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The Question at Hand Same Muscles Everyday or Alternation? As you can probably see in my signature I have started a workout and diet plan, but it is very incomplete. The issue I am having is alternation. I have heard that you are okay to do the same exercises every single day, but other places and/or people say that it is bad for you. They say if you must exercise every single day then you need to alternate what part of your body you are exercising. Other people say that you can work the same spot every day just don't work it so bad that it aches the next day and you will be fine; in contradiction to that I heard that if it doesn't ache then you aren't gaining any muscle. Which one is it? Also, If I DO need to alternate should it be between Upper and Lower body or arms, legs, butt, etc. I need help figuring out what I should do. Should I do Upper one day, Lower the next, then just do Yoga on the third day and go back to Upper on the fourth? Any ideas on a workout plan for my Diet and Exercise Sheet would be much appreciated. I know that if I can just get my facts straight I can come up with a plan and make it happen. The Circumstances: I am twenty-three years old and was inactive from the age of twelve until I was seventeen. At seventeen I still wasn't active but instead of sitting I was standing all the time. At twenty I started walking between eight and sixteen hours a day and did heavy-lifting(my job required it). But once I became pregnant at twenty-one and gave birth at twenty-two my activity went dead. All I did while I was pregnant was sit around the house all day and eat. Vacuuming was my only exercise. Once I had my son I still kept sitting until he started walking but even then I still sit most of the time, only getting up when he runs out of sight or has something in his hands he isn't supposed to have. Put Short: I am very much out of shape. But I want to change that and start exercising EVERY day. Why? Because I want fitness to be my life. I want my son to grow up watching his mom being a healthy person who helps other people be healthy too. The Goal: My goal is to do Pilates, Yoga, and Bodyweight training. I want to have a decent amount of muscle but not look so ripped that nobody wants a hug (I love to hug). I want to loose my muffin top which I have had since I was ten. I WANT to exercise EVERYSINGLE day because exercise helped me to quit smoking and helps with my depression every time I am active; it did this by giving me something else to love, be addicted to, and focus on. And best of all, unlike cigarettes, it's a healthy addiction. I want to bring this joy to other people but if I am not healthy and fit how can I help others to be?

Hello, I recently resumed going to the gym. I am struggling in building a workout plan presently. While I got my cardio settled, I really don't know what to do with the weight training aspect. My stats: Weight 123 kgs or 271 pounds Height 5 ft 5 inch Workout Time 1 hour Days Monday. Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Here's the workout I presently follow : Day 2 & 4: Cardio 1.Elliptical 5 mins 2.Treadmill 15 mins 3.Recumbent Cycle 5 mins 4.Spinning 10 mins 5.Elliptical 15 mins Day 1: Shoulders, Chest, Triceps Warm Up 1.Elliptical 5 mins 2.Shoulder Press machine 3 sets=12x,10x,8x reps 3.Butterfly(machine) 3 sets=12x,10x,8x reps 4.Cable Triceps Push Down 3 sets=12x,10x,8x reps 5.Elliptical 15 mins Day 3: Back, Lats, Biceps 1.Warm Up 2.Elliptical 5 mins 3.Lat Pull Down 3 sets=12x, 10x, 8x reps 4.Horizontal Row 3 sets=12x, 10x, 8x reps 5.Cable Bicep Curl 3 sets=12x, 10x, 8x reps 6.Elliptical 15 mins Day 5: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Abs, Legs Warm Up 1.Elliptical 5 mins 2.Seated Leg Extension 3 sets=12x, 10x, 8x reps 3.Seated Leg Curl 3 sets=12x, 10x, 8x reps 4.Leg Adduction3 sets=12x, 10x, 8x reps 5.Crunches 3 sets=12x,10x,8x reps 6.Squats 3 sets=12x, 10x, 8x reps 7.Elliptical 3 sets=12x, 10x 8x reps After today's workout i.e. shoulders, chest, triceps I didn't feel that i was doing quite enough and that's how I started having doubts about this workout plan I prepared. I want to follow this or any plan for a month and then shuffle it up with some free weights along with machine assisted workouts as I have recently rejoined and I guess I'm not that good in a shape to be doing free weights. Also I cant force myself to keep doing the same set of boring exercise 5 days a week for 3-4 months. I'd like some variety and hence I want to keep on shuffling and changing my exercises. So, if there is any thing I can add or tweak in this present workout plan then I'd be grateful for your advice.

