Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with workout and weighttraining

I need a workout routine

alligatorman — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:31:30 -0800

I'm looking for a 3-day-a-week workout routine that only uses a bench, a bar, adjustable dumbbells, and weights. My goal is to gain muscle mass. I have a bench, straight and curl bar, adjustable dumbbells, and a sufficient supply of weights.

I would be working out alone 3 days a week: Mon, Wed, Fri.

I'm looking for ideas for a balanced workout routine.

I'm planning on incorporating the following exercises (at least):

dumbbell bench press
dumbbell squats
bent over rows
shoulder press

What should I add/remove? How should I split them up? Any suggestions on reps/sets/etc.? Any advice would be appreciated.

Potentially relevant information: 22 year old male, 5' 7", ~ 130 pounds .. not a total beginner to working out, though its been a while.

Thanks.

Help a weakling achieve her first push-up!

geekgirl397 — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:25:15 -0800

I'm a 35 yr old female, 5'6", 120lbs, in good general shape (walk loads, work out) who has never been able to achieve a single-push up. It's a key move to many of the workouts I want to do, but most strength-building programs assume that even the weakest can do at least one. What should I do? I want to include yoga and pilates in my routine, but the yoga "chaturanga" pose escapes me, making it hard to do "sun salutations" which are the core of many routines. Part of my routine is the interactive game "Yourself Fitness" on the PS/2 - this features fitness tests every 10 workouts, which include pushups as a measure. I just sit them out and enter fake info, which is frustrating.

I am in good general health. I walk between 15 and 20 miles a week and do yoga/pilates/weight routines for 30 mins about 3 times a week (hoping to ramp up to more). In the past, I've devoted a lot of time to staying fit, and for several years worked out six days a week for at least 45 mins, once a week with a trainer for an hour. Even at my fittest, I was unable to do a single push-up. I could/can do chest presses, flys, etc. with lightish weights. I can hold the yoga "plank" position and "side plank" for a decent amount of time.

I am thinking of finding a yoga teacher and getting an individual lesson to see if that helps me finally get chaturanga, but I don't have a lot of time/money and I don't currently know of a teacher I trust. (Also, gym trainers and yoga/pilates class teachers in the past have not been able to teach me to do a push up or achieve chaturanga.)

Has anybody else out here had this problem? I feel like a freak. Has anyone been able to overcome it? How? Are there any "tricks" or tips that might help me to do my very first push up, and work up from there?

Post workout sleeping disorder

Sharcho — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:50:08 -0800

After heading for the gym, I only manage to get a few hours of sleep. After the gym, I don't have any problems falling asleep, but I wake up for seemingly no reason after 4-5 hours of sleep. And I need about 7.5 hours of sleep. After waking up, I'm not tired enough to fall back asleep again for about two hours, but I get really tired later in the day.

I started going to the gym over a month ago. I go there in the evening after work twice a week. I run for 15 minutes and do weight training for 50 minutes. I go to bed 5 hours after returning from the gym.

Anybody experienced something similar, or has ideas how to prevent the post workout sleep disorder?

Gimme a break?

Nathanial Hörnblowér — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:13:53 -0800

Sore muscles. Should I work out anyway? My arms and upper back are sore from working on some projects around the house over the weekend. Today is when I normally do my weight routine, either a muscle fitness class or reps on the weight machines. Would working out help with the soreness or do I need to let my muscles recover before working them again? I can always just do another cardio day today instead, but would rather stick to my routine if I can.

Help me design a home push/pull routine

sirion — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:27:22 -0800

Help me design a good home push-pull workout with minimal equipment. Goals: Mass and definition I'm trying to get a good weight-training workout set up in my new apartment, but have fairly limited moneys to invest in it. As such, I'm planning on getting some adjustable dumbbells, maybe a balance ball, and if I can find a used workout bench, that too (suggestions on cheap equipment appreciated).

My current push/pull is as follows: (basically all upper body, as I have shitty knees. Will be walking/biking quite a bit, so not too worried about leg atrophy) Please feel free to comment, and then help me find replacement exercises that will be effective at home.

Push (8-12 reps, 2-3 sets)
-Incline bench press (any good replacements when lacking an incline bench)
-Barbell Pull-overs (tried this with dumbbells, which works, though it's fairly taxing on the wrists)
-Assisted Dips (I guess chair dips or reverse incline bench press?)
-Fly Machine (How many variants on dumbbell flys can I do?)
-Dumbbell bench press(works fine at home)
-Dumbbell fly(works fine at home)
-Shoulder press(works fine at home)
-Side raises(works fine at home)
-Front raises (works fine at home)
-Barbell skullcrushers
-Cable pushdown
-Situps
(Anything missing from a full upper body push routine?)

Pull
-Assisted Pull-ups (how do I replace this, as I need 100 lbs of assistance to do 8-12 reps x 3)
-T-Bar Row (Replace with 1-arm row?)
-Lateral Puil-down (Still not sure what to do)
-Cable row (More 1-arm rows?)
-Reverse Fly Machine (Could use some dumbbell versions of this.)
-Reverse curls (works fine at home)
-Hammer curls (How do I better isolate my biceps? When using a bicep bench, I can only curl about half the weight, so I'm clearly using a decent amount of back in my current form)
-Back extensions

Help me change my exercise routine.

2or3whiskeysodas — Tue, 29 May 2007 05:27:59 -0800

While I'm still super enthusiastic about exercise, both my motivation and fitness level have plateaued. Suggestions? I've been running for 30 minutes at a time fairly consistently for years and still enjoy it greatly. I moved from weight training at home with a bench and some cheap dumbbells to a wonderful gym last year. Since then, I've mostly been doing variations of the 3 Day Split Workouts found here. While I haven't seen any huge muscle gains, I'm fairly happy with the results. But the amount of weight I can lift hasn't increased in I don't know how long, and I'm starting to feel just a little burned-out.

So obviously, a change is needed, and I'm open to just about anything. Ideally, it would be something that would build some muscle and/or help me break through the walls I've hit when I return to the sort of weight training I've been doing. A friend has recommended the Bodypump classes offered at my gym, but I'm not much of a believer in low-weight/high-rep stuff, which is what this sounds like. And I've meant to take swimming lessons for a long time.