General Workout Routines and Questions

[Pako]

A super set is when you basically go back and fourth between different exercises without resting. So in the example above, I did the following:

Set 1: 30 Ball setups
Set 2: 20/side Hanging Twists
Set 3: 30 Ball setups
Set 4: 20/side Hanging Twists
Set 5: 30 Ball setups
Set 6: 20/side Hanging Twists

Really the only rest you get is going to and from each station.

 

[Yukon]

Ahh, I see.

So would you only super set if you're working the same muscle group, (your example is Abs), to ensure you're getting the most out of it or would it work doing different excercises? The reason I ask is because when I go to the gym I don't just work one particular set of muscles, I do a varied workout from which I try to incorporate most of my body, over the course of the whole session.

 

[Pako]

^ Full body vs. isolated muscle group routines are going to produce different results.

I think of full body workouts as being good for general health and fitness, but see isolated muscle group routines more for actual body building.

I wouldn't only super set same muscle groups, but keep in mind that while you are lifting, you are putting blood into those muscles to get that pump. Moving to a different muscle group forces the blood out of one group and into another. If you are trying to build muscle mass, you are making things harder on yourself by transferring your blood around.

With that said, today on my hammer curls, I did super sets of forearm curls with it. With that, my forearms were pretty full already from the previous sets of holding onto the bars and dumbbells from the curl sets.

 

[xStretch-]

Been trying to get into working out again the last few weeks after having 2 bit injurys, one to my knee and one being a torn rotator cuff. Being 6"8 my body is basically like glass and I get a lot of injurys lol!

Getting back into small things like press ups and boxing and I'm still in a lot of pain :/ Going to try and do a soft week in the gym and see if I'm ready to get back into things.

Anyone had a torn rotator cuff before?

 

[ExigeEvan]

Been trying to get into working out again the last few weeks after having 2 bit injurys, one to my knee and one being a torn rotator cuff. Being 6"8 my body is basically like glass and I get a lot of injurys lol!

Getting back into small things like press ups and boxing and I'm still in a lot of pain :/ Going to try and do a soft week in the gym and see if I'm ready to get back into things.

Anyone had a torn rotator cuff before?

No, but I know plenty of rugby players that have. They're a dog to heal, so rest really is the priority. While laying off the weights work on the flexibility and RC specifically. So go through a variety of shoulder stretches and get some resistance bands and use them to build up the strength on both sides and all in the different ranges of motion. You can use light dumbells too but it means lying in some awkward positions.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Anyone had a torn rotator cuff before?

Me *raises hand*

First up, you shouldn't be in the gym! As ExigeEvan said, rest it. Avoid movements that cause pain or that are likely to irritate the injury (reaching above your head, leaning on it, etc.).

Maintain your existing range of motion as much as possible (without causing yourself pain) because coming back from injury and having to regain flexibility sucks.

 

[Yukon]

I think of full body workouts as being good for general health and fitness, but see isolated muscle group routines more for actual body building.

Which is what I've noticed, I've become a lot more healthy from going to the gym aswell as solely running. Before I think my lungs and legs must have been the strongest parts of my body, and probably still are. But since going to the gym I've noticed vast improvements for all round health and physique.

Speaking of legs, I was doing the Seated Leg Press today and managed to max out the machine. The highest weight is 178KG (392lbs).

10 x 392lbs
10 x 392lbs
10 x 392lbs

Shaky legs when I got off.

^ Full body vs. isolated muscle group routines are going to produce different results.

When I first started working out, I would notice significant gains on most excercises within the first few weeks and even more as the months progressed. Now, however, it feels like I'm taking longer to improve on certain workouts. Dips, for example, I can manage 3 sets of 8 (Bodyweight Only), and don't seem to be able to manage any more. It's been like this for a while now. Would this be down to me doing full body workouts instead of focusing on singular muscle groups?

Or is it like trying to loose weight. You start off losing lots, but you get to a point where the process becomes slower and slower, so you just have to keep at it?

