Critique of my routine?

caraherch

Hi all, I previously asked for feedback on a fitness routine I had laid out and most of the advice was that it was way too vague. Looking back, they were totally right! So I spent the last week doing a ton of research (which often left me even more confused) and now have been trying a routine that I would absolutely love to have some feedback on.

My goals are to get healthier overall- to lose weight, increase strength and tone, build endurance, and to have a healthier heart. I have used weights in the past, but for knowledge and technique purposes I am a complete beginner.

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays:

15 minute cardio warm up
Incline Chest Press (machine not bench)
Assisted Chin-Ups (one set on the wider bars and one set on the narrow bars)
Lateral Raise Machine
Cable Machine- Tricep Extensions
Cable Machine- Bicep Curls
Leg Press (one set with feet higher, one set with feet lower)
Prone Hamstring Curl Machine
Cable Machine- Standing Left Lifts (one set inner and one set outer for each leg)
I end with abs, usually: crunches, planks, side planks, russian twists with small dumbbell, butterfly kicks. I go through them all in a row twice.
Then I will do another 15 minute cardio cool down followed by stretching. I will often do a short Zumba session at home later at night, on the Xbox, to add more cardio and aerobic work.

Tuesdays & Thursdays:
About an hour of cardio- lately it has been 35 minutes on the elliptical followed by a 15 minute walk on the treadmill as a cool down and again ending with stretching.

Saturdays:
Free day to either repeat cardio, or try new things like hikes, outdoor walks, or an aerobic video.

Sundays:
Rest day, as well as my "cheat day" which usually means Velveeta Shells & Cheese for lunch!!!

Hopefully that was less vague! I figured people did not want to know the specifics but maybe it will be a bigger help. Eventually I would like to do more free weights or at least more on the cable machine as I totally understand and agree that working more muscles at once and doing movements that better relate to the real world and use stabilizer muscles. However, I have no knowledge of good form and what I do know has come from watching hundreds of videos, many from the Life Fitness site since those are the machines my gym has. For the first couple week I am doing 1 set of 15 reps at a moderate weight and mostly focusing on form and performing the exercises as best as possible. I have heard a lot about the 5x5 program and done a lot of reading on it (again, only more confused) but I don't know if the 5 reps 5 sets applies to the machines I'm using, or if I need to work on form more before I can do a program like that. I lift pretty light right now as I am only a couple of sessions in!

The trainers at my gym are not very good I have heard and besides, they only focus on the machines so I'm not sure how to transition into a better routine except to keep practicing and watching the people who look like they know what they are doing, haha!

Thank you again, I really appreciate you taking the time to give me your thoughts!

lose22lbs

I was doing a somewhat similar routine which took ~1:15 - 1:30 and was a killer with about 14 exercises. When my pribvately owned gym closed and I needed to go to another I started at Planet Fitness. After a few sessions with the certified trainer, I changed to 3 different 'exercise series' which I rotate through. 'A' days are all chest and shoulder followed by cardio exercise A - treadmill, 'B' is bicep/tricep/leg with an ellipitical for cardio and 'C' days are ab exercises (4 or 5 on the mat) and then machines and then the Cylex tough stepper. The variety helps gain your sanity and prvides challenges. I fill in day 4 & 5 of the week with cardio only. I find this is not only more feasible long term, it removes the dreaded killer workouts followed by just cardio. I would also consider reducing your stretch time to 5 minutes but that's just my take on saving time.

caraherch

I have done routines like that before and find them good however I didn't have enough structure to them to really gain much. Also, I don't see how to do them properly without sacrificing a lot of cardio time. I hope to switch to a program like that eventually but thought the full body ones would be better as I get used to lifting and routines and form.

Shawshankcan

By cable leg raises, do you mean attaching the cable to your ankle and moving your leg out, away from your body?

Also, I would replace your incline bench with dumbbells and you your laterals with standing overhead presses.

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MagnumBurrito

That's a lot of different stuff. If you don't have a good amount of base muscle, I'd try one of these two options:



Option 1) Body weight circuit.

Squat / Pull up / Lunge / Push up / Plank

Just go to almost failure on each set and go for 45 minutes.

