Lifting weights?
Samm471
Posts: 432 Member
okay here's a question for all you lifters out there. When you hear that you should change your lifting regime after time what does this mean? For example I sometimes do reverse pyramid sets in the gym and then the following week I might decide to just lift heavy . Some will say that's rubbish it doesn't work etc but everyone is different and that's not what I'm asking anyway. I just wondered how in time I can change my workout to keep the body guessing and building muscle and not getting used to the same workouts. Can anyone give me examples on how to change it up when the time comes or even what they do to change it up .. Also if I up my weight on lifting say every 3/4 weeks is that changing it up or not? Just need some advice and options on how to change it up
0
Replies
-
You should only change up your lifting regimen if you hit a plateau... "keep my body guessing", lol.
i.e. someone can't get their 5x5 on bench press. They might switch to 3x8 or deload the weight.
0 -
I do a muscle group once a week for 3 sets each with 3 different types of weight going from lowest to highest weight each set has 8-12 reps. If the weight your using is getting easy to lift and on your last 3 reps you arent pushing to finish, increase your weight. This is whats worked for me.0
-
Okay that is foreign to me haha .. I'm a newbie but instead of following a programme I've been using basic moves and lifting when I go to the gym and just been watching YouTube videos like for example what's good for biceps or back or chest and performing them .. I have been told it's not essential to follow a programme as long as you have good form and are doing the moves properly it's totally fine and that not everyone follows a programme. So if I'm doing reverse pyramid sets for months and months this is fine? Obviously in time I will change the weight etc0
-
AnnElizabethKate wrote: »I do a muscle group once a week for 3 sets each with 3 different types of weight going from lowest to highest weight each set has 8-12 reps. If the weight your using is getting easy to lift and on your last 3 reps you arent pushing to finish, increase your weight. This is whats worked for me.
Okay yeah I do this I normally do 6-8 reps for 6 sets on everything I do and the 8th rep is always a bit of a struggle to do0 -
Okay that is foreign to me haha .. I'm a newbie but instead of following a programme I've been using basic moves and lifting when I go to the gym and just been watching YouTube videos like for example what's good for biceps or back or chest and performing them .. I have been told it's not essential to follow a programme as long as you have good form and are doing the moves properly it's totally fine and that not everyone follows a programme. So if I'm doing reverse pyramid sets for months and months this is fine? Obviously in time I will change the weight etc
Well a program is a program... if you're doing whatever you want, that is your program. Can it be effective in gaining you strength? Well that depends on how well it's constructed.
OP, how long have you been in a caloric surplus and what does your current program look like?0 -
I'm not in a surplus I'm eating just below maintenance a slight deficit to lose the fat I have left .. My current programme is just like monday back & biceps
Tuesday chest and tricep
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - abs and shoulders
Friday - cardio
Saturday - legs
Sunday - rest
I normally do 20 mins HIIT after a few of my lifting days0 -
I'm not in a surplus I'm eating just below maintenance a slight deficit to lose the fat I have left .. My current programme is just like monday back & biceps
Tuesday chest and tricep
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - abs and shoulders
Friday - cardio
Saturday - legs
Sunday - rest
I normally do 20 mins HIIT after a few of my lifting days
So you're recomping.
I'm not very knowledgeable on recomping as I've never bothered looking into it.
Are you new to lifting?0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »I'm not in a surplus I'm eating just below maintenance a slight deficit to lose the fat I have left .. My current programme is just like monday back & biceps
Tuesday chest and tricep
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - abs and shoulders
Friday - cardio
Saturday - legs
Sunday - rest
I normally do 20 mins HIIT after a few of my lifting days
So you're recomping.
I'm not very knowledgeable on recomping as I've never bothered looking into it.
Are you new to lifting?
