Order Of Workout

[Gladiola]

and that's NOT a compound exercise, right???
am I learning or did I just f*ck up?

Extensions are isolation & not compound, so you're right there.

Don't worry about F*ing up or being confused. Most ppl will tell you, you will always be learning. And it is confusing & a lot to sift through... plus a lot of things are simply not black-and-white (such as working chest & back on the same day - good or bad? It's a matter of opinion & personal preference). Getting to know what mix works for you to achieve the physique you want does include lots of experimentation. So don't feel bad!

 

[hookdup]

Thanks again guys!

originally posted by Gladiola Thanks! You're quite welcome, glad it helped

Are you kidding me? This forum has totally inspired me....
I'm signing up for a personal trainer certification course in a couple of weeks cause of all of this!

Then I won't have as many questions (hopefully) and if I ever do ... you guys are way better than any text book!

Did I tell you I've lost 8 pds and 2% bf in the last 3 weeks?
I know a lot of that is water but the bf loss feels soooooo great!

 

[Gladiola]

Actually my free squat and Romanian dead lift are both 255-285 for rps...about equal. Strength, especially in my legs, has never been a problem.

But for someone who was never a competitive sprinter, or someone new to strength training & exercise in general, would you recommend starting leg training with squats, or do you not think the order is important with regards to compound vs. isolation?

 

[hookdup]

Up until recently I was doing squats and lunges together. -- one set squats, one set lunges, for 3 sets each, with minimal rest, but I think that has hampered me from going heavier so now I'm going to do squats and then lunges.

Another question. I know it is difficult to gain mass if you're a woman but as a previous sprinter, and at only 5'0 (yes, I'm little), my quads grow quite a lot. And it is quite noticable because my legs are so small (hate the word short).

So is it okay to go light on leg presses?

 

[SteelWeaver]

No, it's not okay.

 

[SteelWeaver]

Heh heh. Sorry, just messing with you.

Why are you doing squats if you don't want your legs to grow? If you don't want mass on your legs, don't do squats or leg presses, just do extensions and lunges. That'll save you the waste of time it'll be if you go light on leg presses. (Remember the pink dumbbells? - doorstops. Light weight + high reps = waste of time).

 

[wilson6]

I use chest/back with my clients, but only one is heavy per workout and it works fine. Can't do both heavy at the same time however and I'd only do that if you only had 3 days a week to train, otherwise I'd split them. Ms Wilson and I do chest alone on Fridays then I finish with ab and some neck work.

We always squat first and heavy. If we did anything first, it is difficult to maintain good form with heavy weight. If you're going lighter, than that is different but then what good are squats.

W6

 

[hookdup]

No squats???
It never even occurred to me. I always thought squats were one of those exercises that went into every routine.

I always end up going fairly heavy when I workout anyway (no pink dumbbells for me) so maybe avoiding leg presses is a good idea!

I love lunges so can I do lunges, curls and stiff-legged deadlifts?

I would put extensions in there too but they target quads don't they?

 

[hookdup]

Originally posted by SteelWeaver Why are you doing squats if you don't want your legs to grow? If you don't want mass on your legs, don't do squats or leg presses, just do extensions and lunges.

I'm confused too ... sorry Spatts.

By the way ... I just posted a new thread looking for Personal Trainer Certificate info in Canada.... Know anyone who could help me out?

 

[hookdup]

See Spatts! .... I wasn't trying to confuse you

So, any ideas about my personal trainer certification question?