Started Weights today

zorbaru

well, since i killed myself on the treadmill and bike yesterday at the gym, today i thought i would finally try out the weights instead of trying to kill myself on the treadmill 2 days in a row.

the gym i go to (anytime fitness) has the life fitness circuit series machines which is pretty cool cos you can just work your way through all the machines and work all your muscles.

this is what i did tonight, but in future i will break these up over 3 - 4 gym visits per week (rather than doing no cardio and all weights on one day i will just drop 5 - 10 mins of cardio per visit and add the weights in)

Ab crunches 3x15 at 15kg
Bicep Curls 3x15 at 15kg
Seated Leg Curl 3x15 at 26kg
Shoulder Press 3x15 at 10kg
Leg Extension 3x15 at 12kg
Seated Row 3x15 at 19kg
Pectoral Fly 3x15 at 19kg
Rear Deltoid 3x15 at 12kg

how does this look?

JennLifts

Missing tri's, and calves. I'd say do higher weight and closer to 10 reps.

Nice on the weighted abs! Definitely better than just stability exercises!

azzledazzle

Thats looking good to me

My aim is losing weight and gaining muscle at the same time, So i do cardio one day, Then weights the next.

You dont have to do cardio everyday, You will still be using your cardio system when doing weights, And add onto that your daily routine (work, kids, sports.. whatever) you should be fine.

I dont recommend doing weights daily, You should rest in-between sessions.. And also adding some protein / protein shakes to your diet, helps speed up recovery and build muscle too.

What i do in my gym on weight days, after my weight session, I will get a 15kg 'powerbag' (its basically a bag that weighs 15k lol)
And i pick this up and slam it down on the floor consistently till i am out of breath (1-2mins) then i catch my breath and do it again, upto 3 times no more.

This shocks your cardio system (which is good for fat burning and is a quick session) and it is also good for muscles too

This is just what i do, Im not saying its the best method out there, Nor is it the worst, But it works for me so i am sharing it with you

zorbaru

Missing tri's, and calves. I'd say do higher weight and closer to 10 reps.

im pretty sure the seated row machine said it did triceps....

i set the bike on some good resistance which would do my calves. i didnt see that my gym had a machine for calves.

problem with the higher weight more reps is that the minimum intervals in weight sucks. so at those weights i can do 15 fine, but at the next weight up i would struggle to do 3x10. but ill see how i go

Thats looking good to me

cheers

My aim is losing weight and gaining muscle at the same time, So i do cardio one day, Then weights the next.

my plan is to get down to around about where i want to be, then bulk back up. just dont want to "lose" any muscle

You dont have to do cardio everyday, You will still be using your cardio system when doing weights, And add onto that your daily routine (work, kids, sports.. whatever) you should be fine.

i love my cardio, and its definitely helping the fitness, im aiming at doing a 10km at the end of the month, and the cardio burns the big calories so ill stick with it

I dont recommend doing weights daily, You should rest in-between sessions.. And also adding some protein / protein shakes to your diet, helps speed up recovery and build muscle too.

i rarely go to the gym 2 days in a row. but there are 8 weights there and i go 4 times per week, so i figure ill do 4 machines every 2nd trip.

i also have my karate training once per week on top of this so that is generally a good work out also.

JennLifts

Darn right low intervals suck! There's a science behind it, but it's not necessarily a bad pain

zorbaru

Darn right low intervals suck! There's a science behind it, but it's not necessarily a bad pain

low intervals? explain. im a complete n00b when it comes to weight lifting jargon.

oh, and protein shakes is on the cards, just gotta get the cash and find a reasonably priced one that does a coffee flavour.

prdough

since you are just starting,

I would recommend simplifying it a bit and using compound movements that attack the whole body.

5 x 5

Squats
Deadlifts
Bench Press
cleans/Shoulder Press
Rows

Make them as heavy as you can while completeing 5 full (with good form) reps.

Problem with a lot of those machines is they don't work the little stabilizer muscles as well. Those are more for toning, where the big compounds are for fully body muscle building.

I would also add pushups daily in there

azzledazzle

cool reply man !

Im not doing cardio every day at the gym because being super fit isnt my main aim,

I will be happy just having a nice shape and no flabby bits.

Being fit is a bonus, But im a smoker and its pretty darn hard to quit !!

