Hi, I'm new to this site and have been surfing.. unsuccessfully for some information.
I've been lifting on and off since highschool (I'm 27 now). What I'm looking for is some information on the proper way to design a program that's concentrating on strength development and improved athletic performance (basketball mainly). I'm also trying to lose weight slowly.. I started working out in March and have gone from 275 to 225 since then. I'm aiming for ~190 and would like to reach that within half a year.
Most of what I've seen online is geared towards bodybuilding and that's not what I'm looking for.
What I've currently been doing is this:
Lifting 5 days a week. I play basketball 2 days a week and do cardio on days I don't work my legs.. which I do a high intensity/short duration bike ride which is similiar to wind sprints.
Sat-chest
Sun-legs
Mon-back/abs
Tue-Shoulders/tris (also bench)
Wed-Bis/abs (also squat/toe raises)
I've been doing two weeks each with the following sets/reps:
4-12
3-10
4-8
4-6
4-5
5-5-3-3-3
So a 12 week cycle.
I take creatine, lay off all simple carbs, and have a high protein intake.. but on a low calorie diet as I'm trying to lose weight as well.
So with my current goals being strength, improved performance, and weight loss.. I have some questions.
When working out two muscle groups in a day (say X and Y), should my exercises be x-x-x-y-y-y, or x-y-x-y-x?
Should I be doing cardio before or after lifting, or do I need to do that on off days to get the most out of the lifting?
Should I be cycling the reps (12 down to 3) as I'm doing, or should I be doing less reps/higher weights all of the time if I'm lifting for strength?
Should I be taking a week off after I finish my 12 week cycle or should I be starting right over?
Should I be working out each muscle group more often than once a week? (I do work some of them out twice kind of.. with a second bench and squat, and the bis are worked with the back, and the tris are worked with the chest)
Any advice would be appreciated, or any links to information online would be great as well. Thanks!
I've been lifting on and off since highschool (I'm 27 now). What I'm looking for is some information on the proper way to design a program that's concentrating on strength development and improved athletic performance (basketball mainly). I'm also trying to lose weight slowly.. I started working out in March and have gone from 275 to 225 since then. I'm aiming for ~190 and would like to reach that within half a year.
Most of what I've seen online is geared towards bodybuilding and that's not what I'm looking for.
What I've currently been doing is this:
Lifting 5 days a week. I play basketball 2 days a week and do cardio on days I don't work my legs.. which I do a high intensity/short duration bike ride which is similiar to wind sprints.
Sat-chest
Sun-legs
Mon-back/abs
Tue-Shoulders/tris (also bench)
Wed-Bis/abs (also squat/toe raises)
I've been doing two weeks each with the following sets/reps:
4-12
3-10
4-8
4-6
4-5
5-5-3-3-3
So a 12 week cycle.
I take creatine, lay off all simple carbs, and have a high protein intake.. but on a low calorie diet as I'm trying to lose weight as well.
So with my current goals being strength, improved performance, and weight loss.. I have some questions.
When working out two muscle groups in a day (say X and Y), should my exercises be x-x-x-y-y-y, or x-y-x-y-x?
Should I be doing cardio before or after lifting, or do I need to do that on off days to get the most out of the lifting?
Should I be cycling the reps (12 down to 3) as I'm doing, or should I be doing less reps/higher weights all of the time if I'm lifting for strength?
Should I be taking a week off after I finish my 12 week cycle or should I be starting right over?
Should I be working out each muscle group more often than once a week? (I do work some of them out twice kind of.. with a second bench and squat, and the bis are worked with the back, and the tris are worked with the chest)
Any advice would be appreciated, or any links to information online would be great as well. Thanks!