The Official Workout Thread

[Dr_Rez]

Originally Posted by Fluffy Kittens

As I am bored, I have decided to post my 'routine'.

Fellow fitties, feel free to critique and suggest improvement, all exercises done for 3 sets are between 10-14 reps as I am aiming for hypertrophy:

Mon:

Chest - 3 sets dumbbell fly, 3 sets dumbbell press, 3 sets incline dumbbell fly
Triceps - 3 sets french press, 3 sets overhead dumbbell extension, 3 sets tricep hammer curl

Tues:

Back - 5 sets bodyweight pull ups, 3 sets barbell row, 3 sets dumbbell row
Biceps - 3 sets concentration curl, 3 sets hammer curl, 3 sets reverse grip barbell curl

Thurs:

Legs - 10 sets barbell squats (10 reps) OR drop sets OR pyramids

Fri:

Shoulders - 3 sets dumbbell forward raise, 3 sets dumbbell side raise, 3 sets barbell press

So that's basically it, all the exercises are changed regularly but the structure remains the same, every 4th week I switch from lifting for 10-14 reps with moderate weight to lifting for 5-8 reps with a heavy weight to shock the muscles. Currently I do no abdominal work. I need to add something for Abs, calves and hamstrings but I don't want to overtrain. Any tips?

I have a few things that you may want to consider. First off what is your goal? You say muscle hypertrophy but thats not really a goal. Anyone who is lifting weights wants that or they would not be lifting. Do you want endurance, size, pure strength?

Mon
I would recommend doing the fly excersizes (especially ones with dumbells) last. I learned this from Kai Green the bodybuilder, do your more compound chest excersizes first. I would start (after warming up of coarse) with either flat bench press barbells or dumbells since they will be working chest shoulders and triceps. If flies are done correctly it pretty much isolates the muscle group so you will want to do that last to get max hypertrophy. After that incline/decline barbell/dumbell is good as well. Important: When you are finishing with flies make sure you are going slow. (by this time in chest workout you will NOT need heavy weights) Slow controlled movments and hold when your chest is fully extended.

Tuesday
That all looks pretty good except that you will have to make sure your form on all the bicept work is very good. If not you will use other muscles that will be totally spent from your previous days workout. My point being make sure you are just working back and bi's. Overtraining is very dangerous and counter productive.

Thurs/Fri
Both look good but I would suggest instead of breaking your work out into this many days try to combine it. You may as well do shoulders when you do chest and triceps because you are going to be hitting them weather you like it or not on chest day. I actually split my workout into only 2 days. Upper body - back then Lower body +back. This way I am able to do erach body part twice a week instead of only once. You also do not have to set certain days aside for each body part. Work out a body part when YOU feel its ready. If its Monday and your chest is still a little sore....dont do it. If its Thursday and your chest is begging for it then go ahead if its feeling non sore and able. Listening to your body is very important.

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Again what is your goal? The 10-14 rep range is good if you are going for less body fat, lean muscle, endurance. If you really want to gain muscle mass and get stronger faster you will need to do lower reps. More in the 4-8 range. You should BARELY be able to do the last rep or two. Also depending on your goal and what your body is like now your diet is a HUGEEEE factor. So let me know what your goal is so I can try to help! I am no expert but I do alot of reading and trial and error with my own body at the gym. And most o the advice I am giving is stolen straight from professional bodybuilders like Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, Kai Green, etc...

[Cuthbert]

Originally Posted by Dr. Rez

I have a few things that you may want to consider. First off what is your goal? You say muscle hypertrophy but thats not really a goal. Anyone who is lifting weights wants that or they would not be lifting. Do you want endurance, size, pure strength?

Mon
I would recommend doing the fly excersizes (especially ones with dumbells) last. I learned this from Kai Green the bodybuilder, do your more compound chest excersizes first. I would start (after warming up of coarse) with either flat bench press barbells or dumbells since they will be working chest shoulders and triceps. If flies are done correctly it pretty much isolates the muscle group so you will want to do that last to get max hypertrophy. After that incline/decline barbell/dumbell is good as well. Important: When you are finishing with flies make sure you are going slow. (by this time in chest workout you will NOT need heavy weights) Slow controlled movments and hold when your chest is fully extended.

Right OK, that makes sense actually. That's good advice, I'm gonna do that.

I am aiming for size*, sacroplasmic hypertrophy = increasing size?

*Will type more below.

Tuesday
That all looks pretty good except that you will have to make sure your form on all the bicept work is very good. If not you will use other muscles that will be totally spent from your previous days workout. My point being make sure you are just working back and bi's. Overtraining is very dangerous and counter productive.

Yeah my form on bi's is strict, because I have problems with my bone in the forearms, doing too heavy with bad form causes it.

