Time to revise my workout routine

[BHeemsoth]

Hey guys,

I've been working out fairly regularly for the last 3 years or so. Over the first 6 months, I lost about 40 pounds, but since then I have remained somewhat static in my weight...rarely gaining or losing more than 5-10lbs. I feel like I'm just wasting the time I spend working out, and want to make some changes to more effectively use my time, and therefore see better results.

About me:
-21 years old
-College student
-6'6
-~290lbs
-Decently muscular
-Somewhat overweight, but not morbidly (XL shirt, 38 pants)
-Consume the typical college diet, which will make things somewhat difficult I assume. Changing my diet significantly is an option, but there will be times when I slip (drink heavily on weekends, occasionally pig out).

My current routine:
-Run 2 miles (8:34 mile)
-Bench Press (3x10 @150lbs)
-Inclined Press (3x10 @ 130lbs)
-Curling (3x10 @ 80lbs)

I do this 4-5 days per week. I don't want to get any bigger (stronger), though I would like to keep my current muscle mass.

What I was thinking was keeping my current routine, but only going through it every other day. I was planning on doing an hour of heavy cardio on the other days (running, eliptical, bike, etc.). Would this be beneficial?

This really isn't my strong suit, and I know there are people here who know much more than I do, so I was hoping the great minds here would be able to help me out.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[purbeast0]

no offense but your current routine is terrible.

you aren't even working out any muscles other than your chest and biceps (triceps getting secondary workout in there). you are leaving out your shoulders, back, abs, traps, and legs.

working the same muscles 4-5 times a week is way overkill and can actually hinder your progress big time. personally i recommend doing each muscle 1 time a week as that's enough to build muscles. you could workout all of your muscle groups on a 4 day cycle.

also you don't really give any detail on your diet at all, that could be beneficial to know. you also don't give any details as to what your goal is. you say you dont want to get stronger and want to keep your current muscle, but that you want to generate more muscle to burn more calories and want to make yourself look smaller

 

[BHeemsoth]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
no offense but your current routine is terrible.

you aren't even working out any muscles other than your chest and biceps (triceps getting secondary workout in there). you are leaving out your shoulders, back, abs, traps, and legs.

working the same muscles 4-5 times a week is way overkill and can actually hinder your progress big time. personally i recommend doing each muscle 1 time a week as that's enough to build muscles. you could workout all of your muscle groups on a 4 day cycle.

also you don't really give any detail on your diet at all, that could be beneficial to know. you also don't give any details as to what your goal is. you say you dont want to get stronger and want to keep your current muscle, but that you want to generate more muscle to burn more calories and want to make yourself look smaller

Heh, yeah...I'm aware that my current routine sucks. I've always just shown up and done what I've wanted...hence the need for change.

My goal is to slim down...I'd like to reach around 250lbs or so within 6-8 months.

As for my diet, I consume reasonable portions of pasta, salad, a meat dish, and other foods for dinner, and usually a sandwich or wrap of some sorts for lunch. However, junk food (fast food) often gets intermingled in. Obviously this will be a step in righting the ship.

 

[GenHoth]

Don't worry about bulking up, you can afford to get much stronger without much added mass. I'm 160 lbs and my bench is past yours. Don't be afraid of strength! Its good weight and size! So lift hard and enjoy the benefits!

 

[purbeast0]

rpbri2886 honestly i'd just recommend people to do the routine I do since it's worked out so well for me the past 3 years or so.

Monday - shoulders/abs
Tuesday - back/biceps
Thursday - chest/triceps
Saturday - legs

I try to keep shoulders/chest the farthest apart because one being sore can hinder the other muscle with certain exercises. also it gives me plenty of rest and i'm not in the gym 24/7. I'm typically there like 60mins, sometimes 75mins.

You can just toss in some cardio any days. Your cardio seems to be pretty good. Running 10 miles a week is no joke.

Also try to push your farther each week or so with the cardio. Try to run those 2 miles faster, or try to run 2.5 miles. Just something to change it up so your body doesn't just get used to it.

