Training

[Smilee21]

How do I know if I am lifting enough, to make a difference?

I am still fairly new at this, it's been 6 yrs or so since I have trained and I feel like I am starting all over.

I weight train every day (Currently-this phase I am in I lift max weight I can, tempo is fast pump, 4 sets of 5 reps)

Days are split by the following body parts
Chest/Triceps
Back/Biceps
Legs
Shoulders/Calves

Even though I am lifting my max and feel it during my workout, I am not sore the next day, it makes me feel like maybe my weight still
isn't heavy enough. I say this BC, The only time I am sore the next day is if I do double days and work those body parts twice a week and on my run days.

Am I ok that I am not sore the next day on normal weight training days when I am not doing double days?

I have friends I train with that take days off from training bc they are sore. I don't feel sore the next day... Should I do things differently than I am currently doing?

I hit each body part doing 2-6 different exercises depending on body part. I feel like maybe I need to do more.

 

[tnemo]

Similee,
You may not always be sore, and you will still continue to have muscle growth.
If you have your diet dialed in and are doing cardio this will almost always reduce muscle soreness.
The other area you may not be hitting true failure, you may be failing on the positive but still have 3 or 4 negatives that you could do.
I would suggest reducing the number of exercises and start super setting a few of them and see if that works for you.
personally i would move Bi's and tri together and do legs and back on separate days.
But if your current routine is working dont change it.

 

[Smilee21]

Similee,
You may not always be sore, and you will still continue to have muscle growth.
If you have your diet dialed in and are doing cardio this will almost always reduce muscle soreness.
The other area you may not be hitting true failure, you may be failing on the positive but still have 3 or 4 negatives that you could do.
I would suggest reducing the number of exercises and start super setting a few of them and see if that works for you.
personally i would move Bi's and tri together and do legs and back on separate days.
But if your current routine is working dont change it.

My diet is super clean and I do cardio daily, 30-45 minutes after 45-60 weight training session. When I superset I do notice my body is a little more sore. I will look at my exercise routines and see where I can make changes, I experiment a lot, I train with some really awesome men that show me workouts I do not normally do, it's just sitting down and putting it all on paper for me to follow, I have a good memory but sometimes I just don't remember what body part that particular exercise is focusing on. I will one day

Thank you for your advice.
Much appreciated

 

[Detour5]

Smilee - without seeing how you train, no one could definitively tell you what's going on.
Your form might not be right, your mind muscle connection may not be there, also, you may be working too heavy to effectively train. You don't need to be heavy with your training, just needs to be correct and intense. You're doing a lot of training for your marathon and your weights etc.. To be honest, I think you're doing too much to be able to do an effective weights workout alongside all your marathon training. Maybe concentrate on your marathon for now and when that is done with, you can concentrate on your lifting. Unless you're a seasoned athlete, doing both things with utmost intensity will be difficult. Just my thoughts.

 

[Smilee21]

This is my first time ever Doing both weight training and marathon training... It's difficult to try to see what it is I will need to do. The amount of weight Training I am Doing seems to be helping me with my runs, from what my gym friends and trainers say, I have good form and I am performing my exercises correctly. I currently am running 6-13 miles on run days (tues,thurs, sat) on my lite run days I run 3 miles (all outdoors including Hill training)
Goal is too build muscle, strength, and endurance while trying to also get down to 10% body fat.

I have runs and events (tough mudder, mud runs) scheduled every single month up until Sept so far.

This is a learning experience for me and I know I will eventually know what will work best for what I am all trying to accomplish.

 

[Detour5]

If you're heading in the right direction I wouldn't worry then. In my experience, it's difficult to train real hard at weights, cardio and other sports, while dieting, but I guess it depends on how hard you really do push and how hard you diet. If you've not been doing it long, you will see improvements, but it may get harder as time goes on to sustain, or increase the intensity. But again, I'm talking from my experience of competing and dieting, very intense and so individual. 10% body fat is real hard to get to for a woman and the lower you go the harder it gets. Why 10%?

 

[Smilee21]

If you're heading in the right direction I wouldn't worry then. In my experience, it's difficult to train real hard at weights, cardio and other sports, while dieting, but I guess it depends on how hard you really do push and how hard you diet. If you've not been doing it long, you will see improvements, but it may get harder as time goes on to sustain, or increase the intensity. But again, I'm talking from my experience of competing and dieting, very intense and so individual. 10% body fat is real hard to get to for a woman and the lower you go the harder it gets. Why 10%?

