Weightlifting on a schedule

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bbastin55
bbastin55 Posts: 34 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, I'm sure I can find an answer somewhere in the forums, but I'm short on time. I am able to workout Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays I can do cardio on other days but I don't have access to the gym. What would be the best workout schedule/exercises to use to maximize my access to the gym?

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  • jstrun
    jstrun Posts: 70 Member
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    I would lift weights probably Monday Tuesday and Thursday, I Lift only 3 times a week though, and run on the other days.

    I do full body work outs though, so I'm sure you could lift Monday Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday but targetting a different body part each day in order to give your other muscles a rest (i.e. Back Monday, Core Tuesday, Legs Wednesday, Arms Thursday) or something along those lines (I am far from a pro!)
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    I'd either do a full-body workout on Monday & Thursday.. or upper body on Monday, lower on Tuesday and full-body Thursday.
    Either way, i'd prioritize compound exercises using freeweights.
  • TossaBeanBag
    TossaBeanBag Posts: 458 Member
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    Monday - upper body
    Tuesday - lower body
    Wednesday - upper body
    Thursday - lower body
  • browndog1410
    browndog1410 Posts: 28
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    I only workout 3 days a week - full body in 30 mins. pullups, handstand pushups, jumping squats and plyopushups. do them back to back (about 2.5 minutes) rest for 1 minute then repeat 5 times). Give yourself a day between weight bearing exerciese or your muscles don't recover properly. I'd initially stick to body weight (as indicated above) but incorporate weights if available.
  • Wronkletoad
    Wronkletoad Posts: 368 Member
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    bbastin55 wrote: »
    Ok, I'm sure I can find an answer somewhere in the forums, but I'm short on time. I am able to workout Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays I can do cardio on other days but I don't have access to the gym. What would be the best workout schedule/exercises to use to maximize my access to the gym?

    *disclaimer - don't wanna get bopped in the noze (sic) for this*

    depends on your goals.

    there are good two or three day splits. stronglifts is a good program (i prefer it to upper/lower splits, but YMMV)

    if the stronglifts program doesn't address your goals (or Rip's program, which is similar) or any "push/pull/squat" type of program, i got nuffin, and would be psyched to hear what others have to say
  • deninevi
    deninevi Posts: 934 Member
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    jbach2 wrote: »
    Monday - upper body
    Tuesday - lower body
    Wednesday - upper body
    Thursday - lower body

    I'll do the same.
  • ryanwood935
    ryanwood935 Posts: 245 Member
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    It would be hard to do a full body routine each day, since you would have to have back to back workouts once a week. Given 4 consecutive days to lift, I would probably run something like Legs/Push/Pull/Legs.

    Push days being things like bench press, overhead press, etc...working on chest/shoulders/tri

    Pull days would be rows, pullups, and other back/bicep movements.

    If you do an upper/lower split, you would probably want one of those upper/lowers to be at something less than 100% of your working weight, otherwise your wednesday/thursday workouts might be rough.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    Don't make your own split. If you're asking what you can do with your schedule, it means you lack the basic knowledge needed to make your own split.

    Get a canned beginner's program. SS, SL, et al. DTFP. Reap the newbie gains, then deal with a more advanced form of programming later.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    Don't make your own split. If you're asking what you can do with your schedule, it means you lack the basic knowledge needed to make your own split.

    Get a canned beginner's program. SS, SL, et al. DTFP. Reap the newbie gains, then deal with a more advanced form of programming later.

    ^^^ This. I lift 3 times a week focusing on alternating 2 workouts which encompass 6 compound moves:
    Barbel squat
    Bench Press
    Dead rows
    Overhead shoulder press
    Lat pull downs
    Deadlifts

  • Jams009
    Jams009 Posts: 345 Member
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    Look up 'the big 4' compound exercises; they allow you to work out your whole body with just 4 exercises. Great if you are short on time.

    They are:
    Deadlift
    Bench press
    Squat
    Overhead press.

    Personally I'd also throw in a lateral pulldown or pullup in there, and some bicep curls and tricep extensions.

    If you do full body workouts spread the workouts a little more, like twice a week. If you want to do 3 times a week split them into upper body, lower body, upper body. That will make sure each body part has enough time to recover between workouts (>48 hours ideally).

    If you want to lengthen the workouts do exercises that work the same muscle groups on the same day e.g.
    Day 1:
    Deadlift, over head press, lateral pulldowns, back row, seated dumbell flies, bicep curls
    Day 2:
    Squat, leg press, calve raises, leg extensions, leg curls.
    Day 3:
    Bench Press, cable crossovers, incline bench press, dips or decline bench press, tricep extensions.

    Good luck.




  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    stuffinmuffin wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    Don't make your own split. If you're asking what you can do with your schedule, it means you lack the basic knowledge needed to make your own split.

    Get a canned beginner's program. SS, SL, et al. DTFP. Reap the newbie gains, then deal with a more advanced form of programming later.

    ^^^ This. I lift 3 times a week focusing on alternating 2 workouts which encompass 6 compound moves:
    Barbel squat
    Bench Press
    Dead rows
    Overhead shoulder press
    Lat pull downs
    Deadlifts
    Yup, those get you 80% of the way there. I don't do the pull downs, but I'll rock pull ups, and I do a bit of accessory and iso work to bring up weaknesses, but yeah... the squat, the presses, the rows, the deadlift. Those are the cornerstone.

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