so here goes, first diary here. ill post the routine soon and as always i expect criticism. Its a 4 day a week, 5x5 split body part routine.
New routine Feb - April
- Thread starter PotentialPhreak
- Start date
The routine
Ok. Here's the routine:
Its a 4 day a week routine; 1 off, 2 on, 1 off, 2 on, and 1 off
If i don't mention reps for an exercise its because it was 5. I usually don't even attempt a set unless i plan to get the full amount of reps out, no matter what the cost. If i couldn't get em out myself i'll just have my spotter help me out or i'll hit some begative reps.
This routine is an adaptation from one that I found in the bodybuilding.com database.
Workout 1 (chest/tris):
Flat bench (5x5)
Incline bench (5x5)
Incline flyes (5x5)
Close-grip, decline bench (5x5)
Skull crushers (5x5)
Single hand extensions (5x5)
workout 2 (biceps/back):
Barbell curl (5x5)
Incline, alternating dumbell hammer curl (5x5)
Concentration curls (5x5)
High rows (5x5)
Low rows (5x5)
Stiff-legged Deadlifts (5x5)
Lat. pull-downs (5x5)
Single-arm bent-over rows (5x5)
workout 3 (Shoulders):
Military press (5x5)
Arnold press (5x5)
Upright rows (5x5)
Lateral raises (5x5)
Rear delt raise (5x5)
Shrugs, using olympic bar (5x5)
*no emphasis is put on front delts because they are severely overtrained in comparison to rear or medial.
workout 4 (legs):
Front Squat (5x5)
Leg press (5x5)**
Calf press (5x5)**
Lying leg curl (5x5)
Leg extensions (5x5)
Goodmornings (5x5)
** the calf press will be done on the leg press machine, at the same weights, so I plan to superset the two
Although this may seem like alot, I seem to have quite alot of energy and so it takes one hell of alot to tire my muscles out. I have been using this routine for a week and it doesn't seem to be too much. I have also consulted a couple trainers and had a Kinetics Prof from the U attend the weeks training sessions (you'd never guess how difficut it is to get those old men to come out). They also thought it was alot, but after seeing the intensity i still had towards the end, they agreed that it was the proper amount. It's time to get serious; gotta be bencing 300 by april
Ok. Here's the routine:
Its a 4 day a week routine; 1 off, 2 on, 1 off, 2 on, and 1 off
If i don't mention reps for an exercise its because it was 5. I usually don't even attempt a set unless i plan to get the full amount of reps out, no matter what the cost. If i couldn't get em out myself i'll just have my spotter help me out or i'll hit some begative reps.
This routine is an adaptation from one that I found in the bodybuilding.com database.
Workout 1 (chest/tris):
Flat bench (5x5)
Incline bench (5x5)
Incline flyes (5x5)
Close-grip, decline bench (5x5)
Skull crushers (5x5)
Single hand extensions (5x5)
workout 2 (biceps/back):
Barbell curl (5x5)
Incline, alternating dumbell hammer curl (5x5)
Concentration curls (5x5)
High rows (5x5)
Low rows (5x5)
Stiff-legged Deadlifts (5x5)
Lat. pull-downs (5x5)
Single-arm bent-over rows (5x5)
workout 3 (Shoulders):
Military press (5x5)
Arnold press (5x5)
Upright rows (5x5)
Lateral raises (5x5)
Rear delt raise (5x5)
Shrugs, using olympic bar (5x5)
*no emphasis is put on front delts because they are severely overtrained in comparison to rear or medial.
workout 4 (legs):
Front Squat (5x5)
Leg press (5x5)**
Calf press (5x5)**
Lying leg curl (5x5)
Leg extensions (5x5)
Goodmornings (5x5)
** the calf press will be done on the leg press machine, at the same weights, so I plan to superset the two
Although this may seem like alot, I seem to have quite alot of energy and so it takes one hell of alot to tire my muscles out. I have been using this routine for a week and it doesn't seem to be too much. I have also consulted a couple trainers and had a Kinetics Prof from the U attend the weeks training sessions (you'd never guess how difficut it is to get those old men to come out). They also thought it was alot, but after seeing the intensity i still had towards the end, they agreed that it was the proper amount. It's time to get serious; gotta be bencing 300 by april
last weeks numbers
I had an exceptional week. I sleep alot, very uncommon for me and i have a feeling that these numbers will be a little lower the next time around. All-in-all I impressed myself this week.
