Expert: John Izzo, NASM-CPT, PES - 3/5/2009

Question
I'm 23 years old and traditionally have been a runner. I don't have a lot of muscle mass and would like to begin more training to build more mass and strength. I have been doing mostly circuit workouts with dumbells in the home. I'm really wondering how often I should work out a week. I've been doing the same circuit basically every other day. I'll do curls, upright row, push press, bent row, tricep press, and squat press from the floor. This is just a routine I learned from an old running coach. I was wondering if this is too much to do every other day. I feel fine in between workouts and tend to recover quickly from them...at least I think. Is this a good plan? I'm planning on adding a bench day when I get my new house. I also throw in a leg heavy workout once a week after the circuit. I've considered adding a day a pushup excercises to change things up as I'm also concerned about my muscles only training to these specific excercises. Obviously I have lots of questions and would appreciate any help you can give. Thanks.

Travis

Answer
Your routine seems fine to start off with. Every other day is adequate, as long as you give your body a day to rest and recover. Make sure you use weights that "challenge" you and you are able to control. I think, in time, your body will adapt to this routine and you will become "bored" of it. So my advise is to look into more advanced programs possible at your bookstore. Check out"Core Performance" by Mark Verstegan, or "Power Training" by Robert dos Remedios

Hope this helps