Issues with new routine

KintsugiCurlyQueen
KintsugiCurlyQueen Posts: 68 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
First off, I want to make it clear that I have massive respect for my fitness consultant and don't want this to seem as though I'm trying to be better at his job than him, lol. I just have a head full of questions and want to share them with a wider (more opinionated!) audience. I will be discussing these issues with him when I see him next but I'd just like to run it past the MFP world first :)

So the time to switch up my routine rolled round again recently. I was keen on following NROLFW but he said that the program over-complicates lifting and wasn't much different from what I was already doing. In fact the first half of Stage 1 would simply be regression. Instead, he devised me a routine of the following: 18 min warm-up, 2 x 10 rep smith machine bench press, vertical seated row, smith machine squats, dumbbell shoulder press, seated bicep curls, assisted tricep dips, machine abdominal crunches and a 10 min cycle cool-down.

So I'll quit waffling and get to the gripes:

1) First run through felt fairly pressing - thought I'd wake up this morning a little achey at least. Nothing. What's up with that?

2) Smith Machine - has its pros and cons, I know. I definitely have no problem bench pressing on it right now as I have no spotter. I don't even mind squatting on it for the same reason (and the gym doesn't have a squat rack). My issue is more the form he's advising me to use on the squats. Feet well forward so back is straight as I lower myself. It doesn't feel right - doesn't feel like it's working what it should. What happened to everything I learned about squatting? Natural arch in back etc etc? Considering buying them a squat rack, damn it.

3) Too much machine assistance, am I right? Bicep curls using seated machine and not dumbbells, machine abdominal crunches - really? Wouldn't free weight/cable station bicep curls and core exercises (swissball for example) be more beneficial? Please tell me I'm not going mad.

4) Last but not least, having one routine for three times weekly gym visits. According to NROLFW, there should be a 48 hour resting period for muscles, hence why Workout A and Workout B are devised and alternated. By doing a single routine am I a) providing my muscles with adequate recovery time and b) working all muscle groups efficiently?

Thanks to ANYONE who managed to make it to the end of this and even more thanks to anyone who finds time to reply! I just want to maximise my gym time and do the best by my body!

Replies

  • KintsugiCurlyQueen
    KintsugiCurlyQueen Posts: 68 Member
    Cheeky bump? :(
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Exercise selection depends on one's goal - which you didn't tell us. If your goal is either fat loss or general conditioning, i would do mostly freeweight or cable exercises, in a standing position. They more closely simulate how our body was intended to function in the real world. Machines and isolation exercises (like curls) put more work onto fewer muscles, so they're great for hypertrophy (bulking up) or possibly for injury rehabilitation or the elderly.

    >>>>>
    "My issue is more the form he's advising me to use on the squats. Feet well forward so back is straight as I lower myself."
    <<<<<

    You mean your back is vertical. That's a hack squat. It's a pretty specialized lift, and shouldn't substitute for the basic leg exercises (which again depend on your goal).

    >>>>
    "Last but not least, having one routine for three times weekly gym visits. "
    <<<<

    You mean you're doing a full-body workout every 2-3 days? That's fine, assuming you don't do much at each workout. Typically 3 heavy sets of legs, and 2 for pushing ("chest"), pulling ("upper back") and shoulders.

    >>>>
    thought I'd wake up this morning a little achey at least. Nothing. What's up with that? "
    <<<<

    Soreness isn't a good measure of a workout's effectiveness. That's what's up with that.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Sounds like the gym is the problem. If your gym doesn't have squat racks, it's just not a proper gym, IMO. There's WAY too much Smith machine in this routine but it sounds like that's all there is there. Actually, there's way too much machine in the overall workout for my taste. Technically, stage 1 of NROL might be less volume but if you did it all with free weights I wouldn't call it a regression, based on what I'm seeing right now. I'd switch gyms and find a trainer that wasn't afraid to work with me in the free weight section.
  • KintsugiCurlyQueen
    KintsugiCurlyQueen Posts: 68 Member
    Thank you both for your replies!

    I am so glad that I got an agreement (or two!) on the machines not being very beneficial for my goal (fat loss and general strength building). This morning I changed the squats back to 'normal' form, removed the machine abdominal crunches and replaced them with weighted swissball crunches and switched my seated rows from the machine to the cable station. It already feels more challenging :)

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