Seeing as there is a weeks worth of numbers and 5 sets to each exercise, I'll just give you the last set for each.
Workout 1 (chest/tris):
Flat bench: 5x240
Incline bench (dumbells): 5x75
Incline flyes: 5x40
Close-grip, decline bench: 5x210
Skull crushers: 5x80
Single hand extensions: 5x45
workout 2 (biceps/back):
Barbell curl: 5x130
Incline, alternating dumbell hammer curl: 5x50
Concentration curls: 5x35
High rows: 5x180
Low rows: 5x220
Stiff-legged Deadlifts: 5x350
Lat. pull-downs: 5x210
Single-arm bent-over rows: 5x80
workout 3 (Shoulders):
Military press: 5x85
Arnold press: 5x65
Upright rows: 5x85
Lateral raises: 5x40
Rear delt raise: 5x30
Shrugs, using olympic bar: 5x260
workout 4 (legs):
Front Squat: 5x240
Leg press: 5x720
Calf press: 5x720
Lying leg curl: 5x145
Leg extensions: 5x120
Goodmornings: 5x150
I had an exceptional week. I sleep alot, very uncommon for me and i have a feeling that these numbers will be a little lower the next time around. All-in-all I impressed myself this week.
Seeing as there is a weeks worth of numbers and 5 sets to each exercise, I'll just give you the last set for each.
Workout 1 (chest/tris):
Flat bench: 5x240
Incline bench (dumbells): 5x75
Incline flyes: 5x40
Close-grip, decline bench: 5x210
Skull crushers: 5x80
Single hand extensions: 5x45
workout 2 (biceps/back):
Barbell curl: 5x130
Incline, alternating dumbell hammer curl: 5x50
Concentration curls: 5x35
High rows: 5x180
Low rows: 5x220
Stiff-legged Deadlifts: 5x350
Lat. pull-downs: 5x210
Single-arm bent-over rows: 5x80
workout 3 (Shoulders):
Military press: 5x85
Arnold press: 5x65
Upright rows: 5x85
Lateral raises: 5x40
Rear delt raise: 5x30
Shrugs, using olympic bar: 5x260
workout 4 (legs):
Front Squat: 5x240
Leg press: 5x720
Calf press: 5x720
Lying leg curl: 5x145
Leg extensions: 5x120
Goodmornings: 5x150
possibly you're overtraining... so i would say take out a few tricep / bicep isolations on the corresponding days. id say do regular deadlifts instead of straight leg. good stats though, very impressed.
HOWEVER, I have made sure i have NOT been overtraining and I am disatisfied with the results i have made. maybe a lil overtraining never hurt anyone.
HOWEVER, I have made sure i have NOT been overtraining and I am disatisfied with the results i have made. maybe a lil overtraining never hurt anyone.
thanks wolvie
the main reason i put in the extra on the biceps and tris was because in the past i made sure that i wasn't overtraining as well and i didn't see hardly any gains at all. the moment i started into what everyone else thought was overtraining i began to see explosive gains in size and strength
the only thing that i can say is that everyone is different and what would be overtraining if one person did it could easily be not enough to another.
but thanks, keep the comments coming. it's all welcome, good, bad, and ugly
the main reason i put in the extra on the biceps and tris was because in the past i made sure that i wasn't overtraining as well and i didn't see hardly any gains at all. the moment i started into what everyone else thought was overtraining i began to see explosive gains in size and strength
the only thing that i can say is that everyone is different and what would be overtraining if one person did it could easily be not enough to another.