For starters with the weight lifting, stick to the most compound exercises you can do for that muscle group and toss in some more as you start to get used to the routine. Total I try to do about 8-10 sets for each muscle.

shoulders - military presses
chest - barbell bench press
triceps - close grip bench press
back - deadlifts, barbell bentover rows
biceps - straight barbell curl
legs - squats

i actually can't even do 3 of those exercises right now cause of a back injury, and I don't do barbell military presses either because i popped my sholder one time lifting the bar off, but if I could do all those I would do them.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Shens, There is no way you are 6'6" 290lbs and wear an XL shirt. I'm 6'5" 235-240 and have to wear XXL to be comfortable. I can get away with XL T's, but they are tight and can chafe under the arms a bit. For long sleeve button, and dress shirts, XXL just barely fit in arm length and around the upper torso, that includes any brand I've bought the last couple years *since size can vary by maker*. Unless you are really small in the shoulders and arms, and carry much of the weight as the old spare tire and lower body, there is just no way I can see a guy your size wearing even short sleeve XL comfortably.

BTW, 150lbs for bench@6'6" 290? Really? No wonder you think "Planet Fitness. It's a nice little gym,and I've never heard the "lunkalert" alarm go off" Yeah, I am being kind of a dick, sorry, but I failed in trying to restrain myself from posting that.

 

[BHeemsoth]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
Shens, There is no way you are 6'6" 290lbs and wear an XL shirt. I'm 6'5" 235-240 and have to wear XXL to be comfortable. I can get away with XL T's, but they are tight and can chafe under the arms a bit. For long sleeve button, and dress shirts, XXL just barely fit in arm length and around the upper torso, that includes any brand I've bought the last couple years *since size can vary by maker*. Unless you are really small in the shoulders and arms, and carry much of the weight as the old spare tire and lower body, there is just no way I can see a guy your size wearing even short sleeve XL comfortably.

BTW, 150lbs for bench@6'6" 290? Really? No wonder you think "Planet Fitness. It's a nice little gym,and I've never heard the "lunkalert" alarm go off" Yeah, I am being kind of a dick, sorry, but I failed in trying to restrain myself from posting that.

Well, that was an incredibly immature post, especially the last section. For your information I can lift more. Much more. I normally don't have a spotter, and always want to remain on the side of caution, and never get myself into an irrecoverable situation.

As for my clothing size...feel free to come check out my closet. I wear a 17 1/2 size shirt, and XL T-shirts. Perhaps we have different body styles.

I would expect more maturity out of someone from the moderating community.

EDIT: Thank you to everyone else who has provided meaningful feedback.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

immature? I'll take that, particularly since maturity is highly over rated, and when I post in a thread, I post as a member, not mod. It also seems you expect more from a volunteer moderator than you do a gym you pay for. Working with light weights because getting a spot is evidently some kind of issue? :thumbsdown:

Purbeast gave you excellent advice, so just consider my immature posts a free bump.

 

[dakels]

I don't see why you guys need to get on his case about the weights. What does it matter what weights he does? I see no problem with him not wanting more obvious muscle mass or whatever his rationale is. I personally can lift about 3-4x the amount I actually use in practice because of 2 very good reasons, I dont want to become muscle bound, nor risk injury since I have previous sports injuries.

Muscle tone and balance is another matter. I would think that a more balanced routine would help a lot. I'd also advise a lot more cardio and better dieting to reduce more wait within safe tolerances. I would personally recommend swimming but do what you like as long as it doesn't hurt you and keeps you interested. I hate stationary bikes and can't run anymore so I practice hockey and play tennis at pretty high level of exertion for my cardio.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: dakels
I don't see why you guys need to get on his case about the weights. What does it matter what weights he does? I see no problem with him not wanting more obvious muscle mass or whatever his rationale is. I personally can lift about 3-4x the amount I actually use in practice because of 2 very good reasons, I dont want to become muscle bound, nor risk injury since I have previous sports injuries.

