How should I weight lift?

[sooch90]

Hey, I started to lift about a week ago, but I want to make sure I'm doing the right lifts with the right amount of reps/sets for my situation.

I'm 138 lbs, 5' 8.5", and I've never really lifted consistently before.
I believe 130lb is about my max bench press for 1 repetition (it might be a little higher).

Right now, I've been going to the gym everyday with a friend, and we've gone to different machines, usually doing 3 sets of 8 reps, focusing on either chest, legs, arms, or shoulder/back per day. We would also do 3 sets of pull ups, inclined push ups, leg lifts, etc.

However, I'm not sure if this is the best method of weight lifting I should be doing? I want to make sure I increase power and not just get bulkier, but should I focus on getting some more bulk first?

My other idea is to start focusing a little more on dead lifts with less reps and higher weights. But I'm not sure how I should do this?

Does anyone have a weight lifting workout they'd like to show me? Or maybe give some advice? Anything would be appreciated!

[powerplant42]

I JUST finished making adjustments to my own personal lifting/technique schedule today. I'll put it up, but let me explain how it works... It's broken up into sections (4 for lifting) and I've figured that these excercises, in their respective groups, will go well with technical work. Pick and choose the workout depending on what you feel like doing. Lift one day, do technical work the next, and give a day of rest when needed. Here it is, enjoy:

(Approx. 15 pound bar/2.5 pound dumbbells)

Standard Warm Up:
800 meter jog
A-Skip
B-Skip
Sumo Squats
Inverted Hamstring
Butterflies
Frankensteins
Butt Stretch
Back Stretch
Other small stretches
3 20/20s*
10 Pre-jumps in grass/on track*

*denotes a drill used only for technical work


Technical Workout A:
5 Straight Leg Claws (25 meters)
5 Ostriches (25 meters)
10 Bounds (100 meters)
10 One Leg Hops (25 meters/25 meters)
10 123plant23 walking
10 123plant23 jogging
5 123plant23 sprinting
10 Cone Take-Offs
2 Full Runs
10 Sand Jagodins From 0
10 Sand Jagodins From 1
10 Sand Jagodins From 2
5 Sand Jagodins From 3
3 Hill Runs With Weights

Technical Workout B:
5 Sand Jagodins From 0
5 Sand Jagodins From 1
5 Sand Jagodins From 2
10 123plant2hold
10 123plant23 jogging
3 123plant23 sprinting
10 Cone Take-Offs
10 Sand Jagodins From 3
5 Sand SITs From 3
5 Sand Jagodins From 4
3 Sand SITs From 4
2 Full Runs
1 Hill Run With Weights

Technical Workout C:
10 123plant23 walking
10 123plant23 jogging
10 123plant23 sprinting
10 Cone Take-Offs
5 Sand Jagodins From 2
10 Sand Jagodins From 3
10 Sand SITs From 3
10 Sand Jagodins From 4
10 Sand SITs From 4
2 Full Runs
1 Hill Run With Weights

Technical Workout D:
10 Full Ostrich/Cadence Jogging
5 Ins and Outs (25/25/25/25)
5 6-Step Drill Jogging
5 6-Step Drill Sprinting
5 Straight Leg Claws (25 meters)
5 Ostriches (25 meters)
10 Full Runs
5 Sand Jagodins From 2
5 Sand Jagodins From 3
1 Hill Run With Weights

Technical Workout E:
2 Straight Leg Claws (25 meters)
2 Ostriches (25 meters)
2 123plant23 walking
3 123plant23 jogging
5 123plant23 sprinting
5 Cone Take-Offs
20 Full Runs
5 Sand Jagodins From 2
5 Sand Jagodins From 3
1 Hill Run With Weights

Strength Workout A:
push-jerk x 6-5-4 65+bar
deadlift x 10-8-6 75+bar
powersnatch x 15-12-10 35+bar
powerclean x 12-10-8 45+bar

Strength Workout B:
clap pushups x 15-12-10
one-leg switches x 50-40-30 (Stand on one leg, dip down, and burst back up, land on your other foot and repeat. This is 1 repetition.
jumprope x (1.5 minutes)
medicine ball pushups x 15-12-10 (Take a ball that will support your weight, put it underneath one hand, and in push up position, go down, and as you come up, roll the ball to the other hand as quickly as you can, then repeat with the other hand. This is 1 repetition.)
side-hops x 50-40-30 (2 touches is 1 repetition)
foward/back-hops x 40-35-30 (2 touches is 1 repetition)

Strength Workout C:
Sit Ups x 25-25-25
One Leg Squat x 10-8-6 20+bar
Bicep Curl x 12-10-8 15+dumbbell
situp x 15-15-15 35 pounds
seated bent-over dumb-bell raises x 15-12-10 10+dumbbell
prone lying back extension x 30-25-20 body
chest flies x 6-4-2 25+dumbbell
Calf Raises x 4 (30 seconds on stairs) 40+bar
French Curl x 12-10-8 30+bar
Wrists x 30/30 30+bar (forwards and backwards)

Strength Workout D:
Total Gym (if you don't have one, then do some body weight stuff)
Isometric Pushups x 8-6-4 (Hold each phase of the pushup for 3 seconds, the upper part, middle, and lower. Down and back up is 1 repetition.)
Aux. Leg Lifts (ex. side lying hip abduction)
Dips x 25-25-25 10+body
Sit Ups x 40-40-30 20+body
Any other wierd/lightish lifts you want to do
-------------------------------------------------------------------

There it is. I might not have explained all the lifts/drills well enough, so if you have a question about one, just ask.