This workout can be done every day or 2 days a week. Whatever your goals require.



Option 2) Lift Heavy and finish with Body weight burn outs.

It's a 5x5 routine.

Workout A

Barbell Squat 5x5 (front, high/low bar postioning, doesn't matter) Find videos on youtube to learn correct form.
Flat or Incline Bench Press 5x5 (barbell or dumbells)
Deadlift - 2 warm up sets and one work set.


Workout B

Barbell Squat 5x5
Overhead press (dumbbell or barbell) 5x5
Barbell/Dumbell Bent over Rows. 5x5

Finish workout A/B with a burn out bodyweight exercise on whatever your weakness is. Usually Guys, pull ups, We like big arms and a wide back. Girls Squats(butt) / or pull ups for those weak Triceps.

Rest 90 seconds in between sets if the weight is light. 3:00 if it's heavy.

These workouts generally take about 2 hours. Just alternate between Workout A and B, 3 times a week.

Now that I've written that out it looks like a lot, but once you learn the form they are easy to do. Option 2 is how I currently workout.

I do no cardio too. Lifting consumes a lot more calories than Cardio.

caraherch

Thank you for such in depth responses! It sounds like 5x5 is a great method, but even after hours of reading I feel that I lack the basic understanding of training to implement the method.

To answer a few questions, by leg lifts yes I mean with the cuff around my ankle. I start with putting it on my right ankle with my left side towards the machine. I then lift my leg so it's a little across my body and then raise it up to the right as high as I can and lower. I do the same with my left and then I switch so that the cuff is on the ankle that is closest to the machine. I read that these were better than the seated abductor machines since you aren't using any muscles to stabilize yourself with them. They definitely feel better although I find myself using my calves much more than my thighs and can only use a 5 lb at this point.

I've seen the seated row and I agree- I feel like my back muscles are being worked much except during runs, and even then it's never really my lower back only my upper back. Will youtube be an okay place to learn the seated row on the cable machine?

With the rest, is there a way to use the dumbbells without the bench? I would like to learn to utilize the bench however there's rarely an open one as it's often used by the fitter guys as a talking/hangout place. One of my biggest fears of trying the serious exercises is that I don't want to get in the way of the people who know what they are doing- with the other machines I am mostly just with other people who look more like me haha and yes, I get it... Because the machines we are using aren't helping as much!

caraherch

That's a lot of different stuff. If you don't have a good amount of base muscle, I'd try one of these two options:



Option 1) Body weight circuit.

Squat / Pull up / Lunge / Push up / Plank

Just go to almost failure on each set and go for 45 minutes.

This workout can be done every day or 2 days a week. Whatever your goals require.



Option 2) Lift Heavy and finish with Body weight burn outs.

It's a 5x5 routine.

Workout A

Barbell Squat 5x5 (front, high/low bar postioning, doesn't matter) Find videos on youtube to learn correct form.
Flat or Incline Bench Press 5x5 (barbell or dumbells)
Deadlift - 2 warm up sets and one work set.


Workout B

Barbell Squat 5x5
Overhead press (dumbbell or barbell) 5x5
Barbell/Dumbell Bent over Rows. 5x5

Finish workout A/B with a burn out bodyweight exercise on whatever your weakness is. Usually Guys, pull ups, We like big arms and a wide back. Girls Squats(butt) / or pull ups for those weak Triceps.

Rest 90 seconds in between sets if the weight is light. 3:00 if it's heavy.

These workouts generally take about 2 hours. Just alternate between Workout A and B, 3 times a week.

Now that I've written that out it looks like a lot, but once you learn the form they are easy to do. Option 2 is how I currently workout.

I do no cardio too. Lifting consumes a lot more calories than Cardio.

At first that was so intimidating! If I pick up a barbell, aren't they all going to wonder what the hell I'm doing!? Haha! But i would be willing to try. Is there a site you could recommend for learning to lift with barbells? I've never picked one up, put on the weights. I wouldn't know what weight to start at either.

