YOUR Totally-On-Your-Own, without-drphil

                    Workout Schedule.

What follows is one of many possible suggestions for how to plan your exercise schedules:

Motivation: To tighten and tone, to develop lean muscle and strength, while creating active tissue, the machinery to metabolise and burn more fat efficiently.

Arms, Shoulders  and  Abdominals are the one combination for a split-routine (=only certain body parts worked in a single session), as Legs, Back, Chest and  Abdominals would make another combination in weekly routines. Two of  one combo, with  one of the other could make up a 3 times a week schedule. E.g., combo. 1 could  feature in both the Monday and Friday workouts, with back, chest and legs as the focus during the Wednesday session. Abdominals are worked every session, at the close of the routine, for +-10 minutes. Cardio work is  done  in your own way (machines, walking, swimming, dojo stressing, classes, etc), as  necessary addition to the  3 resistance workouts. Another alternative is to work the entire body in a session, starting with legs, then chest, back, shoulders, arms, finishing with abs. For this type of routine, select at least 2 exercises from the range for each muscle group being worked.

Shoulders (deltoids): Select from the following, for each workout. You can decide, on the day, to work out by completing all the deltoid exercises, before moving on to arms (triceps and biceps: always follow a bicep exercise with a triceps movement), or you can do one shoulder, followed by a pair of arm exercises (giant set format).

1. Seated press above head, on machine (either behind the neck or in front), or, dumbbell in one hand, bottom of arm parallel with floor, and single press above head; one arm, then other.
2. Flies (single arm, side raises, using pulley from floor), or, movement     done with single db, raising only to shoulder height. This can be done with both arms working, raising side, front, side and down for each repetition.
3.  Wide-grip, pulley-from-floor raises, hands under chin.
4. Grip, as in (c), roll shoulders back, or use dbs in each hand, arms hanging straight at sides.
5. Single db raised, palm-up, elbow soft, lower slowly and repeat.
6. Seated or standing db twists, from the wrist.
7. Seated alternate db presses above head.
8. Standing bb press above, from chest.

Biceps:

1. Pulley curls, hands either close or spread. Reverse grip and do forearm curls. Or, bend knees, palm-up hands with wrists over knees and wrist-curl.
2. Curls, seated on curling machine.
3. Seated, at incline angle, db curls, with added wrist twist.
4. Single arm, cable curls.
5. Db hammer-grip, forearm curls.
6. Seated db concentration curl, elbow resting on inner thigh.

Triceps:

1. Pulley pushdowns.
2. Rope pulley, close-grip, bending forward, push-away extensions, over the head.
3. Rope-pulley, facing the machine, elbows tucked in, press behind extensions.
4. Single db, bicep-against-side-of-the-head, extension above, or single arm, elbow tucked into side, extensions behind.
5. Hands facing–forward, bottom to floor, bent knee on the bench, dips.
6. Lying on bench, close-grip press above extensions.

Back: (As above, choose to do all back, before chest exercises, or alternate one from each category, for variation).

1. Lower back extensions, on sp.bench, bending and moving elbows out as rise.
2. Seated rowing machine.
3. Single db rowing.
4. Harley machine pulls.
5. Seated cable pull-downs behind neck and in front, to top of chest.
6. Seated db canoe rowing.
7. Seated machine pullbacks.

Chest:

1. Seated press away pectoral machine.
2. Lying bench press machine, or use bb or bar alone.
3. Seated pec-deck squeezes.
4. Wide cable pull-downs, across sternum.
5. Lying db flies.
6. Machine parallel arms press downs.
7. Incline bench db presses above.
8. Lying across bench, db pullovers, or use machine to open rib case.

Abdominals:

NB (nag-nag) Do every movement, for any body part, with the “B-spot” well tucked in, to stabilise the lower back and help create good form and supportive posture.

1. Legs 90 degrees on bench, curl lower ribcage towards upper thigh.
2. As above, cross one leg over opp. knee, side twist ups.
3. Lying, bent knees; draw thighs into lower ribs crunch.
4.  “, hands under bottom, legs raised, crossed at ankles, pelvic tilts/pulses (sic).
5. Standing twist machine, for obliques.
6. Machine hanging knee lifts (25 and more!).
7. Kneeling machine pull downs behind neck.

Legs:

1. Abductor machine.
2. Adductor machine.
3. Lunges.
4. Calf raises, alt. foot direction.
5. Gluteal press backs (use cable, machine, or free movement).
6. Lying, angled leg press machine (light resistance, higher reps) and use for calf raises as well.

Work 12 to 15 repetitions for most exercises. No more than 30 seconds rest between sets of exercises. Stay hydrated throughout; sneer at amateur personal trainers surrounding you (you know much better!).

Should you need any help, don’t ever hesitate, contact me.