I've been working out pretty regularly for the last few months, but not extensively. By that I mean that my entire workout consists of three sets of pushups, crunches, curls(with free weights), and then I go for a run. Something in the way I do these workouts(probably from either pushups or curls i'm guessing) has caused certain muscles on the left side of my body to develop completely different from the right side of my body. Specifically my left pectoral muscle is *significantly* larger than my right, as well as my left deltoid(I think that's what it is. It's sort of around my back/side. seems like it's above my lat. It's only really visible when i'm looking in a mirror while doing a pull up, i can't see it otherwise) being larger than the right one.
Anyway, obviously this is really weird.
More info: my biceps are approx. the same size, BUT my left bicep may have started out smaller than my right bicep. I'm a righty and am generally stronger with my right side than I am with my left(for example, when i do the curls my left arm barely can finish the set, while my right is mostly fine), so the same thing may be going on roughly around the whole left part of my body that I'm working out. I feel like if it keeps going this way i'll be like that guy in Lady in the Water.
Anyone know what might be happening, and any steps I can take to try to even out my muscle development?
[ January 07, 2007, 04:16 AM: Message edited by: Strider ]
Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
I am *not* an expert, but ... surely this must mean you're working one side more than the other. Are you very controlled in your movements when you do reps?
Puzzling!
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
that's what i figured too, but what can i be messing up? I *feel* pretty even when i do pushups, but how can i tell? And when I do curls my left side struggles more, but I can't help that. It's weaker. That's the funny thing about all this. My left side IS weaker.
If one of my arms was longer than the other, would something like that throw off the balance of my work out, and work out one side more than the other(particularly for pushups I guess)?
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
Here's what's happened. You're a righty, so your right side started out stronger (probably by quite a bit). Since you're not doing extensive weight training (only body weight exercises and curls), your weak side is progressing more rapidly than your strong side (which only makes sense -- after all, you said yourself that you finish your curls with no problem with your right arm but struggle with your left). Take pushups, for example. It's the weaker arm that determines when you can't do any more pushups. So, even if you go to failure you're only failing on one side -- your right side still has gas in the tank. You need to work until both sides are equally spent.
This might entail doing less bodyweight stuff (although I personally wouldn't stop what you're doing -- pullups and pushups are a great way to end a workout), but mainly I'd suggest anything you do with weights you do until each arm is spent. Meaning you may go up on weight or reps on your dominant side and not your non-dominant. This may seem weird, but it'll keep you from getting lopsided. And pretty soon your non-dominant side will catch up (after all, it's easy to improve when you have more room from improvement).
You need more isometric stuff; that is, exercises where each side works independently and not together.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
hmmm...well that seems obvious now that I hear it.
But do you think it's the pushups or the curls that are doing it? If it's the curls I should just do more reps with my right arm right? And if it's the pushups, then what? More pushups till i completely give out? Or something completely different?
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
I'm not sure what's causing it. If your chest is not symmetrical, then it's the pushups. If your biceps aren't then it's the curls.
Either way I would, without a doubt, do more reps with your right arm. I don't know how you generally do it (3 sets of 10, 4 sets of 8, one weight, increasing weight, decreasing weight, etc. There are a lot of different ways to do free weight curls), but if one arm's dead tired and one isn't you should keep going with that arm.
See, you get muscle growth by straining the tissues. Every time you lift you cause tiny tears in the muscle. These tears tell the body, "Hey, I need to be bigger because I think my workload is increasing." The body responds by growing that muscle. So whatever it takes to get about equally burned out in both arms is what you should do.
As for the pushups, I guess the simplest solution would be to start doing a few sets of one-armed pushups. That way you can work each arm separately. If you don't know how to do a one armed pushup you should be able to google it and find a pretty decent diagram or explanation. Alterately, you could find a bench and do dumbbell bench press with the same weights you use to curl, with the same system of working both arms to the same fatigue level.
I'm assuming you're doing this in your house or garage, and that you only have one set of dumbbells?
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
You assume correctly. I'm not really overly worried about building a lot of muscle. I mostly do these other things for general fitness that's not encapsulated in my running, and because I'd like my upper body to be a bit stronger. But I'm doing them more regularly and extensively then I ever have previously.
I do 3 sets of 15 with the curls, one weight. Is that too much?
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
Depends on the weight. The metric I've always used was if I was sore the next day I was doing enough. If not, then not. But that's lifting a lot more seriously than you're able to do, and with a much bigger time commitment.
