Take care of yourself

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Small ... I switch up every once in a while. My normal routine is a five-day a week schedule:

Monday/Thursday
Five sets of chest (mixing up the exercises on all, BTW)
Five sets of back
Five sets of bi
Five sets of calves
20-30 min. cardio

Tuesday
Five sets of quads (squats, leg presses, lunges, hack squats, leg extensions, etc.)
Five sets of hamstrings
Five sets of triceps
Five sets of shoulders
20-30 min. cardio

Wednesday
1 hour cardio

Friday
Same as Tuesday, but replace the legs with abs/forearms (I definitely don't need to do legs twice in one week).

When I get a really busy week and I only have time for three trips to the gym, I do it differently:

Day one
Chest (nine sets)/tri (six sets)/abs (three sets)
20-30 min. cardio

Day two
Back (six sets plus two sets of pull-ups)/bi (six sets)/shoulders (three sets)
20-30 min. cardio

Day three
Cardio first
Then five sets of legs (quads/hams/calves)

I find when I switch between the two, it shocks my muscles a bit (especially when I do chest and tri on the same day on short weeks). Change is always good. If anything, look for ways to vary your exercises.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

SP--That's good advice from Hokie. I'd add this: the point is to shock your body. I change my workout constantly, but for sure every month. If you're running a lot, switch to a bike. Or a fast hard walk, or basketball, or run stadium steps. I'm currently addicted to boxing....an amazing cardio workout, and my body is really challenged by the difference.

I'm a disciple of the 'Do-the-Weights-First' theory....but sometimes I'll do them at intervals throughout the workout (a tip from Boom, whose knowledge on the subject is unlimited). Seabasket suggested a great weight program here, the 10x10: 10 reps for 10 sets, at a heavy weight, completely fatigues the muscle. A great change from the usual.

Bottom line: Anything you can do to keep yourself interested--and your body challenged--is worth trying.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

21 - the only reason I do cardio first on a dedicated legs day is that it really warms up my quads and knees so I can hit max weight on squats/presses and such. Otherwise, I like cardio afterward.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I started doing cardio after weights a few months ago. I haven't noticed any appreciable difference in my fat loss, but I like it because I don't have to waste the first 5-10 minutes of the workout getting my heart rate into the training zone.
Sometimes the variety takes care of itself. Somebody else is using a machine I usually use, so I use a different machine for basically the same exercise.
I'm still getting sore after my workouts, so I guess that's a sign I'm still getting something out of them. Part of me wants to change things so I don't get bored more than anything else, but another part of me likes having a good bread and butter routine that I can keep coming back to again and again and I figure if something isn't broke, don't fix it.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

It's bad enough you're named for a potato....but bread and butter is crossing the line. No bread and butter. Very unhealthy.

There's a scientific basis for doing weights first, as a means to weight loss: you will burn through your stored sugar (glycogen) faster, because weight lifting is anaerobic. By the time you get to the cardio, you're going straight to burning fat, since the sugar is all gone. I swear this works....

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I skated 18.5 miles yesterday in Atlanta on the Silver Comet Trail.

That was fun. Not necessarily the greatest workout, but it's good enough.

I like warm weather.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Here's another tip:

GET SOME SLEEP

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/12/06/sleep.weight.gain.reut/index.html

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

21,
I didn't mean it litterally. I just meant a good, basic routine that I do consistently.
I only have bread and butter with my one cheat meal a week, if at all.
As I said, I haven't noticed any major differences in doing weights first, but I do like it better.
In a lot of ways what I'm doing is less than ideal. Given that the gym is about a 20-minute drive halfway between home and work and the only time I can make it to the gym is on the way to work, if I did cardio on an empty stomach like so many authorities say I should, I'd either never eat breakfast or never work out.
I've gotten some decent results doing what I'm doing (70 pound weight loss). Maybe the results aren't what they could be if I did everything by the book, but I'd rather do it this way and get some results than do nothing and get no results.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Well said.

21's cool, though. She's just real advanced as far as this stuff goes. We're new to the regular-body club and we need different things than someone who's been fit and trim for the last 20 years. That's all.

Big up on the 70-pound loss.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Different body types obviously need different approaches. Take stock of the various techniques use here, experiment, find your own pattern.

As mentioned before I'm training for a half-marathon after starting running only in April. It's going well so far (although I'm an incredible producer of sweat so I have to take a change of shirts to the gym).

Point is that my routine the last few months has been nothing but running, prefaced by stretching, and I've never felt better.

I've been strongly at previous times, but probably never as cut and defined even in my arms from all the pumping of distance running, and that's without having seriously lifted weights in probably a year and a half or more. For me, the trick was shedding about 30-35 pounds through the persistent cardio work. It's done more than weight training or even being in organized sports back in high school ever did.

The more distance I add, however, the longer my runs are taking me. I'd love to have the time of a guy like hokie ... holy shit, you should get a little apartment in the gym, or put up a hammock between a couple of machines ...

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I'm already contemplating running/walking a marathon or half marathon to raise money for a charity that is kind of important to me.
I'm thinking about doing it sometime in the second half of next year. I just hope it's not too much, too soon.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

DOH ... believe it or not, I only spend an hour a day at the gym. I work fast. Which is good, because it's added cardio benefit to the weight training.