After reading a large number of post on this site, I am confused. There are some who say that you should do only certain body parts at a time, and others say you do push exercises together and pull exercises together, but not at the same time. Which is it? Before you answer this, let me give you some info on me.

I will be 49 on Oct. 20th. I have never lifted weights before. At present time, I am 5' and 11.5" tall and weigh between 145 - 150 lbs (which is what I have weigned for 24 years). I use a weight machine and want to add 20-25lbs of lean mass. I just started everything last Wednesday. I am presently consuming about 2800 calories and trying to keep to the 30-50-20 ratio, but I need to lower my fat intake some more. I never have had a problem with being overweight. This is the first time that I am probably eating healthy and not eating junk food all day. Part of my main reason for gaining is to help improve my golf game (no, I don't ride in the cart, I walk the course). Below is my present workout schedule. I have to work out Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at night, because I work two jobs. Please help this old rookie set off in the right direction.

Tuesday
Leg Curl 8 reps/ 3 sets
leg Press 10 reps/ 3 sets
Leg Extension 8 reps/ 3 sets
Squat 8 reps/ 3 sets
Seated Row 8 reps/ 3 sets
Back Kick 8 reps/ 3 sets
Front Kick 8 reps/ 3 sets
Dead Lift 8 reps/ 3 sets

Thursday
Butterfly 8 reps/ 3 sets
Military Press 8 reps/ 3sets
Isolation Curl 8 reps/ 3 sets
Lateral Raise 8 reps/ 3 sets
Front Raise 8 reps/ 3 sets
Standing Curl 8 reps/ 3 sets
Crossover Fly 8 reps/ 3 sets
Triceps Press-Down 8 reps/ 3 sets
Triceps Extension 8 reps/ 3 sets
Ab Crunch 10 reps/ 3 sets

Sunday
Back Extension 10 reps/ 3 sets
Bent Row 10 reps/ 3 sets
Side Bend 10 reps/ 3 sets
Lat Pulldown 10 reps/ 3 sets
Underhand Lat Pulldown 10 reps/ 3 sets
AB Crunch 10 reps/ 3 sets
Alternate Knee Raise 10 reps/ 3 sets

Before I work out, I have a protein shake about 30 minutes prior and after my workout, I will have another shake, cottage cheese and possibly a peach.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks

Since you are starting out for the first time it doesn't really matter what you do...as long as you don't OVERDO it and stay consistent. Since there are so many camps of opinion on how to divide your workouts, and all the camps see good results when they are consistent, it indicates that nobody really knows what type of training regiment is optimal. The primary reason people divide workouts is to allow the muscles to fully recover before they are worked again. Another reason is to prevent injury. For example, i set my workouts up into push/pull/leg/core days and I have them arranged to allow my shoulders ample time to recover before being worked again because I've had an extensive history of shoulder problems.

In short, you should just personalize your workout the best way for it to suit you. Pay attention to what your body is telling you after you workout for the next couple days and see if you think you are ready to go again.

As far as your routine is concerned. I only glanced over it, but it seems to be really high volume. You might find you get fatigued towards the end and can't really finish properly, but then again, there is a camp of thought that thinks fatiguing your muscles completely is best. I'd replace the crossover fly (crossing over inward to work the chest right?) and triceps extension with the straight up bench press. If you want to add lots of lean mass, a nice big compound exercise like the bench will work more muscles. You seem to have some good compound movements for the lower body though, deads and squats. I also like seeing the bent over row in there. My favorite exercise.

Don't get burnt out! keep with it and change things when they don't feel right! good luck!

Thanks. :tu:

Being as this is my first week of doing this, I have set my weights a little lower than what I can do. I am trying to work the muscles so they get used to what I am doing and also making me realize that I have muscles where I forgot where they were. After 2-3 weeks, I will raise my weights and than check out my routine as to number of exercises.

Thanks for reminding me about bench press.

