bodybuilding.com or other strength training program tips?

courtneywiens

I tested out a new workout routine that I got from bodybuilding.com because I've been plateauing every 8 weeks or so if I don't switch it up. I'm doing the Bizzy 21 day workout, it cuts down my amount of cardio but makes it high intensity and switches up my weight routine. It's only day one but it was already hard to adjust from my hour long running daily workouts. I did an extra half hour of walking after because I still feel I need 60 minutes of cardio minimum even after doing high intensity intervals. Has anyone tried any of the bodybuilding.com routines or any other weight lifting sites? Success stories? Advice?

I'm not actually trying to become a body builder FYI...just continuing on the path of getting as fit as possible!

victoriannsays

lifting weights does not mean you will turn into a "body builder". Many women on this site lift and look very beautiful, fit, and feminine.

I lift, and I'm no she hulk.

I suggest cutting some cardio out and try stronglifts.

jimmie65

Try Starting Strength or StrongLifts or even new Rules of Lifting, rather than bodybuilding.com

taso42

Try Starting Strength or StrongLifts or even new Rules of Lifting, rather than bodybuilding.com

agreed

Sarauk2sf

What are your plateauing at? Your lifts?

VeronicaAM

I got a plan from a personal trainer out of Bodybuilding.com he taylored a strenght and cardio program and also a diet with it m when good but I left it because I had surgery and I am just trying to go back , friend me and I can share if you want

Rogiefreida

I played around with a couple routines from bodybuilding.com but had a hard time focusing long enough to finish anything, so I never really had success.

What really changed my mind about lifting, was New Rules of Lifting for Women. I would suggest researching the program to see if it might be a good fit for you. Me personally, I am a huge believer in it. I finished the first 2 stages and saw lots of changes (for the better) in my body before I was sidelined. I can't wait to see what happens by the time I'm done with it.

For more information, there is a group on here of women who do the NROLFW program. Lots of good info there.

Matt_Wild

Sort your diet out and grab a magazine for men and get a basic once piece a day body routine, 4-5 lifts, 8-12 reps and 3-4 sets on each. Key aspect is diet, cardio comes in last and only when fat loss starts.

Most people start on cardio, forget about diet and lift randomly!

cwolfman13

Try Starting Strength or StrongLifts or even new Rules of Lifting, rather than bodybuilding.com

agreed

x3...

And you don't need an hour per day of cardio OP. A good 30 minutes (Aerobic) to 45 max (recovery zone) unless you're specifically training for an endurance event. Cardio is just weight lifting for your heart. I would suggest aerobic cardio on non lift days (presuming you following a 3x weekly SS or SL routine) and only recovery zone cardio on lift days...i.e. go for a walk (after your lift).

DavPul

While I like many things suggested on BB.com, methinks this 21 day thingy isn't the routine for you at this stage. Look for either a whole body routine or a split routine that does not have a particular number of days in the title .

Apply that last bit to everything. No 3 day cleanse. No 10 day fiery. No 21 day workout. No 30 day shred. No 6 week 6 pack. I could go on and on.

courtneywiens

Thanks for all the tips. I know that lifting won't make me a body builder or bulky, which is why I'm doing it, I know it makes you lose fat and build muscle. I am just hoping for a new routine that will take my strength and fitness to the next level. I consistently do a lot of strength training and cardio for overall fitness but am thinking more weight training is necessary to get to where I want to be, perhaps I'm not doing heavy enough weights or increasing them enough.. I'm a little less than 20 pounds away from my goal but it gets slower and slower the closer I get. Maybe I should look into the New Rules of Lifting for Women. I just need some kind of a kickstart to my routine since it has stalled.

courtneywiens

What are your plateauing at? Your lifts?

My weight loss. And then I feel like I run out of exercises to do and the ones I do don't make me feel like I'm working hard enough even when I do it so that it's extremely difficult to complete the last few reps.

courtneywiens

Try Starting Strength or StrongLifts or even new Rules of Lifting, rather than bodybuilding.com

agreed

x3...

