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Weights routine

TerrorFirmer

Hi,

For the last 2 months I've following a loosely planned but consistant weights routine. I've only been doing it for the past 2 months, and I went from being really rather unfit, so currently I'y only benching 30kg, and using dumbells of 8kg for my arms.

What I usually do 3 or 4 nights a week is

200 situps
20 reps of 8kg dumbell on each arm, and some other exercises involing the dumbell (eg raising my arm from the side up). I do this mostly really and it forms the core of what I do, once I do 20 reps I change arm and continue on in that cycle.
15x10x8 reps of 30kg when I am using bench, do this 2 or 3 times.

I eat a regular amount of meat during the average day and take a protein shake 3 or 4 times a week after weights.

My question is this: As I am going now, with these lightish weights, and gradually working up, is this alright? Or is the way I am doing things all wrong. Should I be trying to do other exercises as well for other areas? So far even after 7 or 8 weeks my arms are alot stronger and visably more muscular so its good motivation but at the same time I don't want to be neglected what should be other key areas of my shoulder/arm/chest area.

ps - this might should like the most retarded question ever to those that know it, but is it normal for arms to get eh...alot more "veiny" after doing weights for a few weeks?

Thanks

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Chucky the tree

http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/DeltoidLateral/DBLateralRaise.gif

is that what your doing in with sit-ups? Is there anything else your doing?

It depends what your goals are. If you want to improve your whole body shape then its a shockingly bad routine. But if your just worried about your arms/shoulders its fine or you just want to improve fitness.

I'd still throw in more excercises for your chest, bicep, tricep and back to give you a better overall work out. You can do lunges and squats aswell for legs.

You will need to increase the weights aswell if you want to increase muclse size and concentrate more on diet.

TerrorFirmer

Yeah, thats what I am doing alright. Well, as well as that, I am just doing normal raises up towards my chin with the 8kg as well - not all lateral raises. Not looking to really bulk up all over, just arms and shoulders really, but want to make some noticable muscle gains.

What else would you recommend for the arms - triceps and biceps - and shoulders? I plan increasing the weights but as I said I'm just a beginner and am working my way up comfortabley first. Just wondering is it possible to build decent muscle on light weights are am I going to have to keep going heavier and heavier to get that...

Thanks for reply.

g'em

Hiya,

Now please don't get offended but I'm going to agree with CtT here, it is indeed a shockingly bad routine, in fact I wouldn't really call it a routine at all. Basically you're saying you want bigger arms right? And maybe shoulders too? But you don't want to increase strength and muscle mass anywhere else? So you want what's called the lightbulb syndrome

One of hte big misconceptions about lifting is that as soon as you start to move anything heavy, overnight you'll transform into Arnie. Trust me, that is not going to happen so stop being afraid to train other body parts. Weight lifting will increase your all over strength, help you avoid injury, strengthen your connective tissue, ligaments and joints, give you better posture and best of all increases your lean muscle mass, raising your metabolism making weight maintenance all the easier (which I know is something you've been working on recently). Just because you're a beginner that doesn't mean you should train badly- in fact now is the time to get it right to give you a good strength base to work from.

In lifting there's (very simplistically) two types of exercises: compound and isolation. Compound lifts are those which work multiple muscle groups all at one time- the classic three being the bench press, the deadlift and the squat (and then there's also cleans, clean and jerks, snatches... but lets not overcomplicate things).

The bench press works most of the pectoral chest muscles, the triceps and the shoulders, and works them all hard. The squat works the glutes (bum), hamstrings (back of the legs), quads (front of the leg) and calves. The deadlift works pretty much everything the squats do, as well as lower back, traps (back of the neck) and shoulders.

You can actually do a program that consists of nothing but those three lifts and look a hell of a lot better at the end of it (and be a whole lot stronger) than some of the more complicated routines out there. I can guarantee you that any guy who you think has a good muscular physique does at least two of those three exercises on a very regular basis, or at the least has done them a lot in the past.

