Help Me Maximize My Work Out Time
March 28, 2018 6:34 PM Subscribe
I have access to a great gym for three hours a week, 9am to 10am M-W-F. They have everything but since my time is limited, I'm trying to figure out a routine that makes the best use of my time there.
Stats: I'll be 50 in Sept. I'm 5'9" and 178 lbs. My current routine is hitting about 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps of various inclined and flat 25lb dumb-bell presses to work on the man-boobs. Then I hit the treadmill at an almost run and slight incline (4-5 mph) for 20-30 min, more or less, so I can get back to work on time. On the weekends I hike and bike. Nothing terribly strenuous. I feel great and my posture hasn't been like this since I was in my 20s! But now I'm one of those "no leg day" guys...and they are skinny.
I need help organizing my time at the gym. For example; Should I stick to the treadmill Monday and Friday and hit the weights on Wednesday? Or should I split my time 50/50 each day so I can have leg days and arm days etc?
My goal? Just get fit and lose the slight man-boobs. Many thanks in advance!
Stats: I'll be 50 in Sept. I'm 5'9" and 178 lbs. My current routine is hitting about 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps of various inclined and flat 25lb dumb-bell presses to work on the man-boobs. Then I hit the treadmill at an almost run and slight incline (4-5 mph) for 20-30 min, more or less, so I can get back to work on time. On the weekends I hike and bike. Nothing terribly strenuous. I feel great and my posture hasn't been like this since I was in my 20s! But now I'm one of those "no leg day" guys...and they are skinny.
I need help organizing my time at the gym. For example; Should I stick to the treadmill Monday and Friday and hit the weights on Wednesday? Or should I split my time 50/50 each day so I can have leg days and arm days etc?
My goal? Just get fit and lose the slight man-boobs. Many thanks in advance!
If your concern is the skinny legs and the man boobs, I'd recommend more time on the treadmill.
4 to 5 mph is a 12:00 to 15:00 min/mile, practically walking. Running more will strengthen (and likely thicken) your legs. It will also burn calories, which is what you need to get rid of the man boobs. Just be careful of your joints at your age.
Boobs are fat, and I don't think you can spot-reduce fat with presses (or any exercise). You need to reduce overall body fat.
Of course, this may be my personal bias -- I land more on the cardio side than the strength side in my workout habits.
posted by Borborygmus at 7:02 PM on March 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
4 to 5 mph is a 12:00 to 15:00 min/mile, practically walking. Running more will strengthen (and likely thicken) your legs. It will also burn calories, which is what you need to get rid of the man boobs. Just be careful of your joints at your age.
Boobs are fat, and I don't think you can spot-reduce fat with presses (or any exercise). You need to reduce overall body fat.
Of course, this may be my personal bias -- I land more on the cardio side than the strength side in my workout habits.
posted by Borborygmus at 7:02 PM on March 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
I strongly recommend squats / deadlifts especially if you can get a trainer. (Stronglifts is good!) They build muscle in your legs for sure, but most of all, work your largest muscle, the gluteus maximus; getting oxygen to that muscle will automatically be cardio. If you want even more cardio, add kettlebell swings / high pulls, which I think of as burstier deadlifts / squats.
I think Stronglifts does this anyway, but since you only have M-W-F, I would squat / deadlift every day and pick one arm movement per day. I would not devote any one day to the treadmill, since you already bike / hike on the weekends.
posted by batter_my_heart at 8:38 PM on March 28, 2018
I think Stronglifts does this anyway, but since you only have M-W-F, I would squat / deadlift every day and pick one arm movement per day. I would not devote any one day to the treadmill, since you already bike / hike on the weekends.
posted by batter_my_heart at 8:38 PM on March 28, 2018
I was looking into this and found this interesting article, noting research that training your legs immediately before your arms helps improve arm results. Either way, I was going to recommend lifting M-W-F, as that's what the Bigger Faster Stronger program recommends, and it's very effective. That program's accompanying cardio is focused less on long repetitive stuff like treadmill running and more on bursts like box jumps, dot drills, agility drills with ladders and cones, wall jumps, flying toe touches, hill sprints, etc. Your gym might not have those specific accessories or that program, but anything that gets you closer to that sort of burst mode will likely be effective in building your legs, and that, in combination with weight training, will help you build your upper body.
posted by limeonaire at 9:00 PM on March 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by limeonaire at 9:00 PM on March 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you’re starting at 50, connective tissue and recovery capacity are things to worry about. I would stay in the 8-12 repetition range, which will give you a good balance of muscular strength and endurance. You could do an upper/lower split (just alternate every time), and do low-impact HIIT on upper days afterwards (bike, elliptical, rower) for 20 minutes. Would take it easier with cardio after lower body lifting days, would do some easy, low-resistance cycling really just to get blood moving (to help with recovery).
