critique my workout routine

[young guns]

it's based on needsize's 5x5 routine with a few minor changes, with more volume for larger muscle groups.

mon - shoulders/tri's
wed - legs/bi's
thurs - chest
fri - back

i throw abs in 2-3 times a week depending on how much time i have

shoulders:
5x5 dbell press
2x8-10 wide grip upright rows
2x10 lateral raises
2x10 rear delt raises
3x10 shrugs

tri's:
5x5 close grip bench
2x8-10 pushdowns (isolation, reverse grip)
2x8-10 dbell kickbacks

bi's:
5x5 straight bar curls
2x8-10 dbell preacher curls
2x8-10 seated dbell curls

legs:
5x5 squats
2x8-10 stiff legged dead lifts
2x8-10 leg extensions
2x8-10 hamstring curls
calves

chest:
5x5 incline barbell
3x8-10 flat dbell
3x8-10 low incline dbell fly's

back:
5x5 barbell rows
3x8-10 wide grip pullups (weighted)
2x8-10 seated rows (close grip)
2x8-10 close, supinated grip lat pulldows
3x10 shrugs

 

[zackdarnell]

No deadlifts?

 

[young guns]

other than stiff legged, no. i never had a coach or trainer teach me how to do them when i was younger, so i've just never done them. but it might just be time to start. any links of pages that show proper form for dead lifting would be helpful.

 

[supersizeme]

solid routine. only thing i'd change about it is ditch the leg extensions for something a bit more intense, like leg press, front squats, hacks, or lunges. you want one more thing in there that hits your quads a little harder than the leg extensions.

 

[needsize]

BBDeadlift.gif

Big surprise, but I like the routine...
I would change a few things, even for the 10 rep exercises, stick with heavier movements if you can, ie, substitute kickbacks with skull crushers

 

[zackdarnell]

other than stiff legged, no. i never had a coach or trainer teach me how to do them when i was younger, so i've just never done them. but it might just be time to start. any links of pages that show proper form for dead lifting would be helpful.

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/deadlift.htm
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ErectorSpinae/BBDeadlift.html
http://www.theministryoffitness.com/mof/library/anims/deadlift.htm
http://www.hardcorebodybuilding.com/deadlift.htm
http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9197

 

[JoBu]

Deads on back day!

Also, be careful putting back so soon after bi's. With only one day to recover from bi's they might not be ready to go come Friday since they get so much work with back.

Good Luck

JoBu

 

[louden_swain]

Good solid routine. I would think about perfoming a 2 on 1 off routine.

 

[young guns]

thanks for all the replies everybody.

supersizeme, i think i'll go with hacks or press. lunges might not work out too well after my hams are shot.

needsize, i haven't done skull crushers or dips for awhile due to elbow pain. what about some pushdowns or some overhead dbell extensions instead? and just curious, what was suprising to you?

zackdarnell, thanks for the links

JoBu, i don't like having bi's and back that close, but with my class schedule and everything right now it'll have to work for now. semester is almost over though, and i'll be doin bi's on tues instead of wed.

louden, as soon as this semester is over my workout days will be mon, tues, thurs, and fri, 2 on 1 off just as you suggested. i just can't get to the gym on tuesdays now because of my schedule.

 

[young guns]

so putting deads in, my back workout would look like this.

5x5 deads
3x8-10 weighted pullups
2x8-10 barbell rows or seated rows
2x8-10 close grip lat pulldowns
3x10 shrugs

so which should i ditch, the barbell rows or the seated machine rows? or should i keep both and get rid of the lat pulldowns?

 

[needsize]

needsize, i haven't done skull crushers or dips for awhile due to elbow pain. what about some pushdowns or some overhead dbell extensions instead? and just curious, what was suprising to you?

Actually what I meant was no surprise that I like the routine as it looks so much like mine...Overhead extensions are decent, but I dont like single handed ones, I prefer ez curl bar or using a dumbell with both hands, you can use much more weight that way

 

[zackdarnell]

so putting deads in, my back workout would look like this.

5x5 deads
3x8-10 weighted pullups
2x8-10 barbell rows or seated rows
2x8-10 close grip lat pulldowns
3x10 shrugs

so which should i ditch, the barbell rows or the seated machine rows? or should i keep both and get rid of the lat pulldowns?

I'd drop the seated rows.

 

[young guns]

alright i got ya now. yeah i did see some of your workouts posted in some older threads, that's where i got alot of ideas. that along with the exercises i already usually do and here's the workout that came out of it. but don't be suprised if in a month or so i'm praising your workout. i've done one week so far and i'm liking it. i'm expecting some good results, especially since i've never done a program even close to this before.

as far as the overhead extensions, i meant to do them with both hands on heavy dbell. i am hoping doing those won't bother my elbow at all.

 

[JoBu]

as far as the overhead extensions, i meant to do them with both hands on heavy dbell. i am hoping doing those won't bother my elbow at all.

I tend not to do the db extensions any more because as I started using heavier weight it began to put too much stress on my shoulder at the bottom end. I changed to skull crushers with the ez bar and it's become my new favorite tri move.

 

[young guns]

i'll have to experiment a little. like i said skull crushers were starting to bother my elbow real bad, but it may just have been too much of a jump in weight too soon. if i find the dbell extensions aren't comfortable or don't seem to give as good of a pump, i'll just have to try dropping weight on skull crushers and really concentrating on form.

when you guys do skull crushers, how far do you bring the weight down? i've heard some say they don't let their elbows bend past 90, while others take the weight to their forehead. i'm wondering if bending my elbows too far was the reason the exercise was hurting me.

 

[JoBu]

I bring it right down to my head. What part of your elbow hurts? Have you tried different grips on the ez bar? You might be trying to push too much weight and letting your elbows flare out to get it up. This will put extra stress on the medial (ulnar) colateral ligament...on the inside of your elbow. Too much valgus force can irritate it although it's usually from more explosive overhead motions like throwing, volloyball, and tennis.

 

[young guns]

i've had pain on both the inside and outside. the outside pain usually goes away real quickly though, it may effect one workout so i'll have to take it easy that day, but next time i hit tri's it'll be fine.

this pain i've been havin on the inside has stuck around for a few weeks. it's uncomfortable at first on pressing movements (overhead, benching, close grip) but usually stops bothering me when i get to working sets on those. but with skull crushers and dips both it can get too painful to do any worthwhile sets, so i've been working around it with other exercises.