So I thought I would post this. Right now I am not really looking to change it as it's working quite well but if you want to give feedback you can, it doesn't really matter

I am usually at the gym about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Start off with 5 mins warmup, usually on the recumbant (sp?) bike.

We (my mom and I) head up to the weight area.
We grab 3-4 sets of weights. For ease of explaining it I will use my regular weight amounts. 10, 8, and 5 pound weights.

One day we do full body, then we do upper body then we do lower body (we sometimes switch those around. (So we do 3 days weights and 2 days step classes a week)

So for upper body we start off lying on a bench doing the chest press. we use the 10 pound weights and do 12 reps, we then immediately grab the 8 pound weights and do 12 reps then we do the 5 pound weights 12 reps.
We then immediately do a Dumbell fly. using the same method (10's then 8s then 5s)
We then switch back to the chest press and do the same method, then switch back into the fly.
Then we move onto the tricep curl using the same 10-8-5 method, then we do the bicep curl same methoe. Then back to the tricep curl, then back to the bicep curl.
We then do the lateral pull-downs. Both under-hand and over hand. using the same method (weights are usually higher for this than the other moves) we switch back and forth betweem over and under handed till we have done both twice.

I believe that is our entire upper body work out.

For lower body
Start off usually with abductors and adductors. These weight are 70-60-50. We do each move twice with 12 reps (everything gets 12 reps unless our muscles just won't let us)
We then move onto the step ups. (stepping up onto a weight bench). We do this with 10-8-5s.
We then do lunges with the same weights, then go back to step ups then back to lunges.
We then do the super squatter machine (we have just begun adding weights to that). We then do the plea squats and alternate back and forth till we do then each twice. we do the 10-8-5 method with the plea (I need to move up weights) and are starting to do the same method with the super since we now have weights we can add and remove.

That is our lower body work out.
Usually I am just drenched in sweat as I am doing my weights (specially with the legs), keeping my heart-rate up with the fast reps that we do.

We then go downstairs and do our cardio

usually we start with 20 mins on the arc trainer, that thing is just torture! Plus it's the longest part of the cardio. My heart rate according to the machine is usually in the 160's (within the recommended range for a person like me)
We then do the rower for 10 mins, I don't really feel a lot of cardio workout during this but I still think it's a good one to do.
Then we do 10 mins on the stairmaster. This one is pretty good. We also do a few minutes cooling out on this when we are done (or which ever machine we do last as we do alternate them to which evers is emptier and such)

We then finish off by doing some ab work (I have a back problem I have to sort out before I can actually do much ab wise tho) then stretching.
Then we head home! Yay!

Hope you all enjoyed reading this. I will post it in my diary too.

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Define 'working' for me, please.

Does your full body session simply combine these two (upper and lower) days together.... all the same exercises, sets, and reps?

Entirely unbalanced.

Far too much pressing and not enough pulling.

Again, very unbalanced.

To much quad dominant work and not enough glute/ham dominant work.

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With both days, if it were me, I'd definitely make some changes. Imbalances in overtraining certain muscles and undertraining other muscles can lead to a lot of issues down the road.

Also, how do you go about selecting the weight that you will use and how do you progress in terms of weight lifted?

I'd get rid of the adductor/abductor machine altogether, but that's not a biggy. At the very least, move it to later in the workout and let the bigger, more effective compound exercises do their job first.

I'd change a lot more than this actually, but you said you aren't really looking for a change so I'm not going to throw a lot at you.

I'm assuming your goal is fat loss.

See, this is probably why you and I aren't on the same page.

Sure, heart rate is a great metric to use for measuring the intensity of a cardio bout.

But weight training isn't cardio.

Most people think if they don't get their heart rate up, they aren't exercising. This couldn't be further from the truth. Different modes of training will stress the body differently.

Don't get me wrong, you can turn strength training into a cardiovascular-oriented exercise but than you are defeating the purpose by minimizing what I believe are the biggest benefits you can obtain from weight training: Muscle maintenance while dieting, increased strength, and increased muscle.

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I was wondering about the purpose of the change between overhand and underhand grip. The lats should be getting the same treatment, but I dont know so that's why I was asking (not making a judgment on it). Maybe add the seated row to work other areas of the back? Steve?

I'm not trying to sound like an expert here because I'm admittedly not one. But I can't imagine you're getting much out of doing only 1 set of 10s and then doing the rest of your chest exercises with 8s and 5s (at least with the legs you're bearing you're own weight as well). I could see this being a great way to start out, just to get the form down and to get the muscles up to speed on what's going to be happening, but such large muscle groups like the chest and back would tend to do better with heavier weights. What's wrong with 3 sets of 10? Why must you go down right away? I thought people go down after failure at the higher weight or after a zillion sets or a very heavy set.

It just seems like you want to feel like you're HR is up all the time and you're sweating because you feel you're burning more calories that way and regular weight lifting is a waste of time. With WL sometimes the burned calories come later, after you've worked out and you're muscles are rebuilding themselves. Plus, see how hungry and revved up your metabolism feels after you've lifted some really heavy (for you) weights. Again people, I'm not trying to be a know-it-all so *nicely* correct me if I'm wrong.

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Just hits muscles a little differently.

And I shouldn't say it like that. Muscle contraction is muscle contraction.... you are correct.

It emphasizes muscles a little differently I should say. Certainly not needed, especially since she is going direct bicep work too.

Most definitely needs more pulling. I don't care in what form it comes in.

More rowing and less pressing.

It can be disputed that EPOC plays a significant role or not after an intense bout of anaerobic exercise such as heavy strength training.

You're on the right track though. Not all exercises have to get the heart rate reved up and the sweat pouring to be labeled 'effective.'

Heavy (relative to individual strength) weight training is the best way to preserve the muscle you have while dieting. It's also the best way to maintain your strength while dieting. Heavy training sends the strongest neurochemical signaling for muscle maintenance.

Sadly, many people are stuck in the mindset of heart rate and sweat that they wouldn't dream of doing something like 4 sets of 6 reps simply b/c it doesn't *feel* the way they think exercise should feel.

Don't get me wrong.... circuit training and light weights with little to no rest has a place and time. I've used it extensively with obese clients where muscle loss really isn't a concern and energy expenditure takes precedent above all else.

But someone trying to lose 10-30 lbs doesn't fall into this group.

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thanks guys.
By 'working' for me, I mean that last month I lost a lot of weight and inches (with out starving myself or being at the gym 24 hours a day) and that's exactly what I am wanting

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That's what I figured you meant by 'working.'

And I'm a big advocate of not fixing what isn't broken. Tweaking is a lot different than fixing however.

There is no such thing as the perfect plan.

Losing weight is simply a matter of being in a net caloric deficit on a consistent-enough basis. Your weight loss is a product of this.

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oops, I just realized I missed a part for my arms.
I also do front, side, and bent over raises. (using the same 10-8-5)

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I'd nix them too, lol.

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