Am I hurting my own progress?

[DoogieT]

Really, this is it? That seems like an awfully short workout. I'm totally ignorant of proper working out technique, so what's the reasoning behind breaking it down into two days? Is it so that I have more energy left and push myself harder in fewer exercises instead of burning out over many?

Day 1

Squats

Bench press

Assisted pullups (which I'm abandoning for negative pullups)

Dips

Cardio

Day 2

Dead Lifts

Shoulder press

Bicep curls

The weighted ab crunchie thing

Cardio

[cianalas]

Really, this is it? That seems like an awfully short workout. I'm totally ignorant of proper working out technique, so what's the reasoning behind breaking it down into two days? Is it so that I have more energy left and push myself harder in fewer exercises instead of burning out over many?

Yeah, it's partly efficient use of time. It's also so that you give the muscle groups more time to recover before needing to really use them again.

[jdanger]

Yeah that split is going to allow you to push harder on the more important lifts. So now that you have your exercise selection how are you planning on loading it? What weight, how many sets and reps of each exercise? When do you add weight to an exercise? How much?

[Hermione Gainser]

Really, this is it? That seems like an awfully short workout. I'm totally ignorant of proper working out technique, so what's the reasoning behind breaking it down into two days? Is it so that I have more energy left and push myself harder in fewer exercises instead of burning out over many?

Day 1

Squats

Bench press

Assisted pullups (which I'm abandoning for negative pullups)

Dips

Cardio

Day 2

Dead Lifts

Shoulder press

Bicep curls

Plank

Cardio

fix'd (or so I recall you saying)

[DoogieT]

Yeah that split is going to allow you to push harder on the more important lifts. So now that you have your exercise selection how are you planning on loading it? What weight, how many sets and reps of each exercise? When do you add weight to an exercise? How much?

I do three sets of six to eight reps of everything. If I get to nine reps or beyond, I increase the weight, usually by five or ten pounds. I'm up to 165 pounds on the bench press which I find is somewhat miraculous. My ultimate goal is 200, but that will take a while. I'm hoping to get to 175 soon. I'm not sure exactly *when* I increase the weight, just when it starts to feel like it's not heavy enough. When I started doing bicep curls (using the long dumbell that weighs 50 pounds in both of my hands) I found it to be a struggle, but now I'm up to 80 pounds (this is one bar for both of my hands combined, not one bar for each).

[DoogieT]

Yep. I've decided that the ab machine sucks and that plank is way better. I can do 1:25 now. Woo!

[chairohkey]

I do three sets of six to eight reps of everything. If I get to nine reps or beyond, I increase the weight, usually by five or ten pounds. I'm up to 165 pounds on the bench press which I find is somewhat miraculous. My ultimate goal is 200, but that will take a while. I'm hoping to get to 175 soon. I'm not sure exactly *when* I increase the weight, just when it starts to feel like it's not heavy enough. When I started doing bicep curls (using the long dumbell that weighs 50 pounds in both of my hands) I found it to be a struggle, but now I'm up to 80 pounds (this is one bar for both of my hands combined, not one bar for each).

Sounds like a little bit of intuitive training. However, that type of training is probably best left to the more advanced. I think you'd be better served to pick a professionally created beginners program to start out with. Just find one that is conducive to your goals. That way it takes all the guess work out of things.