Help me create a workout routine

[timex]

This summer I plan on going to the gym a fair bit to help get in shape. I've seen a lot of threads in the past about peoples weekly workout schedules but a lot of them end up just being criticized, so I'd like to see what people recommend instead of what they don't recommend.

I am likely still growing, and am going into University next year, I'm 5'11 and 150-155, and worked out a decent amount last year during the school year, but plan on working out 5-7 days a week during this summer.

Not too sure what my goal is in lifting weights, I want to stay in shape, I want to get stronger, and I guess I want to get bigger, but not necessarily big.

So my main questions are:
1) How many days a week should I work out
2) How long should I work out for
3) What muscle groups should I work out on each day
4) What excercises/number of reps do you recommend


Thanks in advance

[kyleb]

I made a post myself, but I'll do my best to help you out!

1) How many days a week should I work out

The first thing you should know is that you should create a workout plan that is sustainable and enjoyable that you WANT to do every day you hit the gym. Without that, the plan is useless.

You should start off by working out every other day.

2) How long should I work out for

Shoot for 30-45 minutes each session to begin with.

3) What muscle groups should I work out on each day

If you are just beginning, I recommend a "Circuit Training" approach to working out. This means hitting all the machines and working out your entire body in the gym each session with days off in-between sessions for rests. Talk to someone at the gym who can help you put together a simple 5-by-5 workout plan for your whole body, and make sure you have a session of cardio to end it!

4) What excercises/number of reps do you recommend

See my answer to #3.

Again, make sure you start off light and sustainable and increase resistance and intensity as you go. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon and a lifestyle change. Diet is extremely important as well - you'll need higher levels of protein to sustain muscle growth, and you need to replenish your muscle glycogen after workouts, so don't skimp on the carbs. Keep fat content as low as possible, but make sure you don't cut it out entirely, since muscle glycogen/fat cannot be restored entirely by carbs.

Good luck!

[timex]

I guess I probably should have said a little bit more about my working out during the year.

I used to work out with a couple people in our school gym, and we would chest/back on mon/thurs, arms/shoulders on tues/friday, and legs on wednesday, but if we missed a day during the week, it was always legs.

Which ever days(2 days a week) I had double spare, I'd also work out abs.

Typically I would work out about 45 minutes except the double spare days when it was closer to 75-90 minutes.


Also, how has your diet changed/what foods do you recommend to get more protein?

[Pokertastic]

If you're just getting back into weight lifting and workout out stick to heavy compound lifts like:squats, deadlifts, benchpress, etc. Don't worry about isolation exercises so much, you want to build a strong foundation first.

This is the workout plan I just started to get back into shape: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=750551

I'd be careful about how much you work out. You don't want to overtrain and you don't want to workout when you're sore. As for diet... if you want to put on some mass go and eat a bunch of meat, eggs, milk, nuts, anything high in protein and lots of it. You'll gain some fat too but you'll get the most gains if you're lifting hard. If you want to stay lean you can stick to lean meat and things like chicken and tuna.


Pretty much anything you need to know about workout plans, exercises, and diet can be found here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/