Days of rest??

[senn]

hey all,

I have been lurking this forum for the last couple of weeks or so picking up all the tips and advice I can get. However I just wanted to ask a specific question about my routine with regards to rest days.

So far I only use dumbbells, and have been working out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for about an hour each. I do the same routine on each day - which targets mainly biceps, triceps, forearms etc - basically just my arms! Is one day enough rest between my workout days? Because I've noticed when ppl usually work out on the Mon/Wed/Fri even then they are working on different body areas - such as upper body on Mondays, then maybe lower body/back on Wednesdays etc. So should I really be having more rest in between workouts since I'm only targeting one muscle group with the same exercises? I was thinking maybe just Mondays and Thursday - what do you think?

Thanks for any help in advance

[Beef]

Hey senn,

Welcome to the forums

how come you're only training your arms? if you train your other muscles there'll be no need to train your arms in isolation more than once per week. some people swear by not training their arms at all.

you can do other exercises with dumbells, such as shoulder press, dumbbell bench press, squats, lunges, rows, etc

[Jigga]

If your not leveling, your arms will look weird compared to your body if they are too big yo

[senn]

I see, so do you suggest I keep my M/W/F routine, but perhaps train only my arms on one of the 3 days? What would you suggest for say Wed and Fri?

Also I do not have a bench or anything, but guess I can still use the floor or my bed for some of the bench exercises.

Thanks for the responses guys... I know how annoying newbie questions can get :shifty:

[Beef]

yeah bro, you can use the floor for a lot of dumbbell exercises. i've found you a site that you might find helpful:

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/du ... cises.html

since you're only working with limited equipment you won't be able to do some of those exercises, but a fair chunk of them you should be able to do

if you're only working out thrice a week, you could consider doing a standard 3 day split:

Monday- Chest & Triceps

Wednesday- Back & Biceps

Friday- Legs & Shoulders

alternately, you could opt for a 2 day split of upper & lower body.

you should check out the "bodybuilding for beginners" link which you'll find at the top of the page under Resources

[senn]

awesome thanks for the advice beef!! much appreciated. that 3 day split definately looks like something that could work for me. I'll check out the links too

I will probably invest in a bench sometime too. its trippin me out though how much I've got addicted to this whole thing - at the start all I wanted was some bigger arms. I never imagined I would be taking protein shakes, and changing my diet etc etc. This whole thing is very addictive

[Beef]

:nod: sure is addictive. I think most people on this site can attest to that!

yeah the thing about working out just your arms is that they'll get out of proportion with the rest of your body, and you'd end up looking really weird

are you going to get a diet sorted? as long as you're getting a decent amount of protein in the foods that you're eating you may not have to spend extra on protein shakes

[senn]

well right now I'm taking 3 protein shakes a day 1 in the morning, 1 after workout and 1 before bed. Also consciously trying to choose and pick foods with higher protein content like meat and fish etc.. so I think its fair to say I'm good on the protein!

What about the EFA, multivitamins, creatine... and all of that? Do I need to worry about those at this stage do you think or am I all good with my diet with the protein shakes on the side of what I eat usually?

There's just so much to learn and take in.. I'm trying to get my habits correct right from the beginning - in terms of form, routine, rest and diet... because I've read how much time ppl have wasted by doing the wrong things. But sometimes I get overwhelmed by the contradicting points of view and advice, so i'm just trying to get my head around all of it

[Beef]

yeah, you're always going to find contradictory points of view. if you're looking for accurate information, you should look at some peer-reviewed journals.

i wouldn't worry about supplements at this stage mate, they're not essential. once you have a solid foundation then you can experiment. personally I've been gymming for three years now and have had satisfying results without supplements.

the most important thing to remember, is be consistent with your training. nothing is more important than consistency

i guarantee that if you stay consistent, you will get results even without the millions of fancy supplements out there.

all the best bro

[senn]

awesome, cheers mate :grin:

i know I'm stretching it... as youve been so much help already, but could you give me a few tips on designing a weekly workout routine (1 hour each workout day) for:

Monday- Chest & Triceps

Wednesday- Back & Biceps

Friday- Legs & Shoulders

The equipment I have right now is:

-adjustable dumbbells

-barbell

-stationary bicycle

-floor and bed (lol)

what is a quick recommended plan for the above with the equipment I've got? And I've been warming up before each session with 10 mins on the bike to break a light sweat - I assume that is all good if I just keep doing this each time I work out.

Finally... what about stretches? This is where I've read alot of contradicting advice, some say stretching is actually worse for your workout so should I still do stretches before workouts?

EDIT: checked out that link.. funny that was one of the first links I bookmarked from my first google search on dumbbell exercises :wink:

I should be able to work out a routine myself with that site... don't mean to come off expecting to be spoonfed :oops: would still like your opinion on stretches and warmups though

[Beef]

I generally do a few stretches post-workout, but not before pre-workout.

As for doing a 10min bike warmup, it depends what your goals are. If you're trying to pack on mass I'd ditch the cardio for the time being

maybe something like this..

Chest & Triceps

-Dumbbell Chest Press 3x10

-Press Ups 3x10

-Skullcrushers 3x10

-Diamond Pushups 3x10

Back & Biceps

-Bench Over Row 3x10

-Bodyweight Chinups (if you have somewhere to do them, if not then maybe try single arm rows) 3x10

-Preacher Curls 3x10

-Hammer Curls 3x10

Legs & Shoulders

-Dumbbell/Barbell Squats 3x10

-Lunges 3x10

-Seated Shoulder Press 3x10

-Front/Side Shoulder Raises 3x10

hope that's some help for you

[Lazarus]

Welcome Senn.

