Is this to simple, and when should we change things up?

[Vlar]

The wife and I decided to make a change in our long overdue fitness goals. We were very sedentary over the past few years and it shows. So this is the plan we are enacting:

First we purchased a mid-size olympic bench set for lifting. I have the weight, bar, curl bar, and dumbbells. Acclimation is the only method that really ever sticks long term for us so the approach is to ease into "the ideal" situation/lifestyle. What we came up with was a 6 month plan divided into 2 month segments.

The first 2 months is focusing on consistency of working out and building muscle. We are currently a month and half into this... Just keeping it really simple, down to 3 - 3x10 exercises ever other day.

We are starting with squats. Barbell for me and bodyweight for her as its the first time she's done them. She is still working on full range of motion and proper form but we're hoping to graduate to the bar before to long. ... I do need to figure out what to do between the bodyweight and 45#bar for her...

Next we do incline bench, followed by bent over rows. I'm gambling that these 3 cover a good many areas and would provide a good foundation of growth and strength... but I know I'll need to change them up for us soon enough. I guess my question is if I'm trying to keep the number of exercises down to 3 (mostly because of available time and patience), what other combinations would be suggested either as a full body routine or a 2-day split consistent of 6 exercises split into 3 per day? Keeping in mind I'm coaxing my wife into lifting in general so I don't want to scare her or exhaust her..she sets the pace...I set the weights..

So basically 2 months of lifting every other day, followed by 2 months of continued lifting but then adding in aerobics on the off days. Then finally for the last two months, continued lifting, aerobics and then finally start calorie counting. The method is pretty much summed up as acclimation and paced ignorance although I feel the order lets each build off each other, eg... aerobics will be more enjoyable with some strength behind them, and diet will be easier to tackle head on after 4 months of working out which is already naturally shaping our eating habits. It feels right but its been awhile since I posted here and my head was in the game... I'll get back to RTFMing

Vlar

 

[Phineas]

Why wait 4 months to begin tracking your diet? Results come with proper diet.

Re: the workout. You could do a 3-day full-body push/pull split. Would look something like this:

Mon: Push

1 - back squats
2 - incline DB chest press
3 - military press

Wed: Pull

1 - deadlifts
2 - BB bent-over rows
3 - pullups OR pulldowns

Fri: REPEAT PUSH

...following week alternate

Also, rather than using the same rep range each week you should periodize. Incorporate a variety of intensities, tempos, rest intervals, training styles and techniques, etc. You don't need to get too complicated, but some variety is wise.

When you say 3 x 10, what exactly does that mean? What's the intensity? 3 x 10 @ 10 RM? 3 x 10 @ 15 RM? etc....rep ranges don't necessarily tell you the intensity. I did an active recovery workout the other day of 2 x 6. To many people that would look like heavy lifting, but really I was lifting at about my 13-15RM. It was very easy, just something to lightly stimulate my muscles and promote blood flow.

What's both of your diets like?

 

[gtbmed]

Forget bent-over rows, do pullups or chins instead.

 

[Vlar]

I know setting aside a perfected diet seems counterproductive... kinda like choosing between a heart and a lung (it's best to have both)...although rest assured our diets are not to far off. I would just say normal average american diets. We try to stay away from processed foods and try to get in 3 solid meals a day making sure we have lean meat, vegetables, grains, etc.. (yes I'm sidestepping caloric details ..for now. It really does make my head hurt.

4 months down the line I want to get to 6 meals a day, a set nutritional split, and a tracked daily calorie intake but this involves rethinking our meals and shopping lists, preparing food in advance, and making sacrifices or "re-associating" our taste buds to new favorites. It will happen, but I have to approach it in small steps for it to stick long term for both us. It's OK, we have time..we already missed the boat for MTV's Spring Break show by a few decades.

Hats off to all of you who have your diet down as second nature already, it's not easy. When your fixing your diet or preparing for a proper diet what would you think would be the first small step?

Agree on the pullups, although I don't have a good place to put a bar up... that and while great for me they would be an initial nightmare for the mrs. (trying to keep the same workout)

3x10 simply 3 sets of 10 reps... RM is new to me.. is it the rate of the push/pull .. like 2 x 6 would be 2 sets of reps at a slow controlled push/pull?

 

[Marat]

Vlar -- what caused you to fall back into a sedentary lifestyle? I noticed that you kept a journal here about 3 years ago.

 

[Vlar]

work, school, a couple of moves, we introduced our daughter.. just life.. I'll be honest I have no excuses, just took the eyes of the ball and the ball just kept rolling... That's behind me (us) now, I've got a calm assertiveness to rebuild and conquer.

 

[jmorrison]

Forget bent-over rows, do pullups or chins instead.

Quick question on this.

I have seen this said a few times on this site. Why avoid bent over rows? I have always been able to get my best burn and DOMS in my lats from these.

Thanks

 

[gtbmed]

Quick question on this.

I have seen this said a few times on this site. Why avoid bent over rows? I have always been able to get my best burn and DOMS in my lats from these.

Thanks

First, I believe pullups or chinups are far superior in terms of lat development.

Second, I believe deadlifts or any type of cleans are a lot better for lower back/trap development.

It's not that bent-over rows are bad. It's just that there are a lot better options for building a solid back IMO.

 

[jmorrison]

Gotcha, thanks! I use BOR more as accessory work anyway. I still do my chins and cleans and such. Was just wondering if there was something bad about them I should be avoiding!