Help making a lifting schedule...

sd59940

not sure what your goals are but here is a start. I use this website often. Good Luck!!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/elitefts4.htm

_Tristan_

Let me first of all point out that I am not a physical therapist or trainer. I am a workout-aholic and these are my thoughts. So please follow up with someone that is qualified. I would also like to point out that I don’t know your physical characteristics so I am giving you kind of a general statement.
You have to think of your whole body when you are thinking about losing fat; your body will lose everywhere instead of just one place. Therefore cardio will work for firming up your body. There are millions of cardio classes and video’s out there so choose a couple that are fun and try to stick to them. This will work for flattening your abs, thinning your arms and losing the jiggle. Running is great for this too but really hard on your body. If one gets too easy or repetitive then pick another. I change classes all the time from cardio strength, yoga, abs, core, cycling (spinning) and running, keeps it interesting.
Your legs will get stronger from your cardio but if you would like to focus specifically on your legs I’ve found dumbbell lunges work very well. This will work your hips, glutes and thighs. PLEASE, please, please, read up on this exercise and do it correctly. Do not use too much weight. Also, look for a hamstring exercise that you like: these are very hard muscles to work but you have to keep them up with your thighs. Calf raises are also good for you.
Life will happen so the more rigid you are about your workout schedule the more chance for failure. I try to get in three nights a week for at least an hour and one long weekend workout. If I miss one week night then I will make it up during the weekend.
Hope this helps….

212019156

I would not mess around with any of the machines in the gym. Stick with traditional barbell training. Stick with squats, deadlifts, benchpresses, pullups and overhead presses. THe combination of these movements if done with good form will work your whole body in a balanced fashion. Make sure to go to a trainer to learn how to do these movements.

Here is a good example of a female that works out in the above manner and is successful: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

Doing all the isolation movements and machines in the gym causes muscle imbalances. I speak from experience...

Fitfully_me

Ok so is what I need help with. I am one of the people at the gym that bounces from weight machine to weight machine with no order. I do at least an hour of mixed cardio everyday but how do I make a lifting schedule?? Is there a website to model one after or do I just need to work on one or two area's daily? Any examples or help is greatly appreciated!!

Sounds like you're pretty new to weight training, so perhaps you can ask one of trainers at the gym. Not implying you're going to get a free training session or anything, but help finding your way? Sure. That way, once you've been given tips on great workout schedules, you are ready to jump in because you know how to do what they call for.

Don't be afraid to ask them, they're there to help.

Here is a link to Fitness Magazine's article for Strength Training for Beginners.
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/lose-weight/build-strength/strength-training-for-beginners/

Showcase_Brodown

I would say pick a large handful of exercises you want to focus on that will cover all your muscles. Split them up into 3 workouts, however it makes sense to you, prioritizing compound lifts, and try to put a day of rest between them.

Right now, my routine looks like this:

Mon - Squat, Barbell overhead press (i'm already in the rack), Chin-ups, maybe Hamstring curl machine
Wed - Bench press, Rows, Dips, maybe Fly press machine
Fri - Deadlift, pull-ups, maybe something else if deadlifting didn't kill me.

Pretty minimalistic. I hit diminishing returns after doing a few sets of 3 or 4 exercises and it's time to go home and eat, eat, eat.

If I do any significant cardio except for a brief warmup, I'll do it on a day I don't lift.

schmidty13

A workout plan is really dependent on what your goals are, what equipment you have available, what kind of time you have to spend in the gym, etc. Without knowing all that, I can't really give a specific recommendation. But here are a few rules for designing your program.

1. Never work the same muscle group two days in a row!!!! Most important rule!!! So, you can either break up total body weight training into every other day workouts or you can split the body parts so you can do weights daily without working the same muscle group two days in a row.

2. Pick a weight that is heavy enough to do some good. Light weights aren't going to provide enough stimulus to make changes in the body. If you want to build size in your muscles, the weight should be heavy enough that you can't go over 6 reps. If you are wanting to build strength, the weight should be heavy enough that you can't go over 12 reps. Any weight where you can go on for a while without rest is too light. The last rep of a set should be difficult to complete. Take at least a minute of recovery between sets (up to 5 minutes between sets if you are going heavy with low reps) so that you can let the ATP in the muscles build back up to keep up the activity.

3. Warm up, Do your weights, Follow with cardio, and end with a cool down and stretch. With weight training, specifically weights heavy enough to cause muscular changes in the body, you are primarily breaking down glucose to provide the fuel. Long duration cardiovascular activities are primarily breaking down body fat to provide the fuel. The trick is that in order to break down body fat, the body needs the by products of glucose breakdown to do it, so by doing weights before cardio you have more pyruvate available to keep the fat burning going without having to breakdown more glucose instead of fat while doing cardio. Stretching at the end will help with muscle soreness after weight training.

4. Plan your workouts according to your schedule. If you can only workout 3 days a week and they are back to back days, do a split of muscle groups so that you don't work the same muscle groups two days in a row. If you can only workout every other day, you can do total body training every time you workout.

5. Pick 2-3 exercises for each muscle group, but focus on the large muscle groups and compound movements using multiple muscle groups first. So, squats or bench press would come before calf raises or bicep curls. Use the large muscle groups and compound movements for the majority of your exercise with the smaller muscle groups being a smaller portion of the workout to round it out.

Not positive, but from my understanding your rep ranges in #2 are backwards. Someone else want to confirm?