I'm training to complete triathlons, main goal is to get physically fit enough to one day complete in Ironman triathlons... I am a runner, a swimmer, and bike rider. I want to try to be between 10-16 % body fat. I want as little body fat and much lean muscle that I can get to. It's not going to be something that will happen overnight, this I know, but I am also very driven, determined, very dedicated, and have the desire needed to make my dreams come true. I like to test and challenge myself, I will have times I will not train as hard and then there will be times I will train harder than ever, it will just depend on what type of competition I am trying to train for.

 

[Mrs P]

If you're heading in the right direction I wouldn't worry then. In my experience, it's difficult to train real hard at weights, cardio and other sports, while dieting, but I guess it depends on how hard you really do push and how hard you diet. If you've not been doing it long, you will see improvements, but it may get harder as time goes on to sustain, or increase the intensity. But again, I'm talking from my experience of competing and dieting, very intense and so individual. 10% body fat is real hard to get to for a woman and the lower you go the harder it gets. Why 10%?

I agree Detour, for me porsonally going under 15 % BF would be very hard to mantain, fitness models & figure competitors get down to a very low BF, but on their off time they stay within a maintainable percentage.

I'm training to complete triathlons, main goal is to get physically fit enough to one day complete in Ironman triathlons... I am a runner, a swimmer, and bike rider. I want to try to be between 10-16 % body fat. I want as little body fat and much lean muscle that I can get to. It's not going to be something that will happen overnight, this I know, but I am also very driven, determined, very dedicated, and have the desire needed to make my dreams come true. I like to test and challenge myself, I will have times I will not train as hard and then there will be times I will train harder than ever, it will just depend on what type of competition I am trying to train for.

What's yoru BF % now Smilee ? It will definitely be hard work to go down to 10 %, but I do believe anyone can do whatever they set their mind to.. as long u set realistic goals & your diet/ training are dialed in.
Hope u get there !
You seem to be very determined, that's great.

 

[Smilee21]

I agree Detour, for me porsonally going under 15 % BF would be very hard to mantain, fitness models & figure competitors get down to a very low BF, but on their off time they stay within a maintainable percentage.



What's yoru BF % now Smilee ? It will definitely be hard work to go down to 10 %, but I do believe anyone can do whatever they set their mind to.. as long u set realistic goals & your diet/ training are dialed in.
Hope u get there !
You seem to be very determined, that's great.

My BF gets checked again on Feb 4th, it was extremely high (I let myself go). It was almost 39% in Oct and Jan I was 34%. I have a long way to go, I am in no rush, I just know that if I want something bad enough, I will continuously try to improve myself. The lowest I have been able to get my body fat was 19-20%... I wasn't as serious and mentally ready to train as hard as I am now.

I take it one meal, one exercise at a time

 

[Mrs P]

My BF gets checked again on Feb 4th, it was extremely high (I let myself go). It was almost 39% in Oct and Jan I was 34%. I have a log way to go, I am in no rush, I just know that if I want something bad enough, I will continuously try to improve myself. The lowest I have been able to get my body fat was 19-20%... I wasn't as serious and mentally ready to train as hard as I am now.

I take it one meal, one exercise at a time

Definitely the right mentality to have !

 

[Smilee21]

Thank you

 

[stevenmd]

Definitely the right mentality to have !

I don't think I've ever met someone as determined as Smilee21! Slow and steady wins the race.

 

[Detour5]

Certainly have the can do/will do attitude
I'm just wondering if you're doing the right training for your events. I would've had you doing compound exercises and functional training, I wouldn't think that isolating biceps and triceps would be that functional for marathon training. Are you part of marathon/triathlon type sites, too? They'd have the right sort of info for those goals, and on the diet. I used to do sprinting in high school and when I briefly revisited it in my 20s I read runner's world magazine, it was useful for my goals. You just won't get that kind of info on a bodybuilding site.

It's good to have a varied workout regime, but keep it balanced and know what you're doing and where you're going with it.. You will get burnt out if you try too many things at once. Rome wasn't built in a day, but keep your positive attitude it will serve you well.

 

[DaHurt]

Definitely the right mentality to have !

x2! Just keep at it!

 

[Smilee21]

Certainly have the can do/will do attitude
I'm just wondering if you're doing the right training for your events. I would've had you doing compound exercises and functional training, I wouldn't think that isolating biceps and triceps would be that functional for marathon training. Are you part of marathon/triathlon type sites, too? They'd have the right sort of info for those goals, and on the diet. I used to do sprinting in high school and when I briefly revisited it in my 20s I read runner's world magazine, it was useful for my goals. You just won't get that kind of info on a bodybuilding site.

It's good to have a varied workout regime, but keep it balanced and know what you're doing and where you're going with it.. You will get burnt out if you try too many things at once. Rome wasn't built in a day, but keep your positive attitude it will serve you well.

