# Advice on my workout regime - should I ache after the gym?



## Kaz (Apr 19, 2006)

Firstly the basics, I’m early 30’s, female, average height and have spent the last 6 months on a healthy eating/lifestyle regime. Since the middle of July, I have lost 2 stone and I’m now well within my healthy range for my height which I’m pretty pleased about.

I go to the gym twice a week (hour and a half, cardio and weights) and I mountain bike most Sunday’s. 

My gym regime is: (apologies, I do not know the proper name for the equipment)

16 mins treadmill, 2 min warm up then three 4 minutes runs with a minute rest in-between, with an incline of 2 at 9K.
5 minutes on the Top XT machine (bike for the arms), I have gone from resistance level 2 to level 4 on this, but feel I can do more
Leg weights using machines, 3x15 reps 25KG (where you push your legs together, and another one where you push the opposite way)
Leg weights, 3 x 15 reps, two at 30KG and one at 40KG – on a machine where you push yourself away on a slider seat.
Ab cruncher, 3 x 12 reps at 30KG
Two arm weight exercises on a rope machine, 3x15 reps at 10KG, and 3x15 reps at 7.5KG
1500 meters on a rowing machine, takes me about 7 minutes
15 minutes interval on a cross trainer

On a different day to the gym but twice a week, I do a minute plank, squats, leg lifts, crunches etc at my gym at work.

I do however feel like I could be doing more, I never ache after the gym, my running is much improved and I feel I can go for longer, but at the same time I don’t want to spend the whole evening there trying to fit a longer run in with everything else above.

My aims are improve cardio more, I need to be able to pedal up hills (which is already much improved) and toning. 

Does anyone have any recommendations of what I can do to get more out of my time at the gym?


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## alipman (May 10, 2007)

I think you need to go longer on the treadmill etc.
Perhaps build up to about 30-40 minutes. Drop something out from the regime. I used to go to the gym years ago and did pretty much the same type of thing with cardio and weights.
Now that I just run, I personally wouldnt bother with the cross trainer if you want to increase your stamina. Increase the running element.

A stepper is quite similar to having to get out of the seat on your bike?
Good for hills.

Obviously there is a limit but go longer on cardio will help with the biking.


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

No pain, no gain.


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## stevept (Nov 22, 2009)

I would do 2 different treadmill workouts, one keep the same as your doing but no rest just walk for a min then back to running. The 2nd workout id do a distance run lower the speed and run for as long as you can then try to improve distance and time each session.
Make sure you change your reps and sets, every 2 to 4 weeks. Also try to get into free weights and body weight exercises.
Buy a fit ball for home, if you dont already have one.


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## Lump (Nov 6, 2008)

Kaz said:


> My aims are improve cardio more, I need to be able to pedal up hills (which is already much improved) and toning.
> 
> Does anyone have any recommendations of what I can do to get more out of my time at the gym?


Id say stick with what your doing in the gym and change you cycle training, nothing will make you climb hills better than riding them. Get a HR monitor and ride more effectively Link. If your only riding once a week id say thats the bigger area to work on, if the goal is hill climbing. And are you training for HONC ?


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

If you don't ache you're not working hard enough imo.


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## stevept (Nov 22, 2009)

if you dont ache your body is used to what it is doing so wont adapt and change, once intensity has been increased then doms will occur.


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## Adrian Convery (May 27, 2010)

You need to be sore for any muscle growth to occur, as said no pain no game


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## lobotomy (Jun 23, 2006)

The soreness is basically caused by your muscles tearing (_on a minute level_) due to the stress/strain of the work-out and the resulting inflammation and repair of the muscle is what causes the ache over the following period.

This is also as mentioned above what actually leads to muscle growth. The body tries to repair and "bolster" the muscle group which was damaged.

[EDIT]
This is also a reason why you should alter muscle groups through the week if you Gym regularly.
[/EDIT]


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## gtechrob (Sep 11, 2006)

my theory on the human body fitnes etc. is that we were built to amble about most of the time and then run like **** to get away from a predator or chase after prey.

i go with the high intensity short duration on a cross country machine with no warm up or warm down for 10 minutes every day and I feel as good as I did when I trained 30 hours a week when I was in the under 18 GB rowing squad.


