Why should you all really give a fuck about how I work out?
I alternate days between a full body workout and a cardio heavy day.
Before I start working out on any day I spend 30 minutes in the sauna.
On full body days I like to start off with the tricep press, 3 set of 12, I'm at about 170 lbs on that right now
Then I go to barbell curl, 2 sets of 15 at 120 lbs
dumbell curl, 3 sets of 15, 45-55 lbs, depending on how tired my muscles are after the barbell curl
Then I get on the erector spinae and glute machine and do 5 sets of 10 at 245 lbs
Then I get on the row and do 3 sets of 15 at 130 lbs (I know, my back is my weak point)
Then I do 3 sets of 10 on each side on the oblique machine at 170 lbs
Then 3 sets of 15 on the crunch machine with as much weight as 150 lbs (depending on how tired my abs are after the oblique workout)
Then 3 sets of 20 on pectoral fly. I'm gonna have to find another way to work my pecs soon because I'm doing it at 285 lbs. and the machine only goes up to 315.
I sign off with 3 sets of 15 on both wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. I just started doing this, so I can only do about 20 lbs.
Then I do 30 more minutes in the sauna.
Then I do 45 minutes to an hour on elliptical at 15 resistance.
Then 30 more minutes in the sauna.
On cardio days I still do sauna before, in the middle, and after workout, but instead of weight lifting I start with the 45 minutes to an hour of elliptical, secondly I do 30 minutes jogging at 12% incline around 5 mph then 30 minutes jogging flat at about 6.5 mph (I am slow), and I cap it off with 30 minutes on the bike machine at low resistance keeping my heart rate between 130 and 145.
And on any day I have to ride my bike the 4 miles to my gym and the 4 miles back.
That is my sick and obsessive workout routine.
Jesus. I used to do something similar, every day, but I burned out.
Now, I just go MWF. I mainly do upper body and core stuff as my legs kind of take care of themselves (having once been 340+ pounds, I have fairly muscular gams).
And I only do 30 minutes of cardio on those days, in addition to the weights. But I lost over 100+ pounds and have the loose skin to show it, as I did it in less than a year. I did it with an insane diet and exercise regimen, which I couldn't keep up with. The stuff I do now is just maintenance. I'm trying to lose a little more, but I don't need to do it quite so fast, so I'm more taking my time.
I had a workout regimen a little more intense than the one I do now which I did for about a year and I ended up losing about 130 pounds with it, then I calmed it down and lost another 50 pounds over the next 10 months, and I've recently started the routine I posted here and I've lost 13 pounds with it over the past 6 weeks while at the same time managing to increase my strength by about 15% (dunno how I've pulled that one off). I want to lose at least 7 more pounds before March 2nd so that I will have officially lost 200 pounds in 2 years.
Eh, if I lost 200, I would be down to 140, which is a tad scrawny for someone my height (6'). I'm sitting pretty at 220 right now, not exactly trim, but I've got a decent amount of muscle under the avalanche of loose skin. Surgery to get that stuff removed is super expensive and SUPER painful. We'll see if I ever have enough money for that.
Well, I mean, if you wait a while it will naturally tighten a bit, and if you lose more fat or put on more muscle it will also tighten up. Technically it isn't loose skin so much as it is fat that is attached to your skin that isn't being filled out by fat underneath anymore. If it was just skin it would be paper thin.
I know, I know. But there's no way I can get 100% of the elasticity I lost back. I will always have saggy patches, and that's true. I've consulted a few physicians about it. But of course I still do weight lifting and all that good stuff. But even my thighs - which are supremely powerful - have skin that's just kind of all... wrinkly. It's gross. I'm not going to post pics, but it is gross. Or my arms, which balloon out when they're by my side and have a nice little turkey waddle when I flex.
Blech. Anyway, I still do the weights and things like that, but I'm not expecting miracles. My expectations are very reasonable.
I still have a little bit of excess flesh around my pecs and under my arms, and my butt still looks weird (I've started amping up the glute workouts to help fix that), but other than that my skin is pretty good now. I avoided getting the chin waddle that a lot of people who lose a lot of weight get, so I am pretty happy about that.
