Gym Routine

[JB]

3 hours ago, tarjei said:

Yes, I think we can all agree on that. I didn't realize it would spark a debate, really, and I regret mentioning it as it triggered my anxiety a bit. Couldn't get much sleep as my mind was occupied by ruminating thoughts.

Sorry mate, that was not my intention. You've been a total gentleman and that's not common amongst keto advocates .  I disagree with things you've said but I was a bit quick to jump on the defensive.

In terms of AA content, I subscribe to his monthly research review. It's been going for years and once you subscribe you get access to every issue so you can look up particular topics as and when needed. I follow him on social media as well and he often posts useful nuggets on there (when he's not trolling low carbers  ). It's through him that I've discovered people like Lyle McDonald, Brad Schoenfeld, Joseph Agu and Martin MacDonald (amongst others) who all put out great stuff. 

[JB]

@kurtsimonw Sorry for the delay - mental/stressful week or two! I wrote this in the notes on my phone and C+Ped it so formatting might be crap...

Here's a very basic program. There's nothing clever about it - anybody could've come up with something similar - and it's not perfect but as a beginner it should be enough to get you started.

Based on the equipment you listed, I've gone for 3 full body workouts on non-consecutive days with 8-10 sets per muscle group per week (a little bit more on the back), which research suggests is around the minimum needed for muscle growth and strength gains. Again, as a beginner this should be fine.

This is based on getting you comfortable in higher rep ranges with moderate loads before you go heavier. Take a session or two to experiment with loads (weight used) so you can choose ones with which you can perform somewhere between the advised rep ranges, leaving 2-3 reps in the tank on most sets (maybe less on the last set). See how you feel. 

Sets x reps performed

Day 1: 
1 Leg press 3 x 12-15 (Quads - front thigh)
2 Leg curl 3 x 12-15 (Hamstrings - back thigh)
3 Chest press 4 x 12-15
4 Seated row 3 x 12-15 (Back)
5 Pulldown 2 x 12-15 (Back)

Day 2: 
1 Bodyweight squat* 4 x 10-12 (quads)
2 Back extension** 3 x 8-12 (hamstrings/glutes)
3 Chest press 3 x 10-12
4 Seated row 3 x 15-20
5 Dumbbell lateral raise 3 x 12-15 (shoulders)
6 Stability ball rollouts (Google this) or plank 3 x 8-12 or 20-30 seconds (both core)

Day 3: 
1 Negative push-up*** 3 x 6-10 (chest)
2 Seated row 4 x 12-15 
3 Pulldown 2 x 12-15
4 Leg press 3 x 15-20
5 Leg curl 2 x 12-15

*Feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart (or whatever feels most comfortable). Put your arms out in front of you as a counter balance and squat down as far as is comfortable, ideally to at least the point where your upper leg is parallel to the floor. 

** You didn't mention this in your list but every gym I've ever been to has one. It's not a machine and back extension is a misnomer as it's meant to target the hamstrings and glutes through hip extension. If you don't have one, let me know. 

***Start at the top position of a push-up. Lower yourself to the floor as slowly as you can until you're on the floor. Climb (don't push) your way back up to the starting position and repeat. This will help you build the strength to perform a normal push-up. 

A few notes:
I've put in brackets which muscle group each exercise primarily targets. There are others involved in most exercises but they are the main ones. 

Aim to keep rest periods somewhere between 1-2 minutes. If you feel like you need a bit longer at first, that's fine. It's a target to work towards. Likewise if you feel fresh and ready to go in less time, crack on. 

Do cardio as and when you like (after weights or on rest days). Don't worry about it too much. You'll get similar benefits from the weight training but an hour or two of fairly low intensity work spread out over the week is fine. 

I only really added one isolation exercise at this point, the lateral raise. Skip it if you feel like it's pushing it too much. 

I'd advise you to keep a record of your training in a notebook or on your phone - weights, reps etc. Monitor and adjust your volume (number of sets per body part performed) if necessary based on how you're feeling i.e. if you're finding the volume too high, reduce the number of sets per muscle group per week and conversely, if it's too easy and you've got more left in the tank, slowly increase. This may be different for each body part. I find that I start to get diminishing returns once I hit 18 or so sets per muscle group per week (much less for hamstrings and biceps/triceps) and it's taken me years to work up to this point and understand that sometimes less is more. 

