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Gym Routine


olboydave

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Once again:

Rippetoe's Starting Strength is what you want.

Tells you what lifts to do when, tells you how many sets and reps, has a section on finding out your starting weight.

It is by far the best all round newbie program going, it'll last you for a fair few months before you reach a plateau and have to worry about shifting things up.

I'm not sure I understand this site.... So basically I go to the gym, do

3x5 Squat

3x5 Bench Press

1x5 Deadlift

and then go home???

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After the warm up sets, yes.

There's no need to spend hours in the gym.

Edit: Alternatively you can do a stripped 5x5, which is basically the same premise only with just the one work set and 4 warm up sets.

Seriously these lifts provide by far the most bang for your buck in the gym. You can spend hours isolating each individual muscle group, or you can do the basic compound lifts and give your entire body a workout in a fraction of the time.

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After the warm up sets, yes.

There's no need to spend hours in the gym.

Edit: Alternatively you can do a stripped 5x5, which is basically the same premise only with just the one work set and 4 warm up sets.

Seriously these lifts provide by far the most bang for your buck in the gym. You can spend hours isolating each individual muscle group, or you can do the basic compound lifts and give your entire body a workout in a fraction of the time.

Ok, thanks. But where and what are the warm up sets??

Got them, thanks. Just doesn't seem like a lot of work! I'll give it a go though

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Once again:

Rippetoe's Starting Strength is what you want.

Tells you what lifts to do when, tells you how many sets and reps, has a section on finding out your starting weight.

It is by far the best all round newbie program going, it'll last you for a fair few months before you reach a plateau and have to worry about shifting things up.

I'm not sure I understand this site.... So basically I go to the gym, do

3x5 Squat

3x5 Bench Press

1x5 Deadlift

and then go home???

Basically it depends on what you want to achieve. What you have asked above is a powerlifters train, designed for just that, to build power. This will build strength (and size to an extent) but there are better ways to train if you want to look toned.

Its not a bad way to start at all, but if you are to do these exercises get someone who knows what they are doing to show you how to do them properly. Also sort your diet out, it will help you.

At the end of the day doing anything is better than nothing, especially when starting. The rest will come with time.

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Basically it depends on what you want to achieve. What you have asked above is a powerlifters train, designed for just that, to build power. This will build strength (and size to an extent) but there are better ways to train if you want to look toned.

Its not a bad way to start at all, but if you are to do these exercises get someone who knows what they are doing to show you how to do them properly. Also sort your diet out, it will help you.

At the end of the day doing anything is better than nothing, especially when starting. The rest will come with time.

He says in the OP he wants to "get strong" so I figure he wants to train for strength.

Even if he does want to do it to just end up looking ripped then I'd recommend starting out with a program like this to build a base of strength that you can then build up from. You can't increase muscle mass without increasing strength first, and when building strength you will gain mass as well.

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Follow starting strength is the best advice u can take, its got answers to every question.

The actual moves/workouts arnt that difficult to complete either, deadlifts,squats, bench and presses are very easy to learn.

I train @ BGWLC and trust me there are some strong guys there. I "try" to do olympic lifts Snatch and Clean n Jerk, but the other half of the gym are powerlifters.

I think what your after is similar to powerlifting, do not get this confused with bodybuilding, powerlifting is soley for strength. We have guys weighing in @ 70kg bodyweight doing 250kg deadlifts and 180kg squats, so its not all about being "big".

nobody in the gym either oly lifters or powerlifters hardly ever do more than 5 reps, even 5reps can be a bit much sometimes :-p

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I'm sorry, but The Don is talking complete nonsense here.

The OP asked to be "toned". High reps are the best way to do this. Bodybuilding is a whole other kettle of fish, if you want to put on mass then yes, higher weight less reps is the way to go. But telling people that you can't combine strength and endurance is absolute twaddle. Having a good core strength is key to looking and feeling on top of your game. Core strength can only be achieved through endurance training.

There's a guy who comes into my gym and he's ridiculously chiseled, think Brad Pitt in Fight Club. I've basically decided to copy everything he does, bang in some creatine and a high protein diet and bobs your uncle, 6 pounds in a month. Start off with high reps to fatigue the muscle then throw in some heavy weights at the end to rip them that little bit more.

If you want to have a life, forget bodybuilding. Enjoy the gym, keep going and the rewards will come. It takes time.

