explody pup

Just joined a gym that's about 2 miles away from work.

My big plan is to head on over there during my lunch break. But figuring in travel time, changing clothes, and eating, I have about 30 minutes to actually workout. Minus 5 minutes for warming up on the treadmill. So, my question: Is 25 minutes of weight training a day enough? Keep in mind I haven't lifted weights for about 9 years. But I have been doing a decent amount of self-resistance workouts (hindu pushups/squats, crunches, etc.).

Anybody here who does a lunchtime workout have any tips?

Slow Train

Many gyms have circuit weights, a series of weight machines set up in close proximity so you can quickly go from one to the next. That is what I would do if I only had 25 minutes. You don't have the time for free weights.

P.S. - I have seen gyms place colored stickers on the weight stacks to allow you to move quickly select the correct weight. For example - yellow might be low, blue medium, and red high weight. Then you simply have to remember blue + 1 (etc.) rather than 60 pounds.

If they don't have this - suggest it

Guest

Sure. Superset, do circuit training, and do multi-joint strength training exercises. Now, if you're looking to build and bulk up, then it is definitely not a lot of time. But for general strength training, yes. It can be enough. Just be super efficient- don't waste time. Don't talk to people. And you don't need more than 30 seconds of rest between sets.

Koffee

srrs

when i don't have much time to be at the gym, i do the exercises that require certain machines there, then i use my $20 target weight set to finish the job at home in the evening. perhaps not as efficient because it's not all at once, but allows me to get a wider range of exercises in the times that suit me.

thorton

Hey man, what ya want to do is 1 body are a day.

So mondays biceps, forerms triceps
tuesdays Leg
Wednesday Chest, abs
Thursday Back,
Friday off day

Something like that would work. If ya need anymore help message me, I am pretty goot at the making the programs.

explody pup

There are 2 things I'm looking to do with this. One is strength training. The other is to build more muscle to aid in burning off some fat (in addition to cardio, usually running). I don't know how much this'll help in the 2nd point, but it'll at least get me going in the right direction. I'm also curious to see what this'll do for endurance training.

Thanks, everybody, for the help so far.

I'm meeting with a trainer on Friday to go through the machines with me. I'll wait till I get a better idea of how everything is set up and then I'll figure out a daily schedule.

Guest

Ask your trainer to take you through MULTI-JOINT exercises, and ask him how you can progress your weights with the multi-joint exercises over time so you can build muscle.

Strength training is not endurance training. Strength training is building muscle- muscular endurance is training the muscles to fire repeatedly within a time frame to its fullest potential. Endurance training is (cardiovascular) training for long rides and training your cardiovascular system to work efficiently (heart, lungs, and circulatory system) during prolonged aerobic exercise.

Muscular strength won't do a lot towards the endurance. Muscular endurance will allow the muscles to contract optimally while doing your cardiovascular activity- that's your clue to how you can take advantage of your strength training program. Be sure to relay your goals to your personal trainer.

Good luck!

Koffee

mx_599

you need to decide how many days a week you can go to the gym and discuss this with the trainer. if you're going to end up paying a trainer, you should look for the following when going in blindly:
1) do they have a degree in exercise science or closely related
2) what certifications? most important to look for are:
-ACSM
-NSCA (CSCS, CPT)

FCastigl

Definitely look for CSCS certification, these guys know what they are doing. Most gyms just employ CPT with certs from NASM, ACE, etc...who are still knowledgable guys, but if there is a trainer with CSCS go with that person.

Guest

NASM certifies CSCS... so you can't say CSCS is good but NASM is bad. :-/

Really, the tougher certifications may have good people who have the certifications, but how long ago did they get the certifications? Do they go to conventions? Do they update their certifications with continuing education? When was the last time they changed the manner in which they train people?