By all means, aim for progressive overload (an increase in number of reps performed or weight used on an exercise) from week to week. The jumps can be small; one extra rep or kg counts; but don't worry if this isn't possible straight away.

If the body weight squat or back extensions are too easy, try them with a dumbbell in your hands. Google 'goblet squats' for an idea of the grip. 

I could probably write a thesis on the nuances of form! I don't want to overload you too much but if you're struggling with anything, let me know and I'll describe as best I can. 

Feel free to ask if you need any other advice. Consistency and effort are key. This should keep you going for 6 weeks or so. 

Edited March 23, 2017 by JB

[lapal_fan]

15 hours ago, JB said:

Sorry if I sounded a bit disrespectful or aggressive in my original reply - it's the roids'

I still maintain that you and the people who you get your information from are spectacularly incorrect. They have been proved as such by science. Google Taubes's debates with Alan Aragon.

 

  FIXED!  

[villaglint]

Hey Dr JB what about the 2:1 pull to push ratio ! That looks more like 1;1 as you said Pulldowns don't count.

I know this because it really stuck with me and has completely cleared up a shoulder injury I had a year or so ago when we talked about it on this thread.

[sexbelowsound]

1 hour ago, JB said:

Sorry mate, that was not my intention. You've been a total gentleman and that's not common amongst keto advocates .  I disagree with things you've said but I was a bit quick to jump on the defensive.

In terms of AA content, I subscribe to his monthly research review. It's been going for years and once you subscribe you get access to every issue so you can look up particular topics as and when needed. I follow him on social media as well and he often posts useful nuggets on there (when he's not trolling low carbers  ). It's through him that I've discovered people like Lyle McDonald, Brad Schoenfeld, Joseph Agu and Martin MacDonald (amongst others) who all put out great stuff. 

I've just looked at his site and he's got links to his articles that are on pubmed and the first one, Changes in body composition and performance with supplemental HMB-FA+ATP, seems really interesting. It's not actually on pubmed though.

Looks like i'm dropping a tenner a month on this stuff! 

[JB]

Good point. And good memory! I did think about that but I've softened my opinion on it slightly. With no underlying issues that I know of, I wanted to keep it really simple. It would've meant either too much volume for his back (16-20 sets, with some vertical pulling on top of that) or too little for his chest. I do a few really light upper back drills (pull aparts, YWTs) when I need to get some extra volume in but it would be too complicated to explain. It's not perfect by any stretch and there are things I would do differently if I were training him in person.

[kurtsimonw]

1 hour ago, JB said:

@kurtsimonw Sorry for the delay - mental/stressful week or two! I wrote this in the notes on my phone and C+Ped it so formatting might be crap...

Here's a very basic program. There's nothing clever about it - anybody could've come up with something similar - and it's not perfect but as a beginner it should be enough to get you started.

** You didn't mention this in your list but every gym I've ever been to has one. It's not a machine and back extension is a misnomer as it's meant to target the hamstrings and glutes through hip extension. If you don't have one, let me know. 

Don't worry about it, you're the one doing me a favour, I appreciate everyone has lives away from here. 

I'll note this all down and I understood it all but the last part you mentioned. I Google it, but I've definitely not seen anything like that in either room of the gym I use. The back extension thing. 

[BOF]

So I went back yesterday for the first time in a few months to see what I could and couldn't do.  I started with a 10 minute jog.  That was OK.  Then very gingerly did an empty bar bench press, then 1x5x40, then 1x5x60 and it was just about OK, but I was just concentrating on not re-injuring.  Did some skull crushers and had to stop half way through 2nd set and then managed to do a full set of dumbell curls albeit at a lower weight.  I didn't even have the range of motion in my shoulder to properly grab the bar for a squat, so I left content that I did what I did but that I'm going to have to see someone about this.  No bueno.

[sexbelowsound]

21 hours ago, sexbelowsound said:

I've just looked at his site and he's got links to his articles that are on pubmed and the first one, Changes in body composition and performance with supplemental HMB-FA+ATP, seems really interesting. It's not actually on pubmed though.

Looks like i'm dropping a tenner a month on this stuff! 

Looks like the research paper hasn't actually been released yet. Looking forward to this one.

[Dr_Pangloss]

May have to invest in some elbow sleeves. 