Since you're doing the same routine every time you exercise I don't think I'd recommend you use soreness to gauge progress. Otherwise you'd quickly be doing an awful lot of curls and pushups.
I'd just look up some pushup variations (like the one-armed one), and maybe start doing 3-5 more reps with your right arm than with your left when you do curls. Also, if you want to add to your general fitness you should probably look into getting a pullup bar. They're cheap and fairly easy to attach to a doorframe. And they'll let you work your back (a large muscle group that you're completely neglecting). And if you really want to expand, getting another set or two of dumbbells of varying weights could open up a lot of good exercises (with 10, 20, and 30 pound dbs you could actually get a pretty complete workout). But it doesn't sound like that's a goal of yours right now, which is absolutely fine.
Congrats on sticking with it this long, and let me know if you have any other questions.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
I think the pullup bar is a really good idea, and I'll definitely be getting that. But you're right that getting more weights isn't exactly what i'm interested in right now. I'm pretty happy with the way i'm developing, other than the unevenness of course.
While I'm at it though...as of now i'm doing 3 sets of 25 pushups and 3 sets of 50 crunches. But it's starting to get too easy and i'd like to move up(i've already gone up from 2 sets each). Should I go to 4 sets of 25 and 50 or 2 sets of 50 and 100, respectively? Or move up to 4 sets and then switch to 2 when I've got that down?
Thanks btw. I appreciate the help.
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
Learn to bench press soon. Concentrate more on proper form rather than doing your pushups and situps quick. When you do your pushups, each time that you return to the upward pushup position count one mississippi before doing another pushup. It is important to learn to bench press because when you do it, it will be easier to tell what is the problem. When I first started benching and stuff, my right arm would pretty much carry most of the weight and my other arm would still flex, but it wasn't moving as much weight. If this happens it will cause you to shake the bar while you bench. Obviously this is not good and that is why you start small when you lift weights.However, once you learn proper form your muscles should even out.
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
"but if one arm's dead tired and one isn't you should keep going with that arm."
Wouldn't that make the problem worse and make his right arm even bigger than his left?
I also do curls, but I try to burn out with my left arm and then stop on both sides. That way my left arm can catch up with my right arm so they're the same size and then eventually they'll burn out at the same time. Is this wrong?
--- I was about to bump the fitness thread I started a little while ago to ask a question until I saw this thread so I hope you don't mind if I borrow this thread for a quick question.
I've been working out my abs alot with a machine in the gym where you basically put your arms crossed on a pad in front of you and you push the pad to your knees (sitting, of course) with the resistance coming from weights. This developed the middle of my abs alot, but not so much the outsides of it. Is there any way I could work out the sides of my abs so they stretch out a little more? Would those sideways situps that I've seen people do help with this problem?
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
quote:Wouldn't that make the problem worse and make his right arm even bigger than his left?
It's his left (aka non-dominant side) that's overdeveloping.
quote:While I'm at it though...as of now i'm doing 3 sets of 25 pushups and 3 sets of 50 crunches. But it's starting to get too easy and i'd like to move up(i've already gone up from 2 sets each). Should I go to 4 sets of 25 and 50 or 2 sets of 50 and 100, respectively? Or move up to 4 sets and then switch to 2 when I've got that down?
For pushups, I'd increase the number of reps. Go to 30, then 40, then 50. When sets of 100 are easy then you know it's probably time to either start bench pressing or be satisfied to plateau.
As for the crunches, I would start doing them weighted and drop the reps way down. For example, elevate your feet and do 15 or 20 reps with one of your dumbbells on your chest with your arms crossed over it. The thing with crunches is that you can do a twenty of them and, if you do them right, get just as good a workout as if you do a thousand of them incorrectly.
Do them really slowly, taking care to concentrate on breathing and flexing throughout the entire range of motion. Exhale during the contraction and inhale on the way down. You can also do flutter kicks* to work your lower abs (start with 30 seconds x 2-3 sets) and/or twisting crunches to work your obliques**.
*Flutter kicking is done by laying flat on your back with your heels about 6" off the ground and kicking like you're swimming freestyle (aka with stiff knees and one leg moving up while the other moves down). If done properly you'll feel a burn in your lower abs at about the 10 second mark. It's brutal.
