Working Out

[Ryushii]

Okay, so I've decided I need to get my lazy ass off the couch and start to do some weight training. I am by no means fat (6'0" and 160lbs), in fact, I think I'm underweight for my height. My main goals for working out are to get in shape for college (I am going into a very intense program that's going to have very long, energy-requiring hours) and also to of course put on some muscle. However, I have never seriously worked out before, and I know you can really hurt yourself if you don't know what you're doing. I work at a gym (okay, I lifeguard at a pool connected to a gym, but it's still free access), so I can go in as many times a week as I want without worrying about cost. I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice for a workout plan that I could use not only this summer, but also carry on into college and even beyond. I would say the main areas that I need work on are my arms and upper body. My abs are actually not bad (4-pack lol) and my legs aren't terrible, though I know they both need a lot of work too. I really think what I need is just a simple, fairly short (free time is a luxury for me) fullbody workout plan. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Osede]

I know some one gonna post it, but I do it first. Go to here and check for some sticky guide, http://forum.bodybuilding.com/

[Shuemue]

I can't speak from personal experience, but my sister found it much easier to keep herself motivated by signing up for events like 5km fun runs, something to train towards.

[Grievear]

Three times a week I go to the gym for an hour to an hour and a half. Start with some cardio to warm up your core and hit your target heart rate. I do 10 minutes on a bike or treadmill.

This is my rotation I do right now:

3 sets Upper Rows (machine)
3 sets incline bench (machine)
3 sets lower rows (machine)
3 sets decline bench (machine)
3 sets shoulder press (machine)
3 sets curls (machine)
3 sets tricep pull down (cord machine)
3 sets shoulder lateral raise
3 sets shoulder front raise
3 sets hammer curls
3 sets tricep raises (machine)
5 sets abs (machine)
3 sets lunges
3 sets leg press

Sounds like a lot when I type it all out but I get a great work out. I do sometimes substitute exercises to keep things interesting. I wrestled in highschool and through the course of college I got out of shape and put on some beer weight. So far I've dropped 25-30 pounds and I'm starting to look pretty good. The hardest part I think is pushing yourself to go every time you're supposed to. The first time you miss a day or two it'll be really hard to get back into it. Make sure you are making it part of your set routine and you'll be fine. It also helps to go to a gym where there are plenty of girls with nice asses running on treadmills.

[Tonko]

It's actually much better to do 4 sets, select a weight you can barely complete the 3rd set on, but then go for a 4th set, you SHOULD exhaust while doing this set (as in, simply CAN NOT complete the rep) but if you don't exhaust, it means you need more weight. Avoid machines, try to do every exercise using free weights. The only issue for this with you is you have to know how to do proper form for what you're doing. General rule of thumb, stand in front of a mirror, try to align your ankles, hips, and shoulders in a line, and look directly forward. Now pinch your shoulder blades down and back, which should push your chest out a bit, while maintaining the alignment otherwise. This will help to reduce the amount of "help" you get from muscles the exercise is not intended to utilize.

[Xerlic]

It's actually much better to do 4 sets, select a weight you can barely complete the 3rd set on, but then go for a 4th set, you SHOULD exhaust while doing this set (as in, simply CAN NOT complete the rep) but if you don't exhaust, it means you need more weight.

This is probably a dumb question, but how many reps is in a set? I went to the gym pretty often in college, but never really followed a set rotation. I just went and messed around on the machines for an hour 3-4 times a week. Looking to get back into it tho since I'm starting to put weight on again..

[Daahan]

On the first three sets you should build the weight up until you reach your max on your 3rd set. When I say max, that means you still have to be able to do at least 4-5 reps on the last one. On the fourth, you should actually go back down to a lower weight, maybe the weight you did on your first set and even lower is ok.

A good routine is the following

One day you do Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. If you've noticed, when you do most chest excersises, you are also working the shoulders and triceps (such as the bench press).

On another day you should do back, biceps, and anything else you want to do, such as abs or legs. Once again, for a lot of back excersises, such as pull-backs or rows, you also are working our your biceps.

For the love of god, work on your legs too. Your legs are equally as important. If you're working out to look good as well as be in good shape, working on your legs is important too, because if you have a huge upper frame and then some chicken legs, it looks horrible.

Protein, Protein, Protein is very important. If you are taking protein supplements, you STILL have to go beyond that as far as taking protein goes.

Meat, Chicken, Fish, Eggs, Pork, Milk, Beans, Nuts, Cheese, and Yogurt are all good sources of protein. Try to eat a good and balanced diet consisting of those things.

For the first week, you are going to be very sore. However, once you get used to the workout, you know you've had a good workout if you still feel some soreness in the muscles you worked out the next day. It shouldn't be a soreness where you go "gah I can't move my arm" but you should still be able to feel it.

Also, you have to find the best routine for yourself. Everyone will be telling you something different, but the truth is everyone's body is very, very, very different from each other. It will take a lot of experimenting and trying out new excersises until you find a routine that is very good for you.

Good luck and don't give up!