Thurs/Fri
Both look good but I would suggest instead of breaking your work out into this many days try to combine it. You may as well do shoulders when you do chest and triceps because you are going to be hitting them weather you like it or not on chest day. I actually split my workout into only 2 days. Upper body - back then Lower body +back. This way I am able to do erach body part twice a week instead of only once. You also do not have to set certain days aside for each body part. Work out a body part when YOU feel its ready. If its Monday and your chest is still a little sore....dont do it. If its Thursday and your chest is begging for it then go ahead if its feeling non sore and able. Listening to your body is very important.

Yeah I get that, thing is though if I do shoulders with my chest and triceps that will go over an hour. I try to be as quick as I can, 60-90 seconds rest between sets and workouts usually take me around 45mins - 1hour.

Again what is your goal? The 10-14 rep range is good if you are going for less body fat, lean muscle, endurance. If you really want to gain muscle mass and get stronger faster you will need to do lower reps. More in the 4-8 range. You should BARELY be able to do the last rep or two. Also depending on your goal and what your body is like now your diet is a HUGEEEE factor. So let me know what your goal is so I can try to help! I am no expert but I do alot of reading and trial and error with my own body at the gym. And most o the advice I am giving is stolen straight from professional bodybuilders like Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, Kai Green, etc...

My goal is size only, increasing muscle mass. Most of the bodybuilders and lifters I have spoken to has told me to lift in the 10-14 rep range to increase size. Generally I have been told:

1-3: Explosiveness
4-8: Strength
9-14: Size
15+: Endurance

Obviously there is give and take there but you get the general idea. I don't know if this is true, but I have lifted heavy before and every 4th week I would switch it up and do light weights with high reps, I got stronger and bigger but I've been told to lift in the 8-14 range to build size?

EDIT - Also I have heard that heavy weights burn fat for longer than lifting with higher reps but I can't remember where I saw the article. Is there any truth in this?

EDIT AGAIN - And thanks for your help

[Dr_Rez]

If you are going for size I Dont know why people would tell you 10-14. Look at any power lifters routine and while he will occasionally do higher reps, most of his core excersizes like bench press will be 4-8 reps. I think the key is to change it up and find whats best for you. Maybe your body responds better to a particular way of training. Thats the problem with giving advice on this stuff, everyones body is different, and what you should ultimately do is what gives you results.

Regarding the burning of fat...Its just a simple calorie game. Obviously cardio type stuff will burn far more fat than strength lifting, but lifting for strength isnt meant to burn all your fat off. If you are trying to get bigger then I suggest upping your protein and calories. Or at least upping them on days you are training at the very least. You should eat about 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh.

What is your height and weight, and what are you looking to be? While gaining weight isnt always fun it is the only way to put on more muscle mass. I am by no means big but I used to be 6'1" 145 pounds, now I am around 200 with about the same body fat. It takes a while but if you want to lift heavier weights its the only way. if you are already big enough weight wise you just need to be doing lots of cardio along with lifting while eating fully. Essentially turning the fat into muscle while not having any change in weight just body fat %.

Try higher reps for a few weeks. Dont like the progress you are making, then switch to low reps vice versa. The trick is finding what works best for your body and desired results.

[ThePhanastasio]

How fast are you going? Its more important to finish the distance than to do it fast.

For sure. I jog for maximum cardio, so no half-assing and barely moving my arms and legs. Now I'm up to more like 2 miles before breaking, and the pace is probably right around a 7 and a half minute mile. It tends to take around fifteen minutes, so I figure that's a pretty accurate guess.

[FETCHER.]

Currently your reps are working you're body for muscular endurance which is pretty self explanatory, if you are wanting to build muscle and gain strength I would recommend doing 4-6 reps in each set. I'm on my phone now so I don't want to get into it much but basically by the 5th rep you should be burning and really struggling so you feel like you can do no more at that point in time (obviously don't push yourself too far)

[TheBig3]

Originally Posted by FETCHER.

Currently your reps are working you're body for muscular endurance which is pretty self explanatory, if you are wanting to build muscle and gain strength I would recommend doing 4-6 reps in each set. I'm on my phone now so I don't want to get into it much but basically by the 5th rep you should be burning and really struggling so you feel like you can do no more at that point in time (obviously don't push yourself too far)

This.

When I was at my biggest, I did weight where the max rep possible was 6, and I had a partner then where we would spot one another with only enough help to keep the bar moving.

Usually we spotted with just index fingers if that gives you an idea of how little we helped. You will blow up. Wish I could find a partner like that again.

