Weight training....how often?

fit2coach4life
fit2coach4life Posts: 6
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

As part of my diet I have started going to the gym. I am enjoying it, but have mainly been doing cardio.

What do you all think about how much weight training to do?
Do i do all muscle parts on the same day, or split it?.... If so what are your suggestions for the split.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Tony

Replies

  • toughmudderMN
    toughmudderMN Posts: 129 Member
    Weight training is a must. It increases your resting metabolism. This means that your body will be burning more calories throughout the day.

    I lift 6 days/ week working different muscle groups every day. This allows the muscles to rebuild and grow while they rest for a week. To keep it simple I follow a routine that I founds online ; google " summer stud makeover" there are 2 pdfs that outline a lifting regimen. if you cant find them i will send them to you.


    If you are just starting out, go light on the weight and focus on the form of the lifts. It more important to do the lift correctly than to lift a heavy amount. Also if you haven't been lifting for a while and you start again, you will be sore.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    If you're just starting out, I'd recommend doing a full-body compound-movement workout 3x a week.

    Starting Strength or StrongLifts is a good place to start.

    Don't do a split routine until you're past the "Beginner" stage, as laid out at either www.strstd.com or www.exrx.net.
  • fit2coach4life
    fit2coach4life Posts: 6
    Thanks for the reply....
    The weights routines starts tomorrow.

    Cheers
    Tony
  • jasonp_ritzert
    jasonp_ritzert Posts: 357 Member
    I would suggest websites such as bodybuilding.com that have routines for beginners that can structure a program for you until you have a better idea of what you are doing and can manipulate things on your own.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    A split would be better, but beginners do not need a 5 or 6 day split because it does not take them as long to recover. In my opinion, a 3 day split is perfect for someone in your position. Day 1: Legs and shoulders, Day 2: Back and Biceps, Day 3: Chest and Triceps, Day 4: Rest, repeat
  • mlnick69
    mlnick69 Posts: 84
    If you're just starting to lift, you may want to consider a full body compound exercise routine. The difference would be that you wont be isolating muscles such as biceps, quads, etc. They are a great way to hit your you're entire body with 6 exercises. Most machines tend to isolate a certain muscle by isolating movement at particular joints. If at all possible use dumbbells. A good routine to do 2-3 times per week would be something along the lines of: Deadlifts, squats, incline bench press, dips, pull ups and abdominals. After your body adjusts to the routine and you have your proper weights figured out you can add a shoulder press at the top or your deadlifts (would be deadlift, curl and shoulder press in one motion), add calf raises at top of squats. And as always add food or a shake at the end of the workout so you lose fat, not muscle.
  • fit2coach4life
    fit2coach4life Posts: 6
    Thanks for all the replies....

    Due to time restraints I am looking at doing weights 3 times a week, as I want to keep a cardio routine going as we'll.....

    That's a another question, would you recommend doing cardio and weights at the same trip to the gym?
  • mlnick69
    mlnick69 Posts: 84
    There is a big debate on that. One of the better responses I've seen says that if you have the energy to do cardio after lifting, then your not lifting hard enough. Better to put more energy into your lifting routine. Regardless most say no if you did legs.

Categories