Please evaluate my workout plan!
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| Wed, 02-16-2005 - 2:31pm |
Hi everyone,
I'm an occasional lurker, but I recently started on yet another diet & fitness kick, so I'd greatly appreciate some feedback on my workout. My goal is to lose about 13 more pounds and get more overall muscle tone & definition by the summer. So here is my plan. For the weights I try to do 2 different exercises for each muscle group, 3 sets each, 12 reps (until failure). For cardio, I do intervals of 2 minutes of running (7-8 mph), 1 minute of sprinting (9-10 mph), 30 seconds of jogging (4-5 mph) on the elliptical trainer. I try to spend an hour tops at the gym.
Monday:
- chest, back, abs
- interval cardio on elliptical for 30 mins
Tuesday:
- interval cardio on elliptical for 60 mins
Wednesday:
- legs, butt, abs
- interval cardio on elliptical for 30 mins
Thursday:
- interval cardio on elliptical for 60 mins
Friday:
- arms, abs
- interval cardio on elliptical for 30 mins
Saturday or Sunday:
- pilates or yoga for 60 mins
I'm watching my diet as well. I try to eat about 1300 calories and drink 12+ glasses of water a day.
So do you guys think that this workout is sufficient? Is there a better way I could break up my weights or cardio? Please help! Thanks in advance...

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Hi!
she did mean to work EACH body part 2-3 times per week. but i actually disagree with Kel here.
i've spoken to some people who get good results from working each body part in one intense session per week. if you are doing multiple sets of multiple exercises per body part (i.e. not just two exercise for "arms" but two exercises for your triceps, two for your biceps, etc.) that might work for you. BUT, if you find yourself not making the kind of progress you want to make, definitely go to working each body part 2-3 times a week.
It's great that you're doing weights so often, but my professional opinion is that you need to work all major muscle groups twice per week (I train this way and I train my clients this way as well). You can do a full body weight program twice per week or you can split it and do upper body twice per week and lower body twice per week which would give you 4 days of weight training versus two. I don't personally believe there's much of a difference between doing total body and a split... it's a matter of personal preference.
I have read that if you're simply trying to maintain, you can get away with working your muscle groups once per week but if you're trying to build muscle, it's not the most efficient way to go. I personally find that my workouts feel better when I don't have so many days in between them.
Thank you everyone for such great advice! So it seems that the overall consensus is that I should add some variety to my cardio - the reason I stick to the elliptical so much is because I've had knee problems in the past, and would like to do something as low-impact as possible. I guess a Stairmaster is fairly low-impact, so I can add that in, but other cardio exercises seem pretty harsh on your legs, am I right? If there are other low-impact cardio's I can do, please recommend some!
Also, gymrat76 recommended working out all muscle groups twice a week - do you think I should do circuit training? My gym has a special circuit area (kind of like how Curves is set up, I think); is this better, or should I just circuit train on the regular machines/free weights?
Thanks again!
If you try the stairmaster, start slowly because that can be tough on your knees.
i agree with jean about the "curves" type equipment. but to get more cardio in without impact, you can make a circuit with the regular weight machines. just move quickly from one to another without a break in between or even do a set of pushups quickly between each exercise. strength training can also be a
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