[Tonko]

This is probably a dumb question, but how many reps is in a set? I went to the gym pretty often in college, but never really followed a set rotation. I just went and messed around on the machines for an hour 3-4 times a week. Looking to get back into it tho since I'm starting to put weight on again..

More reps = tone your existing muscle

Less reps = Build new muscle.

Every set you do should be at the max weight, there's no reason to change weight in between sets. I do 4 sets of 8 at max weight, because I'm trying to build. Like I said, avoid machines if you can, they produce lazy muscles and ignore accessory/complimentary muscles to what you're focusing on. If you work a part of your body, give it 2 days to recover before working it again.

A very BIG factor in building mass like the OP is wanting, is to make sure you eat protein within 30 minutes of working out.

[Alleya]

This is probably a dumb question, but how many reps is in a set? I went to the gym pretty often in college, but never really followed a set rotation. I just went and messed around on the machines for an hour 3-4 times a week. Looking to get back into it tho since I'm starting to put weight on again..

More reps = tone your existing muscle

Less reps = Build new muscle.

Every set you do should be at the max weight, there's no reason to change weight in between sets. I do 4 sets of 8 at max weight, because I'm trying to build. Like I said, avoid machines if you can, they produce lazy muscles and ignore accessory/complimentary muscles to what you're focusing on. If you work a part of your body, give it 2 days to recover before working it again.

A very BIG factor in building mass like the OP is wanting, is to make sure you eat protein within 30 minutes of working out.

I think he means how do you determine how many reps to do in one set.

[Saga]

This is probably a dumb question, but how many reps is in a set? I went to the gym pretty often in college, but never really followed a set rotation. I just went and messed around on the machines for an hour 3-4 times a week. Looking to get back into it tho since I'm starting to put weight on again..

More reps = tone your existing muscle

Less reps = Build new muscle.

Every set you do should be at the max weight, there's no reason to change weight in between sets. I do 4 sets of 8 at max weight, because I'm trying to build. Like I said, avoid machines if you can, they produce lazy muscles and ignore accessory/complimentary muscles to what you're focusing on. If you work a part of your body, give it 2 days to recover before working it again.

A very BIG factor in building mass like the OP is wanting, is to make sure you eat protein within 30 minutes of working out.

I think he means how do you determine how many reps to do in one set.

I started lifting about a month ago and I've doing 3 x 10's at max weight, I hit failure every time (been increasing the weight obviously as I make more and more gains). The most important thing is to hit muscle failure. So if you pick up the 30 pound dumbbells and can only do three sets of 7 reps before you hit failure on that last or second to last rep, either stick with that or go down maybe to the 25's or 20's so you can do more reps but still hit failure.

[Churchill]

If you want I can send you a spreadsheet of my workout. It's a beginners workout meant to get your core (doesn't include abs though) stronger and be able to do heavier weights and not get tired. It's a 3 days on 1 day off program, do cardio on your day off and on the 2nd day of the program, as well as abs both of those days.

For abs I'd do no more than 10-15m, rotating cycles during or after your cardio so your heart rate is up.

Flutter kicks x50
Crazy Ivans x25
Supine Bicycle x25
(These are 4 count, ie, if you kicked your leg that's 1, again, 2, again, 3, again 4, and that's 1.

Crunches x30
Leg Lifts x25
Situps (With nothing holding your feet) x25

Then do them all over again

[Ryushii]

Wow, thanks for all the tips haha!

What do you mean by failure? Honestly, I know essentially nothing about lifting, so some of the vocab is throwing me off a little.

Tonko, you keep saying not to work on machines. Dumb question, but what else is there? Just free weights? Is it okay to do those on your own (high school gym memories are trying to tell me it isn't, but that was two years ago)?

Is the consensus 4 sets > 3 sets? How do I know how many sets/reps is enough? On that note, how do I know how much weight to use? Like I said before, I have no idea what I'm doing.

How many days a week would be enough? I was planning on working out before/after work, but I could go in ever day if needed. I am rather busy with rehearsals and crap, and in college I will really be squeezing working out into my schedule, so would only 3 days a week be fine?

[Feedmenow]

What do you mean by failure? Honestly, I know essentially nothing about lifting, so some of the vocab is throwing me off a little.

I think what he means is when you're completely unable to move the weight a significant amount. Looking it up quickly:

Temporary muscle failure is when your body is physically incapable of lifting a limb to a fully contracted position. Since that isn't good enough for me I take my muscle further to the point of not being able to move it more than 2 inches from it's resting position. This is achieved by doing partial reps once full range failure has been reached. Partial reps employ previously unused muscle motor units in order to assist the larger muscles in lifting the weight. The key is to take your muscles to the point where you recruit these smaller assistance muscles.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/marcy7.htm

[Melchiah]

This is probably a dumb question, but how many reps is in a set? I went to the gym pretty often in college, but never really followed a set rotation. I just went and messed around on the machines for an hour 3-4 times a week. Looking to get back into it tho since I'm starting to put weight on again..

More reps = tone your existing muscle

Less reps = Build new muscle.

