Gym and fitness (79 Viewers)

[Nenz]

Usual routine I hear people do is back/biceps chest/triceps and legs/shoulders.

I really don't agree with doing so many muscle groups in the one session of training for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, in certain exercises other muscles are in use. For example you're working your back doing chin ups and although you're working your lats for the most part, you're also using your biceps. After you've done your chin ups you go to do bicep curls but because your biceps are tired from chin ups you're undermining the point of your bicep exercises and that is to push them to their limit which isn't possible with already tired muscles.

Secondly, if you're working all those muscle groups in the same session then you should be in the gym for up to 4 hours. If you're not in the gym for that amount of time you're either working very fast in which case you're not doing the exercises as well as you could or you're not resting for the right length of time. If you are a freak and you do spend so many consecutive hours in a gym then you become so mentally fatigued after 2 hours that you have difficulty with any other exercise thereafter.

Just as importantly I think by doing all your muscle groups in one or two days and resting for the rest of the week undermines some of the benefits of body building. By sustaining your routine throughout a week (a muscle group a day for example) you're tiring yourself just enough to be able to sleep better but not so much that you're exhausted for the rest of your day. Working out also releases endorphines that allow to go about your day more productively. By working out everyday you're allowing yourself that benefit rather then only for one day when you're too exhausted to do anything anyway.

This is why I spend 45 minutes to an hour each day on one muscle group only and of course I dedicate a day a week to cardio workout. This is the secret to not only a better and more productive way of building muscle and all round fitness but also reaping the benefits of a body building life style.

 

Buy on AliExpress.com

[V]

Firstly, in certain exercises other muscles are in use. For example you're working your back doing chin ups and although you're working your lats for the most part, you're also using your biceps. After you've done your chin ups you go to do bicep curls but because your biceps are tired from chin ups you're undermining the point of your bicep exercises and that is to push them to their limit which isn't possible with already tired muscles.

This is exactly what I meant. But the way I see it, pretty much all chest exercises have the reverse movement of back exercises. In chest you push the weight in front of you, in back you pull the weight towards you. Hence why I got the idea perhaps it would be beneficial to do chest/back on the same day and have legs and arms on separate day each. That's why I think it could work and leave you fresher than doing back/biceps and chest/triceps in a day.

I really don't wanna go to the gym more than 3 times a week.

 

[Dostoevsky]

Thanks for that Nenna, I can't do that routine though but it's similar I must say, I just know a bunch of people using that one. I'll try to hit one group of muscles each day to see how it goes.

How often do you guys do abs?

 

[V]

I do them at the end of each workout day. 4 sets of reverse crunches(about the only exercise that really contracts my core) and that's it. You won't get a six-pack without eating the bodybuilding way, and there's no way I'm gonna give up čevapi, sarma and pizza , so I see no need to burden myself with too much ab work.

 

[IrishZebra]

Slept in today no gym for me, thats once in the past 5 days....

and Im just back from a 2 week injury layoff, I need to sort myself out!

 

[Wahdan]

Thanks to my gym program and boxing training, I lost 5 kilos

 

[Nenz]

Thanks for that Nenna, I can't do that routine though but it's similar I must say, I just know a bunch of people using that one. I'll try to hit one group of muscles each day to see how it goes.

How often do you guys do abs?

Not a problem Dusan.
I work out abs every 3 - 4 days. But there are two methods to work your abs with two different outcomes.

If you're looking for big deep ridges and really defined abs then you need to really smash them with 3 - 4 exercises with 3 sets each. And instead of doing say 50 reps do 8 - 15 reps with a heavier weight (e.g if you're doing crunches, put a weight plate behind your head, if you're doing leg raisers strap something heavy round your ankles).

If your looking to have a flat stomach with visible but not completely obvious abs then a regular ab routine is fine. That is, as many reps as you can do without weight and you can do that just about everyday. But be warned, if you have any soreness then don't work through it. Let yourself recover.

 

[Nenz]

This is exactly what I meant. But the way I see it, pretty much all chest exercises have the reverse movement of back exercises. In chest you push the weight in front of you, in back you pull the weight towards you. Hence why I got the idea perhaps it would be beneficial to do chest/back on the same day and have legs and arms on separate day each. That's why I think it could work and leave you fresher than doing back/biceps and chest/triceps in a day.

I really don't wanna go to the gym more than 3 times a week.

Chest and back is ok. When you work your chest, you're tiring your triceps and when you work your back you're tiring your biceps and so those exercises don't affect each other

 

[Wahdan]

Not a problem Dusan.
I work out abs every 3 - 4 days. But there are two methods to work your abs with two different outcomes.

If you're looking for big deep ridges and really defined abs then you need to really smash them with 3 - 4 exercises with 3 sets each. And instead of doing say 50 reps do 8 - 15 reps with a heavier weight (e.g if you're doing crunches, put a weight plate behind your head, if you're doing leg raisers strap something heavy round your ankles).

If your looking to have a flat stomach with visible but not completely obvious abs then a regular ab routine is fine. That is, as many reps as you can do without weight and you can do that just about everyday. But be warned, if you have any soreness then don't work through it. Let yourself recover.

Thats definitely important.

