Help with weight training programme
Discussion
Evening all - I am hoping that some of you who post on the "What training have you done today" thread can share some of their experience with me. I have started a new thread so as not to go off topic.
The short question is - what sort of training should I be doing?
Background - I am 46 and do a desk bound job. I also need to lose some weight but this is happening through a sensible calorie controlled diet - so wieght is coming off but in a slow and manageable way.
I love weight training and want to continue doing this but I am really struggling to work out how to keep progressing. I have lifted weights since I was a teenager but never consistently and generally pretty aimlessly. I decided to change this a while ago and started on the Stronglifts 5x5 programme. I found this very simple to follow and gradually built up to (for me) some decent progress. However, I got to the point - as everyone does - when I was stalling on everything and generally just felt truly exhausted.
I then switched to a more hypertrophy type routine - doing the main compound lifts but with lighter weights and more reps.
I have seen some good progress - I have noticeably gained some muscle mass and am a lot stronger than I was.
However, I feel that I am now a bit stuck - I really don't know what to do next and it seems like I am doing a bit of everything but not a really making any progress - basically, the focus has gone.
I intend to continue with the weight loss - but slowly so it does not affect my training any more than it has to. But I want to continue to try and make progress with lifting - both heavier weight and increasing lean mass. I do appreciate that this is difficult when losing weight and also at 46 years of age.
My current training is as follows:
Workout 1: 5X5 squats, 5X5 barbell rows, 2X10 calf raises, 3x10 bicep curls
Workout 2: 5X5 squats, 5x5 bench press, 5x5 shoulder press, 1x5 deadlift, 3x10 dips
Workout 3: 5k run
Workout 4: gym stuff - lat pulldowns, dumbbell chest press, low pulley row, leg press, assisted pull ups and some cardio stuff
It is a reasonable mix of exercises that is overall a good workout. But there is no focus - I want to continue to get bigger (within reason) and stronger, but I also enjoy running and do the occasional triathlon.
If anyone can recommend some decent programmes to follow that can help, I would be grateful.
I should add that I have the following equipment available:
Home - power cage, olympic barbell and weights, treadmill, spin bike and punchbag.
Gym - cardio equipment, fairly basic lifting equipment - mainly machines rather than free weights. I mainly use this because my son has joined the gym and I enjoy going with him and encouraging him - so these sessions are less about me.
Sorry if this is too vague - I just feel like I am putting in a lot of effort but am not doing anything sufficiently focused to get any continuing results.
The short question is - what sort of training should I be doing?
Background - I am 46 and do a desk bound job. I also need to lose some weight but this is happening through a sensible calorie controlled diet - so wieght is coming off but in a slow and manageable way.
I love weight training and want to continue doing this but I am really struggling to work out how to keep progressing. I have lifted weights since I was a teenager but never consistently and generally pretty aimlessly. I decided to change this a while ago and started on the Stronglifts 5x5 programme. I found this very simple to follow and gradually built up to (for me) some decent progress. However, I got to the point - as everyone does - when I was stalling on everything and generally just felt truly exhausted.
I then switched to a more hypertrophy type routine - doing the main compound lifts but with lighter weights and more reps.
I have seen some good progress - I have noticeably gained some muscle mass and am a lot stronger than I was.
However, I feel that I am now a bit stuck - I really don't know what to do next and it seems like I am doing a bit of everything but not a really making any progress - basically, the focus has gone.
I intend to continue with the weight loss - but slowly so it does not affect my training any more than it has to. But I want to continue to try and make progress with lifting - both heavier weight and increasing lean mass. I do appreciate that this is difficult when losing weight and also at 46 years of age.
My current training is as follows:
Workout 1: 5X5 squats, 5X5 barbell rows, 2X10 calf raises, 3x10 bicep curls
Workout 2: 5X5 squats, 5x5 bench press, 5x5 shoulder press, 1x5 deadlift, 3x10 dips
Workout 3: 5k run
Workout 4: gym stuff - lat pulldowns, dumbbell chest press, low pulley row, leg press, assisted pull ups and some cardio stuff
It is a reasonable mix of exercises that is overall a good workout. But there is no focus - I want to continue to get bigger (within reason) and stronger, but I also enjoy running and do the occasional triathlon.
If anyone can recommend some decent programmes to follow that can help, I would be grateful.
I should add that I have the following equipment available:
Home - power cage, olympic barbell and weights, treadmill, spin bike and punchbag.
Gym - cardio equipment, fairly basic lifting equipment - mainly machines rather than free weights. I mainly use this because my son has joined the gym and I enjoy going with him and encouraging him - so these sessions are less about me.
Sorry if this is too vague - I just feel like I am putting in a lot of effort but am not doing anything sufficiently focused to get any continuing results.
