Looking for advice on a strength training plan
artsycella
Posts: 121 Member
Hi Sara and Patrick (and the rest of the great ETP forum folks)!
I've been a lurker for a little while, and I have learned so much from reading through the archives. Thank you for being such an awesome resource to newbie-ish folks like me!
If you have the time, I would love your advice on a strength training plan. I do intend to follow the advice you give.
A little about me:
Age: 30
Height: 5' 7 3/4"
SW: 226.6 (April 1 2013)
CW: 202.2
GW: 160ish? We'll see when I get closer.
Bodyfat %: According to online Navy calculators, 43%
Goal bodyfat: a heck of a lot lower
Current intake: 1860 + exercise calories, using NEAT--I may think about switching to TDEE eventually
I started trying to lose weight in April, and it's working--yay! I think my intake is going pretty smoothly right now. I need to work on upping my protein consumption, but all in all I'm pretty happy with where I'm at.
When it comes to exercise, I was a total sedentary couch potato up until April. I concentrated first on getting my eating under control, then slowly started adding in exercise. I began by just doing a lot of walking, and then added some elliptical at the gym. I kept reading about how awesome strength training can be, though, so about 4 weeks ago I started doing weight machines too. I have some physical limitations, so machines seemed a great way to start. Now I'm hoping you can provide advice on whether I should continue with the machines or try something else.
Goals:
1. Improve my overall fitness and health
2. Lose weight
3. Be strong!
Current strength training:
2 - 3 days per week, do the following:
5x5 Leg Press Machine (currently with 240 lbs resistance)
5x5 Bench (Chest) Press Machine (currently with 90 lbs resistance)
5x5 Seated Row (currently with 90 lbs resistance)
5x5 Abdominal Crunch Machine (currently with 120 lbs resistance)
I've been trying to increase my weight once every week or two when possible.
I also will usually follow this up with about 20 minutes of steady state cardio on the elliptical.
My limitations:
I had a nerve injury and subsequent, unhelpful surgery on my right wrist and arm nearly a decade ago and still suffer the consequences. Bending my right wrist and putting a lot of pressure on it is really uncomfortable, making push-ups basically suck. I can still do a few push-ups, but my wrist gives out way before my muscles do. I also have a hard time gripping something with a lot of pressure (i.e., pumping gas with that hand is uncomfortable).
My second limitations is my knees. I think the official medical diagnosis is wonky. I'm knock-kneed, just kind of out-of-whack and poorly aligned all over. High-impact exercises generally suck, certain kinds of squats cause pressure and pain, and my knee caps don't always want to stay in the right place.
I've seen many doctors, physical therapists and orthopedists over the years about both of these problems. The short version of many expensive appointments is not to do things that hurt. These problems are not the kind that get better by me stressing them out, though I've been told the wandering knee cap problems in particular probably will improve if I build more muscle in my legs.
Logistics:
I've found so far that I'm most successful in exercising when I plan to go during my lunch break to my work gym. Due to my work schedule, this means I can plan on going Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays and have about 45-50 minutes before I have to shower and head back upstairs. I also have a Gazelle at home I can use to do low-impact cardio.
For resistance work, my gym has some weight machines (the ones mentioned above plus about half a dozen more basic ones), as well as a good set of dumbbells and a bench. No free weights.
So I guess I'm wondering if I should try out a dumbbell training plan like the All Pro one you've mentioned to various people here before: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843&page=1
I'm a little nervous to try and figure out proper form and stuff all by myself, but I am happy to try if you think that it's the right way to go. If you think I should try dumbbells, how do I figure out a good starting weight?
Or should I stick to the machines due to my crap wrist and wonky knees? If so, should I add anything in to supplement what I'm currently doing? Should I try a different range of reps?
Thanks a lot for any input or advice that you have. I'm really excited about getting stronger, and I've seen a lot of improvement already. I was able to pick up my 65 lb dog the other day when he was recalcitrant about getting off the couch! Three months ago it would have come down to dragging him.
I've been a lurker for a little while, and I have learned so much from reading through the archives. Thank you for being such an awesome resource to newbie-ish folks like me!
If you have the time, I would love your advice on a strength training plan. I do intend to follow the advice you give.
A little about me:
Age: 30
Height: 5' 7 3/4"
SW: 226.6 (April 1 2013)
CW: 202.2
GW: 160ish? We'll see when I get closer.
