Critique my workout routine

[sniperruff]

I've started working out since June... and I don't really know much about working out. I just use the machines, and do some cardio 2,3 times a week. Anyway here's some of the stuff I do:

- I don't stretch. I usually start the workout by using the bicep curl incline thing with the bar with weights.
- I lift less and less as I do more sets. For example, for bicep curls I'd start with 40lbs, maybe 2 sets of 8 reps, then I'd move down to 30 lbs with maybe 10 reps, then I'd do something else, and then go back and do a "burn set" with 25 lbs or so.
- I do the same exercises every time I work out. I work my arms, legs, stomach... pretty much whatever I can do, all in the same day.
- I do cardio after I lift. I sweat a lot so I can't workout after I do cardio.
- On the threadmill, I have to slow down every 8 minutes or so to catch my breath and drink water.
- I try to give myself 2,3 days between each workout. Is that too much/too little?

So far, I think it's working... I've toned my arm and legs (the stomach will take a while I think)... well maybe not yet toned, just less flabby. In the beginning I can add more weight to an exercise after a couple of weeks... but it's starting to slow down. My muscles aren't really that sore anymore. I lost about 5lbs over the past 4 months.

Please give me any comments/advice.

Thanks!

 

[Sukhoi]

- Stretch.
- Do less reps with more weight if you want to add bulk. 6-8 reps per set. Roughly 3-4 sets per exercise.
- Hitting stuff once a week is ok if you're lifting heavy. Do certain stuff Monday, other stuff Wednesday, and yet other stuff Friday. Or whatever. You get the idea. Don't do everything every time.
- Good. Lifting before cardio will tire you out too much.
- Depends on your routine. Give your muscles at least 48 hours before you hit that specific area again.

http://www.bodybuilding.com
http://www.exrx.net
In particular http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Start getting away from the machines. They're good to start on to get yourself used to lifting but work away from them. Keep to big compound lifts (bench press, deadlifts, squats, etc.) as your core exercises and supplement them with isolation exercises.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

It honestly depends on what you're trying to do. First of all, you need to try to stretch as best you can, even if it's minimal. You should NOT lift less weight as you go on, unless you're doing the burn out workout which will consist of you lowering weight but not stopping / separating sets. You should either keep the weight the same or, if you're going for strength training, you should increase weight and decrease reps. As for the doing the same exercises every single time, that's not TOO bad, but you wanna make sure you get everything you can. Also, if you want a more thorough workout, you can separate the one into two: upper body, and lower body / core. That would mean you would have to go to the gym a little more often though. Hm, slow down every 8 minutes to catch your breath? If you can, try to push yourself past that or perhaps slow the treadmill down so you can build up some endurance. Especially if you've been doing this since June, your endurance should be getting better. And 2 to 3 days between workouts is a pretty large amount of time. It takes 72 hours (3 days) for your muscles to start detiorating, so maybe try to split it up, like I said earlier? Yeah, it's definitely working especially if you haven't been physically active in a while. Also, if you want to tone up more, do more cardio. That's what gets rid of the fat, which will tone you up. PM me if you have any questions, man, I hope I was helpful at least to some extent.

 

[jpeyton]

- I don't stretch. I usually start the workout by using the bicep curl incline thing with the bar with weights.

Mistake. Stretching takes a couple minutes, and will minimize that chance of pulling a muscle. Why risk injury to save a couple minutes?

- I lift less and less as I do more sets. For example, for bicep curls I'd start with 40lbs, maybe 2 sets of 8 reps, then I'd move down to 30 lbs with maybe 10 reps, then I'd do something else, and then go back and do a "burn set" with 25 lbs or so.

You're not challenging your muscles. You want to progressively lift more and more. Start with a weight that will give you 10-12 rep max. After a few sets you should be struggling to do 8 reps.

- I do the same exercises every time I work out. I work my arms, legs, stomach... pretty much whatever I can do, all in the same day.

Huge mistake. Target one or two areas per workout, max. You're not going to see real gains otherwise.

- I do cardio after I lift. I sweat a lot so I can't workout after I do cardio.

Cardio should be done on 'off' days when you don't lift. Short duration, high-intensity cardio is great. If you must do it the same day, do it during a different time of the day.

- On the threadmill, I have to slow down every 8 minutes or so to catch my breath and drink water.

Wrong kind of cardio. Short duration, high-instensity is what you want. Walk for a minute to warm up, move to 50% your max speed for a minute, move to 70% of your max speed for the next minute, go to 100% the next minute, back down to 50% the next minute, back to 70%, 100%, so on. This way you can go for 15 minutes without stopping to catch your breath.

- I try to give myself 2,3 days between each workout. Is that too much/too little?

Too much. Remember, target one or two areas of your body, spread those workouts over 5 days, do cardio the other two days.

 

[Sukhoi]

You should NOT lift less weight as you go on

That's just an opinion on your lifting style. If you're maxing out each set it's going to be rough to go up in weight without dropping a significant number of reps the next set.