Bro, do you even lift? If so answer me this!

[Ephirith]

I have a simple gym routine that I do in addition to daily bodyweight exercise (pushups and ab workout) and daily 4 mile run.

There are three workouts, or 'days'

1. Chest/tri: bench press, tricep pulldowns, lying triceps extensions, dumbell flys, occasionally dips

-two days of rest-

2. Back/bi: Two variations of curls, lat pulldowns, deltoid fly, seated pulley row

-two days of rest-

3. Shoulders/legs (I very rarely do legwork in gym because of the amount of running I do, and some unique characteristics about me, so this is mostly shoulders): Shoulder press/military press, lateral dumbell raise. Used to do dumbell shoulder press til i nearly popped my arm out of its socket.

-two days of rest, repeat-

I'm sure there is plenty of stuff wrong with the routine I use, and I have a ton of learning to do, but you always need to have a healthy criticism of the things people tell you about strength training, especially when they claim they have the perfect routine or they know all the answers. There is a lot of bad science, supposition, bro-science, misinformation, and exploitation out there regarding this kind of stuff.

When I can, I try to avoid machines in favor of dumbells, barbells, and/or body weight. Balance and control are important.

[Stinkum]

Eph, that is a solid routine but more of a intermediate-advanced level. I would caution someone on a 3 year hiatus from starting out with something like that.

[Guttzs]

Originally Posted by Strifer [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

me too! near albany

Thats odd, because im in the 518

[Guttzs]

Originally Posted by Stinkum [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Most people will disagree with me, but personally, I hate having to go to the gym so I work out exclusively from home. There's very little investment cost. All you need is a pull-up bar (like $10 at any big box stores) and a used weight set from Craigslist. Expect to pay $0.10 to $0.50 per pound.

This is a good workout plan for a beginner:

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+1

[Visual]

Golds Gym membership 9.99 (plus activation costs)

Best part of the gym is seeing people in better shape than you. Surrounding yourself with successful people (in this case, the meatheads) is always good.

It will become an obsession if you keep doing it. The hardest part is getting the wheels rolling. It's a good habit to form. Good luck!

[Wiery]

Originally Posted by Strifer [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I'm looking to get back into the gym seriously after about a 3 year hiatus. Would anyone here have a good free weight routine to start off with? Nothing too crazy just something so I can get back in the swing of things.
Thanks!

Right on man. Welcome back to the lifting world.

There are two beginner systems (also great for those returning to lifting) that are commonly recognized amongst most lifting communities. Wendler's 5/3/1 and Stronglifts 5x5 (the OG website looks cheesy and all, but the system is tried and true). When I came back to lifting I chose to use Wendler's system. However, I know tons of guys and girls who have used SL 5x5 and swear by it. Both systems are very simple to follow, efficient as far as time is concerned, and should get your stronger quickly. Whether your goals are for body building purposes, powerlifting or simply getting into shape and being healthy, I think both are greatly structured for building a base.

The one thing I highly recommend is to simply log your workouts. It will help you in obtaining whatever your training goals may be. Training is a huge passion for me, so if you have any questions or whatever, feel free to PM me.

[Pringles]

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[Guttzs]

Originally Posted by Visual [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Golds Gym membership 9.99 (plus activation costs)

Best part of the gym is seeing people in better shape than you. Surrounding yourself with successful people (in this case, the meatheads) is always good.

It will become an obsession if you keep doing it. The hardest part is getting the wheels rolling. It's a good habit to form. Good luck!

I dislike the gym scene, and it is a scene, because the obsession of getting better than this or that guy is thr wrong way to look at it. Everyone is different and excells in different areas, the same ideal is true with fitness, some people aren't going to look like the guy that "looks" the best. This is a big reason why i train for functionality of strength rather than the perception of strength.

To each his own if thats what keeps you healthy and pushing forward go nuts, just seems a bit odd to me personally.

[Wiery]

Originally Posted by Guttzs [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I dislike the gym scene, and it is a scene, because the obsession of getting better than this or that guy is thr wrong way to look at it. Everyone is different and excells in different areas, the same ideal is true with fitness, some people aren't going to look like the guy that "looks" the best. This is a big reason why i train for functionality of strength rather than the perception of strength.

To each his own if thats what keeps you healthy and pushing forward go nuts, just seems a bit odd to me personally.

I agree Guttzs, but from my experience it differs from gym to gym. Bally's and 24 Fitness gyms are generally filled with the "scene" you've described. However, you may find a much friendlier and even supportive community in other gyms. I've found the powerlifting communities and gyms to be much more supportive than competitive. Which, is actually fairly interesting, since it is a competitive sport. That being said, olympic lifting and power lifting are not sports that are won by looks. Thus, they probably produce less narcissistic individuals.

BTW - your sig makes me giggle every time.

[r00t]

resistance bands > weight set

physics. weights only give you resistance on the y-plane of gravity, whereas bands are a 3 dimensional matrix