 

[Pako]

Nice job on the leg press! As far as hitting a plateau on a particular exercise, there are a few attributing factors to consider. 1.) Are you over training that muscle group, are you giving yourself enough time to recover? 2.) Are you pushing the limit of your reps every set, every time? 3.) Are you eating enough to be properly fueled? Are you drinking enough water? 4.) Are you mixing your lifts up or are you doing the same routine over and over again?

Any one answer may be what you are experiencing or a combination of these things.

 

[xStretch-]

No, but I know plenty of rugby players that have. They're a dog to heal, so rest really is the priority. While laying off the weights work on the flexibility and RC specifically. So go through a variety of shoulder stretches and get some resistance bands and use them to build up the strength on both sides and all in the different ranges of motion. You can use light dumbells too but it means lying in some awkward positions.

Me *raises hand*

First up, you shouldn't be in the gym! As ExigeEvan said, rest it. Avoid movements that cause pain or that are likely to irritate the injury (reaching above your head, leaning on it, etc.).

Maintain your existing range of motion as much as possible (without causing yourself pain) because coming back from injury and having to regain flexibility sucks.

It's been 5 months though, surely I should be ok to go back to the gym? I spent some time doing some flexible exercises with light dumbells but I didn't find that to help really. When I did a week trial in the gym to see how I got on I infact found it helped a lot but only doing really light weights. When doing a little bit more heavy things I felt pain. Since then though I can actually do things like play GT5 without pain whats good but I still don't think I'm fully healed.

So from experience, how long did it take you/people you knew to heal up and should I avoid things like pressups and pull ups?

 

[ExigeEvan]

It's been 5 months though, surely I should be ok to go back to the gym? I spent some time doing some flexible exercises with light dumbells but I didn't find that to help really. When I did a week trial in the gym to see how I got on I infact found it helped a lot but only doing really light weights. When doing a little bit more heavy things I felt pain. Since then though I can actually do things like play GT5 without pain whats good but I still don't think I'm fully healed.

So from experience, how long did it take you/people you knew to heal up and should I avoid things like pressups and pull ups?

There are plenty of professional players that have undergone surgery for RC, which just highlights how significant the injury can be.

Is there anyway you can seek professional investigation into it?

 

[xStretch-]

Well the doctor told me 3 weeks when it happened. Since then I went again and said I'm still in pain 2 months down the line and they said a specialist will see me. The Specialist then said when I called them "sorry go back to your GP" and so I did and now I'm waiting months to see a specialist again.

To top it off I can hardly walk as I messed up my knee ages ago from gym thats been giving me grief to! I'm pretty unlucky with these things. Leg pressing 10x3 350 KG was pretty stupid looking back at it haha.

I find playing basketball and stuff loosens my shoulder up a bit but I can't do that with my knee now >.<

 

[ExigeEvan]

Well the doctor told me 3 weeks when it happened. Since then I went again and said I'm still in pain 2 months down the line and they said a specialist will see me. The Specialist then said when I called them "sorry go back to your GP" and so I did and now I'm waiting months to see a specialist again.

To top it off I can hardly walk as I messed up my knee ages ago from gym thats been giving me grief to! I'm pretty unlucky with these things. Leg pressing 10x3 350 KG was pretty stupid looking back at it haha.

I find playing basketball and stuff loosens my shoulder up a bit but I can't do that with my knee now >.<

What's you GP's specialism? At least on the Welsh NHS website I can check out the Doctors at my clinic and check their interests. One of mine has a background in sports science, better than seeing the one with a background in gynaecology.

If basketball loosens it up that would suggest it's not too serious, but you need to focus on warming it up properly before doing any weight on it.

And also, sounds like you need to be more sensible in the gym.

