Working out in a gym

[Eric is God]

well wouldnt you do more reps with lower weights?

Well to get any kind of results with squats I need a minimum of 60-80 lbs and even then I'd need 30-40 reps before I started to tire. I was going up to 120 lbs and that was really hurting my neck. The problem with the deadlift is bending over and straightening up hurts my back even if I'm not lifting anything. I figured my legs are already bigger than my other muscles so it wouldn't hurt to focus more on toning them rather than increasing their size. I'm by no means an expert on anything to do with working out. I mainly do it for general health and maybe to put on another 8-12 lbs (I've put on around 8 lbs in the last 4 months).

[Lethe]

Well to get any kind of results with squats I need a minimum of 60-80 lbs and even then I'd need 30-40 reps before I started to tire. I was going up to 120 lbs and that was really hurting my neck. The problem with the deadlift is bending over and straightening up hurts my back even if I'm not lifting anything. I figured my legs are already bigger than my other muscles so it wouldn't hurt to focus more on toning them rather than increasing their size. I'm by no means an expert on anything to do with working out. I mainly do it for general health and maybe to put on another 8-12 lbs (I've put on around 8 lbs in the last 4 months).

Dont squat with the bar on your neck, it doesnt belong there. It goes on the back while your shoulder blades are extended. It should fit nicely on the little meat shelf right there. Otherwise you will hurt your neck.

[Eric is God]

Dont squat with the bar on your neck, it doesnt belong there. It goes on the back while your shoulder blades are extended. It should fit nicely on the little meat shelf right there. Otherwise you will hurt your neck.

Well that's where I had it. The problem is I don't have much "meat" anywhere on my body (I'm almost 6 foot 2 inches and 153 pounds) so the bar rested where you said, but it would rub against a bone at the top of my spine. When I noticed this I started doing the squats with a towel resting across my shoulders, but my neck would still hurt. I talked to a physio therapist and she suggested I stop doing squats. I've got enough back problems to worry about already

[Adrenaline Rush]

I work out 3 times a week. Instead of driving to the gym I run. The gym is 1.8 miles away from my house. I like to keep my excerise at 10 reps and 3 sets. It takes me just a little over 1.5 hours from leaving my house to returning.

First day: Chest/Tricep
Chest: *alternate each month Barbell/dumbell, Wide grip/normal
Bench Press
Decline Bench
Incline Bench
Pectoral/Rear Delt fly's

Tricep:
Skull Crushers
Cable Pulldowns
Burn out

Second Day: Legs/back *I usually walk back from gym these days
Legs:
Barbell Squat
Decline Machine Squat
Leg Curl
Leg Extension
Hip Adduction
Hip Abduction
Calf Raises

Back: These two machines don't know what they are called

Third Day: Biceps/Shoulders
Biceps:
Dumbell Curl
Barbell Curl
Preacher Curl
Hammer Curl
Burnout

Shoulders:
Shoulder Press
Side/Front Raises
Plate Raises
Shrugs

Edit: And I don't ever work out abs with weights. For me, it packs the muscle but doesn't define it, giving me a bulge look instead of the ripped i want. So i stick to randomly doing crunches at home.

[WinnieTheBum]

I still dont get what's the point of doing one set of 20 reps in deadlift? ANd also whats the point of doing 30 reps, despite many sets.

Adrenaline Rush
Nice, man, 1.5 hours for such quantity of excercises is pretty intensive.

Eric is God
If you wanna train your back you can do hyperextensions I know lots of people who achieved great results and never did deadlift and squats. Instead, they did hyperextensions and leg press.
By the way, when I started working out my neck/shoulder area also hurted like hell when I squated. Shrugs helped me pump up the meat around the neck, and now squats dont hurt that area at all! Now doing 125lbs (62,5 kg)

[Bob (SRB)]

Considering gran guerrero has a trainer telling him what to do I'm pretty sure the exercises he does are way better for whatever he trains no matter what Arnold (bodybuilding, are you kidding me?) says.

I hope you aren't suggesting that possibly the best bodybuilder of all time doesn't know what he's talking about?

But anyways, once you get the hang of lifting weights, don't let yourself get confused by all these ridiculous guidelines. Yes it is important to stick to the basics (8 reps is perfect for training strength, proper technique is key, etc.) but eventually through practice you will achieve a greater understanding of your body's needs, and you should listen to what your body tells you. I don't have a schedule for working out at all, but I still usually get a good workout around 3-4 times a week, along with lots of swimming, volleyball, intense trailbiking, etc.

Also, doing lots of reps does work. It may not get your muscles as big, but it is much better for muscle endurance, which is especially important in most sports.

[Ward]

I work out every day and I'm in a very good shape atm. Day 1 I do exercises for my body (abs/chests/neck/back/etc) Day 2 I exercise my arms (biceps/tricapes/shoulders/etc) I also go biking biking every day to maintain my overall shape, work-out leg muscles, and most importantly increase my stamina stamina and a healthy heart. (Jogging is probably a better idea but it's not as fun ) Anyway I go biking at around 3 and start my workout at 9-10. It's important that you give your body a 5-6 hour break inbetween cardio and workout. Food? Cereal for breakfast, soup/mashed potatoes for dinner, eggs/salads before i go to sleep. (Eat enough proteins for muscle growth, but not too much) I drink alot of water/milk/juice. Don't know what else to say.. Stay away from chipps (worst food ever) and dont drink any fuckin coke (although i myself tempt sometimes to buy one during a hot weather)

[Lethe]

I dont have the best diet ever since I end up drinking a lot but other than that, I eat pretty well. It seems to be my ritual to work out and then have a few beers after

Anyways, I'm at 385 for the deadlift now so I'm happy. Getting ever closer to my goal of 400.

