Health and Exercise : Othor Games

» Sat May 19, 2012 5:24 am

Yes, that's correct. Simply having muscle burns calories. So, that schedule should pretty much do the trick, hopefully. For additional fat loss you could throw in a day of cardio, or replace ab exercises with cardio altogether.

Thanks.

Got any suggestions for exercises for those days? So for a chest day, would it just be Fly and Bench?

Also, I've always wondered is it best to do all the same exercise one after the other or make it into a circuit? So, if I decided to do some Benchpress and Situps, would I do:

10x Bench - Rest - 10X Bench - Rest 10X bench

or

10x Bench - 10x Situps - 10x Bench - 10x Situps

Cheers

» Sat May 19, 2012 9:57 am

I made the generalisation because it is pretty easy to do so when we're talking about 10lbs. Not factoring in disabilities, injuries, or endurance training, you will neither grow bigger or stronger with 10lbs dumbbells. I can see using them for some shoulder exercises as a warmup, but otherwise, no one has grown from lifting 10lbs. Or as Hulk said in the Avengers movie "Puny Weights!". Well, something like that. :tongue:

Also, and this is only because it's a pet peeve of mine, there is no such thing as toning up muscles - not through exercise at least. It's a myth. You can only 'tone' (i.e. lose body fat) your body through a caloric deficit. When working out, you will either grow in strength or size (size or strength gain), to different extents in both, or you don't grow at all. That's the only way one can 'tone', by losing body fat and putting on muscle, or for anyone whose not a veteran in lifting weights, it's not really possible to do both simultaneously(unless you're a newbie making what are called newbie gains). So you either bulk or cut, not tone. Toning is usually used in the context of doing high repetitions (20+) to somehow remove fat and tone the muscle - pure broscience.

I'm sure you know this, since you've been working out for 5 years, but other people may not.

Really? No benefit whatsoever from a high rep, low weight circuit? I agree with the 10lbs being next to useless in most cases, but people recommended workouts in the 12-16 rep range instead of 6-8 during cutting phases in most cases. You're right about there being a point at which you're doing too many reps at too low a weight to give you anything, but I don't think 12-16 is past that point.

I'm going to do some research on this point, as now you've got me thinking.

Thanks.

Got any suggestions for exercises for those days? So for a chest day, would it just be Fly and Bench?

Also, I've always wondered is it best to do all the same exercise one after the other or make it into a circuit? So, if I decided to do some Benchpress and Situps, would I do:

10x Bench - Rest - 10X Bench - Rest 10X bench

or

10x Bench - 10x Situps - 10x Bench - 10x Situps

Cheers

For beginners, just stick to what's safe, which would be the first circuit. The second circuit would probably be better for fat loss, and if you want to gain, you need to lift heavy. And if you're lifting heavy, you should be too tired to functionally pull off another exercise in that time span.

Wait a couple weeks, and if you feel you can handle it, try out the second circuit. If you can do it, all the better.

As for exercises, bench and flyes are great, but throw in incline push ups (feet on a raised surface such as bed), and possibly chest dips. You need a corner counter for this.

» Fri May 18, 2012 10:35 pm

Really? No benefit whatsoever from a high rep, low weight circuit? I agree with the 10lbs being next to useless in most cases, but people recommended workouts in the 12-16 rep range instead of 6-8 during cutting phases in most cases. You're right about there being a point at which you're doing too many reps at too low a weight to give you anything, but I don't think 12-16 is past that point.

Benefit would be to overall endurance mainly, but not to size or strength.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13877155/gettingfit/reprangesadapted.gif

My max reps in a set is usually 15 for certain exercises. I average 8-12 reps on others. 6 for deadlifts.

I'd consider 20+ reps for endurance.

» Fri May 18, 2012 10:54 pm

For beginners, just stick to what's safe, which would be the first circuit. The second circuit would probably be better for fat loss, and if you want to gain, you need to lift heavy. And if you're lifting heavy, you should be too tired to functionally pull off another exercise in that time span. :tongue:

Wait a couple weeks, and if you feel you can handle it, try out the second circuit. If you can do it, all the better.

As for exercises, bench and flyes are great, but throw in incline push ups (feet on a raised surface such as bed), and possibly chest dips. You need a corner counter for this.

Ok, cheers.

Got any recommendations for specific exercises for each day?

Oh and I found a curling bar in my garage yesterday too, I'm assuming it's a curling bar as it's a different shape. I think the correct term is 'EZ' ?