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I'm sorry, but The Don is talking complete nonsense here.

The OP asked to be "toned". High reps are the best way to do this. Bodybuilding is a whole other kettle of fish, if you want to put on mass then yes, higher weight less reps is the way to go. But telling people that you can't combine strength and endurance is absolute twaddle. Having a good core strength is key to looking and feeling on top of your game. Core strength can only be achieved through endurance training.

There's a guy who comes into my gym and he's ridiculously chiseled, think Brad Pitt in Fight Club. I've basically decided to copy everything he does, bang in some creatine and a high protein diet and bobs your uncle, 6 pounds in a month. Start off with high reps to fatigue the muscle then throw in some heavy weights at the end to rip them that little bit more.

If you want to have a life, forget bodybuilding. Enjoy the gym, keep going and the rewards will come. It takes time.

Sorry, but this entire post is bollocks and you're the one talking nonsense.

1: The op said:

I want to build up my upper body strenght a bit. Not Arnie style but a bit more toned I guess. Stronger arms/chest etc.

I provided a routine that builds, guess what, strength!

2: Body building is high reps low weight which builds mass, the complete opposite of what I suggested which builds strength. That you don't know the difference between body building and a power lifting workout built to build strength says everything that needs to be said about your post.

3: "Toned" doesn't exist in the sense that most people think either, "toned" = muscle definition, which = low body fat, which = diet not exercise, you can have massive muscle mass but not be "toned" because you have layers of fat over them, to be "toned" you need to cut bodyfat.

You're saying if you want to have a life forget bodybuilding, but your regime IS bodybuilding and takes twice as long as what I'm suggesting. So if you want to "have a life" do you do the regime that takes 20minutes max, or the one that takes an hour?

So yes, I'm obviously the one talking complete nonsense despite your post being complete and utter bollocks.

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Cut down on those roids man, they're making your eye balls bleed.

Judging from the OP, he wants to look good. He talks about building, toning, "not Arnie style". Toning as you say requires the stripping of body fat and I hear exercise is pretty good at achieving this. I apologise for getting my terminology mixed up.

More reps = definition/bigger muscle mass. This is a medical fact.

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I don't know if it's been mentioned but make sure you're eating enough protein otherwise you won't get the maximum gain from each workout.

Im currently on a programme of 5 sets 5 reps with 1min 30 between each set

Day 1:

Squat, Pull ups, Incline dumbell press, hand clean to push press

Day 2:

Deadlift, Bench, Bent over row, arnold press.

Has really seen an improvment in my strength but it isnt the most effective if you just want to look good.

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Cut down on those roids man, they're making your eye balls bleed.

Judging from the OP, he wants to look good. He talks about building, toning, "not Arnie style". Toning as you say requires the stripping of body fat and I hear exercise is pretty good at achieving this. I apologise for getting my terminology mixed up.

More reps = definition/bigger muscle mass. This is a medical fact.

Yes, I've never said anything different.

It's pretty well accepted that strength = 5 reps, mass = 8-12, endurance = go hog wild.

Although there is a fair amount of crossover especially between strength and mass to start with, and I'd argue that if you're going for the "brad pitt in flight club" look then you want to train for strength as it increases the myosin cross-bridges and actin filaments which is what gives muscle firmness, and that look is all about muscle firmness.

And I stand by that a) you can't train specifically for both strength and endurance, you'll get newbie gains in both to start if you're new to training, but after a while it's one or the other, you're not going to get noticeable gains in your strength whilst gaining endurance and vice versa, there's plenty of studies showing this. and B) there's no point training specifically for endurance when you've got no muscle, yay you'll be able to lift 1kg a few hundred times, shame you'll still look like crap and be weak as hell ;)

All I've said in this thread is to build for strength follow that regime, and pointed out that some peoples regimes (cheltenham_villa in particular due to it being all sorts of wrong) are in no way efficient.

My entire point has been to train efficiently with compound lifts to save wasting time in the gym, so when someone comes along and says I'm talking nonsense when I actually know a hell of a lot about the subject it makes me go on the attack :P

(and no 'roids, protein only!)

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Before you will ever look toned you'll need to sort your diet out and make sure you body fat % isn't too high though. As far as training goes, there are so many different ideas as to which is the best.

