Full Body Workout Routine - Part 2

_lyndseybrooke_
_lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Okay, so I just posted a question about designing my own full-body routine that I can do at the gym once per week, but people didn't seem to be reading what I said or reading my responses to answers. Long story short: my routine sucked. So I did some research, tried to take advice from the people that answered my question, and here's what I've come up with.

**PLEASE READ THIS!**

FIRST OF ALL, I do one lower body (body weight; usually some variation of squats/lunges/bridges/etc), one upper body (with free weights; usually some variation of curls/tricep extensions/rows/etc), and one core (body weight; usually some variation of crunches/Russian twists/planks/side hip raises/etc) using FitnessBlender.com at home. These workouts usually also include cardio, but I also do one additional cardio routine per week (body weight; usually cardio kickboxing).

HOWEVER, I can only get to the gym once per week. This is the only access I have to a large variety of free weights and machines. Therefore, I'd like to squeeze a full-body strength routine IN ADDITION to what I did earlier in the week at home.

PLEASE NOTE that I do more than one day of strength training, but gym night is the most intense since I have a larger variety of weights.

Did you read all that? Are you sure? Good, moving on...

Here's the NEW routine I came up with. A lot of people suggested the 5x5 stronglift routine, and I'm sure it's awesome, but this is the type of routine I enjoy.

WARM UP
5 minutes on elliptical
5 minutes on stair-climber
Some "loosening up" moves like arm swings/circles, torso twists, and slow high knees

ROUTINE
**This will be done in three groups, all of which will be done in AB AB format. In other words, I'll do each group twice through. In between each set of two, I will do 20 jumping jacks to keep my heart pumping and let my muscles rest without sitting on my butt for a couple of minutes.**
GROUP 1: Chest presses with dumbells (10 reps) and Bent-over rows (10 reps)
GROUP 2: Decline bench sit-ups/twist combo with medicine ball (20 reps) and Romanian deadlifts (10 reps)
GROUP 3: Overhead press (10 reps) and Weighted standing split squats with barbell (10 reps)

COOL DOWN/STRETCH (20 SECONDS PER MOVE)
Hamstring stretch/shoulder pull-over
Standing quadriceps stretch
Inner thigh stretch/arm cross-over
Tricep stretch/calf and hip flexor stretch
Downward facing dog
Cobra stretch
Child’s pose

PLEASE NOTE that I plan on doing two sets of each group, NOT ONE. Also, please note that I'll be doing cardio in between each set.

QUESTIONS:
-Am I doing enough compound exercises and hitting the major muscle groups at least once?
-Should I do 3 sets of 10 reps (AB AB AB) instead of 2 (AB AB)? I'd like the entire workout to last 45 minutes to an hour.
-Should I replace any of these moves with something better?

Replies

  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Personally i would -

    - add squats
    - replace bench exercises with free-standing, unsupported ones
    - do any core work at the end of the workout
    - not do cardio between sets if it negatively affects your intensity or your form on your sets
    - overhaul the home workout to try to match your gym routine

    If you need more help, state what your goal is.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Personally i would -

    - add squats
    - replace bench exercises with free-standing, unsupported ones
    - do any core work at the end of the workout
    - not do cardio between sets if it negatively affects your intensity or your form on your sets
    - overhaul the home workout to try to match your gym routine

    If you need more help, state what your goal is.

    My routine has squats - split squats.

    My home workouts do match my gym routine, but with a limited number of weights. Not sure how you know they need to be "overhauled" if I didn't state what exactly they are and only gave a brief description.

    My weight goal is to lose 10 lbs, but that's why I'm eating at a calorie deficit. My goal with my workouts is to tone my body and gain some strength - I'm not looking for cut abs and arms, I just want to tighten up and not lose any muscle mass as I lose these last few pounds.
  • Rerun201
    Rerun201 Posts: 125 Member
    Hard to accurately respond to this when you haven't stated what you're trying to accomplish...
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Split squats are not squats, just like carrot cake is not carrots. :wink:

    For the home workouts, i would add resistance to the leg exercises. Holding anything heavy can work.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Hard to accurately respond to this when you haven't stated what you're trying to accomplish...

    I have. If you read the response right before yours, you'd know that.
  • Songbirdcw
    Songbirdcw Posts: 320 Member
    I may not be much help here, but I only make it to the gym once a week as well. My other strength and endurance routines are at home or outside. When I am at the gym, I usually do the 5X5 Stronglifts or at least use it as a template for my strength workouts. This way I know I'm getting my compound lifts in. You can always start with your current warm ups and even do the jumping jacks in between. I think this routine is pretty simple. However, the heavier you lift, the less you will probably do for warm up and/or in between. Good Luck!
  • supra_driven
    supra_driven Posts: 90 Member
    In my opinion you have a good circuit strength training routine going on. I would do 3 sets of 10 instead of 2. Only do the cardio in between if it doesn't affect your form for the next set.
    My goal with my workouts is to tone my body and gain some strength

    Since your goal is to gain strength, you will have to change it up each time you go back to the gym by adding more weight. However, I'm not sure if this is going to be possible since you are in a deficit.

