Sean- that was my biggest problem when I first started playing with weights. I would start working out for maybe a month or so and then quit for six months. It wasn't until I became totally serious about it in Jan of 1990 that I started a routine and stuck with it.

It's mostly about determination and self discipline. It can be easily discouraging when you don't see results right away. You just have to stick with it. I myself did not start seeing real changes until as much as a year of training- then I would look in the mirror and say "OK I look like a bodybuilder now".

When I began in 1990- I did full body workouts. I did my whole body in one day. Probably took two hours or so. This is more or less how it went:

Chest- Bench press 4 sets, Incline press 4 sets
Back- Wide grip pulldowns 4 sets, Close grip pulldowns 4 sets
Legs- Squats or Leg presses 4-6 sets
Shoulders- Military presses 4 sets
Arms- Biceps: Barbell curls 4 sets, Tricpes: Tricep pressdowns 4 sets

It was a lot to do in one workout but was simple enough to keep me going back. I did this every other day and threw in an extra day off here or there (so I was going to the gym 3-4 times a week). Looking back- I was probably getting away with training the same bodypart multiple times a week because of my youth. I would say that if you take on a whole body routine like this- only do it three times a week (for instance Mon, Wed, Fri, weekend off).

Hope this helps Sean! Best of success Marine!

After doing a heavy set of tricep pressdowns on Thursday the next day my right elbow felt like it was on fire. Not the "good" pain either. Still hurts today. I've been experiencing progressive pain in my right elbow joint for some time now- but never this severe. I figure I'm going to have to dramatically reduce my tricep workout or abandon it completely for a while.

I gave up flat heavy bench presses years ago- now it looks like I'll have to give up heavy tricep exercises because of this. I guess all those years of knocking the bejeesus out of myself in the gym has caught up with me. Damn... I must be getting old.

Derek- great to have you on board man! Hope you are recovering quickly!

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

Another member PMed me about my back routine- I feel the information would be useful so I'm reposting it here:

These days my back routine consists of three or four excercises with about 12 to 14 sets in total.

I do different exercises everytime I work my back to keep it "guessing". If you do the same exercises all the time your muscles get used to the routine and stagnate.

But my workout does follow a pattern:

First exercise is a wide grip pulling excersise- either wide grip chin-ups, or wide grip pulldowns. 4 sets.



The second exercise is where I really go heavy and use a lot of weight. They are mid back (across your shoulder blades) excercises- either T-Bar machine rows using a semi-wide grip:



Or T-Bar rows off the floor using a close grip:



Third exercise is for my lower back/lats with close grip. Usually seated rowing or single dumbbell rows (or some variation like close grip pulldowns, or using a rowing machine one hand at a time). this excercise is three sets.

With dumbbell rows there is a bit of a trick to doing them-



Most people do them this way bringing the dumbbell up somewhere between their chest and ribcage. I believe this is wrong. The exercise is meant for your lower lats- so you need to bring the dumbbell back further to your hip-



This is the correct position. When doing this it helps to think like you are starting the motor of a gas lawn mower.

I also see people using poor form by having the weight swing back and forth kinda like a pendulum when they do the excercise. You might be able to use a heavier weight (which will build nothing but your ego)- but really you are not using your muscles; you are using momentum to get the weight up.

And if I feel like it I add a forth shaping excercise. It is always straight arm pulldowns- three sets:



This is done with a grip just a bit wider than your shoulders. I tend to lean forward a bit more than what is shown in the demo picture above. More like this:



That's my back workout! However I am blessed with great back genetics (not trying to blow my horn here)- my back is my best bodypart in that it easily responds to very little excercise and always looks big and lean. People ask me what I do for my back and when I say 12 to 14 sets they exclaim That's it!?! Mind you I've also been working out for 18 years- so I really don't need a lot to stay in shape.

My worst is probably my shoulders- they look great from the side, but straight on they look narrow. Even when I competed my shoulders looked wimpy from the front.

Hope this helps! Train hard Marines!

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

Kev - Thanks for the advice. The good news is, I just got my hands on a washer and dryer for free from someone who was moving out of my apartment complex and didn't have time to sell them off. They work, although the dryer needs a new timer (doesn't heat up). Takes a looooong time to dry anything, but it's better than nothing... at the very least, I have a way to wash exercise clothes now.

In other words, my excuses for procrastination have run out, hehe. Another bit of good news is that my friend Danny who lives in this complex (and whom you will all meet at D*Con 08 ) wants to join me when I start exercising. That should be one more thing to help keep me on track.

