Critique My Beginner Program

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

I’m 14, 5’4" and 125 pounds. My main aim for this program is to gain strength all around. My main lower body goal for this strength it tow improve my vertical leap and sprinting speed. My main upper body goals is to eventually obtain the one arm pull ups and improving my pressing strength greatly all around.

Monday, Maximum effort Lower:
5x3 Squats
5x3 Deadlifts

Tuesday, Chest/Back/Shoulder:
4x3 Weighted Chin ups
4x3 Weighted Pull ups
5x3 Bench Press
5x3 Military Press

Wednesday Biceps/Triceps/Calves:
5x5 Preacher Curls
3x5 Zottman Curls
5x5 Decline Nosebreaker
5x3 Standing Tricep Extension
4x10 Barbell Standing Calf Raise
B1 3x8 One-leg dumbbell standing calf raise
B2 3x12 Lunge-position calf raise

Thursday, Lower Olympic Lifts:
5x3 Power Clean
5x3 Front Squat

Friday: Rest day

Saturday, Chest/Back/Shoulder:
3x1 Weighted Frenchies (Pull to the top hold 7 sec lower, pull to the top lower to 90 degrees hold 7 sec lower, pull to the top lower to 135 degrees hold 7 sec=1 rep)
5x3 Bent Over Barbell Row
5x3 Bench Press
5x3 Military Press

Sunday: Rest day

As you can probably tell, Wednesday is more aesthetic than…“funcional.” although the tricep and biceps work may help in pulling and benching.

I’m thinking of changing the bent over rows on Saturdays to more weighted pull ups, although this may sacrifice some thickness. I’d like to know if the rows would have any benefit in vertical pulling strength before I either implement or replace them.

I also am not sure as the whether I should be doing romanian deadlifts or traditional deadlifts for vertical/sprinting development, so any advice on that would be well received.

The leg days seem a bit short me though, but I’m not sure what I should/could add without hindering my strength gains.

I was also thinking of putting the military press in before the bench press to fatigue the deltoids before benching so i can take them out of the movement and get more of my pectorals into it. I will also be implementing staggered abs training into this so I don’t let my “core” fall behind the rest of me.

Any advice is very welcome, but please explain the reasoning behind any changes so I don’t just go head on into something I know very little about.

2

stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program

Do something like this, and increase your diet by 1000 calories or more.

3

The best thing you can do would be to steal a note from a successful training coach and do stronglifts or rippetoes. The reason being that they’ve got training newbs down to a science, and a proven track record of success.

However, if you insist on doing things your own way (which is by all means appropriate, if sub-optimal)

  1. The typical body-part split (any regimen involving a day for arms, shoulders, or calves) isn’t athletically oriented. Kill Wednesday’s workout, because it won’t help any of your goals.

  2. The ME lower day is good. You probably don’t need that much deadlift, but it shouldn’t hurt you.

  3. Replace the weighted pullups with barbell rows. Pullups and chinups are the same exercise, just with different hand positions (chin-ups have palms facing you), but rows will strengthen your horizonal pulling muscles, and balance your bench.

  4. Make Thursday a speed day. Do Powercleans and power snatches. You’re already back-squatting, you won’t get that much more stimulation out of front-squatting as well. And do the exercise on Friday.

  5. Drop Saturday’s workout. You’re not doing anything here you haven’t already done (except the frenchy’s, and… to be honest, I don’t know what that’s supposed to do, except be difficult), and you could use the extra rest.

  6. Do sets of 5 instead of 3. I highly doubt your nervous system is powerful enough to make use of sets heavier than this, and the extra volume will help it get there.

  7. Staggered ab training is useful, but the important part is that it gets in there, not nessecarily where it gets in there. I recommend against situps and crunches, and for hanging leg raises and one-armed deadlifts (Try it before you tell me it’s not a ‘core’ exercise).

4

Thanks for the advice Otep, I’ll implement what you’ve told me and try that for a while, if I don’t see significant improvements I’ll switch over to Rippetoe or stronglifts.

