Need advice on weightlifting routine

[therogerfan]

I've started lifting weights since september and have already noticed positive changes in my shape. The problem is that my workouts are very long, as a result, I start running out of energy at the end and feel exhausted after the workout. I think that I should reduce the number of exercises I do, shouldn't I?

Now I am going to show you my exact split

Mon: off
Tue:
Chest
BB bench press
DB bench press
DB horizontal flyes

Biceps
DB curls
BB curls
BB preacher curls

Legs:squats,calf raise,leg press,leg extension
Wed: off
Thu:
Shoulders
DB lateral raise
DB front raise
military press
shrugs

Triceps dips
pushdowns
bent-over triceps extension

Back seated row
rear pulldowns
bent-over BB row
hyperextensions
Fri: off
Sat: same as Tuesday
Sun: off

abs on every workout

 

[hifi heretic]

Yikes, that is a lot...

Can I assume, based on this being a tennis forum, that you're also playing tennis during the week?? ..If so, I think you're likely to be overtraining.

How many sets are you doing of each exercise??

I recommend:

Legs: Do either Squats or Leg-presses - not both. ..After a few months of doing one, then switch to the other for a while.

Chest: Do either dumbbell or barbell bench-presses, not both. ..Again, after a few months switch.

Back: Do either Bent rows or seated-rows - not both. Again, switch it up after a few months.

Biceps: Three isolation exercises when you're already doing 3 back exercises is, IMHO, too much. Do either db or bb curls and cut out the rest.

Certainly, there are people who do your current workout and make big gains. ..but are they tennis players?? ..And even if it's working for them, it may be the case that they would have as much success (maybe more) if they did fewer exercises but had more energy to commit to each set.

I'm posting my workout as well to see what suggestions might arise. ..Wishing to avoid long workouts I've set the max time at 30 mins. ..Keep an eye on replies to mine to see if any of it can help you.

HFH

 

[therogerfan]

Thanks. Unfortunately I had to stop playing tennis now, because I was extremely busy during 2 last years at school and now at the university. Besides, it's extremely hard to find someone to play with and the prices for the courts are very expensive. I suppose only millionaires can afford that now. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

 

[jazzyfunkybluesy]

Sounds good OP keep it up.

 

[hifi heretic]

Thanks. Unfortunately I had to stop playing tennis now, because I was extremely busy during 2 last years at school and now at the university. Besides, it's extremely hard to find someone to play with and the prices for the courts are very expensive. I suppose only millionaires can afford that now. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

..Bummer you can't play tennis. But don't sweat it too much - It will there when you graduate and have more time and $$.

Even without tennis in the mix I think you're doing too much. The problem with lifting is that too often people think that more is better. ..If toward the end of your workout you're too tired to make the most of the remaining sets, then that's your sign. ..I knew a lot of powerlifters in college and I was amazed by how quick - though intense - their workouts often were.

 

[fuzz nation]

I think it's a good idea to hit general muscle groups - looks like you've got a lot of different chest exercises going there for example. I'd bet that if you're doing a little flat as well as incline bench pressing, you're doing enough. Those tricep dips are going to work your chest, too. Looks like you could do a bit more with your core, too, but I don't know if I'm interpreting your description quite right.

Personally, I've done a lot better with standing rows - lifting a bar straight up from my waist to my chin - than military presses which have always made my shoulders too sore. Just a personal note.

I'd say that if you want to turn in good work in less time, be deliberate about taking a very brief recovery break between sets so that you are pushing yourself while your muscles are still tired. I lift more for endurance than bulking up, massive strength, etc., and this has made for better workouts for me.

 

[r2473]

If you can afford a copy of "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning", I would recommend it:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

 

[maverick66]

Get off the machines for your legs. Dont do leg presses and leg extension. They put all the weight on joints and the chance of injury goes way up.

Besides that your program looks like a bodybuilders. If your goal is to be ready for tennis when you are able to play tennis its not the best program for you.

And if your doing this kind of volume I hope your eating all day long. The amount of calories your gonna need for high volume is extremely high.

 

[Kobble]

Stick with compound movements for your main exercises. Search some powerlifting and olympic lifting templates.

 

[therogerfan]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I guess I'll simply have to keep my eye on the watch in order to keep my workouts not longer than 2 hrs. I will also cut out leg extensions, leg press and maybe 1 exercise for both biceps and triceps

 

[yemenmocha]

May be overtraining a little. I wouldn't do abs every single day. Also make sure your diet is impeccable, including hydration, and that may help with your "staying power".

 

[jimstorm]

Stick with compound movements for your main exercises. Search some powerlifting and olympic lifting templates.

I agree, these will work almost every muscle in your body, if you just do bench, cleans, deadlift, and squat, and maybe pullups, you should really be pretty well off without spending so many hours in the gym.

 

[Fedace]

I've started lifting weights since september and have already noticed positive changes in my shape. The problem is that my workouts are very long, as a result, I start running out of energy at the end and feel exhausted after the workout. I think that I should reduce the number of exercises I do, shouldn't I?

Now I am going to show you my exact split

Mon: off
Tue:
Chest
BB bench press
DB bench press
DB horizontal flyes

Biceps
DB curls
BB curls
BB preacher curls

Legs:squats,calf raise,leg press,leg extension
Wed: off
Thu:
Shoulders
DB lateral raise
DB front raise
military press
shrugs

Triceps dips
pushdowns
bent-over triceps extension

Back seated row
rear pulldowns
bent-over BB row
hyperextensions
Fri: off
Sat: same as Tuesday
Sun: off

abs on every workout

So you workout on Tue, Thur, and Sat ??? you are NOT supposed to work out on the day of the match or even day before the match. you muscle needs time to recover or you will play Terrible in the match.

 

[BigSkyChamp]

If you are in season I recommend not doing any major leg pressing/ lifiting excercises; I would stick solely to speed drills and exercises to gain leg strength and endurance. While the lifting is key to becoming stronger and a better tennis player you must do it in a very strict rotation to ensure muscle groups are not being over worked. Only hit each major muscle group once or twice a week, if you plan on planning tennis in between. No need to be lame about it though, you can hit the gym hard and still play tennis if you get the adaquate stretching and nutrition in between sessions. A diet high in protein, plus maybe some glutamine and your body won't feel the difference. Hit the gym hard, you'll be a beast on the court in no time.

 

[therogerfan]

I've been doing quite OK the last couple of weeks. There is one more thing that confuses me. For smaller muscles, like biceps and triceps , I try to do 3 exercises (1 warm-up set and 3 proper sets). I've noticed that the very first exercise goes extremely well, the second one only slightly worse. Concerning the third exercise, it's almost impossible to do it properly. I fail after the first proper set already. It seems to me that muscles have become tired significantly already. What would you do in such situation ?

 

[larry 4.0]

I've been doing quite OK the last couple of weeks. There is one more thing that confuses me. For smaller muscles, like biceps and triceps , I try to do 3 exercises (1 warm-up set and 3 proper sets). I've noticed that the very first exercise goes extremely well, the second one only slightly worse. Concerning the third exercise, it's almost impossible to do it properly. I fail after the first proper set already. It seems to me that muscles have become tired significantly already. What would you do in such situation ?

Quit subscribing to 'muscle and fiction magazine' concepts. Train movements not muscles..that's all the nervous system knows. As far as volume of work goes, think Intensive vs Extensive. Anaerobically speaking, your system has only about 45 minutes of maximal output in a set/rest scheme for true strength training gains. In this case, less is more (harder not longer).

 

[therogerfan]

I've thought that maybe it would make sense to reduce the number of exercises for both bi's and tri's to two... But then, will only two exercises be enough to push the muscles beyond the limits ?

 

[maverick66]

what is your goal? It sounds like you wanna lift like a bodybuilder which is fine if your goal is to get big but its a bad idea if your goal is to improve fitness for tennis.

 

[MatchSetGame]

P90X all the way. It will change your life completly.

 

[therogerfan]

In this case, could you please explain me the difference between these two ways of lifting ? I am new to lifting, so I need advice. There is no instructor at the gym where I am training

 

[Swagger]

Before I start, let me introduce myself.

I'm 15 years old, pretty active in tennis and hockey goaltending. I'm from Tampa where tennis is huge and hockey is not. I found these boards when googling workout routines and soon became interested in joining.

Back to your question, I remember working out two types of muscles for my goaltending. Like in tennis, goalies don't want to be too "big" and "bulky", so that the movements will not be slowed down. However, you can work your "fast twitch" muscle instead of your "reactive" muscle in order to enhance that speed instead of slowing it down.

Here's an example. On your forehand, the general movement regarding your arm is from your hip to your shoulder. Do as many bicep curls or forearm curls as you want with heavy weights, and your arms will get huge. This will slow your movement down (reactive). However, you can take smaller weights with more repititions and gain small fibers of muscle which will make the movement from your hip to your shoulder faster.

Bigger weights, less repitition = getting big
Smaller weights, more repitition = getting lean

Hope that helps

 

[therogerfan]

I may also consider doing fewer sets in exercises for biceps and triceps in order to be capable of doing 3 exercises. What do you think about that ?

 

[therogerfan]

bump 10 char

 

[Itagaki]

Bigger weights, less repitition = getting big
Smaller weights, more repitition = getting lean

this is nonsense

getting big and getting lean are mostly related to diet

higher repeitions=endurance training, which is not all that useful in tennis

lower repetitions(less than 6 i believe, someone can correct me on this) is more conducive to strength training, which will not lead to a dramatic increase in size, and it will in fact help in making you more explosive

example: sprinters squat heavy low repetitions, not low weight and lot of repetitions

tennis is way more like a series of sprints and explosive movements as opposed to a marathon

as to the OP's original question

i wouldnt recommend doing a split body routine which includes a lot of isolation exercises, at least not until you've built a strong foundation

take a look at programs like Stronglifts 5x5 or similar programs which focus almost entirely on compound movements, and the workout generally takes around 45 minutes

i've read several places that body no longer benefits as much from intense exercise beyond 45 minutes to an hour, so Stronglifts

Alternatively, go with the earlier advice of p90x

ps. sorry for the long post

 

[Swagger]

I agree the runners use larger weights but less repetitions, so my wording may just be wrong.

I might be wrong, maybe others can clarify?

 

[The Watchman]

Itagaki speaks the truth, IMHO.

I would also recommend Stronglifts 5x5.

I'd actually recommend Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength if you can get a hold of it.

Both recommend compound lifts - squats, bench presses, overhead presses, deadlifts, rows.

I've been training many years now, and I regret wasting most of them.

Learn proper technique, and then deadlift, squat, bench, press, row and pullup (weighted). Power clean if you can - use dumbbells if you can't get the hang of the barbell version.

Keep reps low (3-5), sets low (3-5) and exercises low (2-4). eg. Deadlift 3 x 3 and overhead press 3 x 3 over 45 minutes is a perfectly fine, productive workout as long as your busting you're ass on those six sets.

Do not read bodybuilding magazines.

When you start approaching a 2.5x bodyweight deadlift or 2x bodyweight squat, you can start working on other athletic qualities (the strength you'll have will help you develop these other qualities quicker).

These benchmarks might sound intimidating now, but actually aren't that hard to get.

Don't train weights for more than one hour (including warmup, cool down). After an hour, the body starts producing cortisol, a catabolic which works against what you're trying to achieve.

And remember, persistance is what's going to get you there.

 

[therogerfan]

I would like to ask you two more questions. Would it be OK to perform cardio after weights , let's say, a 30-40 min run at moderate pace? Also, what would be the right grip width for chins ?

 

[maverick66]

chin grips are all over the place. Use them all. Standard,wide, or close. they all are very good for you.

and ya the cardio is fine. after is ok as long as you have the energy for it.