Strength Weight Training: Anything and Everything II

[Vincent Chase]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

Anybody have any home gym equipment?

Was thinking of getting one of these..

http://www.sportspower.com.au/?q=node/364

Are they worth the money?

 

[GameOfInches]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

Anybody have any home gym equipment?

Was thinking of getting one of these..

http://www.sportspower.com.au/?q=node/364

Are they worth the money?

I guess these are OK if you haven't trained before, but my first thought is that they are quite flimsy. Secondly, free weights are much better for you as you use a range of muscle groups to complete the repetition in the prescribed movement (ie: a dumbell flat press won't just use your chest and triceps, but also the stabilising muscles such as the delts and rotator cuff work too).

If you're going to train at home, your best to grab yourself a bench, 2 or 3 sets of dumbells and various amounts of weights (try 2 x 10kg plates, 2 x 7.5kg, 2 x 5kg, 4 x 2.5kg and 4 x 1.25kg). This should give you enough scope to start light, make some gains and have enough weight there to continually stimulate the muscle group for growth.

Besides, the amount you spend on the 'all in one' machine will be the equivalent of a free weight set.

 

[Slattery_20]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

Anybody have any home gym equipment?

I will ask one question, and one question only:

You gotta door?

 

[SillyKent]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

Anybody have any home gym equipment?

Was thinking of getting one of these..

http://www.sportspower.com.au/?q=node/364

Are they worth the money?

Agree with what

If you're going to spend $560, you may as well get a rack, barbell, weights and a bench.

 

[Vincent Chase]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

I will ask one question, and one question only:

You gotta door?

Haha i was gonna put "inb4 you gotta door?" in my post but forgot.

 

[Vincent Chase]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

I guess these are OK if you haven't trained before, but my first thought is that they are quite flimsy. Secondly, free weights are much better for you as you use a range of muscle groups to complete the repetition in the prescribed movement (ie: a dumbell flat press won't just use your chest and triceps, but also the stabilising muscles such as the delts and rotator cuff work too).

If you're going to train at home, your best to grab yourself a bench, 2 or 3 sets of dumbells and various amounts of weights (try 2 x 10kg plates, 2 x 7.5kg, 2 x 5kg, 4 x 2.5kg and 4 x 1.25kg). This should give you enough scope to start light, make some gains and have enough weight there to continually stimulate the muscle group for growth.

Besides, the amount you spend on the 'all in one' machine will be the equivalent of a free weight set.

Yeah I've been lifting for about 7 months now and made some solid gains. Might just get a bench press.

 

[Syphoncom]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

Squat rack + bench with changeable height (incline/flat/decline etc).

You can do most things you need there.

 

[Ricky90]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

Can I get some opinions on my shoulder workout and have a quick peak at everyone elses shoulder workouts? It's probably my favourite workout of the week after back, but I'm not getting the results I once was anymore. And going heavier won't help much - I've tried that. Currently I do this:

DB Shoulder Press (4 x 12) [nb: first two sets are warm up sets at about 50 and 70% of the final two sets. This must be done, as I'm prone to subluxation.]
Standing Military Press (3 x 12) [with the barbell not the Smith machine.]
Front lateral raises (3 x 12) superset with;
Side lateral raises (3 x 12)
DB rows (3 x 12) [I get that this is commonly for back but it gives a nice squeeze in my rear delts.]

Looks like plenty, probably too much, when written down but I rarely feel any muscle soreness after a shoulder workout nowadays. I was thinking about adding another working set to the dumbell presses but maybe that is really overdoing it.

Maybe I could better utilise pre-exaustion by putting lateral raises at the start?

And I do enjoy occasionally doing a superset of Upright rows and military press for 3 sets of 10 each, with the EZ bar. Just not too often though, upright rows hurt the AC joint a little bit.

Thoughts?

 

[cptkirk]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

if you want something to get bigger you gotta train it more but you can't keep adding into an existing day, you gotta add another session

my suggestion is to train shoulders 3/week and cut some chest stuff out

 

[Ricky90]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

if you want something to get bigger you gotta train it more but you can't keep adding into an existing day, you gotta add another session

my suggestion is to train shoulders 3/week and cut some chest stuff out

Good point. As it stands I do chest once per week but I should be able to add a second shoulder day in.

 

[mcgarnacle]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

Seems like a heap of work to me for such a smaller muscle group. You have to remember that you'll be hitting the delts and shoulder girdle with chest and back exercises too as you should probably realise with adding the db rows to your shoulder day, which is fundamentally an upper back exercise. If you're doing heaps in terms of volume on other body parts too, and also, lifting 4-5 days a week, then you're really not giving your body the chance to recover and grow. What you also need to remember is the gym just provides the stimulus to grow and this stimulus should fundamentally consist of high intensity, i.e., heavy weight. The growing actually occurs outside the gym - nutrition and rest.

