Soloflex Workout Routines

[bhealthy]

I'm sure I'm not the only person to buy a Soloflex but I can't find any forum discussions for Soloflex owners with any tips or exercise routines.

My current goal is to lose fat and I don't really care how much I weigh in the end game.

I'd love to hear about any workouts, or ideas other than to use it as a coat rack and go buy an expensive membership in a gym.
I don't want an expensive coat rack.

So if your a Soloflex owner please post your suggestions here.

Thanks!

[.V.]

I had one but was lazy and used it for a coat rack.

Basically just make something where you can work your legs, back, chest, shoulders, arms three times a week. It will give you results. Any resistance training program will.

Don't forget your cardio and nutrition though. They are important for good health.

[bhealthy]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

I had one but was lazy and used it for a coat rack.

Basically just make something where you can work your legs, back, chest, shoulders, arms three times a week. It will give you results. Any resistance training program will.

Don't forget your cardio and nutrition though. They are important for good health.

Not exactly what I was hoping to hear but thanks for the input. Although for awhile I too was guilty of using the machine as temporary storage for clothes. The bar is unstable and tends to lean toward one side or the other depending on the distribution of the hangers. Also, I had to keep my clothes from actually touching the machine because of some minor rust issues.

I have to clean it off with a rag and a small amount of baby oil to keep it usable.

Did yours rust too? Or am I the only one with the rotten luck.

Maybe someone didn't let theirs rust and has used the Soloflex for its intended purpose. I know I would if I had some level of expertise with the muscle machine.

I would really like some in depth input and feedback.

Thanks!

[.V.]

I didn't keep it that long so it didn't have time to rust.

I will talk to a guy who actually uses his and get a full routine for you in the next few days.

Probably not many soloflex users here. Mostly free weights, body weight, crossfit, some gym machine folks, a couple of powerlifters, some interest in olympic lifting, and some guys who work with things like sleds, kegs, and sandbags.

But you know we welcome and like everyone here with an interest in fitness. You've got a soloflex so we shall find you an effective soloflex program. The trade off - we encourage you to start an online training journal so that we can watch your progress and results, learn what works and doesn't work, get and give encouragement and feedback.

In other words, join us in the fitness discussions and keep track of your workouts. It's very motivational and helpful.

What do you think?

[.V.]

Here's an idea. I'm going to assume beginner since you don't have a routine for the machine yet.

The exercises you can do on it look pretty good. I don't see a way to deadlift, so unless you find one you'll just have to get by without the king of all exercises.

Do this three days a week.

Squat
Bench Press
Bent over row
Pullups
Curls
Tricep pushdowns

Do 2 sets of 8-12. When you can get 12 reps increase the resistance.

Do it this way for 8-12 weeks and see what happens if your nutrition and cardio are in order.

Then after that let's re-evaluate and see if you need something a bit different. Perhaps a program with less reps, more sets, somthing that will build muscle and burn fat? All kids of good ways to workout, just got to get you acclimated to it and then find the best way for your body.

Pics of the exercises I mentioned are here: Soloflex OnLine

[bhealthy]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

I didn't keep it that long so it didn't have time to rust.

I will talk to a guy who actually uses his and get a full routine for you in the next few days.

Probably not many soloflex users here. Mostly free weights, body weight, crossfit, some gym machine folks, a couple of powerlifters, some interest in olympic lifting, and some guys who work with things like sleds, kegs, and sandbags.

But you know we welcome and like everyone here with an interest in fitness. You've got a soloflex so we shall find you an effective soloflex program. The trade off - we encourage you to start an online training journal so that we can watch your progress and results, learn what works and doesn't work, get and give encouragement and feedback.

In other words, join us in the fitness discussions and keep track of your workouts. It's very motivational and helpful.

What do you think?

That sounds outstanding! Would you really do all of that for me? That's very generous. I hope it's not too much of a bother.

I will start a journal today. I can't promise to make daily entries but I think a once a week summary would help me put it all into perspective.

Thanks!

[bhealthy]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

Here's an idea. I'm going to assume beginner since you don't have a routine for the machine yet.

The exercises you can do on it look pretty good. I don't see a way to deadlift, so unless you find one you'll just have to get by without the king of all exercises.

Do this three days a week.

Squat
Bench Press
Bent over row
Pullups
Curls
Tricep pushdowns

Do 2 sets of 8-12. When you can get 12 reps increase the resistance.

Do it this way for 8-12 weeks and see what happens if your nutrition and cardio are in order.

Then after that let's re-evaluate and see if you need something a bit different. Perhaps a program with less reps, more sets, somthing that will build muscle and burn fat? All kids of good ways to workout, just got to get you acclimated to it and then find the best way for your body.

Pics of the exercises I mentioned are here: Soloflex OnLine

You are right about my fitness level but that workout is a lot like the ones I've tried that are suggested in the manual. I've never been able to stick to anything like it. Besides, lifting to failure has always done nothing but leave me sore and tired.

Tell me what you think of this variant. I will do the group of exercises you suggest but instead of 8-12 reps, I will cycle the reps and I won't lift till failure. I'll lift until my muscles are warm and comfortable and use a resistance level that I'll increase when I feel I'm 2-3 reps before failure at the high end of the rep cycle. For example, if I feel I could do 14-15 reps during the 8-12 rep cycle I will increase the resistance to a weight level where I could only do 10-11 reps but I would only do 8 reps.