**Twisting crunches are done in the same position as regular crunches except, when you get midway through the contraction (the uphill side of the crunch) you twist your torso so that your left elbow touches your right knee. Then touch right elbow to right knee on the next rep. This assumes you hold your hands behind your head when you're doing this exercise.
--------
Gaal, there are three distinct ab muscles that you can work out: the upper abs (what you referred to as the middle abs), the lower abs, and the obliques (aka the side abs). You want to add an exercise that works the obliques. The twisting crunches I described above will hit them, but since you're in a gym there are more efficient ways for you to work them.
One of my favorite ways is the hanging leg lift. You can actually work all three ab groups this way. Find either a pullup bar or a dip rack. I'll describe it from a pullup bar (you need to be far enough off of the ground so that your legs don't touch when they're bent at the knee). Bend your legs at the knee to a 90 degree angle. Holding your upper body steady (by that I mean try not to swing), lift your legs straight up in front of you. That works your upper and lower abs.
Now, if you lift your legs to the side you're working your obliques. Do one rep on one side, one rep in the middle, and one rep on the other side to get a pretty good ab workout all in one.
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
Thanks for that exercise. I have a pullup bar on my door so it'll be pretty convenient.
But by lifting my legs to the side, do you mean like lifting my right knee towards the left side of my stomach or lifting my legs completely to the left or the right so I look like an L-shape from the front?
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
Keep your knees touching and lift your legs completely to the right (though you won't be able to get the parallel to the ground...just go as high as you can).
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Keep in mind that your dominate side is usually stronger, but it also gets a lot more work every day compared to your non-dominate side. A lot of times I can do more reps with my off arm than with my dominate one, but that is because my dominate one does most of the lifting throughout the day.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
If Strider doesn't mind me hijacking his thread, I also have a question about muscle growth.
I started working out on the 15th of December, which granted isn't that long ago. I developed my weights program based on the dual goals of looking good and continuing to do it. Toward those ends I decided to tone instead of going for straight muscle growth. For the first several times I've done 20-25 reps each set for two sets. Every time I was very sore the next day. Then my brother convinced me that toning was WRONG (everyone who is into exercising seems to share this opinion) and told me to do 12 to 16 reps per set with more weight. Which I did. The next day I wasn't sore at all. So my next workout I went back to my toning. Again, wasn't sore at all.
My questions are: Why did I stop getting sore? Is that a problem? If it is, what should I do to facilitate muscle growth?
I should note that when I tone I'm doing the maximum weight I can do for that many reps. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
thread title has been changed to more accurately represent the content of the thread. Posted by Earendil18 (Member # 3180) on :
quote:Originally posted by Kwea: Keep in mind that your dominate side is usually stronger, but it also gets a lot more work every day compared to your non-dominate side. A lot of times I can do more reps with my off arm than with my dominate one, but that is because my dominate one does most of the lifting throughout the day.
Now that makes sense! I've always wondered what was up with that.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
More details about your program would be helpful. How often do you exercise? What exercises are you doing? How much weight?
You won't always be sore once you get used to the exercise - the "new soreness" is often felt by people just starting to use muscles they've never really pushed before and by people hitting new levels of self-abuse...err...exercise.
As for "toning bad" - that is strictly a matter of opinion. "Lifting" or weight training tends to be broken down into "I want to develop muscle masss" or "I want better lifting power" - these are not inherently opposed goals, but the training steps are decidedly different.
By losing body fat and weight lifting, you can "tone" a muscle. But there is a difference between the guys (and gals) who strut across a stage with bulges where most people don't have bulges and the guys (and gals) who deadlift volkswagons. The first is developing definition and tone - the other, power.
-Trevor
Edited for a touchy keyboard
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
Okay, some new questions...
So a friend and I have started a gym work out regiment. We're sort of doing this as an experiment. We want to work out every day for two months and see what kind of difference it makes. Our goal is sort of two fold in that we want to build muscle but also get cut(toned) at the same time. The two of us don't really know what we're doing, but we've looked online a bit and have talked to some people. I guess i'm looking for some confirmation that what we're doing will work and that's it's an efficient way to bring about our goals.
One friend of mine suggested doing something in between what he called circuit training and muscle building training. He suggested starting each machine at a bit lower weight and doing 15-20 reps. Then bumping it up to the next weight an doing 10-12 reps. Then bumping it up again and just doing as many as possible(he said it would be under 10, possibly 5ish). And then just doing a circuit of the rest of the machines/work outs in the muscle groups i'm doing that day. I'm wondering if this sounds good or not. And if not, what other kind of routine I should be doing. We started out doing a sort of max weight routine, doing 3 sets of 8 reps on each machine. But I've been told that's mostly for bulking up, and not toning.