» Sat May 19, 2012 12:03 am

Ok, cheers.

Got any recommendations for specific exercises for each day?

Oh and I found a curling bar in my garage yesterday too, I'm assuming it's a curling bar as it's a different shape. I think the correct term is 'EZ' ?

Ah, an EZ bar. That's great. The equivalent of doing preacher curls.

So, do at least two exercises per muscle group, but more if you can. You want to target different sections of the muscle. I'll write down a couple of different exercises for each muscle group. I'm not saying do all of them, but these are just some examples. (Some of them may require machines or other kinds of equipment though.)

Chest: Bench press, flyes, incline bench, incline flyes, decline bench, decline flyes, chest dips, cable cross overs, wide arm push ups, reverse grip bench press, incline push ups, decline push ups.

Bicep: Barbell curls, dumbell curls, hammer curls, preacher curls, outward curls.

Abs: Crunches, planks, side planks, hanging leg raises, ab pulldowns, circular hanging leg raises, hanging knee raises, curcular hanging knee raises, lying leg raises, lying knee raises, circular lying knee raises, deadlifts, weighted crunches.

Lats: Pull ups, pull downs, bent dumbell rows, bent barbell rows, push ups, chest expander.

Lower back: Dead lifts, reverse crunches.

Traps: Shrugs, lateral raises, front raises.

Delts: Lateral raises, front raises, dumbell presses, barbell presses, clean lifts.

Triceps: Tricep pull downs, lying tricep pull downs, tricep extensions.

Quads: Weighted squats, deadlifts, leg presses.

Glutes: Weighted squats, leg presses, deadlifts, stairmaster.

Hamstrings: Hamstring curls, jogging on steep incline.

Calves: Weighted tip toeing, reverse tip toeing, jogging on steep incline.

If you go http://www.simplyshredded.com/training-articles.html you'd find tons more. I think I lost track towards the end there. This website, like I said before, is the best advice I could give anyone. Bookmark it.

Benefit would be to overall endurance mainly, but not to size or strength.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13877155/gettingfit/reprangesadapted.gif

My max reps in a set is usually 15 for certain exercises. I average 8-12 reps on others. 6 for deadlifts.

I'd consider 20+ reps for endurance.

http://www.simplyshredded.com/myth-busters-5-fitness-and-nutrition-myths-debunked-by-chris-martinez.html

I'm not sure whether it proves or disproves your point, but thought I'd share it anyway.

» Sat May 19, 2012 1:20 am

I made the generalisation because it is pretty easy to do so when we're talking about 10lbs. Not factoring in disabilities, injuries, or endurance training, you will neither grow bigger or stronger with 10lbs dumbbells. I can see using them for some shoulder exercises as a warmup, but otherwise, no one has grown from lifting 10lbs. Or as Hulk said in the Avengers movie "Puny Weights!". Well, something like that. :tongue:

Also, and this is only because it's a pet peeve of mine, there is no such thing as toning up muscles - not through exercise at least. It's a myth. You can only 'tone' (i.e. lose body fat) your body through a caloric deficit. When working out, you will either grow in strength or size (size or strength gain), to different extents in both, or you don't grow at all. That's the only way one can 'tone', by losing body fat and putting on muscle, or for anyone whose not a veteran in lifting weights, it's not really possible to do both simultaneously(unless you're a newbie making what are called newbie gains). So you either bulk or cut, not tone. Toning is usually used in the context of doing high repetitions (20+) to somehow remove fat and tone the muscle - pure broscience. I'm sure you know this, since you've been working out for 5 years, but other people may not.

Yeah my bad about the tone thing, just the best way I can describe it. When I lift weights I got a lot more tension in my muscles, I carry my weight differently and even my chiropractor makes comments about it.
When I don't work out I suppose the easiest way to say it is I feel like a dull knife.

» Sat May 19, 2012 4:54 am

According to google 10lb is about 4.5 kg, my dumbells can be up to 8kg each, is that still useless? Bearing in mind I'm a newbie so it's not like I'm trying to maintain a great physique.

» Sat May 19, 2012 6:45 am

Well, you will outgrow that weight in a matter of a few sessions, and also keep in mind that different body parts have different strengths. 8kg is adequate for curls, a triceps exercise, and some shoulder exercises. I am sure you can lift more. It's too restrictive, you can't do much with that light weight. I had invested in a bench and weights when I started out, or go to a gym.