Strength Building gym routines?

jillianash

Hi all,
I was hoping some of you could share your gym routines that helped you gain muscle/ become stronger. I am getting the diet part down. But I think having a good gym routine will allow me to feel confident that what I am doing in the gym is actually effective and not just useless moves.
Any tips?
I am also not sure on the amount of reps/rounds to do on weight machines or in body weight routines as well as the necessity to repeat the whole routine twice or do 3x10 of each exercise and call er a day.

for example: do you think its better to do 10 squats 10 lunges each leg and 10 leg lifts each side then repeat 3 times
or do 30 squats 30 lunges each leg and then 30 leg lifts each side and call it?

Just looking for general advice on gym routines as well

cafeaulait7

I am no expert, but I know a few things and am very happy with my progress, so I'll give my 2 cents

"I am also not sure on the amount of reps/rounds to do on weight machines or in body weight routines as well as the necessity to repeat the whole routine twice or do 3x10 of each exercise and call er a day."

Body weight can be different, so set that aside for now. For machines or freeweights, you want to have low reps and lift quite heavy to build strength. Many folks here do 5 reps! I don't lift that heavy. I do 8. You do one set, and then usually you rest a minute. You can, however, do a first set of a different lift, yes (a different part or side if applicable). You can go back and alternate between 2; that's what I do. You can rotate more in, I believe. That gives you your rest for the very first set you did. Do the first lift again and either rest or alternate again. I do 3 sets of 8 reps, myself.

Bodyweight like pushups is the same idea. Bodyweight like most yoga is much slower, usually. I tend to do 6 to 8 reps period (1 set) on those, because getting into the pose wipes you out, lol! If you have the strength for a pose but can't lift any higher because of flexibility, hold the pose for a long time, like 1 minute minimum. You can do reps of those until you are tired.


"...for example: do you think its better to do 10 squats 10 lunges each leg and 10 leg lifts each side then repeat 3 times
or do 30 squats 30 lunges each leg and then 30 leg lifts each side and call it?"

I like the 10 repeated later because you can lift heavier doing that (because the rest is longer), and because it's quicker (no rest period) If you do all your sets on one leg in a row, you need to rest a bit so that you know you are lifting as heavy as you can. Otherwise, it's just 1 set of 30 reps. Make sense?

Just looking for general advice on gym routines as well

Mine's whacky because I have various physical issues to work around, lol. But folks recommend full body 3x a week with a day in between. I do a split where it's upper body one day and lower body the next, with more days done in a row (because they alternate and allow for rest of the muscles just worked).

Are you interested in free weights? Those are the programs that are so often recommended here. I do dumbbell but no barbell now, so I don't do the most recommended ones myself And I do bodyweight, but it's my own program, lol. I do like weighted ballet, belly dance, and gymnastics conditioning moves with crazy yoga too. It's kind of personalized, you could say, lol!

jillianash

Thank you SOOO much!!! This really makes a lot of Sense! I think exercise has tp be really perosnalized in order to stick with it!
I do do yoga so I like that tip in there as well. Have also wanted to try Belly dance! thinking of trying it soon here! I will def Try doing 8 reps then move to a different machine then 8 then move then 8 and then repeat. Makes sense that i should be able to lift heavier if i do it that way.

Thanks for the advice!

FrnkLft

I didn't read everything they wrote, but all sounded good.

Now, you do need to get on a program that will help you achieve your goals. The most time wasting thing a newbie can do is try to mix and match exercise they like, or just follow any given program that promises results (*cough*jamie eason*cough*).

The best strength programs out there for beginners are based on the 4 fundamental compound (multi-joint) movements: bench, squat, deadlift, overhead press. The most basic, and well establish programs I know of for these are Starting Srength (book with tons of detail) or Stronglifts 5x5 (free online routine, good videos to show form).

Since you're brand new though, I HIGHLY recommend you buy and read New Rules of Lifting for Women. It's a very accessible book with tons of information for women on lifting weight and dieting (does a lot of myth busting too, which is great). I would start here no matter what you endup doing. The exercise routine at the end of the book is good too (though kinda "fluffy", but still good), or you could just go with the ones I mentioned above which are much simpler. Your preference.

If you do this, you will be off to a great start. Let us know how it goes!

arghbowl

Thank you SOOO much!!! This really makes a lot of Sense! I think exercise has tp be really perosnalized in order to stick with it!
I do do yoga so I like that tip in there as well. Have also wanted to try Belly dance! thinking of trying it soon here! I will def Try doing 8 reps then move to a different machine then 8 then move then 8 and then repeat. Makes sense that i should be able to lift heavier if i do it that way.

Thanks for the advice!

If you want true strength look up the SL 5X5. Come back in a year and thank me then.

luckydays27

The New Rules of Lifting for Women book is a great place to start. Or Starting Strength. Thats a good one.

I used both when setting up my routine for when I workout on my own, otherwise I do what my trainer tells me to do when I am with him.

tigersword

Your best bet is to skip weight machines altogether. Go with free weights, you will see much bigger improvements, as well as actual functional strength. I usually recommend Stronglifts 5x5 for a beginner, as it's an accessible program, concentrates on 5 main lifts, and hits just about every muscle group in the body.

jillianash

Are there workout routines in that "New Weight Lifting Rules for Women" Book? Does anyone know?
I am mostly looking for a routine that I can stick to and know exactly what to do each day I go to the gym.
So I will definitely check out the 5x5 lifting routine, Sounds pretty do able.

Also, I tried doing 10 reps lifting heavier than I usually do on the Squat press then 10 on the lying leg curl then 10 on each side on the butt master and repeating 3 times over. And i found my legs were not sore at all.

If I do 10 reps of lying leg curls then rest 20-30 sec. then do 10 more then rest then 10 more then rest and THEN switch machines. I did the 10 reps rest repeat pattern on the each of the machines I mentioned for 3 sets of 10. I found my legs get sore with this pattern.

Any comments about that ?

luckydays27

Are there workout routines in that "New Weight Lifting Rules for Women" Book? Does anyone know?
I am mostly looking for a routine that I can stick to and know exactly what to do each day I go to the gym.

The New Rules of Lifting for Women book has a routine that you do 3 days a week (2 is possible but 3 is preferred). It tells you what to do, how long to do it for, and how long of a break to take between exercises. You would be using free weights instead of machines which is better for your overall fitness goals anyway. It also tells you how to do the exercises with pictures.

It also has a nutritional plan included to help maximize your loss and fitness.

Lots of women on MFP use it and have had amazing success.

obsidianwings

Yeah new rules has a full program in it, but if you are aiming more for strength I would go with less reps than you are talking about in first post. Try stronglifts 5x5 as above, or 5/3/1.