Ms. Rip...Wondering if you could assist me with a workout routine. I am looking to do weights 3 days a week, in addition to my cardio. I am trying to be realistic with my short term goal and commit to 3 days a week and then eventually work up to 5 days. Any suggestions on some exercises would be GREATLY appreciated!!
Sure thing. Great avatar too!
What is your experience level with weight training? Are you a beginner or have you spent some time in the gym? How often are you doing cardio, and when are you doing it? When would you be doing the weight training? Below is a modified version of what I posted in the Training Tips for Beginners thread. If you consider yourself a beginner with the weights and you want to start with three days a week, then circuit training may be a good way to get going with weights.
Take a look at something like this and let me know what you think and how this approach fits in with your experience level.
Circuits can be quite variable...you can mix things up a lot and get a lot of different workouts so you don't get bored. This should be incorporated into a program with cardio and abs, which is why I was wondering how often you would be doing cardio and when you would be doing it relative to your weight training (same days/different days; morning/evening).
Circuit programs hit multiple muscle groups in one workout, which is better for a beginner to get themselves familiar with basic exercises and techniques, and also promotes calorie burning by getting blood to more muscle groups during the workout. It's a good approach for a novice who wants to lose weight and tone up.
If it's three times a week, I would do two upper body circuits and one lower body circuit (upper monday, lower weds, upper friday for example). If it's four times a week, I would do two upper body and two lower body circuits alternating, or three upper body circuits and one lower body circuit (just don't do back to back upper body days, give at least a day of rest in between).
I would also add some AB training (start without weights) once or twice a week, but you may be able to do abs with your cardio.
-For upper body circuits, two exercises for back, shoulders, and chest, and one for bis and one for tris works pretty well, although you can switch this up a lot and mix things up as long as you hit each muscle group at least once during the workout.
Two sets of each exercise is fine, but three is better. For circuit training, you don't sit at the same machine and do all three sets...you go through the whole circuit once with little rest, and then go back and repeat it two more times (or one more time at least).
Reps around the 12-15 range, and you should be struggling with the weight (or at least working hard) by the end of the set. Alternate exercises between major and minor muscle groups (see example below).
-For lower body circuits, focus on compound exercises like squats and lunges. Use light weight at first until you get a feel for the workout. Again, 2-3 sets, 12-15 reps, or maybe 15-20 reps on the lower body depending on how much weight you use.
-Use primarily machines and light dumbells at first. Do not get fancy with the exercises, and keep it basic. Work into the more advanced free weight exercises as you get more comfortable in the gym.
An example of an upper body circuit could look like this:
1. shoulder press machine
2. cable tricep pulldowns
3. wide grip lateral pulldowns
4. dumbell bicep curls
5. chest press machine
6. dumbell lateral raises
7. close grip cable rows (or a row machine)
8. flies on the pec deck
Like I said, you can mix it up alot, so you can add more chest and take away some shoulders during one workout, for example, or add more back, or whatever...as long as you hit everything in the upper body.
Go through each exercise one set, and then go back to the beginning and repeat. Ideally you would go through it three times, but two is OK too. You can increase the weight on the second time through if you get through it pretty well the first time.
An example of an lower body circuit could look like this:
1. squats (with no weight, or light dumbells, or a light barbell on your shoulders) - wide stance - you can change up the stance from time to time to focus on different parts of the legs - wide stance, narrow stance (a little more advanced), and also face the toes outward in a wide stance to hit the inner thighs
2. hamstring curls (lying hammy curl machine is probably the easiest to get the hang of)
3. leg press machine (start with a nautilus-type machine rather than the leg press sled)
4. calf raise machine
5. lunges or step ups, or both (with light dumbells)
Same approach as the upper body circuit except that you may want to go higher rep on the leg workouts (like in the 15-20 range)...Go through each exercise one set, and then go back to the beginning and repeat (total 2-3 times through). You can also add more exercises or switch them up over time, depending on how you do with the workout.
Give that some thought for starters and let me know how it may work for you. There are lots of things you can do with this type of workout, so you will always be doing something a little different and learning alot about weight training.