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

Do your weights first then do the cardio stuff afterwards. Supposidly this keeps the metabolisum higher for longer. 

Id say run for longer if your struggling to do it at that speed lower it a little then build it up gradually. 

The leg stuff your doing will be good for the bike. Why not lower the reps and higher the weight that will help build the muscles. 

If your not hurting after the gym your not doing enough.


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## ITHAQVA (Feb 20, 2011)

Adrian Convery said:


> You need to be sore for any muscle growth to occur, as said no pain no game


This is not entirely true; I have increased my physical strength & size, yet very rarely get the Dom's effect. I train within a 1-5 rep range.

Sorry OP, back on topic :thumb:


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

Agreed running needs to increase... my wife runs for an hour but thats just her. id say a good 30 minutes run would be ideal.


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## Audriulis (Dec 17, 2009)

Adrian Convery said:


> You need to be sore for any muscle growth to occur, as said no pain no game


Totally agree :thumb:, but if you stick to the same workout, I mean same weights same cardio everyday, you'll not have body aches,and you'll lose fat a bit, but if you want to build muscle mass you have to increase weights every week or so, and that means pleasant pain , but thats what I like, to push myself to the limit :devil: , quality food is also very important :thumb:


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

ITHAQVA said:


> This is not entirely true; I have increased my physical strength & size, yet very rarely get the Dom's effect. I train within a 1-5 rep range.


Agreed

Ive increased my training and even back to back sessions im not aching, but i have increased my protein intake with extra shakes so im putting it down to that helping with my recovery.

Theres always room for improvement though :thumb:


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## Audriulis (Dec 17, 2009)

Sorry I just realised you are a female, stick to your workout and just increase a number of times you go to gym, that should help a bit, and get some AIO protein shake like PHD ******* iso-7 or similar, it contains amino acids and helps to recover after workouts


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Doesn't matter what sex you are.

Run for longer and do something like starting strength, you won't become a body builder but you will be what you call 'toned'. Too many women prance around with little dumbells which are nothing more than an extremely light cardio workout.


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## Kaz (Apr 19, 2006)

Ok thanks guys. I have heard that doing weights before cardio is a better way to go about things. I hadn't thought of more weight and less reps either, I suppose I can alternate this, try and stop my body becoming used to it?

I have been on the same plan for 6 months, at first it was tough and I'd leave the gym a red sweaty mess, but now it's a lot easier, hense me thinking I need to change my routine.

I'm not training for anything specific mountain bike wise, I just hate running out of puff when climbing. Getting out on the bike more is something I'd love to do, but being dark in the evenings at the moment, it's not really possible, but come summer I'd probably switch the gym for a bike ride.

So if i warmed up on something like a cross trainer for 5 mins, did my weights, then did a 30 minute run and then rowing machine, that should get me back into the 'pain' of a real workout?


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

You will ache in pain, but once you get use to it, and the muscles are stronger the pain will eventually ware away.

First of all, don't try to hard, build it by slow steps, and work from there.

Goodluck by the way.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Is there any reason for running and rowing in the same session?

If you aren't running for a particular reason I would stick more to rowing. Works you harder and less chance of injury. 5km in 20-25mins would give you a very good workout, better than 20-25mins running.


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

Kaz said:


> Ok thanks guys. I have heard that doing weights before cardio is a better way to go about things. I hadn't thought of more weight and less reps either, I suppose I can alternate this, try and stop my body becoming used to it?
> 
> I have been on the same plan for 6 months, at first it was tough and I'd leave the gym a red sweaty mess, but now it's a lot easier, hense me thinking I need to change my routine.
> 
> ...


If you go twice a week then your probably best splitting your weights bit over the 2 days. Then add your cardio stuff in when you have finished.

To get stronger lower reps and higher weight so 3x8 do it with as heavy weight as you can. This would be great for your legs on the bike. That's what I did it helped me on the hills.

