Workout assistance

Hi,

I've been a reader on the forum for a little more than a month now, and decided I needed some help with my workout plan.

Some background:
age: 25
gender: male
Height: 174cm
Weight: 92.8kg (was 99.8kg, started healthy diet and gyming 1st august 2014)
Abdominal measurement: 108cm
neck: 39cm
BF%: 31% using tape measure method - bought a caliper, but didn't use it yet.

Since I started gyming, I was only doing cardio. Started with 15-20 minutes on the elliptical machine and 15-20 minutes on the Recumbent bike, walking out of the gym almost on my hands and knees. I ended of last week Friday with 20 minutes of rowing, elliptical running, and recumbent bike - EACH! So 60 minutes of cardio, and managed skipping out of the gym.

So this week I decided to bump up my frequency to the gym to 5-6 visits a week. Here is a plan I got on Jefit and switched it up a little.
Monday 06:30 - 07:45 : cardio (20 mins rowing + 20 mins elliptical + 20 mins recumbent bike)
Tuesday 16:45 - 18:00 : chest and triceps
Wednesday 06:30 - 07:45 : cardio (20-30 mins elliptical + 20-30 mins recumbent bike)
Thurday 16:45 - 18:00 : Back, Biceps and forearms
Friday 06:30 - 07:45: abs
Saturday 09:00 - 10:15: shoulders & legs

Week 1
Chest and Triceps
assisted dip machine:

1. set 1: 59kg assisted dip - 8 reps to failure
2. set 2: 59kg assisted dip - 5 reps to failure
3. set 3: 54kg assisted dip - 2 reps to failure

machine triceps extension:

1. set 1: 23kg - 12 reps
2. set 2: 27kg - 10 reps
3. set 3: 32kg - 8 reps

machine fly:

1. set 1: 27kg - 12 reps
2. set 2: 32kg - 7 reps to failure
3. set 3: 36kg - 4 reps to failure

bench press machine:

1. set 1: 22kg - 12 reps
2. set 2: 27kg - 10 reps
3. set 3: 27kg - 12 reps

leverage incline chest press:

1. set 1: 25kg - 5 reps to failure
2. set 2: 25kg - 5 reps to failure
3. set 3: 32kg - 3 reps to failure

triceps pushdown - rope:

1. set 1: 15kg - 12 reps
2. set 2: 17.5kg - 10 reps
3. set 3: 20kg - 5 reps to failure

Back, Biceps and forearms
Barbell Deadlift
Barbell Bent Over Row
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
Barbell Curl
Preacher Curl Machine
Alternate Hammer Curl

abs
Oblique Crunches
Leg Raise
Air Bike
Hanging Leg Raise
Decline Crunch

shoulders & legs
Barbell Squat
Barbell Lunge
Lying Leg Curls
Barbell Shoulder Press
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Barbell Shrug

I'm not on any supps, except for herbex slimmers shake.
I haven't set anything in stone yet for week 2.

After my session on Tuesday, I was in major pain yesterday on certain parts of my chest and arms, today, then pain is much milder but its on my whole chest and triceps. Exactly where I was targeting is in pain.

So, to my questions after my essay:
Will it be safe to train today?
Is my plan any good?
Am I "over training"?
Am I even training properly for a beginner?
Where can I improve and how?

Thanks!

Hi Lee,

Program does not look too bad. There are a couple of things I would personally change.

First off. Never train a muscle that is still in pain. You can however (and must) train a different muscle even if the previous days muscle is still sore. For instance if you do chest on a Tuesday it will still be sore by Thursday (even more so because of Delayed onset muscle soreness). This does not mean that you cannot train back and biceps.

**Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), also called muscle fever, is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours to days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise.
The soreness is felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after the exercise.[1] It is thought to be caused by eccentric (lengthening) exercise, which causes microtrauma to the muscle fibers. After such exercise, the muscle adapts rapidly to prevent muscle damage, and thereby soreness, if the exercise is repeated.[2]**

However, if the pain is more severe it is recommended to rather rest and recover first before resuming training. This is entirely up to your judgement. Try do some stretches to isolate the pain areas. This will also help stretch out the muscle and get the blood flowing. Speeding up recovery. If the pain is only in the muscle and you have good range of motion you should be fine. If the pain is in your joints and ligaments, rather rest a couple of days and see if it gets better.

