What is the best routine???

sandigirl06 · Post by **sandigirl06** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 1:13 pm

Hi, there. I am a 44 yr old female who is 5' 120 lbs. I am just starting out weight training. At this time lifting 3x per week in split body parts. I have seen on this site a lot of people advocating full body workouts 3x per week. A few questions, please. What is the amount of time a good full body workout should take? I only have about an hour in the morning at the gym. How many sets per muscle group and how many sets?? Also husband is chirping in ear about circuits with low weight and high reps for me. I am doing cardio. HIIT 2-3x per week and one long steady cardio day and diet is squeaky-clean!! I have been seeing much results. is shrinking and I can see some muscle def in arms!

I want to keep it coming so what is the best routine?? So many ways is confusing

What do you guys think?

Packard · Post by **Packard** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 2:29 pm

To split or not to split has to do with how fast your muscles recover from the workout.

At 18 years of age I did 3 full body workouts per week.

When I was in mid 30's I went to 2 splits per week.

At 60 I split workout into 3 splits and train each once per week (along with 2 days of cardio).

At 44 you are on the cusp, but I suspect you will do better with a split routine twice per week.

Something like this:

Monday: Upper body (heavy)
Tuesday: Lower body (heavy)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Upper body (light)
Friday: Lower body (light)

You can work your torso (abs) with each workout. And you can do cardio on the workout days too. Try to retain your rest days and especially the two consecutive days as it will allow your body to re-charge.

sandigirl06 · Post by **sandigirl06** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:11 pm

Thank you, Packard. I know it is an old and tired question. Hey, did anyone ever tell you that you look a lot like Sean Connery?? hehehe.

jillb069 · Post by **jillb069** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:20 pm

why do you change your routine as you get older?

Packard · Post by **Packard** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 7:58 am

jillb069 wrote:why do you change your routine as you get older?

I have found that as I got older I could still train hard but it took longer to recover from the workouts. I suspect that is a result of a lower testosterone level as I age.

By adjusting recovery times I was able to keep heavy benches within 20 pounds of best even into 50s.

It is easy enough to determine if you need the extra rest. If you cannot make any sustainable improvements in strength then you probably need more rest between training sessions.

Sandi girl is 44 and has indicated that this is the start of her weight training regimen. I suspect that her recovery times will be rather longer in the beginning and training too hard too often in the beginning will often lead people to quit entirely. It is hard to be happy about a training regimen if you are tired all the time.

But if you have your recovery times well adjusted to your abilities you will feel extra-strong and extra-vital just before your heavy workout and that will be the kind of rush that will make the hard work feel worthwhile.

I recall going into the gym after 2 day lay off (which came after 2 light training days) and feeling like an animal ready to attack the weights. If you don't feel like that at least one workout per week you need to adjust your training/recovery cycle.

jillb069 · Post by **jillb069** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:41 am

Packard wrote:
jillb069 wrote:why do you change your routine as you get older?
I have found that as I got older I could still train hard but it took longer to recover from the workouts. I suspect that is a result of a lower testosterone level as I age.

By adjusting recovery times I was able to keep heavy benches within 20 pounds of best even into 50s.

It is easy enough to determine if you need the extra rest. If you cannot make any sustainable improvements in strength then you probably need more rest between training sessions.

Sandi girl is 44 and has indicated that this is the start of her weight training regimen. I suspect that her recovery times will be rather longer in the beginning and training too hard too often in the beginning will often lead people to quit entirely. It is hard to be happy about a training regimen if you are tired all the time.

But if you have your recovery times well adjusted to your abilities you will feel extra-strong and extra-vital just before your heavy workout and that will be the kind of rush that will make the hard work feel worthwhile.

I recall going into the gym after 2 day lay off (which came after 2 light training days) and feeling like an animal ready to attack the weights. If you don't feel like that at least one workout per week you need to adjust your training/recovery cycle.

Thank you for taking the time to answer question, Packard.