questions about lifting weights

tlapdx72 · July 2010

I have been getting into using weights to tone up. I still have about 60 pounds to lose. I do about five days of cardio. I have set up a schedule where I do chest and triceps together, back and biceps together, and legs and shoulders together.

My week looks like this:

Monday: cardio, chest and triceps
Tuesday: cardio
Wednesday: cardio, back and biceps
Thursday: cardio,
Friday: cardio, legs and shoulders

On the weekend I like to go on bike rides and hikes for exercise. I am wondering if only doing one day a week of each muscle group is enough? Should I be doing more than this?

Thanks for your help

MsElphaba · July 2010

Why are you doing your biceps and triceps on different days? I've always heard to work the same are. I do Arms one day, Core one day, legs one day.

L

Versha19 · July 2010

i would say try to do 2-3days a week with each muscle group and always switch it up so maybe this week you do chest and triceps together but maybe next week you do triceps and back together always keep your body guessing and working in different ways and youll always see results

creativity is the key to success be creative about your workouts and youll never get bored and always be motivated because youre trying new things or doing things in different ways all the time....good luck!! friend me if you need anything else!!!

schwarzaj · July 2010

there should be about 72 hours between exercising the same muscle group, for me i like to do upper body on monday and thursday, lower body on tuesday and friday and something else on wednesday like core or miscellaneous weights

foxxybrown · July 2010

You may want to do chest, triceps, biceps. Then back and shoulders. And legs by themselves.

One day a week is enough but make sure you are doing enough exercises and reps.

peck113 · July 2010

I'm a personal trainer here in Birmingham and in my opinion the way you are doing your weight training is just fine. After a month or two you will want to start changing things up but for now what you are doing is great. Just make sure you are working your abs and core also. I didn't see where you had them listed. You will be amaze at how you will start seeing changes in your body now that you are starting to weight training.

Good Luck and keep up the good work.

osupike35 · July 2010

This is my workout routine. I throw in cardio after weights

Day 1 - Biceps and forearms
Day 2 - Chest and abs
Day 3 - Back
Day 4 - Legs and abs
Day 5 - Shoulders
Day 6 - Triceps and abs

dmstephens · July 2010

You may want to consider getting from the library or purchasing some videos which work these muscles using weights or not, your choice. I use videos by Tamilee (The Science of Fitness), Kathy Smith and Jackie Warner (Power Circuit Training). Sometimes they can go to fast but if you can do every other rep and work up to every rep than you will get a good idea of what muscles groups you can combine at the same time. They help me stay on track with time and which muscles’ to work. Just an idea. This has really helped me lose inches not weight. Good luck and listen to your body so you do not overdue or hurt yourself.

minnesota · July 2010

You have a great workout going for you. I do the same thing as you by putting the muscle groups together. In order to keep from getting sore I do it twice per week, otherwise the pain creeps in. Great job by the way, you should be ever to proud of yourself. I will say once I started working out in muscle groups rather then just upper and lower body I noticed a LARGE difference as I was way more focused and was able to spend the time working on the specifics. Everyone is different with their weight training and it's up to you to know what feels right. Just remember there is nothing wrong with yours.

Good luck!

cparter · July 2010

There are many ideas on how you can do things. I see no problem with doing it the way you are doing but here are two ways I trained people to do it.

For those building mass:

Monday and Thursday: Chest, Triceps, traps and Shoulders - abs
Tuesday and Friday: Upper and lower back, biceps, and abs
Wednesday and Saturday: Quads, hamstrings, inner/outer abductors, calves, and abs

For those trying to lose weight and gain tone:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday:

(In this order) - and after moderate 30 minutes of cardio. All sets 1 set 15 reps except where noted and a 3 second count between motions
Chest press 1 set of 15 (3 second count up and down)
Incline Chest press
Decline Chest press
Shoulder press
Cable row (keep angle of pulley toward your navel with back straight and do not use momentum)
leg extensions
hamstring curls
inner abductors
outer abductors
calf press
lower back presses
bicep curls (machine) 2 sets
triceps extension (machine) 2 sets

This is a gage but you also take into context the proper technique. Many people go beyond their normal plain of motion which causes problems with their joints so you should at least take a few lessons from a trained and certified personal trainer.

david1956 · July 2010

Why are you doing your biceps and triceps on different days? I've always heard to work the same are. I do Arms one day, Core one day, legs one day.

L

The chest/triceps day, back/biceps day is I think based on the notion that you "finish off' the smaller muscle groups that have pre-exhausted from the bigger groups. So after chest (which will to some extent work triceps) you do triceps... then on your back day (which will begin to work biceps) you finish off your biceps. I've used that and it seems fine, though I really like the feel of push/pull. So you do a chest/back day where you do a lot of supersets alternating chest and back exercises such as bench press/lat pulldown, and then on the arms day you likewise do a lot of bicep/tricep alternating supersets. I love the feeling after a back/chest push/pull workout in terms of my whole upper body feeling pumped and with good balanced posture etc/

There's so many variations which maybe each depend on what one is trying to accomplish, and I reckon it is good to change every say 4-6 weeks to one of the totally different alternatives.

tlapdx72 · July 2010

Thanks everyone for all of the great tips

rybo · July 2010

Your workout plan is great. Nothing wrong with it at all.
That was the schedule I used for hte majority of my lifting over the years. Occasionally I'd swith up but that was the core to it.

HOSED49 · July 2010

Here's my two cents:
Do your routine and see what happens as everyones body reacts differently to weight training programs! If your seeing results with what your doing, keep doing it! I went through so many routines to increase my bench, make my arms bigger etc etc...Now I am 37 and I do mainly bodyweight (crossfit style) routines. Funny thing is , I am leaner than I have ever been in a long time, I have more muscle definition (12% bf now YAY!) , I can run longer and faster and all since January of this year.
Starting lifting is like starting dieting though. We lift weights and expect to see our muscles popping out instantly and when they arent and the scale goes up, we get discouraged. You talk yourself out of working out because you just added 2-3 lbs on the scale when its actually water weight as your body is trying to protect itself from your new torture routine your putting it through! Just dont give up , give it a few weeks to see results. Take your measurements(arms, thighs, waist, hips, neck) so you can see the difference! The scale is not your friend most of the time, but your clothes and the tape measure will tell you when and where you are losing size.

questions about lifting weights

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