sets of 10 reps. Will up that next time I'm at the gym. Forgot to do a any "Seated Shoulder Press", but will do it next gym day (Friday).

Due to the leg press, legs got tired quicker during the swim. Next time I think I'll do the leg press first, and then the weights, to give my legs some time to recover before swimming.

=-=

leg press* - watched a few of scooby1961's videos on youtube, and whilst watching his video on squats (skip to 2:25 of the video), I saw that the leg press may be a better idea for me, esp as I don't think I'd be able to lift that large a weight for the squats, but I could push a larger weight when doing the leg press.

Mellor

the_syco wrote: »

leg press* - watched a few of scooby1961's videos on youtube, and whilst watching his video on squats (skip to 2:25 of the video), I saw that the leg press may be a better idea for me, esp as I don't think I'd be able to lift that large a weight for the squats, but I could push a larger weight when doing the leg press.

Everyoen can leg press more than they can squat - that doesn't mean they atre better for you over squats.
If you can't or don't want to squat then don't, but don't try and kid yourself with some silly justification

the_syco

Mellor wrote: »

Everyoen can leg press more than they can squat - that doesn't mean they atre better for you over squats.
If you can't or don't want to squat then don't, but don't try and kid yourself with some silly justification

Didn't know the first point. Would the leg press and squats be the same, or would the squats be better? I've no idea, thus I'm asking now.

Mellor

In my opinion, and in the opinion of most (based on comments here), squats are better.
There are loads of reasons why leg press are easier. For example, on most leg press machines that I have seen, the path of travel is 45 degrees to horizontal, like below


Which is misleading.
If you put 100kg of plates on the leg press, the force required to lift them is less than 100kg. This is because, at an angle only some of the load is opposed by gravity (at 45deg its 50% I think*). Which maes sense as the lower and lower you drop the angle, the easier you would expect it gets to move.


*It takes more than 50% to move it as there is also friction to account for

the_syco

Mellor wrote: »

There are loads of reasons why leg press are easier.

Thanks for the reply. The one I'm using at Glenroyal has no friction, and works with a pulley system and weights (I push, and wired lift up weights) so not really any friction. I suppose my question would be which is more beneficial in the long term? The leg press or squats?

Dravokivich

Long term... Free weights over resistance.