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It's been a while since I've introduced myself on this forum, even though I wasn't yet going to the gym. But 05 September 2014 I kicked my ass to the gym and got myself a subscription and I've been going ever since. I go 4 times a week for about 90 minutes: monday, wednesday, friday and sunday.

The first 4 times I had a non-personalised program that existed out:

  • Stationairy bike: 12 minutes at 60 - 80 rpm
    Running: 10 minutes at 4,5 km/h (6%)
    Chest Press Sel: 3 sets - 15 reps (20 kg)
    Vertical Traction Sel: 3 sets - 15 reps (30 kg)
    Leg extension Elt+: 3 sets - 15 reps (10 kg)
    Total abdominal Sel (Crunch): 3 sets - 15 reps (20 kg)
    Recline: 10 minutes at 60 - 80 rpm

 

So nothing special. On 14 September I did some tests to get some basic information about my body, and these were the results:

  • Height: 1m87
    Weight: 64,3 kg
    % Fat: 11,8
    BMI: 18.4

With this and a bit more in depth information about what my goals etc were, I started with a more personalised workout program on 17 September. After 12 workouts I'll have another meetup and we'll see how much progress I've made.

My current workout (and the goal weight I have to be able to do after 12 times):

  • Stationairy bike: 12 minutes at 60 - 80 rpm, level 4 (max. level = 25)
    Pectoral Sel - Arm Adduction: 4x 8 reps (25 kg)
    Chest Press: 4x 8 reps (35 kg)
    Vertical Traction Sel: 4x 8 reps (40 kg)
    Row Pure: 4x 8 reps (40 kg)
    Cross over Cable Elt+: 4x 8 reps (10 kg)
    Cable Jungle - Arm curl: 4x 8 reps (15 kg)
    Triceps Pushdown: 4x 8 reps (15 kg)
    Leg extension Elt+: 4x 10 reps (30 kg)
    Seated leg curl: 4x 10 reps (30 kg)
    Leg Press: 4x 10 reps (70 kg)
    Total abdominal Sel (Crunch): 3x 15 reps (30 kg)
    Rotary Torso: 3x 12 reps (both sides) (15 kg)

I'm a bit lost with all the correct names, these are just the names of the machines that are in the gym, so I don't know if you guys now what I'm talking about...

 

I've noticed a few problems so far:

1. There is no restday in between Sunday and Monday... So what do I do on Monday? Do I use light weights? If I'm not sure can I just exercise as hard as I can...?

2. A lot of times I'm not feeling really sore, but I am feeling something. Is it okay to push your limits, or is it bad for your muscles/body when I do it with that 'feeling'?

 

My more detailed training log from the previous days is written on my blog. If you guys are interested: http://ectomorphingtime.tumblr.com/tagged/exlog. I'll be adding my new detailed logs to this page, but I don't think it's okay if I start spamming a few days worth of logs...

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You do all of that each time you train? That's a considerable amount of volume, and I think it would be difficult to sustain as you progress in strength (i.e. your weight loads increase). That's not to say that this is a bad routine, in particular - it's just a lot for one day, and a ton in the span of a few days.

 

Have you ever considered breaking it up into parts, and doing sections on different days? That might also solve your Sunday - Monday conundrum; which, by the way, will only serve to inhibit your progress. If you don't permit your muscles to rest, you won't grow. And, by doing this workout back to back, or even with only one day in between, you won't really grow. Plus, part of the reason you aren't feeling very sore is likely because you are not permitting any lactic acid to sit in your muscles by virtue of your training schedule. This might be more comfortable, but in the end, it is an unwanted byproduct of not permitting your muscles to grow. Does that make sense? If you want to train on Monday, but fear the repetition of the previous day's training, you could mix things up and just do cardio. I'd suggest some HIIT work.

 

Someone once told me the goal is to stimulate, not annihlate.

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Since I'm really new to this I've been putting my trust in the trainers that reside in my gym, they told me to do all that so that's what I did... They didn't tell me to come four times a week though, that's just something that I wanted to do on my own. However, I've been thinking about breaking up my workout into different parts so I'll definitely mention it the next time I have a one-on-one with them.

 

Plus, part of the reason you aren't feeling very sore is likely because you are not permitting any lactic acid to sit in your muscles by virtue of your training schedule. This might be more comfortable, but in the end, it is an unwanted byproduct of not permitting your muscles to grow.

I don't really understand this part? So keeping lactic acid in your muscles will help them grow? But how do I keep it there then?

 

I really appreciate your feedback! Since I lack experience and knowledge about the subject, I embrace all sorts of feedback.