 

[xStretch-]

I am sensible in the gym, I lift a lot and push my body as thats why people go. I never over do it in the gym though but like I said earlier, being 6"8 my body is pretty fragile lol

 

[ExigeEvan]

I am sensible in the gym, I lift a lot and push my body as thats why people go. I never over do it in the gym though but like I said earlier, being 6"8 my body is pretty fragile lol

If you're wrecking your shoulder and then messing up your knee in quick succession, you need to start training more sensibly. There's no point pushing yourself to the point of injury, that or you need to check your form and warm ups.

 

[XS]

Rest-pause once a month. That day is today. Insanity doesn't have anything on that workout. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[shmogt]

Lol dude you should like never get hurt. Doesn't matter height, weight whatever. You train for your body. Just wondering in everyday life are you mainly sitting, on your feet, super active etc?

 

[Pagey279]

I'm going to be joining a gym tomorrow, with the target of toning up. I don't want to bulk out too heavily (partly because I have a pea head so I'd look ridiculous) I just want to add definition, get fit and gain a bit of weight.

With that in mind I need a bit of advice. I've sort of got it in my mind that because I'm not wanting to add a lot of bulk I should do a lot of reps/sets of a lighter weight, rather than fewer reps of more weight.

Is that right or am I talking out my ass?

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

I'm going to be joining a gym tomorrow, with the target of toning up. I don't want to bulk out too heavily (partly because I have a pea head so I'd look ridiculous) I just want to add definition, get fit and gain a bit of weight.

With that in mind I need a bit of advice. I've sort of got it in my mind that because I'm not wanting to add a lot of bulk I should do a lot of reps/sets of a lighter weight, rather than fewer reps of more weight.

Is that right or am I talking out my ass?

Low reps, heavy weight = strength (think Olympic weightlifters, small in size compared to what they can lift)
High reps, low weight = size (think bodybuilders)

Remember that for your muscles to be visible (looking 'toned') you will need to strip the fat away too. No amount of weight lifting will build muscles that show through a fat layer.

 

[Pako]

You have nothing to worry about. It takes years of training to "bulk".

Full body workouts, three times a week, every other day should treat you well.

Ditto what MarinaDiamandis said.... 👍

 

[xStretch-]

Lol dude you should like never get hurt. Doesn't matter height, weight whatever. You train for your body. Just wondering in everyday life are you mainly sitting, on your feet, super active etc?

My job is a "sitting down" job. But even when I was young I was always having problems and stuff.

I think I'm going to rest for 2 weeks and then see how I feel just doing light jogging. I really hate not beign able to work out, I'm getting fat...

 

[shmogt]

My job is a "sitting down" job. But even when I was young I was always having problems and stuff.

I think I'm going to rest for 2 weeks and then see how I feel just doing light jogging. I really hate not beign able to work out, I'm getting fat...

If you're sitting all the time than you probably have bad posture and when you go to do the exercises they come out wrong. Shoulders, knees, hips, and lower back always get injured in people who sit all the time. You wanna focus on exercises that are the opposite of a sitting position like excellent form deadlifts, planks, lunges, etc. Research lower and upper cross syndrome and see if you look like those people. I'm sure they will show very bad posture people but even if you have it a little once you get to the gym your body will crumble doing the exercises without you even realizing.

 

[xStretch-]

If you're sitting all the time than you probably have bad posture and when you go to do the exercises they come out wrong. Shoulders, knees, hips, and lower back always get injured in people who sit all the time. You wanna focus on exercises that are the opposite of a sitting position like excellent form deadlifts, planks, lunges, etc. Research lower and upper cross syndrome and see if you look like those people. I'm sure they will show very bad posture people but even if you have it a little once you get to the gym your body will crumble doing the exercises without you even realizing.

But normally I am active most days. I walk to work and back (15 mins each way) play a lot of Tennis and basketball in my spare time so my body does get a lot of activity.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Also, what is your diet like? Getting all of the nutrients that you need regularly?

 

[shmogt]

But normally I am active most days. I walk to work and back (15 mins each way) play a lot of Tennis and basketball in my spare time so my body does get a lot of activity.