I'm currently trying to decide between two plans - a full workout routine done three to four times a week, or splitting the muscle groups up into alternating, shorter workouts done more frequently. I'm thinking that shorter, more frequent workouts might be easier to stick to. Anyone have any experience on that that they can share?

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CPL Sean Maio A01/TQ2.0.72156E1
Public Relations Division (Temporary Cross-Assignment)
M-56 Smartgun Operator, A/3Btn, II CMEF, USS Sephora

Well of course I do.

OK I'm going to divide this into pros and cons:

Full Body Workout:

Pros- Simple routine. 1-2 exercises per bodypart. Whole body gets trained at least three times a week (which means you only have to go to the gym three times a week).

Cons- Long session in the gym. May require more than one day's rest in between workouts.

Split Routine:

Pros- Shorter sessions. Not spending a long time in the gym may make you hungry for the next workout.

Cons- Multiple days spent in the gym- depending on how you split up your routine you could be spending as many as 5 to 6 days a week in the gym.
Single bodypart might not get worked often enough to stimulate growth: In other words lets say you are on a 3 day on 1 day off split routine:

Day 1- Chest, Biceps, Triceps
Day 2- Legs, Calves, Abs
Day 3- Back, Shoulders
Day 4- Off

Basically you are working one bodypart every 4 days. Roughly twice a week (more like 3 times in 2 weeks). Unless you really hammer that bodypart, it will not receive enough stimulation to grow. There is too much rest for that particular bodypart in between workouts. This is especially important for people who have a hard time gaining weight.


What it boils down to is finding the line between working out hard enough to grow- and overtraining. If you don't workout hard enough your muscles will stay the same. If you overtrain- they can actually degenerate to the point that you injure yourself.

Basically if you find that your strength is going in the opposite direction no matter how hard you train, you are constantly tired, or in pain or both- you are overtraining and potentially headed for an injury (as small as a sprain or as big as a full muscle tear).

The only way to find out what works and what doesn't is really through trial and error. It is an ongoing experiment with your body to find the right combination of training, rest, and diet- measured over the course of months and years.

Don't let that discourage you though. As Confucius says "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". :wink:

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

Holy crap... Kev, I did the offset dumbbell curls today and what a HUGE difference that makes.

I was pondering weight and settled on what would (normally) be cake... 25lbs. I'll do sets of those all day. However, I figured that you obviously know what you're talking about so I decided to try it smaller at first.

First set, my biceps were burning. I was floored.

That's absolutely going in my sessions now. Thanks!

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CPL Conley, D. A06/TQ2.0.72147E1



"To err is human; to forgive, divine... Neither of which is Marine Corps policy."
"In Onoraigh Ar Marbh" ~ We Honor Our Fallen

Alright Marines, How's everybody doing? Or is everybody going to look like Burke at DC this year...

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Schwartz
A05/TQ1.0.72150E1

"He's just a Grunt, no offense." "None taken..."

Hey Kev! Can I drop you a PM about sorting out a workout for me?

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"You know, you blow up one sun and suddenly everyone expects you to walk on water."

Down to 25% body fat now - hoping to get down to 20% by the end of June

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No real updates for me.....keeping at the workout schedule and still only at 225lbs........AHHH!
But I feel thinner and better so as far as I'm concerned I'm a lot better than I was

But the goal still stands!!

_________________

We finally got some adjustable dumbells and weights at our house, so i'm going to see where i'm at in a month or so. Just thought i'd chime in here.

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A little late in the game as I've been fighting a serious case of laziness. All I want to do is to be able to run with my entire combat load (I play paintball about twice a month) without losing my breath. My first step into getting my health back in my hands is a total ban on potato chips and donuts. I've kept that promise since January 1st and still sticking to it.

My goal: To run 6 MPH for 42 minutes by August 28, starting at 4 MPH and increasing in increments. Going forward, I want to be able to increase it to 7 MPH.

Wish me luck.

050508: 4.0 MPH 42 minutes.

Good luck! The potato chips are insidious bastards! They are just loaded with calories (and you can eat them all day long without feeling full)! Cutting those out should make a huge difference!


As for me I've had to dial my intensity back a bit.

For the last month my right elbow has been killing me- it has severly affected my triceps routine (as in: I've nearly cut out my tricep workouts completely).

Over the past week my left inside elbow has started bothering me too. Now I'm going to have to trim dowm my biceps workout.