There's a lot more to the certifications than which one they have, though the good ones out there would be NASM, CSCS, ACE, and ACSM. The other ones depend on the people more than the certification. But even not very bright people can get their certifications. I just took an exam myself a couple of weeks ago for a certification (upgrading what I've got), and I showed the practice test to someone else who has the same certification but took the test 7 years ago. The test was much harder now than 7 years ago! But once you get it, you're certified for life unless you do absolutely nothing to maintain it. Then you have to retake it, but even that takes a lot of effort.

Anyway, what I'm saying is judge the person by what they say as well as by their certification. Tell them your goals and ask them what they can do for you. If they can't give you an intelligent answer, keep moving on to the next trainer.

Koffee

Guest

As an aside, the woman who I work for has an exercise physiology degree, but yet she calls rowing a "tricep exercise" (for the primary exercise, not a secondary tricep exercise). Just because you have the degree doesn't necessarily mean you are the smartest crayon in the box.

(See post above for further details)

Enthalpic

My $0.02

You can do so much in 25min, lets see some numbers:

1second up, 2s down = 3s/rep
3s/rep x 12 reps = 36s
36s + 54s recovery (almost 2:1) = 1.5min/set
3sets makes for 4.5min; then you have 30s to setup the next exercise.
5 exercises/day is plenty if you do multijoint ones; forget all the isolation stuff. However, don't always do the same 5 exercises.

mx_599

well thanks for the compliment

mx_599

unless you were refering to CEU's

good point. i just renewed mine. you lose your CSCS if you do not stay current. it's not forever.

ACE is okay...but lower tiered. they have done well in promoting themselves and obtaining a higher degree of respect. NASM is pretty good. ACSM and CSCS are still a bit better. i give the clinical nod to ACSM and the sport side of things to NSCA (CSCS)

let me give an anology so you can all see a bit of my thought process on this. let us look at the field of nursing. very broad spectrum of abilities here. some specialized and some, to be quite honest, are laughable.

oh, but what's that you say? what do they all have in common? that's right...they're all REGISTERED NURSES licensed by their state. well, you might be a fantastic nurse....but go try to get hired at a hospital without your RN. yeah, good luck with that.

hmmm...what a novel idea. a universal license giving some type of assurance that one has met minimal standards in their field. cool.

so why do we need 23857058023476 fitness certifications? shoot, even the dieticians have their act together. PT's, OT's, ATC's...its all the same. (let's not forget that PT was not always a graduate level degree...and i am only talking mid 90's or so. this means all PTs with a bachelors before this time are "grandfathered" in. does this mean everyone who obtained their "whatever" X number of years ago are deficient? maybe. i might be inclined to recommend someone seek a graduate degreed PT )

i guess the fitness field just isn't taken serious enough ...and never will be so long as 235792352356278356 certifications exist.

oh yeah...look for one that has a degree or advanced degree. this pretty much supersedes any of the current certifications out there.

mx_599

excellent point!!

quick decision....

you need to have brain surgery ASAP. no time to research anything. shall i chose physician #1 who attended a US medical school and completed an 8 yr residency/fellowship
...or we have "physician" #2, straight out of the deepest of jungles in...ummm, south america! supposedly one of the best. capable of opening skulls and curing demons in people.

FCastigl

I'm not sure your info is correct.

I think the NSCA is the only organization which certifies CSCS. It's a much harder test than any of the Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) tests offered by NASM, ACE, etc.

I'm not knocking CPTs (I am actually in the process of studying for NASM's CPT test), I just don't think they are as knowledgable as those who are CSCS certified.

Guest

That is so much my bad. I totally have been messing up my acronyms. NSCA is with CSCS. I must have been on crack.

I'd actually seek someone who had a good solid certification, but I still wouldn't think someone needs a college degree if they have their CSCS. I know and have met a few people who are certified through CSCS and are knowledgeable, solid folks. One guy has a certificate as a paralegal, and he went for it. He now is a strength and conditioning coach for a professional foootball team. Another woman who I recently talked to who works at my gym part time has a couple of years of college behind her with general college coursework before leaving college to get life experience in the business world, before deciding to go for her certification for CSCS. She now works with high school athletes part time and at a very exclusive gym out here in DC part time. I still consider both of them to be better personal trainers than my boss, the woman who graduated as an exercise physiologist who still can't figure out that she's doing a bent over row and telling her clients that it's the exercise that works the triceps. She also has her personal certification through ACSM. Uuugh, she is just clueless. Today, she looked through Shape to get new exercises because she said she wanted to really "challenge her client". Uuugh.