but thanks, keep the comments coming. it's all welcome, good, bad, and ugly
here's a comment. "damn, you're ugly." JUST KIDDING Anyone ever play Duke Nukem? hahaha
ummmmmm whats ur diet like? cause i just read that u do this huge workout and u still have intensity at the end... you must be feedin the bod plenty of calories.
ummmmmm whats ur diet like? cause i just read that u do this huge workout and u still have intensity at the end... you must be feedin the bod plenty of calories.
damn straight man. i eat like constantly. I stick to the theory that whenever your stomache is empty, your metabolism slows down, sowhat do you do? YOU KEEP EATING!
no seriously, i eat small meals but usually once every 2 hours; keeps the metabolism up there and gives me tons of energy. Combine that with the fact that I have ADHD and you got some crazy excess energy. I'm sure the amphetamines that i get prescribed on a regular basis have something to do with it though.
no seriously, i eat small meals but usually once every 2 hours; keeps the metabolism up there and gives me tons of energy. Combine that with the fact that I have ADHD and you got some crazy excess energy. I'm sure the amphetamines that i get prescribed on a regular basis have something to do with it though.
Looks like you have all your bases covered. My only criticism would be the volume. I might use this type of routine to break through a plateau, but not regularly. You are right in saying everyone is different though. If it is working for you, great. Just listen to your body, especially around the 2 week mark of using this routine.
If you are over training, it will become quite noticable at that point. Look for the signs; sleeplessness, irritability, drop in strength, jittery, joint aches. If this does happen, take a week off right away and re-think your routine.
If you are over training, it will become quite noticable at that point. Look for the signs; sleeplessness, irritability, drop in strength, jittery, joint aches. If this does happen, take a week off right away and re-think your routine.
i think that might possibly be the best reply ever. simply because i didn't really know what to look for overall when it came down to the signs of overtraining.
thanks crazy
thanks crazy
well then...hmmm
i guess if its the popular opinion that I should do it, then that's the way to go right?
I can loose a few on tri's, but they are a major target for my training this time around. I guess that I could just go heavier on the few tri exercises that i keep.
But on the topic of biceps we hit on a problem, I'm trying to hit all the minor muscles that help increase the fullness of the biceps brachii. the only grip i'm not using is an over-hand one.
In my defense this is alot less than what i would have done in the past. In past workouts I have done arms on their own day, supersetting bi's and tri's, and utilizing all 3 grips for biceps exercises.
I was wondering if you are basing your overtraining theories on the fact that i have tric on a day that they are also a secondary muscle (for shoulders) and bi's are paired with back. I do have method behind my "madness". In the past, both my shoulder and back routines have suffered greatly because when i started out I did the typical n00b thing to do; I focused on arms and chest (obviously as can bee seen from my pics i focused a little less on the chest aspect, lol). But since I made the huge mistake of not training equally, I found that these 2 routines didn't yeild as much gain as they could. And so, through consulting many (and I do mean many) trainers and human kinetics (which i'm happy to add that I have decided to make turn into a minor, possibly a double major) profs, I decided that if I were to toast those secondary muscles before hitting the main routine, I would get more out of it. The weights that I have listed for both muscle groups in both of the questionable routines are far below what I know that i can lift if I were to do them seperately. However, I know that it really doesn't matter about the weight as long as you have to struggle to get it up on the last few reps of the last set.
But, since I am relatively new to the sport, I will take the advice all of you have given to me into consideration. Over the next week to a week and a half I will watch closely for any possible signs of overtraining and if I do see them, I will most certainly change it up and you can count on the fact that I will be asking you what to do if this problem pops up
Now, you all seem to think that there is the possibility for overtraining. So, I was wondering that if it wasn't too much trouble and any of you had some spare time, if you could possibly make up a routine that you would think would achieve the same goals. It may seem odd, seeing as how i'm so set on doing THIS routine, but I like taking other routines and trying to compare and combine different aspects. We're all going to plateau sooner or later, been there and done that once already (and it was the worst time I've ever had lifting, made me almost want to stop altogether). I wasn't prepared then, I want to be sure I'm ready next time.