Also, what is a burnout exercise? The pull-ups sound good- can I still use the assisted chin up machine since I am nowhere close to doing a pull-up on my own haha.

ndj1979

IMO - that is way too much cardio on lifting days. YOu are doing 30 minutes of cardio and then ALL those exercises? Also, where are the compound movements? AKA - deadlifts, squats, bench press, rows, overhead press…

I more sensible routine would be something like this…

Monday - chest/arms = barbell bench press, dumbbell fly, arm curl/hammer curl, tricep pushdowns 4 sets each at 8-10 reps..
tuesay - cardio
wens - Legs - Barbell squat, dumbbell lunge, leg press, calf work
thursday - cardio
friday - back/shoulders - deadlift, dumbbell overhead press, dumbbell bent over row, dumbbell lateral raises
saturday - free day
sunday - rest

this is not exact but just to give you kind of a working template...

Shawshankcan

To answer a few questions, by leg lifts yes I mean with the cuff around my ankle. I start with putting it on my right ankle with my left side towards the machine. I then lift my leg so it's a little across my body and then raise it up to the right as high as I can and lower. I do the same with my left and then I switch so that the cuff is on the ankle that is closest to the machine. I read that these were better than the seated abductor machines since you aren't using any muscles to stabilize yourself with them. They definitely feel better although I find myself using my calves much more than my thighs and can only use a 5 lb at this point.

From what I have read, these tear at the knees since your knees weren't designed to deal with a load in that plane of direction.

caraherch

Oh! And someone asked about reps- I am only doing 1 set of 15 reps for the first course weeks while I practice form. I want it to become muscle memory just like any sport

ndj1979

OP - if you are not familiar with lifting I would suggest reading starting strength and new rules of lifting ..they are great resources..you can also google exercise and watch videos to get form down…that is what I did when I started out with compounds..

also, start with just the barbell and move up from there….

MagnumBurrito

That's a lot of different stuff. If you don't have a good amount of base muscle, I'd try one of these two options:



Option 1) Body weight circuit.

Squat / Pull up / Lunge / Push up / Plank

Just go to almost failure on each set and go for 45 minutes.

This workout can be done every day or 2 days a week. Whatever your goals require.



Option 2) Lift Heavy and finish with Body weight burn outs.

It's a 5x5 routine.

Workout A

Barbell Squat 5x5 (front, high/low bar postioning, doesn't matter) Find videos on youtube to learn correct form.
Flat or Incline Bench Press 5x5 (barbell or dumbells)
Deadlift - 2 warm up sets and one work set.


Workout B

Barbell Squat 5x5
Overhead press (dumbbell or barbell) 5x5
Barbell/Dumbell Bent over Rows. 5x5

Finish workout A/B with a burn out bodyweight exercise on whatever your weakness is. Usually Guys, pull ups, We like big arms and a wide back. Girls Squats(butt) / or pull ups for those weak Triceps.

Rest 90 seconds in between sets if the weight is light. 3:00 if it's heavy.

These workouts generally take about 2 hours. Just alternate between Workout A and B, 3 times a week.

Now that I've written that out it looks like a lot, but once you learn the form they are easy to do. Option 2 is how I currently workout.

I do no cardio too. Lifting consumes a lot more calories than Cardio.

At first that was so intimidating! If I pick up a barbell, aren't they all going to wonder what the hell I'm doing!? Haha! But i would be willing to try. Is there a site you could recommend for learning to lift with barbells? I've never picked one up, put on the weights. I wouldn't know what weight to start at either.

Also, what is a burnout exercise? The pull-ups sound good- can I still use the assisted chin up machine since I am nowhere close to doing a pull-up on my own haha.

Youtube has tons of videos for good form. Take it one step at a time. Good form doesn't happen over night. Just start with the barbell and go from there.

The people I see using the assisted pull up machine never seem to stop, so I wouldn't suggest it. If you can't do a regular pull up, try negative pull ups. Start at the top of the pull up (by using a stool or something, or you can just jump) and then slowly lower yourself to the ground. And repeat.

Burnout is when you go to failure. Do a couple sets of going to failure with a minute or 2 in between.

Unknown

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caraherch

Awesome thank you! So much help, I really appreciate it. I have written down all of the alternatives (as well as routine suggestions) and am reading up on them now! I plan on switching things out and incorporating them this week and hopefully building the courage for tackling those bar bells and benches!