[Miku19]

www.tnation.com

That place has some AWESOME articles about strength training, soak them up and laugh at all the newbies doing wrist curls at the squat rack that don't know anything about training. Unfortunately most personal trainers are really shit at their job, so you can't really trust them on a whole lot of things. Be sure to ask him/her loads of questions to make sure he's/she's the real deal. Questions like "what's the difference between type 1 and type 2 muscle fibers?" should be really easy for qualified personal trainers to handle.

Now as for excercises, t-nation has loads of good excercise programs ready for you, depending on what you want to do, but you can also go with your own, as long as you start by building a base for your body to grow on. The money excercises for this are squats, deadlifts, bench presses, pull-ups, olympic lifts (these are really fun to do, too, in addition to being probably the best full-body excercises, especially to build explosive power), rows, basically anything that involves 2-3 or more joints, so called compound movements.

Depending on what you want to become, there are different things you can do. If you want to be athletic you really have to focus on your legs and hips, since those buddies generate just a shitload of power (and you aren't running on your hands you know ). Olympic lifts (cleans and snatches) are a must for explosive power, personal trainers won't teach them though since they're "too hard" for a beginner. T-nation has a few brilliant articles about those if you search for "clean" or "snatch." If you want to be a lightbulb and have back problems, I suggest you go for bench presses and biceps curls, to give you that chiseled "hey, I work out only to impress girls at the beach, but in the end I end up looking like a clown!" look. If you want to look good nekkid overall, you absolutely have to work your whole body:
1) it keeps you injury free
2) working the legs releases testosterone, which is one of the best things you can ever do to help growth
3) you'll look better when all your body parts are in proportion
4) you'll get powerful too, so you just won't talk the talk
5) you'll feel better, too

Currently I'm working on a program from t-nation, Behind the Iron Curtain, because I just got back from a break and I want to get those olympic lifts going. That program also includes a nice way to measure whether you're overtraining or not, so you can decide whether you'll have to up the intensity or lay off a bit.



And btw, you CAN work out for 5-6 times a week, but a beginner will probably get the best progress by doing whole body workouts 3 times a week, maximum one hour at a time. That way he won't get fed up either, but will feel revitalized after every gym session, making him want more. Motivation is one of the most important things there is.

EDIT: and what bob said about not having a workout planned out:

You should ALWAYS know what you're going to do at the gym beforehand and ALWAYS write what you actually did. Keeping a log is really important if you want to track your progress, and tracking your progress usually means getting more results.

EDIT: and as for ward's "I work out my legs by running" thing, running works your stamina way more than it works your legs, just shut up with the excuses, put a bar behind you and start squatting you pussy.

[Lethe]

I dont log anything I do and I do pretty well? I pretty much do what my body lets me. If you know yourself well enough I dont think you have to have a strict regime.

[LoGGi!]

I don't work out at all
But you can still see my abs pretty good is that a bad thing?

[Lethe]

It means you're skin and bones and probably weigh 120lb.

[LoGGi!]

It means you're skin and bones and probably weigh 120lb.

120lb..? one lb is about 0.4 kg? makes me about 185 lb and 1.84 cm tall.. makes 6"2' so i dunno skin and bones you decide

[Miku19]

I dont log anything I do and I do pretty well? I pretty much do what my body lets me. If you know yourself well enough I dont think you have to have a strict regime.

Well you will get results without a training log, but for motivation it's important to set goals and track your progress. You'll most likely also work harder if you have set up goals and ways to achieve them.

[Hero*]

3 sets 8 reps = muscle strength
3 sets 12 reps = muscle endurance

I dunno why u jsut want to work out ur legs and abs only gran. You'll look weird with a large lower body and a small upper body (usually its the other way around) Just make sure you do everything right, thats basically what you want to do. I can curl 50lbs incorrectly 3 sets 8 reps but when i do them correctly only 30. You'll definately get better results when doing things properly and slowly (not to slow though, but you shouldnt be in a hurry to get all ur reps in. Everyone always gets uncomfortable at a certain level, but what they don't know is that they can go much further but don't because of the pain and effort they have to put into it. Hopefully you'll learn doing things correctly and pushing yourself will give you the best workout. To work out abs without any machines, try doing crunches, cycle crunches, leg throw downs, iso abs. Also if you are "fat" then you won't see the results but you'll feel them. Don't rush things either when increasing the amount of weight.

Also very important: before any activity or weight lifting, have a short low-intensity warm up. Geton the bicycle and cycle for 5-15minutes or even run. Then, stretch everything. But most importantly after your activy/weight lifting, have a cool down. Do another 5-15min cycle or run and stretch for this will help your mucles from cramping and from injury.