At 6'2" I'm pretty sure I can make it to around the 265lb mark with single digit BF% without looking retarded as long as i keep the training balanced. That is my goal.
i guess if its the popular opinion that I should do it, then that's the way to go right?
I can loose a few on tri's, but they are a major target for my training this time around. I guess that I could just go heavier on the few tri exercises that i keep.
But on the topic of biceps we hit on a problem, I'm trying to hit all the minor muscles that help increase the fullness of the biceps brachii. the only grip i'm not using is an over-hand one.
In my defense this is alot less than what i would have done in the past. In past workouts I have done arms on their own day, supersetting bi's and tri's, and utilizing all 3 grips for biceps exercises.
I was wondering if you are basing your overtraining theories on the fact that i have tric on a day that they are also a secondary muscle (for shoulders) and bi's are paired with back. I do have method behind my "madness". In the past, both my shoulder and back routines have suffered greatly because when i started out I did the typical n00b thing to do; I focused on arms and chest (obviously as can bee seen from my pics i focused a little less on the chest aspect, lol). But since I made the huge mistake of not training equally, I found that these 2 routines didn't yeild as much gain as they could. And so, through consulting many (and I do mean many) trainers and human kinetics (which i'm happy to add that I have decided to make turn into a minor, possibly a double major) profs, I decided that if I were to toast those secondary muscles before hitting the main routine, I would get more out of it. The weights that I have listed for both muscle groups in both of the questionable routines are far below what I know that i can lift if I were to do them seperately. However, I know that it really doesn't matter about the weight as long as you have to struggle to get it up on the last few reps of the last set.
But, since I am relatively new to the sport, I will take the advice all of you have given to me into consideration. Over the next week to a week and a half I will watch closely for any possible signs of overtraining and if I do see them, I will most certainly change it up and you can count on the fact that I will be asking you what to do if this problem pops up
Now, you all seem to think that there is the possibility for overtraining. So, I was wondering that if it wasn't too much trouble and any of you had some spare time, if you could possibly make up a routine that you would think would achieve the same goals. It may seem odd, seeing as how i'm so set on doing THIS routine, but I like taking other routines and trying to compare and combine different aspects. We're all going to plateau sooner or later, been there and done that once already (and it was the worst time I've ever had lifting, made me almost want to stop altogether). I wasn't prepared then, I want to be sure I'm ready next time.
At 6'2" I'm pretty sure I can make it to around the 265lb mark with single digit BF% without looking retarded as long as i keep the training balanced. That is my goal.
OMFG!!
after hitting submit and seeing that I realize how long it is. damn. well to everyone who takes the time to actually read the whole thing (probably the only way they will know what I want help with) thank you VERY much and I'm sorry that took so damn long.
next time I'll try to keep it short and simple
after hitting submit and seeing that I realize how long it is. damn. well to everyone who takes the time to actually read the whole thing (probably the only way they will know what I want help with) thank you VERY much and I'm sorry that took so damn long.
next time I'll try to keep it short and simple
PotentialPhreak said:Ok. Here's the routine:
Its a 4 day a week routine; 1 off, 2 on, 1 off, 2 on, and 1 off
If i don't mention reps for an exercise its because it was 5. I usually don't even attempt a set unless i plan to get the full amount of reps out, no matter what the cost. If i couldn't get em out myself i'll just have my spotter help me out or i'll hit some begative reps.
This routine is an adaptation from one that I found in the bodybuilding.com database.
Workout 1 (chest/tris):
Flat bench (5x5)
Incline bench (5x5)
Incline flyes (5x5)
Close-grip, decline bench (5x5)
Skull crushers (5x5)
Single hand extensions (5x5)
workout 2 (biceps/back):
Barbell curl (5x5)
Incline, alternating dumbell hammer curl (5x5)
Concentration curls (5x5)
High rows (5x5)
Low rows (5x5)
Stiff-legged Deadlifts (5x5)
Lat. pull-downs (5x5)
Single-arm bent-over rows (5x5)
workout 3 (Shoulders):
Military press (5x5)
Arnold press (5x5)
Upright rows (5x5)
Lateral raises (5x5)
Rear delt raise (5x5)
Shrugs, using olympic bar (5x5)
*no emphasis is put on front delts because they are severely overtrained in comparison to rear or medial.