Bodyfat %: According to online Navy calculators, 43%
Goal bodyfat: a heck of a lot lower
Current intake: 1860 + exercise calories, using NEAT--I may think about switching to TDEE eventually
I started trying to lose weight in April, and it's working--yay! I think my intake is going pretty smoothly right now. I need to work on upping my protein consumption, but all in all I'm pretty happy with where I'm at.
When it comes to exercise, I was a total sedentary couch potato up until April. I concentrated first on getting my eating under control, then slowly started adding in exercise. I began by just doing a lot of walking, and then added some elliptical at the gym. I kept reading about how awesome strength training can be, though, so about 4 weeks ago I started doing weight machines too. I have some physical limitations, so machines seemed a great way to start. Now I'm hoping you can provide advice on whether I should continue with the machines or try something else.
Goals:
1. Improve my overall fitness and health
2. Lose weight
3. Be strong!
Current strength training:
2 - 3 days per week, do the following:
5x5 Leg Press Machine (currently with 240 lbs resistance)
5x5 Bench (Chest) Press Machine (currently with 90 lbs resistance)
5x5 Seated Row (currently with 90 lbs resistance)
5x5 Abdominal Crunch Machine (currently with 120 lbs resistance)
I've been trying to increase my weight once every week or two when possible.
I also will usually follow this up with about 20 minutes of steady state cardio on the elliptical.
My limitations:
I had a nerve injury and subsequent, unhelpful surgery on my right wrist and arm nearly a decade ago and still suffer the consequences. Bending my right wrist and putting a lot of pressure on it is really uncomfortable, making push-ups basically suck. I can still do a few push-ups, but my wrist gives out way before my muscles do. I also have a hard time gripping something with a lot of pressure (i.e., pumping gas with that hand is uncomfortable).
My second limitations is my knees. I think the official medical diagnosis is wonky. I'm knock-kneed, just kind of out-of-whack and poorly aligned all over. High-impact exercises generally suck, certain kinds of squats cause pressure and pain, and my knee caps don't always want to stay in the right place.
I've seen many doctors, physical therapists and orthopedists over the years about both of these problems. The short version of many expensive appointments is not to do things that hurt. These problems are not the kind that get better by me stressing them out, though I've been told the wandering knee cap problems in particular probably will improve if I build more muscle in my legs.
Logistics:
I've found so far that I'm most successful in exercising when I plan to go during my lunch break to my work gym. Due to my work schedule, this means I can plan on going Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays and have about 45-50 minutes before I have to shower and head back upstairs. I also have a Gazelle at home I can use to do low-impact cardio.
For resistance work, my gym has some weight machines (the ones mentioned above plus about half a dozen more basic ones), as well as a good set of dumbbells and a bench. No free weights.
So I guess I'm wondering if I should try out a dumbbell training plan like the All Pro one you've mentioned to various people here before: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843&page=1
I'm a little nervous to try and figure out proper form and stuff all by myself, but I am happy to try if you think that it's the right way to go. If you think I should try dumbbells, how do I figure out a good starting weight?
Or should I stick to the machines due to my crap wrist and wonky knees? If so, should I add anything in to supplement what I'm currently doing? Should I try a different range of reps?
Thanks a lot for any input or advice that you have. I'm really excited about getting stronger, and I've seen a lot of improvement already. I was able to pick up my 65 lb dog the other day when he was recalcitrant about getting off the couch! Three months ago it would have come down to dragging him.
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48 hour bump!
I know you're super busy, and it's no rush at all. If you can't get to my question, or I've somehow misread the rules and made some terrible faux pas, no worries at all. You've been such a wealth of information just reading through the archives. But if you have any input it would be incredibly appreciated!0 -
Tagging0
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Bumpitybumpbump!0
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Doing this one next, thanks for being patient.0
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Sara and I are discussing this and we'd like to suggest the following, which she is typing out in detail now.
Upper/Lower split done such that:
M-Upper
T-Lower
W-rest
Th-Upper
F-Lower
Sa/Su rest
You can do cardio according to personal preference, a reasonable recommendation would be 3-4 days/week.
We are also going to attempt to build in about 10 minutes on each lift day at the end of your session for you to start practicing some dumbbell variations to see if they hurt your wrists or not, and if (after a month or so) it looks like you don't have any pain, you can transition some of these movements to freeweight. But this part is something you will need to see for yourself, and obviously ease into it as we don't want you getting injured/etc.0 -
Hi!
