Gym Routine

[Rds1983]

1 hour ago, dubbs said:

What's your take on consecutive days of exercise? I've seen two opposite trains of thought recently so kinda unsure now.  I go 3 consecutive days then nothing the other 4.  This is mainly due to the classes I want to do being available on those days.  I speak to people who almost go every day.  When I did couch to 5k it was run, then day off, and I saw a video suggesting if you just work the same muscles daily they never have time to grow, only to repair themselves.

Thoughts?

It depends on what you've worked, to what intensity, your age, your diet and how well you recover.

When working out you are not only taxing your muscles but also your central nervous system and that needs time to recover too.

I lift weights 5 or 6 times a week on a pull, push, legs programme with a rest day after every leg day. Traditionally it would be push, pull, legs but I do deadlifts on pull day do this gives a day's rest before working legs.

However, it's active recovery where I'll go for a short run that day and I go on the crosstrainer most days. This helps get blood flowing to the tired muscles which helps with recovery. 

If you structure things out and make sure you do get recovery/rest in there's no reason you can't workout most days.

[dubbs]

Having done a couple of fitness classes a week for about 6 months, I've just signed up for a twice a week gym session.  One day upper body with cardio, then the second session is legs and cardio.  Looking to burn a bit of fat and build a bit of muscle because I'm only a slight build.  

My job involves sitting at a desk for 40 hours a week, and this combined with the fitness classes is my attempt at building my physical and mental health, starting at the grand old age of 48.  Anyone else a late starter? What are your experiences of this journey.

[Rds1983]

12 hours ago, dubbs said:

Having done a couple of fitness classes a week for about 6 months, I've just signed up for a twice a week gym session.  One day upper body with cardio, then the second session is legs and cardio.  Looking to burn a bit of fat and build a bit of muscle because I'm only a slight build.  

My job involves sitting at a desk for 40 hours a week, and this combined with the fitness classes is my attempt at building my physical and mental health, starting at the grand old age of 48.  Anyone else a late starter? What are your experiences of this journey.

Sounds good. Keep at it and if those classes don't excite you then try different ones. Finding one you enjoy will be the key.

[villaglint]

12 hours ago, dubbs said:

Having done a couple of fitness classes a week for about 6 months, I've just signed up for a twice a week gym session.  One day upper body with cardio, then the second session is legs and cardio.  Looking to burn a bit of fat and build a bit of muscle because I'm only a slight build.  

My job involves sitting at a desk for 40 hours a week, and this combined with the fitness classes is my attempt at building my physical and mental health, starting at the grand old age of 48.  Anyone else a late starter? What are your experiences of this journey.

Movement is medicine so absolutley it will help to build physical and mental health. Progression is all about consistency. 

[dubbs]

First full week done. Feeling pretty good about it but I need advice on warm downs for arms.  My left arm is achy as hell and I last went to the gym Friday.

[villaglint]

1 hour ago, dubbs said:

First full week done. Feeling pretty good about it but I need advice on warm downs for arms.  My left arm is achy as hell and I last went to the gym Friday.

I wouldn’t worry about warm downs but need to manage your load at the beginning. Any time you work muscles that aren’t used to being used it will ache for a few days. Start slowly (in terms of load)  and build slowly would be best advice. 

Edited October 29, 2023 by villaglint

[Rds1983]

2 hours ago, dubbs said:

First full week done. Feeling pretty good about it but I need advice on warm downs for arms.  My left arm is achy as hell and I last went to the gym Friday.

How old are you? Recovery becomes way more important the older you are.

[dubbs]

27 minutes ago, Rds1983 said:

How old are you? Recovery becomes way more important the older you are.

48 mate. Trying my best to be more active having sat at desk for the last 30 years lol

[Rds1983]

10 hours ago, dubbs said:

48 mate. Trying my best to be more active having sat at desk for the last 30 years lol

It's definitely not too late to get fit/strong. I know a guy in their mid 70s who lifts weights 5 times a week and can deadlift 165kg.

Make sure you're eating well both before and after training. You need a decent amount of protein to repair the damage done and carbs to fuel (low carb can work but is tricky and I'd avoid until you're more established).

Stay hydrated before, during and after exercise. 

Try to stretch and cool down after lifting. I do yoga occasionally but the biggest thing that helps me is getting on a cross trainer after lifting and on rest days. It's low impact so easy on the joints and helps get blood moving to the muscles. Think steady state cardio not crazy high heartbeat.

I find compression sleeves can help with my elbows/knees when they play up. You can pick some decent ones up quite cheap.

You don't want to go crazy on the intensity when you lift. Sadly neither of us are 25 anymore and we don't bounce back like we once did. You can still lift but you don't want to going so hard you brake yourself and have to wait ages to exercise again. It's a marathon not a sprint.

Sleep is incredibly important for recovery. Make sure you get enough and even if you struggle to sleep, just lying in bed and resting will help. I find taking a magnesium tablet helps with rest and recovery. 

You could also consider trying TRT if you wanted. I'm not on it yet but would consider it in the future. A lot of the stigma is gone from it and it does supposedly help a lot, both physically and mentally. 

Any questions on any of it feel free to drop me a DM and good luck.

[dubbs]

Thanks bud. You raise a good point there about what goes into our bodies before and after exercise.  I don't think my diet is particularly bad although I rarely eat breakfast which I have meant to start doing for a while.  I eat a fair amount of chicken and pasta.  Drink at least a litre of water Monday to Friday but for some reason not weekends!  

My fitness class tonight is pretty much straight after work so eating before is a problem but I'll maybe start taking more fruit to work to save for an hour or two before I leave.

The leg warm down seems to be ok but had no instruction on upper body warm downs, hence the achy arms!  

