EPT![[image loading]](http://www.ivstatic.com/files/et/imagecache/636/files/slides/the-situation.jpg)
Hello guys!
In my last blog I said that my blogs will be quite unstructured in terms of topics covered, but I will still try and organize my blogs a bit. This blog will be about different basic workouts and how to combine them. I will make more in details descriptions of exercises later on.
In my opinion it's best to mix weight-lifting with cardio a regular basis. That doesn't mean you have to run 4 marathons/week but just getting in some basic cardio will do you good in so many ways. This blog isn't about getting huge or being a powerlifter like InControl (although powerlifting exercises will be covered of course because they are awesome). This blog is about getting a nice, healthy physique that not only is about putting on muscle but also cardio.
I work out 4-5 times a week currently and sometimes I do 6 workouts/week. When you work out that much you will need to get some things in check, namely sleep and food. Otherwise your body will break down pretty fast and you can end up burnt out, feeling fatigued and in worst cases, becoming depressed because of the massive stress on your CNS (Central nervous system), if it doesn't get any chance to recover. Rest is essential in all exercise, however that resting period doesn't have to equal a day free of any sort of exercise. Our bodies are strong and we are capable of going to pretty extreme measures when it comes to using our body.
I will start by explaining 2 different workout routines that I do weekly. First one goes like this:
Monday: Chest, shoulders, triceps + 3-4 sets of bodyweight abs.
Tuesday: Running 5K as fast as possible (while of course being able to actually run the entire length).
Wednesday: Back, biceps, abs
Thursday: Crosstrainer, stairmaster etc. Basically some slower cardio that doesn't compromise your muscle/strength gains as much as running do. Keep in mind my schedules are not about getting a huge body.
Friday: Legs + some assorted stuff like forearm exercises, + 3 sets of muscle groups you need extra working on, like back, chest whatever. Also 3-4 sets of abs.
Saturday: On my "tough" weeks I put in some cardio here too, but this is mainly when I'm cutting a bit.
SO, the basic layout of the body-split for weights is:
chest/shoulders/triceps, (abs)
back, biceps, abs
legs,(abs)
This is a small variation of a very commonly used split, and it's pretty good.
The other weekly exercise routine that I do, goes like this:
Monday: Full body weights workout
Tuesday: Cardio (usually running 5/10K)
Wednesday: Full body weights workout
Thursday: Cardio/rest
Friday: Full body weights workout
This week the workout routine for weights consists of a workout for your entire body 3 times a week. The idea behind this is that it's beneficial to stimulate (use) your muscles several times a week with a lower set-load each time, instead of doing one muscle group only once a week and blasting out 12-15 sets.
A golden rule for weight lifting is that you should always mix things up and change weekly routines. It's best to do one routine for a couple of weeks though and then switching to another one. Right now I'm mixing these workout routines whenever I feel like it basically, just experimenting.
Someone who would only want to put on muscle would usually lift weights 3 times/week and rest the days in between (ie no cardio). This maximizes muscle gain but obviously at the expense of general health. Cardio is so important for many reasons; it lowers stress hormones in your brain and releases endorphins, which will make you feel very good. Also, running or doing some other kind of normal/intense cardio will burn more fat from your abdominal area and make the composure of your body better, more "athletic looking" because of the reduced belly fat. This is of course if you have a negative calorie balance.
One very basic thing you must understand is that you gain weight if you eat more calories than you use during a day and loose weight if you use up more calories than you eat.
This is so basic stuff, and yet extremely important, because many people don't seem to understand this connection. So if you want to add some muscle, eat more calories and also account for the cardio, thus making your calorie count higher. ie eat more. If you wanna cut, eat less calories but not that much less.
The routines I described above is for putting on muscle slowly while keeping a fit body. I'm not one of those people who want to bulk up and become fat and then cut for months. I'd rather stay pretty fit all the time and do slow bodily changes. Also my routines are a result of the fact that I love running and that one of my priorities is trying to run 5K/10K faster all the time.
These workouts are more about a slim, athletic physique than bulging muscles. Everyone has different goals when it comes to exercise, these are mine.
How many sets/reps?
For gaining strength: 1-7 reps
Muscle gains: 8-11/12 reps
Endurance training: 12-15 reps
A good idea is to vary the amout of reps you do for different exercises. Also do more sets when you do a low amout of reps, ie 4-5x6. When you do many reps, 2x15 is enough. For medium range, go with 3-4x8-10 reps. Like on your chest workout for example, you could do 5x5 reps for barbell bench press, 4x8 reps of dumbbell bench press and 3x10 reps of flies. I don't do more than 10 reps very often though. Experiment with it. Remember, variation is the key to success. Some people like to do heavy low-rep workouts (5x5 etc) for a couple of weeks and then switch to like 4x8 for a couple of weeks and then doing 2x15 for a week and then starting over from the top again.
Now onto exercises. I will discuss them more in detail later on, but for now I will link to them. They are also explained very well in the link with gif:s included. Search for the exercises i've written down there.
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
Chest:
Dumbbell bench press
Bench press
Dips
Flies
Shoulders:
Military press
Dumbbell shoulder press
Dumbbell lateral raise
Triceps:
Triceps pulldown with cable
Back:
Deadlift
Barbell bent-over standing row
Sitting row with cable
Chin-up/pull-up
Reverse flies
Biceps:
Barbell/dumbbell curl
Abs:
Sit-ups/twisted sit-ups
Any abs machine.
There are lots of exercises for abs. Search around the exercise bank on the site.
Legs:
Squats.
So many leg exercises as well, look on the site.
Ok this is getting pretty long now so I will wrap it up. I would recommend most beginners here to do the full body workout for starters, 3 times a week like I wrote in my weekly routines above. When you do a full body workout, choose one basic exercise for each mucle group; chest, shoulders, back, abs, maybe 2 for legs. And if you have time/energy do arms too. Thing is that your arms get quite alot of exercise from only doing these basic exercises for your bigger muscle groups, so you don't really need to train them separately every workout.
So an example of a full body workout would be:
Dumbbell/barbell benchpress 3x8
Deadlift/bent-over barbell row 5x5/3x8
Military press/dumbbell shoulder press 3x8
Abs exercise of choice 3x8
Squats 3x8/5x5 and mix it up between workouts with different leg exercises.
The point is that you could go dumbbell benchpress in the monday workout, barbell benchpress at the wednesday workout and dumbbells again Friday. That's why I put some different exercises above. Yeah you get the picture, ask me if you don't understand something I wrote above.
Now do this full body workout 3 times a week for starters and mix in cardio on off days, one day a week in the beginning. Try to keep the weekend off for rest, you will need it. If you wanna gain weight, eat more calories. If you wanna loose weight, eat less calories.
In the next blog I will talk about nutrition, because it's a huge part of working out.
Also remember to only use a weight you can actually handle. I don't want you to get injured and neither do you. Focus on learning the exercises and doing them with good form. For deadlift/squat, always keep a straight back and pull in/tense abs. No fucking slouching. I mean it.
Good luck! And post any questions =)