And there will never be a time i need to run 3-5 miles in my life anyway lol.

I just want to be able to breathe when i run up the stairs. At the moment Im running up the stairs like a gorilla cause its easier lol

zorbaru

im going to add squats and deadlifts to that list also

the reason i like the machines is that they promote good form. ive not been shown any of them so i may get it wrong with free weights

azzledazzle

I do not use free weights as often as the machine weights.

I will use free weights if i am with someone who can 'spot' me in case i struggle towards my 3rd set of 10.

My PT told me that i should try to do 2 exercises per muscle, So for example i may do the chest press on the machined weights, and then bench press in the free weights (if im with someone)

Im still learning so i still do not know what methods are best. There are sooooo many different opinions online and in the gym. Im just working my way through them till i find out what works for me.

Im sure doing weights in general will surely increase muscle mass, But there may be a routine out there that will increase it quicker,

But for the moment my main aim is to lose the fat..

zorbaru

yup losing the fat is my gain. just trying to minimise the muscle loss that goes with it.

JennLifts

I was saying low rest periods, with the higher reps suck. And I would suggest lowering the reps, and upping the period and weight. no sense in doing it with the higher reps for your purposes.

trelm249

this is what i did tonight, but in future i will break these up over 3 - 4 gym visits per week (rather than doing no cardio and all weights on one day i will just drop 5 - 10 mins of cardio per visit and add the weights in)

Ab crunches 3x15 at 15kg
Bicep Curls 3x15 at 15kg
Seated Leg Curl 3x15 at 26kg
Shoulder Press 3x15 at 10kg
Leg Extension 3x15 at 12kg
Seated Row 3x15 at 19kg
Pectoral Fly 3x15 at 19kg
Rear Deltoid 3x15 at 12kg

how does this look?

Adding weights is great. Builds strength and helps retain (if not potentially build) muscle while in a caloric deficit assuming you are eating enough protein (30%< of caloric intake).

Others pointed out that free weights build the stabilizer muscles in a movement. This burns more calories per rep and maximizes the benefit of doing the movement. Additionally compound movements also make the most efficient use of each movement. Your time in the gym is better used.


Start with the big muscles

If your gym has the equipment:

Dead Lifts - Barbell or Dumbells (1x15, 1x10, 1x6) increasing weight each set; Someone experienced needs to check your form. Hits your traps,lower back, glutes, hips, quads, hamstrings, calves, forearms, and abs.
Leg Press (1x15, 1x10, 1x6) increasing weight each set; no need for leg extensions, leg curls, or calf raises after these two. Hits your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves.
Flat Bench Press with Dumbbells (1x15, 1x10, 1x6) increasing weight each set. Hits your pectorals, anterior deltoid, and triceps.
Lat Machine Pulldown (1x15, 1x10, 1x6) increasing weight each set; Hits the upper back, posterior deltoids, and biceps.
Seated Cable row (1x15, 1x10, 1x6) increasing weight each set; Hits mid back, posterior deltoid, and biceps.

If you have the energy after that the following would be good

Lateral Dumbbell raises 2x10
Hammer Curls 1x8
Rope pulldowns 2x8

Then ab work

Remember your martial arts day is cardio.

Try it for 6 weeks and track what happens. Your metabolism will increase and you will get stronger and more tone.

zorbaru

after speaking with someone on another forum, hearing what the instructors at my wifes gym has said and some general consensus, the routine will now be this

Day 1:
Squats 3x10
Seated Row 3x10
Rear Deltoid 3x10
Bicep Curls 3x10

Day 2
Deadlift 3x10
Benchpress 3x10
Shoulder Press 3x10
Ab crunches 3x10

with a day of cardio only in between

trelm249

Looks awesome. Keep at it for at least 8 weeks. Use a tape measure to track your progress, not the scale. And get plenty of protein.

zorbaru

measurement was taken on saturday (only of the belly, as that is the only thing i really want to shrink) and protein shakes are on the cards. just got get the money to buy it.

azzledazzle

protein shakes are expensive, I got mine from asda it was only £17 and the tub states that its a months supply. So im happy with that

zorbaru

im looking at about $50 aust for 30 serves here. which will probably last me 6 - 7 weeks as i will only be using as post work out recovery rather than daily.