We've been told to do a 3 day rotation schedule, but have been told conflicting muscle groups to group together. One person suggested a rotation of Back/biceps, chest/triceps, lower body. someone else suggested bi/tri, back/chest, lower body. they each seemed to have compelling arguments.
We've been doing abs every day, regardless of which muscle groups we're working. I'm also running every day at the gym. Ideally I'd like to separate the cardio from the rest, but it's pretty cold out these days, and I fear i won't motivate myself to run outside.
I do a set of dips every day(mostly because I just like doing dips), is this unnecessary?
The gym has a hot tub, sauna, and steam room. Are any of these things I should be taking advantage of after I work out?
Is it overkill if I work out a second time each day at home just doing some push ups, crunches, and pull ups?
Does anyone know a good website that goes over different exercises to do in each of the different muscle categories?
diet - my normal diet consists of lots of fruits, veggies, and carbs. the only thing I'm consciously aware of is that i should probably add more protein to my diet during this time. though even that might be okay, I'm a pretty healthy eater(lots of soup, salad, pasta, rice, chicken, potatoes...not much junk food at all).
Sorry for so many questions. I figure if i'm going to be taken this seriously(even if only for a few months), I should do it right. Though, not at the expense of too much complication and effort. Meaning, I'm not going to count my calories or anything like that. Or keep track of each thing I eat. I don't want to learn a billion new work outs and exercises to do. And I'd ideally like to use mainly machines(because they're simple mostly), though I've been told that I'm able to do more by using free weights.
[ February 05, 2007, 05:16 AM: Message edited by: Strider ]
Posted by airmanfour (Member # 6111) on :
Don't work out every day. Take 2 of every 7 off if you feel like being hard core. Muscle builds during the time that it's RESTING. That's why it's nice to work different parts of the body on different days. And EAT. Grilled chicken is pretty useful to muscles, and ingesting some whey protein supplements can make you explode.
I'm tired and hope that what I wrote made sense in a way that is helpful.
Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :
quote: So a friend and I have started a gym work out regiment. We're sort of doing this as an experiment. We want to work out every day for two months and see what kind of difference it makes. Our goal is sort of two fold in that we want to build muscle but also get cut(toned) at the same time. The two of us don't really know what we're doing, but we've looked online a bit and have talked to some people. I guess i'm looking for some confirmation that what we're doing will work and that's it's an efficient way to bring about our goals.
I'm afraid you've chosen two pretty much exclusive goals. You're really not going to be able to effectively add muscle and cut fat at the same time. Pick which one is more important to you and stick with it. If you try to do both you'll just end up going nowhere.
Also, this is just a pet peeve, but I HATE the word 'tone.' It's meaningless from the standpoint of what an exercise/nutrition plan needs to be. There is no magical exercises or rep or sets or diet that will make you 'tone.' Muscle either grows or shrinks. Fat either increases or decreases. Being tone is having low enough body fat that you can see your muscles. For a skinny kid with very little BF to tone, he'd need to eat more, lift a lot, and do less cardio. On the other hand, for someone who's on the heavy side, cutting fat is the answer- because they likely have a somewhat decent muscle base just from carrying themselves around all day. For example, I've read that Sumo wrestlers have more lean body mass than body builders. So the overweight guy would eat less, lift weights, and do some extra cardio.
------------Diet------------- Whether I'm bulking or cutting, my workouts are essentially the same. Diet is really what I use to regulate it. Eat 500 calories a day above your maintenance level, and you'll gain muscle (and yes, some fat, how much depends on how clean your diet is). Eat 500 calories below your maintenance level and add a little more cardio per week, and you'll cut. It's that simple. If you want more, read on, otherwise just skip this part.