If you want fast gains, lift heavy and do dead lifts that use a lot of muscle groups at the same time. Combine this with lots of push up and pull ups and you'll get stronger. Being strong is all relative though. Probably more important that your workout is your diet. Scooby's workouts are good, and you can do 'em at home too.

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Has really seen an improvment in my strength but it isnt the most effective if you just want to look good.

This is important. You can become much stronger without being ripped. Personally I've only been interested in training to improve my rock climbing performance, and not motivated to look good. It helps, because I'm an ectomorph and I don't look strong, but I feel good for my bodyweight.

Training to look toned or bodybuild is a different kettle of fish IMO.

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Protein is a key part, absolutely.

As a rough guide, you need to be consuming just over one gram of protein for every pound you weigh (calculating your BMI and fat percentage can make it even more specific). So 180lbs = 190 grams.

If you really want to bulk up you'll need even more, but by the sounds of it you don't.

As an example, an average 300g steak has anywhere between 50/60 grams of protein in.

You don't necessarily have to follow it all to the letter, but if you're putting the work in you want to give yourself a chance of seeing actual results.

An easy way to start is to simply double your current portions of meat; if you like chicken go for two breasts instead of one, and cut the starch (less potato/carbs). If you eat steak, increase the size and so on. Perhaps a tall cold glass of milk with your main meal too. Have ham, chicken or turkey breasts on standby as cold cuts if you fancy a snack (better than crisps or chocolate) and maybe look to add a protein shake. Eggs, cheese and yoghurts are all great sources of protein - and tasty too.

Try to go organic with the chicken if possible, as the hormones they pump into the other stuff isn't great for someone looking to stay in shape. Too much estrogen = moobs. The yeast in most largers is also a killer in that respect.

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More reps = definition/bigger muscle mass. This is a medical fact.

That is an amazing fact....wrong, but who cares!

If you go anywhere above 8-12 reps you will not be gaining muscle anywhere near as well as you should. You will feel more pumped at the time, but wont be lifting heavy enough weights to force the muscle to adapt and grow.

NSCA (The National Strength and Conditioning Association) say there is a relationship between number of repetitions performed and physiological responses. They propose that shorter bouts of anaerobic training (2 to 4 repetitions) are best for improving muscle power, moderate bouts of anaerobic training (5 to 6 repetitions) are best for building muscle strength, and longer bouts of anaerobic training, 8 to 12 reps per set, are best for increasing muscle hypertrophy.

Anywhere above that and you need to raise the weight.

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More reps = definition/bigger muscle mass. This is a medical fact.

That is an amazing fact....wrong, but who cares!

If you go anywhere above 8-12 reps you will not be gaining muscle anywhere near as well as you should. You will feel more pumped at the time, but wont be lifting heavy enough weights to force the muscle to adapt and grow.

This is true.

I go for between 15-20 reps (sometimes more), but I'm not looking to particularly "bulk-up", just tone up and maintain fitness.

For pure muscle building, lift fewer but heavier.

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The only reason higher reps is good for toning is because it burns more calories, "toning" is a myth, you either rip your muscle or you don't.

If you want to tone you need to put on the muscle first then cut. If you do too much cardio whilst trying to bulk you will struggle as your body will need more calories than you consume so will break down your muscles.

Don't be scared to hide your abs for a while, the more muscle you have, the quicker you can burn the fat. Get to what ever size you're happy with, then strip the fat. IMO high reps are a waste of time, I lift 6-10 reps, 3/4 sets, 3/4 exercises per muscle. Then do cardio to "cut".

Most importantly don't forget your protein shakes, I used to consider this cheating but it's simple essential.

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Indeed, there's basically 3 components to being "toned"

1: muscle size

2: muscle firmness

3: low bodyfat

The first two come from doing 5-12 reps at around 80-90% of your one rep max, the lower end of that will build firmness over size, the higher end size over firmness.

The last comes from diet and ensuring your body is burning fat. You can do that whilst doing the first two, (well, you can clean bulk without putting on bodyfat, you can't really shred significant amounts of fat) but you'll need to have strict control over your diet, only eating carbs post work out as that's when you want the insulin for protein synthesis, else it's a case of the good old bulk then cut (incidentally you need more protein whilst cutting than bulking to ensure muscle breakdown doesn't occur).

Supplement wise, I know people that swear by taking an ECA stack (ephedrine, caffeine, and aspirin) for cutting which is proven to burn fat by raising your core body temperature... but there's some health risks.

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