Lifting Schedule Help

[Elementality]

Hey, just wondering if anyone had a good workout schedule. I am able to workout 5 - 6 times a week easily with no a flexible schedule.

I am trying to go for big gains, not so much cutness. I've been playin around with a few schedules but i seem to plateau easily.

I was doing squats and other leg stuff the day before i did bench press and realized that limits my bench the next day. Ive also thought about needing to change up my workouts, maybe do something like bench for chest then next time i do chest do dumbells and cables to help break the plateau.

If anyone has a good schedule that i could follow weekly that would be aimed towards getting bigger, and racking up the weights on all my lifts instead of being stuck, please let me know. thanks

 

[KC Kancho]

Squats and some explosive leg exercises can be taxing to the CNS, and so it's foreseeable to have a lower performance the following day at the gym. It's possible that you may be overtraining and not getting enough rest.

I'm a little unsure of what you want exactly. You say you want big gains, and it seems that you are referring to increasing the amount of weight that you lift; you mention plateauing but it also seems that you are wanting to get bigger.

Getting bigger is kind of connected with lifting more weight, but it seems that your diet would have more effect on getting bigger. I can't remember the exact article, but over on T-nation, I recall a great quote, "It's not the amount of weight you lift, it's how much stress you put on the muscle." (paraphrasing)

As far as plateauing, some potential ideas would be doing "negatives", "plyometrics," "partials," "higher weight/lower rep", "lower weight/higher rep", changing the speed of your reps (try doing your bench press faster, but still in a controlled manner, and then try a set where you do it slower than usual). Do exercises with just one-arm (like a bench press or shoulder press) instead of two.

Another idea would be to pause before you do the "eccentric" action (i.e. in the bench press, pause 2 seconds as the bar is on your chest before you push the weight back up.) If you get really desperate for variation, try using a smith machine or some circuit machines so you can isolate one aspect of an exercise.

Lots of people plateau and so there are many program variations as well as cycling various supplements and diets.

Another good way to prevent plateaus is to take precise notes of how much you're lifting so you can track your progress as well as make weekly and monthly goals. That way, before you even arrive at the gym, you know what your plan is for that session.