Next planned gym session is legs on Wednesday.  Friday is upper but maybe I'll reduce the weights on the machines I'm using for a few weeks.

[Rds1983]

2 hours ago, dubbs said:

The leg warm down seems to be ok but had no instruction on upper body warm downs, hence the achy arms! .

This is why I like the crosstrainer/elliptical machine. You can do a full body warm down and help the arms too.

[dubbs]

1 hour ago, Rds1983 said:

This is why I like the crosstrainer/elliptical machine. You can do a full body warm down and help the arms too.

Thanks.  I'll try that next time me I'm doing the upper workout on Friday.

[mikeyp102]

On 29/10/2023 at 16:35, dubbs said:

First full week done. Feeling pretty good about it but I need advice on warm downs for arms.  My left arm is achy as hell and I last went to the gym Friday.

I’ve recently found out that if you drink a protein shake (or eat protein) straight after a work out, it really helps with the reducing of the doms

[mikeyp102]

So feeling very u fit and unhealthy recently, I signed up for a coach. It’s not cheap, but sometimes you have to spend on yourself. I get a nutrition plan, and gym routines etc. Been on it just over 2 weeks and I’m a stone down. Always expected to lose a fair chunk at the start, but even that was a surprise. It’ll be harder when I go back to drinking etc, but that’s the whole idea of having the coach in that they can set maintenance targets and plans. I think what helps is the accountability, I don’t want to tell people I’ve eaten crap, when they have set me targets. 
Do 2 gym routines, then a home work out and try and maintain 10k steps a day.

[Rds1983]

8 hours ago, mikeyp102 said:

So feeling very u fit and unhealthy recently, I signed up for a coach. It’s not cheap, but sometimes you have to spend on yourself. I get a nutrition plan, and gym routines etc. Been on it just over 2 weeks and I’m a stone down. Always expected to lose a fair chunk at the start, but even that was a surprise. It’ll be harder when I go back to drinking etc, but that’s the whole idea of having the coach in that they can set maintenance targets and plans. I think what helps is the accountability, I don’t want to tell people I’ve eaten crap, when they have set me targets. 
Do 2 gym routines, then a home work out and try and maintain 10k steps a day.

That's an amazing start.

But don't get disheartened and quit if the weight loss doesn't continue at that speed. 

It will slow down the longer you go into it, but that's normal.

[Rds1983]

@dubbs just finished my gym session bbefore setting off for work and thought I'd check in and see how your doing with your weight sessions? Warm downs working? Doms/joint pain easing up at all?

[dubbs]

1 hour ago, Rds1983 said:

@dubbs just finished my gym session bbefore setting off for work and thought I'd check in and see how your doing with your weight sessions? Warm downs working? Doms/joint pain easing up at all?

Cheers bud. I've been sticking to a routine for a couple of weeks.  Upper body Tuesday, lower on Friday plus 2 classes Sunday and Monday.  The aches seem to have lessened and I think it's down to actually using the muscles consistently.  Don't get me wrong they still ache but it's noticeably easier than 2 weeks ago.  I've got a review with the instructor on Friday where I'm guessing he'll change the circuits so I'm prepared for more pain!

[Rds1983]

46 minutes ago, dubbs said:

Cheers bud. I've been sticking to a routine for a couple of weeks.  Upper body Tuesday, lower on Friday plus 2 classes Sunday and Monday.  The aches seem to have lessened and I think it's down to actually using the muscles consistently.  Don't get me wrong they still ache but it's noticeably easier than 2 weeks ago.  I've got a review with the instructor on Friday where I'm guessing he'll change the circuits so I'm prepared for more pain!

Glad to hear you're still at it and it's getting easier. The first week or so is always a bit tough on the recovery. Why it's good to drop the weights right back down again if you've had a break. Leave the ego at the door as you'll soon bounce right back. It's a marathon and not a sprint so the most important thing is just sticking with it and having consistency. Finding what works for you and you'll go back to again and again is crucial.

[dubbs]

1 hour ago, Rds1983 said:

Glad to hear you're still at it and it's getting easier. The first week or so is always a bit tough on the recovery. Why it's good to drop the weights right back down again if you've had a break. Leave the ego at the door as you'll soon bounce right back. It's a marathon and not a sprint so the most important thing is just sticking with it and having consistency. Finding what works for you and you'll go back to again and again is crucial.

I'm literally setting the weights up as low as I can on the machines I use.  If it seems like no effort then I do increase it after each rep.  There are areas of my body where there's very little strength/ muscle and if like some definition there.  I also want to keep working on my core because it's always been an area of weakness.

So far I'm enjoying the journey, it's early days but it's becoming a habit and that's never a bad thing with exercise!

[Rds1983]

19 minutes ago, dubbs said:

I'm literally setting the weights up as low as I can on the machines I use.  If it seems like no effort then I do increase it after each rep.  There are areas of my body where there's very little strength/ muscle and if like some definition there.  I also want to keep working on my core because it's always been an area of weakness.

So far I'm enjoying the journey, it's early days but it's becoming a habit and that's never a bad thing with exercise!

Low weight, high volume is a solid training routine. It provides a bit more (albeit minimal) of a cardio boost to help with weight loss too. Upping the weights as you go can be a good warmup and is potentially like pyramid sets depending how you do it. 

It's easier on the joints but I'd potentially recommend doing some lower reps/higher weight occasionally as that can help build strength. Talk it through with your trainer though.

Definition comes with fat loss and is another reason diet is so important. 

If you want to work your core but don't like ab exercises (who does), then speak to your trainer about occasionally doing compound exercises (squat/bench/deadlift/overhead press, standing rows etc) with free weights as opposed to just machines. This will help with stabiliser muscles such as your core that machines can bypass and help build real world strength. 

Enjoying the journey is crucial so well done.