For which exercises to do, check out the upper/lower workout templates on exrx.net. (For legs - would start with squats one day, deadlifts the next, etc.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:07 PM on March 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
For which exercises to do, check out the upper/lower workout templates on exrx.net. (For legs - would start with squats one day, deadlifts the next, etc.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:07 PM on March 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: If I were limited to 3 hours a week in the gym, I wouldn't waste my time on the treadmill, simply because you can get a perfectly good cardio workout without a gym by running or biking or hiking outdoors. A full-body weight training regime will take about an hour a day (at least when you're starting) and M-W-F is a perfect frequency for it. There are a bunch of beginner programs out there (Stronglifts, Starting Strength, PPL, 5/3/1, etc.) and it doesn't matter that much which one you choose as long as you do it consistently and actually follow the program.
+1 to Borborygmus's point that chest press exercises will do nothing for your man-boobs, you need to lose fat for that.
posted by phoenixy at 10:57 PM on March 28, 2018 [4 favorites]
+1 to Borborygmus's point that chest press exercises will do nothing for your man-boobs, you need to lose fat for that.
posted by phoenixy at 10:57 PM on March 28, 2018 [4 favorites]
What xtine said. Squats will work your legs and back super efficiently.
posted by zippy at 1:19 AM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zippy at 1:19 AM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
You’re better off weight training and carefully pruning your diet if you want to lose weight (man boobs). Cardio isn’t as effective as you might think for that kind of thing. And you can’t spot reduce, it’s a myth.
I was going to mention the StrongLifts 5x5 but someone already has.
I’m a female and I’m usually active in an outdoor sport but the conditions and work life have prevented me from doing that the last few months and so I hit the gym. I’m only doing 10-20 min of a moderate cardio warmup then doing a weights routine. After a month I can see visible results in building back my muscle mass. It’s really cool, especially since I’ve never really done a weights routine before.
posted by christiehawk at 2:00 AM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was going to mention the StrongLifts 5x5 but someone already has.
I’m a female and I’m usually active in an outdoor sport but the conditions and work life have prevented me from doing that the last few months and so I hit the gym. I’m only doing 10-20 min of a moderate cardio warmup then doing a weights routine. After a month I can see visible results in building back my muscle mass. It’s really cool, especially since I’ve never really done a weights routine before.
posted by christiehawk at 2:00 AM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Another vote for Stronglifts -- I have gone from unathletic middleaged woman to looking, if I say so myself, awfully buff in well under a year. (I actually transitioned from Stronglifts to the workout plan in Tactical Barbell, which is somewhere between hilariously and repulsively meatheadedly macho in style, but the weightlifting advice is good for when you're feeling deadended on Stronglifts).
The thing about weightlifting rather than cardio if you're worried about what you look like, is that even if you're not super low-body-fat, having more muscle underneath it sort of supports and structures your body so you end up a much more attractive shape, even if you're still soft looking. And whole-body compound movements work better for that than targeting particular muscles. (This is shallow of me of course, but you sound like you're asking for esthetic advice.)
posted by LizardBreath at 5:14 AM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
The thing about weightlifting rather than cardio if you're worried about what you look like, is that even if you're not super low-body-fat, having more muscle underneath it sort of supports and structures your body so you end up a much more attractive shape, even if you're still soft looking. And whole-body compound movements work better for that than targeting particular muscles. (This is shallow of me of course, but you sound like you're asking for esthetic advice.)
