Am I doing the right exercises??

[mintmate]

Hi there!

Just after some advice on my gym program and whether i am doing enough/the right exercises for me!

I am Female, 21 years, 171cm tall and 73.3kg

Currently trying to rehab a knee injury and lose weight to about 65 kgs ish

I go to the gym 5 times a week...3 x 30 min sessions for physio ( which focus solely on my leg strength) and 2 sessions of me doing me own random thing

I think I have a problem of exercising everything at once and not getting enough rest as I have no set days to do set weights

Current exercises: all reps are 3x8

DB Bench Press: 14kg each one

Barbell Curl: 20kg

Lat Pulldowns: 42kg

Tricep Pulldowns: 35kg

Iso-Lateral Row: 60kg

Assisted Chin Ups: 45kg

DB Shoulder Press: 9kg each one

Squats with Barbell: 50kg ( currently building up to more cos of my knee)

Leg Press: Singled Leg 79kg

Leg Extension: 42 kg good leg, 28 bad leg

Seated Leg Curl: 35kg good leg, 21kg bad leg

Cardio: 15 minutes Level 12 on lifecycle on random setting

10 minutes on the treadmill (2 mins running 10.5km, 1 min walkin on 6km....only just started running last week cos of knee again)

Generally on a single day I do the same cardio each time (as above) and do approx 75% of the weights listed above, I get pissed off if people are on the machines i need to use so I just do whatever. Im usually at the gym for approx an hour

Can someone please please please help me as what I should be doing.... I am clueless haha

Have an awesome day everyone!! :grin:

[ThePman]

Has your physio given you any guidelines regarding what to do and/or avoid for your knee?

What was the injury, for that matter?

Seeing leg press and leg extensions, and running for that matter, in there with a knee injury makes me cringe, but I want to know more before I go into Lecture Mode.

[fudoc5]

Hi there!

Just after some advice on my gym program and whether i am doing enough/the right exercises for me!

I am Female, 21 years, 171cm tall and 73.3kg

Currently trying to rehab a knee injury and lose weight to about 65 kgs ish

I go to the gym 5 times a week...3 x 30 min sessions for physio ( which focus solely on my leg strength) and 2 sessions of me doing me own random thing

I think I have a problem of exercising everything at once and not getting enough rest as I have no set days to do set weights

Current exercises: all reps are 3x8

DB Bench Press: 14kg each one

Barbell Curl: 20kg

Lat Pulldowns: 42kg

Tricep Pulldowns: 35kg

Iso-Lateral Row: 60kg

Assisted Chin Ups: 45kg

DB Shoulder Press: 9kg each one

Squats with Barbell: 50kg ( currently building up to more cos of my knee)

Leg Press: Singled Leg 79kg

Leg Extension: 42 kg good leg, 28 bad leg

Seated Leg Curl: 35kg good leg, 21kg bad leg

Cardio: 15 minutes Level 12 on lifecycle on random setting

10 minutes on the treadmill (2 mins running 10.5km, 1 min walkin on 6km....only just started running last week cos of knee again)

Generally on a single day I do the same cardio each time (as above) and do approx 75% of the weights listed above, I get pissed off if people are on the machines i need to use so I just do whatever. Im usually at the gym for approx an hour

Can someone please please please help me as what I should be doing.... I am clueless haha

Have an awesome day everyone!! :grin:

Are you doing the same exercises every day? I think its best to focus on at least 2 muscle groups for each gym session. that way, your muscles can have enough time to recover back before you train them again. for example, for cutting up,i do:

day 1 - chest and biceps (cardio)

day 2 - back and abs

day 3 - shoulders and triceps(cardio)

day 4 - legs and abs

day 5 - rest

day 6 - cardio and rest

and repeat all over....

for cardio,i do them either first thing in the morning (empty stomach) or after weights(20-30min max). I go to the uni gym,so i know what you mean when the machines r always f#$ken taken :evil: oh well....just my 2 cents

[mintmate]

Thanks guys!!

Pman: I tore my left ACL in May 2009...had operation in August 19 2009. So im nearly 5 months post op. My physio has me doin the leg press and leg extension etc as I need to rebuild my quad,hammy and calf as all my strength was pretty much gone after surgery sucky as. I have seen my surgeon and have been cleared for running only jus doin treadmill work no concrete or anything yet. Have no pain in it so im progressing well (i think! )

Fudoc5: I am doing most of the exercises everyday...I go to the gym on mon.tues.thurs.fri.sat is there any particular days i should be doing what??? or does that no matter. I have physio on mon,tues and thurs so those sessions are mostly leg based. and your calves look AMAZING from your photo i only have one now cos my knee op destroyed it and im working to build it back up!

