Please critique my workout routine (all suggestions welcome!)

[Aaron02]

So far this is what I've put together..

Monday: Chest/Back

Bench Press
Cable Row
Military Press
Lateral Pulldown
Dumbbell Press
HammerStrength Pulldown (not sure how to explain that one)


Wednesday: Legs

Squats
Deadlifts
Calf Raises
Leg Curls
Leg Extensions
Lunges


Friday: Arms

Barbell Curl
Lying EZ-Bar Tricep Extension
Standing/Incline Dumbbell Curl
Seated Concentration Curl
Shoulder Presses

Tues/Thurs: Cardio
Sat/Sun: REST

I’ve been lifting for over a year now with minimal gains, I think because I’ve been somewhat uneducated and have been counterproductive. Right now I’m 5’11” 155 lbs and would like to put on some lean mass. Please let me know how I can tweak my routine to see optimal gains. All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Aaron

 

[diamonddiceclay]

back belongs on it's own day

 

[Aaron02]

Ok... should I work my back and shoulders the same day? Overhead presses, etc..

 

[bignate73]

anything someone tells you with regards to this routine can and probably will be opinion. since you know the basic exercises, you can formulate a program based on the time you have and your ability to recover. back doesnt need its own day, nor do legs or any other bodypart, opinion...yes, fact....yes. its all individual. there are some truths to working out, but many you formulate for yourself based on how you respond to training.

your food intake will dicate your growth, training is just the stimulus. you could be doing half of that workout and if your food intake is right, you will grow.

i noticed you put some compound movements, ie dbell presses in your "arms" day. just keep in mind, that these are primarily movements that work other areas besides your arms, though at this stage you may feel that your arms get the biggest workout, its ok, most people starting out do.

my suggestion is to hit the search engine. (im not copping out on you) there are tons of routines there that you can check out and see if you a)have the time to incorporate, b) have the energy to tackle and c) will allow you to recover fully before you are using that bodypart again.

 

[erickthegreat11]

Most obvious thing I see is you should try moving shoulder press to chest day since you're already working your shoulders then.

 

[Complete Muscle]

Tweeked your routine a bit...

Monday: Chest/Shoulders/Tris
Bench Press/WeightedDips
Military Press
Tricep extensions


Wednesday: Legs
Squats/Leg Press
Stiff Leg Deadlifts
Calf Raises


Friday: Back/Bis
Bentover Rows
Weighted Pull Ups
Barbell Curl

Tues/Thurs: Cardio (minimal while bulking)

Sat/Sun: REST


Less Is More! Your training sessions should last no more than 1 hour. After 45 minutes of intense exercise, your testosterone and growth hormone levels begin to decrease in favor of the catabolic hormone cortisol – which is responsible for breaking down muscle tissue for energy. To combat this catabolic state keep your training sessions down to 45–60 minutes. You should work out somewhere between 2 and 4 times per week. As a general rule you are ready for your next work out when the muscle soreness from your previous work is completely gone.


Train brief but heavy! Your goal is to stimulate as many muscle fibers as possible in a 45 to 60 minute work out. Heavy training with low reps puts more demand on your muscles stimulating maximum growth. Your training should consist mainly of compound movements (exercises requiring use of multiple muscle groups).


Get plenty of rest! Your muscles do not grow in the gym! Weight training is merely the stimulus which causes your muscles to respond by growing bigger and stronger. This takes time. Make sure your body gets plenty of down-time between work outs. Don’t be tempted to over train; wait until your muscles are fully recovered from your last work out before you go hammer them again. Improper diet and over training are the two major reasons why the average gym attendee remains average.

Hope this helps!

 

[Gladiola]

Yes, diet is key. Make sure you are eating enough & getting enough protein & 'clean' food (doesn't mean you can stuff your face with junk).

I think Complete Muscle's program looks good. How many sets do you typically do of each exercise? How many reps? & how's your form? Messed up form can, at best, make you not work the muscle you're trying to work, and at worst, injure you. You are right in that it is easy to be counterproductive (over training, etc.).

Are you properly warming-up before each session? Stretching between sets or at least at the end of your session?

 

[Aaron02]

I usually do 3 sets of 10.. the third set until failure. Stretching is also something I should probably devote more time do. I DO stretch, but I kind of half-ass it I think.

