N00b lifter at age 39

[jettjon]

Somehow I managed to avoid building any muscle mass my entire life even though it was always something I wanted to do "some day." That day came when the MD told me I had high cholesterol and triglycerides. I immediately started a weight program 3x per week using a low-end home bench, and cardio (brisk walking) 4x per week. I'm also on a low-fat diet mainly focused on reduced caloric intake.

I started off slow to make sure I didn't hurt myself, and now about 6 weeks later I've dropped 20 lbs and I'm starting see results primarily in my arms and back. I started at about 215, right now I'm 5'11 and about 195; short term is 180 and long term is 170lbs of lean mass.

I want to make this a lifelong committment to being strong and fit, and I don't want to get burned out and give up because I go overboard trying to get "huge." Right now I spend about 45 minutes - 1 hour lifting, plus warmup and cooldown. I am not doing as many sets, but I'm doing a lot of different exercises. I've heard the arguments for doing whole-body workouts and targeted workouts. Right now I'm comfortable with my M-W-F routine. That said, does anyone have any feedback into the following? Right now I'm able to complete about two complete sets of each exercise (3 for the crunches) within an hour. I'd like to keep the time to within an hour. Also I'm somewhat limited by my equipment, though I'm slowly improving that.

Squat
Ab crunches
Bench press/incline press
Leg extension
Front lat pull down
Barbell curls
Dips
Calf raises
Triceps press
Leg Curl
Triceps push down
Dumbell fly
Lunge
Reverse pulldown
Military Press

[ckn]

How I keep myself motivated is to set myself achievable goals. Lifts that challenge me but are completely achievable. I know some people that set themselves stupid goals that they'll never reach and when they fail they feel depressed. Takes a bit of experience to learn how to set the right goals but if you look through this forum you'll see plenty of examples of it in action.

A bit of advice though, make sure you get a bit of good cardio in there and try some yoga! As you get older, your tendons/ligaments start getting tighter and the yoga will help keep you injury free. On the cardio, I always find a good complement for weights is a cross-trainer or rowing machine.

[DEALER]

Hi Jettjon! Good to see you finally got the kick in the pants you needed. It's no wonder you can only get 2 sets of each exercise, that is fifteen different exercises! Try splitting those exercises in half and alternate. 7 exercises one day, 8 the next.

I don't want to get burned out and give up because I go overboard trying to get "huge."

Don't worry about being huge, you can work out as hard as you want. If you are not eating massive quantities of food many times a day, you will never be huge.

[pliny_2001]

First, congrats on making the change.

Second, feedback: there's nothing wrong with total body training (TBT), particularly for beginners. The reason that it has a negative reputation - and why almost everyone does splits (either a body part a day, or upper/lower, or push/pull, whatever) is that it becomes difficult to put on significant size on TBT - once people start moving more significant weight, it becomes increasingly tough to recover from hitting a muscle 3x/week. And as a lifter's need for increased stimulation on a muscle happens, TBT workouts become unmanageably long.

So I _like_ TBT for someone in your situation. If your workouts slowly become too long (more exercises, added sets) or you feel the need to work a muscle harder (which then means you'll need to take more time off, and can't go 3x/week on it), then consider moving on to splits. But if you're trying to get your health in order (dietdietdietdietdietdietdietdiet), then TBT is perfectly fine.

How's the workout? IMO, all right. I think you need to add in a rowing movement for your back. And I like stiff-legged deadlifts more than leg curls, though I like both of them more then either alone. When you're able, pullups are better than lat pulldowns. And I've never really felt that flyes were a worthwhile motion, though many disagree. (If you want to mix up your workout a bit, I'd also tell you to keep ring training in mind (I got mine at ringtraining.com). It'll seem weird, but I'm a believer).

Congrats, and keep it up!

[jettjon]

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

First, congrats on making the change.

So I _like_ TBT for someone in your situation. If your workouts slowly become too long (more exercises, added sets) or you feel the need to work a muscle harder (which then means you'll need to take more time off, and can't go 3x/week on it), then consider moving on to splits.

Thanks so much for your helpful feedback! I recently got a much better bench and weight set so I think I'm going to have to move toward splits. Thanks also for the info on splitting up sets... I felt like a wuss struggling through only 2 sets.

[Insex]

Good decision on making a lifestyle change for the better, and good job on making some positive results so far.

Since you're a beginner, I think your current workout routine looks fine. To make it more challenging, you could either allow yourself less rest in between each set so that you can complete more sets, or complete less repetitions in each set but with more resistance (weight). Also, start hitting the pavement and run. Walking is beneficial, but if your joints are healthy you should be running. Running at a slow pace for about 20 minutes nonstop is a good start. Bring a walkman or iPod with you and challenge yourself--try to cover the same distance or more during each song. Remain consistent with your nutritional plan. Make sure you get plenty of dark-green vegetables, and drink plenty of water.

As for being limited on equipment, there's one surefire solution for that: the gym. If there's a gym in your area, you should highly consider purchasing a membership pass. Not only do most gyms offer more equipment than you'll ever need, but you can also workout amongst your peers and make new friends.