I believe a tricep extension and a tricep pull down is the same machine, is it not? 80lbs is quite a lot and I think what tomato was saying is that YOU ARE DOING AWESOME. I think I can do 30lbs on the tricep pulley extension thing. I think? You should so totally do free weights. You'll rock.

I don't know for sure if it's the same or not. Someoene told me that the machines helped you out a lot so you can do higher resistance.

I feel really bad about the misunderstanding. I told her that I left another forum because when I asked for advice I got some positive stuff, but then a lot of stuff about me being fat and whatnot...some really bad language attached to it. This one guy even replied to my post with a pic of a whale being harpooned. I guess it made me too sensitive.

I'm really not a bad person, promise! :sorry:

PS...thanks :)

LangdonsBaby,
I don't think they are the same.
2fluffly said:

Originally Posted by 2fluffy:
I basically sit at the machine, put my arms over this pad, pull up on the handle and extend downward.

I googled up triceps extension machine and this is what I got: Clicky
This corresponds to 2fluffy's description.

While triceps pulldown looks like this. Like I said, I have to test how much I can do on the extension machine, to see if it will correspond to the amount of resistance on the pulldown gizmo or if it's different.

Originally Posted by LandonsBaby:
I think what tomato was saying is that YOU ARE DOING AWESOME.

Yes, that was exactly what I meant!

2fluffy, thanks for your PM. I am so glad you're ok and that we understand each other! :hug:

New Routine - advice taken - thanks :)
 

Yes...that's the exact machine I'm using. It's really not that difficult to do either. and thanks to you both. :hug:

Here's the new workout I came up with and please feel free to offer suggestions on how to improve them. I'm currently watching videos on form and I have no idea about the resistance. I'll have to figure all that out in the gym I guess.

Day 1:
5-10 minutes of moderate warm up
Barbell curls - 2 sets of 12 reps
Lat pull downs - 2 sets of 12 reps
Ab Balls - 4 sets of 20
Dumbbell Curls (without alternating arms) - 2 sets of 12
One arm rows (each arm) - 2 sets of 12
Concentration curls (each arm) - 2 sets of 12
Repeat x 1
Cool down

Day 2:
HIIT on elliptical
2 minutes of warm up at level 3
30 seconds at level 7 as fast as possible
1 minute at level 5 - moderate pace
Repeat for total of 10-15 minutes (depending on what I can do)
5 minute cooldown

Day 3:
Bench press - 2 sets of 12 reps
Overhead extensions - 2 sets of 12 reps
Front raises - 2 sets of 12 reps
Triceps pushdown - 2 sets of 12 reps
Incline dumbbell flyes - 2 sets of 12 reps
Triceps kickback - 2 sets of 12 reps
Ab Hoist - 4 sets of 20 reps
Repeat x 1
Cool down

Day 4:
HIIT on elliptical as described above

Day 5:
Squats - 1 set of 15
Hamstring curls - 2 sets of 12
Ab balls - 4 sets of 20
Lunges - 2 set of 15 per leg
Leg press - 2 sets of 12
Ab hoist - 4 sets of 20
Repeat x 1
Cool down

Day 6:
HIIT on elliptical

Day 7:
Rest :)

I tried to take everyone's advice. I'm expecting the free weights to be more difficult. I'll increase as I gain strength.

OH MY GOODNESS Fluff, that is completely wrong. Even in the testier threads on this forum, I can guarantee that would never happen. And if it did, our moderators would soon come along and clean that up.

I'm in my first year of serious wl, I "played around" with free weights before but wasn't consistent. I remember when the pro's here would talk about switching up the exercises every time they worked out and I was so overwhelmed thinking they had all this stuff in their heads, and I was walking around with a sheet of paper and completely challenged even so. It does get better. You learn your way and gain confidence. You hang out here and learn ALOT, you visit the threads at the top and stumptous too. Just don't stop. I'm glad you're reconsidering the long cardio bc I used to do 45 minutes of that every day too and I really think that way why I could never stick to the program for long - it became overwhelming to think I had to do that forever more.

If you're near a library, check out the Body for Life book - either the original by Bill Phillips or the more recent Champions for Life book (or both). Most of the ladies here follow that basic format for lifting and the eating plan is really good too. It's a real lifestyle transformation and is easy to follow once you read thru it. Don't be shy and jump in on our monthly May thread to give us your daily updates. We share all kinds of stuff - food questions, weight changes, life stuff -- it's fun.

LOL - ETA: My first comment seems really funny under your post - we were posting at the same time. When I said wrong, I was referring to your experience on another forum, not the new routine you just posted!!!! :D

lol...I figured it out as I read more. Thanks for the advice. I think I'll go tomorrow night (there usually isn't anyone in the gym on weekend nights) and try to figure my way around the free weights section. My trainer kept trying to get me to let her show me some things but I was really afraid of it. I'm hoping I'll get it eventually.

The cardio felt great afterward, but someone told me that too much cardio can actually cause weight loss stalls. Not sure if that's true or not, but this HIIT thing seems to be a great idea. Plus I like the idea of getting out of the gym and getting home to my family earlier.

Fluffy - it is awesome that you are working to find a plan for yourself.

Just to verify, the front raises are where your arms are always kept straight and raised in front of of you?

On your day 1, it appears you are doing 3 bicep curl variations? I'd probably cut that down to 2.

It also looks like you are going to ease in to squats, I'd probably say try to do 2 sets. Also, I'd look at deadlifts versus doing hamstring curls. I say this as my hamstrings are sore today from deadlifts :)

I'd also recommend watching some videos on squats and lunges to just get an idea. Although many of the squat/lunges videos show a lot of depth, remember only go as deep as you feel comfortable. I also forgot one thing you can do is do squats against a ball against a wall. It is a bit more gentle on the knees. I do both those and regular squats.