Muscle tone and balance is another matter. I would think that a more balanced routine would help a lot. I'd also advise a lot more cardio and better dieting to reduce more wait within safe tolerances. I would personally recommend swimming but do what you like as long as it doesn't hurt you and keeps you interested. I hate stationary bikes and can't run anymore so I practice hockey and play tennis at pretty high level of exertion for my cardio.

It matters because the weight he's doing is less than what my 145 lb. brother does. He's not strong for his size as it is. If he's worried about needing a spotter at 10 reps of 150, he's not strong. I'm 220 lbs. and I can do 3 sets of 10 at 175 without concern, and I'm not particularly strong (I can do 10 lbs. more than my bodyweight as a 1-rep maximum bench press).

I'm not saying that to disparage him, I'm using that as a point of reference. Someone saying they don't want to build obvious muscle mass is just silly. You don't just happen to build big muscles. You need to eat a lot and train hard with a very good program to build a significant quantity of muscle (and it can take years). If you want to be strong (and I don't mean bigger, I mean stronger, and really, who wants to be weak?) you should lift heavy. A good set/rep range for those not on a hypertrophy program would be 3 sets (after 1 or 2 warmups) of 8-10, with the weight at your 10 rep max (i.e. if you can do 11 reps of that weight, it's not enough weight).

With bench press this is a little difficult without a spotter, but most other lifts do not have any issues, you can just bail on the weight (that's what a squat rack is for, and why they have rubber floors at the gym). Even with bench press you can use a power rack as a spotter (just set the safety bars a little bit above your chest).

The exercises I recommend: Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Press, Pullups, Dips, Barbell Rows, Shoulder press. These are all the basic movements you need to hit all of your major muscle groups (yes, even your biceps, since pullups and rows will make your biceps grow if you do enough of them). For cardio I recommend HIIT. If you do some easy, soft cardio, you will burn calories, but you won't improve your performance. If you do HIIT you will burn calories, get your cardio done quicker, increase your metabolism, and increase your cardiovascular efficiency. Looks like a no brainer to me.

 

[BHeemsoth]

Lol, you guys chastise me and make me out to be some weakling. I have done in the past, and can do 230 or so pounds, for at least a set. I throw up 150 like it's nothing.

Thank you to all who have helped thus far. It is very much appreciated.

 

[KoolDrew]

.....

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
You're routine sucks. Also, you lose weight by being in a calorie deficit, which is all diet. So definitely start tracking on fitday. Do that for about a week just to see where your diet is currently at and then we can adjust from there.

As for the routine, on a cut the goal is pretty much to hold onto as much muscle you currently have as possible. Unless you're a completely beginner you won't gain much if any muscle mass in a calorie deficit. Energy levels will also be down. Because of all of this, you want to keep exercises short while hitting as many muscle groups as possible well. This is done by compound movements. Stick to squats, deadlifts, bench, OH Press, Rows, Chins / Pulldowns, etc. Something like the Starting Strength model by Mark Rippetoe would be perfect...

Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Workout B
Squat 3x5
OH Press 3x5
Barbell Rows 3x5

Workout 3x a week, alternating between the two. So it'll look like this...

Week 1:
M: Workout A
W: Workout B
F: Workout A

Week 2:
M: Workout B
W: Workout A
F: Workout B

Sticking some cardio in after your workout or on off days is a good idea as well for general health and creating a small calorie deficit to allow more flexibility in your diet. Unless it's a really intense cardio session, I like to do it after a weight lifting session. It's actually been shown to reduce soreness the following day and will help burn of fatty acids that were mobilized during lifting. Any type of interval training cardio should probably be done on its own day or a while from your workout for best results though. If you havn't done much cardio before I'd probably just start by doing steady-state cardio on the treadmill or whatever after your workouts. Then once you've gotten into a little better shape, start incorporating some interval training in on off days.

 

[GenHoth]

Originally posted by: rpbri2886
Lol, you guys chastise me and make me out to be some weakling. I have done in the past, and can do 230 or so pounds, for at least a set. I throw up 150 like it's nothing.

Thank you to all who have helped thus far. It is very much appreciated.

Then you are wasting your time, don't even bother with them.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: rpbri2886
Lol, you guys chastise me and make me out to be some weakling. I have done in the past, and can do 230 or so pounds, for at least a set. I throw up 150 like it's nothing.

