General Workout Routines and Questions

[Bram Turismo]

Such impressive numbers Pako, I'm jealous! 👍

Upped the weight by 4-5lbs on all my exercises for this week. My forearms haven't been so hard as they were during training. I got an awesome pump from the BB curls today, and that last overhead press took everything to get an 8th rep on the 3rd set.

 

[shmogt]

180 total reps of shrugs lolol omg. Such heavy weight too for everything. I'm going to assume you are a older guy who's been training all his life or a young dude on gear. I wish I could do that much volume and weight. For some reason I have the worst recovery time ever and would be able to do like a quarter of that.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

. I wish I could do that much volume and weight.

Same, if I tried volume anywhere near that i'd be weak as a kitten for days afterwards. Impressive stuff.

 

[Pako]

180 total reps of shrugs lolol omg. Such heavy weight too for everything. I'm going to assume you are a older guy who's been training all his life or a young dude on gear. I wish I could do that much volume and weight. For some reason I have the worst recovery time ever and would be able to do like a quarter of that.

Well, I have some grey hair so...., guess I'm an older guy. I also have all the aches and pains to prove it.

 

[Joel]

I'm a goalie, so I definitely won't want to be 5'10" 230, I'm aiming at more around 185-195 at a higher level of muscle bulk and overall health than I am right now. However, if I find I'm staying at a higher weight with more bulk I won't cut, I'm not at a high enough level of hockey to care. I'll look into the big 4 exercises, and I'll alternate weight days with cardio, I think that makes it all an achievable goal. I can motivate myself to lift weights every two days, I'll do 15 minutes of cardio on hockey days, 30-45 on non-hockey days, and choose one of Friday or Saturday to be my off day.

So a month later I finally got to the gym. And realised what a pathetic ball of flab I am

I did 3 sets of 15 40lb curls with a barbell (I think that's what it's called, one of those bars with weights on the end)

2 sets of 10 25lb dumbell curls

3x105lb bench

And some crunches, stretching (so I don't pull my groin out next week when hockey starts ).

It felt good, I know I didn't do very much lifting, but I have to start somewhere.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I havent worked out since sometime around May 2012. We had a really hot and beautiful summer so I took the entire summer off from working out. I am an outside person and I love the hot sun so its hard for me to be inside when its that nice out. I got a lot of home improvements finished, landscaping, and most important, enjoyed the summer.

I started working out again this week and OMG I am tore up BAD. Tuesday was chest and triceps. Wednesday was back and biceps. I made a huge mistake of trying to superset bench and flyes. First set went real well. 2nd set I failed my bench on my 3rd rep. And I mean 100% fail. Couldnt lift the weight off my chest. Had to roll it down my abs onto my hip then pick it up and put it back on the bench. Wow. I still forced myself to finish another 2 sets of bench, then 2 more sets of flys. Chest way beyond destroyed.

Following that I did 3 sets of skull crushers, 3 sets of 2 handed over the head tricep extensions. Then to finish off the night I did tricep rope pulldowns supersetted with bench dips. Chest and triceps just wrecked. Back and biceps were on wednesday and went quite well.

Holy crap I cant even ever comprehend being THIS sore. I can hardly pull my arms more than 2 feet apart without feeling like my chest and biceps are being ripped from my body. My triceps feel like they have been hit with a hammer, bruised feeling. I am almost uncertain if I tore my pecs or if I just got that great of a workout. The pain is insane when I try to stretch. Tonight is shoulders and legs so I might have to take it a little easier.

EDIT: No there is physically no way I will be able to do anything tonight. I really think I might have torn my pecs. Or its some sort of locked up charlie horse that will not go away.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

That's because your muscles weren't used to working out. First workout after time off should be light.

So a month later I finally got to the gym. And realised what a pathetic ball of flab I am

I did 3 sets of 15 40lb curls with a barbell (I think that's what it's called, one of those bars with weights on the end)

2 sets of 10 25lb dumbell curls

3x105lb bench

And some crunches, stretching (so I don't pull my groin out next week when hockey starts ).

It felt good, I know I didn't do very much lifting, but I have to start somewhere.

Curls better not have been in the rack and where are the legs broseph.

