a bit of advice please

[chickenman]

Hi all

I have been snooping around here for a couple of weeks getting some motivation to finally get off my ass and change my bod.. Am very impressed by the way everyone is there to help and offer advice so i thought id get into it and get started...

i am 26 fairly active.. have always played soccer and golf and have a love for sports in general.. have kinda just been going with the flow the last few years and now its time to do something about it. i am contemplating posting up my pics intime for the comp and having a crack but am still to decide...

anyway a bit about me i was due to fly down to police college in may but a few weeks before broke my tib/fib playing footy..(rod and screws in leg) after a few weeks of feeling sorry for myself i have decided to get fit and then when i can go down again ill be better and stronger. looking good for my wedding in jan is a bonus too....... and no doubt theres going to be public nudity involved on the stag night!!!

currently i am just startng to walk (hobble) short distances with out crutches and am starting to do cardio in the form of the bike , rower and starting on the strider.

i have been in and out of the gym for years so know the basics.

currently weigh 86 . main focus is to get rid of the belly (a result of working in an alcohol shop) and gain some muscle (size). and maybe in a year or so look at a comp but for now to get fit and healthy.

Will be finding out bf % next week.

the bigest question at the moment is what kind of workout split to do bearing in mind i cant work my legs for a while longer yet???

i was going to workout upper body mon tues then just do some cardio (swim, bike ) and maybe abs on wed then the same split again

on thurs , friday. and some form of cardio on the weekend???

reading the posts it appears this may not give me enough rest time for growth and recovery!!

for the last couple of weeks ive just been doing random all body workouts to get back in the routine of going to the gym.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

is this the longest intro in history???

[Pseudonym]

Gidday chickenman. The kind of routine split you've posted leaves you squashing too much into one workout for my liking. It means nothing gets worked out properly. Having said that, there are people that swear by it.

Personally, I'd prefer something like this:

Mon - Back

Tue - Chest and abs

Wed - cardio

Thur - Shoulders

Fri - Biceps and triceps

Sat - cardio and abs

Sun - cake

As for entering the Challenge, it sounds like (apart from your legs) you're in the perfect position to make some dramatic changes, and take the Most Improved prize. Give it a go - you've got nothing to lose.

[Gym rat]

Hi and welcome abord chickenman spread your training out like what I like to do is Monday quads and calfs,Tuseday Chest,abs and cardio,Wednesday Hamstirings,Thursday shoulders,triceps,Friday back,biceps and Saturday cardio.Any plans on starting up a jouranl?

[chickenman]

Awesome thanks....

will start off there and see how it goes . is there a set amount of exercises for each bodypart that works best or shall i browse the workout journals to get an idea of what people are doing??

i just purchased a few things to add to my diet that should help. i got some protein powder , the pitbull lean extreme and the cellmass for after my workouts. (recomended by the dude in the shop as a good stack to start with)???

am very excited about the next few months and the changes that are gonna come!!!

will get my missus to snap some pics and get them up.... do i get bonus points cause i only got one leg working!!!haha

cheers

[chickenman]

yup will be starting up a journal from next week,, with weights and diet!!

cheers

[Gasp]

Yep stick to Pseudonyms routine. I think Gym Rat missed the "can`t do quads Bit".

I ripped my entire left quad off my knee 5 years ago and was in a horrible hinged cast for 3 months. Today apart from an ugly scar I am back to squating 180kgs in sets of 10.

It was still important to still work the other leg even while my left leg was shrinking, mainly because I couldnt see the point of having two wasted legs. It also gave me increased motivation to get that withered looking thing back up to speed quicker once the cast came off and the physio got working and rubber bands started the first stage of strengthening and I could finally get under a bar again a hell of a lot quicker.

I used a wall and two dumb-bells to complete my one-legged workouts.

One word of warning though. If working one leg make sure you do plenty of lower back stretching before and after.

At 86ks though youve obviously got a bit of size and can therefore maintain it a fair bit with just some good upper body stuff.

[Hone]

Howdy Chickanman this is my current routine at the moment. I find it allows me to really work the muscles but also allows me plenty of time to recover. Remember you grow out of the gym not in it.

Mon- Back, Biceps, abs

Tue- Cardio

Wed- Chest, shoulders,tris

Thur- Rest

Fri- Legs, abs (cardio while you can't train lrgs)

Sat- Rest (cardio when you can train legs)

Sun- Rest

Don't fall in to the trap of more is better, your workouts shouldn't last more than an hour, 3 exercises for large muscle groups, 3 or 4 sets per exercise, 2 exercises for small muscle groups and around 2 or 3 sets per exercise. If you train with the correct weight and intensity trust me that will be enough.

Make sure you do a couple of warm up sets and maintain strict form while doing the exercise otherwise you will risk injury. Remember to listen to your body as some days you won't feel as strong so back off the weight and maybe do another set with the lighter weight.

With the cardio you need to find a balance so you are not training on some days to gain lean mass but then go out and run it all off. Diet will be important so your body is getting enough of the right protein, carbs and fats so you can increase lean body mass and to drop off the body fat.

While you are off your feet I would be doing as much research as I could on food groups, diets and nutrition in general as once you understand the nutrition side you will make far better gains. As far as supps go I think a good quality protein powder and a multi vit and mineral is sufficient for most people. In general I think people are better off spending their money on real food than buying lots of supplements.

One last thing, if you are planning to go into Police college before the wedding or even there when you get married I would watch any public nudity. Had a mate in the nineties at Police college and did a similar thing, he got charged and kicked out of college! Good luck.

[chickenman]

cheers for all the advice...

im putting together a routine at the moment.....(whilst at work) :wink:

just a query...... i see some people train there triceps and biceps on the same day while others prefer to train them on different days.

is there advantages with doing this either way or is it just personal preference???

HONE...... can envisage being tied up somewhere by my groomsmen and humiliated as opposed to willingly being a public nuisance, but one thing i have going is whatever they do i can better at there stag nights!!

but thanks for the advise ill use it in my argument against them going to far!!! haha

[Gasp]

....One other thing. When you have a dodgy leg use hammer machines if they are available. Otherwise its a real bugger trying to do half of the chest and back exercises.

[chickenman]

at the risk of sounding like a dumb ass can you please explain what a hammer machine is??? :?

ive never heard these reffered to in the gym before?

cheers....

[teamfatboy]

"Hammer Strength" brand machines - rather than free barbell or dumbbell exercises

Essentially, a machine station (any brand) helps guide the movement, which means that joints/ tendons etc aren't at so much risk.