Regarding the routine, we would recommend an upper/lower split so you can do them back to back with a rest day in between - so M/T/W/Th/F - Upper/Lower/Rest/Upper/Lower
These should be done for 3 sets of 8 - 12 (start at 8 reps and try to add a rep each session - when you get to 12, then drop down to 8 but up to the next weight in the stack). If you do not manage the 8 reps, just do as many as possible and continue upping by 1 rep each time until you get to 12.
Upper:
Chest Press
Overhead Press *
Row
Lat Pull-Down**
* we want to include a press - is there one that you can use?
** - this assumes that using it will not be a problem on your wrist. If it is, let us know.
Lower:
Leg Press
Bulgarian Split Squats
Leg Extensions
Leg Curl
Back hyper-extensions
We would also like you to take 10 minutes at the end to practice the following dumbbell moves: bench press, seated OHP, rows, front and lateral raises, and goblet squats (you may not have time on leg day, so just do them on upper days). We want to see if these cause strain on your wrist so that we can come up with more of a free weights based program if possible.0 -
Thank you both! You are awesome and fantastic. I will check on the overhead press today and see if there is something I can use for it. The Lat Pull-Down shouldn't be a problem.
For legs, I assume for the Bulgarian Split Squats you want me to use dumbbells, i.e., https://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/bulgarian_split_squats&cr=
The Leg Extension machine is probably out--it makes my knees very, very sad. I tried it once with a little bit of weight and then with no weight and it still hurt. Is there another exercise I can substitute, or should I just leave it out?
Everything else looks fantastic, and I can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for suggesting the split schedule so that I can maximize my four days. Seems like an obvious solution now that you've said it, but it totally didn't occur to me before.
I will definitely start giving the dumbbells a try. I'd love to move to a more free weight program, and this looks like a perfect way to use my time wisely and see if it might work. Thanks again for your help!0 -
I think you will be fine without the leg extensions as you will be doing split squats. And yes, those are the ones.0
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My schedule this week is a bit off, so I was able to fit in a workout today even though normally Wednesdays are out. I was just so excited to try out the new routine!
I did legs, and the Bulgarian Split Squats were tricky. I don't have great balance and kind of felt like I was going to topple over. I tried first with no weights just to concentrate on the form, but then I went back and grabbed some 5 lb dumbbells for stability. I think it helped. Anyway, I was only able to get in about 3 sets of 4. and there was a lot of readjusting heights and mats and trying to get everything properly in place. I'll keep working on them, though, and try to get up to 8 and beyond.
I did look more closely at the machines, especially looking for something resembling an overhead press. The only other press machine is one that does either Fly or Rear Delts. In fact, I think it is an older model of this one: http://www.freemotionfitness.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_-1_10001_10002_10009_10713
However, I did try to do bench presses with 15 lb dumbbells just to try it out, and I didn't have a problem at all. 15 lbs were a little light for me, I think, so next time I'll try them a bit heavier and see if they create any undue pressure on my wrist, but so far so good. So I thought next time I'll try the OHP with dumbbells and if that seems okay maybe just do that and skip the machine entirely?
Thanks again for all your help and advice.0 -
So I thought next time I'll try the OHP with dumbbells and if that seems okay maybe just do that and skip the machine entirely?
Thanks again for all your help and advice.
Yep, give it a shot.0 -
Hi again!
I've been doing this routine for a couple of weeks now, and I have another two weeks to go before my "official" update, but I had a couple questions in the mean time. Thanks again for the advice.
Just a quick mini-update, though... this routine kicked my *kitten* the first few days, which was great--clearly I was missing out on major muscle groups with my previous routine, so thanks again for helping me get that figured out. So far the practice dumbbell moves have been going well, though I'm working through them slowly to make sure I get the form right and so I haven't gotten to the lateral raises or perfected the goblet squats yet. I'll get there in the next couple of weeks, though.
So here are my questions:
1.) Does it matter what order I do the exercises in? I have been doing them randomly--just seeing which machines are available and jumping in. But the other day it just occurred to me... should I be trying to do them in the order you've listed? Sorry for the really basic question.
2.) This past Monday I felt terrible at lifting. Every lift felt super hard... I had to lower the total weight on one of them in order to complete the set. Nutrition was good that day and the preceding day. It was the third day since I'd done any lifting so a decent rest but not too long. Is it normal to have bad days? Could it be a hormonal/TOM thing? Everything is back to normal and fine now.
3.) Some of the dumbbell lifts have been going really well, specifically the bench presses, OHP, and rows. Can I switch out the chest press and row machines entirely and replace them with the dumbbell lifts, or should I continue on my current program for the next two weeks and see where we're at then?