Cardio 30min run each time will be good the more you do the fitter you will be. Might be worth chucking in some time on the bike even in the gym will help you when your on a ride


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## ITHAQVA (Feb 20, 2011)

Kaz said:


> Ok thanks guys. I have heard that doing weights before cardio is a better way to go about things. I hadn't thought of more weight and less reps either, I suppose I can alternate this, try and stop my body becoming used to it?
> 
> I have been on the same plan for 6 months, at first it was tough and I'd leave the gym a red sweaty mess, but now it's a lot easier, hense me thinking I need to change my routine.
> 
> ...


May I suggest the following?

Full body workout with free weights 3 times a week (Mon-Wed-Fri or Tue-Thur-sat) use weights heavy enough to make 20 reps reasonably difficult, no need to train to failure, try to go through the workout within 1 hour :thumb:

On the non weight days use the cross trainer:
Start on easiest setting for 15 min & build up an hour within a month if possible but dont worry if you cant, when you're ready, change to next difficulty setting, work from 15 up to the hour again, keep doing this until you've reached a difficulty that allows a 1 hour workout without more than a few second breaks. :thumb:

If your ready for a real blast try one of the cross fit workouts: Weights & cardio with speeeed! :thumb:

Or if your really mad join us on the Powerlifting thread: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=238868 :devil: :thumb:


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## buckrogers21stc (Apr 9, 2009)

Ditch the treadmill and get out into the hills. HIIT hill reps are hard to beat alongside your other workouts.


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## Kaz (Apr 19, 2006)

Thanks for all the advice, I will read it all thoroughly.

I think I'll start by lengthening my time on the treadmill and dropping some other cardio. I can't wait until the spring though, when it's a lot easier to exercise outside!


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## Adam D (Nov 3, 2009)

Nothing gets you better at going up hills than actually going up hills, but I know how frustrating it is at this time of year not being able to actually get outside and getting some hills under your belt!

Even getting yourself a decent set of bike lights only helps so far as I would not want to cycle up my local hills in the dark because of car drivers and also my local trails are far too muddy at the moment.

Funny thing is that I actually mustered up the motivation to go out for a ride last night and my 3 local trails were all blocked by fallen trees from last week's wind storm  I hope they clear them up soon.


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## Tips (Mar 27, 2011)

Full body workouts x 3 weekly is the way to go as a beginner.

Concentrate on using compound exercises (multi joint movements) rather than isolation exercises (single joint)

Build you routine using Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Press, Military Press and Dips where possible.

Use you rest days for rest or throw in a high intensity cardio session - circuit training, spinning, tabata workouts etc.

Hope that helps.


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## horico (Jul 17, 2010)

Controversial but the need to change workout isn't necessarily the only answer - it's rather a case of progression. For example, if you currently lift / push / pull 25kg weights for 10 reps, increase this to 30kg and see what you get. Once you get 10 reps (or other easily recognised reference point for comparison) increase again. Whichever exercise you do, the goal is improvement. There are naturally more favourable compound exercises (using more than one muscle group like squats and deadlifts) that will help rather than isolation exercises (eg. machine dumbell curl).

Only you know when you're working hard and putting max effort in as you know your body but the progression will come. This goes for weights and cardio although it may be that trying to advance both in the same workout may not be ideal, again this depends on what's done and the time you have. Make a note of where you are now on the reference exercises, be it cardio and weights and keep track of the improvements.

I find personally that I will always ache after a weight session in the gym (3-4 times a a week) but not always after a ride on the bike (between 20-60 miles). The main factor in whether I ache with the bike riding is the number of hills and how they are attacked, be it balls out or just getting up them. There is some evidence that cardio, eg keeping your heart rate up after weights may decrease doms too (but then there is loads of 'bro science' saying this and that is the best way to go). 

Edit: I just re-read your post and you mentioned not wanting to spend more time at the gym. That would suggest more efficient workouts - HIIT is something to try occasionally - be it traditional HIIT or something like TABATA which really does make you work hard. This can be done on the rower or cycle quite well as it allows you to slow down manually rather than adjusting the treadmill. Someone above mentioned intensity which is something that you can increase in order to progress.

I hope that made sense.