    I recommend you loose the 10 lbs first and then focus on adding strength in a small caloric surplus.
  • Rerun201
    Rerun201 Posts: 125 Member
    Now that I see your goal, it is easier to respond.

    With your goal in mind, you could easily save yourself the trouble/hassle/time of going to the gym. It sounds like you do just fine with what you have at home.

    If you're looking to "tone" your body, then lift heavy (for you) weights using compound movements. Deadlifts, squats, bench press, overhead press, chins, rows, etc. I can tell you aren't hitting this too heavily in that you're doing 10 reps. Drop the reps down to no more than 5 or 6 with more weight.

    My personal preference is to separate my cardio from my strength training. Strength train Mon-Wed-Fri; cardio on Tue-Thu-Sat. Swing a kettlebell for 20 minutes, see how that works you.

    Also, with your responses already to other posters, it doesn't sound like you're really looking for suggestions. You ask for input; you should respect the input. Squats do not mean split-squats. Squats are standing upright, feet along the same line as the shoulders (not split apart), flexing the knees, hips, ankles and a bunch of other joints throughout the body in an effort to lower the entire body to a particular point. Some like to go to thighs parallel, some like to go until any further downward movement is impossible. Not the same as standing with your feet spread apart and flexing one knee at a time or whatever a split squat entails (I can only go from my interpretation of a split squat). Instantly shooting down anything that either you don't like or doesn't fit with your conception of what you should be doing isn't fair to those who respond trying to offer the input you solicited by your post. Take the input. Use it if you want; discard it if you don't. But have a bit more respect for the people that take the time to respond to your questions.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Now that I see your goal, it is easier to respond.

    With your goal in mind, you could easily save yourself the trouble/hassle/time of going to the gym. It sounds like you do just fine with what you have at home.

    If you're looking to "tone" your body, then lift heavy (for you) weights using compound movements. Deadlifts, squats, bench press, overhead press, chins, rows, etc. I can tell you aren't hitting this too heavily in that you're doing 10 reps. Drop the reps down to no more than 5 or 6 with more weight.

    My personal preference is to separate my cardio from my strength training. Strength train Mon-Wed-Fri; cardio on Tue-Thu-Sat. Swing a kettlebell for 20 minutes, see how that works you.

    Also, with your responses already to other posters, it doesn't sound like you're really looking for suggestions. You ask for input; you should respect the input. Squats do not mean split-squats. Squats are standing upright, feet along the same line as the shoulders (not split apart), flexing the knees, hips, ankles and a bunch of other joints throughout the body in an effort to lower the entire body to a particular point. Some like to go to thighs parallel, some like to go until any further downward movement is impossible. Not the same as standing with your feet spread apart and flexing one knee at a time or whatever a split squat entails (I can only go from my interpretation of a split squat). Instantly shooting down anything that either you don't like or doesn't fit with your conception of what you should be doing isn't fair to those who respond trying to offer the input you solicited by your post. Take the input. Use it if you want; discard it if you don't. But have a bit more respect for the people that take the time to respond to your questions.

    I think I can do just fine at home, too. I won't be re-upping when my gym membership comes up for renewal. However, until then, I don't want that money to completely go to waste with my not bothering to go. I also figure I should take advantage of the wider variety of equipment the gym offers, at least until my membership is up. I do agree that it's not a necessity for my goals, though.

    I think I'll try to up the weights, do 6 reps per set, and do 3 sets of each group. If that doesn't take up very much time, I'll do 4 sets. Thanks for the suggestion.

    I don't feel as I'm being disrespectful to others, and that's certainly not my intention. It just bugs me when I see that people aren't reading what I typed before responding. Or responding with an answer that I already stated wouldn't work for me (like, "you need to go to the gym 3 times per week" when I already said that I simply can't do that with my schedule). I apologize if I'm taking my frustration with those people out on people who are simply trying to be helpful. I do take everything said here into consideration and I don't automatically discard it. I AM looking for suggestions, but suggestions that I already stated won't work for me (due to time constraints, etc) aren't helpful and they frustrate me because it becomes clear that people aren't bothering to read the post before responding to it. When I respond to a question, I make sure I read what the OP said before responding. Why waste my time suggesting something that won't work for them?
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Bag the split squats for real squats. Or if you are dead set on a split variation, do Bulgarian split squats. I would also bag the cardio between your groupings. Do 3 sets of 5-8 reps to take advantage of a heavier day. And you would be more efficient to redo your at home stuff to full body rather than the upper/lower split you are doing.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Bag the split squats for real squats. Or if you are dead set on a split variation, do Bulgarian split squats. I would also bag the cardio between your groupings. Do 3 sets of 5-8 reps to take advantage of a heavier day. And you would be more efficient to redo your at home stuff to full body rather than the upper/lower split you are doing.

    Taking your advice on the squats. I put the jumping jacks in there for the extra calorie burn and cardio, but I suppose I don't really need it, especially if it'll negatively affect my strength routine. Thanks.

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