 

[Joel]

Curls better not have been in the rack and where are the legs broseph.

Curls were not in a rack. As for legs, that'll b

 

[KookiBirb]

After finally having the motivation to do daily exercise routines, I am in need of help with suggestions. After searching on google of all these tips, I am kind of confused as into what to stick with into my daily routines.

First, my goal is to just get rid of the man boobs. So I got running on my list already as well as pushups. But speaking of pushups, I have so much information thrown on me that if I don't do the proper push-up, I would make my man boobs bigger instead of slimming down. So what should I specifically do? Decline pushups? Since that is for the upper-chest am I correct?

By the way, I am 5'8 and 190lb

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

After finally having the motivation to do daily exercise routines, I am in need of help with suggestions. After searching on google of all these tips, I am kind of confused as into what to stick with into my daily routines.

First, my goal is to just get rid of the man boobs. So I got running on my list already as well as pushups. But speaking of pushups, I have so much information thrown on me that if I don't do the proper push-up, I would make my man boobs bigger instead of slimming down. So what should I specifically do? Decline pushups? Since that is for the upper-chest am I correct?

By the way, I am 5'8 and 190lb

More info needed. Are you just wanting to lose weight?

How much/what do you eat on an average day?

Do you have a job/how active are you during the day (excluding exercise)?

You cannot target a specific area of your body to lose fat from, it will decide what it burns off first, but if you are committed and consistent you will see big changes.

 

[TP1]

After finally having the motivation to do daily exercise routines, I am in need of help with suggestions. After searching on google of all these tips, I am kind of confused as into what to stick with into my daily routines.

First, my goal is to just get rid of the man boobs. So I got running on my list already as well as pushups. But speaking of pushups, I have so much information thrown on me that if I don't do the proper push-up, I would make my man boobs bigger instead of slimming down. So what should I specifically do? Decline pushups? Since that is for the upper-chest am I correct?

By the way, I am 5'8 and 190lb

Running is really the opposite of what you'd want to be doing right now, especially if you don't change your diet (the one that got you into this mess to start with) as you'll just end up burning off muscle in stead of body-fat.

Running or any other aerobic exercise is only good as a primary fat-burning method up to a certain point ('round the 30min mark) after that it becomes an endurance exercise and different fibers will be used, as well as changes in what the body uses for energy.
Aerobic exercises are however very beneficial with good dieting and weighlifting, and depending on somatotype, to overcome plateaus.

As for push-up, "upper" and "lower" chest focus is still working the same muscle: pectoralis majoris; the real difference is how much the posterior deltoids are stressed.

As MarinaDiamandis has said, exercising a muscle has no effect whatsoever on the adipose tissues above it. Body-fat deminishes inwards (from the extremities towards the core).

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

That's because your muscles weren't used to working out. First workout after time off should be light.
.

You sure got that right. I hadnt worked out in at least 5-6 months so I expected to be sore but dang did not expect that. Really thought I tore something. My pecks finally got better over the weekend and now I can even fully stretch my arms out. So the great news is I got one heck of a workout and did not tear my pecks. 👍

I will take it easier with my chest this week and work my way up to what I was doing before. Biceps are healing but still sore. Triceps are ready for more of a beating and my back had little to no pain so that needs much more abuse this week. Probably throw in some deadlifts and T bar rows this week for sure on back / bicep day. Next week will be first leg workout in a long time so will have to take that VERY easy. Feels good to be hitting the iron again.

 

[Joel]

Well my muscle soreness is starting to diminish, will get back in the gym on Wednesday (I have a hockey game on Tuesday, and don't want to wear myself out).

 

[TP1]

Well my muscle soreness is starting to diminish, will get back in the gym on Wednesday (I have a hockey game on Tuesday, and don't want to wear myself out).

An advice for everyone really: propper warm-up before & stretching after the weightlifting session, especially the later one, goes so overlooked by so many when in fact it's imperative to a quick recovery & thus ability to lift better the next time around.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

An advice for everyone really: propper warm-up before & stretching after the weightlifting session, especially the later one, goes so overlooked by so many when in fact it's imperative to a quick recovery & thus ability to lift better the next time around.

