Help with strength training routine

illbeinyourband · June 2014

Hello everyone. I'm a 26 y/o male new to strength training (a weakling pretty much). I was just hoping you guys could take a quick look at my workouts I came up with and make sure I'm not missing anything important. I'm new to all of this, and I just picked exercises I knew I could be comfortable doing. My main goals are fat loss and overall strength/health.

I alternate these 2 workouts, and do 3 workouts a week (I'm only on week 3, and I've been tweaking things as I go along). I'm also including the weights I last used so you can see how weak I am. May as well put it out there. I'm definitely open to adding exercises or adjusting pretty much anything. I would like them both to be full body workouts and really need to work on balancing my body out. I'm also really self-conscious at the gym because I feel like the weights I'm doing are pretty low and I still struggle with some of these even

WORKOUT A:
Warm-up: Treadmill 5 mins
Dumbbell Bench Press 3x10, 30 lbs each hand
Dumbbell Squat 3x10, 30 lbs each hand
One Arm Dumbbell Row 3x10, 30 lbs per hand
Seated Calf Raise machine 3x10, 25 lbs
Abdominal Machine (seated crunch?), 3x10, 50 lbs
Barbell Curl 3x6, 50 lb bar
Random cardio

WORKOUT B:
Warm-up: Treadmill 5 mins
Fly Machine 3x10, 100 lbs
Leg Press 3x10, 140 lbs
Cable machine Lat Pulldown 3x10, 55 lbs
Cable machine Triceps Extension 3x10, 30 lbs
Seated Leg Curls 3x10, 80 lbs
Lateral Dumbbell Raises 3x10, 10 lb each hand
Random cardio

Thanks guys

liftingandlipstick · June 2014

Is 5 minutes warming you up sufficiently? Everyone is different, but I tend to need at least 15 min before I start lifting. Otherwise, you appear to have all your bases covered, though I would add more core work. Not "abs", but things that will work abs, obliques and lower back- planks, superman pose, side planks and crunches- there are some great yoga poses that will help with your core, and they can easily be done at home if you're self concious about doing them at the gym. Don't forget to stretch!

Sam_I_Am77 · June 2014

Is 5 minutes warming you up sufficiently? Everyone is different, but I tend to need at least 15 min before I start lifting. Otherwise, you appear to have all your bases covered, though I would add more core work.

Definitely need more time to warm-up & stretch (active stretching) before hand. Honestly, with what you're doing and how you're splitting up your training days I would just do something that is built and proven. StrongLifts 5x5 is a condensed but more effecitive version of what you're doing, that will probably take less time to be honest. Like the above poster said, I would still add a couple Core exercises in, even though SL5x5 doesn't directly recommend it.

mayfrayy · June 2014

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs

Definitely should start barbell squating and deadlifting, as these will help you with everything.
drop the barbell cirls, calf raises, one arm db rows, tricep extensions, leg curls, leg press, fly machine

Example,
A
3x5 barbell squat
3x5 benchpress (or DB benchpress)
1x5 deadlift
ab workout
cardio

B
3x5 barbell squat
3x5 standing dumbell press (preferably barbell, but db will work if you want, just harder)
3x5 pendlay rows (i guess you could switch this to lat pulldown/seated row/one arm row but better not too)
ab workout
cardio

on off days do light steady cardio, or nothing, or hiit a couple times.

don't worry about weight, at all, start low and work on form. no one cares if you are doing low weight, they might if you do high weight and bad form.

you dont need any isolated exercises until you know your weaknesses (like hamstrings not being on par with quads, so add in some hamstring exercises).

you dont need to add core exercises, since compound lifts do that. abs are always good to work on. You dont need to "warm-up", doing sets without weight is enough. I usually do elliptical for a few minutes since i workout when i wake up.

if you cant barbell squat, stick to db, and add in some... i forget what they are called, but you hold the db on your chest and squat.

illbeinyourband · June 2014

Right now, I'm going to Planet Fitness because I can't afford an expensive membership right now. So unfortunately all I've got access to is the Smith, random machines and dumbbells. I thought a good goal might be to think of dumbbell free weight versions of everything, ditch the machines, and hopefully transition to a new gym down the line

So basically, ditch all the isolation exercises?

Any recommendations for specific ways to warm-up and stretch? Should I walk like 15 min on the treadmill to get blood flowing? I don't know much about active stretches.

mayfrayy · June 2014

If you dont have access to a rack then ya stick with db versions.
Yea dont need to do any real isolation exercises yet, stick with main compound exercises. You'll have to do some isolation exercises since you don't have barbells. You will get tricep work from db benchpresses, and bicep work from back exercises. Chest will be covered by DB benchpresses.

Do DB squats, and some sort of hamstring exercise.
Try to do them 3 times a week.

You can probably stay at PF for a while, until you are at your goal weight and lifting comfortable, then switch to a gym with a rack / barbells.

Something like
A
DB squats
Hamstring exercise
DB benchpress
core
15-30 mins moderate cardio

B
DB squats
Hamstring exercise
Standing Mil Press with DB's
One handed DB rows
Seated rows
Lat pulldown
Core
15-30 mins moderate cardio

off days do cardio, not to hard.

Strength gains will take longer without those exercises, but your first goal should be getting to a better weight and comfortable strength. You can start a 5x5 program later when you can and are more comfortable in the gym.

Warming up for lifting you can just use lower weights, work your way up to your work sets. 5 minutes on some cardio isn't bad.

illbeinyourband · June 2014

Thanks for the advice everyone! How do you generally find out about imbalances that necessitate doing isolation exercises?

CipherZero · June 2014

Thanks for the advice everyone! How do you generally find out about imbalances that necessitate doing isolation exercises?

At this point don't worry about imbalances. Starting Strength is a good program that's pretty balanced all on its own.

mayfrayy · June 2014

Thanks for the advice everyone! How do you generally find out about imbalances that necessitate doing isolation exercises?

At this point don't worry about imbalances. Starting Strength is a good program that's pretty balanced all on its own.

yeah this.

you dont really have to worry about imbalances until you have been strength training for a while. right now, everything is an imbalance since its all weak.

Another reason not to do islolated exercises (RE chest flies) is you probably dont have a lot of [chest] muscle, so it is a lot easier to get hurt working out that one muscle. (at least that is what I have been told, and I have done similar doing quad isolated exercises)

EllaIsNotEnchanted · June 2014

proper balances will come with more comfort of how you are doing movements, so you can focus more on your body and less on the move. However, most lifts I do in front of a mirror. I watch to make sure on certain moves that my back is straight (pendlay rows/good mornings/etcetera) or I'm not adding extra movement that areas that shouldn't be swaying. As well as tucking in areas that should be tucking.

mayfrayy · June 2014

dont workout it front of a mirror if you can, at least for your big exercises. all they do is distract

Help with strength training routine

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