And you don't need an hour per day of cardio OP. A good 30 minutes (Aerobic) to 45 max (recovery zone) unless you're specifically training for an endurance event. Cardio is just weight lifting for your heart. I would suggest aerobic cardio on non lift days (presuming you following a 3x weekly SS or SL routine) and only recovery zone cardio on lift days...i.e. go for a walk (after your lift).

can you explain why? i would like to understand the benefits of doing only recovery zone cardio on lift days. i am not training specifically for an event but i would eventually like to do a half marathon. i run 5-6 miles a day 6x weekly and do an 1-1.5 hours of full body weight training every other day, doing about 24 moves total at 3 sets of 12 reps each. i'd like to know more about the benefits of backing off rather than doing full out cardio when i lift, and if i should be doing different lifts. i do stronglifts squats and am up to 95 pounds but i don't do any of the moves that require a spotter because i work out alone and my gym is 24 hours so not always staffed and i don't always have someone to help me.

Lady_Bane

I am in love with Arnolds Encyclopedia to Modern day Bodybuilding. Dont have to be bodybuilding to use his workouts.

courtneywiens

I am in love with Arnolds Encyclopedia to Modern day Bodybuilding. Dont have to be bodybuilding to use his workouts.

I will look into that. You're super fit! How do you structure your workouts?

Lady_Bane

I am in love with Arnolds Encyclopedia to Modern day Bodybuilding. Dont have to be bodybuilding to use his workouts.

I will look into that. You're super fit! How do you structure your workouts?

One body part a day everyday for 60-75 min, I always work to failure. Then 10 min HIIT & 10 min run/stair climber afterwards.

RainbootsToBikinis

I've done the Bizzy Diet, Jamie Eason's Live Fit, and part of Lee Labrada's lean body trainer. All excellent programs that I really enjoyed doing

marand94608

Here's a site I use to make my circuit routines because I like using a variety of free weights, machines and other props.
http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html

Follow these instructions to create a workout template based on the number of days you strength train.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Instructions.html

I've been doing 2-day split work outs on the weekends.
Push/Pull (http://www.exrx.net/Workouts/Workout2PP.html)
Upper/Lower (http://www.exrx.net/Workouts/Workout2UL.html)
Torso/Legs & Arms (http://www.exrx.net/Workouts/Workout2TL.html)

Each exercise is shown with an animated gif to give you the form. It also gives you suggested stretches for each muscle you work. I always do these and I think it helps cut down any soreness the next day.

I'm just getting back into this so I'm not doing heavy lifting just more reps and trying to improve a bit each week. I am intrigued by the New Rules book and plan to read it soon. Perhaps I'll transition to that in a few months.

Sarauk2sf

What are your plateauing at? Your lifts?

My weight loss. And then I feel like I run out of exercises to do and the ones I do don't make me feel like I'm working hard enough even when I do it so that it's extremely difficult to complete the last few reps.

If your weight loss has stalled you need to look at your diet.

Do you have access to a gym?

DavPul

Doesn't even sound like it's stalled. The OP is closer to goal weight and it's slowing down (her words).

That's normal. As you get closer, the losses come slower. And Sara is right, diet is key, especially this close in.

courtneywiens

I've done the Bizzy Diet, Jamie Eason's Live Fit, and part of Lee Labrada's lean body trainer. All excellent programs that I really enjoyed doing

Did you use all the supplements? I am not really into taking protein gels and pills and stuff so I am just sticking to my usual diet which is pretty healthy, mainly veggies and protein, and taking my usual Omega 3s. I'm not trying to lose 20 pounds in 21 days or anything like they say you can...I'm just trying to switch up my weight routine to keep my body guessing and building more muscle. Hope it works!

courtneywiens

What are your plateauing at? Your lifts?

My weight loss. And then I feel like I run out of exercises to do and the ones I do don't make me feel like I'm working hard enough even when I do it so that it's extremely difficult to complete the last few reps.

If your weight loss has stalled you need to look at your diet.

Do you have access to a gym?