Matt


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## Kaz (Apr 19, 2006)

Well I had a session with the PT from the work gym yesterday, I wanted to see whether the 30 mins I get in the work gym on my lunch break could be put to better use. Well it turns out it can, I ache more today than I have in a long time. He's given me some great excercises, squats using the rope machine, lunges with arm curls, bench presses using the gym ball, arm curls whilst stood on a bosu balance trainer, and normal and side planks.

However it has confused me a little, I know you're supposed to rest muscles after training, and I was planning on going to the gym tonight.

So I'm thinking I need to separate out my cardio from weight training? Do the exercises I mention above count as real weight training?

What I could do, by using both gyms, is cardio twice a week (plus my weekend cycling) and weights 3 time a week? Cardio I would do at my local gym as it has better equipment, on a Tuesday and Thursday evenings, then Monday's and Friday's I could do the workout above at my work gym on lunch breaks, on Wednesday's I could do weights using the machines at my local gym for something a bit different?

Would that work or is it too much? 

Oh, and I'm not sure what the acronyms HIIT or TABATA mean, sorry!


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## Shug (Jul 13, 2007)

Kaz said:


> Oh, and I'm not sure what the acronyms HIIT or TABATA mean, sorry!


HIIT is high intensity interval training. Think flat out sprint then jog, then flat out sprint. Repeat until dead. 
Tabata is french for 'this is gonna hurt' 
Trainer at gym showed me what all blacks do on rowing machine. Flat out 30 secs, 10 sec rest. Repeat until you cry/vomit/pass out.


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## Kaz (Apr 19, 2006)

Ahh yes, I do interval training too.


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## horico (Jul 17, 2010)

Shug said:


> Tabata is french for 'this is gonna hurt'


Made me laugh out loud. Accurate in reality but it is in fact named after the Doctor (if I recall he was a Dr) who invented it.

Basically, 8 sets of 20 seconds balls out (running at max speed, rowing at full resistance or cycling in the highest gear) as fast as you can with absolutely nothing in reserve followed by 10 seconds rest. 8 sets means repeat 8 times.

You will be gasping for breath half way through and definitely exasperated once finished as basically there is no ability to get enough oxygen into your body. Only try this once a week to start with then increase as time goes on.

You may not be able to complete all 8 reps either so building this up is advisable too.

HIIT is similar but is generally a different ratio to TABATA so rest periods will be longer that the sprint period.

All the best! :lol:


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## horico (Jul 17, 2010)

Kaz said:


> Well I had a session with the PT from the work gym yesterday, I wanted to see whether the 30 mins I get in the work gym on my lunch break could be put to better use. Well it turns out it can, I ache more today than I have in a long time. He's given me some great excercises, squats using the rope machine, lunges with arm curls, bench presses using the gym ball, arm curls whilst stood on a bosu balance trainer, and normal and side planks.
> 
> However it has confused me a little, I know you're supposed to rest muscles after training, and I was planning on going to the gym tonight.
> 
> ...


The main concern is allowing your muscles to recover after training. A lot of gym goers do body part splits ie. train chest and triceps one day then back and biceps another day with legs and shoulders another day (examples only). This means that in a week, each bodypart has been trained and has had time to recover as well as full focus being placed on it. Also, while this may sound like a 'bodybuilder' type routine, anyone be it male or female will not all of a sudden get big and bulky doing this. That's actually quite a long term thing and difficult to do.

If you were to split the weights to 3 times a week and cardio on the other days, this may help you not 'overtrain' your muscles. There isn't a problem doing cardio on your weight days but do it after so you can maximise your effort with the weights.

Hope that makes sense.


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## Kaz (Apr 19, 2006)

Thanks to everyone for contributing to this thread, it's all really helpful information.

For the last week, I have been separating my cardio from my weights, and I think I'm much better off for it.

Weights I have started doing without using machines, my PT informs me it's much better for you as your body has to support it's self (makes sense), and I am in an office job, so moving as much as I can when I excercise is important. Weights I'm doing 3x30 minutes a week with a day's break in between.

This means I can concentrate on my cardio much more, I went for a 20 minute (2 mile) run at 9.5kmph, and found that I could do it, but it's pushing me further than when I was trying to fit it all into one session.

I now walk away from the gym feeling like I've been properly excercising!


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