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[Newbie][Help] Misc questions for a newcomer at fitness (self.fitness)

submitted 10 months ago by Croquette to c/[email protected]

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Hello,

I made the leap 2 weeks ago to start resistance training and be in better health overall.

I lost 25 pounds since October and it motivated me to start training as well. So here I am.

I bought the Renaissance Periodization 3 days full body workout with dumbbells only to start my journey. I have young kids, so starting at home is giving me the best chance to stick to a program.

With that said, over the 2 weeks, a few questions popped up and I don't know the terminology well enough to answer them and my google skills weren't good enough, so I am trying my luck here.

I have been sedentary for a long while, even though I did a lot of sport when I was younger. Mainly competitive volley ball, so my legs are decently strong still, but my upper body, not so much. For many upper body exercises I do, it feels like my strength is really uneven, and different muscles are activated, though I make sure that the targeted muscle for the exercise is activated too. Should I stick to the same weight I use if I can reach the targeted reps with good technique (to the best of my knowledge)? Or should I drop the weight a little bit until I am strong enough?
The program calls for myo reps. Each week, a new set is added. For each exercise, the target is between 5-30 reps. Does that mean that I should target at least 5 reps for each sets? Or if I do, let's say, 7-5-3 reps, is that good enough? Should I drop down some dumbbells weight until I can do all the sets to at least 5 reps? For push ups particularly, I don't use a dumbbell, so I could switch to knee push ups, but my first two sets are over 5 reps, but the subsequent sets are under 5.
Today while training, I ramped up intensity a little bit and really pushed myself more than before. For certain exercises, even though my targeted muscle wasn't burning and feeling exhausted, I couldn't do more reps and the overall part that was trained was shaky after the set.

For example, I did some sumo squats. It didn't feel like my quads were toasted, but I could not push more and my legs really started to shake (it went away after a bit of rest). Is that a good/okay thing? Or does that mean I pushed myself too much and other parts of my legs weren't strong enough for what I tried? After my training, it felt like my knees worked a lot, so I think this is what limited my sumo squats.

I am aware that other muscles are solicited when doing an exercise, but I feel like the targeted muscle should do most of the work.

Thank you for your time.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Without going into the specific program you use because I'm not familiar with it, I'd say the most important thing is good technique and posture. All exercises' are much easier if you don't do them correctly (other muscles start helping out). So don't pump reps like crazy. Do it a little slower but be mindful about the muscles that should be working out. And if you have correct technique all of the sudden it becomes much harder because intended muscles are activated.

Look on youtube for how to do workouts correctly and WRITE IT DOWN because you'll forget. And before every exercise remind yourself about the correct posture.

[–] Croquette 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

The program has small videos on how to do each exercise, so that's great for that.

I am mindful on the eccentric movement to go slow, and I hold the eccentric position at least a second. Depending on if I am comfortable with the movement or not, I go faster on the concentric movement.

The issue I had yesterday wasn't that the exercises were easy, but that "auxiliary" muscles (don't know how to call them) were limiting my reps even though my targeted muscle wasn't fully exhausted. But my targeted muscle are tired though and I feel them this morning.

I mean, for squats for example, you need to use the muscles in your legs, you can't isolate only the quad, right? Same thing with side raise with hold, the weights are away from my body, so I need to engage my forearm only if to hold the weight away from my body. So I am not sure in those cases if I should go down to 5lbs or stay at 10lbs. Mind you, the reps are still within the 10-20 for the first set and 5-10 and the subsequent sets.

For all my exercises, I use 10lbs dumbbells, so I warm up by doing 8 reps without any weight, 6 reps with 5lbs and 3 reps with the 10lbs. It helps me prepare for the movement before doing the sets.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like your doing a good job.

You can try different exercises for the same muscle to see which ones target the specific muscle the most if that's what your into. On the other hand it's good to do exercises that actually involve multiple muscles so that everything grows bit by bit simultaneously. That's the bast case scenario IMO. Machines that work out a single muscle are nonsensical for 99% of people. Ok, if your a world class tennis player, you need extra strong specific hand muscles, but most of us aren't so we don't.

And it's true what you say, sometimes a muscle starts hurting like hell two days after the actual workout so you think you didn't do a good job when all of a sudden you have trouble sitting down 😄

[–] Croquette 3 points 10 months ago

My legs are getting better today, but I feel like the right muscles were targeted haha.

I will stick to the program for the full cycle, but I am also currently looking at replacement exercises to replace the ones I don't like and see how they feel.

Thanks for the advice.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

In my opinion - consistency and form are the most important things.

Do what you can do, safely and regularly - that's the most important thing, and is more important than whatever the program thinks. Listen to your body and focus on keeping the habit.

