Weight training-would someone critique my workout?

bahacca

I'm messing with learning machines, which exercises I'm comfy with and which I'm not etc. Been a while since I've been in a weight room. Here is the order I did stuff in. Please critique actual exercises chosen, weights and number of reps chosen, order I did them in, etc. Thanks so much!
Bicep curls dumbbells
8 rep 20 lb(each hand)
12 rep 12.5 lb each hand
3 rep 45 lb curl bar

Squats (Smith Machine)
8 rep 50 lbs
5 rep 50 lbs
Note: I know I need to go heavier, but I'm trying to get comfortable on the machine first since I know you can wreck your back pretty badly with bad form.

Seated Rows
12 rep 40 lbs
10 rep 55 lbs
5 rep 70 lbs

Leg Press
12 rep 70 lbs
8 rep 90 lbs
5 rep 110 lbs

Tricep kickbacks-dumbells
10 rep 10 lbs
5 rep 12.5 lbs

Thigh Adduction machine
12 rep 110lb
10 rep 130 lb
5 rep 150 lb
Note: I would normally also do the ABduction machine, but it was broken.

Chest press(machine)
10 rep 30 lb
5 rep 40 lb

Leg curl(hamstrings)
8 rep 65 lbs
10 rep 50 lbs

tdutcher000

Weights are up to you and your comfort level. Shoulder press and bicep curls might be good additions for shoulder/arm cuts/definition, if you want that. Consider doing exercise circuits (squats, row, leg curl, squat row, leg curl, squat row leg curl) rather than back to back sets of the same exercise to give muscles a chance to recover and then work harder in the next set.

bahacca

Perfect! OK-so instead of sitting around at one, go to another muscle group immediately. Got it!
Any ideas on if I should start heavy, end light; start light, end heavy or mix it up like I did today?

eayal002

Perfect! OK-so instead of sitting around at one, go to another muscle group immediately. Got it!
Any ideas on if I should start heavy, end light; start light, end heavy or mix it up like I did today?

Depends what you want to achieve,

6-8 reps strength
8-10 reps builds muscle
12-15 reps tone

if you want to tone, light weight high rep.

addisondisease

I would do squats free weight, and pick up dead-lifts.

There are a lot of rep schemes you could use. One of my favorite movies is a set amount. Usually 40. So you set the weight, and do as many reps as you can every set till you get 40. It would look kind of like this:
Set 1: 9 reps
Set 2: 7 reps
Set 3: 11 reps
Set 4: 8 reps
Set 5: 5 reps

Just do as many reps as you can each set till you reach 40. That is a fun one to mix things up.

addisondisease

Depends what you want to achieve,

6-8 reps strength
8-10 reps builds muscle
12-15 reps tone

if you want to tone, light weight high rep.

This is bro science, especially since you used the term "tone". Please do more research.

nikolaim5

if you want to tone, light weight high rep.

I'm sorry but that's terrible advice. Toning is the result of lowering body fat AND building muscle. Muscle is built by lifting heavy weights and body fat is lowered by eating correctly.

Your routine looks good except lose the tricep kickbacks, they are the most useless exercise known to man. Replace them with some sort of overhead pressing. That way you get shoulder plus tricep work in one, compound exercise.

Hotrodhoodlum

agree 100% ^^^^^

eayal002

if you want to tone, light weight high rep.

I'm sorry but that's terrible advice. Toning is the result of lowering body fat AND building muscle. Muscle is built by lifting heavy weights and body fat is lowered by eating correctly.

Your routine looks good except lose the tricep kickbacks, they are the most useless exercise known to man. Replace them with some sort of overhead pressing. That way you get shoulder plus tricep work in one, compound exercise.

Sorry but doing lighter wait high repetition for a circuit still training increases heart rate which in turn results in calories burning 'toning" or not sure what the proper word is here.

bahacca

if you want to tone, light weight high rep.

I'm sorry but that's terrible advice. Toning is the result of lowering body fat AND building muscle. Muscle is built by lifting heavy weights and body fat is lowered by eating correctly.

Your routine looks good except lose the tricep kickbacks, they are the most useless exercise known to man. Replace them with some sort of overhead pressing. That way you get shoulder plus tricep work in one, compound exercise.

Thanks! I hate them anyway!!!
I got some looks picking up the 20 lb dumbbells while the other ladies were using 7.5s;-) We'll see who's svelte and STRONG in a few months:-)
I bought Creatine a while back when I was doing P90X. Is it a voodoo supplement or should I use it?

bahacca

And I'm going for building strength. I'm already decently strong for a woman who hasn't lifted since college, but I love that feeling I get when I can help my husband or father in law move a piece of furniture. Don't worry, I'll look"toned" when I'm STRONG--I cannot get big muscles like you guys-doing that requires certain "equipment ;-) " I don't have!

nikolaim5

if you want to tone, light weight high rep.

I'm sorry but that's terrible advice. Toning is the result of lowering body fat AND building muscle. Muscle is built by lifting heavy weights and body fat is lowered by eating correctly.

Your routine looks good except lose the tricep kickbacks, they are the most useless exercise known to man. Replace them with some sort of overhead pressing. That way you get shoulder plus tricep work in one, compound exercise.

Sorry but doing lighter wait high repetition for a circuit still training increases heart rate which in turn results in calories burning 'toning" or not sure what the proper word is here.

The problem here is that nobody should really be using the word "toning", It's completely misleading. What do people mean when they use the word "toning" then? Well I think most would agree that it conjures up images of a lean, muscular, athletic body. You cannot achieve this solely through a particular way of working out. And most certainly, high rep, low weight WILL NOT ACHIEVE THIS. All it will do is increase your heart rate and burn some (very few) calories. It will not build you any meaningful amount of muscle. In order to build muscle efficiently you need to lift HEAVY weights. That is, weights that you could not possibly lift for more than 8-12 reps, and that's at the high end of things. After muscle building, the second part of "toning" involves lowering bodyfat. This is most efficiently done through diet. No cardio is even required though some will help.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

I honestly don't like any of the actual "machines" made for leg lifting (besides the smith). I stick to a ridiculous amount of weighted squats and lunges, and do the hip ab/aductor.

Leg press, hamstring curl, quad press, etc. have been shown in studies to be bad for your knees in the long run by putting unneeded stress on the joints and muscle surrounding it.

nikolaim5

And I'm going for building strength. I'm already decently strong for a woman who hasn't lifted since college, but I love that feeling I get when I can help my husband or father in law move a piece of furniture. Don't worry, I'll look"toned" when I'm STRONG--I cannot get big muscles like you guys-doing that requires certain "equipment ;-) " I don't have!

Yes, creatine is great for strength gains at the limit.

RunChinni

I honestly don't like any of the actual "machines" made for leg lifting (besides the smith). I stick to a ridiculous amount of weighted squats and lunges, and do the hip ab/aductor.

Leg press, hamstring curl, quad press, etc. have been shown in studies to be bad for your knees in the long run by putting unneeded stress on the joints and muscle surrounding it.

Yep, I agree with this.

I would recommend doing the exercises with free weights. Leg presses and extensions end up making my knee feel stressed, which I wouldn't want.

You could try romanian deadlifts instead of the leg press... I just did them on Monday and I still feel the burn on my hamstrings )

bahacca

Lunges actually KILL my knees, like even with just body weight. Off to look up Romanian Deadlifts.