Yeah a recomp I think it's gonna be a long haul I wish I didn't have to but it's the only way I know to cut the fat down .. I didn't want to keep on a deficit because I'm at goal weight and I'm only 124lbs I didn't wanna get any lighter , yeah I'm new to lifting only been doing it about 4 weeks but it's been fun I'm really enjoying it a lot more than cardio. I'm really just learning everything right now and try to read as much as I can about things
0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »I'm not in a surplus I'm eating just below maintenance a slight deficit to lose the fat I have left .. My current programme is just like monday back & biceps
Tuesday chest and tricep
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - abs and shoulders
Friday - cardio
Saturday - legs
Sunday - rest
I normally do 20 mins HIIT after a few of my lifting days
So you're recomping.
I'm not very knowledgeable on recomping as I've never bothered looking into it.
Are you new to lifting?
Yeah a recomp I think it's gonna be a long haul I wish I didn't have to but it's the only way I know to cut the fat down .. I didn't want to keep on a deficit because I'm at goal weight and I'm only 124lbs I didn't wanna get any lighter , yeah I'm new to lifting only been doing it about 4 weeks but it's been fun I'm really enjoying it a lot more than cardio. I'm really just learning everything right now and try to read as much as I can about things
If you're new to lifting, I'd say going for a full body program would be better than doing a split. It's more efficient for newbie lifters because you have newbie gains; it's where the muscle shifts from a state of 'inactivity' to be stimulated by weights.
These programs are pretty good for beginners;- New Rules of Lifting For Women
- Strong Curves
- ICF 5x5
- StrongLifts 5x5
Just food for thought, it's your choice after all.0 -
Okay I might have a look at those. I do enjoy doing the muscle split though it's good. I had noticed with a few programmes your only lifting three times a week whereas I prefer to 4/5 times a week. I think what I'm doing is okay I'm sure only time will tell I guess 0
-
Okay I might have a look at those. I do enjoy doing the muscle split though it's good. I had noticed with a few programmes your only lifting three times a week whereas I prefer to 4/5 times a week. I think what I'm doing is okay I'm sure only time will tell I guess
The thing about a legitimate program like the above is that it ensures you hit all the major muscle groups. For example, on your own list, I don't see any back/lat work. For every muscle group worked, the opposite should also be worked in order to have a balanced regime and not over-work some areas and leave others weak, leading to imbalances and potential future problems.
Remember, you have a few major muscle areas to work. If you're going to work your quads, be sure to work your hamstrings/glutes. Likewise:
For a horizontal push (think benchpress), have a horizontal pull (think row).
For a vertical push (think overhead press), have a vertical pull (think chin-ups or lat pulldown)
For an elbow push-down (think triceps), have an elbow pull-up (think biceps).
Then look at accessorizing--calves, lower back, even biceps/triceps are considered more accessory work, but easy to incorporate.
That's why most of the quality programs have their main lifts working both horizontal push/pull, vertical push/pull, squats, and deadlifts as their main framework.0 -
The body part split that you have listed is not an optimal strategy for a beginner. You need to find a good structured program like the ones some others have listed. Can your program work? Sure. Is it optimal for your goals and experience? Not at all. You are lacking some body parts, like the back all together. Since you are new to lifting a full body program would be the best option for you. Don't concern yourself with all the different rep schemes right now, you are long way from needing to do any of that. Just focus on proper form and technique and getting stronger. As far as keeping you muscles "guessing", what does that even mean? The only thing they are wondering is why you keep changing things up. Focus on progressive overload, adding weight to the bar when you hit you prescribed reps at the current weight. No need to "confuse" the body, just lift and add weight.
If you still have fat to lose you can recomp but it is going to be painfully slow, meaning you won't see any noticeable difference for a long time, and you must be extremely accurate with your logging and lifting for it to work. You said you don't want to lose any more weight but if you still have fat to lose you are probably going to have to. Don't get hung up on the actual number on the scale because it doesn't mean anything really. Just use it as a tool to check progress but who cares what the actual number is? What matters is what you see when you look in the mirror. Most people, myself included, set some arbitrary number and when they hit it are still not satisfied. Unless you tell someone, you are the only one who knows exactly how much you weigh. When I was around 200 pounds I told myself I wanted to get down to 170. When I got there I was not happy at all. I never dreamed I would have to get down to around 145 to actually be happy with my results. I use body fat percentage as my main focus now and only use my scale weight as a tool to help me get what I want.
