Gym Routine

[ArteSuave]

Squat/dl are the best out of a normal strength/hypertrophy routine but if you could only do one lift for the rest of your life then clean and jerk/press would be the best IMO. I don't know why that would ever be your situation though.

[Meath_Villan]

I just ment surely a press up would hit most groups

[Stevo985]

Squat/dl are the best out of a normal strength/hypertrophy routine but if you could only do one lift for the rest of your life then clean and jerk/press would be the best IMO. I don't know why that would ever be your situation though.

Yeah I'd go with this, assuming it's a proper clean and jerk (i.e. so that it basically has a front squat as part of it)

 

Push ups will only ever have you pressing your bodyweight minus however much you take off by having your feet down. Which aint much.

[Meath_Villan]

I do an overhead press any how as part of the 5x5 

[regular_john]

I just ment surely a press up would hit most groups

 

Far from it. Press up is mostly just triceps and pec major, with a bit of the use of the abdominal core for stability. Deadlift uses the entire lower body, strongly relies on the core for stability, and works most of the upper body too. There is no resistance exercise in the world that hits as many muscles as effectively as a deadlift. 

 

Edit: Also, because the deadlift stimulates such massive muscles, you get huge release of testosterone and growth hormone, which helps you to build muscle faster and hence makes the rest of your routine more effective.

Edited July 10, 2013 by regular_john

[BOF]

I'm with RJ on this. The DL is the Daddy.

[villamark]

I would go for press up burpee as the best body weight exercise that you can do.  A lot of people get into doing weights when they can't even lift their own bodyweight.  Pistol squats, pull ups and burpees are really hard, there so many bodyweight exercises that you can do, when the weather is good I would suggest going for a run and throw in some body weight exercises, few sprints much better than being in a gym in my opinion. 

[Stevo985]

Again, depends on your goals.

 

If you're a complete newbie then bodyweight exercises are great.

 

But there's only so far they can take you if you want to build muscle.

[Shillzz]

I had a session of purely bodyweight exercises last night, and it was one of the best workouts i've ever done.

 

It basically consisted of doing 4 different types of pull up/chin up - leaving me looking like this guy:

 

[Stevo985]

Where did you get that photo of me?

[Shillzz]

My personal Spank Bank   Rogues Gallery.

[villamark]

Again, depends on your goals.

 

If you're a complete newbie then bodyweight exercises are great.

 

But there's only so far they can take you if you want to build muscle.

I would say to get into a good shape, build a reasonable amount of muscle and be ripped you do not have to lift weights, can all be achieved by doing bodyweight exercises and sorting your diet out which is by far the most important aspect.  Take squats, ask most people who do squats in the gym to do 10 pistol squats on each leg and they can't.  I am not saying don't lift weights, I do lift weights, squats, dead lifts bench and militery press etc, just saying that you can achive a lot without lifting weights in a gym.

[Stevo985]

I think it would take some pretty extreme bodyweight exercises to build decent muscle, especially upper body

[Folski]

Do people find weights or cardio better for losing weight?

[tonyh29]

noticed in my gym that all the CV users seem to be fat boys and the weights users seem to be less rotund

 

must confess I find weights boring and my lunch time 5k refreshes me but can't help but think I need to join the weight guys  ....

[Shillzz]

I think it would take some pretty extreme bodyweight exercises to build decent muscle, especially upper body

 

Would you say that's the case for pull ups aswell?

 

Take for example the wide armed pull up; If I weigh 12 stone, then that's the same as repping 76kg on the lateral pull down, which is a pretty meaty weight.

[Stevo985]

Do people find weights or cardio better for losing weight?

Neither. 

 

Diet.

 

 

Edit: but to expand on this. Cardio is probably better because it burns more calories. But neither will make you lose wieght if you're eating like a pig.

 

Tony's observation that the guys who do weights are in better shape than the people who do cardio, is down to the fact that the guys who do weights are normally more knowledgeable and dedicated to their diet. I.e. they eat what they need to eat to get big/cut down.

 

Whereas the majority of the people on the cardio machines probably pop down the gym for 45 minutes 3 times a week ad think they'll lose weight.

 

You can't out train a shit diet.

Edited July 11, 2013 by Stevo985

[Stevo985]

 

I think it would take some pretty extreme bodyweight exercises to build decent muscle, especially upper body

 

Would you say that's the case for pull ups aswell?

 

Take for example the wide armed pull up; If I weigh 12 stone, then that's the same as repping 76kg on the lateral pull down, which is a pretty meaty weight.

 

It's fine to build enough muscle for you to be able to do so many pull ups.

 

But once you get to like 10 or 12 reps, where do you go? You can add reps, but once you get past there you're really only adding endurance, you won't grow muscle.

 

You have to add weights to your pullups to build muscle, at which point it's no longer a bodyweight exercise.

[Shillzz]

 

 

I think it would take some pretty extreme bodyweight exercises to build decent muscle, especially upper body

 

Would you say that's the case for pull ups aswell?

 

Take for example the wide armed pull up; If I weigh 12 stone, then that's the same as repping 76kg on the lateral pull down, which is a pretty meaty weight.

 

It's fine to build enough muscle for you to be able to do so many pull ups.

 

But once you get to like 10 or 12 reps, where do you go? You can add reps, but once you get past there you're really only adding endurance, you won't grow muscle.

 

You have to add weights to your pullups to build muscle, at which point it's no longer a bodyweight exercise.

 

 

True. To be able to get 12 perfect reps out on the wide arm pull ups would require a decent amount of strength, something which I don't yet have. So it's still a good muscle building exercise for me, as far as I can see. Even at that point, there are a number of variations to keep me busy for a while.

[villamark]

It is 80% diet when losing weight, a mix of weights and cardio will help to speed up the process.

 

I know people who have put on some decent muscle and not done weights, you have to be pretty strong to do pull ups and pistol squats, it is like lifting weights which I would guess most people can't lift.