Is My Program Any Good?

Training Beginners
1

Or am I deluded by my newbie gains:)

Mon:
back-squat 1wu-----4x6-8
chins -----4x8-12

db bench -----4x6-8
db row -----4x8-10
(I superset these)

seated calf raises-4x15-20
military press-----4x8
(behind the neck)
I usually superset these to save time and keep HR up

Wed:
deadlift 1wu-------4x5-8
pullups -------4x8-12

decline bp---------4x8
upright row--------4x8-12
(superset)

db shoulder press–4x6-8

front db raises----3x8-12
lateral db raises–3x8-12
(superset)

Fri:
back squat---------4x6-8
(occasionally I’ll substitute barbell lunges in 8-12 rep rng)

db press-----------4x6-8
db rows------------4x6-8
(superset)

dips (bw)----------3x10-12
curls (preacher or seated hammer no cheats)4x8-10

seated calf raises-4x15-20

flys---------------4x8-10
rvs flys-----------4x8-10
(Cybex machine superset)

All exercises are performed with increasing weight on each subsequent set so that the last set is the heaviest. Occasionally, if I have extra time remaining I’ll add a low weight high rep 15-20 squat set at the end of the WO. Or sometimes I’ll through in extra curls or forearm exercises if I have any time remaining. WO are no longer than 1hr 10 min and no less than 1 hr.

Supplements are: fish oil daily 2x dosage on WO days.
creatine 5g daily, I’m thinking of doubling the dosage on WO days, 5g prior and 5g post WO.
BCAA 15-30 min before WO.
Whey with yogurt and blueberries post WO.

I’m 31 years old and 6’ 1" tall.
I began a 5x5 routine in Sept. and modified it to this one by Oct. I weighed 189 at the beginning and weigh 202 today. I appear to have had a small increase in body fat and noticeable increase in muscle mass. People who don’t see me daily almost always comment on it.

So is this a decent plan or am I just enjoying newbie gains which could be achieved by damn near anything including weighted pecker-pulling?

Thanks for any input, I really appreciate this site it’s an excellent resource and has helped me significantly.
JH

2

I don’t see any glaring issues with your program. You will have to change soon as each day is much like the previous one. You will likely have recovery issues. You will likely have to change to a heavy/light/medium formated focusing on one of the big 3 each workout. As long as you are making gains, keep at it.

3

“You will likely have to change to a heavy/light/medium formated focusing on one of the big 3 each workout.”

You are right. I’m starting to notice this after deadlifting on Wed and heavy squats on Mon. After the heavy compounds it takes a lot of willpower to really push the other lifts. I haven’t puked yet but I’ve come close a few times.

Recovery is still good, sometimes I even add pushups and rope pullups in the evenings. However, I’m still a newb so I assume that this is normal. I had worked out in the past with machines and other stuff but I was basically just spinning my wheels. I have never had gains like this before.

My endurance and work capacity has always been high. I’ve worked a lot of manual labor in the past and during the summer I work as a wildland firefighter so my body is acclimated to a relatively high workload already. Maximal size and strength are my current goals. I would like to bulk up as much as possible before the coming fire season and then hopefully maintain a good portion of my gains through the season.

4

I’ll second what stuward said.

Rotate your rep ranges 8x3, 4x6, 3x8, etc.

Also, force yourself to progress, add weight, add a rep, add a set, do the same workout in under 1 our instead of over 1 hour, etc.

read this http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=508031
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Total-Body Training

5

Looks like solid total body training to me. If you start adding intensity and volume to your compound lifts, you’ll probably want to do less of the smaller stuff, like calf work. You’ll notice if it gets necessary.

Do you have a plan for increasing workload/intensity of your major lifts, like in the traditional 5x5 stuff you mention? As long as your deadlift/bench/squat numbers are moving up, you’re doing fine - other stuff will follow.

6

On squats I’ve been increasing depth from parallel to approaching ATG while continuing to increase weight weekly.

For deads I recently added an extra set, it’s difficult and tends to wear me out for most of the subsequent lifts.

On bench I’m just increasing weight while perfecting form. My focus has been dumbbells since I don’t have a regular WO partner.

I’ve begun a short deload/cut cycle this week due to the holidays and the fact the the gym is only operating on an abbreviated schedule. I’ve begun running intervals and did a short uphill hike with a heavy pack today. I’m going to continue this for the next two weeks and then return to my program. I’ll maintain a slightly less intense variation of this routine until I’m ready to restart.

Once I restart the program I think I will incorporate the variable rep ranges and light, moderate, heavy execise days to really focus on the big three. I don’t want to rotate exercises while doing this, I think it will add too many variables. If I make any exercise changes it will be at the beginning and I will maintain them as long as they continue to be effective.

For the longterm I intend to continue the program for another 10 week cycle or until my progress slows significantly. From there I’ll take another short deload and hopefully have a new program ready.
Thanks for all the feedback,
JH

7

Sounds like you’re on the right track, and don’t really need to change anything yet. I did the same thing with my squats when I started doing them. You’ve also noticed the thing about deadlifts: you gotta be careful when you add high intensity sets, as it might seriously hinder your recovery. I’ve run similar TBT programs plenty times, changing something here and there, but still keeping the 5x5 compound lift core intact. Also, I just realized you didn’t list any direct ab work, like crunches with additional weight, seated crunches, leg raises/holds etc. Strength-wise, raw ATG back squats and deadlifts have given me enough core strength to perform them safely, but I still wouldn’t neglect direct ab work, even though it’s more of a necessity for geared powerlifters, since they’ll be handling a lot more weight.