4.) I don't feel like I'm doing much on my current routine to strengthen my core. Should I be doing more? Maybe I'm just not noticing, or maybe it's not a big deal. I used to be in the Navy, so somewhere in my subconscious I think of strength-related exercise as oodles of push-ups and crunches and thus my expectations may be a bit skewed.0 -
Chocolate cookie bump?0
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Hi again!
I've been doing this routine for a couple of weeks now, and I have another two weeks to go before my "official" update, but I had a couple questions in the mean time. Thanks again for the advice.
Just a quick mini-update, though... this routine kicked my *kitten* the first few days, which was great--clearly I was missing out on major muscle groups with my previous routine, so thanks again for helping me get that figured out. So far the practice dumbbell moves have been going well, though I'm working through them slowly to make sure I get the form right and so I haven't gotten to the lateral raises or perfected the goblet squats yet. I'll get there in the next couple of weeks, though.
So here are my questions:
1.) Does it matter what order I do the exercises in? I have been doing them randomly--just seeing which machines are available and jumping in. But the other day it just occurred to me... should I be trying to do them in the order you've listed? Sorry for the really basic question.
Yes, it matters in that you should ideally perform larger movements first. I would do them in the order that Sara wrote them.2.) This past Monday I felt terrible at lifting. Every lift felt super hard... I had to lower the total weight on one of them in order to complete the set. Nutrition was good that day and the preceding day. It was the third day since I'd done any lifting so a decent rest but not too long. Is it normal to have bad days? Could it be a hormonal/TOM thing? Everything is back to normal and fine now.
Yes it's normal to have an off day. When it happens to me I usually look at nutrition and sleep as the primary factors. If it happens once in a while it's probably no big deal. If it happens consistently and you're having bad workouts regularly, something needs to be adjusted.3.) Some of the dumbbell lifts have been going really well, specifically the bench presses, OHP, and rows. Can I switch out the chest press and row machines entirely and replace them with the dumbbell lifts, or should I continue on my current program for the next two weeks and see where we're at then?
Swapping them out is fine.4.) I don't feel like I'm doing much on my current routine to strengthen my core. Should I be doing more?
Core muscles are utilized quite a bit during many different compound movements. That being said, if your time allows for it and you enjoy doing direct core work there's no harm in adding some provided that it doesn't effect your recovery to the point that it interferes with your other lifts.0 -
Thank you so much again for the help and clarification! Back to the gym now.
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Temporarily locking. PM as needed to unlock.0
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Unlocked0
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Thanks for the unlock!
I'm a little bit late in giving an update because I came down with strep throat in early August and was out of commission for a while. All is well and better, now.
So, first of all, thanks again for the great advice. It has served me really well up to this point and I can't wait for your suggestions moving forward.
Short version is that almost all of the dumbbell lifts you asked me to try out seem to be just fine. I worry a little that I may have wrist issues when I get up to heavier dumbbells, especially for press-type moves--the heaviest I've tried so far have been 25 lb for the bench press. But if that becomes an issue in the future I'll figure it out when I get there. Wrist braces may help, or I may have to figure out another plan. But for the time being all the upper body workouts are fine.
Lower body-wise, I'm still having some trouble with the Bulgarian squats. They put some pressure on my knees. It's not painful, but the pressure makes me wary. Maybe that's normal, though, and I'm being too sensitive due to past problems. However, I also am still having problems losing my balance and falling over in the middle of them. It sounds silly, especially when I've watched a zillion Youtube videos of people doing them who look perfectly poised, balanced and serene. I, on the other hand, usually end up falling over after 1 or 2, then having to find my position and try again. I'm up to 3 sets of 8, now, but I fall over a few times during each set so they go slowly. It's not a weight issue or a muscle issue, just a balance issue.
Due to the trouble I was having with those, I actually put off trying the goblet squats for a while. But when I did, they were much easier. I guess having both feet on the ground at once is easier for me.
So I don't know what you'd recommend--is there an alternative to the Bulgarian split squats that might be easier for someone who is, truly, a total klutz? Can I compensate with machine work? Or should I just keep trying and see if I can one day achieve the not-looking-like-a-loon medal in my little corner of the gym?
Let me know if you have any suggestions for moving to more dumbbell lifts as my primary focus. Oh, and I also thought I'd add--I've been reading a lot of threads where people say they get bored doing the same things all the time. This is not me at all. I am more than happy to have a simple, easy plan without a lot of variation that allows me to focus on form and not try to assimilate new information all the time. I'm totally down with simple exercise, and what you've given me so far (doing two routines twice per week) has really been perfect.