Your program:

Chest and Tri

Here it seems like you start with triceps then move to chest and then go back to triceps. This could cause injury as you work a muscle, let it cool and then return to it. Rather start with chest, finish it and move on to triceps. Especially if you are a beginner.

Here's how I would move it around:

Bench press machine
Incline chest press machine
Machine fly

Dips
Rope pulldown
Machine triceps extension

Back and Biceps

Routine here looks good.

You can try and move dead lift to the last exercise for back and also see how that works for you. Depending on your intensity level this might help you to get better from with the other back exercises as you will be less fatigued. Dead lifts can take a lot out of you leaving you tired and weaker if you're not used to it.

Shoulders and legs

Simply put: if you can do all that in one day, you're not training each muscle group hard enough. To properly train your legs and shoulders you need to split them into two separate days. Training legs hard is essential from growth for you entire body. Quadriceps are among the biggest muscles in the body and needs to be trained accordingly.

Here's how I would change it.

Shoulders:

Barbell squat
leg press machine
Leg extension
Lying hamstring curls
You can add some Lunges at the end if you like.

DON'T FORGET CALVES!

If you don't feel like adding calves to your leg day, do it on your Wednesday cardio day.

Shoulders:

You're doing do two press exercises here back to back. Some more variation would do good.

Dumbbell press
Dumbbell side raise and/or front raise
shrugs
Military press (barbell) you can do the machine instead for better stability.

ABS

Do abs with shoulders.

To start with do high reps with no added weighs. ABS are really made in the kitchen so don't stress about this too much. Training them will however give you good core strength and support for other days.


As for supplementation:

Supplements are good to take. Start with basics.

a Good clean whey (to be immediately consumed after training)
Creatine monohydrate (10-15mg, 3 x a day)
Multivitamin

You can add BCAA's to your supplements if you have the funds for it.

Cardio:

Assuming that you want to loose fat and get a leaner muscular look, I'd say keep the cardio going. High intensity morning sessions will boost metabolic rate and promote weight loss. Change cycling/running for rowing/swimming on some days to save leg size and aid in muscle growth in your legs.

Remember that you're training on a Saturday too. Keep your diet clean on the weekends as you grow in recovery and not in the gym. Recovery time is where you need to be strict on yourself.

Some general tips:

- Do slow negative reps and fast positive reps. The longer the muscle is under pressure the more it'll grow.
- Drink plenty of water
- Don't skip leg day!
- Always have a meal after training
- Try and eat about 170g protein a day
- You can lower carbs if you wish to trim down a bit. Be aware this might decrease energy levels.
- Don't bother too much with products like Phedra-cut etc
- Alcohol will kill gains and demote fat loss.
- Don't be concerned about lifting heavy to "look strong" in the gym. Rather focus on good range of motion and completing reps. Do go heavy enough to challenge the muscles.

Can't think of any other now, lol.

Oh, results come with time. Be patient.

Hope this helped.

*Note: I mentioned shoulders twice. The top one should be legs.

Sorry, Didn't proof read.

Thanks! Your feedback is very appreciated!

I changed up the workout a little. I hope its better..
I didn't strength train yesterday, as the pain did not subside much - just did some cardio. Today I feel a little better, but I decided to do legs today, since this weeks workout is pretty much out of the window.
I shouldn't have strained myself on Tuesday.

I've created the following workout for me to start from monday:

Day 1: Cardio

• Rowing - 20 min
• Elliptical Training - 20 min
• Recumbent Bike - 20 min

Day 2: Chest & Triceps

• Bench Press Machine
• Leverage Incline Chest Press
• Machine Fly
• Machine Assisted Dip
• Cable Rope Triceps Pushdown
• Machine Triceps Extension

Day 3: Cardio and Legs (I hope this works)

• Cardio Morning
  • Rowing - 20 min
  • Elliptical Training - 15 - 20 min
• Legs Evening
  • Barbell Squat
  • Leg Press Machine
  • Leg Extensions
  • Standing One Leg Bodyweight Calf Raise
  • Calf Press On Leg Press
  • Barbell Lunge