I know this turned in to a long reply but hopefully you'll find some of it useful.0 -
Okay I might have a look at those. I do enjoy doing the muscle split though it's good. I had noticed with a few programmes your only lifting three times a week whereas I prefer to 4/5 times a week. I think what I'm doing is okay I'm sure only time will tell I guess
whether you do a split or full body routine is really not all that relevant other than IMO, a split is not optimal for a beginner given that volume can interfere with proper recovery which is where the magic happens....but either way, as a novice you really should be following an established program to garner the most optimal results. an established program is also going to ensure you're hitting everything you need to be hitting in order to avoid muscular imbalances, etc. also, programs geared toward general fitness are also going to have you doing other things to work on like balance, mobility, stamina, etc...not just pulling or pushing more weight. all of those things are important to general fitness.
in RE to switching your programming, doing so weekly or every couple of weeks is less than optimal to say the least. as a matter of general fitness, i think it's important to work in various rep ranges and to vary programming, but it is far better to work in cycles, not just randomly switching things up from week to week. I tend to work in 6-8-12 week cycles depending on what exactly that cycle is and whether or not I'm having any issues with recovery, etc. I also vary my programming as per other things I'm training for...i.e. right now I'm training for a couple of cycling events so I'm spending far more time on my bike and only a couple of days in the weight room...right now, with the exception of my Oly lifts, I'm working with lighter weight and higher reps...as we go into winter, I will likely move to a heavy program for a few months.0 -
jeffpettis wrote: »The body part split that you have listed is not an optimal strategy for a beginner. You need to find a good structured program like the ones some others have listed. Can your program work? Sure. Is it optimal for your goals and experience? Not at all. You are lacking some body parts, like the back all together. Since you are new to lifting a full body program would be the best option for you. Don't concern yourself with all the different rep schemes right now, you are long way from needing to do any of that. Just focus on proper form and technique and getting stronger. As far as keeping you muscles "guessing", what does that even mean? The only thing they are wondering is why you keep changing things up. Focus on progressive overload, adding weight to the bar when you hit you prescribed reps at the current weight. No need to "confuse" the body, just lift and add weight.
If you still have fat to lose you can recomp but it is going to be painfully slow, meaning you won't see any noticeable difference for a long time, and you must be extremely accurate with your logging and lifting for it to work. You said you don't want to lose any more weight but if you still have fat to lose you are probably going to have to. Don't get hung up on the actual number on the scale because it doesn't mean anything really. Just use it as a tool to check progress but who cares what the actual number is? What matters is what you see when you look in the mirror. Most people, myself included, set some arbitrary number and when they hit it are still not satisfied. Unless you tell someone, you are the only one who knows exactly how much you weigh. When I was around 200 pounds I told myself I wanted to get down to 170. When I got there I was not happy at all. I never dreamed I would have to get down to around 145 to actually be happy with my results. I use body fat percentage as my main focus now and only use my scale weight as a tool to help me get what I want.
I know this turned in to a long reply but hopefully you'll find some of it useful.
Hey I hear what your saying and your right maybe I do need to not get so hung up on the scale so much and more on what I see in the mirror. Right now I just feel flabby and I'm guessing the best way to fix that is stay in a deficit .. Well I'm eating just slightly under maintenance so is that not a big enough deficit. I was eating 500 cals below maintenance for 10 weeks I thought it was time to stop , some people say oh keep cutting its fine you might look scrawny but it's fine some say just maintain now and lose fat so I have no idea what to do really .. As for programmes is there a specific programme you could recommend that you know is pretty good? 0 -
CarlydogsMom wrote: »Okay I might have a look at those. I do enjoy doing the muscle split though it's good. I had noticed with a few programmes your only lifting three times a week whereas I prefer to 4/5 times a week. I think what I'm doing is okay I'm sure only time will tell I guess
The thing about a legitimate program like the above is that it ensures you hit all the major muscle groups. For example, on your own list, I don't see any back/lat work. For every muscle group worked, the opposite should also be worked in order to have a balanced regime and not over-work some areas and leave others weak, leading to imbalances and potential future problems.
