I need some guidance on workouts

jstrickler

I need a little guidance......I feel like I have been working out, logging my miles, eating the right crap, counting the calories and nothings changing....SOOO.......I took a little vacation from it all for about 6 weeks....and we all know where that gets you....pants are tight and I feel pretty crappy inside and out!!!

So with that said.....I am back....ready to hit it hard, ready to challenge my body to make changes for the better.....here's where I need help. I run every day.....about 45 minutes....I do intervals, change the speed and incline on the treadmill...I lift weights and do some aerobic type stuff as well, usually I have about an hour and 20 min workout when I am on my game....my question is this. Is it better to do repetitive type of things.....like 3 sets of 25 mountain climbers 3 days a week....or is it better to do several different things that work your whole body every day of the week? do you focus on one muscle group one day and something different the next?.....I have heard a lot of positives on cross fit but I don't have a really good game plan for implementing it......I just need some ideas of what a weeks worth of workouts would look like to assist in toning and weight loss....I know how to eat right, I just get lazy...so I was hoping if someone could give me some insight on workouts that actually work, the more research I do the more I get confused and decide I don't have enough time in my day to workout every area of my body that I should be!

Sorry its long and probably confusing but I am sorta desperate here

simpaticapianista

Hi there.
I could relate to how you feel. Don't be discouraged.
I used to be like you., then I hired a personal trainer and worked with him for a year. On top of that, I do my own research into things. But as you've said, there's a lot of information out there, you could end up being paralyzed by analysis :-)

I am not an expert, so I'm just going to share some basic guidelines for you. And I apologize in advance to other people who might be more expert and have a different opinion.

There are some points that I'd like to highlight, though.

First, I think every body is different. It depends on what their goals are, their genetics, their age, what they're eating, and so on and so forth. What works for some may not be for others. You need to find what works for you.

Second, keep doing the good stuff because it'll work: healthy eating and exercise. Whatever exercise you like. It can be running, swimming, tennis, aerobic classes at the gym, zumba, whatever. Just do something. A lot of people are waiting for the right time, or doing too much research but lacking the action. So just do something, something that you like. Motivation comes and goes, but if you enjoy what you're doing, you will stick to it.

At the end of the day, YES it's a matter of calorie in and calorie out, BUT also the kind of calories that you are putting into your body. So remember, no matter how hard you train at the gym or run or whatever, it won't work unless you eat healthy.

Third, The American College of Sport Medicine now recommends 60 minutes 5 times per week exercise (it used to be 30 minutes 5 times per week); but HOW you split your workout is entirely up to you. Isn't that nice?

If you're aiming for general health and fat-loss, the kind of exercise that you do should incorporate BOTH conditioning elements (what they called "cardio exercise") and strength element (what they called "resistance training") and ALSO flexibility element (i.e. stretching) . If you're aiming for 'fitness', then your exercise should also incorporate speed, agility, etc, etc (this is when some people advocate for 'crossfit' and/or other functional training).

Now, some additional points to remember:

a. It's great that you do interval training (for your cardio). Keep doing it, but don't do it everyday. Alternate interval training with long(er) steady state/low to moderate intensity cardio. Doing interval everyday (especially running) might cause you more harm than good. Alternate running with other cardio exercise as well, for instance swimming or aerobic class or spinning class or zumba or whatever.

b. In a perfect world, you should separate your conditioning training (i.e. cardio) from your strength training (i.e. weight lifting) either on separate day or separate time of the day.
In a not so perfect world, if you have to do all in one day, do it like this: warm up - weightlifting - short cardio - stretch.
Remember: always stretch (static stretch, that is) AFTER training, not before.
And for the short cardio option, this is when interval training will give you a bigger bang for your buck.

For example, the schedule could look like this:
Monday: Cardio
Tuesday: Weightlifting (with or without short cardio option)
Wednesday: Cardio
Thursday: Weightlifting (with of without short cardio option)
Friday: Cardio
Rest on Saturday and Sunday
(and by "rest", I mean keep moving! Walk to the groceries shop or the mall or the park, take the stairs, do yoga or pilates, etc)

c. As for the weightlifting training: If you're aiming for general health and fat-loss, a total body exercise is best, do it 2 -3 times per week (see above schedule). By total body, I mean training all parts of your body.
Total body exercise also will burn more calories and save more time IF you're targeting different muscle groups (or upper and lower body) in one movement e.g. squat with dumbbell press, push ups, lunges with lateral raise, etc, .... AND if you're doing it as a circuit i.e. moving directly from one exercise to the next one without (or with very minimal) rest in between.
Total body exercise will also build the foundation before moving on to developing specific muscle group.

