Workout advice please

street

Hi

I've recently started working out and could do with some general advice from you guys. I'm doing it from home at the moment using dumbells but will hopefully move on to the gym in the next few months. Not sure if this is necessary but.. I'm 33, average height, have an athletic/slim figure (could lose a little fat on my stomach, not much) Besides being getting toned and developing a 6 pack I basically want to bulk up as much as possible, not to bodybuilder size or anything (no offense bodybuilders)

My diet mostly consists of chicken, red meat, fruit and veg, cereal(cornflakes), dry roasted peanuts, kidney beans, white rice, pasta, wholegrain bread, eggs, orange juice(pure) and I'm on liver oil capsules.

I rarely eat junkfood or drink tea/coffee/sodas (but i am trying to cut down on booze and quit smokes ) I've heard its a good idea to have about 6 small meals rather than 1 or 2 large ones so i'm trying to adjust the way i eat (breakfast/lunch/dinner) to that.

I've been working out 6 days a week for the last 2 weeks and this is what my routine is like:

Mon:

Upper Body - lateral raises, reverse shoulder flys, seated shoulder presess, dumbell floor presses, dumbell floor flys, biceps curl (2 sets of 12-15 reps each) Wrist curl (3 sets of 12-15 reps) Press ups (75-100)

Tue:

Abs/Core - crunch, bicycle crunch, leg lifts, obliques crunch, reverse crunch (3 sets of 20 reps) Plank (3 times for 1 min)

Wed:

Lower Body - Squats, lunges (3 sets of 20 reps) 1 leg toe touch (3 sets of 20 reps for each leg) 3 position calf raises (3 sets of 30 reps for each position) I do all of these weighted apart from the leg toe touch.

Thurs:

Upper Body

Fri:

Abs/Core

Sat:

Lower Body

Sun:

Day off


Cardio: Jogging (20mins per day at the moment), cycling(general), walking(general)

Two big questions i would have are, would it be a good idea for me to start taking a protein supplement like 'big whey' and if so, how often, how much and when should i take it. Also, for bulking up and building muscle, would i be better off doing say 2 or 3 sets of 4-7 reps with a really heavy weight (for me) as opposed to 2 or 3 sets of 12-15 reps with a lighter weight?

A long post there sorry, but all advice/suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks :pac:

psydereyes

Just got time for a short answer but as a beginner you would nearly be better off doing a full body routine 2/3 times a week. Maybe moving on to a split routine later on.

If there is a good gym near you i would join now rather than later to give you access to alot more equipment (better choice of exercises) and alot more advice and encouragement.

Good luck with the smokes!!!!

jimmypage100

Dumbell Snatches are brilliant for any sort of weight loss. I lost four stone since January and Snatches were a big part of my training. Be careful to keep your back straight though! check out the link below. You dont need to do the jump in the middle of the snatch but you get more out of it if you do. Im by no means an expert however. Just saying what helped me!:D

jimmypage100

http://youtu.be/RmDhQT48bPI

gymsoldier

jimmypage100 wrote: »

Dumbell Snatches are brilliant for any sort of weight loss. I lost four stone since January and Snatches were a big part of my training.

So snatches and snatches alone were the success of your weight loss?
Besides this point, I'd also like to add that the OP wants to gain weight, not loose it.

street wrote: »

I basically want to bulk up as much as possible

OP, your training isn't great to be honest. As advise with reps, just go for 4-8 with big compound movements, then 6-10 with other movements.
Can you give a daily example of your diet, how much of what and when with the foods you've mentioned.
Also, your height, and correct weight.

I tend to lean towards getting the diet down first, then the training.

jimmypage100

As i said in my post Gymsoldier, snatches were a BIG PART of my success. Read the post. I spent at least a quarter of every session doing snatches. Not solely snatches. And i'm not claiming to be an expert,just offering my two cents..

Lantus

I think to start with a whole body routine 3 times a week (every other day) would suit you better. Split routines typically attack muscle groups harder and your a lot more prone to injury because muscles and more importantly tendons and ligaments wont be anywhere near as strong and grow much slower than your muscles.

That and the fact your older as well making you more prone to injury especially if you have been relativley sedentary previously.

Resistance training is all about slow and steady. 4-6 months with this approach would give you an all over base strength and fitness level from which you could develop into a 3 day split routine say (very popular) to gain some additional mass and stay strong and healthy.