As a swimmer, my body needs to be strong all over, to give me the strength, the power to compete against the other swimmers. I have swam throughout high school and college, weight training/resistance training is a very important part for me to gain speed to beat my previous times when racing. I am use to long training sessions, 2 hr am practices and 3-4 hr pm practices. It's just something i have always done since a teenager.

It's all Mental, if you believe you can do it, you will always come out on top. (least that's how I feel)

I am starting to check out other sites also, that focuses on Triathlon training... I like body building sites too though bc I can get a lot of good info here also from ppl who specialize in this type of sport. Increasing my knowledge in all areas of what I am training for will only help me become better.

 

[Smilee21]

I don't think I've ever met someone as determined as Smilee21! Slow and steady wins the race.

 

[Detour5]

I certainly am looking forward to following your progress. Are you going to keep us updated with picture logs? We'd sure like to see how it all goes for you. G'luck

 

[Smilee21]

I certainly am looking forward to following your progress. Are you going to keep us updated with picture logs? We'd sure like to see how it all goes for you. G'luck

Of Course, I take pics monthly of my progress. Always in the beginning of the month when I have my weigh in, I get measured, and i have my bf taken... I have changed quite a bit since Sep 13th.

My profile is only showing my month 3 progress pic, I wasnt sure if I should have uploaded the pics from when i decided to begin weight training daily and each months body transformation pic since then. This is the first time I ever took pics of my body as I am Training.

Ppl are amazed in my transformation over the last 3 months. This is only by eat clean, weight training, and exercising properly every day. I don't take any diet pills or anything else. I stick with multivitamin, superB12 complex, vitamin C, and Gluteamine.

I have a desk job (sit 40-50 hrs a week) so besides my walks at breaks, runs at lunch, and training I do (weight training and tri-training) I live a sedentary lifestyle for The last 6 years. But I am learning to do things at work during my breaks to keep my blood flowing and muscles engaged in some type exercise. (I try to do squats/lunges (20-30 reps) every 1-2 hrs when I get up to get circulation in my body.

 

[Detour5]

Of Course, I take pics monthly of my progress. Always in the beginning of the month when I have my weigh in, I get measured, and i have my bf taken... I have changed quite a bit since Sep 13th.

My profile is only showing my month 3 progress pic, I wasnt sure if I should have uploaded the pics from when i decided to begin weight training daily and each months body transformation pic since then. This is the first time I ever took pics of my body as I am Training.

Ppl are amazed in my transformation over the last 3 months. This is only by eat clean, weight training, and exercising properly every day. I don't take any diet pills or anything else. I stick with multivitamin, superB12 complex, vitamin C, and Gluteamine.

I have a desk job (sit 40-50 hrs a week) so besides my walks at breaks, runs at lunch, and training I do (weight training and tri-training) I live a sedentary lifestyle for The last 6 years. But I am learning to do things at work during my breaks to keep my blood flowing and muscles engaged in some type exercise. (I try to do squats/lunges (20-30 reps) every 1-2 hrs when I get up to get circulation in my body.

Yeah I saw those pics after you first started posting on the boards. To be honest I think it's best to start your picture log from the moment you've decided to make a change. You can track your progress from the beginning. Keep a positive view of all you do, but remember, if you are training for an event, your body needs rest to repair itself, don't overdo it with the exercises. You can add activity to your day without burning yourself out - eg, walking to/from work, (instead of fitting squats and lunges throughout your day), stairs instead of escalator, walk up the stairs with double steps, dance around the house when you're cleaning it, go window shopping, playing with your child like you're a child yourself.... endless things. If you focus too much on exercise you get burnt out, frustrated and miserable. Living life with a zing helps to get you in shape too

 

[Smilee21]

Yeah I saw those pics after you first started posting on the boards. To be honest I think it's best to start your picture log from the moment you've decided to make a change. You can track your progress from the beginning. Keep a positive view of all you do, but remember, if you are training for an event, your body needs rest to repair itself, don't overdo it with the exercises. You can add activity to your day without burning yourself out - eg, walking to/from work, (instead of fitting squats and lunges throughout your day), stairs instead of escalator, walk up the stairs with double steps, dance around the house when you're cleaning it, go window shopping, playing with your child like you're a child yourself.... endless things. If you focus too much on exercise you get burnt out, frustrated and miserable. Living life with a zing helps to get you in shape too

I agree with you 100% and I do listen to my body when it says to rest. I am very hard headed and stubborn and even fight myself, parts of me wants to still hit the gym when I am tired, but i know I will do more harm then good if I try to do it anyways.

I have posted 2 more sets of pics. There on my profile but can only be seen by the moderators and my contacts. Still kind of embrassed that I have let myself get that big.