First of all, with the DB SHoulder Press, get out of your head that you're doing 4 x 12. You're not, you're doing 2 x 12. Warm-ups are not work sets. Basically, the most important exercise of the shoulder is the one you're doing the least of. Cut down the other BS such as front and side raise supersets and focus more on lifting heavy on the DB SHoulder Press which should be an exercise where you can accommodate more weight. Those supersets limit the amount you can lift on those exercises, hence limit the stimulus to grow. Furthermore, the DB SHoulder Press and Military Press are a similar movement. It's like doing a DB Bench press then following it up with the Barbell bench press. You're not adding any value to the workout doing them together. You're better off working them into your shoulder day at different periods.

If you're not feeling DOMS, then it's probably because your body has adapted to the stimulus. Workout needs to be changed up regularly.

My program probably wont interest you because I generally only do a couple of full-body lifting workouts a week. I also do a short bike ride, a park sprint/anaerobic session, and also a high intensity cardio session with BW exercise circuits/skipping, and core strength work so my goals are probably different to yours. I've just come back from 2-months OS so I've stripped down the lifitng to the basics but ensuring that the intensity is high incorporating predominantly compound movements with heavy weight. You can do a myriad of exercises, but if you're not lifting intensely and attempting to overload the muscles, and not giving your body the chance to recover with proper rest and nutrition, then you'll struggle to improve.

Here's mine at the moment till around the end of the month, just for reference anyway (sets are worksets):
Day 1
Warmup - 6-8m treadmill walk
foam roller muscle prep
Deadlift - 3 x 6-8
One-leg Leg Press - 2 x 8-10
Pullup - 3 x BW Max
Db Incline Press - 3 x 6-8
DB Shrug - 2 x 6-8
Rope Triceps Cable Ext - 1 x 8-10
Hammer Curl - 1 x 8-10

Day 4

Warmup - 6-8m treadmill walk
foam roller muscle prep
Back Squat - 3 x 6-8
Dynamic Lunge - 2 x 8-10
DB Bench Press - 3 x 6-8
Barbell/Pendlay Row - 3 x 6-8
DB Shoulder Press - 2 x 6-8
Close-grip Pulldown - 2 x 8-10

doesnt seem like im hitting the bodyparts all that much, but im hitting them heavy, and giving them the stimulus to grow. the 'pump' that so many people try to achieve is mistakenly thought to be the indicator of good workout. The pump is just a whole lot of blood required to deliver oxygen into the muscle. It doesnt necessarily mean that you're doing any work forcing the body to adapt and grow. Lifting heavy and progressive overload does this.

 

[cptkirk]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

that's another reason why the once a week thing is shit at best, you can't add anything else in...i will also suggest changing that

so you'd pop in your shoulder days, then add the other stuff in around but making sure that shoulders have adequate stimulation yet recovery time and that the other times don't compete with them (i.e. doing chest day after shoulder then another shoulder day)

there's a few ways you can do it so here's a few options:

preferred is this:
day 1 - shoulders, legs
day 2 - shoulders, back
day 3 - shoulders, chest
day 4 - off
day 5 - shoulders, arms
day 6 - off
day 7 - off

or

day 1 - shoulders, chest
day 2 -
day 3 - shoulders, legs
day 4 -
day 5 - shoulders, back
day 6 - arms
day 7 - off

 

[ThePezDispenser]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

What's the goal? To grow or increase strength?

Surely if he wants to grow them doubt them every session isn't giving them time to recover and grow?

Shoulders are all about form, isolate the shoulders. Military press can be good but if you're cheating it's a strength exercise more than a shoulder one. When are you doing your traps btw?

 

[ThePezDispenser]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

And try mixing it up. Do arnie presse, seated, standing or cable raises. Keep your body guessing.

 

[Ricky90]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

What's the goal? To grow or increase strength?

Surely if he wants to grow them doubt them every session isn't giving them time to recover and grow?

Shoulders are all about form, isolate the shoulders. Military press can be good but if you're cheating it's a strength exercise more than a shoulder one. When are you doing your traps btw?

Goal is to grow.

My form is strict, I mean there's no way to prove this so believe it if you want but yeah, I consider my form to be about as strict as humanly possible.

On the traps, I did forget to mention that I do them in my shoulder session. I don't necessarily consider them a part of my shoulders but they're in the same workout. I also do them on back day, so twice a week.

And thanks cptkirk and mcgarnacle for taking the time to write that out for me, much appreciated. All points considered!