Don't get me wrong- I think CSCS is great. It's one of those certifications I'd love to work towards. Right now, I have ACE, and I'm cool. I probably will be heading back for my masters in Public Health Admin this fall too. But I don't think you need a degree and a great certification to personal train- it helps, but I do not think it's necessary.

Koffee

Eatadonut

I did 25min workouts for about 5 months during high school when my schedule was too tight to allow for the full hour I like. Those 30-second rests between sets should be filled with lifting for another group, eg. move from the bicep curl to the tricep extension, the shoulder press to the butterfly, etc.

mx_599

one of the downfalls of 28502835672356 certifications is remembering the correct acronyms.

no...you NEED a college degree to sit for the CSCS exam. furthermore, those people are lucky to have sat for and received their CSCS that you mentioned because you are SUPPOSED to have an exercise science degree or something similar. now...either they finagled their way through or NSCA is hurting and would rather have the money than verify diplomas. i had to send a copy of my diploma/transcripts.

Koffee...i can totally tell you know your stuff . i don't know i'd want to go head to head with you. ACE is great. to be honest, having your CSCS might bring you no further monetary gain. bummer, i know. have to get into the right place. won't help at a commercial health club.

there are a handfull of very knowledgeable people in these forums. hey, i'll be the first to admit i am a bit out of touch with things and i am not a cyclist. i am cautious of what i say and try to keep the principles simple. however, that doesn't mean i lack the fundamental knowledge. especially the science behind it. what i lack is the time to scour the bowels of PubMed for the lastest greatest study to post on these forums

i do get a kick out of the training and nutrition forum. people are very touchy and PubMed trigger happy here. lots of egos...but not me

Guest

No, you don't need your degree. You can petition and take the exam anyway. I have some of the books for studying for CSCS. When I was at the last Club Industry, NSCA was there, and they reassured me that as long as I had the brain power and a good petition, I could take the test and get my certification if I passed.

I don't spend much time in Training and Nutrition anymore. It's unfortunate.

I actually wouldn't want to go head to head with Danno. He knows some crazy stuff.

Koffee

mx_599

didn't know that.

yeah, i looked at his profile. all i can gather is he is independently wealthly and has had a ton of time to read

Guest

As opposed to being me- dependently poor with no time for books.

I'm glad I participated in this thread. I'm going to go ahead and get the last of the books for the CSCS and take a year to study for it. After all, I do feel pretty useless in the clubs I work at (always told I work them too hard, when I'm using CSCS and ACSM guidelines with my weight training), and I should be working towards a goal of working for/with a cycling team. Every day, I get a little more tired of working here. It's time to move up.

Koffee

late

Get up early and work out.

Yo-

25 minutes a day is plenty of time for weights. Stick to the free weights and forget about the machines. You need to maximize your time in there. Short and intense. Stick to the heavy compound movements and take about 1 minute rest in between sets. The good thing is that there won't be too many poeple in the gym at that hour. Here's a sample workout for you...

1. Chest and Tricep

Flat bench press (4 sets)
Incline bench press (4 sets)
Close grip bench press or skull crushers (4 sets)

2. Back

Pull-ups (4 sets) or Lat Pulldowns (4 sets) if you can't do 10 pullups
T-Bar (4 sets)
Hammer grip pulldowns (4 sets)

3. Legs

Squats (4 sets)
Leg Press (4 sets)

4. Shoulders and Biceps

Military Press (4 sets)
Lateral raise ( 4 sets)
Curls ( 4 sets)

mx_599

you don't need a year to prep for it. when is the next one in your area? a month should be good. and a MPH will probably get you further than anything else. unless those cycling teams require CSCS