Help from Weightlifting Folks?

[kitchen_kink]

Am I overtraining?

Below is my current workout schedule, as I have been performing it for four weeks. I am finding myself tired (not just sleeping too late as usual, but also getting tired early), hungry a lot, and having a reduced sex drive. I am wondering if I'm doing too much, or if my body just needs an adjustment period. Any remarks on this, and what I might do to improve my situation if it's not just about needing time to adjust? (And if it takes time - how much!)

What I'm also wondering is, if I'm doing upper body twice a week and lower body twice a week, isn't that fairly standard? How could I lower that amount and still effectively build muscle tone?

Monday:
25 minutes cardio
Upper body workout, 3 sets each of maximum 12 reps (once I reach higher, I raise the weight):
Lat pulldowns
Seated row
Shoulder press
Chest press
Pec fly

Abs:
Crunches
Side sit-ups

Lower back (Roman chair lifts)

10-15 minute stretch

Tuesday:
25 minutes cardio
Lower body workout, see above
Butt blaster (right and left)
Leg curls
Angled leg press
Hip abductor
Hip adductor

Abs as above

Wednesday:
Yoga, one hour

Thursday:
Repeat of Monday

Friday:
Repeat of Tuesday

Ees too much??

Comments

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

A few rough rules:

* Beginners at weight training will gain strength no matter what program they use
* Once you get into the swing of weight training, you get the best effort:strength-gain ratio by working out the big muscle groups only once per week
* Do your cardio before your lifting if you want to increase your cardio speed; do your cardio after your lifting if you want to increase your strength.
* For maximum effect, do the big lifts first (leg press/squat, bench, lat pulldown/chinup), and THEN the isolation exercises (hip adductor, butt blaster, curls, fly)

By doing the same major weight workout twice per week, you're not giving each muscle group enough time to recuperate. Rest is as important in gaining strength as the lifting itself! Slow down. :) A full-body workout can be done a couple of times a week, but you have to walk a finer line of rest and watch more closely for overtraining. A split routine allows you to go all-out and still gives you time to recover.

Before I get into workout suggestions, I've got to say that doing leg curls without leg extensions could lead to serious strength imbalances in your legs and possible knee problems. I recommend a freeweight squat above everything else. BUT, given that you're doing a leg press and not a squat, I'd recommend doing that first, then leg curls, then leg extensions. Either that, or just doing the leg press. Really. The last thing you want is screwed-up quads, or to injure yourself due to overly weak hamstrings.

Try a 3-day split workout. Something like this, if you're into machines:

Day 1: Legs (omit leg extension and curls if this is too long)
Leg press
Leg extension
Leg curls
Hip abductor
Hip adductor
Calf raise

Day 2: Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Chest press
Shoulder press
Triceps press, or dips if you have a cool Gravitron machine at your gym
Crunches
Oblique crunches

Day 3: Back/Biceps
Lat pulldowns (do this one right ;) )
Seated row
Biceps curl
Roman chair


Now, where to put your cardio? Personally, I like to do it on opposing days. So, workout M/W/F with weights, do cardio or yoga the other days. That way, I mix things up as much as possible. You might feel differently. I'd suggest putting it after the weights, though, and going easy on yourself. You *will* be slower if you do it that way.

Um, and also, enjoy, and give yourself another three or four weeks to let your metabolism catch up. And *EAT*. Eat or drink something carby just before and/or after your workout: before to prep you for explosive strength, after for recovery. Eat protein during your rest times. Eating is totally key.

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

PS: for a butt workout, try moving your feet forward on the leg press, and possibly raising your toes a little bit. That'll get your butt, and be part of a big healthy compound exercise, to boot. I'm skeptical of machines with names like "butt blaster". :)

Thanks so much!! (And more pain in the ass questions)

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Do your cardio before your lifting if you want to increase your cardio speed; do your cardio after your lifting if you want to increase your strength.

Sorry, but - huh? What do you mean by "cardio speed" - how fast I go? How fast my heart goes? Both?

