Tips for my work out

[Tommy Wall]

After more than thirty years I'm finally back to gym since some months. My instructor insists that I should do 4 x 12 reps (full body workout). I warm up on a treadmill for 15 min and end up with the same or on a row machine. I get real pumped during the work out up but after some hours it goes back a lot. Also I have tendency to grow my chest muscles fast but I don´t want them to be volymous and saggy if I don´t work out that much.
I just want them tighter, leaner and maybe even smaller.

What tips can you give me if I want to have more of lean and toned muscles?

 

[Vince]

Build muscle by eating properly. I know low-carb is very hard for most people, I truly believe it's the best way to get lean and mean. You can't show off muscle by being fat.

 

[Swarben]

What tips can you give me if I want to have more of lean and toned muscles?

There is three main tips in my opinion: keep high-protein diet, rest more and don't miss workouts.

 

[Airborne Warrior]

Lean and toned is mostly down to diet though I suppose you could eat whatever you wanted if you ran a marathon every day. On the whole though cutting back on carbs and throwing in cardio training works a treat for weight loss for those who lift. That's what all competitive bodybuilders do pre-contest and they're the experts when it comes to conditioning.
12 reps is good to start off with until you master all the exercises and strengthen ligaments and tendons. Too many who start lifting let their ego get the better of them, lift too heavy and pick up injuries. I'd knock it down to 8 reps after two months or so though. Better for hypertrophy and you'll be able to lift heavier for 8 reps over 12. Change is good every once in a while in weight training whether reps, sets or exercises performed.

 

[Nashtide]

Lean and tone are two different things. Tone comes from weight lifting. I agree with the rep scheme and the total body workout. Just be sure you are challenging yourself.
The lean part is diet and some sort of training that revs your metabolism. I like HIIT and Tabata type routines. For diet, it depends on your bf%, but in general higher protein and lower carbs is a good place to start.
Be good to know how old you are and an accurate assessment of your current bf%.

 

[Tommy Wall]

I´m 57 and I don´t know my bf%. I opted for 3 x week for a full body workout mainly using machines and some free weights. I have come the conclusion that in order to do all exercises correclty it takes too long time for my schedule. And I do feel tired many times after my workouts meaning I should do less in order to feel energized afterwards. So I started to split and and do squats and abs/cores separatly.
Last time I used Smith machine for the squats and it wasn´t even really heavy. Did 4 x 12 and could hardly walk for 2 days, never felt so soare. I hope it is not due to my restart with a small weekly dose of Anastrozole or can it be that the machine is not good for me. After all I only started lifting in the beginning of May.

 

[Airborne Warrior]

I don't like smith machine squats as you're stuck in one plane of movement and more likely to pick up an injury. If you watch someone back squatting the bar never directly moves straight up and down. Same with bench pressing. DOMS from leg training always hurts like hell if you've had a decent workout.

 

[Nashtide]

I like the Smith machine a lot for old guys like us. It works the crap out of the quads.
Try to get a bf% analysis. It will help guide you towards the best diet. Also, think about adding some HIIT type cardio. This kind of workout revs your metabolism and makes you a fat burning machine. Find a routine you like enough to stick with 3x/week and get after it.

 

[Cope]

I have a couple questions. 1. How much time do you have per day to workout? 2. You say after thirty years and some months, so has it been 30 years or 5 months since you were a regular in the gym?

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

IMO working legs and back 3 times per week is too much and even twice per week means one of those sessions will be on two days rest. I try to vary the exercises to not work any muscle the same way more than once per week. I would also not go to failure on more than one set per exercise in any single workout, and personally, I no longer ever go to failure as I think the downside from the longer recovery needed is greater than any upside. You may progress slightly slower but it will likely continue much longer.

 

[Tommy Wall]

Nashtide I do cardio 10-15 min before and after the weight training. Normally on a treadmill but sometimes on a row machine which is a killer.

 

[Nashtide]

Nashtide I do cardio 10-15 min before and after the weight training. Normally on a treadmill but sometimes on a row machine which is a killer.

You don't want to do steady state cardio. Our bodies adapt to steady state and you derive very little fat loss benefits. Rowing is awesome as long as it's done HIIT style. Google HIIT rowing for some great workouts.

 

[DragonBits]

Nashtide I do cardio 10-15 min before and after the weight training. Normally on a treadmill but sometimes on a row machine which is a killer.

I would disagree that steady state cardio won't burn fat, you still need to expend energy no matter how efficient you become.

HOWEVER ...

It's not the most time efficient way to get lean. I see a lot of lean people doing steady state cardio, but they spend at least 1-2 hours doing it. If I bike for 2.5 hours going 30 miles, I will lose weight for sure, but that is a lot of time to spend every day or even every other day. And it does involve a sort of HIIT, since I go up and down hills.

