Struggle Day(s)....

[callthedoctor]

Here is my split....pretty basic stuff.

Chest/Tri
Back/Bi
Quads
Shoulders/Calves

I see many people post that don't like Leg Day...I'm kinda the opposite...I live for legs. And I also relish my Chest/Tri workout (althougth I struggle with Tri's also). Having a GOOD workout is the BEST feeling...(I think I'm an endorphine junky).

However, the GOOD workouts seem to be fewer and farther between, often dictated by when and what I've eaten.

My bigger problem is Back/Bi's....I've kinda stopped doing DL's since the large-waist thread a few weeks back...I don't really care for working Bi's, even though it's my muscle that gets best pumped...

Any advice....I thought about mixing up my split....I'm having a hard time getting motivated for arm work (bi/tri) and back work (rows)....

I keep thinking as long as keep benching heavy and squating heavy that everything will fall into place. I work full time (45-50 hr/wk) and am father to two kids and a hubby...I don't want to be wasting my time.

I'm not by any means a pro, just want to look good at the pool...call it a mid-life crisis thing

I've got good size, but need to reduce my tummy fat w/o given up my size.

Advice? Thanks.

 

[WalkingBeast]

Hey brother!! I cant think of anyway to mix up the split itself that would make the routine more exciting and motivating. No matter how you split up the muscle groups you still got to hit that shit!! haha I can relate! Its like me with legs. I often end up doing them at the end of the week, and if a body part gets skipped, its always legs! I never liked training back much either, but now I love it. Deadlifts really fueled my love for back training. They eventually took over my back routine!! I like back training even without the deads now. But now Im making them (deadlifts) more secondary for the time being, and may even start a 5X5 with them soon. And I know with you there are time issues. One reason I love deadlifts is cuz I would do them for hours at a time, as a vent. I have no life aside from weights, so this isnt a problem for me. Is there any exercises you enjoy for back? Finding these exercises and implementing them can make all the difference in a stale routine. Youll be more motivated to give it your everything and push it to the max with exercises your comfortable with and actually enjoy. I love chest supported T-Bar rows but dont usually have access to them. Id reccomend 15 sets for back, but you can divide it into 5 sets of 3 different exercises, or 3 sets of 5 different exercises. On days where Im too lazy to move from exercise to exercise, I may only do 3 exercises for back, 5 sets each. Deadlifts may make the waist larger if thats a concern, but itll all be muscle. Personally I like the idea of having a thick strong core, but I see your goals or more appearence related then mine. As for the bi/tri training dilemna, I dont like training tri's either. I do them first on my arm days. Gets them out of the way, and also they are my priority over biceps. Trying new exercises for triceps always seems like a good way to mix things up. As for reducing fat on the waist, thats mostly diet. You can do some cardio, maybe 15-20 mins a day to start, to speed up the process. Hope that helps!

 

[callthedoctor]

Thanks WB....I really liked DL's (almost for the same vent reason as you) but I think I'm gonna lay off of them for a while....a least till I lose some fat-inches around the handle area.

I do seated low rows and high rows, maybe some lat pulls...I don't do chins; I can only do 1 or 2 since I weigh like 260 - - never has been a strong point for me. I do shrugs on both back and shoulder day...

I'm thinking my problem might be more OT or nutrition....since I'm trying to lose fat, I'm not eating as many cals as I need....almost need to time it perfectly. About 2-3 hours prior to lifting I need to eat some good stuff...back it up with some supps. Then after the GOOD workout, wash down my post shake....anthing aside from this I usually have problems.

Thanks for you reply....

 

[wpolo05]

Try this... Change the first two days of your workout to chest/back and bis/tris. This might mean shifting legs in between but that should be a good thing especially if you like legs. The reason this will help you is that you don't like training arms after a larger muscle group. Putting them together lets you do supersets and feel the combined pump which is a big endo rush. As for chest/back, this is also good because the two muscle groups do rely on each other for balance and support. Putting them together you can superset or use one as a motivator for the other.. ie tell yourself "two more sets of rows and its time to bench!"

It appears that your troubles are purely mental. I did not like training bis after back or tris after chest and neglected them. Since then, I am on a split similar to the I just suggested and I look forward to arm day and I am doing more sets of back than chest on chest/back day. Try it out!

chest/back
legs
bi/tri
* you might want a rest day if triceps are to sore to do shoulder following
shoulder/calves

 

[WalkingBeast]

Thanks WB....I really liked DL's (almost for the same vent reason as you) but I think I'm gonna lay off of them for a while....a least till I lose some fat-inches around the handle area.

I do seated low rows and high rows, maybe some lat pulls...I don't do chins; I can only do 1 or 2 since I weigh like 260 - - never has been a strong point for me. I do shrugs on both back and shoulder day...

I'm thinking my problem might be more OT or nutrition....since I'm trying to lose fat, I'm not eating as many cals as I need....almost need to time it perfectly. About 2-3 hours prior to lifting I need to eat some good stuff...back it up with some supps. Then after the GOOD workout, wash down my post shake....anthing aside from this I usually have problems.

Thanks for you reply....

No problem at all brother!! They can be brutal on the body. I cant wait to do them again though. I hope to deadlift again on monday. I might start a 5X5 or I might even do my usual routine on them. Possibly off the rack. Sounds like you know exactly what you need to do, maybe just needed a little reinforcement, thats all. Go with what your experience and body is telling you. Thats what Id suggest. No one knows that better then you. Keep it up brother!!