Posted by Allanfan20:
Posted by SupremeCommander:
Posted by Allanfan20:
Posted by SupremeCommander:
Posted by Allanfan20:
OK. I just did leg weights for the first time in forever. I have a feeling I'm going to be regretting it for the next few days. I also had them make a protein shake for me. I have a feeling I'll be regretting that too.
What equipment do you have access to?
Well I go to the gym. I only did 3 things for legs believe it or not and my legs feel sore, but at least I'm able to walk. I did lounges, I did calves, and I did that one leg workout where you're lying flat on your stomach and chest and you pull the leg up and toward your ass. I know, bad description, but you'll know what it is when you see it.
I was only able to do 14 minutes of cardio after that. To say the least, I was exhausted.
Sounds like you have a full array of equipment... when I started lifting I circuit trained for one-to-two months, meaning using all cable equipment every time at the gym. I did one set on each piece of machine equipment three or four times a week, increasing weight as often as possible. When that got easy I upped it to two sets on each machine. After that I did normal free weight routines. I think that's (1) a good way to transition into weight lifting and (2) synergistic with you weight loss goals... getting all your muscles working is going to consume more calories and requires less food consumption to repair your muscles properly
That's an interesting way of doing it. I bet that's helped a lot. Maybe I should try. How many days a week do you go?
A lot of hard core weight lifting guys disagree with me, but then again, I'm not trying to be the next Mr. Olympia. It will increase your strength and get you in a routine... cable based exercises also place less strain on your stabilizing muscles, which is why dumbbells are harder than barbells which are harder than cable based exercises--but you do train some stabilizing muscles, which will decrease the probability you form bad habits. There's an optimal rotation for circuit training (which I do not know) but chances are your gym has the machines arranged in that path.
Lastly, I think the biggest benefit to circuit training is limiting the injury risk. Weight lifting essentially is tearing your muscles up to let them grow back bigger, stronger. if you decide you don't want to do circuit training, that's cool too... but I would most definitely encourage doing less weight than you could/should to train your stabilizing muscles and learn how to properly control both your muscles and the weight.
My personal routine is tailored to my goals. I spent so much damned time in the gym where I truly resent it now. I'm at the gym for about 30 minutes, hopefully, but more than like 45, but I am not resting. Powerlifters base their routines around bench press (chest), deadlifts (back), and the uber important squat (legs, but really everything) which I like becasue the routine is based on complex movements rather than isolation, the latter giving you the Tony from Staten Island look... I'm not a power lifter so I also work arms/shoulders one day around 21s/Arnold presses and focus more on sustained explosion than sheer power. I work the core too, so I also do pullups/pushups and crunches every day I lift. I also rotate three other exercises depending on what I feel like doing, which you can do when you've been taught things over the years.
For example: example back day:
4 sets of 10 pullups
4 sets of 8-12 deadlifts
4 sets of 8-12 bent over rows
4 sets of 8-12 lat pulldown
4 sets of 8-12 hyperextension (or sets of 20 with no weight)
50-100 crunches (depending on incline)
important to note that I'm not quitting at 8 when I could do 12... I'm changing my weight so I achieve failure. Some days I'm more concern with strength, others endurance. I'm also trying to take a minute of rest and to get out in 30 minutes, which is rare. Also, most people do 3 sets, probably to get more types of exercises in. I do this type of exercise though because over the years I've determined this is what works best for me. I would encourage you to try different routines in 2-6 months intervals until you find what works best for you, in terms of both health and imaging goals