I fear not doing enough cardio if I only do it two days. After all, part of making the muscles show is burning the pesky ol' fat.

And do it after the weights, really? I guess that makes a little sense...but I like being all warm from cardio when I do the weights. Perhaps a little warmup exercise before the weights.

Re: legs: I have been feeling some knee issues. I've never been good with the curls; they kind of hurt the backs of my knees, so I try to do them with a great deal of concentration and at not too high a weight. I've also heard those quad exercises aren't so good for you...

And what do you mean by putting my feet "forward" on the leg press?

And yeah, I'm skeptical of the butt blaster too. Also, I hate it. :)

Re: Thanks so much!! (And more pain in the ass questions)

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Oh - and - aren't crunches something you should, or at least could, do a little every day?

Pain in the glutes answers

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

(1) Cardio speed: I wasn't sure if you were doing cardio just to do cardio (which I find to be gnaw-my-arms-off boring) or doing cardio workouts with another goal, like running at a particular speed or bicycling a particular distance.

(2) Only 2 days of cardio: yeah, you should really do it 3 days. I somehow hadn't noticed that you had a strict M-F schedule, no weekend workout. So, you could add in a cardio day on the back/biceps day, if you like -- it seems to be the least invasive day to do that.

(3) Do a 5-minute warmup jog before lifting to get yourself in the mood. Better, do 5 minutes on a rowing machine! That'll get your whole body. Or, I mean, if you really prefer doing it beforehand, do it beforehand. It's the doing that's important. But you'll burn the energy either way, if that's all you're going for, and doing cardio after weights allows you to push your strength training a little further.

(4) Legs: If you've been feeling knee issues, *stop doing the leg extensions*. Do leg press only for a little while. Then, try adding the leg curls and extensions together. And it's the leg extension that's a quads exercise. It's good to strengthen your quads (they're HUGE GICANTIC USEFUL POWERFUL MUSCLES), but don't imbalance your legs and don't fuck up your knees.

For more information on your knees and quad exercises, do a Medline search for "squats knee" or "squats knee weight injury" or something. Or, just let Krista do the work for you. :) She's got a little sidebar on that page about leg extensions and shear force. Basically, being a biped is kind of a hack. To keep the system working properly, you should do exercises that use all of your thigh muscles in conjunction, since it'll keep the system working together most smoothly.

(5) Putting your feet forward: Hmmm. So, I'm assuming you're doing a leg press on a sled, like this or this. Right? So, you've got your feet on that little platform. Scoot them forward a little bit, up the platform. If you can manage to slip a little book under your toes, you'll hit your butt even more. (That's a squat trick, but it should translate to a leg sled.)

(6) Fucking Butt Blaster. Thbbpt. :)

Re: Thanks so much!! (And more pain in the ass questions)

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Abs are a muscle like any other. You can work them to exhaustion, but you've got to let them rest. Try weighted crunches once a week for a while and see how you like it.

Re: Pain in the glutes answers

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Just wanted you to know - I checked out Krista (which I'd done a little bit in the past), particularly her near-evangelical section on squats. :) I went and did legs today - leg press, adductors, abductors, calf raises, no extensions or curls. I tried some squats with a broomstick, no weight.

Wow. I so feel it. I think I'll work toward weaning myself off the machines and onto freeweights. :)

Re: Pain in the glutes answers

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

I think I'll work toward weaning myself off the machines and onto freeweights. :)

Woooooooooo! *woop woop woop*

I'm dancing. Dancing! You will be in such pain!

Re: Pain in the glutes answers

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Dancing at my PAIN!?

Totally, though. Did dumbell bicep curls today steada the machine. Did Gravitron dips. And the bench-pressy thing that's on a cable, but isn't quite a machine cause you could still drop it on yourself, just not as easily (I don't have a spotter).

Help - I'm addicted! Next week - full on with the free weights, methinks - except abductors and adductors, and maybe flys.

How much do you start with with weighted crunches? I tried 25 lbs - I think it was too much.