Take care of yourself

[Seabasket]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Cran, the other thing to remember is to switch up your workout every so often; I switch every two months or so. This is very important but most people rarely do it. Your body adapts to the excercises you're doing after a while so you have to challenge it in different ways.
Altering your workout frequently (switching excercises, rest between sets, weight used, repetitions, etc.) is so key to working out. In addition to continue challenging your body, it keeps you from getting bored quickly which is terrible in the gym because you have to workout with some kind of intensity and goal to actually see tangible results.

 

[cranberry]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Cran, the other thing to remember is to switch up your workout every so often; I switch every two months or so. This is very important but most people rarely do it. Your body adapts to the excercises you're doing after a while so you have to challenge it in different ways.
Altering your workout frequently (switching excercises, rest between sets, weight used, repetitions, etc.) is so key to working out. In addition to continue challenging your body, it keeps you from getting bored quickly which is terrible in the gym because you have to workout with some kind of intensity and goal to actually see tangible results.

Great point. Boredom can gradually suck the life (and benefit) out of an exercise program.

I give myself 30 to 45 minutes to lift on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which roughly provides time for three sets each of 4-5 different exercises.

I rotate exercises out on a quarterly basis, although I'll keep an exercise going for an extra three months if its a part of my body I'm trying to work on (legs in my case).

 

[Boom_70]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Boom, I don't have the luxury of working with a spotter, so while I work out with a moderate to heavy weight and push myself, I also try to keep it safe, too. For me that typically means three sets of of the maximum weight I can handle for 10 reps. Maybe a little heavier weight and eight reps for legs (curls, lifts), where I'm trying to add a little.

For that type of workout 1- 2 minute rest is ideal. greater recovery would be safer also wothout spotter.

As rule of thumb upper body reps should be 8-12 and lower 15 - 20

 

[cranberry]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

 

As rule of thumb upper body reps should be 8-12 and lower 15 - 20  

Why so many more reps on lower? I always thought the rule of thumb was fewer reps, heavier weight to add muscle.

 

[Boom_70]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Why so many more reps on lower? I always thought the rule of thumb was fewer reps, heavier weight to add muscle.

basic principle is that legs are bigger muscles - it takes longer to exhaust them

 

[Seabasket]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Yes, I respectfully disagree with this Boom. I don't think there's any rule of thumb as far as reps go, except in relation to what your goal is.
If you are training strictly to add muscle, you want to lower the reps so your body is giving out between 6 and 8 reps. If you can do more than 12 reps of a given weight, you are not going to add muscle because your body can already comfortably handle that weight.
High repetition exercises are excellent for a cardiovascular workout with short rest in between sets. It is a good weight-loss technique because you are really making your body work and keeping your heart pumping at fat-burning levels.
Boom, maybe the reason you have to work on legs more often is because you are using muscle-building exercises for your torso and cardiovascular, non-muscle-building exercises for your legs. Just a thought.

 

[Boom_70]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Yes, I respectfully disagree with this Boom. I don't think there's any rule of thumb as far as reps go, except in relation to what your goal is.
If you are training strictly to add muscle, you want to lower the reps so your body is giving out between 6 and 8 reps. If you can do more than 12 reps of a given weight, you are not going to add muscle because your body can already comfortably handle that weight.
High repetition exercises are excellent for a cardiovascular workout with short rest in between sets. It is a good weight-loss technique because you are really making your body work and keeping your heart pumping at fat-burning levels.
Boom, maybe the reason you have to work on legs more often is because you are using muscle-building exercises for your torso and cardiovascular, non-muscle-building exercises for your legs. Just a thought.

agreed there are many different theories but commonly upper body range of reps is 8-12 and lower is 12- 20 .

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I'm not saying Boom is wrong, but in fitness one size does definitely not fit all. In my own opinion, my legs are probably the most defined part of my body, and I go all over the place in terms of reps.

I start on the leg press machine, and for a warm up I do two sets of 12 with a fairly easy weight. Then I do two sets of 10 at 90 pounds heavier. Then I up it again about 110-120 pounds heavier and do four sets of eight.

Then I do two different variations of squats, which round out to 7-10 sets of 5. Finish off with calf raises, where I do 2-3 sets of 15. Only I go in the squat rack and load up a barbell instead of those machines.

Once in a while I'll throw in some leg curls, but on the whole they're not all that necessary. Squats/lunges are much better.

That's my two-cents on the lower body matter. It's seemed to work really well for me, and as an added bonus, I've gotten faster in terms of running.

 

[Cosmo]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Once in a while I'll throw in some leg curls, but on the whole they're not all that necessary. Ã' Squats/lunges are much better. Ã' 

Leg curls are good, IMO, because they target the lower part of the quad.

Try this trick one of the trainers at my gym taught me. On your last set of leg presses, do eight reps at very light weight (I use 60 lbs), but once you get to the top of the movement, slowly lower your legs. Take a five count and slowly lower the legs. After eight reps (you'll need a partner for this), do the curl, but at the top of the movement, have your partner press against the bar so you have to fight against the resistance. You'll legs will burn like a mofo afterward.

 

[danny_whitten]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

If you're concerned about the speed of your reps, or even how many reps, you haven't yet made this a lifetime habit yet.
Get in and get out and consider it a great day that you were able to get in there. I superset every day. The key, if you're getting into your 40s, is cardio. If you're worried about fast or slow reps, or fast-twitch muscle fiber, you won't be lifting a year from now. Don't make it more complex than it should be.
Example: Leg day, 5 sets of squats with stretching between the first three sets, 20 reps, 15 reps, 12 reps, then we go 10 reps (maybe 8 if too heavy) and jump right into lunges. Rest.
Then last set of Squats, 2nd lunge, first leg extension.
Then third lunge, 2nd leg extension, 1st hamstrings.
Then Leg extensions, hamstrings, calves.
Hamstring, calves, either ham or calves for sixth exercise, now some abs and we're outta there.
Moved quickly, went heavy, listened to my body to gauge the reps and weight, and now I'm drinking Total Mass, which will last until my chicken salad at lunch. No carbs at night and I'm feeling ripped when I wake up. And I don't have a headache thinking about my fast-twitchers, and I'm not reading M&F. The important thing is to get in there consistently.

 

[Cosmo]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Nice post, Danny.

Good point about consistency and getting in and out quick. I find if I spend more than an hour at the gym (weights and cardio combined) that it becomes more of a chore than a good habit.

 

[Moderator1]

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Back up to the top for some updates from those on some sort of plan:

My scale this a.m. says 15 pounds down, which is a pleasant surprise. A little more than six weeks, so I guess the two pounds a week thing is on track.

I go for the ol' cholesterol recheck later in the week, eager to see how the drugs/diet have affected that.

I'm still old.
I'm still bald.
I'm at least on the way to being a little less fat.

Others? Report in, please.