Really been prioritising the bench press of late. I have a periodised heavy day where I'm doing 5 sets x 3 reps, currently nailing 120kg at that weight, last week was so good I fancy 122.5kg coming soon. Then later in the week I do a lighter day where I do 5 sets x 8-10 reps. 

But my elbows are really starting to struggle!

[JB]

On 23/03/2017 at 15:48, kurtsimonw said:

Don't worry about it, you're the one doing me a favour, I appreciate everyone has lives away from here. 

I'll note this all down and I understood it all but the last part you mentioned. I Google it, but I've definitely not seen anything like that in either room of the gym I use. The back extension thing. 

That's weird. Not sure I've ever been to a gym without one!

Ideally I'd like to replace it with a similar movement as the hamstrings have two functions: knee flexion (curls) and hip extension (erm, extensions) where you work the hamstrings with a loaded stretch. It's a good idea to get a balance of both. But I can't think of a machine-based exercise that you could replace it with. I tend to do RDLs or good mornings but I wouldn't feel comfortable suggesting those if you don't have someone to show you the technique. They're also using free weights.

I'll have a think. Just do more curls for now I guess. Unless anyone else has got any suggestions. 

 

[Stevo985]

No back extension at my gym either. Not sure about the last gym I was a member of but the one before that certainly didn't have one either because at that time I was specifically looking for one. I had to use the leg press machine instead  

[Dr_Pangloss]

If by back extension you mean this:

Then I don't think I've been to a gym that doesn't have one of these. It's a great exercise btw, really helps with your squat/ deadlift.

Edited March 25, 2017 by Dr_Pangloss

[JB]

It's awesome isn't it? One of my favourite posterior chain exercises. I used to do it so wrong when I first started training, though and it felt too easy. I was fooled by the name and used really try and place the emphasis on my lower back. Not good. Then I started to get a better understanding and realised that it's actually a hip extension and is for the hamstrings and glutes.

I like to increase the resistance by wrapping a band around the base, then around the back of my neck and doing slower eccentrics. Push the hips through to return to the start and really squeeze the glutes at the top. It's a deep burn! 

[kurtsimonw]

3 hours ago, JB said:

I was fooled by the name and used really try and place the emphasis on my lower back. 

This is something I'm really shit at doing. The leg stuff I'm fine with it, the ab crunch I think I've got it, but the chest and back workouts I can't really seem to get the focus of the work on to my chest/back. Like the Pectoral fly and chest press thing just seem to work whatever the muscles are under your arms and around my shoulders. 

[JB]

It's something that comes with time and knowledge, mate. Learning how to really stretch and contract the target muscles is a skill. 

In terms of back training, what really helped me was to think about rowing exercises as four stage movements:

1. Retract/squeeze shoulder blades together 

2. Leading with your elbows, pull the weight towards you. Hold for a second. 

3. Slowly lower the weight

4. Let shoulder blades roll forwards to round your back slightly in order to get a stretch in your back. 

Repeat for reps. Takes some getting used to but it worked for me.

For chest training, I found that holding the bottom position of an exercise let me really feel my chest stretching. I could then try and consciously contract my chest muscles to push the weight away from me. 

Both methods took some practice and required me to reduce the weight slightly but it was worth it in the end!

[markavfc40]

15 hours ago, kurtsimonw said:

Like the Pectoral fly and chest press thing just seem to work whatever the muscles are under your arms and around my shoulders. 

Pec fly and chest press will also work your shoulders and your triceps as well as primarily your chest mate. If you are using a pec machine and a weight you can handle I can't really see how you can be doing it wrong.

Edited March 26, 2017 by markavfc40

[BOF]

I see The LAD Bible have a video of a guy breaking his leg on a leg press machine.  Nope, won't be clicking that.  Man I've gone soft in my old age.

[Dom_Wren]

First day back in, gonna do bench in about an hour or so, chest tweak i had seems better and bicep is less sore. Start small and build tall!

[Stevo985]

39 minutes ago, BOF said:

I see The LAD Bible have a video of a guy breaking his leg on a leg press machine.  Nope, won't be clicking that.  Man I've gone soft in my old age.

I've not watched it either, but I gleaned from the comments that it was because he locked his legs out at the top (which I imagine means he hyper extended his knee which is just horrendous!)

So everybody use it as a lesson. For goodness sake NEVER lock your legs on the leg press.