[fudoc5]

Fudoc5: I am doing most of the exercises everyday...I go to the gym on mon.tues.thurs.fri.sat is there any particular days i should be doing what??? or does that no matter. I have physio on mon,tues and thurs so those sessions are mostly leg based. and your calves look AMAZING from your photo i only have one now cos my knee op destroyed it and im working to build it back up!

thnxs mintmate, as long as your consistent w/ each body part you are training each week should be sweet.so im guessing wed and sun are your rest days.oh,depending on how much leg work your physio gets you to do.id try to avoid doing legs on a physio day (sat maybe?).i had a similar issue when i bunged my right rotator cuff last yr,took 8mths to fully get back to normal,during that time i focused more on slowly workingaround around the injury.good things take time,just keep hitting those legs and you'll be back to full stregth in no time! good luck

[ThePman]

Pman: I tore my left ACL in May 2009...had operation in August 19 2009. So im nearly 5 months post op. My physio has me doin the leg press and leg extension etc as I need to rebuild my quad,hammy and calf as all my strength was pretty much gone after surgery sucky as. I have seen my surgeon and have been cleared for running only jus doin treadmill work no concrete or anything yet. Have no pain in it so im progressing well (i think! )

I'm not even remotely going to second-guess your physio with an e-diagnosis, so carry on. I was just curious as to the rationale. Over-emphasis on the quads vs. hamstrings after an ACL injury (or any knee injury for that matter) is one of those things I always wonder about, with regards to why most physios seem to do it, but that's a debate for another time and place.

As far as what you're doing, full-body workouts 3x per week are hard to go wrong with as a scheme for basic lifting. If I were organizing it I'd probably be more conservative with the number of exercises and incorporate some heavier and lighter days across the week, but there's nothing inherently wrong with that setup and I think it's near ideal for a lot of people.

[mintmate]

Thanks again guys

Fudoc5: Yip I try just do cardio and upper body on fri and sat due to the intense amount of leg work on the other days...now squatting 60kg!! woohoo.

In terms of progress I have been on these weights for a few weeks now..what should I do to progress to heavier weights?? or do I just drop the number of reps??

And do you have any advice on what cardio to do..I am keen to do some treadmill work now my knee is getting better..but what machine it is doesnt really matter

Pman: my physio has torn his acl himself a few years back so im pretty much following his rehab programme..which I must admit hurts like hell but I am getting stronger every week. So when you say I should do heavier and lighter days a week...does that mean change weights and reps or just do less???

[fudoc5]

Thanks again guys

Fudoc5: Yip I try just do cardio and upper body on fri and sat due to the intense amount of leg work on the other days...now squatting 60kg!! woohoo.

In terms of progress I have been on these weights for a few weeks now..what should I do to progress to heavier weights?? or do I just drop the number of reps??

And do you have any advice on what cardio to do..I am keen to do some treadmill work now my knee is getting better..but what machine it is doesnt really matter

quote]

wow nice work on the squats :clap: .seems like your making good recovery.i think if ur gonna up the weights,do so with smaller weight increments at a time (like 1-2kgs,low reps) just to be on the safe side,until you r fully confident with the added weights. sometimes i like to mix it up between 1)going heavy w/ low reps,and/or 2)going light w/ high reps for each set for most exercises.like for squats:

set 1 - bar + 10kgs each side (25-50reps)(considered high rep n very light for me)

set 2 - 100kgs total (12 reps)(comfortable)

set 3 - 140kgs total (6-8reps)(just bearable)

set 4 - 170kgs+ (3reps or till failure)(sometimes need spotting)

thats basically the concept i apply for most exercises,even when i bunged my shoulder,and its worked v well. of course the number of reps and weights varies w/ different people.

for cardio,try not to run on a leg day.you could try some hiit work on crosstrainers,bikes,cycles. im not sure how bad your knees are atm, but id prob incorporate some short duration incline running as its less stressful on the knees,and keep it short, while slowing increasing your time/distance every week or two......maybe someone could shed some light here...hope that helps

[mintmate]

Ok sweet as Fudoc5 I will try do that next time at the gym! Spent the whole day in huge heels for the Riccarton Races yesterday and knee was all good so seems to be coming along nicely. I try to do bike work on my non physio days just because i can sit down and its not so much pressure on my knee!! ( and because I can actually do really well on the bike and show off a bit haha because it was the only cardio I was allowed to do for 6 months! )

[Chemo]

Skipping is great cardio if your injured, and great cardio fullstop

I've also injured my knee and skipping has givin me no issues yet.

"Yip I try just do cardio and upper body on fri and sat due to the intense amount of leg work on the other days...now squatting 60kg"

wow that's pretty good for being injured man, GL with the recovery