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One day do muscles ... the next day cardio. Repeat.
Use any machine you want for cardio. Just get your heart rate up for the entire 30 minutes.
Use whatever you want for muscle building. Free weights and a bench are recommended since you can do the most with them. Or do bodyweight exercises like pullups, pushups and situps. Or do a combination of both free weights and bodyweight exercises.
There are over the door pullup bars like Iron Gym which work great. I have one.
There are good pushup handles like Perfect Pushup which are also great. I have them as well.
Just push yourself hard during your muscle building exercises if you want to see muscle growth. Lift until failure. This means do the exercise until your body can't do another repetition. Then rest for around 1 minute. And do another set of the same exercise until failure. Keep doing this for the full 30 minutes, doing different exercises for around 3 - 5 sets per exercise. Mix up the different muscle exercises so they aren't always done in the same order every day.
When using a barbell and a bench, if you have no spotter, than don't lift until failure. Just lift until you still can put the bar back on the rack. If you are still worried about being pinned under the bar, then don't use the bar locks (clips / collars) so you can tilt the bar and let the plates slide off if needed. Just be careful when doing this so nobody gets hurt.
One day do muscles ... the next day cardio. Repeat.
Use any machine you want for cardio. Just get your heart rate up for the entire 30 minutes.
Use whatever you want for muscle building. Free weights and a bench are recommended since you can do the most with them. Or do bodyweight exercises like pullups, pushups and situps. Or do a combination of both free weights and bodyweight exercises.
There are over the door pullup bars like Iron Gym which work great. I have one.
There are good pushup handles like Perfect Pushup which are also great. I have them as well.
Just push yourself hard during your muscle building exercises if you want to see muscle growth. Lift until failure. This means do the exercise until your body can't do another repetition. Then rest for around 1 minute. And do another set of the same exercise until failure. Keep doing this for the full 30 minutes, doing different exercises for around 3 - 5 sets per exercise. Mix up the different muscle exercises so they aren't always done in the same order every day.
When using a barbell and a bench, if you have no spotter, than don't lift until failure. Just lift until you still can put the bar back on the rack. If you are still worried about being pinned under the bar, then don't use the bar locks (clips / collars) so you can tilt the bar and let the plates slide off if needed. Just be careful when doing this so nobody gets hurt.
Hey thanks for all of this input!
I actually have a Weider 8920...here are some pics off of google images.
Do you know if this machine is sufficient for anything at all? I mean it does use free weights to a degree.
I kind of got discouraged though because everyone says you can't build mass off of machines. I also got a shoulder injury recently and had to go to PT so I have backed off the 8920 quite a bit. I couldn't do any wait on the butterflies at all even after PT. I had to work my way up to 5 lbs on each side then life got in the way and I stopped altogether.
I am doing burpies now after I do my easy rider. Learned that from Krav Maga classes that I took until my income and schedule took that away from me.
Do you know if this machine is sufficient for anything at all? I mean it does use free weights to a degree.
I kind of got discouraged though because everyone says you can't build mass off of machines. I also got a shoulder injury recently and had to go to PT so I have backed off the 8920 quite a bit. I couldn't do any wait on the butterflies at all even after PT. I had to work my way up to 5 lbs on each side then life got in the way and I stopped altogether.
I am doing burpies now after I do my easy rider. Learned that from Krav Maga classes that I took until my income and schedule took that away from me.
What do you think about that?
Thanks!!
I have no familiarity with the Weider 8920, but found the manual for it online:
So it is a multi-exercise machine, and I would assume it would be fine for building muscle, as long as you have sufficient weights on it.
If you have an injury, then give that injury a chance to heal before working the muscles in that region. Your doctor can better advise you.
For cardio, you might try things such as a speed jump rope or jogging. Or maybe find a used cardio machine on Craigslist (treadmill, elliptical, stair stepper, exercise bike). My personal favorite is the elliptical.
Burpees look like a good exercise for cardio as well. Anything that keeps the heart rate up is good.
So it is a multi-exercise machine, and I would assume it would be fine for building muscle, as long as you have sufficient weights on it.
If you have an injury, then give that injury a chance to heal before working the muscles in that region. Your doctor can better advise you.
For cardio, you might try things such as a speed jump rope or jogging. Or maybe find a used cardio machine on Craigslist (treadmill, elliptical, stair stepper, exercise bike). My personal favorite is the elliptical.
Burpees look like a good exercise for cardio as well. Anything that keeps the heart rate up is good.
I thought that since it is a "machine", it is next to worthless...that is what I keep reading. If the 8920 is useful, what excercises would you do with it overall?
I thought that since it is a "machine", it is next to worthless...that is what I keep reading. If the 8920 is useful, what excercises would you do with it overall?
Thanks
It looks like your machine has the following abilities:
Lat Pulldowns (using the lat bar)
Chest Press (using the press arms)
Leg Extensions
Butterfly Press
You are limited to whatever functions the machine provides.
A set of dumbells would give you many more options for different exercises, so I'd recommend getting a pair of dumbell handles that fit the same plates used on your machine.
Also get a barbell that fits the same sized plates, and you can use it for squats, deadlifts, military presses, and barbell bicep curls.
Also see page 20-21 of the manual. It basically says what I said in post #21 about how to build muscle.
It looks like your machine has the following abilities:
Lat Pulldowns (using the lat bar)
Chest Press (using the press arms)
Leg Extensions
Butterfly Press
You are limited to whatever functions the machine provides.
A set of dumbells would give you many more options for different exercises, so I'd recommend getting a pair of dumbell handles that fit the same plates used on your machine.
Also get a barbell that fits the same sized plates, and you can use it for squats, deadlifts, military presses, and barbell bicep curls.
Also see page 20-21 of the manual. It basically says what I said in post #21 about how to build muscle.
Thanks very much RD, I have a barbell and dumbells as well. I'll do everything you suggested. I appreciate it!
Cardio is the most important thing for me and the easy rider does it well.
Then by all means, stick with it. The most important aspect of exercise is that you enjoy what you're doing.
If you find yourself with a little extra time, you can buy some inexpensive hand weights and use those two or three times a week. Don't discount using your body weight to build muscle, either -- squats and lunges, and any number of yoga poses are great for building muscle.
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