Just got surgery...no cardio for a month or two or three or four. We'll see.

T Nation has video's for every exercise. The program you follow should be reflective of your specific goals. So without that, I can't suggest exercises but a basic program might look like this

Horizontal push/pull ( 2x per week )
Vertical push/pull ( 1 - 2 x per week )
Knee dominant such as squat/unilateral leg work such as lunge ( 1-2 x per week )
Hip dominant such as dead lift or hip thrusts ( 2 x per week )

You can add a core exercise if you have time such as plank or superman. It is advised to have your core assessed prior to find the level you need to start with.

Of course the amount of reps/sets/frequency of each exercise is again dependent on your goals. It is best to mix days of low/medium/high intensity in the week. If lifting light with high reps consistently your wasting your time, on the other end lifting heavy consistently will over tax your nervous system. Balance is key in a program AND I do need to mention that working ANY muscle group on a daily basis is not recommended.


B.C.R.P.A certified
C.F.E.S certified
A.C.E certified

My arm has an access in it I cannot stress more than 10pounds, so I'm kinda limited in that regard. And right now cardio is off the books.

Leaves me squats, planks and bicycle crunches with the low weight work-out.

I stand corrected. I just listed basically what my trainer has me do. I'm quite a bit fitter than average, so I should have qualified my response with that. Thanks!

Can you do push-ups? If so, that's an excellent exercise, and there are numerous variations possible. Since you can do squats, try this-get an exercise ball and place it against a wall. Position yourself so the ball is between your lower back and the wall. Slowly lower yourself into squat position (ideally, your legs will bend at 45 degree angles). Hold this as long as possible, then stand up straight to relax. Repeat immediately and do as many reps as you're comfortable with.

Do you mean abscess ? If you have an infection within your body of any type, physical exercise is not recommended. The body is under enough stress already trying to heal.

There was a line earlier in this thread where you stated " I can't believe muscle turns to fat so quickly ". Muscle and fat are not interchangeable, two separate tissues. What happens to most people is they stop training ( removing the metabolic demand ) but continue to eat as though they are training, which causes weight gain.

Hopefully you will be recovered soon and able to start retraining !

Best regards

No, it is an access for dialysis treatment.

I can't put too much strain on my forearm where my access is which is why I have to do planks.

Oh, like a pic line. Your doctors advised training with a needle in your vein ? I honestly have not run across this before. If you have a ten pound limit then mostly lower body, body weight only training.

You could add a 10 pound vertical( shoulder ) press with a squat/lunge

10 pound horizontal( chest ) press or row.

Lateral deltoid raises

Frontal deltoid raises

Rear deltoid raise

You can use lower body split stance squat with cable row

side plank with cable row, bird dog with dumb bell row.

Not likely to see muscle growth and depending on what level you were at previously it may not even stave off muscle loss, but its better than sitting on the couch ? Best of luck :)

As a safety precaution, not to dismiss anyone else's contributions, push ups use 65 % of your body weight, not recommended with 10 pound limit.

Planks are an isometric contraction against gravity, which increases blood pressure. I would actually nix those altogether. Kind of surprised you can do those without pain ? You could do glut bridges or leg raises for core or one that doesn't involve upper body contraction.

OMG my phone changed deadlift to seafood. Lol. Yea lots of trainers know nothing. It takes only a test to become a certified trainer and it's nit really about nutrition and workouts. Someone 300 pound guy who never set foot in a gym could become a CT so be careful. I trust you are fitter than average as you have a trainer and are more motivated and work out more than average. I am just saying you would probably have better results with this.

What scares me is the " online certification " courses, I ran across a guy who thought you could increase the number of fibers in a muscle through hypertrophy. They have no practicum testing or regulation and indeed as you mentioned could not of trained a day in their life.

I have been certified for 2 years ( training for 4 ) and I have most of the basics covered but there is training techniques and nutrition science, that I will be forever learning and putting into my own programs. Even above I should of said " static " contraction raises blood pressure significantly, some of the jargon gets lost when you don't use it all the time.

Really the best thing one can do is learn some basic stuff about fitness and nutrition. Then if you want a trainer ask for a free session to try them out. If their information is wrong they probably are nit so knowledgeable so take money elsewhere. I think people just assumed trainers know so much. It's true some do but it's probably because they researched it or actually have a college degree in nutrition or sports medicine or something combined with research.

Interesting. My trainer in particular trained with Lance Dreher (former Mr America, twice Mr Universe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Dreher), so I have more confidence in him than someone who went to some "certification mill".

Interesting. My trainer in particular trained with Lance Dreher (former Mr America, twice Mr Universe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Dreher), so I have more confidence in him than someone who went to some "certification mill".

I didn't know how much of a workout I could get with free weights until I recently started seeing a trainer. She helped me make a few, very slight form adjustments, for example that have super-charged my workout and will prevent injury. It is worth the money to have a few sessions, at least.

Training someone for competition isn't rocket science, in fact its all about muscle size and symmetry. There really is no strength involved nor making sure the body is balanced internally. Those gorillas have basically no core and can't even pull themselves up over a chin up bar. You might want to ask yourself if your trainer is so great, why is he now training you, not the next Mr America ? Better yet ask him that question.

Yea training Mr Universe fits the description of juicing and having super genetics for split routine.

well that is funny ...they wanted me on a bike right after I had my knee replacement and my Dad had heart surgery they put him on a bike ........ never an excuse not to do Cardio! It's so good for you?

My foot needs time to heal...