I wouldn't do the treadmill warmup before weights, i would lift light weights for a couple of reps to warm up those muscles.

When I was using a treadmill, I would do a HIIT kind of workout, running as fast as you can say 9-11 mph for 30 seconds and slowing down to 3.5 mph for 2 min, then repeat. That gets my heart rate up to near max during the run time and never returns to baseline. As you get more fit you adjust, you can run longer / faster and rest shorter at a faster pace. BUT be careful, running can be hard on your joints, feet, etc.

IMO there is no doubt that the most time efficient way to get lean is some sort of HIIT / Tabata workout, both for cardio and weights. Even my Dr. recommends it, and he has a very tight, lean look.

 

[Tommy Wall]

Maybe its better to warm up like you say and do the cardio after the weights for like 20 min.

 

[Nashtide]

I would disagree that steady state cardio won't burn fat, you still need to expend energy no matter how efficient you become.

HOWEVER ...

It's not the most time efficient way to get lean. I see a lot of lean people doing steady state cardio, but they spend at least 1-2 hours doing it. If I bike for 2.5 hours going 30 miles, I will lose weight for sure, but that is a lot of time to spend every day or even every other day. And it does involve a sort of HIIT, since I go up and down hills.

I wouldn't do the treadmill warmup before weights, i would lift light weights for a couple of reps to warm up those muscles.

When I was using a treadmill, I would do a HIIT kind of workout, running as fast as you can say 9-11 mph for 30 seconds and slowing down to 3.5 mph for 2 min, then repeat. That gets my heart rate up to near max during the run time and never returns to baseline. As you get more fit you adjust, you can run longer / faster and rest shorter at a faster pace. BUT be careful, running can be hard on your joints, feet, etc.

IMO there is no doubt that the most time efficient way to get lean is some sort of HIIT / Tabata workout, both for cardio and weights. Even my Dr. recommends it, and he has a very tight, lean look.

You hit the nail on the head. Along with our body adapting to steady state cardio, it has to be done for hours to affect fat loss. The other serious benefit of HIIT is that it lights up your metabolism for hours afterwards. So you literally become a fat burning machine. I actually am having difficulty gaining weight even with a decent calorie increase.

 

[DragonBits]

You hit the nail on the head. Along with our body adapting to steady state cardio, it has to be done for hours to affect fat loss. The other serious benefit of HIIT is that it lights up your metabolism for hours afterwards. So you literally become a fat burning machine. I actually am having difficulty gaining weight even with a decent calorie increase.

Here is problem with cardio that I don't see discussed.

Most of my tendon / joint aches have come from cardio that I have done for an hour or more.

Basically you are repeating the same motion over and over again.

So I got tennis elbow in my right arm from using an elliptical machine for an hour, I was pushing on the moveable handles too hard, I got persistent knee pain from a stair climber by using it to climb 120 flights of stairs, and a groin pull from my bike seat being 1/2 inch to high. It took a couple of weeks of doing this sort of thing to start to have problems.

So I am very careful to gradually increase time, heart, lungs and muscle adapt much fast than joints and tendons. Meaning I can do more / longer, but after a while it will cause a problem that takes months to go away.

 

[Nashtide]

Here is problem with cardio that I don't see discussed.

Most of my tendon / joint aches have come from cardio that I have done for an hour or more.

Basically you are repeating the same motion over and over again.

So I got tennis elbow in my right arm from using an elliptical machine for an hour, I was pushing on the moveable handles too hard, I got persistent knee pain from a stair climber by using it to climb 120 flights of stairs, and a groin pull from my bike seat being 1/2 inch to high. It took a couple of weeks of doing this sort of thing to start to have problems.

So I am very careful to gradually increase time, heart, lungs and muscle adapt much fast than joints and tendons. Meaning I can do more / longer, but after a while it will cause a problem that takes months to go away.

You've articulated another problem with long, steady state cardio sessions. I pound the heavy bag in HIIT style and finish up with a Tabata session. First, it's fun as hell to pound the bag. Second, it looks cool. But seriously, I throw as many punches using combos as I can in 1:30 then rest 15 seconds and repeat for 7 total rounds. Then I finish with something like 20 seconds of rapid fire punches with 10 seconds rest and do ten rounds. I'm telling you it's fun and I'm sweating and gasping and feel like an alpha badass.

 

[paulgonzales86]

You have to start dieting rather than taking any supplement. Start your morning with lemon water and cut down carbs from your diet. Eat protein-rich foods, and do repetition more than weight lifting focus on the only repetition of exercises.