[Winsor_Pilates]

Good thread, I was thinking a similar one to see what others do as well. The more you read about this stuff, the better your own routine will be.
Like anything else, you can get double the results in half the time if you're actually doing it right.

Originally Posted by BEANZ

Is 3-4 times a week enough to notice a difference?

Yes

Is it worth getting a personal trainer?

Never have, but at the very least I would suggest doing some good online research or working out with someone experienced and generating a routine. IMO, the biggest thing a trainer can give you is a system that maximizes the results you'll get for the time you put in.

I was just king of winging it for a couple of years and getting minor results. This year I've put more effort into actually knowing what I'm doing and the results are much much better. I can get more results with less time, and now look back at my old workouts and feel like I wasted a lot of time.

What type of weight and reps do you start with??

3-4 sets of 8-10 reps is a decent starting point for most exercises, but varying things up every once in a while is very important.
Also Free weights >>> machines. If you're choosing one, don't substitute things like bench presses, shoulder presses and squats with machines that do those things.

Can anyone share a website or any other ideas of what a weeks worth of work outs should consist of?

I find Mens Health to be fairly helpful.
Body building forums are pretty good too, except filled with somewhat annoying meat heads.

I would recommend breaking up muscle groups into different days so each group gets proper focus and recovery days.
Doing the same full body routine every time is a common beginner mistake.

My current routine consists of grouping muscle groups into 3 separate days and then on day 4 going back to group 1 but doing different exercises and/or reps.
If I workout 6 days a week, I'll target each muscle twice but not repeat any exact exercises. This has been really good for me in the last 3-4 months since I've started doing it.
It's keeps my muscles memory short, and with variety so I still get a good pump in my muscles even after working out straight for weeks or months.

If you're doing the same thing all the time, you'll notice that good soreness of your first few workouts disappears.

Is 40-50 minutes enough time to do some cardio and strength training?

Not in my opinion. That's enough for a good weight session, but you'll likely need to add 20-40 minutes for cardio if you're wanting to do both.