 

Here is yesterday's workout:

 

24 September 2014

Stationairy bike

12 minutes at 60 - 80 rpm, level 4 (max. level = 25)

Pectoral Sel - Arm Adduction

Set 1 - 8 reps (25 kg)

Set 2 - 8 reps (25 kg)

Set 3 - 8 reps (25 kg)

Set 4 - 8 reps (30 kg)

Chest Press

Set 1 - 8 reps (30 kg)

Set 2 - 8 reps (30 kg)

Set 3 - 8 reps (35 kg)

Set 4 - 8 reps (35 kg)

Vertical Traction Sel

4x 8 reps (45 kg)

Row Pure

Set 1 - 8 reps (30 kg)

Set 2 - 8 reps (30 kg)

Set 3 - 8 reps (30 kg)

Set 4 - 8 reps (35 kg)

Cross over Cable Elt+

Set 1 - 8 reps (10 kg)

Set 2 - 8 reps (10 kg)

Set 3 - 8 reps (12,5 kg)

Set 4 - 8 reps (12,5 kg)

Cable Jungle - Arm curl

Set 1 - 8 reps (10 kg)

Set 2 - 8 reps (10 kg)

Set 3 - 8 reps (10 kg)

Set 4 - 8 reps (12.5 kg)

Triceps Pushdown

Set 1 - 8 reps (10 kg)

Set 2 - 8 reps (10 kg)

Set 3 - 8 reps (10 kg)

Set 4 - 8 reps (15 kg)

Leg extension Elt+

Set 1 - 10 reps (30 kg)

Set 2 - 10 reps (30 kg)

Set 3 - 10 reps (30 kg)

Set 4 - 10 reps (30 kg)

Seated leg curl

Set 1 - 10 reps (30 kg)

Set 2 - 10 reps (30 kg)

Set 3 - 10 reps (30 kg)

Set 4 - 10 reps (30 kg)

Leg Press

Set 1 - 10 reps (55 kg)

Set 2 - 10 reps (55 kg)

Set 3 - 10 reps (55 kg)

Set 4 - 10 reps (60 kg)

Total abdominal Sel (Crunch)

3x 15 reps (35 kg)

Rotary Torso

3x 12 reps (15kg)

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RE: Lactic Acid - I recently discovered that lactic acid isn't the cause of soreness, but rather that the soreness (a/k/a Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness "DOMS") is due to your muscle tissues swelling (inflammation) as their repair themselves due to the strain caused by training. So, if you are training a ton, you should be getting sore. That is, of course, unless you are training so much or so often that you prevent your body from actually repairing itself. So, don't worry about lactic acid; although, there are ways to reduce its buildup (hydration, diet, etc.). (PS. The "burn" you feel while training is actually the sensation of lactic acid buildup)

 

RE: Your Program - I think its a solid program, but I would personally have difficulty maintaining that level of training; and I think its over-training. But, everyone is different. You should pay attention to how you feel after you train (including the following day). If you feel tired all the time, headaches, fatigue, or lack focus/desire regarding training, you are probably overtraining. It's easy to be impatient with goals, but they do take time. Anyhow, you'll make amazing gains in the first few months of your training journey so enjoy that time. Then training becomes somewhat of a lifestyle, and the body adapts, and though you become bigger/faster/stronger, the gains or changes require much more effort - which can be very frustrating. Just my thoughts... Someone else could (will) have a totally different view.

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Hi there,

 

Just a few points if you like...

 

You mentioned about light days, or as some call it "active rest", this isn't a good idea in my opinion. Reason being, the human muscular system requires a stimulus of specific nature and magnitude in order for it to warrant an adaptive response. In the context of building muscle, the nature and magnitude of the stimulus is 100 percent of a muscle's momentary ability. So any other stimuli that does not meet that criteria will not produce the same adaptive response. Put simply, results are proportional to the intensity of effort put forth, the greater the intensity of effort, the greater the muscle growth stimulation.

 

Lactic acid is the result of glycogen within the muscle's being burnt as fuel (glycogen is what powers high intensity muscular contractions)...

 

Your routine isn't too bad, it may become too much in one setting for you in the future (due to becoming stronger/greater energy output) you may for example split it upper body one workout, lower body/abs the next. One thing i would recommend is this, instead of preforming 3-4 sets with the same weight per exercise, i would recommend performing one or two warm-ups sets, followed by one all out super intense set to muscular failure of around 8-12 reps, and when you do that, there will be no need to perform another set for that exercise. I would also recommend focusing on progressive intensity/overload, the strength of a muscle is related to its cross sectional area, just like a steel cable, the bigger it is, the stronger it is.

 

Hope this helps, best of luck

Rob

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