As for what to eat, eat lots of lean protein. Multiply 1-1.5 grams times your body weight. Eat that much everyday. Then figure out how many grams of carbs and fat to eat according to the following info (note: you will probably need to tweak calories a bit as you find out what works for you):
1) Take your bodyweight in pounds, say 220. 2) Multiply by 15 to get a rough estimate of your maintenance level. 220*15= 3300 calories a day. 3)Now if you're bulking, add 500 to this number, if you're cutting then subtract 500 from this number. I'm cutting right now, so I'll subtract 3300-500=2800. This is your daily caloric requirement. 4)Find how much protein you will eat: 220*1.25= 275 grams of protein a day. I chose 1.25 as a happy medium between the 1 g to 1.5 g that are recommended by weighlifters. 1 gram of protein = 4 calories, so this is 1100 calories from protein a day. 5) Eat the same grams of carbs a day, which will also give 1100 calories. 6) So you have 2800-1100-1100=600 calories left. This will be HEALTHY fats. (I've found I really don't have to go out of my way to eat fats, they just seem to come naturally with the protein). Now since there are 9 calories/gram of fat, this gives us 67 grams of fat to eat a day. 7) You may notice that the above directions give you approximately 40% of your calories from carbs, 40% from protein, and 20% from fat. You'll see this written as 40/40/20 in some places.
One last note about your diet is to eat clean. Your carbs should mostly be complex carbohydrates, like oats, brown rice, whole wheat spaghetti, ww bread, etc. Ice cream and Big Macs may seem like a quick way to get your calories, but it will help your belly grow more than your muscles.
---------Workout---------------------------- For beginning exercise programs, I really like Mark Rippetoe's starting strength program- I've giving my plug for it on the this site before. It'll set the foundation for later weight training. It's funny at the gym to hear two guys talking about the best exercises to add peak to their biceps, and then walk over to the bench and press 95 pounds. The starting strength program has you doing just 5 exercises, 3 days a week. They are compound exercises, so they work multiple muscles.
Workout B: Squats 3x5 Standing Shoulder Press 3x5 Bent over barbell rows 3x5
Week 1: M-Workout A W-Workout B F-Workout A
Week 2: M-Workout B W-Workout A F-Workout B
etc...
I'd start out at about 70% of your 5RM. Add weight every single workout, to every single exercise. When you get to the point where you fail to finish all 3 sets of five at a certain weight for a certain exercise, two workouts in a row, then reset your weight by dropping it down about 15-20 lbs.
Your arms should be fine, but if you want to add some auxiliary arm exercises on Fridays after a few weeks, feel free to do some. Add some cardio on your off days for cardiovascular health, but if you're trying to add muscle then remember to eat enough food to make up for the extra calories you burn.
IMO, this is one of the best beginner workouts out there, and if kept up from 4-6 months (I stopped seeing good progress after about 4.5 months, recovering from squats every other day is a killer) it will give you a solid foundation for whatever you want to do next.
Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or certified personal trainer. This stuff worked for me. Before starting any of this, you should probably consult with a doctor.
Posted by stihl1 (Member # 1562) on :
I have a couple of questions.
1. I have alwya been told to work different body parts each day. IE day 1 chest, day 2 arms, day 3 legs, etc. Is this a good approach, or is it better to work multiple muscle groups each day and just alternate exercises each day?
2. I tend to like to work out for a long time. Like at least an hour. If it's not punishing and doesn't last a while, it doesn't feel right to me. I've been told this is wrong as well, to keep workouts short, like less than 1/2 hour.
3. I sometimes like to do what's known as 'supersets' where you go from exercise to exercise and then repeat. What does this do?
4. I need a chest exercise, other than decline presses, to work the interior of the chest. I always get a good shoulder/upper chest work out, but rarely do I do enough to make my inner pecs sore. Any suggestions?
Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :
1) My favorite split has been a full-body workout MWF. It's a bit gruelling but gave me excellent results. A close second is an upper/lower body split on MTuThF. Your muscles only need about 36 hours to recover from most of the microtrauma that you induce while lifting weights. At this point training again is beneficial:
T.C. Chen, Taipei Physical Education College, and S.S. Hsieh, FACSM,. The effects of a seven-day repeated eccentric training on recovery from muscle damage. Med. Sci. Sports Exrc. 31(5 Supp) pp. S71, 1999
By just doing 1 body part a day, once a week, you are letting the muscle rest for 168 hours. It really doesn't need all that time. In fact studies have shown that it is more effect to train all body parts 3 times a week (at less volume per workout) than 1 body part a day:
McLester JR., Bishop P., & Guilliams M. Comparison of 1 and 3 day per week of equal volume resistance training in experienced subjects. Med. Sci. Sports Exrc. 31(5 Supp) pp.S117 1999
2) All my workouts are 45 minutes to an hour. I've heard people advocate doing it less that 45 minutes, but never less than 30 min. The root concern is usually along the lines that working out too long will deplete your body's supply of adenosine triphosphate, which is kind of the basic unit of cellular energy transfer. In order to keep going, your body will need to break down the easiest, quickest thing in order to replenish its ATP supplies-unfortunately this is usually muscle tissue (if only it were fat). This of course, is counter-productive if you're trying to build muscle. If you like long workouts, probably the best thing to do is bring a workout shake with you and drink it partway through.