Grouping workouts is simply different trains of thought. The most common are: full body, by body part, push/pull, and a turbulence style (variation on full that alternates lower body and upper body exercises). I don't ever stick to one. Recently I've been doing more of a push/pull balancing act.

Do you workout only with machines? Or do you have free weights available to use? Machines have the benefits, but overall free weights are much better.

For building lean body mass, you want to keep a few priorities in mind:
1. Shorter workouts are better. Rest is key.
2. 15 to 20 sets per workout maximum. Going over this will have negative effects on your body.
3. Compound lifts should be your number 1 priority. Isolation doesn't build much muscle.
4. Diet is critical. You have to eat right and eat enough to build muscle.

Your workout, as it stands, is over doing it. I see three days with 24, 30, and 21 sets. It has too many isolation lifts and not enough compound lifts. The sheer number of sets is going to burn out your muscles and hinder your muscle and strength gains. The large number of isolation lifts is going to make your workout take too long, and minimize the muscle building benefit.

When designing a workout, keep a few ideas in mind:
1. Compound lifts are a priorty.
2. Keep muscle development balanced. I.E. Don't do 9 bench press sets and then ignore rows. Muscle imbalances can lead to a host of injuries and other problems.
3. You want to keep workouts short. Once you go over 45 min to an hour, you hinder your muscle development.

Here's the workout you designed split into compound and isolation movments:

Compound: Squat, Seated Row, Dead Lift, Military Press, Bent Row, Lat Pulldown, Underhand Lat Pulldown

Isolation: Leg Curl, leg Press, Leg Extension, Back Kick, Front Kick, Butterfly, Isolation Curl, Lateral Raise, Front Raise, Standing Curl, Crossover Fly, Triceps Press-Down, Triceps Extension, Ab Crunch, Back Extension, Side Bend, Alternate Knee Raise

That's way too many isolation exercises, and not enough compound exercises.

Here's how I would rebalance your workout (alternate exercise in parenthesis if you are not strong enough to do the actual exercise yet):
Sunday - Legs/Shoulders - 3x10 - 12 Sets Total
Full Squat
Stiff-Legged Deadlift
One-Legged Calf Press
Shoulder Press or Military Press

Tuesday - Back/Biceps - 3x10 - 12 sets total
Barbell Rows (machine rows)
Pull-ups or Chin-ups (or pull-down machine)
Lower back extension (when you get stronger here, switch to good mornings or regular deadlifts)
Curl Bar Curls (dumbbell curls)

Thursday - Chest/Triceps/Abs - 12 sets total
Flat Bench Press
Dips (machine-assisted dips)
Lying Tricep Extension (aka Skull Crushers, or do Tricep Pushdowns)
Weighted Crunches

Keep your rest periods short between sets (1 minute). Keep your tempo slow and controlled. Try for 2 to 3 seconds in the eccentric phase of a lift (bring the weight to your chest in a bench press), 1 second pause while contracting (the bar just above your chest in the bench press), and then explode through the actual lift (pushing back towards lock out). Keep your form impeccible.

Try this workout for 6 to 8 weeks, and start easy. You may want to do 2x10 instead of 3x10 to start the first week. Maybe even 1x10. Listen to your body. This will keep the workout short but very effective. Don't worry about too many fancy lifts yet. You want to build up a good solid base of muscle. These lifts will do that while challenging your body.

If you want a good book on lifting, read the Book of Muscle by Ian King. It goes through hundreds of exercises, what they do, why they do it, how to do it, and then gives you 18 months worth of workouts (beginner through advanced). It's easily one of the best books on the subject.

Good luck!

Seeing as how today is a workout day, do you reccomend that I make the change today, or wait until Sunday?

I like the setup you have and will give it a try and let you know how it works.

Thanks :tucool:

I'm a fan of changing once a new week starts. I normally finish each routine I'm doing and then start the next week. I rarely change mid-stride unless I really feel the workout isn't benefitting me some way.