Thank you to all who have helped thus far. It is very much appreciated.

Ok, so your goal is weight loss then? Well, at that point, you want to be lifting in such a manner that will help you cut weight. That means you should do higher reps, less weight. I would say approx. 3 sets of 10 reps in whatever you do. It shouldn't be a walk in the park though. You should fail or get extremely near failing on your last rep.

With that, I say you do the compound lifts that everyone is suggesting: squat, deadlift, military press, barbell rows, etc, etc (refer to spamsk8r's post for the rest). This will utilize the most amount of muscle in your body, therefore stimulating the greatest increase in metabolism and calorie burn. On top of that, you should probably do some sort of cardio (whichever you like best). You can do long, endurance stuff or you can do grueling interval training (HIIT), which are both hard. You just have to pick your poison if you want to lose weight.

Also, one of the most important parts is diet. This is often where people lose the battle. You should be taking in less calories than you're spending. Significantly less. You're a big guy, so consuming less than 2200 would probably be hard for you. Maybe try to take in 2200-2400 of a well-balanced diet. Look online for some tips for healthy eating. You may also want to look into the Zone diet (which I suggest pretty much in every weight loss thread) because it allows you to take in a fair amount of fats (which you burn throughout the day) that keep you more satiated and less hungry than high-carb diets.

This is pretty much all I can tell you Your routine hasn't been strong, but you can change all that. Good luck.

 

[skace]

"I don't want to get huge" is an awful excuse. Nothing should ever be easy in workouts, not your running, not your lifting. That has nothing to do with being huge, it has to do with being healthy and properly exercising your body. Cardio is based around heart rate. Heart rate doesn't elevate significantly when you are doing something easy.

 

[Jinru]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
.....

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
You're routine sucks. Also, you lose weight by being in a calorie deficit, which is all diet. So definitely start tracking on fitday. Do that for about a week just to see where your diet is currently at and then we can adjust from there.

As for the routine, on a cut the goal is pretty much to hold onto as much muscle you currently have as possible. Unless you're a completely beginner you won't gain much if any muscle mass in a calorie deficit. Energy levels will also be down. Because of all of this, you want to keep exercises short while hitting as many muscle groups as possible well. This is done by compound movements. Stick to squats, deadlifts, bench, OH Press, Rows, Chins / Pulldowns, etc. Something like the Starting Strength model by Mark Rippetoe would be perfect...

Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Workout B
Squat 3x5
OH Press 3x5
Barbell Rows 3x5

Workout 3x a week, alternating between the two. So it'll look like this...

Week 1:
M: Workout A
W: Workout B
F: Workout A

Week 2:
M: Workout B
W: Workout A
F: Workout B

Sticking some cardio in after your workout or on off days is a good idea as well for general health and creating a small calorie deficit to allow more flexibility in your diet. Unless it's a really intense cardio session, I like to do it after a weight lifting session. It's actually been shown to reduce soreness the following day and will help burn of fatty acids that were mobilized during lifting. Any type of interval training cardio should probably be done on its own day or a while from your workout for best results though. If you havn't done much cardio before I'd probably just start by doing steady-state cardio on the treadmill or whatever after your workouts. Then once you've gotten into a little better shape, start incorporating some interval training in on off days.

Rippetoe's ftw! I was on this for the first 4 months I started lifting. Dramatically helped me increase in my lifts and get my form down as I didn't know wtf I was doing at the beginning. Right now I'm on a program similar to purebeasts post with a push/pull routine.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Contrary to what you find in most weightlifting forums, there are other alternatives to lifting the heaviest weight you possibly can.

http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Hea...ce-based/dp/1594865841

I've found this book very useful in achieving what I believe your goals are, which is a lean/athletic build. You still lift(explosively), you still do cardio, you still eat right, but in a different way than the trendy Rippetoe program.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan
Contrary to what you find in most weightlifting forums, there are other alternatives to lifting the heaviest weight you possibly can.

http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Hea...ce-based/dp/1594865841

I've found this book very useful in achieving what I believe your goals are, which is a lean/athletic build. You still lift(explosively), you still do cardio, you still eat right, but in a different way than the trendy Rippetoe program.