Every set you do should be at the max weight, there's no reason to change weight in between sets. I do 4 sets of 8 at max weight, because I'm trying to build. Like I said, avoid machines if you can, they produce lazy muscles and ignore accessory/complimentary muscles to what you're focusing on. If you work a part of your body, give it 2 days to recover before working it again.

A very BIG factor in building mass like the OP is wanting, is to make sure you eat protein within 30 minutes of working out.

The exception here is a machine that you can substitute for a benchpress bar. The benchpress bar is the most cheating piece of equipment in a weight room. Using a bar to work both sides of your body like that allows your strong side to compensate for the weaker side. You want always to work the muscles such that the left and right sides are independent of one another, like doing hammer curls or dumbell flys. Use dumbells if you can, but cable/resistance machines help eliminate strong side compensation. I personally use a bowflex at home, because I do not have a practical way to work my deltoids, lower pectorals, trapezius and latimus dorsi with my freeweights.

[Zimbabwe Justice]

Go go Wii Fit

[Tonko]

The exception here is a machine that you can substitute for a benchpress bar. The benchpress bar is the most cheating piece of equipment in a weight room. Using a bar to work both sides of your body like that allows your strong side to compensate for the weaker side.

I always do dumbells to work chest. Normal bar press is not a good choice, if you lift too much, you can and will hurt yourself without a spotter.

Wow, thanks for all the tips haha!

Tonko, you keep saying not to work on machines. Dumb question, but what else is there? Just free weights? Is it okay to do those on your own (high school gym memories are trying to tell me it isn't, but that was two years ago)?

Is the consensus 4 sets > 3 sets? How do I know how many sets/reps is enough? On that note, how do I know how much weight to use? Like I said before, I have no idea what I'm doing.

Free weights are very safe to do on your own. If you get into a tough spot with them, you just drop them to the floor. I'm talking the dumbells you hold one in each hand. You can work everything upper body almost with these, I do lats on a cable machine, but everything else above the waist is free weights.

3 sets is your goal to finish. The 4th set serves three purposes: It gauges if you're working enough weight, (if you complete the 4th set, increase weight) it causes your muscles to exhaust if you are using the appropriate weight, and it's just another set of lifting the weights, which will build more mass faster.

Diet has been touched on, but you are almost exactlly what I started at. I was 6'2" 160ish, and now I'm about 180, aiming for 200. I assume you eat alot, and never manage to gain weight. Your body can only accommodate so much of any given nutrient at once. Your goal when training for mass, is to eat 1.7 to 1.8 grams per kg per day, but you want this broken up into about 5-7 servings over the course of the day. Time at least one serving for right after your workout, or your body will eat your existing mass to repair the damage.

[Melchiah]

Good man.

[Rasengan]

I've been going to the gym 4x a week for about 10 months now and my routine has been very effective (for me, anyways). What I do is have 2 different workouts and do them on specific days. Oh, and another note: I do 1 set of each and cycle through and repeat until I finish 3 sets.

Workout A (Monday/Thursday):

DB Flat Bench: 100x12, 110x10, 120x8
BB Standing Calf Raise (like Squats, but up instead of down): 135x16 x3
Pullups: BWx10, BWx5 x2
BB Squat: 135x12, 155x10, 175x8
Hyperextensions: BWx21 x3
Pullups: BWx5 x3

Followed by 15 mins of HIIT on the elliptical.


Workout B (Tuesday/Friday):

DB Shoulder Press: 80x12, 85x10, 90x8
Chinups: BWx10, BWx5 x2
Dips: BWx15 x3
lolstabilityball Crunches: 100 x3
Chinups: BWx5 x3
DB Shrugs: 110x12, 120x10 x2

Followed by 15 mins of HIIT on the elliptical.


Although I don't pull off massive #s on my lifts, I'm satisfied with my results so far. When I started working out, I was 5'11", 185 at 23% BF (FFXI aftermath lulz). Currently, I'm 5'11", 154 at 9.5~10% BF (caliper method).

Key things (although some have been pointed out in the thread):
Try to stay away from machines if possible.
Compound exercises are <3.
To build muscle, get at least 1gr protein/lb BW every day; more importantly, get protein within 30 minutes after your workout.
Abs are made in the kitchen; eating right (and in intervals) will do more than eleventybillion situps/crunches/v-ups/etc. Both, however is nice.
Sleep is very important. Muscle rebuilds and grows during sleep so try to get at least 8 hours every night.

[Grievear]

Avoid machines, try to do every exercise using free weights.

Generally I'd agree but the gym I work out at has the new Hammer machines that use separate weight stacks for each side so your strong side doesn't compensate. Machines have come a LONG way in the last few years. Free weights can be very easy to break form on and do incorrectly. The machines I use force you into your optimal rotational pattern and do a great job.

I think the best advice is to find a routine that works for you that you'll stick with. The best routine in the world is useless if you don't stick to it.

[Killerme]

Don't skimp on legs. I hate doing them, and you probably do (will) too, but you have to do them.