Day 4: Back and Biceps

• Barbell Deadlift
• Barbell Bent Over Row
• Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
• Barbell Curl
• Preacher Curl Machine
• Dumbbell Alternate Hammer Curl

Day 5: Cardio

• Rowing - 25 min
• Elliptical Training - 25 min

Day 6: Shoulders and abs

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press
• Dumbbell Seated Alternate Front Raise
• Dumbbell Seated Alternate Lateral Raise
• Dumbbell Shoulder Shrug
• Machine Shoulder Press
• Sit Up

I have vital adult multi-vitamins in the morning with breakfast and lecithin at night with dinner

I'll be ordering BSSA whey protein and Creatine Mono end of the month.

Once again, thanks for the advice!

Remember to listen to your body. if a muscle is too sore. dont push it.

I learned that the hard way on starting to gym again after a year break due to being too busy.

Pushed chest hard. A Week later I was still very sore but my gym buddy said nah push it its the only way and and and. Stripped my moer and did chest.

Injured chest. After the pain went away after a week or so. I was unable to even do a pushup for two and a half months due to pain and extreme weakness

Moral of the story always listen to your body !

Yeah! Exactly!
I think I pushed myself to hard on Tuesday, but at least I now know.

Looking good man.

Sure the cardio in the morning will work with legs later in the day. If you feel the Elliptical Training is too harsh, do some uphill walking on the treadmill.

Let me know how the progress comes on.

Good luck

Hi,

Just a quick update/progress from 16 september to yesterday for chest and triceps day:
Bench Press Machine:
2014-09-16
Set 1 : 23.0x12
Set 2 : 27.0x10
Set 3 : 27.0x12

2014-10-22
Set 1 : 18.0x12
Set 2 : 25.0x12
Set 3 : 32.0x8

Leverage Incline Chest Press:
2014-09-16
Set 1 : 25.0x5
Set 2 : 25.0x5
Set 3 : 32.0x3

2014-10-22
Set 1 : 18.0x12
Set 2 : 25.0x12
Set 3 : 32.0x8

Machine Fly
2014-09-16
Set 1 : 27.0x12
Set 2 : 32.0x7
Set 3 : 36.0x4

2014-10-22
Set 1 : 23.0x12
Set 2 : 27.0x10
Set 3 : 32.0x8

Machine Assisted Dip
2014-09-23
Set 1 : 64.0x8
Set 2 : 64.0x6
Set 3 : 59.0x4

2014-10-22
Set 1 : 64.0x12
Set 2 : 59.0x10
Set 3 : 59.0x8

Cable Rope Triceps Pushdown
2014-10-22
Set 1 : 15.0x12
Set 2 : 15.0x12
Set 3 : 20.0x6 - failure

Machine Triceps Extension
2014-09-16
Set 1 : 23.0x12
Set 2 : 27.0x10
Set 3 : 32.0x8

2014-10-22
Set 1 : 32.0x12
Set 2 : 36.0x12
Set 3 : 41.0x12

On 16 September, I was lifting to failure, yesterday I was looking for an extra un-logged pump. :evil:

I didn't feel like I improved on rope pushdowns, but I discovered today that my form wasn't correct. fail..

Nice one, bud. Keep up with the good training! Writing your sets down helps with steady/good progress and will keep you motivated.

How is the dieting going?

What supplements are you taking?

Good progress buddy. Keep up the hard work!

Thanks, guys!

Lost 6cm off the waist thus far, and weight is down to 88.8kg atm.
According to tape measure method, I'm @ 28.13% BF.

I'm trying to keep my diet as clean as possible, but I slack on it more than I should. But I think it's mainly to do with when I'm studying, and now being exam crunch time..

Currently, I'm only on BSN syntha 6. But I think I might change to something else, not sure what as yet. Trying to save a few bucks for the end of the year, otherwise I wouldn't move from BSN as I've only heard good things.

Oh, I'm also taking the clicks branded adult vitamins for now and Bioter Health Omega3+6.

You should have a look at Dischem's gold range multivit. Price is pretty good and its strong. You can buy the omega there too.

As for the whey: Go for nutritech man. Cheap and REALLY good quality. You can find some on Chromeshop or ask around at local supplement shops.

I bought the clicks vits because they were on special, 3 for 2. :lol: