Hey guys. Formerly a 305lb Offensive Lineman in college. I am now 195-200 lbs, and feel better, and look better, than ever. After easily cutting to 245-250 through cardio and diet alone, I was tired of seeing punks in the gym lift heavier than me, as my strength was in freefall mode. I relied heavily on circuit training to get me down to about 225-230…
It wasnt until I decided to really ramp up the weightlifting that, not only did my strength #'s relative to body weight shoot up to all-time highs, but I also lost about 25-30 lbs and my body altered completely.
The split I’ve had the most success with is Chest/Back/Shoulder&Arms/Legs, in a 2 on 1 off cycle. Each day is based on one of the 4 main compound lifts (Bench/Deads or Rows/Push or Dumbbell Press/Squat)…I try to push those weights as heavy as possible, staying in the 3-5 rep range, and here and there I’ll mix it up with a 1RM day, or a 8-10 rep day.
Every other lift is more hypertrophy based, 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps, depending on if I feel like going heavier, or if I feel like contracting the muscle longer.
IE
Day 1 - Chest
Barbell Bench 5x 3-5
Incline Dumbbell Press 4x8
Pec Flyes 4x12 supersetted with
Weighted Dips 4x12
Cable Front Raise 3x12
Day 2 - Back
Weighted Dips
Deadlift - Work singles up to 1RM
Dumbbell One Arm Row - 4 x 6-8
Wide Seated Rows 4 x 12
Lat Pull Downs 4x12
Core Work
Day 3 - Off or HIIT
Day 4 - Shoulders
Seated Dumbbell Press 4x 4-6
Lateral Raises Drop Sets 3x 10-10-10
Front Dumbbell Raise 3x 10
Cheat Curls 3x8 supersetted with
Skull Crushers 3x8
Incline Dumbbell Curls 3x10 supersetted with
Tricep Pulldowns 3x10
Reverse EZ Bar Curl 3x10 supersetted with
Single arm Reverse Pulldown 3x10
Day 4 - Legs
Squats - 5x3-5 (followed by a ‘widow-maker’ set, 15-20 reps)
Hack Squats - 4x10
Lunges - 3x10
Hamstring Curls - 3x10
Calf raises - 3x12
Core Work
Day 5 - off
Day 6 - Repeat
Cardio wise, I’ll try to do LISS on Day 1 and 2, HIIT on Day 3, none on Day 4, 10-15 minutes on Day 5 after legs, and take day 6 completely off, and go at it all over again.
I found this split not only gives my upper and lower body ample time to recover, especially for my wonky shoulder, but it also allows me to up the volume, since by going 4 in 6 days, you hit one body part twice a week, cyclically. So one week, you hit chest twice. Next week, back twice, etc…
Let me know what you guys think.
Lifts @ 200lbs:
Bench 330x3, 345x1
Deadlift 500x1
Squat 475x3, 500x1
Push Press 225lb
Barbell Row 275x5
Dumbbell Seated Press 100sx5