3) The main use I've found for supersets is for pre-exhaustion. For example, often times on the bench press my triceps start getting tired before my stronger chest muscles do. So sometimes I'll do an isolation exercise on my chest only, then quickly without resting go do a set on the bench. There are other reasons people have to do supersets, but this is the most compelling for me.
4) Can't help you here. I'm more persuaded by the camp that says targeting specific areas of a single muscle is a myth. According to EMG analysis, (and an understanding of structural anatomy) it is not possible to contract a certain part of a muscle in exclusion to the rest of the muscle- which is what you're suggesting. That being said, there is an advantage to changing grips and exercises every now an then, but the advantage there is mostly due to central nervous system (CNS) adaptation. Sadly for some of us, our muscle shape is pretty much determined by our genetics. We can just make them get bigger or smaller. If you ask enough people though, you're sure to get some answers on how to target that 'inner chest' area Posted by stihl1 (Member # 1562) on :
I have always felt that isolating the muscles via body part hasn't been that productive. I personally like to do a full workout with multiple parts. I have been contemplating changing a multi-part workout, but just changing the exercises each day.
I sometimes do the supersets to break things up and get myself to move more during the workout. Go from bench presses to chest flys and back to benching, just to pickup the pace a bit.
The reason I ask about middle and lower chest is after my chest workouts, my upper chest and shoulders always feel sore, always burn. Rarely do I get that with my lower chest, which isn't as highly developed imo. I know changing grips and widths targets different areas, I'm looking for exercises or grip changes that will target the center/inner/lower area of my chest more.
I have taken to bringing some orange juice or other drinks/bars with me and nibbling during workouts. I like a nice long hard workout that really burns me out. I don't like the light quick workouts, and I can't see to keeping it under a half hour.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
An excellent article on metabolism.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Isolation exercises cater to:
1. Athletes who focus on a specific set of muscles and other specialists
2. Body builders - the guys with little or no body fat and biceps the size of basketballs.
Which is not to say they don't serve a useful purpose, but it's easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees.
-Trevor
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Here's what I was taught to do, and there are some good reasons for it. It's called "inverted pyramids".
You do 4 sets of each exercise, with 12-10-8-6 reps in the 4 sets. You start with a light weight, the first set is just to gently warm up the muscles without straining. The first set might even be with no weights at all, whatever is easy for you.
Second set with slightly higher weight, third set with higher still - this should be your set at the full weight you're lifting now. Fourth set is with a weight one higher than you can really do. You should play around with it, but this is the set that your muscles should fail on, or almost fail, so you might not get all the way to six reps. Rest something like 30 seconds to 1 minute between sets.
Then you do all the exercises for one muscle set on the same day. I was taught to split it up back-and-biceps, chest-and-triceps (and shoulders), and legs.
Abs you work out every day, as they are a different type of muscle and do best with daily workout.
When I was doing that, I ran two days a week and did weights 3 days a week, so my lower body got worked out much more than upper body. Later I changed it to skip legs on the weight lifting, since they got worked out plenty enough from just running, and because I kept injuring my lower back from doing the squats, lunges, and so on.
Now I barely lift weights because I can't take the intense pain and soreness I get from almost any lifting, even if I try very hard not to do too much. I guess that's age or something, or it may be my inflammatory disease responding. What I do now is I have some really light dumbbells and I do an all over body workout every day I lift. It's light enough that I don't get sore at all.
Posted by stihl1 (Member # 1562) on :
I don't have the ability to work out more than 3 or 4 days a week. Isolating a body part each day will only give me one work out per week, basically. And IMO, that's not good enough.
I've been reading a lot about exercising and working out. It seems as though there are thousands of opinions about what to do. One article will tell you one thing. The next article comes along and tells you something different, etc etc. I think you just have to find what's best for you, what works for you. I couldn't possibly follow each opinion or direction.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
This is very true - consider the source and viewpoint of the opinion.