Thank you again for any help you can offer. Sorry for being so long-winded, but hopefully it gives you the info you need.0 -
You fine folks are totally busy being awesome (helping people! eating sundaes!) and I feel like you've gotten me to a great place so far. If you have a chance to weigh-in, I'd love to have some additional input, but if you don't get a chance, I'll just post the occasional update to let you know how things are going. Thanks again for your great advice and your help to me and everyone on this forum.
Based on the transition from weight machines to dumbbell lifts that seemed the hopeful goal at the beginning, I've been able to leave most of the upper-body machines behind and go on to dumbbell lifts. Which I love. I feel like the machines always made me move in weird, funny ways. The dumbbells lifts also make me feel like a badass.
So here's what I'm doing on my upper body days (Mondays and Thursdays):
Bench press (20 lb/dumbbell)
Seared OHP (15 lb/dumbbell)
Lateral Raises (5 lb/dumbbell)
Front Raises (5 lb/dumbbell)
Rows (12 lb/dumbbell)
Leg days I'm still using a lot of machines, and not sure if I should skip some/all of them (adding in the goblet squats has made the leg presses a lot harder), incorporate more dumbbell lifts, etc. I'm also still struggling with the split squats, and if you have any advice on that or on alternatives, it would be greatly appreciated.
Tuesdays and Fridays:
Leg press (220 lb)
Goblet squats (5 lb)
Bulgarian split squats (5 lb/dumbbell)
Leg Curls (80 lb)
Hyperextensions (5 lb)0 -
It's been 3 months since I started strength training, and 2.5 since I started on the program you recommend. I wanted to post a quick update, both good points and bad.
For the good: Yay strength training! I've been progressing (slowly), I feel like a circus strongman, and it's doing great things for my body. Since I added strength training to my repertoire, I've lost about 10 lbs even though I pretty much stalled for the first month. And even though my scale weight stalled for a while, I continued to lose inches, and the scale weight started to drop again in early August and has continued at a good pace since then.
Bellybutton: -5 in
Hips: -3.5 in
"Natural" Waist: -2 in
Chest: -1.5 in
In addition, I think I am finally getting better at the Bulgarian Split Squats. I started using a higher bench but not going down quite as far, and I started over doing sets of 2. I'm now up to sets of 7 and while I still fall over sometimes, it's much less frequent. Once I get up to sets of 8, I'm going to focus on going a little bit lower with each squat and then start to build toward 12 and, one day, heavier weights.
Now on to the bad. Just this past week, I noticed my left wrist/arm starting to go numb during upper body days. I didn't expect to have problems with my left arm--my right arm is usually the troublesome one. But the numbness felt very similar to the onset of the problems I had a decade ago with my right arm, in which the ulnar nerve became constricted at my elbow, began to swell, and caused further nerve damage (think carpal tunnel except in my elbow).
I've got a doctor's appointment today and I may seek out a specialist. I also suspect it may be happening specifically after OHPs, so I'm going to do a bit more testing and see if it really is one particular lift, or if it's just generally lifting a lot of things. I'd really hate to give up lifting, so I'm hoping I can either isolate the problem or find ways to work around it. I'll let you know what the doctor says.
Regardless, thanks again for all your help. I'd still love to hear if you have any updated suggestions for my routine, in the hopes that I am able to maintain all or most of it. If not, I'll let you know that too. Thanks for getting me to a place where I am feeling strong and confident and excited about lifting.0 -
One more update and I'll quit crowding the forum with my posts. I saw my doctor yesterday (general family medicine) and got a less-than-satisfying answer. Basically, if lifting is causing me problems, I should stop doing it. When I pressed for more direction and made the point that I was lifting for specific health-related reasons, she said I should try all or some of the following: lift much lighter weights, lift less often, and not progress on weights or progress very slowly--maybe once every few weeks/months.
I admit that I'm feeling pretty dejected about the whole thing right now. I have really been enjoying the results I've gotten from lifting, and I feel like cutting my weights in half, lifting less frequently and not progressing isn't going to actually give me those results. I also felt that the doctor was basically just giving me a common sense approach that didn't necessarily indicate an understanding of the physical responses to strength training nor of my goals.
What I'm going to do now is take this week off of lifting, to give the nerves in my arm time to relax. Next week I'm going to see if there is a particular exercise that's causing it, because wouldn't it be nice and nifty if I could just drop one or two lifts and continue to work from there?