NOTE: ONLY DO THE OLYMPIC LIFTS IF YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW. IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO, THEN GET SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO SHOW YOU. THEY ARE
DANGEROUS.

[sooch90]

hey thanks! that's some great stuff

but could someone shed some light on how i should lift in general? warm ups and straight to heavy weights for limited reps and 1 set? or build it up more with 3 sets of 8 reps of pretty heavy weights?

also does anyone have any idea how heavy i should be?

[Split]

hey thanks! that's some great stuff

but could someone shed some light on how i should lift in general? warm ups and straight to heavy weights for limited reps and 1 set? or build it up more with 3 sets of 8 reps of pretty heavy weights?

also does anyone have any idea how heavy i should be?

Well I'm the same height, but at the most, only 125 pounds.
So, you shouldn't be too light.

[jumpbackin]

sooch, are you a boy or a girl?

[sooch90]

sooch, are you a boy or a girl?

oh man, haha

I'm a boy, 18 years old

[powerplant42]

You're around 5'9'', so that would mean you should be like 150-170 if you were really trying to be in pole vaulting shape. So you need to lose almost all of the fat that you have and gain 40 pounds of muscle or so... not easy, but very doable if you're committed and smart about what you're doing. Keep asking questions, too...

For the vault, you want to develop POWER. POWER is STRENGTH x SPEED. It is beneficial to develop both individually as well as together through plyometrics. I find that doing most of the olympic lifts as SPEED lifts, (around 60% 1RM, maybe something like an 8-6-4 or 10-8-6,) is good because then your entire body becomes quicker. You want to move the weight as quickly as you can while still being controlled. Do these at the BEGINNING of your workout, after you warm up. STRENGTH can be developed by conventional resistance training (like 'Strength Workout C/D). I might be altering the repetitions and weight today though, because they are slightly too balanced between slow twitch and quick twitch fibers, which you don't want. You want quick twitch fibers all the way, so lower the repetitions and raise the weight. POWER can be trained itself through plyometric lifts/activities such as in 'Workout B'. These are especially useful, because they help to shorten the SSC, (Stretch Shortening Cycle). With a shorter SSC, the muscle can give full power in a shorter amount of time, which is very useful in any jumping activity. They also help train cardio a little bit, which is not a bad side effect. Hope that helps you out.

[marshall]

sets of 8-12 reps will actually build muscle mass.


if you want to just build power without gaining too much weight go for sets of 3-5 reps with heavy weights.

[sooch90]

so if I should be around 150 lbs, should i got for more reps for now in order to gain weight then? (this is like the discussion in the other thread)

[jumpbackin]

so if I should be around 150 lbs, should i got for more reps for now in order to gain weight then? (this is like the discussion in the other thread)

I think you should gain some weight before phasing into a power oriented plan like Powerplant has described.

The Deadlift is great for adding size and learning it is a great foundation for learning the Powerclean. I would look up some Deadlifting resources on the net. Eric Cressey has written some good articles. I think they are called Deadlift Diagnosis and Dissecting the Deadlift. Do as Eric says, not as he does. If you look at people doing max lifts on YouTube, they always have terrible form. As an athlete you want to have perfect form for sets of 3-5. Higher reps on Deads will lead to breaks in form.

Another good foundation for Powercleans is the Front Squat. Front Squatting is a great beginning squat because it's very hard to do it with bad form. I recommend sets of 3-6 going down to about femur parallel.

In addition to those foundation exercises, I recommend you do Pull Ups (weighted), Low Rows - or One Arm Rows, Dips (weighted) and Bench Press. All in 6 to 12 reps. Two to five sets not counting warm up sets.

You could do this type of training through the Fall and probably gain 10 to 15 lean lbs. It would probably be a good idea to practice Power Cleans, Snatches and Overhead Squats as part of your warm up for these workouts. This way you can have pretty good form on those lifts come winter when you start a Power/Plyo type plan like Powerplant has described.

If the weight comes on fast for you, consider switching to a Strength/Power plan earlier. I think Pole Vaulters are best a little on the skinny side so I don't think you should go above about 155.

[powerplant42]

Remember, the goal is NOT to gain muscle mass or any other kind of mass. You are NOT a bodybuilder (just a wild guess)... If you have a good STRENGTH BASE like I believe you have, you should begin to train for strength AND speed, not just strength. Someone who's very strong is not necessarily a quick person, right? You WILL gain mass. That is almost unavoidable. It is best if you gain the mass while training specifically for power/explosivity. Building mass then training for power it takes more time, because you now have more mass to train (don't quote me on that one, I'm not entirely sure, but that kind of makes sense, right?). It might be tougher to revert to power activities once you're one sided in just the strength aspect.

[Rhino]

If the weight comes on fast for you, consider switching to a Strength/Power plan earlier. I think Pole Vaulters are best a little on the skinny side so I don't think you should go above about 155.

Agreed. Don't bulk up. At 5'9", 140 is enough, 155 is pushing it.