Weight Workout Options
Thursday, May 21, 2009
For those of you that are lifting weights (and I hope you all are!), I thought I would talk to the order of which body part to work first. OK, those that know me know that I am going to say that the best workout is the one you will do!!!! You got me! BUT, I do have some advice on order of body parts but ultimately it will come down to what feels right for you & the results you see by doing that routine.
If you are new to weights, your body is going to respond with almost any workout as long as you are maintaining your form & being consistent. Once you are past the "newbie" stage, you can start to tailor your routine specifically to what you want to work on most. For example, if you want to gain size, you would want to lift heavier for less reps, maybe the 6-8 range and rest for at least 1-2 minutes beaten sets. If you are looking for leaner muscles & more endurance, you would want to lift lighter & higher reps, maybe in the 15-20 rep range or even higher depending on the body part & experience. You could also do circuit training & keep your rests to a bare minimum here. If you want some muscle but not big ole muscles, you might try working the 10-15 rep range with a 45 second to a minute rest in between sets. Guys or gals looking for strength would want to lift heavier but in the very low rep range & rest more between sets. It will come down to feel & what works for you rep wise & rest wise.... AND IT WILL CHANGE ALONG THE WAY!
This is all variable and of course you want to change up your routine regularly to keep the body guessing. But, these are some of the standards to start with and you can start playing around with your routine from here once you feel comfortable with the weights.
I don't want to go into all the drop sets, compound sets & all that right now. What I do want to talk to is order of body parts. Once you have a solid few months under your belt, you should have a feel of which body parts respond better to weights. For me, my back, triceps & legs always responded faster than other body parts when I was younger. So, instead of following the "push-pull" (chest & back) one day and shoulders,biceps, triceps another day & legs another day, I started to order my workouts based on what needed the most work earliest in the week or first in order during that day's workouts.
Now, as you can guess, that may & will change with time so you need to keep evaluating those workouts. As I have said often, my workouts have changed TOO MANY TIMES TO COUNT over the years. When I was building muscle, I broke up my quads & hamstrings to different workout days so that one did not overpower the other. Now, I order my body parts on what needs help the most first. AND, this has even changed over the years & even more over the past year or so. My legs do not respond as well now that I am older so I put much more effort into them, the butt & inner thighs than I used to. My biceps are still my weaker link so I usually do those first on the day I am working them. My back is good so I leave that to last on back days. Triceps & shoulders are a mix it up type of thing since they both are doing OK right now. I only work chest once per week although I do throw in push-ups on off days. I have added plyometrics to shock my body & intervals to help burn the hormone weight! And like I always say, all of the above is variable for me as I change things constantly!
To talk to this gets so involved & so much I want to say..... BUT, the main thing is to pay attention to your body. What responds & what does not. What needs more work & what parts respond with less effort. Maybe you need heavier weights for your biceps to build some muscle but higher reps are fine if your shoulders respond. It is all about finding & fine tuning what works for you & then to stay focused & in tune with your body so you can change it up as needed. Unless you are sport specific or training for a fitness/sports competition, I see nothing wrong with breaking "the rules" as long as you maintain proper form & it works for you. I made many strides by breaking "the expert rules"!
Now I know some are going to disagree with what I have said & I welcome that ... to each their own & what works for them as I say... FJ, if you read this, I was betting you would comment!
As always, my posts are full of options but isn't that what working out is all about. Finding what is your "thing", working with that & changing it as needed.... ENJOY!
For those of you that are lifting weights (and I hope you all are!), I thought I would talk to the order of which body part to work first. OK, those that know me know that I am going to say that the best workout is the one you will do!!!! You got me! BUT, I do have some advice on order of body parts but ultimately it will come down to what feels right for you & the results you see by doing that routine.If you are new to weights, your body is going to respond with almost any workout as long as you are maintaining your form & being consistent. Once you are past the "newbie" stage, you can start to tailor your routine specifically to what you want to work on most. For example, if you want to gain size, you would want to lift heavier for less reps, maybe the 6-8 range and rest for at least 1-2 minutes beaten sets. If you are looking for leaner muscles & more endurance, you would want to lift lighter & higher reps, maybe in the 15-20 rep range or even higher depending on the body part & experience. You could also do circuit training & keep your rests to a bare minimum here. If you want some muscle but not big ole muscles, you might try working the 10-15 rep range with a 45 second to a minute rest in between sets. Guys or gals looking for strength would want to lift heavier but in the very low rep range & rest more between sets. It will come down to feel & what works for you rep wise & rest wise.... AND IT WILL CHANGE ALONG THE WAY!