DO some cardio on the days your not training with weights and additional days if your feeling up for it. Add some HIIT for one day per week (say saturday)

Whey powder is not essential at this stage. Good nutrition is. Your much better off reading reading and then reading some more about food and how to make good choices when shopping and know WHY!!!! rather than relying on whey as a crutch as many people seem to. As you develop theres nothing wrong with adding whey to help fit into a busy lifestyle or help towards achieving your goals. But it's a supplement and not a magic potion. Food is always the best choice.

street

psydereyes wrote: »

Just got time for a short answer but as a beginner you would nearly be better off doing a full body routine 2/3 times a week. Maybe moving on to a split routine later on.

If there is a good gym near you i would join now rather than later to give you access to alot more equipment (better choice of exercises) and alot more advice and encouragement.

Good luck with the smokes!!!!

Thanks man I'm just starting out at this but thought the split routine was a good way to go, because i could focus on a particular area of the body each day (not sure how i'd fit everything into 1 session) while giving those muscles time to repair before the next time i work that area. Yeah there is a good gym near me but i'm not in a position to join it at the moment..

street

jimmypage100 wrote: »

Dumbell Snatches are brilliant for any sort of weight loss. I lost four stone since January and Snatches were a big part of my training. Be careful to keep your back straight though! check out the link below. You dont need to do the jump in the middle of the snatch but you get more out of it if you do. Im by no means an expert however. Just saying what helped me!:D

Cheers mate, checked out that vid.. ehm.. i think i'll give those a miss for the moment they look quite advanced? I am trying to lose some fat from my stomach (for abs) but mainly i want to gain muscle mass.

street

gymsoldier wrote: »

OP, your training isn't great to be honest. As advise with reps, just go for 4-8 with big compound movements, then 6-10 with other movements.
Can you give a daily example of your diet, how much of what and when with the foods you've mentioned.
Also, your height, and correct weight.
I tend to lean towards getting the diet down first, then the training.

Thanks gymsoldier, I'm a bit gutted there i thought i was doing ok lol. Anyway, could you tell me how improve my routine maybe give an example of a better one i could do (with the sets and reps)?

On a typical day i'd have 2 or 3 poach eggs on brown toast with golden olive butter for breakfast. Or a bowl or 2 of cornflakes. For lunch a grilled chicken breast sandwich (wholegrain bread) with mayonasie and tomatoes. I tend to eat a late dinner (about 10pm) which could be chilli con carne (with white rice), chicken and veg stir fry (with white rice), spaghetti bolognese.. Between lunch and dinner i might have an apple or two, some nuts.. All depends how hungry i am. I drink lots of water and orange juice (not from concentrate)

Height: 5' 7" Weight: 12 stone

street

Lantus wrote: »

I think to start with a whole body routine 3 times a week (every other day) would suit you better. Split routines typically attack muscle groups harder and your a lot more prone to injury because muscles and more importantly tendons and ligaments wont be anywhere near as strong and grow much slower than your muscles.

That and the fact your older as well making you more prone to injury especially if you have been relativley sedentary previously.

Resistance training is all about slow and steady. 4-6 months with this approach would give you an all over base strength and fitness level from which you could develop into a 3 day split routine say (very popular) to gain some additional mass and stay strong and healthy.

DO some cardio on the days your not training with weights and additional days if your feeling up for it. Add some HIIT for one day per week (say saturday)

Whey powder is not essential at this stage. Good nutrition is. Your much better off reading reading and then reading some more about food and how to make good choices when shopping and know WHY!!!! rather than relying on whey as a crutch as many people seem to. As you develop theres nothing wrong with adding whey to help fit into a busy lifestyle or help towards achieving your goals. But it's a supplement and not a magic potion. Food is always the best choice.

Thanks for the advice Lantus, like i was saying to gymsoldier could you give an example of a routine i could do? I'm not sure what way to incorporate everything into a whole body workout.

I have an injury question actually. I have a mild back strain in the middle of my back on the right side (due to bad form on an exercise when i started off i think). It hasn't prevented me from lifting weights or jogging etc and i only feel it when i twist my waist. Also have a dull pain right in the centre of my back (like on the spine) Should i stop training until these are gone or work through it?

gymsoldier

street wrote: »

I have an injury question actually. I have a mild back strain in the middle of my back on the right side (due to bad form on an exercise when i started off i think). It hasn't prevented me from lifting weights or jogging etc and i only feel it when i twist my waist. Also have a dull pain right in the centre of my back (like on the spine) Should i stop training until these are gone or work through it?

Shhhh the mods will hear you....

Ill get back to you on you diet and training later on.

