Split workouts or entire body for weights?

[shetheredge]

If you want to gain muscle mass then do 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps with max weights. If you want to tone muscle then do 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps with lower weights.
Monday: Chest and Back
Tuesday: Abs and/or cardio
Wednesday: Arms and Shoulders
Thursday: Abs and/or cardio
Friday: Legs
Saturday: I use Saturday to focus on a specific muscle group that I want to see improvement
If I cannot make it to the gym for any reason then I try to do 100 pushups, 100 situps and as many pullups as I can.
Supplements: It is important to take whey protein within 30 minutes after a workout. Your body can only absorb 30 grams of protein at any given time so no need to take more than that. You need to try and take 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight per day. It is quite difficult, but do the best you can. I also take a pre-workout supplement. I am an Advocare distributor so I am biased toward their products. I have used several other brands with success and would recommend finding a local Advocare rep (me) or going to a local nutrition store. Preferably not one that is a chain, I find that you get a more honest opinion of the products if you go to a place that does not have their own brand.
My Advocare site is www.befitstayfit.net for supplements or go to the Family Health Market in Frisco, the people their are great. Always ask the person if they have tried the supplement they are recommending. They should be able to give you a good feeling of what each product is like.

[sandiego_to_frisco]

Originally Posted by M4ForMe

Ha! I was originally thinking of something like that for Grizzlyman's comments, but then I was like "it depends on your goals." How much leg work is enough depends on each person's goals and probably even more so what they enjoy.

Nevertheless....love the picture.

[rawhide]

Canned, what are your goals with weight training.
Increase strength, build muscle, become more toned, burn calories more efficiently?
Or, all of the above?

Like San Diego said, read Men's Health monthly. That IMO is one of the best magazines out there that is realistic. Even if you are a female, this mag will be beneficial.

I do the full body weight workout, 3 to 4 days a week and add in cardio 4 to 5 days a week. That works best for me. I work legs, then uppers, and finish with abs, focusing on the major muscle groups and rotating in different exercises from time to time. I take a day off in between weight workouts.

Everybody is different and once you find a routine, you will settle in.

Another tip is to look at someone at your gym who is in your desired shape. Watch what they do. Chances are they are in the gym on a regular basis and doing some sort of cardio and weight training.

[NexGenFitness]

I would have to say that rawhide definitely hit the nail on the head by asking what your goals are. What you are looking to do can dictate what type of program you choose. I will say that as a beginner, whether you do a split or a full body routine, you will see changes happening. In terms of which is better, my philosophy is that full body routines are better for weight loss and toning, as you are able to complete more sets and exercises in a given time thus burning more calories. Typically splits are used for individuals who are looking to grow and build muscle. Now this isn’t to say that a split can’t yield weight loss, or that a full body routine can’t build strength or size, manipulation of number of reps could do that. It’s just that each is just a little better suited towards one.

To be frank, if you truly are a beginner I would suggest that you start with a full body routine at least for a few weeks. Many of us can attest that the first time you do an entire workout of just legs you may never want to step foot in a gym again, or at the least never do legs again-which is a mistake as the picture showed. My suggestion would be to pick 1-2 exercises per body part, per workout, trying different exercise each time. This will help you to get comfortable with the exercises and ease you in if you choose to begin a split. Remember bigger muscle groups should get more exercises (i.e. legs, back, and chest). Keep the rep ranges in line with your goals: 8-12 to build muscle, 15-20 to tone. And most importantly, pick a weight you can handle safely but still causes you to have to work hard to finish each set.

As far as rest between workout days, 1 day off in between for a full body routine is definitely best. A split, depending on how it’s set up, can easily be done on back to back days because you are not going to hit the same body part the next day.

[Canned Laughter]

We both want to build more strength without becoming bulky. We have a little more weight to lose and still do some cardio as well.

Thank you all for sharing, there's a lot of info here to get us started.

[bizguy]

Originally Posted by Canned Laughter

We both want to build more strength without becoming bulky. We have a little more weight to lose and still do some cardio as well.

Thank you all for sharing, there's a lot of info here to get us started.

Definitely lower weight and higher reps (3 sets 12-20 reps) of compound moves then... You can add in some isolation stuff later like leg ext and hamstring curls, but I would probably stick to the following for the time being - whole body 3x week. Warm up and cool down with about 10 min of light cardio before and after.

Bench, squats, leg press, deadlift, overhead press, upright rows, and lat pull downs. add ins some core / ab work and you will be golden... BTW, I would also recommend where ever possible, use the free weights, as you get benefits from having to stabilize the weights that you don't get from machines....

[Joycmarr]

One program I found excellent for strength building was in a book called "New Rules of Weight Lifting". There's a male and female version and I've only read the one for women, but it contains 6 months worth of workout routine, and it's good for building strength. I confess I only did it for about 3 months before I became a little restless and moved on to P90X, but it did build a good foundation.

[rawhide]

Originally Posted by NexGenFitness

I would have to say that rawhide definitely hit the nail on the head by asking what your goals are. What you are looking to do can dictate what type of program you choose. I will say that as a beginner, whether you do a split or a full body routine, you will see changes happening. In terms of which is better, my philosophy is that full body routines are better for weight loss and toning, as you are able to complete more sets and exercises in a given time thus burning more calories. Typically splits are used for individuals who are looking to grow and build muscle. Now this isn’t to say that a split can’t yield weight loss, or that a full body routine can’t build strength or size, manipulation of number of reps could do that. It’s just that each is just a little better suited towards one.

To be frank, if you truly are a beginner I would suggest that you start with a full body routine at least for a few weeks. Many of us can attest that the first time you do an entire workout of just legs you may never want to step foot in a gym again, or at the least never do legs again-which is a mistake as the picture showed. My suggestion would be to pick 1-2 exercises per body part, per workout, trying different exercise each time. This will help you to get comfortable with the exercises and ease you in if you choose to begin a split. Remember bigger muscle groups should get more exercises (i.e. legs, back, and chest). Keep the rep ranges in line with your goals: 8-12 to build muscle, 15-20 to tone. And most importantly, pick a weight you can handle safely but still causes you to have to work hard to finish each set.

As far as rest between workout days, 1 day off in between for a full body routine is definitely best. A split, depending on how it’s set up, can easily be done on back to back days because you are not going to hit the same body part the next day.

Excellent first post on FOL.

Weclome!

[rawhide]

Originally Posted by Canned Laughter

We both want to build more strength without becoming bulky. We have a little more weight to lose and still do some cardio as well.

Thank you all for sharing, there's a lot of info here to get us started.

Unless you drastically alter your diet and lift for about 3 to 5 hours a day, it will be hard for a female to get bulky.

Cardio plus weight training is the way to go in order to lose weight and build strength.

Good luck!

[Joycmarr]

Yeah, I tried for a yr to "bulk" by amping up the protein and lifting like a freakin man and all I did was lean out. Oh well. It was fun deadlifting more than most of the guys in the gym I have to say.