This is all variable and of course you want to change up your routine regularly to keep the body guessing. But, these are some of the standards to start with and you can start playing around with your routine from here once you feel comfortable with the weights.
I don't want to go into all the drop sets, compound sets & all that right now. What I do want to talk to is order of body parts. Once you have a solid few months under your belt, you should have a feel of which body parts respond better to weights. For me, my back, triceps & legs always responded faster than other body parts when I was younger. So, instead of following the "push-pull" (chest & back) one day and shoulders,biceps, triceps another day & legs another day, I started to order my workouts based on what needed the most work earliest in the week or first in order during that day's workouts.
Now, as you can guess, that may & will change with time so you need to keep evaluating those workouts. As I have said often, my workouts have changed TOO MANY TIMES TO COUNT over the years. When I was building muscle, I broke up my quads & hamstrings to different workout days so that one did not overpower the other. Now, I order my body parts on what needs help the most first. AND, this has even changed over the years & even more over the past year or so. My legs do not respond as well now that I am older so I put much more effort into them, the butt & inner thighs than I used to. My biceps are still my weaker link so I usually do those first on the day I am working them. My back is good so I leave that to last on back days. Triceps & shoulders are a mix it up type of thing since they both are doing OK right now. I only work chest once per week although I do throw in push-ups on off days. I have added plyometrics to shock my body & intervals to help burn the hormone weight! And like I always say, all of the above is variable for me as I change things constantly!
To talk to this gets so involved & so much I want to say..... BUT, the main thing is to pay attention to your body. What responds & what does not. What needs more work & what parts respond with less effort. Maybe you need heavier weights for your biceps to build some muscle but higher reps are fine if your shoulders respond. It is all about finding & fine tuning what works for you & then to stay focused & in tune with your body so you can change it up as needed. Unless you are sport specific or training for a fitness/sports competition, I see nothing wrong with breaking "the rules" as long as you maintain proper form & it works for you. I made many strides by breaking "the expert rules"!
Now I know some are going to disagree with what I have said & I welcome that ... to each their own & what works for them as I say... FJ, if you read this, I was betting you would comment!
As always, my posts are full of options but isn't that what working out is all about. Finding what is your "thing", working with that & changing it as needed.... ENJOY!
i believe that just DOING IT is half the battle. i always love the advice and the workout variations you give so people can customize their own workout. everyone has their advice, but you know how your own body works, and you have to find that balance.
Reply to this
My upper body work has come to a halt. I think I have a rotator cuff injury from cutting down tree limbs with a lobber tool (that's what I get for showing off). This is going to send me way backwards. I haven't done any real shoulder training in 6 weeks! Bummer.
Reply to this
Great post!
BTW-in last Sunday's paper (the USA Weekend section) there was an article about Jorge Cruise's book, "Body At Home". Are you familiar with it? If so, what do you think of it? I can't get it at my local library and am hesitant to buy something like this without knowing much about it.
Reply to this
Hi Terri. I know of some of his older books but I have not seen this one yet. I will check it out this weekend when we are out & about & we can chat when you hit town next week. Sometimes the library will bring a book in for you.. did you ask? See ya soon!
Reply to this
Jody, I did just check and they will get it in so I am in luck.
Looking forward to seeing you in a week!!
Reply to this
Great post Jody! Ah the curse of the butt and thighs for us women!
Reply to this
Cher, so true! Just doing it is a lot of the battle & we all have to find what works for us!
Josie.. OH NO but I am impressed by how you hurt that rotator cuff! I have been there though & you should have seen me doing my cardio with one working arm! I was careful but it was a kick! I managed to do other stuff but I am sure my injury was not like yours! Have you check with the doc? I hope you are back to it soon!
Thx Shauna!
Reply to this
Awesome post Jody. love the blog
Reply to this
good info hear. although I do want to be cut, I don't want to look too big so I tend to stick to 8-15lb dumbbells until exhaustion.
Reply to this
Good option Kristi. Like you, I already have muscle mass so I am in a drop set mode & depending on body part, I start at anywhere from 15-20 pounds & drop set to exhaustion from there. For chest it is heavier because I am stronger there & do once a week. At this age, though , I do some building routines just because I can see I need to do that to keep the muscle I have. In general though, I do the drop set/exhaustion stuff like you. My legs need more weight now that I am older. When I was younger, they got big with lighter weight. I have had to add in some heavier weights now for the legs/butt etc. due to age.
Lowering the body fat will show those cuts although by your pic on your site, you look pretty good now! Have a good weekend!
Reply to this