Not true. As with anything, you have to find what works for you, not just follow the crowd. Some will benefit from stretching, for others it will cause injury. The warm-up is the most important bit.

If there are areas of your body that you feel really stiff in, you probably need to do some flexibility work or face the dreaded foam roller of agony.

I run and lift better with no stretching at all before or after and suffer no ill effects. The main causes of injury in my opinion are -
1. Doing too much too soon (especially in the case of running)
2. Shockingly bad form (often due to poor understanding or flexibility issues)

 

[TP1]

Not true. As with anything, you have to find what works for you, not just follow the crowd. Some will benefit from stretching, for others it will cause injury. The warm-up is the most important bit.

If there are areas of your body that you feel really stiff in, you probably need to do some flexibility work or face the dreaded foam roller of agony.

I run and lift better with no stretching at all before or after and suffer no ill effects. The main causes of injury in my opinion are -
1. Doing too much too soon (especially in the case of running)
2. Shockingly bad form (often due to poor understanding or flexibility issues)

Working the muscle puts different amount of strain on muscle fibers, which means some get more contracted than others; this makes for an imbalance (some are longer while others remain shorter) and the only way to bring them all back to their natural relaxed state is by stretching and realligning them. And the best time to do this is when the muscle is still hot and pumping blood. Leaving it to naturally do that is simply allowing it to stretch on its own when it will be cold...and there's the cramp.

"Shockingly bad form" is just contracting different muscles in an unnatural manner which once cooled down will not be able to relax themselves (as bad form implyes unnatural movements).

Stiffness is joint related, whereas I'm only focussing on stretching after a workout (which implies fibers contracting).
Hyper-stretching is the best counter to muscle injuries, as by stretching a muscle longer than it ever needs to during an exercise, is a guarantee that it won't give cramps.

Stretching while a muscle is warm is even instinctive. Between sets of benchpressing you want to stretch your chest a bit (to unconsciously realign those different fascicles).
It's a mechanism built into the body and therefore no one can say that it's individual.

 

[ExigeEvan]

By saying 'cramp' are you referring to the effect of lactic acid or muscle soreness?

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

It's a mechanism built into the body and therefore no one can say that it's individual.

I can, will and have. With how poor the evidence in support of stretching is, I don't think anyone could say that it's 100%, no questions asked, necessary.

Did our hunter-gatherer ancestors stretch before and after running after a deer for 5 or 10 miles and then carrying it back to camp? I highly doubt it.

 

[TP1]

I can, will and have. With how poor the evidence in support of stretching is, I don't think anyone could say that it's 100%, no questions asked, necessary.

Did our hunter-gatherer ancestors stretch before and after running after a deer for 5 or 10 miles and then carrying it back to camp? I highly doubt it.

I don't discredit opinions, so I tried searching for anything regarding stretching post exercise being bad; actually got hits with it being very beneficial (for the aformentioned reasons).
Care to provide any evidence to prove your point?

Also, the example you used to back-up your point fails on so many levels.

 

[shmogt]

There's different type of stretching. Static and dynamic plus a few more but these two are like the two opposite ends. Static stretching is what comes to mind by doing something like a bent over hamstring stretch and holding that position for a amount of time. Dynamic is you do the hamstring stretch but you go down slow and pause for a second than back to normal and keep doing that is a rep fashion trying to push a little bit further each time. Dynamic is more like your standard warm up set with full range of motion. Doing those are fine before since you are staying in the exact range of movement your muscle will be moving when loaded with weight. Static stretching however is stretching the fibers past the range. Before exercising this isn't good since you will be losing that tension/spring action which you want when moving weight.

When you exercise you are basically contacting very hard so doing static stretches afterwards or the next day is excellent since you will get back your normal muscular tension. Not too tight or too loose. You never want to do them to a specific muscle you are trying to hit that day before you hit it tho. However if you know how the body works there is a place for them before exercise. For example squats are super complicated to be able to do perfectly since so many muscles need to work perfectly in order to do it. So something like your hip flexors may be very tight and if you do a squat you will fall forward every time. This would be a good time to use static stretches as you stretch the hip flexors to give you more range of motion during the squat without effecting the major muscles being the quads, and glutes.

All stretching is just about range of motion. If your chest is tight from the day before and is not allowing you to pull your arms back far enough while you to do back movements than do some static stretching for the chest. As long as you know why you are stretching and what to stretch its fine but majority of people stretch major muscles in a static fashion before they are gonna use them and that's how you can get hurt. I forget what it's called but you have something between the bone and your muscle that tells your body how far is too far before it get injured and when you stretch you are telling it this is ok give me more range. It's not really the muscle itself per se.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

I don't discredit opinions, so I tried searching for anything regarding stretching post exercise being bad; actually got hits with it being very beneficial (for the aformentioned reasons).
Care to provide any evidence to prove your point?

Also, the example you used to back-up your point fails on so many levels.

If you search heel-striking the internet will tell you that that's a good, healthy way to run too!

I don't stretch and it works fine for me and others that I know, that's it. Moving from that - if I and others that I know get on fine without stretching, surely others could too? Surely it's not just 6-7 people on the face of this earth?

I was always told that the worst thing that you can do is assume that you are like everybody else. Always try things out for yourself and see what works and what doesn't.

I don't know how you view fitness but the example that I used reflects how I like to work out - in a way that translates into the real world. I can lift heavy objects, all day long if needs be. More recently i've trained so that not only can I lift heavy objects, but I can carry them several miles pretty quickly.

I don't want to have to stretch before picking up heavy furniture, or wear special super-supportive, shock-absorbing shoes so that I can run somewhere.

 

[TP1]

I don't want to have to stretch before picking up heavy furniture, or wear special super-supportive, shock-absorbing shoes so that I can run somewhere.

...and your joints will pay the price in the later years.

And once again, we're talking about stretching post workout and not the correctness of the internet (heel-stricking).
I've searched as best I could, and have yet to find any evidence (including forums and posts like yours) in support of your argument. So I'm only left to believe that you and the other 6 people you know, really are the only ones who think so; and that is why I asked of sources from you, as I was unable to find, not to tackle your opinion.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

...and your joints will pay the price in the later years.

And once again, we're talking about stretching post workout and not the correctness of the internet (heel-stricking).
I've searched as best I could, and have yet to find any evidence (including forums and posts like yours) in support of your argument. So I'm only left to believe that you and the other 6 people you know, really are the only ones who think so; and that is why I asked of sources from you, as I was unable to find, not to tackle your opinion.

Having known and seen many people who had been running for only a few years being plagued with injury after injury (due to heel-striking and 'corrective' footwear/insoles), i'm fairly confident in saying that my joints are going to be a damn sight healthier than theirs!

Even if I run completely barefoot on concrete, i'm still putting less impact through my knee joints than somebody heel-striking in running shoes. There are studies and videos that prove this, right down to the structure of the human leg itself.

I never said that I had proof that not stretching was better, nor did I say that nobody should ever stretch ever. All I said was that it works for me (far less injury since i've stopped stretching, and better progress towards my fitness goals) and a few others that I know, that I doubt we're the only people on the planet that it works for and that nobody should just except something as right for them (see the example - mainstream heel-striking vs left-field midfoot-striking) without trying a few options first.

A slice of my opinion and a little advice to try before you buy in, so to speak.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

This is the 3rd week from a very long break and I am getting back into the hang of everything again and making gains. Yesterday I did deadlifts for the first time in at least 5-6 months. I forgot my love hate relationship with those. While doing them I feel like I am going to puke. But once I am finished its so rewarding. Very sore today. 👍 I am back to eating about 6-7 meals a day. I have been experimenting with my breakfast and pre-workout snack. I found that frozen fruit is also a much better way to go than buying fresh fruit all the time. Also with winter coming I will probably start riding the exercise bike more often for some cardio.

On top of that I cant say enough about how great Casein is before bed. A glass of milk with a scoop of that works very well to get me through the night without being hungry. If you havent tried Casein I HIGHLY recommend checking it out. I have the Optimum Nutrition Chocolate Supreme and it tastes better than any milkshake I have ever had. 1 scoop is 23 grams of protein. Its delicious.

 

[TP1]

For the first time tried doing Pullovers today.
It was exhilarating! Just like the first time doing Over Head Squats. Such an exciting new sensation by feeling different muscles stretching and contracting like never before.

I did them on the floor, laying straight and holding onto 3 small (5kg) plates and performing the movement.
The stretch in the lats & serratus is so refreshing, and you feel the chest working too.

Would recommend a try!

 

[Luminis]

Well, after being forced to take a brake from working out, I've gotten back to the gym again. Now, I was quite sore after the first two or three sessions, but by now (about a week of properly working out, after a few light sessions to get myself going again) I'm not experiencing much soreness at all.

I wonder, though, why? I usually work out for about one and a half hours by now and am mostly trying to work on my maximum strength. One warm-up set of ~15 repetitions, two or three sets of sub-ten repetitions. Unless I'm really outdoing myself, I manage to exhaust my muscles fairly well that way, to the point of not being able to finish the last set of every exercise.

I do an easy wamr-up, usually just ten minutes of running and the aforementioned warm-up sets, and very little stretching. It's pretty much normal due to the amount of exercising I do, according to the trainers at the gym. I wonder, though, is that really the case? It seems odd, that's all...

 

[shmogt]

This is the 3rd week from a very long break and I am getting back into the hang of everything again and making gains. Yesterday I did deadlifts for the first time in at least 5-6 months. I forgot my love hate relationship with those. While doing them I feel like I am going to puke. But once I am finished its so rewarding. Very sore today. 👍 I am back to eating about 6-7 meals a day. I have been experimenting with my breakfast and pre-workout snack. I found that frozen fruit is also a much better way to go than buying fresh fruit all the time. Also with winter coming I will probably start riding the exercise bike more often for some cardio.

On top of that I cant say enough about how great Casein is before bed. A glass of milk with a scoop of that works very well to get me through the night without being hungry. If you havent tried Casein I HIGHLY recommend checking it out. I have the Optimum Nutrition Chocolate Supreme and it tastes better than any milkshake I have ever had. 1 scoop is 23 grams of protein. Its delicious.

Have you tried any crazier flavors of the whey by this or other brands? I seen some that are like banana cream pie etc and they seem so crazy but everyone says they taste so good. Usually the crazier flavor are expensive as hell which is why I haven't tried any yet. I only but whey from Costco for like $30 and it's a great product however you get what you pay for and it taste passable. Not bad at all but nothing super exciting. I had other ON products and I like them so I'm wondering a bit more about them.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Have you tried any crazier flavors of the whey by this or other brands? I seen some that are like banana cream pie etc and they seem so crazy but everyone says they taste so good. Usually the crazier flavor are expensive as hell which is why I haven't tried any yet. I only but whey from Costco for like $30 and it's a great product however you get what you pay for and it taste passable. Not bad at all but nothing super exciting. I had other ON products and I like them so I'm wondering a bit more about them.

We have the Optimum Nutrition Strawberry protein for my wife and its delicious especially in milk. I believe they might even have samples for you to try if you are curious about taste. When it comes to Casein, the chocolate supreme is seriously better tasting than any milkshake I have had. But I mix it with milk. Not sure how it would taste in water. I have tried other brands but the ON products are almost always the best tasting. They also mix easier and are usually a better product.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Finally a bit of routine back in my life! Having spent the last 2 years anywhere between overstressed or completely inconsistent, I've finally managed 2 months of regular working out.

Feeling great. Weight lifting 2-3 times a week and then a circuits or kettle-bells class session to supplement them.

Though only downside is my gym is fairly rubbish. No racks, no Olympic bars and I can touch the ceiling! But I'm doing some work with power bags and lots of DB Bench work like I did back when I was 16 and working out at home. Feels old school!

 

[Luminis]

Just started a proper supplementation with creatine monohydrate. Haven't been doing it for long, but I already added 5kg / 11lbs to my bench and the same amount to my barbell curls. Also added about 10 kg / 22lbs to my barbell rows and a few other excercises.

On the topic of protein shakes, I swear by Scitec Nutrition. Their Honey Vanilla flavour is probably the best I've had - and it even tastes great in water. It's great as far as its nutritional values go, too, because of that. Not too expensive, either.