 

[Gladiola]

3 sets of 10 is good, but each set should be pretty much to failure (the last rep being the last you can possibly get out with good form). You can also pyramid or reverse pyramid - don't worry about doing "10 reps" every set, worry about fatiguing the muscle. I.e. if you plan to do 10, but you get to rep #10 & get do a few more - do a few more till you can't do anymore! Then the next set, you need *more weight* (if you did more than 11). If the next set, with more weight, you can only get to 8 or 10, that's ok too.

You can also try mixing moderate & heavy weeks... week 1, chest would be heavy (really go to failure, lower rep range [6-8 on some sets], maybe drop sets, etc.) & moderate shoulders & tris -then swap that for the next week.

Stretching - resting 60 seconds between sets is ideal, I use that time to stretch (as well as getting a drink, change weight if needed, maybe walk around, etc.) Stretches should be HELD a MINIMUM of 15 - 30 seconds. This helps disperse the lactic acid so you'll be less sore - I've also read of studies that show it can help increase strength. More flexibility also helps reduce your risk of injury. Just hold, don't bounce (this is especially tempting with calf stretches or hamstrings, but HOLD & ease into it - don't bounce).

 

[Robboe]

Complete muscle's routin e was almost spot on IMO, except i think both high and low reps should be done.

also, i think you should do both DB press and weighted dips and both squats and leg press.

IMO do 2 sets for each exercise.

I personally stretch after training and not during.

Gladiola, can you sort me out with the studies that show it helps muscle strength please. I've always been under the impression that stretching between sets weakens the muscle. Thanks

 

[Lord_Suston]

To Robboe, actin and myosin bind together to form contractile components, often when lifting the muscle (actin/mysin) are sometimes stuck ina locked position due to the decreaser in ion concentration within the sarcoplasm reticulum and and intracellular fluid. this means they bind together and have no way to relax untill the ion gradient can be regenerated. this can also happen when the depletion of ATP occurs since it direclty effects the binding process of mysin and actin. (Physiology 410)

To Aaron2
Try mon chest/ tris
wens legs and shoulders
frida back and bis

with cardio on tues and sat going five days straight is asking a lot out of your body.

 

[Lord_Suston]

To Robboe, actin and myosin bind together to form contractile components, often when lifting the muscle (actin/mysin) are sometimes stuck ina locked position due to the decreaser in ion concentration within the sarcoplasm reticulum and and intracellular fluid. this means they bind together and have no way to relax untill the ion gradient can be regenerated. this can also happen when the depletion of ATP occurs since it direclty effects the binding process of mysin and actin. (Physiology 410) Stretching (lightly between sets) helps restore normal muscle length and interaction.

To Aaron2
Try mon chest/ tris
wens legs and shoulders
frida back and bis

with cardio on tues and sat going five days straight is asking a lot out of your body.

 

[conanJR]

hi everyone ! new here.......
try mon - chest ,biceps
wed - legs , delts
fri - back , tri

i used to train 5 days aweek , until a former mr KENYA showed me this routine , i've gained 20 kg in 1 year.hope it helps !

 

[Gladiola]

Thanks Lord_Suston - um, I think you gave a reason that stretching can help increase strength!

My detailed physiology knowledge is mediocre at best.

Robboe - I actually read that in Fitness magazine (which is crap that I no longer read!) but it reported on a study on women at a university. One control group stretched b/t sets & the others didn't & the stretchers had greater strengths gains.

2 sets only? hmm, my BB brother-in-law does 5 & I initially learned from my sister (who learned from him). ACSM Guidelines state 3 sets is ideal. I went down to 3 & after a few months increased to 4 (although only do 3 on occasion on some exercises that are further fatiging something that's already been worked in a compound movement). I love pumping iron too much to stop at 2 sets!

 

[bignate73]

Gladiola, can you sort me out with the studies that show it helps muscle strength please. I've always been under the impression that stretching between sets weakens the muscle. Thanks

actually bro you are right. stretching between sets should only be used if you are excessively tight and THEN only stretching the muscle that inhibits the movement you are trying to do. ie tight chest, stretch it between rows.

the reasoning behind not stretching between sets is that static or relaxation stretching (held for a long period over ~5 seconds) can slow the CNS down and basically tell it that its time to relax. dynamic stretching (1-3 second stretches, quick range of motion type) can be beneficial because it keeps the CNS fired up and wont slow down the neural response when time to lift.

its like telling your system to run run run and then "go to sleep" and run run run and "go to sleep". for lack of a better analogy.

 

[Gladiola]

static or relaxation stretching (held for a long period over ~5 seconds) can slow the CNS down and basically tell it that its time to relax.

I can see how that could be true - but I don't usually feel like my system "relaxes" when stretching - on the contrary, yoga can be very strenuous.