Here is a video demo on squats that seems pretty good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDdSZmWNYQI

This is without weight but as you improve, you can add dumbbells on the side or a barbell on the shoulder.

Seems fine to start but you seem like a strong girl (yay!) and I'd recommend slowly moving towards full-body movements (ie. pushups, burpees, snatches, etc) eventually. I'm not sure what is the purpose of having multiple tricep workouts but little lower body (hardly any squats?). I'm biased though, I don't believe in exercises that work little body parts :( For example, proper chin ups and pull ups will provide a decent ab workout.

Sacha - good point, I forgot to mention pushups.

Pushups can be intimidating but they don't need to be. Pushups on a bench (or wall or countertop) can be a good transitional learning place for pushups. At home, I do pushups on my steps as I can only do a few pushups on the floor.

LOL, we posted at the same time and pretty much said the same thing. I didn't even realize that.

Yes, pushups can start on the wall, to the countertop, to on your knees, then to the floor (and then if you are so inclined - one arm, military style, etc). Heck I started on the wall years ago and now I can pump out 30-40 on the floor. Work your way up! :)

Whatever OP chooses to do, I think it is important to progress into full-body movements, perhaps in a year or so. I'm anti-machine and anti-isolation exercises in general though so I'll hold my tongue any further!!!

Originally Posted by sacha:
Yes, pushups can start on the wall, to the countertop, to on your knees, then to the floor (and then if you are so inclined - one arm, military style, etc). Heck I started on the wall years ago and now I can pump out 30-40 on the floor. Work your way up! :)

I never liked pushups, plus I have weak wrists, however we do them in pilates...at least I know when we get to that exercise, the class is almost over!!!!:p

So these are great ideas to do when I feel like I should do pushups but don't want to do floor ones....thanks for the ideas.

Originally Posted by nelie:
Fluffy - it is awesome that you are working to find a plan for yourself.

Just to verify, the front raises are where your arms are always kept straight and raised in front of of you?

On your day 1, it appears you are doing 3 bicep curl variations? I'd probably cut that down to 2.

It also looks like you are going to ease in to squats, I'd probably say try to do 2 sets. Also, I'd look at deadlifts versus doing hamstring curls. I say this as my hamstrings are sore today from deadlifts :)

I'd also recommend watching some videos on squats and lunges to just get an idea. Although many of the squat/lunges videos show a lot of depth, remember only go as deep as you feel comfortable. I also forgot one thing you can do is do squats against a ball against a wall. It is a bit more gentle on the knees. I do both those and regular squats.


This is without weight but as you improve, you can add dumbbells on the side or a barbell on the shoulder.

The front arm raises are those where you keep your arms straight out in front, with a dumbbell.

I looked online at articles from various personal trainers and this is one I found with free weights. I can take off some of the biceps work. I can also add some more squats in. I didn't realize I could do them with an exercise ball. I think that I could do it better that way in the beginning. The video I watched was this woman with a barbell over the back of her shoulders with weights on it. I didn't think I would be able to do many of these in the beginning....lol

Also, thanks for the advice on deadlifts. I'll look into some more routines. that one certainly isn't set in stone. I'm going tonight to do my first HIIT routine and thought I would familiarize myself with the free weight section of the gym.

Originally Posted by sacha:
Seems fine to start but you seem like a strong girl (yay!) and I'd recommend slowly moving towards full-body movements (ie. pushups, burpees, snatches, etc) eventually. I'm not sure what is the purpose of having multiple tricep workouts but little lower body (hardly any squats?). I'm biased though, I don't believe in exercises that work little body parts :( For example, proper chin ups and pull ups will provide a decent ab workout.

I found a routine with those exact exercises (though I'm not sure what some of them are...lol) And I'd really like to get into that as I build strength.

The routine I found is one from an online circuit training routine with free weights. It had even more triceps workouts, but I omitted those as I felt that it was too much in that area. My arms are HUGE...way too much excess fat. And I know you can't spot reduce, but I guess I was trying to...lol

Originally Posted by nelie:
Sacha - good point, I forgot to mention pushups.

Pushups can be intimidating but they don't need to be. Pushups on a bench (or wall or countertop) can be a good transitional learning place for pushups. At home, I do pushups on my steps as I can only do a few pushups on the floor.

Pushups are scary for sure. I can start with them against a wall and work my way up. I'm willing to try anything. I'm also terrified of chin-ups. I have very little upper body strength and a lot of body to lift up. But if that's a weakness, it's probably what I need to work on the most.

I'm going to do more research. Basic plan is to do this:

Day 1: work biceps, lats, and abs
Day 2: HIIT
Day 3: chest, triceps, shoulders, abs
Day 4: HIIT
Day 5: quads, lower back, hamstrings, abs, calves
Day 6: HIIT
Day 7: rest

Does that sound ok?

Oh I wouldn't worry about chinups yet. It requires weight loss and upper body strength. I think lat pull downs (and assisted pullups) are good options until you get to that point. It is one of the exceptions where I would say machine is good. Also, if you have a choice of a machine with cable (where you can move the bar freely) versus a machine that is static, go for cable.

The good shoulder raise is the one with your arms straight. The one where you bend your arms and bring your arms up along your body are bad (in terms of injury risk) which is why I wanted to verify which one you were doing. The one you picked is good in other words :)

k good. Thanks for your input. :) I'm probably going to do some more research until I get a good routine. I guess I could just stick to the machines until I figure it out. That would be better than nothing at all, right? I'll post something when I get it figured out to the best of my ability....lol

Originally Posted by :
Pushups are scary for sure. I can start with them against a wall and work my way up.

Um, that would be work your way down! :rofl:

Welcome! It sounds like you're getting great advice here, and doing well with your workouts too.