Yes I go to the gym a minimum of 6 days a week. My diet is very healthy. I have lost 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks so I guess my weight loss hasn't really stalled lately, but it does every few months...I'll lose a decent amount of weight and then none or gain some for awhile. My diet is mainly veggies and protein and complex carbs. Maybe I'm just impatient! But basically I just want to take my weight training to the next level.

Sarauk2sf

What are your plateauing at? Your lifts?

My weight loss. And then I feel like I run out of exercises to do and the ones I do don't make me feel like I'm working hard enough even when I do it so that it's extremely difficult to complete the last few reps.

If your weight loss has stalled you need to look at your diet.

Do you have access to a gym?

Yes I go to the gym a minimum of 6 days a week. My diet is very healthy. I have lost 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks so I guess my weight loss hasn't really stalled lately, but it does every few months...I'll lose a decent amount of weight and then none or gain some for awhile. My diet is mainly veggies and protein and complex carbs. Maybe I'm just impatient! But basically I just want to take my weight training to the next level.

10lb in 6 weeks is actually quick. You do not have much to go. Weight loss is not linear as it gets masked by water weight fluctuations.

Regarding lifting, I would do a good 3 x full body weight workout that includes progressive loading.

RainbootsToBikinis

I've done the Bizzy Diet, Jamie Eason's Live Fit, and part of Lee Labrada's lean body trainer. All excellent programs that I really enjoyed doing

Did you use all the supplements? I am not really into taking protein gels and pills and stuff so I am just sticking to my usual diet which is pretty healthy, mainly veggies and protein, and taking my usual Omega 3s. I'm not trying to lose 20 pounds in 21 days or anything like they say you can...I'm just trying to switch up my weight routine to keep my body guessing and building more muscle. Hope it works!

I didn't use any of his supplements. I continued taking protein powder and the CLA I was already taking, I did Bizzy after LiveFit and I found the change of pace really refreshing:)

bmqbonnie

I'm on the last day of the first phase of the Live Fit trainer. I like it. It got me to broaden my horizons a little and try some new exercises. I do take vitamins and protein powder and started on some fish oil but I don't buy it from BB. I've been putting protein into my oatmeal and stuff for years and then I figured that the vitamins and fish oil couldn't hurt. I haven't really been following the diet, I'm more using MFP for that aspect though I do plan on cutting back on carbs a bit. My weight hasn't changed but I do look better and am lifting a good bit more than when I started. Hoping to drop some weight when I add cardio back in in the next phase.

If nothing else, I think BB is pretty awesome for recording workouts and tracking progress. I'll probably do stronglifts next since I want to focus a little more on getting stronger. Anyway, the livefit program is probably not absolutely the most effective workout EVAR but it's a good place to start and is getting me in the habit of getting my butt into the gym.

courtneywiens

i'm on day 2 of the bizzy workout plan and so far so good. it is as challenging as you make it i guess, with how it is structured (20 minutes of high intensity interval training, then 2 sets of 20 reps of 5 exercises, then 10 minutes of low/high intensity cardio, then 2 more sets of 20 reps of the same 5 exercises; there is workout a for upper body and workout b for lower body), so the amount of weights you use and how far you push yourself really can make it challenging. it seems pretty simple because the exercises are simple but i think it'll be effective to change things up, if nothing else than to change up my 3 sets of 12 that i usually do.

anyone else do this plan or any others on the bodybuilding.com site?

teenio7

I started the Bizzy diet plan yesterday. Today is day 2 for me. I kept restarting Livefit and got bored with it. I'm hoping this will help me change things up.

janous_g

Hi, i am starting a new diet program and curious about what other people are doing? Are you doing the buzzy diet stack or a different type of diet?

SneakyWaff1es

Here:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=147447933

There's been hundreds of people on that site that have used that program to great success. That routine and a calorie deficit diet will do wonders.

gym_king_carlie

you should check out Elliott Hulse on youtube, he has some really good intel about lifting and different variations of programs, he really upped my game

FitFrazzle

Bump