An introduction and a question

[BluSpecs]

Hello all,

I figured I'd jump out of lurk mode and throw in an introduction

About 3 years ago I prepaid a gym membership and could never get motivated to go. As a result I never really made any progress and fatened up. I also let the membership lapse after it expired.

I finally decided to do something about being out of shape and bought a bench/squat rack and dug out my old free weights.

I started working out again on April 1st and have been hugely motivated so far. Working out at home has been great for me.

I'm doing cardio by taking my boxer on bike rides 3-4 times a week and lifting 3 nights a week. I've also cleaned up my diet a ton.

Since then I've been doing a basic 3 day split (back/Bi, chest/Tri, Legs)

I tried squats and deadlifts recently and found them to be awsome so I want to incoporate them into what I'm doing.

I've been reading the 4 exercises thread and such and came up with a basic routine I'd like to try.

Notes: 30min workouts, 3x per week, squat/deadlift add weekly, change others if gains stall (ie. flat bench to incline)

Monday:

Squat

Bentover barbell row

Curls

Wednesday:

Flat Bench (barbell or dumbell)

Millitary press (barbell or dumbell)

Close grip Bench

Friday:

Deadlift

Widegrip pulldowns/pull ups

dumbell flys


The thing I'm unsure on is rep and sets for each. My first thought was 3 sets each 8-10 reps and increasing weight if 10 reps are met on each set.

Any opinions/thoughts are appriciated.

[Gollum]

Welcome aboard Bluespecs. Good job dusting off that iron and getting back into it.

Your program looks fine. Since it is so low volume I dont see a problem doing 3 sets. Some people prefer 2, but I think you would be fine with 3.

Generally speaking 6-10 reps is about right. Thats not to say that some people dont do better on higher and some lower. But as a general guideline stick to 6-10 or like you mentioned 8-10 would be fine.

A lot of people like to go higher on legs. So you may want to go for 8-12 on squats. Or even a little higher. Once you get a little more experience we can talk about 20 rep destroyer squats. Hehehehe....

Your idea of increasing weight when you meet or surpass your rep range is a good one. You may not be able to get 10 reps on each set though. Remember your rep range is just a guide. If one day you feel really strong and can crank out 13 reps go right ahead me bucko. Dont stop because you came to a certain number. So your sets might go something like

200lbs x 12
200lbs x 10
200lbs x 8

So you might decide to make a small increase in weight and try to get the same number or close to it next time. Remember as your sets go on you will fatigue.

[EME]

I think the program you have lined out is great.

Gollums advice is good also. One thing to remember is that there really isn't a right or wrong answer here. The fact that you are picking up the weights, and doing your cardio consistently is the key to your success.

I personally really like the 3 sets of 6-10 progression method.

Find a starting weight that you can get roughly 3 sets of 6 with.
Each workout strive to get at least 1 additional rep per set.
( You won't always get that, but make it your goal )

When you can get three sets of 10, take the weight up enough to put you back to three sets of 6 again. ( Usually about 10 pounds on barbell exercises, and 5 pounds on dumbbell exercises )

This is a very simple plan, but it does some things that are VERY IMPORTANT..

It gives you a goal for each workout, it gives you a path for progression, and it rolls you along using progressive resistance and progress.

This workout will build strength and muscle, and you will be achieving small and large goals all along the way.

As I said earlier.. there are a million methods of training that will work to build muscle. The reason most people fail isn't because they didn't have a good workout split.

They fail because they didn't have a program that demonstrated gains that they could see, so they quit. This program will give you small gains weekly as you add reps, and bigger gains as you progress in strength.

When you are making gains, you will keep working out, and that's whats most important for reaching your long term goals.

Good luck and stay with it!

- EME

Hello all,

I figured I'd jump out of lurk mode and throw in an introduction

About 3 years ago I prepaid a gym membership and could never get motivated to go. As a result I never really made any progress and fatened up. I also let the membership lapse after it expired.

I finally decided to do something about being out of shape and bought a bench/squat rack and dug out my old free weights.

I started working out again on April 1st and have been hugely motivated so far. Working out at home has been great for me.

I'm doing cardio by taking my boxer on bike rides 3-4 times a week and lifting 3 nights a week. I've also cleaned up my diet a ton.

Since then I've been doing a basic 3 day split (back/Bi, chest/Tri, Legs)

I tried squats and deadlifts recently and found them to be awsome so I want to incoporate them into what I'm doing.

I've been reading the 4 exercises thread and such and came up with a basic routine I'd like to try.

Notes: 30min workouts, 3x per week, squat/deadlift add weekly, change others if gains stall (ie. flat bench to incline)

Monday:

Squat

Bentover barbell row

Curls

Wednesday:

Flat Bench (barbell or dumbell)

Millitary press (barbell or dumbell)

Close grip Bench

Friday:

Deadlift

Widegrip pulldowns/pull ups

dumbell flys


The thing I'm unsure on is rep and sets for each. My first thought was 3 sets each 8-10 reps and increasing weight if 10 reps are met on each set.

Any opinions/thoughts are appriciated.

[BluSpecs]

Thanks guys, I appriciate the input.