After 1 year off, need advice on going back to the gym.

[OMEGA]

you are very welcome =)

well actually a little before I became a member here

I can say it took a year to get back to where I was.

I learned from all of my mistakes, and I look at training very differently now

I DO THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORK TO GET AN ADAPTIVE GROWTH RESPONSE FROM MY BODY

I can do volume, but why? ya know?

I use running to tell me if I am in shape so if I can run 3 miles un scathed I know I am doing something right...and I can

as far as getting into shape after so long off

I would say 6 months ( it took a year for me) to get back into shape till going to the gym will be fun..it will be painful....on your joints, hands, hips everything...but after about 6 months...it will no longer hurt

at least that was my case

also you can ask me as many questions as you like

last time I checked we were in this all together

 

[lpw]

I guess six months to a year isn't too bad. I suppose it's better to go slow than get injuries, but it's hard not to feel impatient! Anyway, now that I'm out of school and working, it might even take me a bit longer, but it's nice to have a goal in mind.

Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it. If you really don't mind, I have just a few more questions:

1. When you say '1 set warm-up, 1 set to failure,' I can see going to failure at 10 reps at one weight or 20 reps at another. Do you think one rep range is better? If so, how many reps do you usually do?

2. Besides the cardio on lifting days, do you do any additional cardio?

3. Do you think it is worth using supplements to help get back to where I was or should I just go naturally until I reach my old levels?

cheers, mate.

 

[lpw]

cool, thanks. I'll check back in a bit.

 

[OMEGA]

question 1

I would say follow this rep regeme



FIRST SET

select a weight that allows you to complete 20 repititions

mentally think

" stretch, contraction, and getting blood in that muscle"


SECOND SET

1 minute later

same psychology of

" stretch, contraction, and getting blood in that muscle"

but also pick a weight that is moderatly heavy that makes it difficult to do 15 reps with...........DO NOT GO TO FAILURE

this will get your body coordinated and ready for a maximum effort

that can be done safely.


THIRD SET

do this set slow and controlled

through a good range of motion

on a max set I pace my self during the set to insure proper controll, and isolation of the given muscle

so on exercise for example the first 5 reps will be to get into the groove.....and the last 10 will be for broke.

this the set that the body remebers,,,,,,,,,keep track of the reps and poundage only on this set

your progress will come with every workout




push your self for 2 months so that you make progress on every lift.

then for another 2 months stick with your weights and icrease the reps....not the weight

then take a week or two off..and start over.

qeustion 2

I say just do the cardio on lifting days this way your body has a full day of rest.
to grow and get stronger =)


just warm up for 10 to 15 minutes........

and after your workout finish of with 10 to 15 minutes of high intensity cardio.

by the end of this workout your gylocogen stores should be somewhat depleted, and you need to feed and rest your body.

if you workout too much your central nervous sytem pays a price
so you need to rest that as well


question 3


here is what I think

are good supps that wont drain your pocket book, and will help your body out


all to be taken post workout

and all to be consumed with a protien drink.

note most of your protien should coem from foods.......not powder

but post workout it's good



post workout supplementation


5 grams glutamine
5 grams creatine
50 grams of protien
50 grams of carbs.......half complex, half simple
and
400 mgs of Alpha Lipoic Acid to be taken 15 minutes before you consume the above supps



also pre workout you can never go wrong with a medium size serving of non processed oatmeal...........good energy...very good



also stay away from caffeine, ephedra, and stimulants....really you don't need artificial energy.....the warmup on the treadmill or bike will do that for you.

a serving of alchohol a day at night like red wine I think is good for you by the way


don't stop now by the way if I can help more......kay?

 

[lpw]

don't stop now by the way if I can help more......kay?

Ha ha! I wish I could keep asking questions, but your posts are so detailed, there's nothing left to ask!

Seriously, thank you so much for such a detailed response. This is awesome.

After reading this, I can tell that I was definitely overtraining. I was doing 3 full body workouts per week, with three sets of 15 to 20 reps for each exercise going to failure on each one. Then I was also doing 30-40 minutes of cardio three days per week. It was definitely too much. I've been freaking out about the fat (I've never been this heavy before), but I think it was too much because I've been feeling crappy and I haven't really noticed any muscle gains.

So, it sounds like I should do 20, 15, 15 and only go to failure on the last set.

I like the idea of doing cardio on workout days. I think that will give me more rest time overall, and since you only say to rest 60 secs. between sets, I think the lifting sessions will be good cardio, too.

I've been using the supplements you suggest, but I was also taking Hydroxycut (again, because I hate the fat). I'll try cutting this out.

I train in the afternoon, but I eat oatmeal for breakfast every morning. I hope that's ok. Before I went abroad, I trained hard, but wasn't as careful about my diet. This time I'm more concerned about my health, so I've been trying to eat clean. Lots of oatmeal, rice, veggies, fish and chicken.

I think with all of your help, I'm good to go. I'm going to try this starting this week and see how it goes. Hopefully, I'll be able to post that I've made some good progress in a couple of weeks.

L

 

[coolcolj]

Well I myself have just come back from a 6 year layoff. 4th month now.

I spent the first 2 months training at home doing mainly light weights and bodyweight stuff . Getting the technique down, getting over the soreness.

Once I joined a gym, I spent another couple of weeks getting to know the different feeling of the equipment and dumbelles etc.
Poundage increase has been slow by choice, I don't wanna bust anything like me knee on squats for example.

some exercises like rows have caught back up to what I was doing, but squats and bench for example are going up much slower.

 

[Steel Demon]

Hi,

I trained for over five years, but I had to take the last 12 months off. I couldn't workout because I was working in a village in southeast asia witout a gym, not because of any illness thankfully. Now I'm itching to get back into the gym, but I'm not sure what kind of routine I should use to start out. Do I need to go back to sqaure one and do full-body workouts 3xs/week or should I pick up where I left off, doing a five-day split, or something else altogether? I need to lose some body fat and hopefully regain some of my lost mass. I used to be 245lb 12%bf, now I'm 210, 22%bf.

Also, how long do you think it will take until I reach my previous levels? (hopefully, not another whole year!)

Thanks in advance for your help!

Don't jump back in the gym and lift like crazy. You will only get frustrated and burned out if your body isn't used to it. The 3 day full body routine is a good way of getting back into it. But you can just use a normal split routine and just ease your way back in. Ease your way by doing a few sets of each exercise and focus on good form. Also conditioning your muscles and tendons for heavy lifting. If you go all out, you will be sore for a long time and chances are you'll be weaker the next workout. It's happened to me, but it may or may not happen to you. As far as the duration it will take to reach the same level of fitness can't be determined. Only a healthy mind, dedication, smart training and time can tell. Good luck bro.

 

[OMEGA]

another tip or two =)


just make sure you have had a couple of carb meals before a workout....... nothing huge just 40 grams or so each meal

then on off days


use carbs only lightly.....most of your foods if not all should come from vegitables and protien, as well as olive oil


about supplements

use glutamine post workout, as well as creatine...but on off days I find I don't need glutamine........it has done its work.

however I do use 5 grams or so of creatine to load even more into the muscles


as far as using hydroxicut....I do think its the best out there as far as side to benifit ratio...my opnion is based on personal experience.......

if your going to use it.......maybe just relegate it too pre workout....but I think you'll do better without it

good luck

 

[lpw]

Thanks for the tips :thanks:

Now I just need to get to the gym and hopefully start seeing results!

 

[OMEGA]

yep!

just wait......results will be a comen!