CossieRich

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Started back at the gym 4 weeks ago.

Am really enjoying it. Here is my routine that i do Mon-Fri with the w/e off:

In Order:

Cross trainer 15 mins level 7 of 10

Cover at least 3KM and burn over 300 calories

Bicep Curl Machine:

40 KG x 12
1 min rest
40 KG x12
1 min rest
40 KG x10
1 min rest
40 KG x8

Chest Press using Free Weights Slight Incline (1)

40 KG x12
1 min rest
40 KG x12
1 min rest
44 KG x 10
1 min rest
44 KG x10
rest for as long as i feel like it lol

V Crunch Machine - Dont know if people know what this is so i will explain. Its a machine that puts your body in the correct postion to do stomach crunch and work the abs. You can add weight to the leg end of the machine to increase resistance and make the crunches harder but more effective or you can add weight at the top end next to your head to make the crunch easier but less effective. Sorry if you already knew what this is

I add 10 KG weight on the leg end to make it harder

15 reps
rest for 30 secs
15 reps

Back to Chest press with free weights slight incline again

48 KG x 10
rest for 2 mins
48 KG x 10
rest for 2 mins
52 KG x 8
rest for 2 mins
52 KG to fail
Fall off bench in pain lol (joke)

Bicep Curl Machine:

45 KG x 10
rest for 1 min
45 KG x 6
rest for 2 mins
50 KG x 5 (if i can manage it)

Back To V Crunch Machine

10KG at Leg end

10 reps
rest for 1 min
10 reps


Back to Cross Trainer for 15 Mins level 7

Cover at least 2.5 Km and burn 250 calories

Go to locker, just about pick up gym bag and fuck off home

I have also been 3 weeks and 2 days off the ciggarettes as well and I find they gym work easier since i stopped as i used to use the gym regularly last year and still smoke at least 20 a day

Now although I am finding my arms and chest are expanding rapidly and my strength is on the increase week by week I'm not finding my beer belly going down by much, which i thought it would do as my combined total distance in KM on the cross trainer every evening is never less than 5.5. I have no idea why my belly isnt shrinking, but such is life

So this morning at 6.30 am i went swimming and did 34 lengths and am going to go back after work to do my usual work out.

Is there such a thing as too much, as i dont mind doing it twice a day, but dont want to damage myself or become exhausted as that wont help me lose my beer belly will it

Any help on either my routine or weather i should or shouldn't be going twice a day will be helpful.



Cheers Rich

DaveMCMkIII

Yes, overtraining syndrome can be a result and can differ in its severity and in chronic form can cause a depression of the immune system and result in months of rest and rehab back to normal fitness. However, dont get scared, general OTS will result in tiredness and a fall in performance, which isnt as bad, but still should be avoided. Seeing as you have only just started back in my opinion 5 times per week in one block is too much and doesnt allow for any recovery. Therefore your likely to get very achey muscles and joints, and more than likely less increases in performance (e.g. strength). I think after a period of training like this you will get the tiredness etc which is related to overtraining.

Most people have overtrained at sometimes, even elite athletes, the thing to remember is that less can be more, success at the gym is not related to how many times you go per week, especially when your just begining. Its all about have an excellently structured routine, which is well structured into a week and periodized well over a long peiod (e.g. one year)

AndyBlackFRST

Do you do this excercises routine every day?

I was told to work a large and a small muscle group each day

Red_GTi

I definitely have to praise your entusiasm and motivation!! the workout could do with a little cut in the number of exercises and duration. as a rule of thumb, look at training for no longer than an hour.

From my experience I despise this exercise, it doesn't work the muscles you think it is, yes it may burn your ab area after the exercise but myself and many other instructors class it as unsafe. by placing resistance on your legs and performing a crunch or sit up, the hip flexors become heavily involved as they link you torso to your legs. therefore any strenuous hip flexion causes these muscles to work their hardest. they are considerably smaller than your abdominals and cannot cope with increased resistance as well as some surrounding muscles.

my advice would be to stick with exercises using a swiss ball and floor exercises.

as you are really eager, discuss with an instructor at your gym a split programme. this will further eliminate exhaustion as you won't be training the same muscles so close together.

with regards to your stomach - weight training will help tenfold more than cardio, it replicates a type of exercise called interval training i.e. sprinting is a form of cardiovascular interval training because it has short bursts of exertion. have you ever seen a fat sprinter?! it's a balance of both ideally, but I would encourage you to do weights more than cardio.

Also, try warming up on cardio, do your weight regime then your cv. this will aid in calorie loss as you'll be able to train harder at the weights and then finish off on cardio, the other way round you'll typically be nackered before you've got half way through your weights regime. I've seen this approach work very well for some clients, try it and see what you think after a few weeks.

gaz

Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

How is all going Rich? Still working hard mate?

CossieRich

iTrader: (1)

Many thanks for the reply mate. I will print this off and read it properly.

CossieRich

iTrader: (1)

ermmmm...... i am working very hard at it. i do me swimming in the morning and then i go back after work to do a work out. However i dont seem to be loosing my belly, so im going to talk to the gym instructors and take advice off here as well

However, i am really enjoying it and i feel like i am missing out on something if i dont go to the gym now i know but thats how it is

Edit to say: 6 weeks 1 day off the ciggys as well

Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

mate, i am literally pissed off if i have to miss the Gym, nowt gay about it, its a damn good thing IMO

Belly is the largest concentration of fat on a male mate, its extremely hard to shift, slowly but surely is the only way possible that will keep it off, just keep at it and take note of your cal;ories, try and get into a deficit situation to lose the fat.

Well done on teh ciggies, right about now you should start to notice some decent benefits, and not only in your wallet. best thing i ever did by far.

CossieRich

iTrader: (1)

I have no idea how many calroies 40 lengths of a 25 meter pool burns every monring. Does anyone know lol

I burn over 500 calories just on the x trainer afterwork, plus all the weights that get lifted. I would hope to burn in the region of say at least 800 per day. I miss breakfast (bad i know some people say), have a meadium sized lunch and then dinner after i get home from the gym.

Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

Missing breakfast could be the key pal.
At night your metabolism drops for the sleep period, and doesnt really re-awaken until you eat... Breakfast, i am informed, really is the most importnat meal of the day.

CossieRich

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maybe i will start taking a banana to eat after swimming then

homer j

iTrader: (1)

what you're doing with the cardio is ok however, the weights routine you are also doing every day is not good. before long you'll massively over train the muscles in each group and actually do more damage than good. now for the boring bit. as you probably know, muscles grow in size and strength by tearing very slightly then growing new material so as to repair the old tissue. by doing the same routine every day you are effectively not allowing regrowth, therefore the muscles are in a continuous state of trauma. you need to set yourself an exercise plan which works different groups each day. for example back on monday, chest tuesday, legs on wednesday and so on. also with muscles like biceps the session needs to be very intense and hard working the muscles to failure where you can't lift anymore. with this type of training you need about three days of rest but the results will be far better. hence why you train singular groups each day. also beware of over training the triceps as lots of other exercises use these muscles, eg chest presses and some shoulder exercises to.

hope this helps fella.

CossieRich

iTrader: (1)

Many thanks for taking the time to reply. I have just started doing shoulders into my routine. The cardio i enjoy (eapecially the swimming) so i will continue that I will stop doing the same routine every evening as i dont want to damage myself

homer j

iTrader: (1)

no probs mate. glad i could help