How many exercises to do per session?

[Domestika]

Hi there.

I've just started doing some light weight/bodyweight training. I've come across lots of good exercises to do but my list is getting a bit long now (about 20+) so I'm wondering if it's best to stick to just 10-12 exercises per workout? Or if it's ok to just do as many different ones as I want per session.

None of them are redundant. And I've just started strength training in the last few weeks so, from what I've read, it's best to stick to a full body program rather than start dividing them into "arms" workouts and "legs" workouts. Perhaps I can make two different full body workouts using the exercises I have....

Thoughts?

 

[Waitwhat?]

Yes, stick to 10-12 or you're going to be there all night.

Do a couple for chest, back, legs, shoulders and arms and you shouldn't be in there longer than an hour.

Let's see what exercises you are going to do based on my suggestion.

 

[World B]

How many exercises

I'm a big fan of body weight exercise routines. I also strength train with the iron. I find this combination to be beneficial on sooo many different levels. I can experiment with a lot of different exercises when I train with body weight. I reduce the risk of using poor form and thus reduce the risk of injury. Also my core routine benefits both programs. By mixing in the weight routines I can target specific areas and increase strength while building muscle. The mixture prevents boredom and helps plateauing. I prefer routines that target specific muscle groups instead of full body workouts. I do core almost every workout and cardio after. Eat right and rest. Pushups, pullups, planks, knees to elbow lifts, dips etc for body weight routines. I stay away from most machines when I weight train although I do like the cable machines. Do the basic lifts with perfect form regardless of weight until you're confident then lift heavy. Listen to your body. You will probably shorten your list when you find which ones work the best, but I like lots of variation. It's just fun that way and I'm always talking to other friends "hey have you ever tried this". Even the trainers ask me where I found that exercise.

 

[xswtsalvationx0]

all you need is...

one of each...
hip dominant exercise: deadlifts or good mornings or pull throughs
quad dominant exercise: squats, lunges
upper body horizontal push: bench pressing
upper body horizontal pull: row
upper body vertical push: shoulder press or military press, etc.
upper body vertical pull: lat pulldown or pull up, etc.
rotation: chops, lift, pallof presses, etc.

Picking 6 exercises is good, but not 12 unless you are doing circuit training and training for endurance. You can even split your exercise into monday/thursday push, tuesday/friday pull. It all depends on your goals.


oh and don't do a squat and a deadlift on the same day. you can do a deadlift and lunge (lunge is single leg, so thats fine), but you will be tired on your 2nd lift after either the deadlift or the squat that you do first. For those 2 exercises, you want to be fresh. I even tried doing an explosive lift like dumbbell swings before deadlifting, but that didn't work out well. Did not have energy for my deadlift.