Group: General Fitness & Exercise

Created: 2011/12/31, Members: 383, Messages: 54581

Various general exercise related discussions. Find out what it takes to reach your fitness goals through daily effective exercise. With so many options we try to find out what works best.

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How much?

beachychic
beachychic
Posts: 4
Joined: 2004/05/02
United States
2004/05/02, 01:18 PM
Can I do more than what my weekly plan tells me to do? I'm in a wieght lifting class already and have to do certain things in there. And since I'm just beginning are there more exercises as the weeks go on? Because I dont see how 2 exercises are going to help me.
howdiekat
howdiekat
Posts: 1,345
Joined: 2003/05/22
United States
2004/05/02, 01:26 PM
you'll see more variety in your workouts as the weeks pass. if you upgrade to pro you can actually switch the excercises in your program. it's really quite exciting.

as far as your class goes, how many times a week do you meet? i had a strength class last fall and i incorporated it into my ft workout. you want to be careful not to overtrain, of course.

fill in your profile so we can know a little more about you and what your goals are, how intense your workout is, etc. this will help everyone help you!

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success comes before work only in the dictionary. that's right.
beachychic
beachychic
Posts: 4
Joined: 2004/05/02
United States
2004/05/02, 01:45 PM
well i take the class at school so it is everyday and i get a grade for it. i went back and changed my profile thing to advanced and it still doesnt have a whole lot on there. should i do my own thing plus what they tell me. do you have to have done a program before you can go to pro?
howdiekat
howdiekat
Posts: 1,345
Joined: 2003/05/22
United States
2004/05/02, 02:09 PM
don't change your profile to advanced if you're not at that level - you don't want to get into a plan that you're not going to be comfortable with. your routine will get more difficult as the weeks progress. week one will not be as hard as week 4, 6, 8, etc.

the key is to challenge yourself to make your routine as demanding as possible. use weights that you can perform your reps with correctly, but that you have to work hard to finish. lifting is a quality, not quantity, sport. don't think that you're not working hard just because you've only got a few exercises to work with.

what kind of work do you do in your class? are you being graded on your form only or are you also being graded on improvement and/or maximum lifts? does your instructor have you on a set routine that you follow? i took my class for a grade as well, but my instructor gave me a lot of flexibilty because he knew i was also on an outside program.

let me know what your class/instructor is like and i'll see how i can help you! :big_smile:

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success comes before work only in the dictionary. that's right.
beachychic
beachychic
Posts: 4
Joined: 2004/05/02
United States
2004/05/03, 06:34 PM
well my coach is cool. he's not really strict or anything. but we are graded on our bench press max increase. and participation. and i really dont think that advanced is going to be too much because i have been off and on working out for a couple years. i just cant stick with it!
howdiekat
howdiekat
Posts: 1,345
Joined: 2003/05/22
United States
2004/05/03, 09:11 PM
arrgh, classes that grade on max bench increase irk me...but if you've been lifting on and off for a couple of years you shouldn't have much trouble making big strength gains. most of the girls i was in my class with started barely able to press the bar and would end up at 85 or 90 over 12 weeks. i on the other hand, lift religiously every week and only added 15lbs on to my max over the same time period. but i digress...

if he grades you on participation and he's cool with it, see if you can substitute your ft plan for what he's got you doing. if you focus on working on your triceps and chest that will help your bench more than anything, but honestly the bench press is the most overrated of all lifts. if you do excercises to improve your overall strength, the bench will come along too.

oh, and you can upgrade to pro at any time. i didn't see that you'd asked that until just now. better a late answer than never!

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success comes before work only in the dictionary. that's right.
beachychic
beachychic
Posts: 4
Joined: 2004/05/02
United States
2004/05/04, 11:19 AM
yeah a lot of the girls in there could barely lift the bar. my max is up to 105 and it still has to get higher! you know i didnt think about substituting it because he doesnt care what kind of exercises you do as long as you do something. thnaks for that!:big_smile:
howdiekat
howdiekat
Posts: 1,345
Joined: 2003/05/22
United States
2004/05/04, 11:42 AM
no problem, i'm here to help:)

105 is a good starting point - that's what i started at for my 5 rep max in my class, and i got up to 120 x 5. i wasn't being graded on improvement though, just my overall strength index. anyway, good luck with your class and let me know how everything turns out!


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success comes before work only in the dictionary. that's right.