mklyon
06-22-2004, 05:31 PM
newbie to post. I just went back to the gym after about 15 years. I am 5'6 and 175lb. I am currently doing the Atkins diet to lose my belly and working out again to "get buff". Last week I did upper body on tue and lower on thursday. This week I am trying upper on M, W and lower on T, Th. I get to the gym early and have close to free run of the place. I am working out pretty hard for 30-40 minutes each time.
Couple of questions:
1-I have seen a few posts about only working a muscle group 1 a week. What is the best routine?
2-Do I need to drink protien shakes to help?
I would like to look like Vin Diesel in Chronicles of Riddick.
thanks in advance for any advice or guidence.
Couple of questions:
1-I have seen a few posts about only working a muscle group 1 a week. What is the best routine?
2-Do I need to drink protien shakes to help?
I would like to look like Vin Diesel in Chronicles of Riddick.
thanks in advance for any advice or guidence.
Sponsor
Naxis
06-22-2004, 05:39 PM
newbie to post. I just went back to the gym after about 15 years. I am 5'6 and 175lb. I am currently doing the Atkins diet to lose my belly and working out again to "get buff". Last week I did upper body on tue and lower on thursday. This week I am trying upper on M, W and lower on T, Th. I get to the gym early and have close to free run of the place. I am working out pretty hard for 30-40 minutes each time.
Couple of questions:
1-I have seen a few posts about only working a muscle group 1 a week. What is the best routine?
If you're just starting out, a split like that is excessive. Alternating upper and lower body should be just fine. 3 or 4 days a week is plenty. Make sure you get in some cardio. That will help with the fat loss and heart/lung health.
2-Do I need to drink protien shakes to help?
You need to get ~1g protein per pound of bodyweight. If you're on Atkins, my guess is that you're meeting that requirement and supplementation is not necessary. You don't NEED a protein shake, but whey shakes after working out will be absorbed by the body more quickly than whole food will and can be more convenient. If you use shakes any time other than post workout, add a little bit of olive or flax oil to them. It will make the protein metabolize more slowly and help keep you in ketosis.
I would like to look like Vin Diesel in Chronicles of Riddick.
Good luck. That boy has some fantastic genetics. HOWEVER... with some time and determination, it's certainly possible. Keep it up! :D
Couple of questions:
1-I have seen a few posts about only working a muscle group 1 a week. What is the best routine?
If you're just starting out, a split like that is excessive. Alternating upper and lower body should be just fine. 3 or 4 days a week is plenty. Make sure you get in some cardio. That will help with the fat loss and heart/lung health.
2-Do I need to drink protien shakes to help?
You need to get ~1g protein per pound of bodyweight. If you're on Atkins, my guess is that you're meeting that requirement and supplementation is not necessary. You don't NEED a protein shake, but whey shakes after working out will be absorbed by the body more quickly than whole food will and can be more convenient. If you use shakes any time other than post workout, add a little bit of olive or flax oil to them. It will make the protein metabolize more slowly and help keep you in ketosis.
I would like to look like Vin Diesel in Chronicles of Riddick.
Good luck. That boy has some fantastic genetics. HOWEVER... with some time and determination, it's certainly possible. Keep it up! :D
Endorphin Junky
06-23-2004, 06:11 AM
If your lifting heavy, I wouldn't reccomend doing Atkins. You won't be able to work as hard as you need to be due to low glycogen levels, hence Atikins is only really suited to people with lower activity levels. Look for info on Cyclic Ketogenic Diets. You basically eat no carbs all week then "carb up" on the weekends. Not only does this replenish glycogen (which makes it a more suitable ketogenic alternative for atheletes) but it also prevents your metabolic rate from dropping in response to a lower caloric intake.
joquiero
06-24-2004, 04:48 PM
To really see a difference you have to do at LEAST 4 days a week - spending about 40 minutes on cardio (hard core sweating and panting type!!) and another 20 - 30 minutes on weight training. I've found that I get in shape the best when I do a minimal of 4 workouts per week.
Tanker
06-24-2004, 10:38 PM
To really see a difference you have to do at LEAST 4 days a week - spending about 40 minutes on cardio (hard core sweating and panting type!!) and another 20 - 30 minutes on weight training. I've found that I get in shape the best when I do a minimal of 4 workouts per week.
I only lift weights 2x a week so i guess HGM is bad? http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article/0,2823,s1-1-0-0-199,00.html I've just started this program.
I only lift weights 2x a week so i guess HGM is bad? http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article/0,2823,s1-1-0-0-199,00.html I've just started this program.
never2L8
06-25-2004, 03:18 AM
Different people respond to weight lifting in different ways, so there is really no 'right' number of days per week for weights. For improved cardiovascular health and weight loss, at minimum 4 cardio sessions a week are recommended.
As for weights, I feel that trial and error are best as the following factors will affect how much you are able to or need to train: starting condition, workout intensity (weights, sets, reps), goals, diet as well as your individual recovery ability (genes, build, shape etc).
The harder each workout is the longer the recovery period will be but if you are doing an easy routine you may do it every day, but if lifting to absolute failure once a week may be too much.
As for weights, I feel that trial and error are best as the following factors will affect how much you are able to or need to train: starting condition, workout intensity (weights, sets, reps), goals, diet as well as your individual recovery ability (genes, build, shape etc).
The harder each workout is the longer the recovery period will be but if you are doing an easy routine you may do it every day, but if lifting to absolute failure once a week may be too much.
mklyon
07-07-2004, 10:53 AM
I am currently doing 3 sets on one muscle group, then moving on to the next and doing 3 sets......Is it better to do it this way or do 1 set, change muscle, 1 set, next muscle etc. and do the cycle 3 times?
Evl316
07-07-2004, 12:23 PM
I am currently doing 3 sets on one muscle group, then moving on to the next and doing 3 sets......Is it better to do it this way or do 1 set, change muscle, 1 set, next muscle etc. and do the cycle 3 times?
As never2L8 stated it's trial and error and there are a lot of different ways to go about it. No single way is the right way for everyone. Take everyone on this board that lifts weights and every single person's routine will be different. This is because people's genetics differ, diet differs, time spent exercising differs, conditioning differs, etc. Do some searches on the internet, read some books and so forth and you'll find all kinds of examples of different routines, try them out, see what you like, combine parts of several workouts, whatever you feel works for you best.
As never2L8 stated it's trial and error and there are a lot of different ways to go about it. No single way is the right way for everyone. Take everyone on this board that lifts weights and every single person's routine will be different. This is because people's genetics differ, diet differs, time spent exercising differs, conditioning differs, etc. Do some searches on the internet, read some books and so forth and you'll find all kinds of examples of different routines, try them out, see what you like, combine parts of several workouts, whatever you feel works for you best.