My Exercise Routine

T

thekeyser22

0
I'm looking to improve definition and tone, not bulk and strength. I'm looking to a 2-day a week program because I am a beginner lacking a strong foundation.

Here's my weight training portion:

(The following's done twice a week. All of these are 3 sets of 10 reps, unless otherwise specified)

Flat Dumbell Press (I prefer this to bench because of very weak wrists)
Dumbell Flies

Underhand Pullups/Chin-ups
Front Pulldown

Barbell Curls (7x7x7 system, 3 sets of 21 reps)
Regular Barbell Curls

Hammer Curls
Behind-Back Wrist Curls w/ barbell
Behind-Back Wrist Extensions w/ barbell

Tricep Pulldown
Tricep Extension

Seated Barbell Press
Side Lateral Raises
Front Lateral Raises

Leg Press
Deadlift (3 sets, 6 reps)

Core/cardio exercises (done everyday):

Superman (lowerback/Erector-Spinae) 5 sets of 2 minute holds
Plank (abs) 5 sets of 2 minute holds
(I'm not sure about how long I should hold the above two exercises)
Broom Twists (Obliques) 60 twists each side, total 120 or as many as possible

15 (+5 warm-up) minutes of stationary biking, constant 75% MHR on weight training days

45 minutes of jogging/running @ constant %75 MHR on non-weight training days

Anything I missed? Anything you can add or criticize? And anything I can do to specifically target my butt? Thanks in advance! ;)
 
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Personally I would ditch the side lateral raises and do upright rows instead.

Or alternatively do some bent over lateral raises to target the rear deltoids
 
First, you cannot "improve definition and tone" without gaining "bulk and strength". There are two factors to your body's appearance: the amount of muscle you have and the amount of body fat you have.

Read this t-nation article entitled "The Hierarchy of Fat Loss":http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=07-060-diet

Second, you're planning on doing almost 1000 reps a week of all your weighted exercises combined--that's far too many for anyone!

As a beginner lacking a strong foundation, you're going to have to focus on the major compound movements that will build a strong foundation, i.e. squats, deadlifts, chins/dips, etc.

Here's another t-nation article (t-nation is an excellent resource!) on total-body training:http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=508031
 
I appreciate the input. I think I might just ditch the side lateral raises for upright rows like you said bet.

And bran, I know that to some extent I'll still be bulking and building strength. It's just that most people I know like to bulk up by doing 3-6 reps very slowly and with heavy weights, which I want to stay away from. I've seen people with such huge biceps and pecs that it's unappealing.

As for the weighted exercises, what do you recommend? How many should I do? The broom twist is not that intense really, so I don't think it'll be a problem as far as doing way too many reps, but I forgot to factor in push ups though. Any numbers you could throw?

And unfortunately, I'd like to be able to do squats, but I don't have a smith machine at my gym. It's a really cheap ass, poor gym :( I don't have enough balance to do it with a conventional squat bar, which I don't think we have either. :( I've already got chin ups and deadlifts covered, I'll have to check if there's something I can do dips with.. thanks for the help!
 
thekeyser22 said:
I appreciate the input. I think I might just ditch the side lateral raises for upright rows like you said bet.

And bran, I know that to some extent I'll still be bulking and building strength. It's just that most people I know like to bulk up by doing 3-6 reps very slowly and with heavy weights, which I want to stay away from. I've seen people with such huge biceps and pecs that it's unappealing.

As for the weighted exercises, what do you recommend? How many should I do? The broom twist is not that intense really, so I don't think it'll be a problem as far as doing way too many reps, but I forgot to factor in push ups though. Any numbers you could throw?

And unfortunately, I'd like to be able to do squats, but I don't have a smith machine at my gym. It's a really cheap ass, poor gym :( I don't have enough balance to do it with a conventional squat bar, which I don't think we have either. :( I've already got chin ups and deadlifts covered, I'll have to check if there's something I can do dips with.. thanks for the help!
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bran provided you with an excellent article, I suggest you follow his advice as well. Getting too big does not happen overnight, believe me, you will see it a long time coming. You would not be wanting to use a smith machine anyway. Stick with low weight on a free weight squat, getting good form down, and work up from there. Honestly, squats are very important bro. Read the article and stick with the main lifts - forget all of this unnecessary isolation work in there. Don't get me wrong, isolation has its place, but you need to get the foundation right first.
 
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