Some of the tips you find in "Muscleheads Weekly" may be overkill for losing a couple of pounds.
-Trevor
Posted by stihl1 (Member # 1562) on :
I think that the biological variety of the human body makes it impossible to say one thing works whereas another doesn't. And for that same fact, it's why some drugs work and some don't, some treatments are more effective with some people.
I've been trying to take overall advice and ideas that seem common across multiple advices/opinions and run with those generalities.
Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :
I can understand your frustration, not only do articles suggest different approaches, but more often than not the various approaches are at odds with one another. A big reason there is such a variety of methods is because of the trial and error approach. To a certain degree, I think you have a point- people's bodies do vary, and what works for one person may not work for another. For example, the sad truth about the one body part a day routine is that body builders that use steroids started these routines back in the 70s I believe. When you're on steroids, once a week per body part will allow you to grow. For a natural trainer, more volume in generally needed- so you can see why you really need to consider the source like someone else said. Even then, a lot of it just comes down to trial and error.
However, I did eventually find a program that I liked, was scientifically based, and consistant. It's called Hypertrophic-Specific Training (HST), developed by Bryan Haycock, a lifelong bodybuilder who also holds an MS in Exercise Physiology. From his research of current scientific studies, he's found several basic principles that get results across the board- kind of the commonalities that exist in spite of individual variation. He actually has a book coming out about it. His training and nutrition program and just kind of extentions from these studies. I really like his style of answering questions too- he just brings it back to 'what do we know from our basic principles, and how do they apply here.' His website, HST, has informative articles and forums.
So you don't just have to go visit the site based on my plug for it, let me tell you a little about the program itself (although if you plan on trying it out, you really need to go to the site to get the specifics down). Basically it's an 8 week cycle, starting with 9-14 days of deconditioning (basically resting). Know your 15 rep, 10 rep, and 5 rep maxes (or find out what they are before you take your 9-14 days off). Spend two weeks on each rep range (15, 10, and 5) working up to your max. The last two weeks you either do negatives on the exercises you can (if you have a workout partner) or keep going on the 5s. Then rinse and repeat. You work 3 days a week, MWF, full body each workout, comprised of about 7-10 mostly compound exercises that you choose. Also, you shoot for a volume of around 45 reps per body part, which breaks down to 1 set of 15s per workout on the weeks where you do 15s, 2 sets of 10s on the 10s weeks, and 3 sets of 5s on 5s week.
If you do end up checking out that site, let me know what you think. It's a bit different than the typical muscle mag workout program, and I'm kind of curious about what people's reactions are.
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
I just looked at the HST website and it's interesting. One question I have, though, is regarding the weight progression. Haycock says to begin each 2-week period using a lower weight than what you can actually do for the required reps (15, 10 or 5) and move up a little each workout until you're doing your max for that number of reps on the last day. It seems like on the first few workouts, I'm going to be seriously underworking the muscles. If you feel you can do more, should you do so or do you stop?
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
My company generously furnishes me with this very cool stair climber by putting my cubicle on the 6th floor above ground level. Today I started taking advantage of that, and walked up twice and down 3 times those 120 steps. I wonder if my quads are gonna be sore? It's a really convenient way to get a workout on company time. Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :
quote:Originally posted by zgator: I just looked at the HST website and it's interesting. One question I have, though, is regarding the weight progression. Haycock says to begin each 2-week period using a lower weight than what you can actually do for the required reps (15, 10 or 5) and move up a little each workout until you're doing your max for that number of reps on the last day. It seems like on the first few workouts, I'm going to be seriously underworking the muscles. If you feel you can do more, should you do so or do you stop?
That's where the stragetic deconditioning comes in to play. After about 2 weeks off lifting, the lighter weights seem relatively heavier. The first couple of workouts on the 15s is a bit easy, but IIRC it helps to strengthen and prepare your joints and ligaments for the heavier lifting later on. Also, the high reps at lighter weight recruit different muscle fibers than heavier weights (fast twitch vs slow twich) so there's some growth potential there to be tapped as well.
As for doing more, he recommends that you should stop. According to several of the studies he lists, (which I'm too lazy to cite right now) going to failure every time is not necessary to induce muscular microtrauma. Basically, it just extends your recovery time without giving you significant hypertrophic benefit. I think he has you go to failure at the end of every other week is all.
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