TimeToShine

As said above a 3 day full body routine would benefit you a lot more at this stage, as you're new to weightlifting your muscles will rebuild a lot faster than for advanced bodybuilders. The reason advanced lifters use 4/5 day splits is because they have exhausted their initial "newb" gains and their muscles now have to be hit a lot harder with isolation exercises thrown in and given a lot more time to grow for them to see progress.

Another thing is, unless your dumb-bells go up to the 20kg mark then they're going to be pretty much useless after a while. I suggest you join your local gym and use their free-weight section, do a full body workout 3 days a week, something like this:

DB Chest Press 3x8
DB Incline Press 3x8
DB Overhead Press 3x8

Deadlifts 3x5
Squats 3x8

Lateral Raises 3x10
DB Shrugs 2x15 or Chinups 2XFailure

You can throw in some bicep curls or other isolation exercises such as reverse flies for your shoulders or skullcrushers for your triceps etc but something like that 3 times a week would suit you perfectly. Also, as long as you're getting enough meat/chicken every day then you needn't worry about protein supplements for at least a few months.

street

TimeToShine wrote: »

As said above a 3 day full body routine would benefit you a lot more at this stage, as you're new to weightlifting your muscles will rebuild a lot faster than for advanced bodybuilders. The reason advanced lifters use 4/5 day splits is because they have exhausted their initial "newb" gains and their muscles now have to be hit a lot harder with isolation exercises thrown in and given a lot more time to grow for them to see progress.

Another thing is, unless your dumb-bells go up to the 20kg mark then they're going to be pretty much useless after a while. I suggest you join your local gym and use their free-weight section, do a full body workout 3 days a week, something like this:

DB Chest Press 3x8
DB Incline Press 3x8
DB Overhead Press 3x8

Deadlifts 3x5
Squats 3x8

Lateral Raises 3x10
DB Shrugs 2x15 or Chinups 2XFailure

You can throw in some bicep curls or other isolation exercises such as reverse flies for your shoulders or skullcrushers for your triceps etc but something like that 3 times a week would suit you perfectly. Also, as long as you're getting enough meat/chicken every day then you needn't worry about protein supplements for at least a few months.

Thats great man, thanks a lot! What would be the best way to work ab exercises and other lower body stuff (e.g lunges) into this over the 3 days?

Mellor

jimmypage100 wrote: »

As i said in my post Gymsoldier, snatches were a BIG PART of my success. Read the post. I spent at least a quarter of every session doing snatches. Not solely snatches. And i'm not claiming to be an expert,just offering my two cents..

I think you were missing gymsoilders point. You had a lot a weigh to lose, so any exercise with a good diet would of worked.
Snatches aren't anything special for targeting weightloss, they are a good compound movement, but so are lots of exercises. Had you spent 1/4 of your time on Kettlebell swings it would of been a similar result

street

gymsoldier wrote: »

Ill get back to you on you diet and training later on.

Cheers

street

Hey lads can you tell me what you think of this for a 3 day a week full body routine:

lateral raises, reverse shoulder flys, floor flys, seated overhead presses, floor chest presses, incline chest presses, bicep curls, wrist curls, shrugs, skullcrushers, rows, back extensions, pressups...

squats, deadlifts, 3 position calf raises...

crunches, bicycle crunches, obliques crunches, leg lifts, reverse crunches, plank.

Advice on sets and reps would be great if possible. Thanks

Brian?

street wrote: »

Hey lads can you tell me what you think of this for a 3 day a week full body routine:

lateral raises, reverse shoulder flys, floor flys, seated overhead presses, floor chest presses, incline chest presses, bicep curls, wrist curls, shrugs, skullcrushers, rows, back extensions, pressups...

squats, deadlifts, 3 position calf raises...

crunches, bicycle crunches, obliques crunches, leg lifts, reverse crunches, plank.

Advice on sets and reps would be great if possible. Thanks

That reads like a list of excercises and not a structured program.

Pick 3 compound exercises and 3 assistance exercises for a start.

street

briankeating wrote: »

That reads like a list of excercises and not a structured program.

Pick 3 compound exercises and 3 assistance exercises for a start.

Thanks a lot briankeating.

nice_guy80

http://www.youtube.com/user/scooby1961?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/0/nQAh7m4xsMo

Check out his videos.
Lots of good home routines

street

nice_guy80 wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/user/scooby1961?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/0/nQAh7m4xsMo

Check out his videos.
Lots of good home routines

Thank you!