AoW Possible 4th Day?

Hi, I have just finished ABBH and I really like CW’s routines and would like to try AoW next. The thing is, it is only a 3 day split and I have the general impression that the more muscle stimulation you can get (ie more workouts) without overtraining of course, the better, right?

I not only seem to gain better with 4 day splits, but right now in the holidays with more freetime I’d like to workout as often as possible.

I need advice from more experienced lifters on the feasibility of making AoW into a 4 workout a week cycle instead of 3. The current plan goes as such:

Workout1 (10x3, 80% load)
Push Press
Chin Ups
Good Mornings
BB Calf Raise
Dips
Side Bends

Workout2 (3x12, 70% load)
Squats
Rows
Bench
Donkey Calf
French Press
External Rotation

Workout3 (4x6, 85% load)
Hack Squats
Hammer Curl
Power Clean
Skull Crushers
Incline Bench
Weighted Crunches

OK, so my aim is to add in there another workout, but since I am a newbie to lifting who knows jack, I have little idea of how to create a 4th workout in terms of the ideal parameters, exercise selection, load, etc…

I’m guessing full body would be the way to go, and as CW says to aim for a 24-50 set/rep volume here’s what I’ve come up with (probably wrong, plz correct):

Workout 4 (4x10, 75% load)
Deadlift
Decline Bench
Military Press
Trap Shrugs

I don’t know whether adding this is too much or too little, or whether I will have to take some volume off the other workouts to compensate. Can I plz give some advice here?

BTW, as mentioned, I am in holidays for a month or so, so basically I can rest up on off days quite easily, if this will help combat overtraining or not.

Cheers in advance.

I am inclined to believe that you will get the best results if you follow the program the way the author wrote it. In this case Chad is an expert and you are newbie by your own admission. Don’t your think your chance of messing this program up is greater than your chance of improving it?

In any case, you can try it and see if it works.

In case you are not aware, Waterbury already wrote an article with a four-day, full-body split. Note the rep variation.
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459216

I’m in the second week of AofW and. If you are a newbie, I would strongly suggest that you stick to the program as it’s designed. More is rarely better, particularly when it comes to CW’s programs. I assure you that you will receive plenty of stimuli and then some if you adhere to the specific parameters. If you feel like you are not, then you are simply doing something incorrectly (i.e. loading, time between sets, etc.)

If you really find the need to tighten things up, I’d rather try something like this:

example
(choose the days of the week that fit your schedule best)

Monday: Day1
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Day2
Thursday: Off
Friday: Day3
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Day1
Monday: Off
Tueday: Day2


or if that still isn’t enough:

Monday: Day1
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Day2
Thursday: Off
Friday: Day3
Saturday: Day1
Sunday: Off
Monday: Day2
Tueday: Off
Wednesday: Day3
Thursday: Off
Friday: Day1
Saturday: Day2
Sunday: Off


But as it has been said before, for optimal results, I would definitely follow the program as outlined in the article. The progression on days 1 and 3 as the weeks go by is noticeable to say the least.