And then there's the isolation exercises, which work individual muscle groups, just like the bicep work you're doing. Isolation work has its place in routines, but it tends to be used for aesthetics as opposed to functional strength building, and even then has its limitations. The more muscles you work in a lift, the stronger you'll get and quicker. Plus it will encourage the growth of more muscle tissue as various hormones get released in higher quantities.

So, first off, why not consider doing a more expansive overall body workout? You won't get big and bulky (unless you eat a sh!tload of good food and lift damn heavy), and it'll give you much more proportionality, overall strength and a much better body balance. And it doesn't necessarily involve highly complicated gym routines or fancy equipment- there's a pile of bodyweight work that you can use for resistance training.

Of course if you don't want to (the reasons for this being beyond my grasp

) and you want to stick to just working your biceps, add in tricep work to it. Your tricep muscles are a group of three muscles on the back of your arm and are actually a lot bigger than the dual bicep muscle group- your arms will look a lot shapelier and bigger if you have well defined tri's. Overhead extensions, dips or even push-ups to work the chest too will help- there's oodles of tricep exercises out there, some of which are mentioned here with diagrams. Biceps and triceps are antagonistic muscle groups- that is they are a pair of muscle groups that work against each other. If you strengthen only one you run a high risk of injuring the other one a it'll be left weaker and prone to strain.

To get bigger muscles you need to feed them and work them hard. 20 reps is not working them hard, but it will increase muscle endurance. If you want big, work in the 6-10 rep range for much heavier than 8kg.

There's plenty of reading material out there if you really want to make improvements, it's just a little daunting not knowing where to start. But really, truly, doing isolated bicep work is not going to do you any favours. If you want some good resources for reading material just pm me and I'll try and dig some stuff up.

Degsy

HavoK wrote:

Yeah, thats what I am doing alright. Well, as well as that, I am just doing normal raises up towards my chin with the 8kg as well - not all lateral raises. Not looking to really bulk up all over, just arms and shoulders really, but want to make some noticable muscle gains.

What else would you recommend for the arms - triceps and biceps - and shoulders? I plan increasing the weights but as I said I'm just a beginner and am working my way up comfortabley first. Just wondering is it possible to build decent muscle on light weights are am I going to have to keep going heavier and heavier to get that...

Thanks for reply.

You have to start somewhere,build up your strength and get your form right first then progress to heavier weights and lower repetitions.

TerrorFirmer

Thanks g'em, superb post ( as always), appreciate it. thanks degsy also.

I will read into some of those exercises when I am home. It's not that I focus on bicep work on purpose, its just my knowledge is pretty much as basic as "Weights: You lift them"

When I say I do 20 reps with the 8kg, it really means I do 20, 30 second break, 20, break, 20, break...pretty much for 25 minutes. I throw in some benching as well but I'm still pretty poor with that being able to only manage 30kg at the moment. Does the limited 30kg I use count as some tricep work to balance out against the bicep work I am doing? I will try squats as well tomorrow night when I go back to the weights. I will also work on the pushups. Don't worry, I want to get stronger, I may be limiting myself at the moment but thats out of ignorance to technique rather then my own choice!

Anyway, thanks for the great advice everyone

Chucky the tree

those 20 reps for 25 minutes wont make your muscles grow any bigger. YOu need to up the wieght.

TerrorFirmer

Chucky the tree wrote:

those 20 reps for 25 minutes wont make your muscles grow any bigger. YOu need to up the wieght.

Well at the moment I'm building up, if I go any heavier I can only manage 10 reps or so...

What would be the optimal weight to be using? I know you can't give an exact figure seeing as everyone is different regarding size, weight, diet etc but if you were to roughly guess? I'm about 11.7 stone, 6ft, 18years old.

Sonderval

You should aim to be hitting the 6-8 rep range if your going for size. You should also definitely be upping the weight. Find a weight that you can lift no more then 6-8 times (remembering that form is paramount - no point lifting 20kg if your throwing it around the place). Every set should be challenging to complete - this encourages the muscle in the stressed area to grow, which is good

As mentioned, now is the time to be getting the basics sorted and kicking any bad habits. Make sure you are watching your diet - you need to fuel that expansion!

Dirk Gently

You would really want to limit each exercise to 3 sets of 8/10 reps. Take about 45 seconds between sets and a couple of minutes between changing exercise. You should feel the burn towards the end of your last set. If you can do as many sets as you are already doing then you haven't got enough weight on it. When the weight is heavy enough the muscle will be sore because it tears. When it grows back it is stronger. If the weight is too light then the muscle wont get stronger. A good routine I use to use when training was bench press / shoulder shrug / dumb bell curl / butterfly (either on machine or using dumbbells. Find a weight for each of these that you feel the strain after your third set of 8 reps. That little routine gives you a defined chest and broad shoulders. Sit ups and athletic activity will sort out the rest. (Sit ups are useless for getting a flat stomach if you do not loose fat around the tummy first)

Also 200 sit-ups seems a lot if your doing them right. I use to use them stupid roller things and do 100's of them but in reality the machine was doing the work and only really straining my neck by pulling it up all the time. Try placing your hands lightly on your chest and not behind your head. Make your mid section do the work, usually you will only be able to elevate you self only at a slight angle and not sitting upright at 90 degrees. When you feel the burn you know its working.

and yes, straight after a workout your arms will be more "veiny" than usual.

TerrorFirmer

Thanks lads for all this great advice, really appreciate it.

Situps, yes I am doing them correctly - and they kill me more then the weights do to be honest, but I am trying to work on destroying the last of my excess stomach and motivation is strong....plus, when I say 200, I mean 2 sets of 100...as much as I would love to do 200 straight my stomach wouldn't take it, the last 20 of each set are hard enough.

Thanks again for all the advice everyone.

BrianD3

200 sit ups are a waste of time and energy. Seriously - they are doing you little or no good and will make hardly any difference to the appearance of your stomach.

I am of the opinion that if you incorporate the right compound movements into your exercise programme specific abdominal work isn't really needed at all. Because the abs get utlised automatically when doing compound movements. Examples of compound movements - bench press, chin ups, military press, bent over rows, deadlifts, squats.

If you still feel compelled to specifically work your abs then forget about 200 situps and do weighted crunches instead. Hold a plate on your chest and use very strict form, really concentrate on contracting the abs. Pick a weight which allows you do do no more than about 10-15 good reps. Also look into doing hanging leg and knee raises

Chucky the tree

As the lads have said bigger weight, lower reps.

Basically if you can complete 3 sets of 8 reps you need to move the weight up. Thats the way i do it anyway.

I am not 100% on the stomach muscle training, but i am presuming itsl ike every other muscle. So if you can do 100 sit-ups straight your stomach muscles will not grow. So you need to start doing weighted sit-ups. You also need cardio to shift the fat around your stomach, sit-ups wont do this.

Sonderval

Doing 200 sit-ups, as mentioned, is a waste of your time really. Especially if your stated goal is to lose the flab around the mid-riff.

This would be a good time to get acquainted with the spot-reduction myth - you cannot lose weight in a specific area alone. The weight comes off from all over the body. As such, if your looking to lose the weight, cardio is king. That is the bottom line - all the crunches in the world won't bring your body fat % below the neccessary level (below 10%) for that six pack to poke through. Its just sitting there, waiting to be revealed - all you got to do is cardio the damm flab away and hey presto. Coincidently, my comment earlier about diet is also important - abs are made in the kitchen!

TerrorFirmer

Interesting about the situps, thanks. I have been doing cardio for the past several months and although I've lost rakes of weight off my legs, chest, arms etc, stomach won't shift.

So I'm in a situation where I have a 31" waist and a winos stomach (:o ).....I posted a while back about my stomach (maybe 2 months), and since then I have been doing three or four cardio sessions a week, and the stomach hasn't shifted - I have a strange problem with my stomach....when I'm hungry, its almost perfectly flat, but when I eat even like a bowl of porridge, it shoots out to make me look almost pregnant. I am getting pretty fed up of it at this stage. When its sticking out, its not really flabby - just like a big swollen stomach?

Thanks for all the great advice again guys, dunno what I'd do without all the advise I've gotten on this forum over the last year

Sonderval

The sad news is, the stomach is usually the last place the weight drops from. You'll just have to bite the bullet and keeping doing the cardio. As well, make sure you are training your lower back - doing just the abs and not the back can produce the gut your talking about. You should always excersize the complementary muscle group - biceps & triceps, chest & back, abs & lower back, etc.

I would also recommend looking at doing some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) cardio. That way you will lose the flab and keep your muscle gains - read up on it if you don't know what it is.

You should post up a new regime so we can take a look at it for you!

Dirk Gently

For the stomach, no point trying to spot reduce weight as it doesn't work.
What worked well for me was cycling. I spent about 90 minutes every second day cycling and the weight just fell off. That combined with the weight exercises I mentioned in my post above really changed my whole body shape in no time at all, (about 3 months and I seen dramatic results) Really about 40 (2x20)sit-ups done properly will strengthen the stomach but you will only see results if the fat is gone first. Sit ups don’t give you a flat stomach; they make an already flat stomach look good.

I know what you’re saying about the belly being flat when hungry and then expanding when you eat. First thing in the morning and your grand but balloon when you eat something?

The problem is your hungry in the first place. Try not to let yourself go to the point where you are so hungry. Eat at regular intervals so it is not as much of a strain to take in food. I use to eat large meals really far apart from each other and I had this problem. Eat less but more often is the way to do it. Also I don't know about your (non-alcoholic) drink habits but I use to drink pints of milk all the time, about 4 or 5 a day. I changed that and only drank water and small amounts of O.J. instead of milk and fizzy drinks. This hugely helps when loosing the skitso belly. Plenty of water and plenty of cardio (cycling is my favourite for results) combined with properly done sit-ups will sort out your belly.

TerrorFirmer

Yeah I do 80 minutes of cycling three times a week at the moment, one of the few exercises I enjoy really. I don't really drink alot of milk or juice, in fact, all I ever drink is either water or water with ribena....

I was doing weights tonight and I did 10kg instead of 8kg with the dumbells.....really felt that extra 2kg :eek:

Thanks for all the advice again. As for the increased number of smaller meals, its just not really possible for me - I eat porridge with honey for breakfast, banana at 11, brown bread and chicken at 1, dinner at 6.30, chicken at about 10.....other then this, I can't divide it into actual even meals due to my workplace....

TerrorFirmer

One question - protein shakes? I currently take one just after workout, so thats about 3 or 4 times a week. I eat a decent bit of meat other then that but should I be taking more shakes then this?

g'em

What you need to do is figure out exactly how much protein your body needs and go from there.

Figure out how much you weight in kg (if you know it in lbs just divide by 2.2) and multiply it by 1.2 this will give you the amount in grams of protein you hsould be getting daily. normally people need around 0.8-1.0g protein/kg bw/day but when you lift that rises to 1.2-1.8g/kg bw/day.

Each scoop of whey will be about 70-90% protein depending on the brand so check the ingredients. Then write down what you eat and figure out the protein content of it using nutritiondata.com or even easier, use fitday.com, put all teh foods in and it'll tell you your protein in grams.

Even on days when you aren't lifting your body will need protein as its during rest that the muscles grow so on these days too you'll need to keep your protein up. If you have any problems just pm me and I'll give you a hand doing all the calculations and figuring out