Long time reader, first time poster. First of all, a bit of background. I’ve lifted on and off for the last year and more consistently, still not consistently enough by any means, over the last three months. Started off as a fat boy and as a result was too concerned with body image to eat enough to gain properly, as a result didnâ??t really see the strength gains I wanted, lost interest, as a result didn’t see the fat loss gains I wanted either, viscous circle. I’m now a lot leaner than I was, not visible abs lean but lean enough not to care about gaining some fat while bulking and am ready to take things seriously.
Here are my basic facts so you can get a better idea of where I’m at:
Gender: Male
Age:21
Height: 6’0
Weight: 170 pounds
BF% - no idea
Lifts (all 5 rep max)
Deadlift: 110kg - using mixed grip and chalk
Back Squat: 80kg - struggled with form for ages as my right knee kept caving in but I’ve cracked that using goblet squats and squatting now feels a lot more comfortable.
Bench: 57.5 kg - stalled for quite a while here but worked hard on form and I can now lift for 5 reps off the chest without bouncing what I used to call a five rep max that involved the bar coming no lower than 3-4 inches away from my chest.
Overhead Press 45kg - similar form story as with my bench, this is with five reps from clavicle to lockout with no leg involvement and limited lean back.
My rugby season has just finished and as a result can dedicate as much time as possible, on which basis I was looking to do a 6 day a week split. I came across ‘do this routine instead of that dumb one’ and the 6 day split posted there seemed to fit the bill. However, I’ve had to modify it. I know I shouldn’t mess with programs made by people with far more experience than me but I have limited equipment at the gym I train at: 3 squat racks, one of which has a pull up/chin up bar. One fixed flat bench, two moveable adjustable benches, deadlift/Olympic lift platform and a dumbbell rack with weights up to 50kg, so unfortunately no cable machines/leg press/hack squat etc. This may sound strange but my university gym is split into two rooms, the powerlifting gym that I have membership at, and a separate gym that contains cable machines etc. Itâ??s the final term of my final year and I don’t have that much cash so it’s not worthwhile for me to purchase another membership at this point as memberships can only ever be purchased per academic year. So where Iâ??ve had to make changes I’ve tried to stick at closely as possible to the original program in terms of muscles trained and general approach. What I’ve come up with looks like this:
All sets ramped â?? last one to failure
Mon chest/shoulders/tris
Lo Incline Dumbbell Press - 3x4-8
Decline Barbell Press - 2x6-10
Seated overhead barbell press - 3x6-10
Dumbbell Front Raises 3x6-10 - this is the only change I’ve made here as I don’t have access to a cable machine
Lying behind the head extensions - 3x6-10
1 arm overhead extensions - 2x6-10
Tues Back/Bi’s
Deadlift - 3x4-8
One arm dumbbell row - 3x6-10
Reverse flye - 3x6-10
E-Z Curls - 3x6-10 (I know the original calls for curls done in the 4-8 rep range but I find that doing curls with heavy weight and low reps i.e. <6 causes my form to go to shit)
Hammer curls - 2x8-12
Wed legs/core
Front squat - 3x6-10
Standing Barbell Calf Raise - 3x20-25
Barbell Lunge - 3x8-12
Sit ups - 3xfailure
Medicine Ball twists - 3xfailure
Thurs chest/shoulders/tris - I was wondering if I could/should switch this day up a bit to make it a heavy shoulder day i.e. 2 shoulder pressing exercises and only 1 chest pressing exercise, perhaps then swap the raises for chest flyes?
Flat Dumbbell Press - 3x4-8
Incline Barbell Press - 2x6-10
Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press - 3x6-10
Dumbbell Lateral Raises - 3x6-10
Close Grip Bench - 3x6-10 - only change I’ve made here
French Press - 2x6-10
Fri Back/Bi’s
Barbell rows - 3x6-10
Rack pulls - 3x8-12
Chins - 3x6-10 - if I’m honest at this point I’ll probably be going to failure on each set and coming up short but I’m determined to improve
Bicep row - 3x6-10
Incline Curls - 2x8-12
Sat Legs/core
Back Squat - 3x4-8
Seated Calf Raise - 3x20-25
RDL’s - 3x6-10
Sit ups - 3xfailure
Medicine Ball twists - 3xfailure
I try and do the exercises in the order listed whenever possible but my gym is small and when it’s busy I have to be pretty flexible,
I also play badminton for an hour on Sunday mornings and Monday evenings and was thinking of working up some other cardio/conditioning work such as complexes/hill sprints in the evenings (2-3 times a week) for fat loss and general fitness if I can recover sufficiently.
In terms of diet I’ll admit I know even less than I do about training, which isn’t a great deal, but I’ve come up with the following as a general outline:
(aiming to drink 4 pints of whole milk a day roughly 1/meal but as a general rule if there’s any left at the end of the day I’ll just polish it off before bed)
Breakfast
100 grams of wheat/oat cereal
One serving of whey mixed with milk
One pint whole milk
One portion of fruit
I will then workout immediately afterwards (15-20 minutes by the time I have cycled to gym)
Immediately Post workout:
One serving of whey mixed with water
One portion of fruit
Post workout meal (when I get home from gym)
4 whole scrambled eggs
3 slices of wholegrain toast with butter/spread
Pint of whole milk
Lunch (my university halls of residence cater but occasionally I will cook for myself but will stick to this general formula)
Portion of chicken/beef/fish etc
Carb source: potatoes/pasta/rice/occasionally tortilla
Large serving of vegetables
Afternoon Snack:
CNP Professional protein flapjack
Pint of whole milk
Dinner (my university halls of residence cater but occasionally I will cook for myself but will stick to this general formula)
Portion of chicken/beef/fish etc
Carb source
Large serving of vegetables
Pre-bed
One serving of whey mixed with milk
3 tbsp peanut butter
Pint of whole milk (or however much I have to drink to reach four pints for the day)
Basically my question is am I on the right track, have I gone drastically wrong or am I somewhere in between? Really I’m just looking for some advice from a few people with more experience who can hopefully save me from wasting any more of my gym time. Sorry about the length of the post, wanted to make sure I was thorough.