Guess all those years of knocking the bejeezus out of myself in the gym have finally caught up with me.

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

I'm doing good, getting down to my goal. My arms are toning up quite nicely which is good.

Today, I've been ordered by the Doctor's to take a break, well, the paramedics then the doctors. I'm off my workout for a week.

Yesterday, I had just finished my bicep/back weights, when I got something to drink and then headed over to the stationary bike.

Jumped on, went at my normal pace, notice my heart rate was a little high (was on for 10 minutes) got off and hopped onto the eliptical, was on there for 6 minutes at a pretty slow pace cause I knew my heart rate was high and I wanted to lower it. I saw everyone was piling into the gym so i went ahead and got onto the treadmill. I was just punching in my appropriate information, when i heard this loud ringing in my ears. I looked to the girl next to me and said, "Wow...I think my blood pressure just shot up."

Next thing I know, people are yelling, there is someone asking me if I can breathe (that someone being a paramedic) and me coming to. I just completely passed out. I hit my head on the treadmill and the girl next to me bruised my arm (not bitching!) trying to keep me from falling.

No one is really sure why it happened, my heart rate drops pretty quickly, mind you I've been training fo 5 months now, so this wasn't anything unusual. The doc did blood tests, some pics of my heart. I don't have high blood pressure, i don't have diabetes, I don't have hyper tension. Nothing that they could see. So I'm just off my feet for a few days.......hopefully it doesn't hurt my progress.

Sounds like dehydration. Glad to hear you are OK.

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No, they are not going to see this coming...

Wow!

Glad you're ok as well Ashia!

How hard was your back routine?

Your back is one of the largest muscle groups in your body (other than your legs). When you workout- blood rushes to that muscle area (commonly called the "pump"). The larger the muscle group, the more blood is drawn toward that area (and away from your extremities such as your brain). A drop in blood pressure to your brain causes you to faint.

I'm no doctor- but I have come close to passing out on several occassions after a heavy leg/back workout. Fortunately with me the sensation of fainting comes on slowly enough that I can lie down first (I usually would lie down in the men's room or the aerobics room... the women just loved that ). Basically I would go to sleep for ten minutes or so. People would ask me if I was alright- and it would actually hurt to hear their voices. I would barely be able to answer them. But after I had napped for a bit, I was up and ok everytime.

Personally I would never do any cardio exercise after a heavy workout with weights. Not until my heartrate has come down a bit and my blood pressure (for lack of a better term) has normalized. Usually takes 20-30 minutes with me.

Smaller muscle groups such as shoulders, arms, abs, even chest to a degree were never a problem.

Hope you're feeling better Ash!

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

050608: 4.0 MPH 42 minutes.

050708: 4.0 MPH 42 minutes. Target done: 3.16%

Well my biceps/triceps workouts are on hold for awhile. Today at work I started experiencing a burning pain in my left arm every time I lifted a fairly heavy box (something I have to do several times a day- no not as much as you Derek ).

This is usually the pain I associate with overtraining; however my workouts haven't been terribly rigorous. I can only assume that it has been progressive stress from a combination of my job and my workouts- my muscles haven't had time to re-cooperate properly and it has finally caught up with me.

So the arm workouts are out for now... Which is a real blow to the ego as I pride myself on my arms.

Guess I'll need a new banner in a couple of months with skinny spaghetti arms like Spat's.

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

That's not too bad!

Unfortunately, I've got a bad case of plantar fasciitis, so running is very difficult in long instances for me. I have already gone through several shoe inserts, and I am afraid that without medical assistance or just dealing with the pain (Which will save money) I'll have to stop. Any other tips?

All you health nuts that work out all the time.. Sounds like you're all falling apart.

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A12/TQ1.0.22137E1
PVT. Schmaus, Christopher J.
2nd Batt 6th Regt
USS Tahoma

050708: 4.1 MPH 42 minutes. Target done: 4.21%

Speed increase day... 1.9 MPH to go...

Hmmm... I had to look that up. The only thing I can think of is a seated stationary bike:





With this there should be little or no pressure on your heels- it's all on the balls of your feet. But a doctor's approval would be best first.



Yep. After 18 years my joints are trying to tell me...

"For the love of God please stop!"

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

Thanks dude. I've actually got one at my house, may as well put it to use.

050908: 4.1 MPH 42 minutes. Target done: 5.26%

Tomorrow I'm playing paintball, so I figure this will be more than enough exercise.

051108: 4.1 MPH 42 minutes. Target done: 6.32%