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Online source for good weight exercises?

DGP

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I go to a gym 3 or 4 times a week, mostly to lift. I try to do upper and lower back one day, chest and abs another, and shoulders and sides a thrid. Then the fourth (sometimes fifth) day I run to work my lower body. However, I feel that I don't have enough different exercises for the different groups I do. I only like lifting for a half hour or so at a time, and I don't want to get huge, but just know how much variety helps. While I keep working out and upping the weight, but can't get sore, especially on the back workout.

So does anyone know a good list of different exercises, with diagrams so I can follow them online?
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by DGP
I go to a gym 3 or 4 times a week, mostly to lift. I try to do upper and lower back one day, chest and abs another, and shoulders and sides a thrid. Then the fourth (sometimes fifth) day I run to work my lower body. However, I feel that I don't have enough different exercises for the different groups I do. I only like lifting for a half hour or so at a time, and I don't want to get huge, but just know how much variety helps. While I keep working out and upping the weight, but can't get sore, especially on the back workout.

So does anyone know a good list of different exercises, with diagrams so I can follow them online?


Personally I don't do a huge amount of back exercises.

The one that I work into my usual "lifting" day routines are low rows, but on my "off" day workouts I do lat pulldowns, high rows, and behind the back pulldown as well. I also have some deltoid compound and isolation exercises that are in my lifting and off day rotation but not sure you would count those as shoulder or back exercises. You don't lift with your lower body at all?
 

yerfdog

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do you do deadlifts at all?

I've posted before about how much I like them. They work the two areas of my body that usually don't get enough strength training - hamstrings and lower back. I always get sore from them, but the back soreness actually feels good, and the tightness tends to keep posture proper.
 

DGP

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Originally Posted by drizzt3117
Personally I don't do a huge amount of back exercises.

The one that I work into my usual "lifting" day routines are low rows, but on my "off" day workouts I do lat pulldowns, high rows, and behind the back pulldown as well. I also have some deltoid compound and isolation exercises that are in my lifting and off day rotation but not sure you would count those as shoulder or back exercises. You don't lift with your lower body at all?


I sometimes do squats, but I tend to use work my lower body more when doing cardio. And the last thing I want is more bulk in my legs, which are already pretty thick from my running and walking. I tend to devote one workout to back because I want to protect my spine, and I've been told that if you do front without doing back it can lead to you ending up sort of slumped over, in its extreme form.
 

DGP

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Originally Posted by yerfdog
do you do deadlifts at all?

I've posted before about how much I like them. They work the two areas of my body that usually don't get enough strength training - hamstrings and lower back. I always get sore from them, but the back soreness actually feels good, and the tightness tends to keep posture proper.


I haven't done deadlifts, as I'm not 100% sure on the correct way to do them, and the last people I want to talk to at the gym are the trainers. They're worse than the agents in this town
wink.gif
.
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by DGP
I sometimes do squats, but I tend to use work my lower body more when doing cardio. And the last thing I want is more bulk in my legs, which are already pretty thick from my running and walking. I tend to devote one workout to back because I want to protect my spine, and I've been told that if you do front without doing back it can lead to you ending up sort of slumped over, in its extreme form.

I think you'd be more likely to hurt your back than help it by doing heavy weight on back exercises. Certainly if you're training marathons or something like that the lack of proper back workouts can be detrimental, but it's not necessary to do a lot of weight or be sore from back workouts to have a good protective effect. Working lower body is probably going to be more beneficial for you in order to stay symmetrical and if you do low rep workouts with rest in between sets you can prevent hypertrophy in any case. As the previous poster mentioned, deadlift isn't a bad workout to do. 5x5s with low/medium weight would be the way to go if you don't want increased leg sizing.
 

DGP

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Originally Posted by drizzt3117
I think you'd be more likely to hurt your back than help it by doing heavy weight on back exercises. Certainly if you're training marathons or something like that the lack of proper back workouts can be detrimental, but it's not necessary to do a lot of weight or be sore from back workouts to have a good protective effect. Working lower body is probably going to be more beneficial for you in order to stay symmetrical and if you do low rep workouts with rest in between sets you can prevent hypertrophy in any case. As the previous poster mentioned, deadlift isn't a bad workout to do. 5x5s with low/medium weight would be the way to go if you don't want increased leg sizing.

Thanks. To clarify, I spend a good amount of time on back, but don't do a lot of heavy stuff. And most of what I do is on machines, as it's incredibly hard to do back with free weights and really have good form. At least the benches/equipment at my gym isn't designed well for that. Do you have an online source for where you get exercises?
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by DGP
Thanks. To clarify, I spend a good amount of time on back, but don't do a lot of heavy stuff. And most of what I do is on machines, as it's incredibly hard to do back with free weights and really have good form. At least the benches/equipment at my gym isn't designed well for that. Do you have an online source for where you get exercises?

Yeah, machines are fine for back. I think most people use machines for back, except for stuff like one arm rows, deadlifts, shrugs (although some people use them for that as well). Machines are good in general IMO unless you're working for hypertrophy and want less than perfect form in order to stimulate muscle damage. Of course there will typically be some sort of mechanical advantage but you can alleviate that by adding more weight.
 

DGP

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Originally Posted by drizzt3117
Yeah, machines are fine for back. I think most people use machines for back, except for stuff like one arm rows, deadlifts, shrugs (although some people use them for that as well). Machines are good in general IMO unless you're working for hypertrophy and want less than perfect form in order to stimulate muscle damage. Of course there will typically be some sort of mechanical advantage but you can alleviate that by adding more weight.

Yea, I use machines for pretty much all of my back, half of my chest, and some of my shoulders. I don't do it because it's easier, I do it because it's harder to hurt yourself when you don't have a spotter. Abs of course I don't use a machine for because I've never found one that's as good as weighted situps.
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by DGP
Yea, I use machines for pretty much all of my back, half of my chest, and some of my shoulders. I don't do it because it's easier, I do it because it's harder to hurt yourself when you don't have a spotter. Abs of course I don't use a machine for because I've never found one that's as good as weighted situps.

My lifting routine (every other day) is:

2 x (6, 9, or 12 reps depending on the week) of:

flat bench (barbell)
incline bench (dumbbell)
squat (barbell)
deadlift (barbell)
calf raise (barbell)
shoulder press (dumbell)
shrug (dumbbell)
bicep (barbell)
low row (machine)
fly/pec deck (machine)
abs (various)

My off day weight routines (isolation):

2 x (6, 9, 12 reps) on:

bicep (machine)
tricep (knotted rope on machine)
lat pulldown (machine)
high row (machine)
pullover (machine)
 

yerfdog

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^^ oh man, thanks for posting that. I had that site bookmarked a long time ago and I lost the bookmark in a crash or something. Could never remember what the site was.
 

Studio27

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as I've said before, I think if you're a relative beginner, doing a big-6 routine 3x/week is fine. bench, squat, dips, deadlifts, pullups, and bent over rows. I think machines have their place, but free weights will build a stronger base to work with. drizzt, I'm curious ~ you said you do back work with machines because you don't have a spotter for safety reasons. what exercises do you do that require a spotter? I would consider flat bench (primary chest builder) much more dangerous than pullups (primary back builder) without a spotter (or even with for that matter). Oh, and cardio is not an excuse for not doing proper lower body exercises. your legs may be thick from genetics, but it's not from cardio. you don't get huge overnight so focus on growth... if magically you wake up and decide you're where you want to be, you can work forward from there. OP, as far as your back not being sore... it's a matter of how your body responds to exercise. some respond better to very heavy weight, some are more volume people. for me I have to develop a strong mind-muscle connection, squeezing every rep almost as if you're doing it for a BB show. my workout partner just goes heavy as hell and treats it more along the lines of powerlifting. Though I guess once you get to a certain level, your back has to grow to keep up (he pulled 545 DL in a recent comp). generally if one part of your body, e.g. chest, responds to a certain type of intesity/volume, your back should follow suit. p.s. be careful doing deadlifts. I do them, I love them, and I think they're fantastic. But they are the most dangerous exercise done in gyms. I believe on average you are 20-30% more likely to hurt yourself seriously doing deadlifts than any other exercise. if you're comfortable in a gym, do them: focus on form and use a lighter weight than you normally would for a working set. when your form is good, lift away. when people start looking at you funny because you're lifting some seriously heavy ****... it's a great feeling. good luck and train hard
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by Studio27
drizzt, I'm curious ~ you said you do back work with machines because you don't have a spotter for safety reasons. what exercises do you do that require a spotter? I would consider flat bench (primary chest builder) much more dangerous than pullups (primary back builder) without a spotter (or even with for that matter).

Actually I didn't say that, but the reason I do back work with machines isn't for safety reasons but more out of convenience/time issues. My workouts push 90 minutes as it is when I'm doing 12 rep sets.

I agree that flat bench isn't the safest exercise in the world but I'm pretty used to doing it. I will use a spotter when I do heavy sets or obviously several spotters for negatives. I also sometimes have spotters for squats, incline dumbbell or dumbbell shoulder press when I'm doing heavy work there.
 

Studio27

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oh sorry, it was DGP that said it. in that case the Q goes to him. :p
 

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