Does anybody feel like they aren't lifting long enough?

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annaclaireblack
annaclaireblack Posts: 63 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm doing and upper and lower split and my lower days are fine and I'm tired after them but my upper days I feel like are so short. I'm done with in 25 mins. And I'm adding in other exercises that aren't even on my workout list for that day just because I feel like I'm not doing enough. Does this happen to anybody else?
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Replies

  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    Is that a lucky cat shooting lasers out of its eyes? If so, that is AWESOME.

    In regards to your post - what do you do for upper body? 25 minutes seems somewhat short, but it might be fine. It depends on what and how much you're doing and how much rest you need. When I started out, short days weren't uncommon. Now that things are considerably heavier, I need more rest on upper (bench or OHP) days.
  • BHFF
    BHFF Posts: 421 Member
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    25 min, what upper body part are working for only 25 min??
  • annaclaireblack
    annaclaireblack Posts: 63 Member
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    TR0berts wrote: »
    Is that a lucky cat shooting lasers out of its eyes? If so, that is AWESOME.

    In regards to your post - what do you do for upper body? 25 minutes seems somewhat short, but it might be fine. It depends on what and how much you're doing and how much rest you need. When I started out, short days weren't uncommon. Now that things are considerably heavier, I need more rest on upper (bench or OHP) days.

    Lol it is!!
    My mondays are:
    Bench press 4x8
    Bent over barbell row 4x8
    Seated dumbbell press 3x12
    Dumbbell bicep curl 3x12
    Tricep pushdown w ropes 3x12

    My thursdays are:
    Incline bench press 4x8
    Lat pull down 4x8
    Overhead press 3x12
    Front dumbbell raises 3x12

    I do each day and then add in 2/3 of the exercises from the other day
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
    edited January 2017
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    How long do you rest in between?

    ETA: And for my own personal curiosity, is that a specific program you're following?
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
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    when i first started my days were quick too, but the heavier the weights got, the longer the workouts got. now i take 3 minutes rest between sets and even SL 5x5 takes about 1.5 hours with warm up and stretching.
  • annaclaireblack
    annaclaireblack Posts: 63 Member
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    leajas1 wrote: »
    How long do you rest in between?

    ETA: And for my own personal curiosity, is that a specific program you're following?


    I would say not very long. I just started work upper body consistently last month. I'm not very strong when it comes to my upper body so I'm using light weights.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    when i first started my days were quick too, but the heavier the weights got, the longer the workouts got. now i take 3 minutes rest between sets and even SL 5x5 takes about 1.5 hours with warm up and stretching.

    Same. I started out with just 90 minutes in between sets, but I've had to move to 3 minutes in between squats and DLs.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    And that takes 25 minutes? I can only see that if you're taking no more than 1 minute rests and supersetting exercises.

    Are you adding weight each week - at least to the presses, rows, and pull-downs? If so, just keep on. You'll probably need more rest soon enough and that will take longer.

    But sure - I'd say that's a fine plan, as you're hitting all of your major muscle groups.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    annaclaireblack wrote: »
    leajas1 wrote: »
    How long do you rest in between?

    ETA: And for my own personal curiosity, is that a specific program you're following?


    I would say not very long. I just started work upper body consistently last month. I'm not very strong when it comes to my upper body so I'm using light weights.

    Are you upping weights when you get to 4x8 (or 3x12), whatever the program calls for? If not, start doing that and make sure you have at the very least 90 seconds to 2 minutues in between sets.
  • annaclaireblack
    annaclaireblack Posts: 63 Member
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    TR0berts wrote: »
    And that takes 25 minutes? I can only see that if you're taking no more than 1 minute rests and supersetting exercises.

    Are you adding weight each week - at least to the presses, rows, and pull-downs? If so, just keep on. You'll probably need more rest soon enough and that will take longer.

    But sure - I'd say that's a fine plan, as you're hitting all of your major muscle groups.

    This is my first week of this program so I haven't added any weight yet. I plan on adding weight though!

    Thanks so much for your help!!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    annaclaireblack wrote: »
    leajas1 wrote: »
    How long do you rest in between?

    ETA: And for my own personal curiosity, is that a specific program you're following?


    I would say not very long. I just started work upper body consistently last month. I'm not very strong when it comes to my upper body so I'm using light weights.

    How light? You don't need to be hitting failure at the 8th rep but you should be reaching a point where that rep is a challenge and you could likely do only 1-2 more if pushed. The fact that you can do all of that in 25 minutes makes me think that your weight is too light.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    My upper day of upper/lower split took me two hours last night. I sort of wanted to do more exercises, but more is not always better.
    (Bench or OHP alone takes me about half an hour between warm ups and rests between heavy sets. I did both, and then wanted to demolish my back and arms.)
    Anyway.. sounds like an ok plan, but 25 minutes and not feeling like you did much sounds like you might need to increase your resistance.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
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    Most of my workouts last 35 to 45 minutes tops. I do a lot of supersets. As for rest periods, 30 to 60 seconds. It's all about your intensity level. You can get a good weight training session in 30 minutes.
  • rnpnick
    rnpnick Posts: 4 Member
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    This may not be a popular answer but if you are a beginner I would start with a strong lifts 5x5 for the first year. Then transition into isolation and bodybuilding after you have developed a strong foundation.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    25 minutes is good if that's all work,

    As others have stated. As your weights go up, so will your rest.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
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    Increase the weights. Rest more between sets.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Okay so a few things. First off, I feel like it's pretty common for lifters to feel like they aren't "doing enough". I'll be at the gym for 45-90 minutes and feel like I barely got anything done and need to do more, but I know I did my entire program, took my time with form and did the heaviest weight I could handle. BUT that being said, if it takes you 25-minutes to do all the exercises mentioned I would think you aren't taking your time to focus on form and are super-setting. Try adding in more sets, more reps, or increasing the weight. Super-setting is okay, but it commonly sacrifices form for time which isn't ideal.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    cgvet37 wrote: »
    Most of my workouts last 35 to 45 minutes tops. I do a lot of supersets. As for rest periods, 30 to 60 seconds. It's all about your intensity level. You can get a good weight training session in 30 minutes.

    ^I agree with this. I could do 3 sets of chin-ups or pull-ups in about 20 min or less and my upper body would be toast! But if you aren't feeling like you did enough, might be time to up the weights.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
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    Increasing weights progressively will add time to your program because you will need more rest between sets. I would also think a full body routine like stronglifts 5x5 would be better for a beginner than a split program. That said, I can still do all 5 lifts 5x5 and still be done within 45 min.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited January 2017
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    FWIW, I think that the U/L schedule is fine. She is hitting upper body parts with the same frequency as she would with SL. It's just different equipment and rep ranges.

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