I avoided chin-wadde too! Must be the youth thing we have going for us.
... and don't get me started on my ass. I didn't have one to begin with. Now there's this awkward void.
I had a huge one, and I lost it all and my hamstrings are so freaking big now it is going to take forever to build an ass.
My routine consists ofSpoiler
Seriously though, I'm working on a new one right now, so far I'm thinkingSpoiler
I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep that or try to rearrange some things, but I'm liking it for right now. Once I get it structured the way I like it I'll go into more detail as far as specific exercises, sets, reps and rest periods.
Originally Posted by TokiOriginally Posted by TokiOriginally Posted by Pickles
^kettle bell circuits are the best(and by best I mean will make you want to kill yourself) for MMA or really any combat sport oriented workout. If your gym doesn't have kettlebells, dumbbells work too. Also when you make your circuits, make like x number of one exercise, then switch to x number of something that works different muscles, then x number of something that works different muscles, then x number of rest(rest is usually jumping jacks, crunches, etc. trust me, these are life savers). Then keep going through the circuit until five minutes are up, then you have one minute to rest before your next circuit.
Trust me, you will be completely worn out within two circuits if you're doing it right. We usually finish off our MMA class with 5 muscle endurance circuits and 1 cardio circuit.
I prefer a split-routine over a full body workout any day. A decent split stops you getting tired so you can lift more, lets you concentrate on specific muscle group and gives you longer time for recovery.
I don't have much free time at the moment so my routine looks something like this:
Monday - Chest and Triceps.
Wednesday - Biceps and Back.
Friday - Shoulders and Legs.
I sometimes fit Abs and some cardio in when I feel like it.
Remember to do Squats and deadlifts, most people leave them out. Legs too, most people hate working their legs but I love it.
I'm actually not usually very sore at all the day after my weight training. I think maybe I should bump it up a notch, but I don't know if I should go for reps, sets, or weight.
I always try to lift more than I did the last time. I normally do as much weight as I can while keeping proper form to complete 6-8 reps. I do about about 2 sets of that, then the last set till failure. Sometimes I'll do a warm-up set of lighter weights and do a few more reps, or up the weight for the last set. I'm usually sore in the areas I worked for a day or two.
What about your chest?
Actually, reading your routine Mr. E, I think you should switch from the machines to free weights. They take a lot more out of you. You should definitely be doing Bench Press, and something to work your Deltoids too. They're just better in general, you won't be able to lift as much because free weights work the stabiliser muscles too and require to keep the weights balanced and steady while performing the lift.
You might want to get someone to show you how to do the lifts properly if you've never done them before, though.
Last edited by mtgmaster; 02-12-2009 at 09:57 AM.
Do you mean you do specific chest lifts or your arm exercises work your chest?
I've done free weights before. The problem is I never have a spotter, and I need one.
The reason I don't do delt specific workout is because my delts are overdeveloped and I am just working them incidentally until my chest and triceps catch up.
You could always ask someone else in the gym, or one of the staff. I just do Dumbell Bench Presses instead of Barbell, you just drop them to your side. I tend to use my right side when I use a barbell too. I'm now having to pay more attention to my left side so it catches up. The only other thing I need a spotter for is squats and the squat rack should make it safe enough. You just have to watch out for falling backwards.
It still counts as a machine I suppose but do they have a smith machine at your gym? I used to use that for Bench Presses, Deadlifts, Squats, Bent-over rows, etc. Way too many exercises probably but it's the next best thing to free-weights.
Last edited by mtgmaster; 02-12-2009 at 05:22 PM.
I read somewhere it helps increase blood flow, but I'll have to research it a bit tonight and get a clear answer, I often wonder that myself.
edit:
Here's a good answer
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/forum/muscle-building-workouts-training/6887-sauna-after-workout.html#post57237
I do the same thing every day. I'm not looking to bulk up, I'm just looking to tone.
10 minutes on the bike. Or 5 minutes on the bike, 5 minutes walking on the treadmill.
2x10 sets of shoulder warmup using 5lbs.
3x6 shoulder press using 15lbs.
3x6 flat row using 10lbs.
3x6 incline press using 15lbs.
3x6 of that one where you lie flat on the bench and lift the weights using 15lbs.
2x10 bicep curls using 10lbs.
2x10 tricep extensions using 15lbs.
2x10 sets of rear deltoid.
2x10 sets of pec fly.
3x8 wide grip pull down.
3x8 row.
2x10 quad lift.
2x10 hamstring lift.
2x10 calf raises.
2x10 ass blaster machine (or glute buster)
2x10 leg press.
2x10 hip adduction.
2x10 hip abduction.
2x10 erector spinae stretch.
And sporadically throughout the workout sets of 5 V-up sit ups.
Then I do knee rehab.
Then I go home.
I just started a new something, doing full body M/W/F. I did it for the first time yesterday and was surprised at how wobbly I felt by the end of it.
boobies
It doesn't sound like much of a routine for three days a week, but there is barely any rest time in there. I'm pretty sore today to be honest about it, despite using fairly light weights. I'm thinking that on Fridays I'm going to replace squats with leg extensions, remove the rows, switch the arm circuit with the chest/back/shoulder circuit, and finish out with some deadlifts.
Originally Posted by TokiOriginally Posted by TokiOriginally Posted by Pickles
I like it djwolf, but why so many reps per exercise?
I was just needing a different routine that would keep me interested, normally I work in the 8-12 range and I decided that it wouldn't hurt to work on muscular endurance for a few weeks to provide a nice little change. I'll probably switch back to a lower rep routine after three or four weeks. Maybe a nice little four day push/pull number.
Originally Posted by TokiOriginally Posted by TokiOriginally Posted by Pickles
I start by oversleeping in the mornings. Then I find some breakfast, today it was nachos. I follow that with some web surfing and xbox. Then I have lunch, hot wings today. Now it is time for a nap before dinner.
Slight revision-
hooray for boobies
Right now I'm getting ready to move to a slightly less intense push/pull split that is more geared towards hypertrophy than endurance. This is more or less just a transition routine that gets me ready to take on that extra day of work every week.
(Also I promise that I'll work on the supplement thread some more pretty soon. It's just been a busy week for me and I haven't really felt like doing much with it.)
Originally Posted by TokiOriginally Posted by TokiOriginally Posted by Pickles
I've had to downgrade to 2x10 on every leg set mainly just to save my knee from getting worse. I wear a DonJoy anterior arthritis knee brace now and it's so fucking huge it's like a spaceship but it actually helps manage the pain.
I try to run at least five days a week and gradually increase my total mileage per week... I'm around 20-25 miles a week right now.
M/W/F- Upper Body and Cardio
T/T- Lower Body and intense Cardio
just to give ozzy some fuel for his trolling
I now dress up in a tutu and tap dance on the roof of the house I rent out with some friends and sell my ass on the street corner.
But in reality I train 3x per week, and I attend a core training class on the side.
Day 1: triceps/shoulders with related exercises
Day 2: legs
Day 3: biceps/back
I rest for a few days before days 1 & 3 and rest just a day before and after day 2.
I finished my bulk cycle the other day with a massive final max-out day and have been resting since then.
For my next cutting cycle I am thinking about just doing a bunch of cardio in conjunction with finally trying P90x (I've always been curious).
I've found that doing cocaine first thing in the morning works the best for me. I don't eat all day and I get everything done.
win/win
P90/x is insane. Its actually a good base system at the core, but all their 'success stories' come out looking freaking weird in my opinion.
Surprisingly enough, that keeps me from actually attempting it. The back day had ridiculous exercises like the 'corn on the cob' pull up. Or maybe that was the original? Either way, it is intense- let me know what you think of it. The whole no rest push yourself till you bleed from every orifice idea is something I do weekly, but only once a week, not 5 times.
ITs all about the muscle confusion baby.
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