New to exercising

[dkkm]

I've started exercising but have no clue what I should be doing as for resting, etc.
I've been doing 4 differnet types of push-ups, with 2 types doing 60 and the other two doing 45 push-ups. Althogether 210. Is that relatively small?
Inbetween each routine, how long should I rest before I do the next set?
Is it recommended to do this every 2nd day or everyday?
What are some other routines I can add to this?
I also bike ride an hour twice a week.
Cheers,

[Madison_Rose]

That sounds like quite a lot to me, though not too much. Make sure you warm up beforehand, and stretch and warm down afterwards. I decided to bounce out of bed and do press-ups with unprepared muscles one day - put my back muscles into spasm. Not life-threatening, but very ouchy!

It's better to do your strength training every other day. Have you thought of getting a gym magazine, like Men's Health?

Hopefully someone else on here can answer your other questions

[Madison_Rose]

Oh, and how old are you? If you are new to exercising and you suddenly start doing a lot, it puts quite a strain on your heart - it's always better to build up to it slowly. If you're young, and a healthy weight to begin with you can get away with it a bit more, but it's still better to break yourself in slowly.

[Lithium4]

That's quite a bit of pushups, good for you. Generally, as Madison said, you want to take a day off between working a given muscle group, but it depends on the person. 60 seconds between sets is generally a good rest period.

As for what you should add, it really depends on what your goals are. Pushups are great, but as you can attest to, you can't easily add resistance, so you get to a point where 60 becomes easy. You want to challenge your muscles. If your goal is to increase muscle mass or strength, you want to be doing something where your muscles will get tired after only a few reps, say somewhere from 6-12. Higher reps is great for increasing your muscle endurance, but even then you ideally want to add resistance from time to time.

With cardio, there is no bad exercise. As long as it gets your heart rate up and you enjoy it, go for it.

[shadowmask]

What is your main goal you're trying to accomplish? Weight loss? Increasing muscle mass, or increasing muscular endurance? If you're looking for a good bodyweight routine, try this for a while:

http://trainforstrength.com/workout1.shtml

[dkkm]

Thanks guys, I'm not aiming to get big but just a little more solid so to speak and I enjoy it. I'm increasing my muscle mass and also endurance. I assume to start eating more protein sourced foods into my diet too?
Cheers for the link, I'll look into it

[Lithium4]

Yea, protein intake is important. I've read differnt things, but eating a number of grams equal to your bodyweight per day seems more or less like the right amount.

If you're looking to bulk up, even just a bit, you could get yourself a couple of dumbells and try a few different excercises at lower reps, along with your high rep sets of push ups.

Good luck.

[bowlingpins]

Originally Posted by dkkm

I've started exercising but have no clue what I should be doing as for resting, etc.
I've been doing 4 differnet types of push-ups, with 2 types doing 60 and the other two doing 45 push-ups. Althogether 210. Is that relatively small?

Relative to bodybuilders, perhaps but for most average people, 210 pushups a day is a lot.

Inbetween each routine, how long should I rest before I do the next set?

As much rest as you need to catch your breath? This is what I do.

Is it recommended to do this every 2nd day or everyday?

Every 2nd day would be much better than every day. You need to give your body some rest in between workouts especially if they are strenuous.

What are some other routines I can add to this?

How about running for 30 minutes on the off days? Aerobic exercise has a number of benefits.

I also bike ride an hour twice a week.

Oh, you do get some aerobic exercise then. I don't know what else you could do.

Cheers,

.

[Quibble]

Hehe, awesome to see other people into weightlifting!

dkkm, you really want to gain muscle? Or exercising to help reduce stress/anxiety?

What everyone else said is good if you're looking to reduce stress/anxiety. I started cycling a ton, and I always felt good and calm after a good work out.

I've started really getting into weightlifting instead of biking A. to keep stress/anxiety down. but also B. to gain mass.

Being really focused on growing, training, eating correctly with specific performance goals makes me feel better about accomplishing something.

If you want to gain serious muscle, i recommend reading a book or two about bodybuilding, ones that include some programs to follow and explain it all. Examples are "Scrawny to Brawny" and "Huge in a Hurry". My favorite magazine is "Muscle and Fitness".

Also, getting out to the gym has given me a new way to get out around others, as well as a common hobby with other weightlifters, something to talk about.

[zomgz]

the main thing imo is form or quantity. if your doing 200 pushups the wrong way it's just going to hurt lol =) but doing 10 the right way is going to be far better in the long run. =]

[John_in_SF]

zomgz speaks the truth. For heart health, endurance is the key. But for strength, it's about coaxing your muscles to increase without killing them. Sometimes that means effort and sometimes that means repetition. Generally I work the same muscles every three days. I aim for two sets of 10-15 repetitions, with complete exhaustion at the end of the second set. For "pulling" moves, that means literally not being able to do another rep, no matter how much you want to. For "extending" moves, it means not being able to do another one because it hurts too much.

[STKinTHEmud]

Those exer-nazis among us would need a bit more info to give you really good advice. What is your body type? Skinny? Big? What is your weight and height?

But I can say this. High rep exercises won't help you get "more solid" as much as weightlifting would, doing 6-12 reps per set. Besides, push-ups work only your chest, shoulders, and triceps, so you're missing out on legs, back, biceps, traps, and abs, those muscles that you need to really get stronger and look solid. And, as said before, doing the same thing everyday is not good for you. I suggest you join a gym to get access to all the equipment you might need. As far as rest goes, check this article out:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek11.htm

Basically, if you want to get bigger, rest 1-2 mins in between sets. If you want strength, rest 3-5 mins. Of course, this is presuming that you're weightlifting. I alternate between resting 1 min and 1 min 30 sec between sets every 3 months or so to change up my routine.

[MetaFitx23]

Being a huge fitness buff myself, STKin pretty much hit the nail on the head.

If you are going to do just bodyweight exercises, you could throw in a few more, such as standing squats, pullups or chinups (you could buy a cheap portable pullup bar that fits in your doorway) and of course, floor ab work.

If you are just starting out, it might be best to give your body a day of rest in between your calisthenics. You'll definitely need rest days if you begin weight-lifting.