Monday : 8-12 reps

Wednesday : 20-25 reps

Friday : 45-50 reps

I have also thought about doing timed sets.

What do you think?

[.V.]

Whatever works for ya. Did you see the startup routine I posted? It should give very effective results. Notice there are more "real" lifts and not so much isolation and accessory work. This is for a reason. Unless one is very advanced most of the accessory stuff is not needed. We can't shape what we don't have.

When you get your journaling started you should get a great deal of input. There are many people here with much more knowledge and experience than I have. The ones that helped me get started will help you too.

Good luck in your endeavor.

[.V.]

No one said anything about lifting to failure though. You will approach failure but don't actually get there. Say for example you get 8 reps today and it's tough. Repeat the 8 reps again next time, and again if need be. Then when you can handle 8 easily, increase to 9 and so on.

It's not a race. Just progress at your own pace. Start slowly to avoid getting so sore that you can't get out of bed the next day.

Let me give you an example from my workout. On day 1 and day 2 I do cable crunches. Once I was doing 130lbs with them and working to total failure. It was effective with the low reps I was doing for what my goal at the time was. Following an injury (different exercise, different reason) I started back a little differently. Now I'm only doing 110lbs and will do 8 reps for both days of the week I do them. Next week, same weight 9 reps for both abdominal workouts. After that 10...

Then I raise the weight and use 115 for 3 full weeks.

I do honestly believe though that anytime one goes beyond 15 reps in a single set they are simply doing an endurance test instead of building muscle. For fat burning - it may have it's place. But there are better, easier ways to burn fat too.

[bhealthy]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

No one said anything about lifting to failure though. You will approach failure but don't actually get there. Say for example you get 8 reps today and it's tough. Repeat the 8 reps again next time, and again if need be. Then when you can handle 8 easily, increase to 9 and so on.

It's not a race. Just progress at your own pace. Start slowly to avoid getting so sore that you can't get out of bed the next day.

Let me give you an example from my workout. On day 1 and day 2 I do cable crunches. Once I was doing 130lbs with them and working to total failure. It was effective with the low reps I was doing for what my goal at the time was. Following an injury (different exercise, different reason) I started back a little differently. Now I'm only doing 110lbs and will do 8 reps for both days of the week I do them. Next week, same weight 9 reps for both abdominal workouts. After that 10...

Then I raise the weight and use 115 for 3 full weeks.

I do honestly believe though that anytime one goes beyond 15 reps in a single set they are simply doing an endurance test instead of building muscle. For fat burning - it may have it's place. But there are better, easier ways to burn fat too.

I thought the same thing about high reps until I read a workout nearly fifteen years ago designed by Jean Claude Van Damme. He suggested doing hundreds of reps. Ultra high reps are the way to go according to him. I tried high reps but it wasn't the same workout. Hundreds of reps were way too much for me even with the lightest weights I had. I didn't see a lot of change in body composition after a month but I had been testing my one rep max for deadlifts and bench presses and I increased the poundage in that time frame more than I ever had before.

I also think ultra high reps are probably better for fat loss and to maintain or gain flexibility. Oddly I didn't gain anything in the endurance dept using pushups and pullups to test. I tested several different strengths before and after.

100 yard dash remained the same.
5k improved by by 5 secs.
bench press up 50 lbs
deadlift up 20lbs
pushups no improvement
pullups no improvement

It's true that I started off really weak and I was still weak for my size after a month but I did feel a whole lot better. My every movement felt smooth and graceful and I'm usually sort of klutzy. I think that maybe the high reps helped me to better utilize the muscles and strength I already had allowing me to lift heavier weights.

I used freeweights then and I don't have a set anymore. I'm hoping that maybe the Soloflex will yield better results. I hope to stick with it longer and actually make some real changes. After 5 weeks I was back on the sofa watching TV which is where I'm at right now.

[.V.]

Whatever you do, you've got to stick with it. You will see visible results in 8-12 weeks if you are consistant. You will feel them sooner.

If you see it as a lifelong commitment where you are willing to change things around when what you are doing no longer works for you then you will have it made.

[bhealthy]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

Here's an idea. I'm going to assume beginner since you don't have a routine for the machine yet.

The exercises you can do on it look pretty good. I don't see a way to deadlift, so unless you find one you'll just have to get by without the king of all exercises.

Do this three days a week.

Squat
Bench Press
Bent over row
Pullups
Curls
Tricep pushdowns

Do 2 sets of 8-12. When you can get 12 reps increase the resistance.

Do it this way for 8-12 weeks and see what happens if your nutrition and cardio are in order.

Then after that let's re-evaluate and see if you need something a bit different. Perhaps a program with less reps, more sets, somthing that will build muscle and burn fat? All kids of good ways to workout, just got to get you acclimated to it and then find the best way for your body.

Pics of the exercises I mentioned are here: Soloflex OnLine

What order do you think might be best to do these exercises? Should I do them in the order listed?

[.V.]

Put what is hardest first, easiest last.

For me it would be squat, deadlift, bench, row, ohp, cable crunch, pullup, curl, skull crusher.

Actually instead of conventional deadlifts, if doing these all maybe do squat and sldl instead.

[bhealthy]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

Put what is hardest first, easiest last.

For me it would be squat, deadlift, bench, row, ohp, cable crunch, pullup, curl, skull crusher.

Actually instead of conventional deadlifts, if doing these all maybe do squat and sldl instead.

Sounds good. : Thanks for the tip.