Rest and food are a major factor in how you feel and progress when training. If you loosing weight through your diet alone then you must be in a calorie deficit which is no good for building muscle and feeling full of beans ready to hit the weights!
Try doing a 3 day split something like:
Day 1 push day: chest, shoulders, triceps
Day 2 rest
Day 3 pull day: back, biceps
Day 4 rest
Day 5 legs: quads, hams, calfs
Day 6 rest
Day 7 back to push.
Add half an hour cardio at end of each workout whatever you like, running, rowing, bicycle.
That would give you plenty of rest especially between the worked muscles. Diet you will have to gauge for yourself really to find a good balance of gaining muscle and strength but not gaining fat or being to tired. Stick to basic clean foods/ good fats things like porridge, sweet potato, rice, chicken, steak, tuna, salmon.
Once you have the basics and start making some decent improvements depending how far you want to take it youl start getting into different carb sources at different times around training, morning/ night etc but wouldn’t worry about that so much yet.
Also can be handy to make a note of what weights you lift on each exercise/ how many reps and try to better that each time should get you going in the right direction.
If trained for years and rest/ food was always the biggest (and hardest as I love the training bit!) factor for me when I reached a sticking point or lack of motivation tiredness etc.
Hope some of that helps!
Try doing a 3 day split something like:
Day 1 push day: chest, shoulders, triceps
Day 2 rest
Day 3 pull day: back, biceps
Day 4 rest
Day 5 legs: quads, hams, calfs
Day 6 rest
Day 7 back to push.
Add half an hour cardio at end of each workout whatever you like, running, rowing, bicycle.
That would give you plenty of rest especially between the worked muscles. Diet you will have to gauge for yourself really to find a good balance of gaining muscle and strength but not gaining fat or being to tired. Stick to basic clean foods/ good fats things like porridge, sweet potato, rice, chicken, steak, tuna, salmon.
Once you have the basics and start making some decent improvements depending how far you want to take it youl start getting into different carb sources at different times around training, morning/ night etc but wouldn’t worry about that so much yet.
Also can be handy to make a note of what weights you lift on each exercise/ how many reps and try to better that each time should get you going in the right direction.
If trained for years and rest/ food was always the biggest (and hardest as I love the training bit!) factor for me when I reached a sticking point or lack of motivation tiredness etc.
Hope some of that helps!
I found that a good progression from Stronglifts is 5/3/1. Various routines according to what your goals are.
https://jimwendler.com
I have a decent spreadsheet if you would like.
https://jimwendler.com
I have a decent spreadsheet if you would like.
It really depends upon what your goals are.
If you want to be good at triathlon, then the training, and your ideal body composition, will obviously be very different from training for maximum strength or muscle mass.
Maybe do some Strongman training, what some might call "functional" training or power and work capacity training to help with your triathlon sports or conditioning
If you want to be good at triathlon, then the training, and your ideal body composition, will obviously be very different from training for maximum strength or muscle mass.
Maybe do some Strongman training, what some might call "functional" training or power and work capacity training to help with your triathlon sports or conditioning
Thanks for the replies.
In answer to Ord, I am not big or strong compared to most of you guys. Lifts are as follows (all 5x5):
Squat 100kg
Deadlift 115kg
Bench 80kg
Shoulder press 45kg
Barbell row 60kg
Bicep curl 45kg
Chest dips 3x10 body weight
I then dropped the weights a bit and went 5x10 on the above except for deadlift and coupled this with starting to run again. Squat and deadlift seem a bit low compared to bench etc but have really struggled to improve them
I weigh 14 stone at 5’9 so definitely need to lose another couple of stone
My goal would be to increase muscle size - I want to look and feel reasonably built and be strong but not wanting to look like a bodybuilder (which I will never achieve anyway). And couple this with actually being cardio fit - not looking to do a marathon but would be happy running 10k a couple of times a week and doing the odd triathlon. However, I love lifting weights a lot more than I like running.
Where I am struggling is finding a maintainable workout schedule that will allow me to progress without making me feel so shattered all the time that I can’t maintain it. Stronglifts was great as a base program but it feels like I have got what I can out of it and everything has ground to a halt.
I can realistically train 4 times a week as long as I can’t cover between sessions - which I was struggling with on the 5x5 program. Age doesn’t help recovery!
In answer to Ord, I am not big or strong compared to most of you guys. Lifts are as follows (all 5x5):
Squat 100kg
Deadlift 115kg
Bench 80kg
Shoulder press 45kg
Barbell row 60kg
Bicep curl 45kg
Chest dips 3x10 body weight
I then dropped the weights a bit and went 5x10 on the above except for deadlift and coupled this with starting to run again. Squat and deadlift seem a bit low compared to bench etc but have really struggled to improve them
I weigh 14 stone at 5’9 so definitely need to lose another couple of stone
My goal would be to increase muscle size - I want to look and feel reasonably built and be strong but not wanting to look like a bodybuilder (which I will never achieve anyway). And couple this with actually being cardio fit - not looking to do a marathon but would be happy running 10k a couple of times a week and doing the odd triathlon. However, I love lifting weights a lot more than I like running.
