Diet and Workout Routines

[David.]

you cant do both at the same time, youre either going to lose fat or gain muscle. in the start you can lose fat while keeping the same weight because youre new again, but that will taper off.

 

[dano_24_26]

pushups, dips, pullups, sit-ups, cardio, cardio, cardio, and eat healthy. It does the trick for Rocky and I.

 

[glockcoma]

Gour - Nothing is better for your core then your basic compound lifts. Do a barbell routine that includes squats, bench, deadlifts, mil press, curls, bent over rows, etc. As time passes then you throw in the pretty boy isos like dumbbell curls, chest flies, things like that.

 

[jlj3184]

For the P90X questions - I did about 60 days of it before life got in the way. It's not going to increase your muscle volume, it will increase endurance however. P90X focus is, as you stated, getting more lean muscle tissue and dropping fat. I didn't notice much of a cardio increase while doing it. There are dumbell routines, but it's focused more on reps than weight. I will say my core strength increased a ton on P90X, though I think that was due to the yoga (see below).

I'm starting Insanity on Sunday. The focus there is mainly cardio, with some attention paid to strength training (again, more repetition focused than max weight focused).

As for core, have you considered mixing in yoga on your off days? I know it's "gay", but I found it to be extremely helpful personally. You can probably find a yoga routine on one of your cable/satellite on demand channels (when I had Time Warner, there were like 20 different free yoga routines if you knew where to look).

 

[SixPACK]

For the P90X questions - I did about 60 days of it before life got in the way. It's not going to increase your muscle volume, it will increase endurance however. P90X focus is, as you stated, getting more lean muscle tissue and dropping fat. I didn't notice much of a cardio increase while doing it. There are dumbell routines, but it's focused more on reps than weight. I will say my core strength increased a ton on P90X, though I think that was due to the yoga (see below).

I'm starting Insanity on Sunday. The focus there is mainly cardio, with some attention paid to strength training (again, more repetition focused than max weight focused).

As for core, have you considered mixing in yoga on your off days? I know it's "gay", but I found it to be extremely helpful personally. You can probably find a yoga routine on one of your cable/satellite on demand channels (when I had Time Warner, there were like 20 different free yoga routines if you knew where to look).

Fag. :chuckles:

No but seriously, he's right. It helps you a lot. I did P90X before and it dropped any "weight/fat" I wanted to lose. Especially the P90X Yoga CD. That bitch is I think 1hr 30min long (haven't done it in forever) but it was a hell of a workout, for doing poses that make it look like you want it in the ass.

I recommend P90X for anyone that wants to lose weight/get tone. You will "build muscle" but it's mainly you losing the excess fat around your muscles and gaining muscles I could get from chugging a gallon of milk.

Otherwise, lift weights/cardio. Eat healthy. Diet is the #1 thing.

 

[gourimoko]

you cant do both at the same time, youre either going to lose fat or gain muscle. in the start you can lose fat while keeping the same weight because youre new again, but that will taper off.

Agreed.. That's how it was when I was younger.. I had low bf% so whenever I cut my muscle mass would regress towards what I thought was a more natural, leaner build; therefore I was losing my gains. Now however, my bf% is so high, that it's coming off like melting butter, but I still do feel like I'm losing a great deal of strength.. That's why I'm trying to finish my cutting phase by March 16th.. No later. No matter what. This catabolism has me weak as a kitten (relatively speaking).

 

[gourimoko]

pushups, dips, pullups, sit-ups, cardio, cardio, cardio, and eat healthy. It does the trick for Rocky and I.

But without weight training do you find strength and muscle gains, or just decreased bf% and leaner muscle build?

 

[gourimoko]

Gour - Nothing is better for your core then your basic compound lifts. Do a barbell routine that includes squats, bench, deadlifts, mil press, curls, bent over rows, etc. As time passes then you throw in the pretty boy isos like dumbbell curls, chest flies, things like that.

In what order and on what days (assuming starting on Monday) would you suggest someone just getting back into the gym do these exercises? Right now I'm doing upper body (focus on chest and triceps) on the first day (say Monday), and lower on Tuesday with rest on Wednesday. Then repeat Thurs, Friday, with dropsets on one or both. Rest Saturday, then cardio Sunday..

Currently I do my RDL first followed by inclined bench on Mondays/Thursdays and squats after before leg press on the following day. Is that a good approach?

 

[glockcoma]

In what order and on what days (assuming starting on Monday) would you suggest someone just getting back into the gym do these exercises? Right now I'm doing upper body (focus on chest and triceps) on the first day (say Monday), and lower on Tuesday with rest on Wednesday. Then repeat Thurs, Friday, with dropsets on one or both. Rest Saturday, then cardio Sunday..

Currently I do my RDL first followed by inclined bench on Mondays/Thursdays and squats after before leg press on the following day. Is that a good approach?

When I started back working out after college, I worked out Mon., Wed., and Friday doing the following routine:

Squats (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Bench (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Deadlifts (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Mil Press (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Bent over rows (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Curls ( 3 heavy sets)
Calf Raises (3 heavy sets)
Abs

I would do heavy weight on Monday, really trying to push myself (call it 100%). Light on Wed. (call it 60%) and 80% on friday. Wouldn't do deadlifts on Wed. b/c of the strain it places on the lower back, and would do 60% on deadlifts on friday. I also took between 2-3 minutes of rest between each set of squats and deadlifts. I took about 1-2 minutes between everything else. No rest between progressive sets.

Abs you can pretty much do whatever you want to really because the compound lifts utilize the core as well. I did 3 sets of 25 reverse crunches. I did this routine for about 3 months then switched to a mon., tues., thurs., fri. split routine.

 

[Adam]

For anyone after improved athletic performance i would recommend p90x2. Tony has really gone out of his way to focus on whole body fitness including a large amount of balance work in the early section.

as far as the goals mentioned here, i know some people have had success by performing supersets of barbell/dumbell exercises with the rest period being 3 mins on a treadmill then to the next set. That way keeps you heart rate high. There really is no rule that says resistance training cant also be improving your cardiovascular system and burning calories more efficiency.

Now if only i followed my own advice

 

[dano_24_26]

I never liked the p90x(for me). Maybe its jealousy because that shit looks tough and I'd prolly say fuck it after a week. Looks like it really works though. I've been working out at my house for a past couple months but before I was laid off I used to love going to the gym. It wasn't just the getting in shape part of it that I enjoyed. It felt great just getting out the house, seeing hot chicks running on the treadmill and olipticals, bullshitting with everyone(mostly about sports), listening to music. Helped it had a bball court and pool. Sucks a bunch of douche bags that put their Ipod on and walk around not talking to anyone showed up about 5-6 years ago. Just my take on p90x and Insanity. More power to ya though

 

[gourimoko]

When I started back working out after college, I worked out Mon., Wed., and Friday doing the following routine:

Squats (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Bench (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Deadlifts (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Mil Press (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Bent over rows (2 progressive sets, followed by 3 heavy sets)
Curls ( 3 heavy sets)
Calf Raises (3 heavy sets)
Abs

I would do heavy weight on Monday, really trying to push myself (call it 100%). Light on Wed. (call it 60%) and 80% on friday. Wouldn't do deadlifts on Wed. b/c of the strain it places on the lower back, and would do 60% on deadlifts on friday. I also took between 2-3 minutes of rest between each set of squats and deadlifts. I took about 1-2 minutes between everything else. No rest between progressive sets.

Abs you can pretty much do whatever you want to really because the compound lifts utilize the core as well. I did 3 sets of 25 reverse crunches. I did this routine for about 3 months then switched to a mon., tues., thurs., fri. split routine.

Good looking out.. But God Damn bro.. you did all that shit in one day?

 

[Kouki]

Really, if you want strength and to retain muscle, then the best method is a strength program like Starting Strength, Practical Programming, etc. Full body workout three times a week, each workout only consists of three lifts, takes an hour. Linear progression each workout, etc etc.

I'm sorry but anything with low weight, high reps like P90X doesn't build "strength" effectively in any sense of the word. Strength is built in the high weight, low rep range, and that is a fact.

 

[bcort]

Didn't read past the OP, but there is a severe lack of pull-ups in your workout.

 

[gourimoko]

Didn't read past the OP, but there is a severe lack of pull-ups in your workout.

Yeah? I do chin-ups (facing knuckles) with my tricep work.. But honestly, I rarely do pull-ups (facing fingertips).. Perhaps my terminology is incorrect?