It's not really the activity it's the duration of lack of movment. You take 15min to walk to work and 1hr of tennis than sit and not move for 8 hours. Clearly the sitting far outweighs the activity. This applies to everyone with a computer job. It takes so much more work stretching and doing corrective exercises just to get to normal posture first to be able to even perform regular exercise properly.

 

[Pako]

Since I've been on my low calorie diet, today has been the hardest push in the gym. I had to really dig deep to find the energy to get my reps going. Once I was in it, things started looking better than when I first walked in.

It was cold outside and gym was equally cold. I hate gold gyms.....

Anyways, Smith Squats:
Bar x 20
95x20
135x20
185x15
135x15
185x12
225x12 (last warmup set)
285x10
315x10
405x10
495x4 Started to feel a slight pull in the left quad where I have pulled it in the past. I quickly racked it.

Super set (Leg Press Variations + Leg Extensions)

• Full Deep 405x20 + Leg Extensions Max x 15
• 1/2 shallow (part way down, part way up) x 10 + Full Deep x 10 + Leg Extensions Max x 20
• 10 + Full Deep x 10 + 1/2 shallow (part way down, part way up) x 15 + Leg Extensions (top half to squeeze) x 10 + (bottom Half) x 10 + 5 full reps.

Lots of blood and pump today. For legs, I sure miss my 3500 calories. That was all on 200 calories so far today. UGH!

 

[Michael88]

I finally managed to do 3 sets of 8 reps preacher curls with 100lbs / 45 kilograms! Progress has really slowed down in the past couple of months, especially biceps. Took me 3 months to get from 90 to 100.

495x4 Started to feel a slight pull in the left quad where I have pulled it in the past. I quickly racked it.

Man, 495. 👍

 

[Pako]

Nice job on the bicep work. Not that you have hit that weight/rep, keep at it and don't look back! Always go for just one more and you'll keep improving.

Thanks on the 👍 but it was smith machine squats. I would like free weight squats at that weight, but I don't know if my back would like me much in the morning.... I do have to say, smith squats are considerably easier than free weight squats. Still damn heavy though.

 

[xStretch-]

Also, what is your diet like? Getting all of the nutrients that you need regularly?

I eat healthy but I don't eat enough, I think I eat about 1.5k calories a day where I should be eating double. Thing is I'm trying to stay slim I don't want to get fat whislt I can't work out

It's not really the activity it's the duration of lack of movment. You take 15min to walk to work and 1hr of tennis than sit and not move for 8 hours. Clearly the sitting far outweighs the activity. This applies to everyone with a computer job. It takes so much more work stretching and doing corrective exercises just to get to normal posture first to be able to even perform regular exercise properly.

I'm not always stationary. Even before when I didn't have this job I use to have many issues with my back and what not.

I really hate this resting ball crap, its been 5 months and I just want to work out

 

[Pako]

It's just the shoulder. Find out what lifts don't hurt you and get to work. Pretty sure you can leg press all day long. Being braced up, you could probably do preacher curls if you keep form. You most likely want to stay away from anything overhead until the doc releases you to. Bench press is probably out of the question. Really listen to your body and to your doc.

 

[xStretch-]

It's just the shoulder. Find out what lifts don't hurt you and get to work. Pretty sure you can leg press all day long. Being braced up, you could probably do preacher curls if you keep form. You most likely want to stay away from anything overhead until the doc releases you to. Bench press is probably out of the question. Really listen to your body and to your doc.

Cheers for the advice bud

I tried bench press a few weeks ago on a light weight, it actually felt ok as I only put 15KG on each side. What hurts maily is moving my arm behind my back and across my chest.

What I'm going to do is use 2KG weights to keep working on different movments to stretch it out like someone mentioned earlier (I don't have an elastic band) and then try going gym again in a month as I have a free pass what expires by then.

Going to visit the doctor and get him to hurry up me seeing a specialist to, maybe having a scan and seeing if its still busted is a smart thing to do.