posted by LizardBreath at 5:14 AM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would avoid deadlifts/squats/etc if you don't have a trainer and if you're relatively new to compound moves. they can really kill your back, especially if you're not used to tightening with your core, something that took me one-too-many injuries to finally learn. if you're relatively new to weight training, your first focus should be on your form and being careful of injuries - the key to losing weight and getting fit isn't how fast you go about getting society's perfect body, it's how sustainable your exercise regime is
with that in mind, you should consider integrating supersets, periodization, and HIIT gradually into your workouts - all have some studies to back up the research though, as seems the case with exercise science, the studies aren't definitive and really aren't as strong as they need to be. all of the above techniques are aimed at maximizing your efficiency during your workouts; they're going to be higher intensity than you're used to so be careful and make sure you take it easy on yourself starting out
with specific reference to your body fat goals, the most important part of that equation isn't exercise, it's dieting. eating two of those Lil Debbie Oatmeal Cookies is 640 calories - that's a 45 minute continuous jog at 6 - 7 mph. it's very difficult to make up the calorie difference between what you take in and what you can burn on the daily. getting a cheap fitness tracker helps and there are plenty of calorie counting apps that will start giving you an idea of what you should eat (filling fruits and veggies, eggs and such) and what you shouldn't (processed, high-carb treats and meats)
posted by runt at 7:10 AM on March 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
with that in mind, you should consider integrating supersets, periodization, and HIIT gradually into your workouts - all have some studies to back up the research though, as seems the case with exercise science, the studies aren't definitive and really aren't as strong as they need to be. all of the above techniques are aimed at maximizing your efficiency during your workouts; they're going to be higher intensity than you're used to so be careful and make sure you take it easy on yourself starting out
with specific reference to your body fat goals, the most important part of that equation isn't exercise, it's dieting. eating two of those Lil Debbie Oatmeal Cookies is 640 calories - that's a 45 minute continuous jog at 6 - 7 mph. it's very difficult to make up the calorie difference between what you take in and what you can burn on the daily. getting a cheap fitness tracker helps and there are plenty of calorie counting apps that will start giving you an idea of what you should eat (filling fruits and veggies, eggs and such) and what you shouldn't (processed, high-carb treats and meats)
posted by runt at 7:10 AM on March 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
oh and most definitely check with your primary care physician before you start doing anything more intense than what you're doing right now. they're the ones who know your medical history and can determine if certain techniques might be doing you more harm than good. I can't tell you how many times my partner, who has her MD, has pointed out things in my form or technique that I thought was fine but really was aggravating an existing condition of mine. I've been consistently working out for most of a decade now and now my body pretty well but she has about 500 years of medical research on anatomy and kinesthesiology backing her up; it's a good perspective to learn from :)
posted by runt at 7:26 AM on March 29, 2018
posted by runt at 7:26 AM on March 29, 2018
While it's possible to hurt yourself lifting with bad form, there are an awful lot of resources online for good squat and deadlift form. ExRx.net has nice descriptions of different exercises with videos: e.g., Squats; Deadlifts. There's some technique involved, but it's not rocket science, and if you start light (as any program like the ones suggested above would have you do), and think about starting out with your best imitation of ideal form from videos, and only adding weight insofar as you can do it while maintaining good form, you're no likelier to hurt yourself doing compound exercises than doing anything else.
Also, YMMV on talking to your doctor about exercise. They don't necessarily learn much of anything useful about it in med school (or at least that's what my big sister the transplant surgeon tells me), so your chance of getting good advice comes down to whether your doctor happens to have educated themselves. If you have some particular medical issue, obviously you should talk to the doctor who's treating you about how it interacts with exercise, but beyond that I doubt a doctor is going to give you a lot of useful information.
posted by LizardBreath at 8:19 AM on March 29, 2018
Also, YMMV on talking to your doctor about exercise. They don't necessarily learn much of anything useful about it in med school (or at least that's what my big sister the transplant surgeon tells me), so your chance of getting good advice comes down to whether your doctor happens to have educated themselves. If you have some particular medical issue, obviously you should talk to the doctor who's treating you about how it interacts with exercise, but beyond that I doubt a doctor is going to give you a lot of useful information.
posted by LizardBreath at 8:19 AM on March 29, 2018
Oh, while I'm evangelizing for powerlifting, a three-times-a-week powerlifting program with only erratic other exercise (I walk a lot, sometimes I run or row if I feel like it, but not in any particularly planned out way) has done really well for me at maintaining cardio fitness. Like, I'm a slow runner, and I've always been a slow runner, but the lifting has me in good enough shape that I could run five miles in an hour (and three minutes. I said I was slow) without stopping to rest last week, after not having run since sometime last fall.
