Program Advice

[jhawks10]

Hello all! I'm pretty new to putting programs together so please feel free to pick this apart as you see fit, I welcome all comments and suggestions to help me ensure I can meet my goals. Ok, so I am trying to put together a program that will consist of 5 days of lifting and 6 days of cardio. My goal is to lose fat and tone up (I am hoping to drop 100lbs). Along with my weight/fat loss goal, I hope to be able to run a 5k, a half marathon, and a full marathon, all within a year's time. That being said, here is what I am thinking of doing:

I would like to lift Monday through Friday, working a different major muscle group each day. I would like to know if it is more beneficial to focus on just ONE muscle group each day, or to work a couple/few different groups each day, and if the latter is the case, which groups to work together? I have also heard that a good practice is to keep changing things up rather than sticking to one set of exercises every time you work out. I have a long list of exercises I can do per muscle group, so my thoughts are to go into each workout day with ONLY the muscle group being planned, and having all the exercises for each group in a different bag and just drawing them randomly prior to going to the gym (so say on leg days I would draw from my "leg" bag, for shoulder days I'd draw from my "shoulder" bag, etc. etc.). Of course, I plan to include a bit of core/ab exercises each day.

As far as cardio goes, I was thinking about alternating days of regular cardio (walking at first and building up to jogging and running) and HIIT; so on Monday/Wednesday/Friday I'd do walking/jogging/running, and on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday I'd do HIIT.

Sooo.... what do you all think? Yea? Nay? Comments? Suggestions?

Thanks!
- Jason

[Tommyobrien]

Hi jhawks, good look with your weight loss and goals and I am really looking forward to seeing how you progress.
Just some points of advice which may help.

Diet is absolutely key to how your body reacts! You need to have a very tailored diet to you specifically. You could try maybe having each meal consisting of 2proteins and 1carb. You can also incorporate some dietary supplements in there, such a spirulina which is a fantastic source of protein.

Now on to the training. If you are going to do 5days of lifting, it may be quite strenuous on your body to have 5 consecutive days of weights. You may have to move one day into the weekend, remember that rest is almost as important as the training.
So you could do a split like this:
Monday:Chest+Biceps
Tuesday:Legs+Core
Wednesday:Back+Triceps
Thursday:Off
Friday:Shoulders+Core
Saturday:Back+Legs
Sunday:Off

I've emphasized core, legs and back because i find that they are the main areas that carry fat.
You should use compound movements (squats,deadlifts,pullups) for the majority of your exercises as they require the use of many muscles and help to burn fat.

A for cardio, if you wish to do 6days of cardio then you may wish to leave a rest day in there, possibly either wednesday or friday.

I hope you find some of this information helpful, and the very best of luck Jason.

[geoffstgermaine]

Ignore the above advice. Targetting muscles because they carry fat makes no sense, as muscles do not draw energy from adjacent fat stores. Also, a 5 day split is nowhere near optimal for a beginner lifter.

You have listed two goals, which are good ones, but neither really pertain to weight training. Your weight/fat loss is determined by diet. Training to run a marathon within a year requires a specific program for that and you probably won't find much useful information here, you're probably better to hit a running site for that.

For weight/fat loss visit the nutrition section and look at the stickies, notably the one on calculating your calorie/macro needs. You need to eat at a deficit for weight loss and what that means for you in terms of total calories is hard for anyone to say. The sticky has all the information you need to get started.

For lifting, what are your goals? Just to get stronger? Do you want to get bigger? A physique goal? There are lots of good beginner programs and you'll find that most of the really effective ones are full-body programs or at most a 2 day split. A 5 day split for a beginner is a waste of time and will include far too many isolation exercises which are way into diminishing returns for a beginner. A better way for a beginner to train is with mostly compound movements performed 2 - 3 times a week. A program I highly recommend is All Pro's Simple Beginner Routine which is in the stickies of the Workout Programs section. Starting Strength is also very good and can be purchased as a book which would likely give you a lot of useful knowledge on top of simply what the exercises and sets/reps are.

[BRipped69]

Hello all! I'm pretty new to putting programs together so please feel free to pick this apart as you see fit, I welcome all comments and suggestions to help me ensure I can meet my goals. Ok, so I am trying to put together a program that will consist of 5 days of lifting and 6 days of cardio. My goal is to lose fat and tone up (I am hoping to drop 100lbs). Along with my weight/fat loss goal, I hope to be able to run a 5k, a half marathon, and a full marathon, all within a year's time. That being said, here is what I am thinking of doing:

I would like to lift Monday through Friday, working a different major muscle group each day. I would like to know if it is more beneficial to focus on just ONE muscle group each day, or to work a couple/few different groups each day, and if the latter is the case, which groups to work together? I have also heard that a good practice is to keep changing things up rather than sticking to one set of exercises every time you work out. I have a long list of exercises I can do per muscle group, so my thoughts are to go into each workout day with ONLY the muscle group being planned, and having all the exercises for each group in a different bag and just drawing them randomly prior to going to the gym (so say on leg days I would draw from my "leg" bag, for shoulder days I'd draw from my "shoulder" bag, etc. etc.). Of course, I plan to include a bit of core/ab exercises each day.

As far as cardio goes, I was thinking about alternating days of regular cardio (walking at first and building up to jogging and running) and HIIT; so on Monday/Wednesday/Friday I'd do walking/jogging/running, and on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday I'd do HIIT.

Sooo.... what do you all think? Yea? Nay? Comments? Suggestions?

Thanks!
- Jason

Just by telling me youre 100 lbs overweight I take it your current diet is horrible! Clean it up, find out your maintenance level and subtract 500 - 700 cal as a start. This will ensure that you maintain as much of your current natural muscle mass as possible while dropping fat. The amount of weight you need to lose also suggests to me that you have an endomorphic body type. I`d say do weights, as well as cardio 6 days a week (Chest/back Shoulders/arms Legs/core/Repeat) at least during your fat loss phase as endos can handle a much higher volume without overtraining.

Stick to compound movements in the 8 - 12 rep range with 30-60 seconds rest at most. As a beginer, ISO will exercises will not help much, nor with fat loss in general (One or two for arms and core at most. You need to do big lifts to get your natural testosterone and GH flowing which are key hormones to developing a lean physique.

BTW you are correct in wanting to switch it up from time to tome, our bodies are naturally designed to adapt.

As for cardio dont waste your time walking dude, hit the bike or elliptical at a mod/high pace for 40 minutes a day until you feel you are fit enough to run. Your goal here is fat loss, so maximum caloric expenditure is key.

When you have reached your desired weight/bodyfat level.. Holla back for clean bulking advise.

5 km marathon is easily achievable. (Even if you focus on bodybuilding) Great cardio workout. But 10 k+ ? Wrong direction, and a horrible look by the way if you are thinking of getting into that sort of thing. Skinny fat!!!!! Worse than obese imo, sick looking.

Anyways...

Good Luck! Stay consistant and remember DIET IS THE KEY!!!! Endo`s usually respond well to high protien, high fat(Flax seed oil for eg) and low carb. The higher fat intake supports enery levels and also aids in regulating your metobolic rate, which is highly important to lose large amounts of fat.

And losts of H20....

Later