And seconding what was said - you do not need to go to failure. Feeling tired after or sore the next day isn't bad, but isn't required to be doing it right. If things feel too easy, do more reps or more resistance/weight next time

[–] Croquette 2 points 10 months ago

I wasn't clear, but the myo reps are to technical failure, not full failure. If I can't do the movement properly, or I need to cheat to finish the movement, then my set is done. It's been working great for the 2 weeks I've trained. I feel sore the next two days, but it doesn't impede on my daily activities and I have time to fully heal for the next workout.

I try to be mindful of my movement and my goal isn't to get reps no matter what, just slowly getting stronger slowly. I do the exercise 8 reps without weight, 6 reps with 5lbs and 3 reps with 10lbs, to stretch and warm-up and to make sure that I feel the movement of the exercise correctly.

I am slowly ramping up the intensity to make sure I don't injure myself.

Thank you for the advices.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

First off, congratulations on your progress! 😃

Does a beginner programmer include myoreps? I'm not one to question Mike's recommendation I'd say it's needlessly complex for a beginner. I'd say simple straight sets are more than sufficient for someone getting introduced to resistance training.

If you're able to reach the targeted reps range with whatever RIR it asks for, and with good technique, you're good.
If the program says 5-30 reps, I'd say you should pick a weight you can do close to 30 reps with. You should then stop once you're no longer able to do 5+ reps per set, with good technique. The latter is why I don't think it's appropriate for beginners. If the current weight you're lifting too heavy for the first set to be 25+ reps, you should probably lower the weight yeah.
Not sure if there is a question there, but you won't always feel a burn in your targeted muscle. Sometimes your muscles just "give up" without much fanfare. It's nothing to be concerned about. For big compound lifts like the squat, you're unlikely to ever feel your quads burn if you're staying the lower rep ranges. Exhausting for sure though.

[–] Croquette 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I am on mobile right now, so the response might not be as complete.

The program only specifies 5-30 reps per set. If you do less than 5, you need to weight down. And if you can do more than 30, you need to weight up. I am still in those range for every exercise of this ongoing week, but I feel it might be an issue next week.

Since I just started, I am slowly ramping up the intensity to gauge how it feels if I have close to 0 RIR or not.

2)It might indeed not be a program for a total beginner, but I paid for it so I am trying to get most of it and complete a cycle of 6 weeks. My main focus is learning good technique and I'd rather stop with more RIR and not injure myself rather than pushing to 0 RIR and risking injuring myself. There is no ego (yet?).

My plan is to complete the program cycle without worrying about the gains for now and concentrate on the techniques, how my body feel with each exercise, and trying to figure out where my RIR 1-3 is slowly.

But I must say, I really like myo reps, much more than a fixed sets. There is a cheap gym close to me, so I might mix fixed sets + some myo reps here and there for the next cycle. I feel like the myo reps gamify working out and I enjoy that.

I was kind of rambling there, but my question was basically what you said. Is normal to not feel the burn sometimes? But I feel it now that I am sore. I can feel which muscles worked and they seem to be on target. So my worries here are lessened.

But I will certainly reflect on what you said for the current cycle and the future cycles. Thank you very much.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The program only specifies 5-30 reps per set. If you do less than 5, you need to weight down. And if you can do more than 30, you need to weight up. I am still in those range for every exercise of this ongoing week, but I feel it might be an issue next week.

As long as your first set in the myo rep is in the upper range of the reps, you should be fine. If it gets too heavy down the line, there is no shame in lowering the weight. You should see noticeable strength gain from session to session as a beginner though, so don't underestimate what you will be capable of the next week!

2)It might indeed not be a program for a total beginner, but I paid for it so I am trying to get most of it and complete a cycle of 6 weeks. My main focus is learning good technique and I'd rather stop with more RIR and not injure myself rather than pushing to 0 RIR and risking injuring myself. There is no ego (yet?).

Oh absolutely. I wasn't suggesting you to quit a program you just started. I was mostly voicing my surprise of the myo reps. I'm sure it's a solid program.

But I must say, I really like myo reps, much more than a fixed sets. There is a cheap gym close to me, so I might mix fixed sets + some myo reps here and there for the next cycle. I feel like the myo reps gamify working out and I enjoy that.

I can totally understand how it may seem like a more fun variation than straight sets. My main concern for a beginner doing them is that more of your reps will be done close to failure. Closer to failure will mean increased risk/temptation to not focus on making each rep as good as possible. As a beginner, one should try to hammer down the technique so that it becomes pure muscle memory for when the weights starts to get heavy and more "dangerous".

Just remember to focus on the quality of each rep instead of the quantity and you should be good.

[–] Croquette 2 points 10 months ago

Thanks for the great advices. I am older now, so less of a hothead. I definitely concentrate on the techniques more than the number of rep I do.

I appreciate the thorough feedback.