workout 4 (legs):
Front Squat (5x5)
Leg press (5x5)**
Calf press (5x5)**
Lying leg curl (5x5)
Leg extensions (5x5)
Goodmornings (5x5)
** the calf press will be done on the leg press machine, at the same weights, so I plan to superset the two
Although this may seem like alot, I seem to have quite alot of energy and so it takes one hell of alot to tire my muscles out. I have been using this routine for a week and it doesn't seem to be too much. I have also consulted a couple trainers and had a Kinetics Prof from the U attend the weeks training sessions (you'd never guess how difficut it is to get those old men to come out). They also thought it was alot, but after seeing the intensity i still had towards the end, they agreed that it was the proper amount. It's time to get serious; gotta be bencing 300 by april
I would change a couple of things:
Workout 2:
1. I would change the stiff deads to regular deads. Stiff will work your Hamstrings as well and you have those covered in you leg routine.
2. I would work your back before biceps. This way you can pre-exhaust your biceps nicely during your back routine, then trash the hell out of then with your bicep exercises.
Workout 4:
1. I'd save your calves for the end of your training and trash the hell out of them then.
Everything else looks pretty damn good bro.
good tips, BUT
i said i needed to toast my arms first...that way i can trash my back...goal is to get a crazy cobra-like set of lats by april
i said i needed to toast my arms first...that way i can trash my back...goal is to get a crazy cobra-like set of lats by april
hmmm....and the only reason i do calves where i do is cause the calf machine we got is garbage, doesn't go high enough. so it just seemed natural to do it at the same weights as leg press
iC iC. but if I toast my arms but leave my forearms alone, i will still have the strength for grip and the weight i lift will only be the amount my lats can take, not what both my lats and my arms can take
All of your back movements involve bicep work. If the bicep is fatigued before the back movemnts , well.....you know the rest.PotentialPhreak said:
See how your way works for a couple of weeks. If you feel that working the smaller muscles first is taking away from the lifts on your larger muscles, change it up.
hmmmm....good point
i might just do that
i might just do that
~LV~ is right, if your lats are the focus, you need to hit them first with no fatigue in your secondary muscles. Do an isolated lat exercise, then a compound lat exercise 'back to back' so to speak. Your lats will explode.
Example: A set of straight arm pull down followed with no rest by a set of standard lat pulldown. This is called a compound set.
By using this method, you are able to push the isolated muscle past its normal fatigue point, by utilizing fresh secondary muscles. Make sense? If so, adjust your order of exercises with this in mind.
Ok, for the rest of the routine, if you are willing to trim it, this is the way I would go.
Day 1, drop the incline flys and the single arm extension.
Day 2, drop the conc curls, the deadlifts, and replace the single arm bent overs, with barbell bent overs.
Day 3, drop the upright row and the military press. For a more shoulder focused workout. OR Drop the arnold and the lateral raise for a more trap focused routine. Both ways will hit your traps and delts nicely.
Day 4, swap the leg press for a walking lunge. Swap good mornings for a full dead lift.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Example: A set of straight arm pull down followed with no rest by a set of standard lat pulldown. This is called a compound set.
By using this method, you are able to push the isolated muscle past its normal fatigue point, by utilizing fresh secondary muscles. Make sense? If so, adjust your order of exercises with this in mind.
Ok, for the rest of the routine, if you are willing to trim it, this is the way I would go.
Day 1, drop the incline flys and the single arm extension.
Day 2, drop the conc curls, the deadlifts, and replace the single arm bent overs, with barbell bent overs.
Day 3, drop the upright row and the military press. For a more shoulder focused workout. OR Drop the arnold and the lateral raise for a more trap focused routine. Both ways will hit your traps and delts nicely.
Day 4, swap the leg press for a walking lunge. Swap good mornings for a full dead lift.
Hope this helps. Good luck.