 

[Robboe]

this means they bind together and have no way to relax untill the ion gradient can be regenerated.

the gradient is regenerated within seconds, if not milliseconds.

Thanks Nate, i knew it was something like that. Great info as always.

 

[gettinlarger]

aaron, hit it hard and heavy. more weight, less reps, always until failure. eat big, lift big, get big. ive put on at least 20 lbs in the past year and raised my bench at least 50 lbs. you will get stronger and bigger bro. if it helps, heres my routine ...

monday - chest/back
tues - bis/tris
wed - shoulders/legs
thurs - incline/decline chest/back
fri - bis/tris

ill throw a day in there to rest sometimes. but this routine works very well. soreness for each muscle group usually gets to be gone before i do my next workout. if not, i wait. good luck

 

[Lord_Suston]

the gradient is regenerated within seconds, if not milliseconds.

Thanks Nate, i knew it was something like that. Great info as always.

Yes this is true in normal situations but sometimes calcium stays in the channels untill the ion gate allow for active transport, this causes muscle cramping, and cramping lasts more than milliseconds

 

[Aaron02]

aaron, hit it hard and heavy. more weight, less reps, always until failure. eat big, lift big, get big. ive put on at least 20 lbs in the past year and raised my bench at least 50 lbs. you will get stronger and bigger bro. if it helps, heres my routine ...

monday - chest/back
tues - bis/tris
wed - shoulders/legs
thurs - incline/decline chest/back
fri - bis/tris

ill throw a day in there to rest sometimes. but this routine works very well. soreness for each muscle group usually gets to be gone before i do my next workout. if not, i wait. good luck

Would you mind sharing your full routine? I'm still working on tweaking mine using ideas I get from other people. Thanks!

 

[bignate73]

Yes this is true in normal situations but sometimes calcium stays in the channels untill the ion gate allow for active transport, this causes muscle cramping, and cramping lasts more than milliseconds

i have a cool cdrom that shows the whole sliding filament theory, with sound effects. i like to crank it up loud, especially when the calcium is release, "pop, pop, pop!" as they travel to sarcomere. heheheheheh

damn, i need a life.

 

[Robboe]

Yes this is true in normal situations but sometimes calcium stays in the channels untill the ion gate allow for active transport, this causes muscle cramping, and cramping lasts more than milliseconds

I know what you mean, but this is rare for BBers who take multi vits, go easy on the caffiene and drink water sufficiently during training - and at other times of the day incidentally.

But i totally understand your point.

 

[gettinlarger]

Originally posted by Aaron ...
Would you mind sharing your full routine? I'm still working on tweaking mine using ideas I get from other people. Thanks!


day one- chest/back
flat bench, db press, cable crossovers, maybe some weighted dips, t bar rows, lat pull downs/weighted pull ups, seated rows, shrugs

two- bis/tris
straight bar curls, preacher curls, db curls (standing or incline), one arm preachers, skull crushers, push downs ('v' shaped bar, then rope), maybe some close grip bench press

three - shoulders/legs
military press, db military press, front/side raises, leg press (i dont do squats often, thats a back injury waiting to happen), extensions, leg curls, calf raises

four - upper/lower chest
decline bench, decline flys, incline bench, incline db press, incline flys

 

[Lord_Suston]

To Robboe and Bignate

We got some very intelligent people on this board, usually i'll say something and someone will respond that's not what Flex magazine said.

To Aaron02 to gain muscle though you need to be intense and get plenty of food and rest. You can train for years and not get these concepts and you will get minimal results....

 

[Robboe]

sust: thanks.

Gettin larger: IMO that routine is shit. And the fact that you do not squat makes it even worse. Squats performed correctly are the best exercise available. ANY exercise performed with poor form is an injury waiting to happen.

Aaron, a basic 3 day a week split with days of rest inbetween are very good. Look into them.

 

[AMP 33]

Monday : Chest & Back 8 sets for each plus 1 set of pullovers
Wensday: Legs 4 sets for quads and 4 for hamstrings plus 6 sets for calves
Friday: Shoulders Bis and Tris 7 sets for shoulders 4 for Bis and 4 for Tris
cardio optional

this program works from september to january of last year my bench went up 95 - 185 and i gained about 20 lbs of muscle i went from 140 - 170 lbs

 

[gettinlarger]

robboe, you neednt be a dick or anything. im only saying what i do. plus, im very new at the sport. id appreciate some suggestions if you have any, instead of an asshole attitude.