Posted: 5/11/2009 5:12:51 AM EDT
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I'm looking for a sanity check on my workout routine. First a little history. I'm 48, 6' tall 193lbs. Genrally speaking I'm in good shape and if you factor in my age in pretty dam good shape. Despite being athletic my whole life (3 year 3 sport letterman in HS, played Div 1 football in College) I never really hit the weights.
Currently I work out every day at a local Anytime fitness, I do cardio every day. 30 minutes on level 20 on the eliptical followed by 9 sets of 10 crunches on the ab machine. My abs are tight underneath "thick skin". Then every other day I also to 5 sets of 10 on the lat pull down, rowing machine, bench, flies, preacher curl and tri machines. As you can see I don't use free weights. My arms, shoulders (delts), back, glutes and legs are definitely sculpted. What more should I being doing? I don't want to get really big just defined. I'd like better abs but I think at this point I would have to change my diet. Not sure I want to do that. Any suggestions? Should I not workout every day? I feel guilty yet I think my body may need a recovery day. Thanks in advance. BTW, working out has definitely improved my firearms training. |
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I would make an effort to hit the free weights. Why? Because the machines leave the smaller, stabilizer muscles to remain unworked, and a consequence of that can result in injuries.
I would make an effort to at least do free weights with the bench, the press and the row. I would even suggest looking into doing squats and dead lifts. Those two lifts burn a butt load of energy and stimulate your abs. You might be able to integrate those lifts and skip any diet restructuring. |
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Quoted:
I would make an effort to hit the free weights. Why? Because the machines leave the smaller, stabilizer muscles to remain unworked, and a consequence of that can result in injuries. I would make an effort to at least do free weights with the bench, the press and the row. I would even suggest looking into doing squats and dead lifts. Those two lifts burn a butt load of energy and stimulate your abs. You might be able to integrate those lifts and skip any diet restructuring. Thanks for the thoughtful advise. I think I'll hire a PT for a few sessions. As far as the diet is concerned, I already eat pretty healthy as it is. About 10 years ago I got down to 7% body fat by exercising everyday and dieting. I'm at 17% body fat right now and I don;t feel like I'm depriving myself of food I like. Bomber |
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You're not going to get defined without changing the diet. You just have to make the decision as to what is more important. Personally, I eat healthy enough to maintain around 12% or so, which means I'm not super defined, but I still get to eat some of the stuff I like (ice cream).
As far as your routine, yes you need rest days. I wouldn't go more than 3 days without a rest day. You have to recover, you don't make gains in the gym, you make them when you rest. Also, if you like cardio, go for it. But you might find you get better results with a high intensity type routine. Try some cuircuit courses, pull-ups and 800/400 meter runs....CrossFit type stuff. If that's not what you want to try, I'd at least hit the free weights. I couldn't imagine working out withous back squats, front squats, cleans and dead lifts. Working out would just be so empty and meaningless without them.... |