If that's not the case, though, I'd love your opinion on a few things:
1.) Will lifting rarely, lightly, non-progressively (or progressing veeeerrrryyyy slowly) do me much good at all, or should I go back to doing a more cardio-heavy routine?
2.) Does it make any sense to continue to do lower body work--squats and all, if I can't do upper body lifts, or will I end up looking like a bottom-heavy weirdo?
3.) And finally, is there a kind of specialist doctor that might be more informed and be able to give me direction on these topics, or are doctors in general just not well educated on strength training and physical exercise?0 -
Bumping back up. Hoping to get caught up over the weekend.0
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No worries! As someone else mentioned, you two have lives and your help has been really wonderful whenever you're able to give it.
A quick update--as planned, I took last week off from lifting. I did a couple moderate cardio sessions (30 - 60 minutes) and realized how much better weight lifting makes me feel: more challenged, just generally stronger and better. I took away from that a resolve to find a way to keep lifting in my life if at all possible.
I also did some research and found out that ulnar nerve complications are not unheard of among weight lifters. I guess I'm just at a higher risk considering that my right ulnar nerve already flipped out and refused to cooperate like a good nerve. Here are a few of the forums I found that discussed it:
http://forum.simplyshredded.com/topic/7445/ulnar-nerve-entrapment-from-weight-lifting/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/435044-pinched-ulnar-nerve-from-bench-pressing/
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=6737911&page=1
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's an easy answer--some people are able to control it through modifying their movements/lifestyle, while other people opt for surgery.
I'm going to try and do the former, or at least see if I can find a way to make it work. In pursuit of that, I was back in the gym yesterday doing upper body lifts. I left out the OHPs, since the numbness has usually surfaced after those. As a first experiment, it was successful--I didn't have any problems, but I don't think that's conclusive. It could just be the result of a week off of lifting.
I'm going to continue to work out the rest of this week without OHPs and see how things go. If all is well, I might try some OHPs next week and see what happens. Whether OHPs are the problem specifically or not, I suspect that press movements in general are probably more likely to cause issues, but I'd sure hate to give up my bench presses.
I'll update when I've got more news to share.
On a side note, I'm going to try replacing the machine-assisted leg curls with dumbbell deadlifts in my lower body routine. Sound like a plan?0 -
Just wanted to let you know you are inspiring to me. Your resolve to find a way to do lifting is amazing.
Have you tried going to a sports medicine specialist?0 -
Updatebump!
I've just completed my second upper body set this week without OHPs and also without numbness. I'm starting to feel a little bit optimistic about this approach, at least for now.
So, new question, if/when you have time: should I do anything to replace the OHPs? Preferably a pull movement.
Here's my current routine (I realized I've made a few changes since I last spelled it out for you):
M/Th (upper body):
Bench presses
Lateral raises
Front raises
Rows
T/F (lower body):
Goblet squats
Bulgarian split squats
Deadlifts
Hyperextensions
In general, if you have any advice/suggestions on this routine I would be entirely open. It's just built around the suggestions you gave me a few months ago and I realize those may have been a starting place rather than a fully realized plan.
Thanks so much!0 -
M/Th (upper body):
Bench presses
Lateral raises
Front raises
Rows
T/F (lower body):
Goblet squats
Bulgarian split squats
Deadlifts
Hyperextensions
Have you attempted incline DB presses and do those hurt?
Can you do lat pulldowns or any other vertical pull (chins/assisted chins) without shoulder pain?0 -
Have you attempted incline DB presses and do those hurt?
I haven't tried these. Are they different enough from the bench presses to be worthwhile? I can always give them a try and see if I have any problems. What incline should I use (work gym has an adjustable bench)?Can you do lat pulldowns or any other vertical pull (chins/assisted chins) without shoulder pain?
I don't have any shoulder problems or pain--the problem I'm having is my ulnar nerve gets irritated and causes numbness and pain between my elbow and the tip of my pinky finger. Silly nerve. Unfortunately, I don't always know what's going to irritate it in advance, but I think it probably has something to do with my elbow movements.
I was doing lat pulldowns on weight machines when I first started weight lifting, before trying to move to more compound lifts. I can definitely add those back in. My work gym doesn't have any equipment for chin-ups, unfortunately.
ETA: Thanks a lot for following up! I know you folks have been super busy lately, and I really appreciate it.0 -
2 week bump! That's like a 2 day bump, right? 0
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Moving this up. Will review as soon as possible and reply.0
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We are sooooooooo crap at the moment. :flowerforyou:
Have you tried the lat pull downs? Any issues?0