I want to keep Saturday’s workout, because after reading Thib’s how to design a damn good program, he says its optimal to hit the muscle twice per week for strength gains. I might do something from WS4SB, the repetition day, but with a little weight added on the primary exercises to make it more power-endurance focussed.

I’m also going to add Captain of Crush grip work twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays after the gym.

One problem I’ve got is that I don’t have anyone to teach my power snatches, but I do have someone to teach me power cleans.

My updated program will look like this.
Monday:
5x5 squats
3x5 deadlifts

Tuesday:
5x5 weighted chin ups
5x5 barbell rows
5x5 bench
5x5 military press

Wednesday: rest

Thursday:
5x5 Power cleans
maybe power snatches if I can get someone to teach me, if not don’t know what to put in here

Friday: rest

Saturday:
3xMax ring dips (with 10 lbs)
3x8 dumbbell tricep extensions
3xMax pull ups (with 10 lbs)
3x10 bradford press
3x10 barbell curls

Sunday: recovery

5

I’m 14, 5’4" and 125 pounds.

This is a horrible program for you. Absolutely atrocious.

You are 14 years old and are a beginner.

I doubt you have the body awareness to do most of the movements you outlined correctly.

I doubt you have the supporting or core strength to do a squat or deadlift without your form breaking.

Olympic lifting at 14 is only appropriate for those individuals who have a background in training.

Your rep range isn’t suitable for someone who is just starting out.

I do not believe that you will do this program for more than 2 or 3 weeks before you stop doing it. It’s too much in almost every way.

6

This kid just ripped this program from doggcrapp training. he’s not gonna follow any of it, he’s just being a troll.

7

[quote]905Patrick wrote:

I’m 14, 5’4" and 125 pounds.

This is a horrible program for you. Absolutely atrocious.

You are 14 years old and are a beginner.

I doubt you have the body awareness to do most of the movements you outlined correctly.

I doubt you have the supporting or core strength to do a squat or deadlift without your form breaking.

Olympic lifting at 14 is only appropriate for those individuals who have a background in training.

Your rep range isn’t suitable for someone who is just starting out.

I do not believe that you will do this program for more than 2 or 3 weeks before you stop doing it. It’s too much in almost every way.[/quote]

All correct, except the olympic lifting comment. it’s best to learn skill based things when you’re young. I will go halfway though and having a base in the highpull, and frontsquat first would probably by very beneficial.

OP: Do rippetoes or stronglifts, or madcows 5x5. You need to gain like 30 pounds before you worry about anything else. Trust me, I wish I had followed this advice when I first started lifting.

My total would be MUCH heavier then it is now, because I thouhgt I needed to lift all the fucking time, and making sure I hit all sorts of wierd shit becasue I worried to much about not doing enough/not hitting everything.

8

[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
All correct, except the olympic lifting comment. it’s best to learn skill based things when you’re young. I will go halfway though and having a base in the highpull, and frontsquat first would probably by very beneficial.

[/quote]

I agree that one is better off learning things when they are young, olympic lifting as a beginner seems a little to advanced in my opinion. I regard deadlifting and squatting as precursors to olympic movements so I wouldn’t suggest anyone learn these movements until they’ve lifted consistently for 6 months and shown some progress in the less involved compound movements, REGARDLESS of their age.

9

Thanks for the advice everyone. Based on what you’ve all said, I’m going with Stronglifts beginner program.
/topic

10

[quote]905Patrick wrote:
zephead4747 wrote:
All correct, except the olympic lifting comment. it’s best to learn skill based things when you’re young. I will go halfway though and having a base in the highpull, and frontsquat first would probably by very beneficial.

I agree that one is better off learning things when they are young, olympic lifting as a beginner seems a little to advanced in my opinion. I regard deadlifting and squatting as precursors to olympic movements so I wouldn’t suggest anyone learn these movements until they’ve lifted consistently for 6 months and shown some progress in the less involved compound movements, REGARDLESS of their age.

[/quote]

ah, I figured you meant like 1-2 years. I can see why that would be a good idea.