A good bet would be to check out that suggested website and post up what excercises you plan on doing (you will have the best idea of what you will be able to do with your current equipment set up), that will make it a bit easier for us to help tweak things here and there. Include plenty of compound movements.

As far as stretching goes, have a look online for dynamic stretching as that is your best bet before doing any excercises, try and keep static stretches to a minimum before hand, they are better for increasing flexibility at the end of your training.

[Monarchking]

imo

buy a barbell n a couple hundy kilo, do 3 fullbody routines and lift compounds and go :shock:

peace

[Lazarus]

It will also help to come up with some goals too, strength?, aesthetics?

You certainly wont be short on people to help point you in the right direction.

[senn]

man this place is awesome.. usually newbies get flamed for asking these types of questions!!

anyway, I will do some more research on exercises and techniques over the next few days, put together my weekly routine and post it up for fine-tuning and critique

Monarch - I plan on getting extra weights for both my barbell and dumbbells soon so I can mix and match to suit my needs.

Just quickly, what are compound movements/exercises?

[Beef]

man this place is awesome.. usually newbies get flamed for asking these types of questions!!

newbies do get flamed around here from time to time, but only when they make posts like this:

http://www.nzbodybuilding.co.nz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8962&hilit=rippedsurfer

Just quickly, what are compound movements/exercises?

Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that work several muscles or muscle groups at one time

[Phedder]

Just quickly, what are compound movements/exercises?

Beef explained them well enough. Good examples would be squats, deadlifts, bench press, and pull ups. Any movement that utilizes more than one joint movement and muscle group, the more the better. They're the best types of exercises for gaining overall strength and size.

[Ronin]

As for doing a 10min bike warmup, it depends what your goals are. If you're trying to pack on mass I'd ditch the cardio for the time being

Gonna have to disagree with you on this one. A light 10min warmup on a bike hardly counts as "cardio" that's going to detract from "packing on mass". From a physiological point of view, it's generally considered a bad idea to jump into any strenuous exercise (eg lifting heavy things) without first warming up the body.

[senn]

sometimes I get overwhelmed by the contradicting points of view

:?

[Phedder]

sometimes I get overwhelmed by the contradicting points of view

:?

In regards to the warm up, Beef is saying that if you're trying to bulk up, cardio isn't what you should be doing, but Ronin is saying that 10 minutes on a bike barely counts as cardio, and probably won't affect your ability to gain mass at all, whereas it will be beneficial to get the blood pumping and better prepare the body for lifting compared to not doing anything at all beforehand.

When you're trying to bulk up, you want to be in an anabolic state as much as possible for repairing and building the body, but prolonged cardio puts the body in a catabolic state, or breaking itself down. It really depends on what your overall goals are, and if you don't mind putting on a bit of fat whilst gaining the muscle. I've probably explained that poorly but if you're really confused on something just ask, there's plenty of knowledgeable people (more so than I) around who can help explain things.

[ringworm]

As for doing a 10min bike warmup, it depends what your goals are. If you're trying to pack on mass I'd ditch the cardio for the time being

Gonna have to disagree with you on this one. A light 10min warmup on a bike hardly counts as "cardio" that's going to detract from "packing on mass". From a physiological point of view, it's generally considered a bad idea to jump into any strenuous exercise (eg lifting heavy things) without first warming up the body.

What good is a warm up on a bike if you are training chest.

Providing you not doing 1rms for your first set, most bodybuildings and heavy weights trainers probably wouldnt do whats considered as a proper warm up.

[Ronin]

What good is a warm up on a bike if you are training chest.

Which is why I prefer to warmup on either a rower or cross-trainer, as it gets upper and lower body moving.

[senn]

my training goals are to bulk up and get as big as possible basically.

the bicycle warmup was just to get my blood pumping a little bit (like someone said), and for mental preparation more than anything. I remember reading this somewhere, but I thought the warmup was not always specifically for warming up the body area you were going to train, but just as a general warmup to get well.... warmed up. For my arms specifically I do some light sets of reps before I get into it.

I will prob continue to do this anyway as I've found I can go harder and longer if I do a quick warmup as opposed to jumping straight in. Might just be all in the mind but thats as important as anything really

[ringworm]

What good is a warm up on a bike if you are training chest.

Which is why I prefer to warmup on either a rower or cross-trainer, as it gets upper and lower body moving.

In my opinion its just as benficial if not more to do a couple of lightweight high rep sets on the bodypart you are intending to train prior to getting started with your workout.

So dont need cardio macahines to warm up for a weights session

[senn]

I might try that... (going back on my word already :oops: )

The reason being when I first started about 2 months ago, I only did the light reps before hand, and I didn't seem to last very long with my workout. Then for the last month, I've been doing the 10min biking beforehand - and noticed I had more stamina throughout - BUT... in saying that this is probably just my overal strength and endurance improving with time rather than attributable to the biking warmup.

I'll go for the next period without the biking warmup because I'm trying to cut down on unnecessary time in the 'gym' (ie bedroom) anyway.

anymore thoughts on this?