If you're aiming to gain some muscles, then it gets complicated ... this is when you need to focus on different part of the body, paying more attention to reps and sets, giant sets, drop sets, reps to failure, time under tension, machine vs free weights, dumbbell vs barbel, etc.
You don't need to be overwhelmed. Start slowly, master the proper form (avoid injury!). Everybody is a beginner at some point, so don't be afraid to ask.

And, as I said: every body is different.
Some people do weightlifting to look good when they take off their clothes. Some do it because they're bodybuilder. Some do it because they want to become a fitness model or they're competing on stage. Some others (like me) do it because I want to be healthy, and strong, and feel good.
For each and every kind of goal there is a specific way to train.

Me, for instance: I'm a skinny fat. I don't look fat, but my body carries a large amount of fat and lack of muscle definition. I am also pear shaped so I need to lean out my lower body while building my upper body. My workout split is more focusing on upper body.
So my week looks like this:
Monday: Leg and abs + short cardio
Tuesday: Back and biceps + longer cardio
Wednesday: Chest, triceps and shoulder +short cardio
Thursday: same as Monday
Friday: same as Tuesday
Saturday: same as Wednesday
Sunday: rest (I do yoga/pilates at home)

Notice that I'm training my bigger muscle groups first (Chest/Back) then move to smaller muscle groups (triceps/biceps).
Also notice that I'm differentiating between pulling movement (usually in back and biceps exercises) and pushing movement (usually in chest and triceps and shoulder)
Most importantly: I give my muscles enough time to rest and grow. Hence the split workout (different muscle group on different day).

And, as I said, you can build your own schedule depending on your goal, see what works for you. Listen to your body.
On some days you will feel sore, on other days you might not feel sore, but it doesn't mean that it's not working. Wait for a few weeks before changing your exercise routine.

I personally don't need (nor do I want) to spend hours and hours at the gym everyday. There's a life outside the gym and it's beautiful. I know people are saying, "Train hard" or "No pain no gain" ... but I'd say, "Train smart" and "If it's hurting, then you're doing it wrong."

I hope this will help. Keep going strong!

jstrickler

WOW!!!!! I can't seriously thank you enough for all of that!!! That was huge and incredibly helpful .....very much makes sense too!! It's crazy, I was reading all of this information and felt like a ping pong ball not really knowing where to start or what to focus on and the more I read the more panicky I got about it all.....you are so right, I just needed to read it in a little better written version like you did instead of trying to syphone through it......thank you a ton again, I cant tell you how much appreciate you taking all of that time to reply!!

simpaticapianista

It's my pleasure.
Have a great workout!

trophylicious

Wow that's seriously some great advice and guidance!

I know for me whenever I'm not seeing the results I have to play around with the type of Cardio I do. For example, I'll add in a few HIIT workouts that week so that it really switches up what my body is expecting.

Of course, stay safe! I personally work out and home using Beachbody programs, so if I see the program I'm using not give me the type of results I want....either in inches or pounds... I'll mix in a different type of program into the one I'm doing so that I break through the plateau. There is also a bunch of youtube vidoes with HIIT workouts for you to try.

Good luck!!! We're here for you! YOU GOT THIS!

jstrickler

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!! I LOVE MFP!!! All of the encouragement and positive feedback is so amazing!!
Thank you again!!

Stage14

You've gotten some awesome advice so far.

I think a lot of it depends on your goals and what you are looking for in your exercise, but I would definitely say it's generally better to work the whole body over just some parts. That doesn't mean that every workout has to be full body, but personally I prefer that since my workout time is kind of limited. So, I do mostly compound lifts in my strength training instead of isolation work, I just found a program that rotates what lifts I do each workout so that I don't get bored with it. The bottom line is try something, and if you don't like the results you're getting, change it up and try something else.