Where I am struggling is finding a maintainable workout schedule that will allow me to progress without making me feel so shattered all the time that I can’t maintain it. Stronglifts was great as a base program but it feels like I have got what I can out of it and everything has ground to a halt.
I can realistically train 4 times a week as long as I can’t cover between sessions - which I was struggling with on the 5x5 program. Age doesn’t help recovery!
I've found myself at a similar cross roads. I did 5/3/1 and made some good progress, with some respectable numbers (1RM: Bench press 125kg, Squat 165kg, deadlift 185kg, shoulder press 75kg) I then had a shoulder injury last November bench pressing which took me a while to get over and knocked my confidence with heavy weights, so I've been doing more hypertrophy stuff, which has been alright (I've put some muscle on) but I'm now bored, plus as I've been adding weight and reps hypertrophy workouts are now taking ages to get through.
After much deliberation I'm going back to 5/3/1, starting next monday. I've opted for the "boring but big" variation with the intention of running it for at least 6 months, taking it slowly and trying to look after my joints to avoid injury.
I used to use a 5/3/1 app which I paid for and it works really well:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....
I'm going to add a couple of assistance lifts (I'm mildly addicted to pull ups) and see how I get on.
I've come to the conclusion that doing a work out that you enjoy doing, and that you're enthusiastic about but may not be quite optimal does you more good than grinding through a workout that you hate because it's a "better" or more "optimal" workout, if you see what I mean.
After much deliberation I'm going back to 5/3/1, starting next monday. I've opted for the "boring but big" variation with the intention of running it for at least 6 months, taking it slowly and trying to look after my joints to avoid injury.
I used to use a 5/3/1 app which I paid for and it works really well:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....
I'm going to add a couple of assistance lifts (I'm mildly addicted to pull ups) and see how I get on.
I've come to the conclusion that doing a work out that you enjoy doing, and that you're enthusiastic about but may not be quite optimal does you more good than grinding through a workout that you hate because it's a "better" or more "optimal" workout, if you see what I mean.
If you're not comfortable doing your own programming, then something like 531 is a good call- there's loads of variations of it now with higher/lower volume and differing aims- so bound to be something that fits you. It's not so intense that recovery is an issue, and it's a good progressive approach. Cardio and conditioning on off days and you've ticked all your boxes.
There are loads of programs on line tbh, and they'll all work- pick one that has good feedback, stick to it, and run it for a few months.
There are loads of programs on line tbh, and they'll all work- pick one that has good feedback, stick to it, and run it for a few months.
You'll get so many different answers, just pick what you enjoy doing.
My personal philosophy is it doesn't matter how many reps you do, it's going to the point of failure that really gets results. I focus on strength and mainly bench as my legs are a bit f
ked.
Working sets I never tend to go over 5 to 6 reps, I also rarely 1 rep max. When I started I went from 100kg to 131kg on a parabench in 6 months, which I though was pretty good, that's to competition standard too so a proper pause at the bottom, which makes a big difference.
The other advice is to train with people stronger than you, guys who I sometimes train with bench over 200kg, that feeling of wanting to catch up is good motivation.
And trying not to neglect accessory exercises, they make you look like a bodybuilder but do help protect shoulders.
My personal philosophy is it doesn't matter how many reps you do, it's going to the point of failure that really gets results. I focus on strength and mainly bench as my legs are a bit f
ked. Working sets I never tend to go over 5 to 6 reps, I also rarely 1 rep max. When I started I went from 100kg to 131kg on a parabench in 6 months, which I though was pretty good, that's to competition standard too so a proper pause at the bottom, which makes a big difference.
The other advice is to train with people stronger than you, guys who I sometimes train with bench over 200kg, that feeling of wanting to catch up is good motivation.
And trying not to neglect accessory exercises, they make you look like a bodybuilder but do help protect shoulders.
TNJ said:
Thanks all - and I note the comment about running and weight training not being ideal bed fellows
I will give the 5-3-1 programme a go I think and maybe scale the running down to a couple of 5k runs a week and see how I go
Running and weight training can complement each other, it just depends on your goals. I will give the 5-3-1 programme a go I think and maybe scale the running down to a couple of 5k runs a week and see how I go
If you enjoy running, why not continue with it?
I will certainly carry on running but I enjoy lifting weights more than running - so if I rein anything back it would be running. I would not want to drop it completely as I do enjoy it and it can be a welcome change from the weights - particularly as I train at home rather than at a gym for the most part
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff