My workout routine

G

girl1992

0
Hi everyone!

I'm new to this site and this may not be the right forum, but it was the most suitable one I could find.
Basically, my goals are cardiovascular health and muscle tone. I am currently eating a clean diet (full of fresh fruit, protein, minimal junk food etc.)
I'm 20 years old, 160cm (5'2") tall and weigh 49kg (108lb). I don't want to lose weight, but I do want to lose fat and gain muscle for a toned and defined body. My current work-out is as follows:

Day One:
-15 min treadmill (12 min incline jog, 3 min cooldown)
-Legs/Butt (Squats-4 sets of 10 holding 6kg dumbbell in each hand; Step-ups-4 sets of 10 each leg holding 6kg dumbbell in each hand)
-15 min bike
-Stretch

Day Two:
-15 min treadmill (12 min incline jog, 3 min cooldown)
-Arms/Back/Chest (lat pulldown:25kg; seated row: 17.5kg; chest press: 17.5kg; 4 sets of 8 on each machine)
-15 min bike
-Stretch

Day Three:
-15 min treadmill (12 min incline jog, 3 min cooldown)
-Abs (Sit-ups-4 sets of 12; heel digs-4 sets of 12; Plank)
-15 min bike
-Stretch

Day Four:
Repeat day one

And just repeating that cycle, going to the gym 4-5 times a week (ideally), and then light exercise (brisk walk) when I don't go to the gym. This routine generally equates to 30 mins of cardio and 20 mins of strength training. Is that enough or each? Should I be doing less/more of one or the other?

Is this workout good for my goals or am I doing something wrong/is there something else I could do to gain benefits?
Sorry the post was long but thanks for reading! :)
 
This is actually better than a lot of programs I see beginners come up with, largely because it's so simple as is. Simplicity is a good thing. There are a few things I'd suggest, though.

Firstly, your legs need something that's more hip/hamstring-dominant. Squats and step ups are great for quadriceps (front of thigh), glutes (bum) and adductors (inner thigh -- this is assuming a full range of motion is used during squats and the knees are driven out as you go down, rather than straight forward which generally limits range of motion), but they don't do much for the hamstrings, which will need some work for injury prevention, if nothing else. Deadlifts and variations thereof tend to make great posterior chain exercises, but if you're too exhausted for them, hyperextensions and leg curls are also good. I'd also recommend switching to barbell squats over dumbbell squats if you can.

You're doing two upper body pulls (pull downs and rows) and only one upper body push (chest press). That's not the best balance for your elbows and shoulders. Ideally, assuming no imbalances that need correcting, you should have an even amount of pushing and pulling. I'd recommend either adding in dips or overhead presses.
 
Thank you for your thorough reply :)

I have been looking up deadlifts to suss out how to do them properly so I think I'll give them a go on my next leg day workout. Would it be a good idea to alternate doing squats one leg day, deadlifts the next leg day (with step-ups on both days as normal)? What is the benefit of using a barbell over dumbbells? I'm a little intimidated to go into that room where all the guys go to do their lifting & such.

Today is arm/chest day so when I go later on I'll add the overhead press to my routine.
 
Yep, alternating between squats and deadlifts each time is a fine way to go.

The advantage of the barbell for squats is that your back and your legs can often handle much greater loads than your arms, and dumbbells tend to make your arms a limiting factor. Don't get me wrong, dumbbell squats are still a very good exercise, but barbells do usually allow you to get more out of your squatting.

I can understand the intimidation. Even as a male I used to be rather intimidated by the big iron weights. The thing that got me through my fears was just learning the exercises and taking the Nike approach: just do it. From where I was, back in the day, my fears came from the exercises themselves (loading a bar up and putting it on your back is pretty darn scary until you know what you're doing, and even then it can be scary), and from the perceived culture (fear of being judged). Over the years, I've come to find that the biggest, scariest guys in the gym are actually some of the nicest people in the gym, even if they're a bit rough around the edges. If they see a woman come in and do the same exercises they're doing, they're usually impressed by her efforts and courage. Of course there's always douchebags and arseholes, too, but it's best not to take them seriously.
 
I really like your routine. This routine would be easy to follow. I read so many others daily workout plan which seem very good but not easy to maintain.

I believe you do not want any result in short time. This is always recommended. So I would like to suggest you some tips. If you add those tips in your current routine then you would carry on your current routine smoothly.

• You should turn on some music to get your mind off the work out.
I find it more fun with music too.

• You should start off with stretching. You don't want to work out with a stiff body.

• After the stretch you want you lie on your back and do 50 sit-ups.
Knees to elbows and no cheating. This will give you a great abs look or what others call a six pack.

• After that you want to do some leg holds. This is where you lie on your back and lift your legs 4 to 5 inches off the ground. This one will get your back thighs, inner things, and buttocks.

• Then after all that you want to do 25 push-ups. This will get your arms and upper body.

• This is the last step of them all and it is the most important one. You have to be persistent. That is the major key.

I recommend doing these 30 minutes a day. If you stick with those you will be looking good in no time.
 
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