[Cuthbert]

Originally Posted by Dr. Rez

If you are going for size I Dont know why people would tell you 10-14. Look at any power lifters routine and while he will occasionally do higher reps, most of his core excersizes like bench press will be 4-8 reps. I think the key is to change it up and find whats best for you. Maybe your body responds better to a particular way of training. Thats the problem with giving advice on this stuff, everyones body is different, and what you should ultimately do is what gives you results.

Powerlifters don't train for size though surely? Their goal is to maximise strength with as little mass built as possible?

Agree with the changing it up bit though. Again I accept I could be wrong.

Regarding the burning of fat...Its just a simple calorie game. Obviously cardio type stuff will burn far more fat than strength lifting, but lifting for strength isnt meant to burn all your fat off. If you are trying to get bigger then I suggest upping your protein and calories. Or at least upping them on days you are training at the very least. You should eat about 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh.

Re: fat burning, are there not more effective ways than others to burn fat? As in for example, HIIT being more effective than simple distance jogging at a steady pace? I've always thought it was about heart rate when you exercise being the most important thing. Obviously calories out > calories in = weight loss but in terms of training.

Yeah my diet is perfect at the moment, I've been lifting weights for about 5-6 years now, but stopped last year because of health problems.

My diet is something like:

Whey protein + water and creapure
Omelette w/ 5 eggs + milk
Tuna + muesli + whole milk
2 tins sardines + rice pudding
Chicken legs x 3 brown rice + mixed veg
Cottage cheese
Whey protein + water

That's a typical day near enough, obviously differs but that's the basic structre of what I eat. That is not strictly 'clean' but I am not too bothered about fat gain right now. Sometimes I have cheat meals on top of that.

What is your height and weight, and what are you looking to be? While gaining weight isnt always fun it is the only way to put on more muscle mass. I am by no means big but I used to be 6'1" 145 pounds, now I am around 200 with about the same body fat. It takes a while but if you want to lift heavier weights its the only way. if you are already big enough weight wise you just need to be doing lots of cardio along with lifting while eating fully. Essentially turning the fat into muscle while not having any change in weight just body fat %.

Height - Dunno, about 5 ft 9? Weight - 11 and a half stone.

I would like to get to 12 and a half with a reasonably low body fat percentage and see how I look then before deciding whether to continue bulking or maintain my current weight.

Try higher reps for a few weeks. Dont like the progress you are making, then switch to low reps vice versa. The trick is finding what works best for your body and desired results.

Originally Posted by FETCHER.

Currently your reps are working you're body for muscular endurance which is pretty self explanatory, if you are wanting to build muscle and gain strength I would recommend doing 4-6 reps in each set. I'm on my phone now so I don't want to get into it much but basically by the 5th rep you should be burning and really struggling so you feel like you can do no more at that point in time (obviously don't push yourself too far)

Are you definitely, definitely sure 4-6 reps = size? That seems a little low to me. I have always thought, that 8-14 or thereabouts = size and anything over that would be for endurance and anything under would be for strength? I don't really care about gaining strength, I know that will come with size but not training for it, I just want to get to the same size I was before.

Bodybuilding.com - What Is The Best Rep And Set Range For Building Muscle?

Trained Olympic lifters, for example, were shown over a two-year period to have significant strength increases with barely noticeable increases in muscle mass (Hakkinen et al, 1988). I had a similar experience when I used AST's Max-OT principals. My strength went up like crazy, but I gained very little size.

Obviously, traditional strength training with low volume and low sets (1-6 reps, 3 or less sets) is not the best approach. Strength training does cause hypertrophy (Hakkinen et al, 1985), but it won't cause maximum hypertrophy.

High volume, multiple set programs (6-12 reps, 3 to 6 sets) have been shown to create greater hypertrophy for two important reasons:

The higher workload is more effective at creating microtrauma because of the extra time under tension and extra number of fibres recruited (Shinohara et al, 1998; Smith & Rutherford, 1995; Moss et al, 1997)
High volume, multiple set programs are more effective at increasing the body's production of testosterone and growth hormone (Kraemer et al, 1991; Kraemer et al 1990)

?

Thanks for all the replies guys, again not saying I'm right just genuinely trying to discuss this

[Dr_Rez]

You should just watch this:

While he is training for aesthetic reasons he is stronger than you or I or anyone we both know. Its a great documentary.

[Cuthbert]

Added to favourites, will watch in bed before I go to sleep

Thanks for that.

[FETCHER.]

Trust me, my lecturer is body builder and has won loads of titles, by doing loads of reps you're lifting a lighter weight because you have to lift it more times. Like a gymnast would need to do muscular endurance reps (12-14) because they need to hang and hold themselves for long periods of time. Gettit? So by lowering the reps you are increasing the weight and increasing your strength and in turn increasing your size.