I usually only recommend the Rippetoe program to those who are wanting to gain weight (which is mainly what it is for, as Mark Rippetoe has stated). It wouldn't hurt someone to do it when they're trying to lose weight, but you could probably find a more optimal program (such as one that combines weight lifting with cardio). I do CrossFit currently, which does that, and it works great. I'm getting stronger, leaner, and my workouts from start to finish are usually under 45 minutes.

 

[everman]

Read this: http://builtblog.wikidbody.com...7/06/11/baby-got-back/

 

[SearchMaster]

Originally posted by: rpbri2886
Lol, you guys chastise me and make me out to be some weakling. I have done in the past, and can do 230 or so pounds, for at least a set. I throw up 150 like it's nothing.

Thank you to all who have helped thus far. It is very much appreciated.

I think the point is that if you're not getting anything out of it (which seems likely, with a max of 230+, 150 should be almost no effort), then there's not much reason to even do it.

I weigh about 175 and have never been very good at bench. When I was much younger (I'm 40 now), I benched sets at about 225. After years of inactivity and aging, I now do sets of 175 for the same reason as you - I work out at home and never have a spotter and don't want to get hurt. So IMHO you should be able to safely bump your weight until you at least feel like you're getting something out of it. And you're not going to get huge, it takes a lot of work to do that.

Also I think the other advice here is very good - switch up your workout. Instead of doing the same exercises 4-5 times a week, vary it. I do about the same things you do when I work out but it's because I only get to do it every 5-10 days.

 

[maluckey]

Look everyone,

The OP isn't in such good shape, and his workout is minimal. This is a given. There is zero need to bash him.

My 2 cents

Muscle mass and endurance are NOT exclusive of each other. Gaining muscle mass and losing body fat are also not exclusive of each other. Mass and endurance only become exclusive of each other as you get closer to your genetic potential. before then, there's plenty of room for change.

rpbri2886

As you gain muscle mass, you'll raise your metabolism and burn more fat with everything that you do. The first thing that you have to do is to put more effort into the workouts, the second thing is to add cardio vascular excercise a couple of times per week. At your current level, you could conceivably do cardio and muscle building in the same workout. 30-40 minutes of INTENSE musclebuilding, followed by 20-25 minutes of cardio.

Next is to clean up the diet and ensure that you're getting enough calories and protein to support the workout.

This approach could work just fine for about four to six months. After that, you'll need the extra time for muscle training, and have to separate cardio from the muscular workout.

 

[jiggahertz]

Originally posted by: rpbri2886

Originally posted by: purbeast0
no offense but your current routine is terrible.

you aren't even working out any muscles other than your chest and biceps (triceps getting secondary workout in there). you are leaving out your shoulders, back, abs, traps, and legs.

working the same muscles 4-5 times a week is way overkill and can actually hinder your progress big time. personally i recommend doing each muscle 1 time a week as that's enough to build muscles. you could workout all of your muscle groups on a 4 day cycle.

also you don't really give any detail on your diet at all, that could be beneficial to know. you also don't give any details as to what your goal is. you say you dont want to get stronger and want to keep your current muscle, but that you want to generate more muscle to burn more calories and want to make yourself look smaller

Heh, yeah...I'm aware that my current routine sucks. I've always just shown up and done what I've wanted...hence the need for change.

My goal is to slim down...I'd like to reach around 250lbs or so within 6-8 months.

As for my diet, I consume reasonable portions of pasta, salad, a meat dish, and other foods for dinner, and usually a sandwich or wrap of some sorts for lunch. However, junk food (fast food) often gets intermingled in. Obviously this will be a step in righting the ship.

The problem is, what looks reasonable to everyone is different. Use measuring cups, food scales, etc and track your caloric intake for a week on fitday. Slowly decrease your calories until you're loosing 1-2lbs/week. You're not going to loose weight if you're eating more calories than you burn no matter how good your routine is.