I've decided I need to work out because I haven't done anything really for about a year. I used to play high school and club soccer so I was always pretty fit. I'm 6'0" and weigh only 145 pounds, so I'm pretty lean. Being a soccer player, my legs are relatively strong but my upper body is pretty weak. I was wondering if anybody could suggest some weight exercises that would be a good start to working out? What sort of workout plan do you do?
i dunno. i lift a 10 lb. dumbell 50 times with each arm twice and do as many pushups as i can once or twice a day and usually run a few times a week. The only thing that i can suggest that works for me is lifting by resting your elbow-area on your inner-thigh-area and slowly lifting up and down without swinging the weight. My arms have gotten alot stronger since i started doing that a few months ago. Or if you have the money and really want to work out you should join a gym and learn how to use the weight machines.
I work out every day but I really think it's a mistake to have a goal of losing fat or putting on muscle or whatever. If you have a goal like that you'll almost certainly take a break when you reach your goal or if you get sick or injured and before you know it you'll have lost all the gains you made. That's what happens to almost everyone. So my goal is to work out every day until, and including, the day I die. It's that consistency that gives you the real health benefits. But even though I work out every day I make the actual exercises flexible so they can change based on sickness, injuries, time available, etc, etc. Like if I'm sick I'll reduce my weights and switch from running to fast walking or whatever's needed until I'm well again. That's really my "secret" right there, work out everyday and make the exercises flexible to fit in with what you're able to give. Here's what I'm currently doing. (I have a bench and free weights in my basement which is real handy). I start with bench presses, 3 sets of 12. Then I run for about 30 minutes, then I do chin ups, 3 sets of 12. Then crunches, 3 sets of 12. That's it for now. It's that simple. I was doing squats and shoulder presses but I hurt my back a bit so they're out for a while. Like I said, the key is consistency and flexibility. I actually like to have two different routines so I can rest body parts instead of hitting them everyday but I'm not really doing that right now. When I do that I'll do one routine on say Sun, Mon, Thur, Fri, and the other on Tue, Wed, Sat. GL man.
Thanks amsterdamage, good info there. I go to a University with a brand new gym, so I pretty much have any weight machine at my disposal. Anybody have some suggestions for good machines. Just looking for more examples of people's workouts.
try some handstand pushups, just do a handstand against a wall at first to get your balance, works your entire upper back and shoulders and is pretty badass to be able to do...
but for good workouts, I did the navy seals workout and it is really f'ing demanding. Starts you out with lower reps and you buildup week after week Physical Training(PT) Schedule - Level I (Mon/Wed/Fri) Sets and Repetitions WEEK #1: 4X15 PUSHUPS 4X20 SITUPS 3 PULL UPS WEEK #2: 5X20 PUSHUPS 5X20 SITUPS 3 PULL UPS WEEK #3,4: 5X25 PUSHUPS 5X25 SITUPS 3X4 PULL UPS WEEK #5,6: 6X25 PUSHUPS 6X25 SITUPS 2X8 PULL UPS WEEK #7,8: 60 PUSHUPS 60 SITUPS 2X10 PULL UPS WEEK #9: 60 PUSHUPS 60 SITUPS 3X10 PULL UPS
im young and have fast metabolism. i can eat and eat all day everyday and not gain a pound. i think a while back i researched it and found out i would have to take in like 10,000 healthy calories a day and do a very intense work out plan. i would definitely like to look into this again and find out whats the best work out for me
what your workout is depends on what you want to do with your body, and how much time you have to spend on it but for me, wanting to get big and ripped is my goal Monday Chest/Bi Tuesday Legs Shoulders Wednesday Back Tri Thursday Chest/bi Friday Legs shoulders Saturday Back tri I eat about 350g protein 150g carb and less then 60g fat. I eat 6 times a day and cook all my own meals and never put salt in anything but to start out working out i would focus on the main exercises Squats, Deadlifts, Military Press, Bench Press You really shouldnt be working much arms at this point as your body isnt in a anabolic state yet, it has to get used to working out for you to really add mass Your repititions should vary from 5 to 15 or so but ocasionally drop down to 1 rep maxes if your able and have a good spotter
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this method because I lift 5 days of a week, but working out everyday can be hazardous. Since I don't know what you do, it could be completely healthy. It is very important to rest what muscles you lifted for at least 2 days before lifting them again. When you lift you break down your musce and it needs time to rest to get stronger and similarily bigger. I would suggest alternating days with a schedule like jeffreATL
bluntboy and jeffreATL are exactly right. Of course it depends on what you want, but I'm assuming you want a more muscular upper body, and lifting weights and getting on some sort of program (more like make up your own workout schedule, lifting 3-5 times a week) JeffreATL actually has almost all the basic information you need to start building muscle. My workout schedule is split up differently, but i imagine everyone's is slightly different.
If you're planning on starting out it would be good to start with a 3 day split set up like this. Mon-Chest/Triceps Wed-Legs/Shoulders Fri-Back/Biceps Not to pick on you specifically but i love the "i played soccer so my legs are strong already" that people say. Thats bullshit. Soccer doesn't make your legs strong like squats and leg presses make your legs strong. Also if you want a big upper body your gonna need a big lower body to support it. Plus how lame does someone look who is huge up top and has chicken legs? Anyways if you want some exercises to do here's what i would advise(its basically what i do) Chest(8-10 sets total)...Bench press, Incline press and flyes Triceps(6 sets total)...skullcrushers, close grip bench press, french press, kickbacks Legs(9-12 sets total)...squats(best exercise you can do for your body, period), leg press, leg curls, stiff leg dead lifts. Shoulders(6-8 sets total)...any kind of pressing movement(arnold press, military press, shoulder press) Back(9-15 sets total)...pullups, deadlifts(second best exercise you can do for your body, period), rows Biceps(6 sets total)...barbell and dumbell curls Stick in the rep range of 2-10. Do more sets for bigger body parts and less for smaller ones. Find someone who knows their way around a gym to show you proper form for potentially hazerdous exercises especially squats and deadlifts. Nutrition is key as well, i dont care who you are if you eat like shit your body will look like shit. One more thing that alot of people forget to use in the gym..common sense.
im gonna respectfully disagree with you there. 10+ years of hockey has left me with freakishly large legs, specifically quads. ive had to increase my upper body work out significantly while not doing any leg exercises just to keep from looking like a frog.
There is different kinds of strength. sure you are going to be very strong from all that hockey, but all that hockey wont drastically increase your squats, or other raw power lifts.
i work out 4-5 days a week if you want to build mass then do three sets of 6-10 reps for example flat bench 60kgs 10 reps, light stretch then 70kgs 10 reps then 80kgs 6+ reps aim for ten though if your doing three sets of 12 with lighter weights you wont really bulk you will rip up more, i also reccomend free weights as opposed to machine weights
An important thing to remember when working out is to mix up what you do. It is a proven fact that your body builds muscle and weight faster if it is experiencing new movements/using different muscles. Along with a healthy balanced diet, and good amounts of rest you can gain muscle tone, weight, strength, and endurance. That being said, exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups are focused more on muscle tone, and endurance. The best way to build muscle and weight is to combine these with free weights. I personally go about like this: Every day I do reverse crunches until I cant do them (They work the lower abdominal region most). I do the same for push ups and pull ups as these are all endurance focused exercises. Then, following this every other day I do military press, bench press, and arm curls.