Hey all, Its been quite a while now since I quit gym ( temporarily) because of my studies and since my exams were nearing. Now as I've become free again, I can start concentrating on my health, as it is evident that I've been ignoring that all these years and I'm ashamed of it. But now I've designed for myself a workout plan which I hope is enough to make me reach my goals of losing 2-3 pounds per week. If not I would be happy with any suggestion or advise you guys give me. To speak a li'l bit more about myself I used to go to a gym in the past year but somehow the same set of exercises, routines and the lack of support or motivation from the trainers really brought me down to the point of quitting for good. But I somehow coaxed myself to fight on and I hopefully can receive a little bit of motivation or inspiration too from you'll. I prepared this workout routine keeping in mind the main thing I want and that is variety. I'll stick to this workout for a month (4 weeks) and then shuffle them with a few more exercises. For now I'd like to concentrate on the first 4 weeks. And also if there are any more tips, inspirations, motivations etc that you guys can help me with I'd really be grateful. So Here are my rather distressing stats ( ) : Weight-136 kg's Height-167 cms or 5 ft 5 inches Basal Metabolic Rate - 2306.25 B.M.I - 49.8 I prepared this fitness calendar sorta thing and uploaded to google drive. I Hope ya'll check it out and suggest any changes or advice of any sort : the link - http://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwtMh_crRmAuSU1mclljT3JGTzg/edit?usp=sharing I've really had enough of having to carry this flab or luggage for so many years. The constant criticism, passing comments, being looked down upon or being treated like some freak has really broken me emotionally. Although I try hard every day not to heed to such things, i also remember one quote which I'd like to mention ( Sorry if I'm boring the crap out of you here ): " The tree with the most fruits gets the most stones thrown at". That and along with the unconditional support from my family who have not stopped loving me just because of my shape has really kept me going all these days. But I cant live like this for the rest of my life and allow me and my family getting humiliated emotionally though people always don't mean it directly and pass it on as " some friendly joke" or "hey I'm just messing with you don't take it personally". . I'd really love all of you beautiful people out there to help me through this journey of self-transformation. Thank you and have a good day

Hi fellow nerds & rebels, So today I joined the rebellion. So here's my story : Earlier I used to go to the gym but after a month or so the same set of exercises & routines started boring the crap out of me.I couldn't commit more of myself to the gym & also with my exams coming up, all these situations were provided little help to the voices in my head to continue gym and lose weight. Ultimately I had to quit. But still I hope I'm not done for good. I've had enough of folks call me names behind my back, give that ugly stare while I walk past them and behave like I'm a lesser human or the worst part a "monster". O.K. enough of the sad part, I know to each man his own, now I'd like to rejoin the gym and lose weight for good.But there's this issue that's been constantly bugging me for some months now.I've been having some doubts on my workout regime that I should follow (shout out to Steve Kamb for giving me an idea : "How to Build Your Own Workout Routine"), and after a few considerations and a few more tweaks here and there while also considering the amount of time I can devote, I've come up with a workout regime of my own (yay! ). Below I'd like to post some details about me and also the regime I'm hoping to follow. So this time I'd like to correct all the things I've done wrong in the past and promise myself that this would be my last birthday that I'd like to spend with people thinking of me as just another fat piece of Sh*t. Also I like to vary my exercises, I cant do the same set of effin' exercises until I get in shape, I'd like to have some variety in them so if any variations, suggestions, further corrections, or motivations are welcomed ... Weight : 122 kg's or 268.9 lbs. Height : 167 cm's Workout time : 1 hour No. Of Days In A Week: 5 (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri) Off Days: Sat,Sun Day 1 : Shoulders, Chest, Biceps 1.Warm Up 2.Elliptical trainer (low intensity) for 5 mins 3.Shoulder press machine (12x,10x,8x) 4.Lats pull down (12x,10x,8x) 5.Elliptical trainer (high intensity) for 15 mins Day 2 : Cardio 1.Warm Up 2.Elliptical trainer (low intensity) for 5 mins 3.Treadmill ( low-medium intensity) for 15 mins 4.Recumbent cycle (high intensity) for 5 mins 5.Spinning (high intensity) for 10 mins 6.Elliptical trainer (high intensity) for 15 mins Day 3 : Back, Lats, Triceps 1.Warm Up 2.Elliptical trainer (low intensity) for 5 mins 3.Lat pull down (12x,10x,8x) 4.Horizontal row machine (12x,10x,8x) 5.Cable Triceps Push Down (12x,10x,8x) 6.Elliptical trainer (high intensity) for 15 mins Day 4 : Cardio 1.Warm Up 2.Elliptical trainer (high intensity) for 5 mins 3.Treadmill (low-medium intensity) for 15 mins 4.Recumbent cycle (high intensity) for 5 mins 5.Spinning (high intensity) for 10 mins 6.Elliptical trainer (high intensity) for 15 mins Day 5 : Quads, Legs, Hamstrings, Abs, Glutes 1.Warm Up 2.Elliptical trainer (low intensity) for 5 mins 3.Seated Leg Extension (12x,10x,8x) 4.Seated Leg Curl(12x,10x,8x) 5.Seated Leg press machine (12x,10x,8x) 6.Crunch (12x,10x,8x) 7.Squat (12x, 10x, 8x) 8.Elliptical trainer (high intensity) for 15 mins Also here are some of the extra workouts I'd like to add & replace with or reshuffle after a month with the one above : Hamstrings: 1.Lying Leg Curl Shoulders: 1.Windmill 2.Dumbbell side raise Back: 1.Windmill Quads: 1.Lunge forward Chest: 1.Butterfly 2.Push-up Wall (or) Dynamic Chest Stretch Bicep: 1.Dumbbell bicep curl Triceps: 1.Push-Up wall narrow Abs: 1.Lying Leg Raise 2.Roll back Glutes: 1.Dumbbell Squat Thanks in advance, Ciao!!