Help building my routine?

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JoshD8705
JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm new to this, currently weigh 273, and my goal is 185. After that my goal switches from weight loss to bulking. Anyway have to get there first lol.

My current routine:
Day 1 - Biceps, Lats, Back, Abs, and light cardio.
Day 2 - Triceps, Shoulders, Chest, and light cardio.
Day 3 - Legs, Abs
Day 4 - Rest
Day 5 - Cardio
Repeat

I guess I just want to know if I'm doing this right, and if anyone has any suggestions for improvememt. Keep is mind I'm trying for weight loss, not bulking yet.

Replies

  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Lats are part of your back so you don't really have to include them as a separate muscle group. Chest, Triceps, and Shoulders is a lot to try and do on one day. The shoulder muscle (Deltoid) has 3 heads that all need to be worked so there are a lot of exercises involved in shoulder day and you could really make your own day out of shoulders.

    What sorts of lifts are you currently doing?
  • musclefat2k
    musclefat2k Posts: 89 Member
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    Muscle makes your body efficiently burn fat. The bigger the muscle, the more energy it requires. Look at adding size by cleaning up your diet and lifting heavy with fewer reps with good form. Give it time, and try not to let the scale be your main motivator for a while. A 100 lbs loss is a massive amount of weight to lose. You will lose it in three ways, muscle, hydration, and fat. You want to keep as much of the muscle as possible the water we dont care about because it will come and go off and on anyway. Just be concerned with making your body efficiently burn the fat and your good to go.
  • JoshD8705
    JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
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    I'm using machines lately.

    Not exactly sure what each lift is called. Everything is color coded at the gym. I'm out of shape and overweight, so the machines are what I'm using till I see my trainer again in a month.

    Any kind of lift suggestions are appreciated, so I can look into it. Since I do have a trainer they can show mw how to do the suggestions properly.
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
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    Did you pull this routine from somewhere online? There's a lot of good and basic lifting programs out there that are tailored to specific goals, but most are focused around the 4 main compound lifts: squat, deadlift, bench press and strict press. Just something to consider.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    I'm using machines lately.

    Not exactly sure what each lift is called. Everything is color coded at the gym. I'm out of shape and overweight, so the machines are what I'm using till I see my trainer again in a month.

    Any kind of lift suggestions are appreciated, so I can look into it. Since I do have a trainer they can show mw how to do the suggestions properly.

    Free weights are superior because they cause increased muscle fiber recruitment during the lifts because you not only have to lift the weight, but stabilize it while you lift it so they cause fuller development of your muscles. It's imperative that when you're just starting out with lifting you stick to heavy compound lifts: Squat, Deadlift, Bent over rows, overhead press, pull ups/lat pull downs, bench press etc. If you're unsure about the form of any of these, you can easily search proper form on youtube and watch videos to get the correct form down. Machines have their place too, but definitely don't use them instead of free weights, only in addition to them.
  • JoshD8705
    JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
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    The routine is similiar to what I've seen online. It's how I understood the information, but I'm not sure if I understood it correctly lol.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    The routine is similiar to what I've seen online. It's how I understood the information, but I'm not sure if I understood it correctly lol.

    What set and rep schemes are you using?
  • JoshD8705
    JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
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    It's my first week so I'm doing 3 sets of 12, 10, and 8 reps. I eventually want too move up to 6 sets.
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
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    My suggestion...

    If you have little to no prior lifting experience, look into a program like Strong Lifts 5x5 or Starting Strength and supplement with a little cardio throughout the week. The weight loss will come from a calorie deficit and the lifting will help with retaining muscle while you lose.
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Just my 2 cents: Check out Nerdfitness.com

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/10/26/how-to-not-suck-at-working-out/
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/08/09/infiltrating-the-empire-how-to-workout-properly-in-a-commercial-gym/

    and if you read none of the above:
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/15/how-to-build-your-own-workout-routine/
  • JoshD8705
    JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
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    My suggestion...

    If you have little to no prior lifting experience, look into a program like Strong Lifts 5x5 or Starting Strength and supplement with a little cardio throughout the week. The weight loss will come from a calorie deficit and the lifting will help with retaining muscle while you lose.

    I'll have to check that out. I have lifted back when I was a teen, but this time around I have weight to lose, and I just quit smoking about 3 weeks ago. My first day keeping up with my trainer almost killed me lol (it felt good to complete though.)

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