 

[cptkirk]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

train as you can while not exceeding your recovery abilities...can easily be done if fatigue build up is accounted for...and the purpose of this to actually overtrain them, let them recover and repeat

 

[Bison]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

Hi all

Im looking at getting back into wieghts (I was never an avid trainer, more recreational) and just have some real basic questions

I can probably only afford 2 days a week (atm I'm thinking Tuesday night/Saturday morning), and either doing a full body workout or splitting it up over 2 days and focusing each session harder on specific areas

ie,
Tuesday-Legs/Biceps/Back
Saturdays-Chest/Tricep/Shoulders etc

Which do you think is better for somebody starting out again? My desired results are to lose some fat (not worried about specific weight, just want to balance my body out a bit more) and get some tone. Strength isnt a major factor I guess, I'm not a bar room brawler or UFC fighter, just want to be able to open up my range in clothes shopping I guess and feel more comfortable

Also, If I went forward with the above schedule, would it be bad for me to throw in an extra one here and there. Say I found myself free on a Wednesday night, the day after trainnig, would it be bad to go and do something different at the gym (possibly my Saturday routine) or should I leave the Wednesday for recovery purposes?

Any other general info you think someone with my real basic knowledge should know would be great, thx all

 

[mcgarnacle]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

And thanks cptkirk and mcgarnacle for taking the time to write that out for me, much appreciated. All points considered!

the main thing to take away from my waffle really is basically dont think you need to do too much. killing your shoulders, or any body part with too much volume can be detrimental to both strength and growth because the body needs to recover from it. If you are going to train shoulders more than once a week, then lower the volume in each session.

Train smart, with less volume and ensure that each rep and set you complete in the process is adding value to attain your objective - the big picture. 45mins of intense lifting, then piss off quick out of the gym and start the growing with good fuel and rest.

 

[cptkirk]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

if something has stalled then you've got to hammer it hard to get some more results and that means upping the frequency and volume

bison - a simple a shit full body routine is all you'll need like this:

day 1
military press doing sets of 5 until you don;t think you'll get 5 the next set
deadlifts same
db bench press paired with chin ups x 25 reps each and add 5 reps each week til you get to 50 in as many sets as you need to then increase wt to shoulders and add wt to chin ups and start back at 25...for shoulders just find a wt that allows about the same amount of sets to get the total reps as chin ups but doesn't have to be exact...you should 6 - 8 reps on the first set though
reverse lunge x 20 - 40 reps like above paired with prone ab brace x 45 - 60sec each set

day 2
bench press x 5 reps til you won't get it
back squats same
2 db standing shoulder press paired with inverted rows x 25 reps working up to 50
step up x 40 reps like above paired with side brace x 15 - 25secs each set

and off you go

 

[Keystone agony]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

Id also recommend having a rest week every 4-5 weeks once you have been in the gym for sometime. Sometimes you need your muscles to recover so you can push out more and do more volume. Sometimes you need to go one step back and than 2 forward. I do a rest week after 4 weeks of training, just something i have picked up through doing sprint training, endurance training with high end coaches. Its what they recommend.

If your not getting results by the fact of increasing in weight than i dare say you need to eat and eat more. But if its improving in lifts than i would recommend a full recovery/rest week if you have been in the gym for some time.

 

[ThePezDispenser]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

There really is no need for whole week off.

 

[Keystone agony]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

There really is no need for whole week off.

By week off i mean have 3-4 complete rest days and 3-4 days where you lower the weight and still do the same routine.

I think a week is just about right. 2-4 days really doesnt do much once you get back into it hard, you quickly fatigue, well i do.

 

[Lakey91]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

The point is, keystone, that you should be allowing adequate recovery time within your program to make sure that it is necessary.

 

[cptkirk]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

you're entire program will need to be made up in such a way that you actually NEED a week off or a deload period...if you haven't planned for it then the rest could do you more worse then good

for instance in the off season program i'm about to run we have a base week on week 1, increased intensity week 2 and increased volume week 3 with a slight deload in volume and/or intensity week 4

if you just did the same thing for 3 weeks then you wouldn't need a week off or a deload period

 

[Keystone agony]

Re: Weight Training: Anything and Everything

you're entire program will need to be made up in such a way that you actually NEED a week off or a deload period...if you haven't planned for it then the rest could do you more worse then good

for instance in the off season program i'm about to run we have a base week on week 1, increased intensity week 2 and increased volume week 3 with a slight deload in volume and/or intensity week 4

if you just did the same thing for 3 weeks then you wouldn't need a week off or a deload period

Yep agree

But IIRC he seemed to be saying he had reached a limit and wasnt getting results anymore, that tells me he has increased and increased and now might need a rest to reload. One step back and 2 forwards.