posted by LizardBreath at 8:24 AM on March 29, 2018
posted by LizardBreath at 8:24 AM on March 29, 2018
Best answer: You should definitely do StrongLifts. It's simple, efficient, free app and you will get results in both bigger numbers and body. I got a friend into it late last year and he went from 5'11" 145/155ish (I forget) just very skinny fat to 175 lb super lean fit god body with three times a week for an hour. He also takes his eating seriously to bulk up, but his progress has been amazing. My situation was the opposite where I went from 6'/210 to 175 in a year on it.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 10:52 AM on March 29, 2018
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 10:52 AM on March 29, 2018
Best answer: Scott Abel’s The Hardgainer Solution is a great resource for the 50+ lifter (or for anyone primarily interested in building mass with injury prevention and sustainability in mind, vs lifting the heaviest weight on the floor. Accommodates a three-day week.
r/fitness30plus is where you can find real-world advice and experience from people in the named demographic.
If you are prone to soft tissue injuries, the exercises listed here are good ones to check out.
(Sorry to focus so much on this. It may be that a lower-rep, strength-focused program works for you no problem, but many people past even their mid-thirties find staying on the safer side is they key to sustainability [because they’ve ultimately had to investigate it :/ Newer research shows that for building muscle mass, it doesn’t really matter which rep range you train in. If that’s the case, I think it makes sense to go with a program that gives your connective tissue time to adapt and doesn’t tax the body as much as ones that focus aggressively on linear progression.)
5/3/1 is another program that takes a periodized approach (goes through a wider rep range).
Nth that diet is really the key for fat loss.
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:47 AM on March 29, 2018
r/fitness30plus is where you can find real-world advice and experience from people in the named demographic.
If you are prone to soft tissue injuries, the exercises listed here are good ones to check out.
(Sorry to focus so much on this. It may be that a lower-rep, strength-focused program works for you no problem, but many people past even their mid-thirties find staying on the safer side is they key to sustainability [because they’ve ultimately had to investigate it :/ Newer research shows that for building muscle mass, it doesn’t really matter which rep range you train in. If that’s the case, I think it makes sense to go with a program that gives your connective tissue time to adapt and doesn’t tax the body as much as ones that focus aggressively on linear progression.)
5/3/1 is another program that takes a periodized approach (goes through a wider rep range).
Nth that diet is really the key for fat loss.
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:47 AM on March 29, 2018
Response by poster: Thank you for all of the really great and insightful responses! I've learned a quite a bit! I'm going to start a slightly modified StrongLifts Monday. The only mod is that I'll increase the weight as I feel comfortable...I know where the sweet spot is between challenge and causing damage.
My diet is awesome and probably right on for StrongLifts. I've been doing beans, greens, nuts and occasional chicken and pork for two years and it's kept me more on the lean side. (The killer calories are coming from beer, and occasional vodka or tequila.)
With your advice here, I think I can take it to the next level! Thank you!
posted by snsranch at 5:32 PM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
My diet is awesome and probably right on for StrongLifts. I've been doing beans, greens, nuts and occasional chicken and pork for two years and it's kept me more on the lean side. (The killer calories are coming from beer, and occasional vodka or tequila.)
With your advice here, I think I can take it to the next level! Thank you!
posted by snsranch at 5:32 PM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Just a quick note to say thank you for this question and thank you all for the answers!
I'm skinny fat, over 50 and have just now started going to the gym again.
Right now I'm doing machines to get back into the groove and ease my injury prone shoulder into lifting, but eventually I'd like to eventually move to barbell work with Strong Lifts.
Definitely going to have a trainer show me how.
Thank you all again!
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 6:00 AM on March 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm skinny fat, over 50 and have just now started going to the gym again.
Right now I'm doing machines to get back into the groove and ease my injury prone shoulder into lifting, but eventually I'd like to eventually move to barbell work with Strong Lifts.
Definitely going to have a trainer show me how.
Thank you all again!
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 6:00 AM on March 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by xtine at 7:01 PM on March 28, 2018 [10 favorites]