+rep

 

[Dostoevsky]

I do them at the end of each workout day. 4 sets of reverse crunches(about the only exercise that really contracts my core) and that's it. You won't get a six-pack without eating the bodybuilding way, and there's no way I'm gonna give up čevapi, sarma and pizza , so I see no need to burden myself with too much ab work.

I feel ya. I work on them harder but I won't give up food for it.

Not a problem Dusan.
I work out abs every 3 - 4 days. But there are two methods to work your abs with two different outcomes.

If you're looking for big deep ridges and really defined abs then you need to really smash them with 3 - 4 exercises with 3 sets each. And instead of doing say 50 reps do 8 - 15 reps with a heavier weight (e.g if you're doing crunches, put a weight plate behind your head, if you're doing leg raisers strap something heavy round your ankles).

If your looking to have a flat stomach with visible but not completely obvious abs then a regular ab routine is fine. That is, as many reps as you can do without weight and you can do that just about everyday. But be warned, if you have any soreness then don't work through it. Let yourself recover.

I somehow found myself in the middle of those two. I work on abs every day, like 3-4 exercises with 4 sets each with like 20-25 reps (and not some easy ones, I get tired as hell) BUT without any weights. I...don't really know what to use as weights when it comes to abs. Any advice? They are noticeable (4 packs at least) but it's nothing major, and I'm burning some fat on the lower abs, so I had to add cardio.

 

[Dostoevsky]

Ok I guess it's easier to show then explain. Nothing special but I started "hard-core" abs like 1 month ago and as I said, no weights, just some hard stuff I found on net. 3rd pack is coming, I can feel it, but it's not really easy lol.

 

[Nenz]

I somehow found myself in the middle of those two. I work on abs every day, like 3-4 exercises with 4 sets each with like 20-25 reps (and not some easy ones, I get tired as hell) BUT without any weights. I...don't really know what to use as weights when it comes to abs. Any advice? They are noticeable (4 packs at least) but it's nothing major, and I'm burning some fat on the lower abs, so I had to add cardio.

For weights, if you have a 5 kg plate stick that behind you head as you do your crunches.
If you're training your obliques get either a dumbell or a heavy plate and use that in a standing position.
For leg raisers the only thing I can think of is a chain which you can rap around your ankles unless you have leg weights which you strap to each ankle and they weight about 2.5 kgs each.
I can't stress enough that you should work your abs to the point where you need to rest around 3 days and in doing so those deep ridges and defined look will come.
And yeah cardio and strict diet is also imperative if you want to have abs. Like you probably know you can't target fat, you just have to work so hard that it all eventually goes away but usually the lower stomach is where most of your fat is and so its the most difficult to completely get rid of.

 

[V]

Ok I guess it's easier to show then explain. Nothing special but I started "hard-core" abs like 1 month ago and as I said, no weights, just some hard stuff I found on net. 3rd pack is coming, I can feel it, but it's not really easy lol.

I'd say you have a very good genetics disposition and once again, I can't believe you have only 70kg. Don't look like that at all.

 

[Dostoevsky]

Thanks again Nenna.

I'd say you have a very good genetics disposition and once again, I can't believe you have only 70kg. Don't look like that at all.

Ah, it's 71kg now! It's getting better lol. I aim to hit at least 76 till the next summer but to lower my body fat as well and get defined more.

 

[Nenz]

I'd say you have a very good genetics disposition and once again, I can't believe you have only 70kg. Don't look like that at all.

He could be quite short. Or have pretty thin legs and remember the quadracep is the longest muscle in the body (for everyone else anyway ) so it counts for a lot of weight.

 

[V]

Ah, it's 71kg now! It's getting better lol. I aim to hit at least 76 till the next summer but to lower my body fat as well and get defined more.

He could be quite short. Or have pretty thin legs and remember the quadracep is the longest muscle in the body (for everyone else anyway ) so it counts for a lot of weight.

He said he has huge legs.

And he's around 180 or so if I remember correctly, so that's not exactly short. Dule, is a mistery. Looking at the pic, I can't believe I have a good 15kg on you.

 

[Dostoevsky]

My legs aren't really thin lol and yeah I'm around 181 or so.

 

[V]

Freak.

 

[V]

I just discovered this article and it should be the bible for every Gym newbie. Tons of facts written in a fun, easy to read way and everything explained to the core.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/building-muscle.php

A quality, non-idiotic weight training program...

Trains the entire body.

I won't lie... my first few months in the gym I did nothing but chest and biceps. I was an idiot, and there are countless others who were and still are just like I was. There are actually degrees of idiocy when it comes to this. Many people (mostly men) will only train the "beach muscles" (chest and arms). Others will train their entire upper body and completely ignore their legs (or claim they run/jog/walk/bike ride a lot, and that's somehow good enough). Some women will put a ton of effort into their lower body (and/or just their "problem areas") and hardly any into training their back, shoulders and chest. Some people only train the muscles they can see in the mirror, thus ignoring their back and hamstrings.

All of these people are idiots. As a former idiot, I'm allowed to make that statement. You should make it your goal to not be an idiot to any degree. Train your entire body. That means your entire upper body (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps) and your entire lower body (quadriceps, hamstrings, calves).

Must read for everyone. You don't have to read the whole thing, but the first and third chapter are realy informative.

 

[JCK]

Anyone does regular jogging here?