Would like everyone's input on this

[BananaMan]

Its been almost 2 weeks since i last worked out.... ouch, man i feel like complete glutton... I just would like to know what you guys suggest a good way to get back on track... i guess my old program was too much, too fast. But heres what I have to workout with... 110lbs worth of sand weights. 2 small bars for dumbells; 1 long bar for the 2 handed stuff. pullup bar. jumprope. 3 punching bags.
i really just need help with the wieghts, it seems i'm always injuring myself with these, and i dont know if its too much wieght or form or what. My 'natural' exercises havent suffered much. i only went down a few in pullups and pushups and such. should take only a week to get back where i was. i've just been thinking that i need to totally redo my workout routine. especially the running. my knee still injured slightly, been 6 weeks now! maybe more, i lost track. well thats really it. i'm gonna take it slow, even though i dont really want to...

[BananaMan]

just wanted to add what i'm doing today.... very happy that my pullup #'s didnt go down much at all. i was doing 8 sets of 10.... was able to do 8 sets of 8 today! lot better than i though i would. my situps went down some and same with the pushups. i'm still gonna wait a few days b4 i hit the wieghts. but jsut did pullups, situps and stretched today....

[IronFist]

What are your goals?

What are sand weights? Do you mean the plates that you fill with sand? Or do you mean like bags of sand?

IronFist

[BananaMan]

they're regular weights, but sand insided instead of solid metal, so they're a lot bigger in size. and i dont have set wieght dumbells, just a small bar i can add weight too...
oh i also wanted to know what type of exercises i can do with these. the 110lbs worth of weigths, long bar, 2 short bars

[IronFist]

What are your goals?

2 weeks off isn't that bad at all, don't worry. Some people take a week or two off every couple months just to give their body a break.

IronFist

[BananaMan]

well i guess my goal is to develop a program where i dont get injured all the time.... and still make the same progress as i was. which was pretty **** good.

[TenTigers]

pick up the book, "Body for Life" the workout is great, the results are great, and the workout only takes 45 minutes.

[Qi dup]

2 weeks isn't bad at all. I took off that much when I went to mexico last year and felt great when I started back up. My advice is just to be smart and don't over do it. I got a little crazy donig chin ups last friday and I can still barley take my shirt of with out feelling a burning pain just under my arms. it sucks.

[BananaMan]

i dont know if its my genes or something, but i can do endless 'natural' exercises and never get too sore at all. i mean i was doing 100 pullups/ 500 pushups/situps daily!
weights on the other hand dont make me sore, just seem to injure me! lol i guess i should relook at my weight training and read up more on it. maybe its my form or too much weight

[stoli]

Two weeks off is no problem, often a good thing to take a complete break every now and then.

No muscle soreness and injuries definately sounds to me like bad form and probably too much weight (the two often go together, too much weight leads to bad form and bad form lets you use too much weight !!). As a previous post said the first thing you need to do is set some goals, sounds like you want to gain some size ??? If that's the case then you need to work on basic exercises, maybe some compound movements (squat with presses, squats with curls etc) and stick to it for 12 or so weeks. Just like anything you need to give it time to work.

Rather than any kind of fad training book or magazine I would suggest investing in a good Anatomy and Physiology book, learn how the muscles are supposed to work and you'll save yourself a lot of time, pain and money !!!

[BananaMan]

oh, my goals are speed, pure strength and endurance... NOT size. i'm already a good size. if u've seen "Snatch" i'm almost exactly like brad pitt in that, just need to work on my arms a little. I box/kickbox so i have that build. i definetly dont wanna get too much bigger. i dont even know how much i weigh, but its between 150-160 at 5'7" I never want to be more than 170.

[stoli]

For strength, low reps (2 - 5), heavy weight. Sitck to basics, bench, squats, pulldowns, weighted chins. Maybe try some explosive compound exercises like squats with presses, curls or upright rows. Remember to do these explosively (to utilise as many IIb muscle fibres as possible). For endurance go for high reps (up to 40 +) with lower weight, keep these reps slow and controlled for best results (working type I and mixed fibres).

Chances are there will be some increase in size and weight as you work up to what you want but that's just the way it is !!!

Forget about your arms for now, don't get suckered into the old chestnut of just doing curls and your arms will get huge. You need to get basic core strength first then you can get more specific, maybe by setting one day apart just for arms, anyway that should be much later !!!!

Don't forget that weights needn't slow you down or make you tight, a nice myth devised by those people without the dedication to stick to lifting :D :D

Hope this has been helpful

[BananaMan]

how am i supposed to do all this? i dont go to a gym and i dont have a bench at home. just 2 small bars i can add weight too and 1 long bar i can add wieght too. and its just me, i dont have anyone to help me

[BananaMan]

and it seems like u guys keep thinking i'm a beginner. maybe in weights i'm a beginner but with all natural exercises i'm definetlly not. i probably do more pushups/situps and pullups than anyone on this forum. so i have the "foundation" that everyone keeps saying i need to get. i just never studied weights so dont really know correct forms and such.

[Lung Hu Pai]

you can do weighted dips with a forward lean instead of bench pressing. you can do deadlifts for a good total body lift with a lot of emphasis on the legs. There are many things you can do. I just have a barbell and weights (also a pullup bar and dip bar) and I can get a total body workout no problem without any spotters. Azar.

[stoli]

Didn't mean to offend you Banana Man, just trying to be helpful:confused:

You have a foundation with the endurance but not with the strength, and that's what you said you were after :)

[BananaMan]

i never took any offense =P