Remember, you have a few major muscle areas to work. If you're going to work your quads, be sure to work your hamstrings/glutes. Likewise:
For a horizontal push (think benchpress), have a horizontal pull (think row).
For a vertical push (think overhead press), have a vertical pull (think chin-ups or lat pulldown)
For an elbow push-down (think triceps), have an elbow pull-up (think biceps).
Then look at accessorizing--calves, lower back, even biceps/triceps are considered more accessory work, but easy to incorporate.
That's why most of the quality programs have their main lifts working both horizontal push/pull, vertical push/pull, squats, and deadlifts as their main framework.
Okay thanks that's a lot to take in lol I'm really new to this so its gonna take time to get the hang of things. I will have a look at the programmes above unless someone has one that they know is really good. Possibly one that has you lifting 4 days a week?0 -
I work in 4-6 week training cycles. The big three don't change, although how much of each one does depending on where the focus is. Accessories change a bit, especially partial movements depending on where I'm self reporting any weaknesses in my lifts are.
Overall rep ranges change depending on where I am compared to where my big competitions are. I send a long email to my programmer letting him know everything - how lifts are going, where any weaknesses are, how recovery is, everything that effects my lifting, and he hands me my training cycles.0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »I'm not in a surplus I'm eating just below maintenance a slight deficit to lose the fat I have left .. My current programme is just like monday back & biceps
Tuesday chest and tricep
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - abs and shoulders
Friday - cardio
Saturday - legs
Sunday - rest
I normally do 20 mins HIIT after a few of my lifting days
So you're recomping.
I'm not very knowledgeable on recomping as I've never bothered looking into it.
Are you new to lifting?
Yeah a recomp I think it's gonna be a long haul I wish I didn't have to but it's the only way I know to cut the fat down .. I didn't want to keep on a deficit because I'm at goal weight and I'm only 124lbs I didn't wanna get any lighter , yeah I'm new to lifting only been doing it about 4 weeks but it's been fun I'm really enjoying it a lot more than cardio. I'm really just learning everything right now and try to read as much as I can about things
If you're new to lifting, I'd say going for a full body program would be better than doing a split. It's more efficient for newbie lifters because you have newbie gains; it's where the muscle shifts from a state of 'inactivity' to be stimulated by weights.
These programs are pretty good for beginners;- New Rules of Lifting For Women
- Strong Curves
- ICF 5x5
- StrongLifts 5x5
Just food for thought, it's your choice after all.
I looked at the ICF 5x5 and it seems to say for two weeks so what do you do after those two weeks?0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »I'm not in a surplus I'm eating just below maintenance a slight deficit to lose the fat I have left .. My current programme is just like monday back & biceps
Tuesday chest and tricep
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - abs and shoulders
Friday - cardio
Saturday - legs
Sunday - rest
I normally do 20 mins HIIT after a few of my lifting days
So you're recomping.
I'm not very knowledgeable on recomping as I've never bothered looking into it.
Are you new to lifting?
Yeah a recomp I think it's gonna be a long haul I wish I didn't have to but it's the only way I know to cut the fat down .. I didn't want to keep on a deficit because I'm at goal weight and I'm only 124lbs I didn't wanna get any lighter , yeah I'm new to lifting only been doing it about 4 weeks but it's been fun I'm really enjoying it a lot more than cardio. I'm really just learning everything right now and try to read as much as I can about things
If you're new to lifting, I'd say going for a full body program would be better than doing a split. It's more efficient for newbie lifters because you have newbie gains; it's where the muscle shifts from a state of 'inactivity' to be stimulated by weights.
These programs are pretty good for beginners;- New Rules of Lifting For Women
- Strong Curves
- ICF 5x5
- StrongLifts 5x5
Just food for thought, it's your choice after all.
I looked at the ICF 5x5 and it seems to say for two weeks so what do you do after those two weeks?
It says you should add around 5lb's to every accessory lift (isolation work) every 2 or 3 weeks.
You're meant to stay on the program for as long as you want, provided that you make progress.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 424 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions