Is this Routine Suited for my Goals

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hey guys, new here.

I am a beginner who went yesterday to a gym for the first time and was so puzzled on what to do when one of the trainers there approached me.

He is super jacked and told me that he saw that I am new and he would help me out and he said two things: That he can’t spend time on me as he has his own paid clients but he told me that what I would do here won’t matter if I don’t eat right so he wrote on a piece of paper a link which took my to some sites which contained information for macros and total calories and how to compose my own diet. I have got to admit pretty interesting stuff.

He also wrote me a routine. So, this is what he wrote me:

Day 1: Chest, Triceps.

Flat bench press: 5x6-10
Incline bench press: 5x6-10
Dumbbell flies: 4x6-10
Dips for chest:5x6-10

Triceps pressdown 4x6-10
Skullcrushers 4x6-10
Rope pressdowns 4x-6-10

Day2: Back and biceps

Deadlift 5x6-10
Barbell rows 5x6-10
One-arm dumbbell rows 5x-10
Lat pulldowns with long bar 4x6-10
Lat pulldowns with v-bar 4x6-10
Seated Rows 4x6-10
Straight arm lat pressdowns 4x6-10

Ez-bar curls 4x-6-10
Hammer curls 4x6-10
concentration curls 4x6-10

Day3 : Shoulders and Legs

Barbell Squats 5x6-10
Leg press 5x6-10
Leg extensions 4x8-12
Hamstring curls 4x8-12
Seated calf raises 4x10-15

Shoulder press 5x6-10
Side lateral raises 4x6-10
Front raises 4x6-10
Rear delt flies

and 1-2 sets of light Facepulls for shoulder health.

His notes are the following: Do day 1 2 3 consecutively and take a day off and start again; Start with only compound movements ( I googled it and bench presses; shoulder press; deadlifts; leg presses; squats are those, right ?) and then add the isolation work gradually. When you can do 8-10 clean chins, substitute both lat pulldowns for 5 sets of bodyweight chins. Focus on form on all of the exercise and start with the bar.

He was really nice to me and he gave me this for free but after doing some reading I don’t know what to think, but I also don’t want to spit in his face.

By the way, my goal is something like Jeff Seid’s physique, even bigger in size. I know this is more diet and years of dedication but I just want to know if this routine is good for the goal and is not a stupid-ass routine with excessive stuff.

What do you guys think ? Thanks

2

Not a bad program at all. I will say that the back workout is a hell of a lot, especially for a beginner. Still, it’s a split I’ve seen plenty of people use, and the frequency that a 3 on 1 off rotation will give you is certainly doable, especially if you lock your diet in.

I would suggest:

  • scaling back the volume a bit when you start out.
  • Add another hamstring exercise
  • Add a straight leg calf movement (this will hit the bigger part of your calfs better than the seated approach)
  • No need for such redundancy at this point in back work (3 different types of rows?)

S

3

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Not a bad program at all. I will say that the back workout is a hell of a lot, especially for a beginner. Still, it’s a split I’ve seen plenty of people use, and the frequency that a 3 on 1 off rotation will give you is certainly doable, especially if you lock your diet in.

I would suggest:

  • scaling back the volume a bit when you start out.
  • Add another hamstring exercise
  • Add a straight leg calf movement (this will hit the bigger part of your calfs better than the seated approach)
  • No need for such redundancy at this point in back work (3 different types of rows?)

S[/quote]

Thank you very much, I am used to be told that beginners should do full body 3x a week but I think that is not for me because I don’t think I like it. This split gives me a 2x muscle group per week frequency which is probably more effective. If you may, I’d like you to answer a few questions of mine. Thanks in advance.

  1. Is this really a nice routine, not full of excessive stuff ? ( I will be sure to drop a row and start out not with everything at once) As excessive stuff I mean real time-wasters that won’t yield results

  2. I know that this is more diet and dedication than it is training style, but is this routine good for someone with my goal, I mention what my goal is in the OP. I mean, you also agree with the rep range 6-10 pretty much everything for hypertrophy. I don’t care much about strength, I am training for the looks. (Although getting stronger and adding weight to the bar means size but I need a definitive answer for the rep range, is it that serious ?)

  3. Is a front delt iso really necessary ? A friend of mine told me I get it enough from pressing on chest day and dumbbell shoulder press. I was actually given initially a “Push/Pull/Legs” routine but I didn’t like the looks of having shoulders,chest and tris in one day.

  4. Would squatting in the smith machine be counterproductive until I get used to the movement ? It is because I lose balance and I can’t do anything even only with the bar when free weight. I remember that when I bench pressed, the bar on a normal bench was too heavy even for one CLEAN rep and I started out in a smith machine bench (where the bar weighs almost nothing due to being with support ropes). When I could do it in the smith machine with 20 lbs plates I went to the normal bench and could do my sets with the bar and 5 lbs plates. Would doing the same for squats be good just to start out ?

4

Anyone ?

5

No. It’s terrible. Why are you listening to bloated juice monkeys?? Beginners should only be doing full body workouts.

Joking! Just joking!

It depends. Can you maintain intensity throughout the workout? Or will you end up half heartedly going through the motions with later exercises?

Progressive resistance will make you grow along with your diet. If you cannot adopt a “go heavy or go home” attitude at this stage, you will not see results. As a beginner you should be able to add weight to the bar every week for the compound exercises if you put in the effort.

If you “don’t care about strength”, don’t start lifing. Pick up another hobby or risk wasting your time for several months.

Front delt iso isn’t necessary. Side delt iso is.

There’s nothing wrong with squatting in the smith machine as long as you progressively get stronger and execute each rep like your life depends on it. I see a lot of beginners barbell squatting like nancys nowadays with the delusion that they’ll grow more just because they’re using free weights.

6

The trainer gave you some good advice. You were very lucky in that regard.

Also, I would listen to Stu.

There are lots of people offering advice on the internet, and you sound really confused trying to figure out who to listen to.

Stu is a pro bodybuilder, and your trainer gave you really good advice for free. I would listen to both of them.

7

I don’t see any major issues with this. Not the approach I’d use but so what?

I’d pay a lot of attention to this bit though:

8

There’s no way a newbie/unathletic guy who doesn’t care about strength has the neuromuscular capacity to withstand that much volume for his first fuckin week of lifting. Not to mention he’ll be sore as shit.

9

That’s why it’s been recommended he starts off with a fraction of what he’s listed.

10

Guys, I did some reading and although I don’t want to contradict a Pro Bodybuilder, isn’t this going to burn me out in a month ? And for a 3 days on, 1 off isn’t this too much for the shoulders ? ( they are worked on chest tris day and then have their own day)

It seems like I would benefit more from a full-body 3x a week but if I don’t want full-body and 3x a week, is it counterproductive to start with a split ?

It seems like that a split that gives me 2x frequency is most optimal ?

If you were me guys and had my goal ( goal’s in the OP) would you just hop onto a PUSH/PULL/LEGS routine and if yes can you give me a very effective one ?

11

I am just afraid that the development of my tris and shoulders will be compromised due to chest before them and so on

And again, is his 5x5 necessary. Isn’t reaching failure between 6-12 to promote hypertrophy ? I mean I don’t want to piss you guys off and to act as if I know it all ( because I know nothing) but Stu the bodybuilder didn’t say anything about rep ranges and… I get confused

12

No matter which direction you choose to go, there will always be another million different directions you could have gone.

There’s no “right” or “optimal” way to do things. There are approaches that can get you there faster, but in the end, you’re going to have to find your own path and make your own decisions about the things that work for you.

Everything that you’ve listed has worked for someone.

If you don’t want to do what the trainer suggested, or make the modifications that Stu suggested, don’t.

But right now, you don’t know what is “too much” for you. You don’t know what will benefit you more or less. You simply don’t have enough information – information that comes from you, actually doing the workouts, eating correctly, and seeing what happens – to even really ask these questions.

13

[quote]getmynameright wrote:
Guys, I did some reading and although I don’t want to contradict a Pro Bodybuilder, isn’t this going to burn me out in a month ?[/quote]
If you did every exercise as written, you probably wouldn’t even make it through the first workout, however if you started with only the basic compound exercises on each workout, as suggested, and add the isolation work slowly as you progressed, you won’t burn out.

Erm, not unless you worked your shoulders on every workout, which you aren’t

You probably would benefit more from full body 3 times a week but if you won’t be motivated to actually do it, it’s pointless.

[quote]
If you were me guys and had my goal ( goal’s in the OP) would you just hop onto a PUSH/PULL/LEGS routine and if yes can you give me a very effective one ?[/quote]
Hell no, I hate that style of training. I’d never do a style of training that I hated.

14

[quote]getmynameright wrote:
Guys, I did some reading and although I don’t want to contradict a Pro Bodybuilder, isn’t this going to burn me out in a month ? And for a 3 days on, 1 off isn’t this too much for the shoulders ? ( they are worked on chest tris day and then have their own day)

It seems like I would benefit more from a full-body 3x a week but if I don’t want full-body and 3x a week, is it counterproductive to start with a split ?

It seems like that a split that gives me 2x frequency is most optimal ?

If you were me guys and had my goal ( goal’s in the OP) would you just hop onto a PUSH/PULL/LEGS routine and if yes can you give me a very effective one ?[/quote]

  1. Use common sense. Do you think the pro bodybuilder and the jacked trainer are right or the 130lb beginners on bodybuilding dot com?

  2. You should be pyramiding up the weights to a top set or 2 in these standard bodypart splits. This is why looking online for info is so confusing. Go to the jacked trainer in the gym and ask him to guide you. And approach the big guys and ask them questions or even ask if you can train with them.

  3. You bench 50lbs and squat 40lbs. There is no way on God’s good earth that you will be able to overtrain. Stop reading stuff online and get your ass to the gym.

15

[quote]getmynameright wrote:
I am just afraid that the development of my tris and shoulders will be compromised due to chest before them and so on
[/quote]
I think you need to quit worrying and pick a tried and proven program that you can believe in. This site has plenty.

[quote]
And again, is his 5x5 necessary. Isn’t reaching failure between 6-12 to promote hypertrophy ? I mean I don’t want to piss you guys off and to act as if I know it all ( because I know nothing) but Stu the bodybuilder didn’t say anything about rep ranges and… I get confused[/quote]

Avoid confusion, pick a proven program. Any of the following programs will work, and they all take different approaches:

Starting strength
Stronglifts
5/3/1
The Juggernaut method
Dan John’s Mass Made Simple
Jason Ferruggia’s Muscle Gaining secrets
Arnie’s Golden six workouts.

etc.
etc.
etc.
Pick one, do it, stop worrying.

I’m pretty sure worrying is catabolic.

16

Why don’t you like the push pull legs training style ?

17

Yes but everyone would tell me to get on something where there is always a 5x5 on pretty much everything

Doing the rep range 6-10 on almost everything wasn’t corrected by a pro bodybuilder ?

18

[quote]getmynameright wrote:
Start with only compound movements ( I googled it and bench presses; shoulder press; deadlifts; leg presses; squats are those, right ?) and then add the isolation work gradually.[/quote]
Pretty much. Compound exercises involve moving more than one joint, so squats, rows, presses, that kind of bigger stuff instead of curls, extensions, flyes, etc.

Am I missing something? How are you going to know when you can do “8-10 clean chins” if they’re not part of the current routine? Just supposed to give 'em a try every once in a while or something?

Sounds like he was very helpful. When I was training, I’d talk back and forth with non-paying clients/folks I just see in the gym, but to actually write down a relatively-detailed plan is like 50% of what he gets paid to do.

The program might not be perfect and I’d arrange it differently, but it’s a start. Run it as he suggested for 6 weeks and see how it goes. He is right though, if you don’t eat enough, you won’t stand a chance.

He’s almost-certainly hoping you’ll hire him somewhere down the line, but your best bet anyhow is to follow his plan to the letter and, when you see him, give him quick updates about what’s going on. He’d probably be open to talking about it as long as you don’t soak up too much of his time.

Here’s a silly question: What’s your current height, weight, and general fat level? (Not a percentage, just a description - pudgy, average/smooth, leanish, abs, etc.)

19

[quote]getmynameright wrote:
Why don’t you like the push pull legs training style ?[/quote]

I don’t get on with the bodybuilder style training at all. Bores me to tears. Not saying it’s wrong or that it doesn’t work (it obviously does), I just don’t like it. If I attempted to do the workout you described above, I’d be trying to drop the weights on my head by halfway through just for a way out of the tedium. You need to find a style of training that you can really get on board with and that will keep you going back to the gym for more.

20

It is funny because I seem to be puzzled on routines but I have my diet in check.

I am maybe average, when flexed 4 pack visible but I am skinny fat ( but not a bad case) - that’s because I lost 25 kilos in 3 months doing crazy stuff and no lifting.

My plan is to do a controlled bulk, a lean bulk going one kg up a month to build a base of muscle and then cut so I can be more ripped and look like that model. I eat the following way: 1gr per pound body weight protein, 0.45 fats and the rest calories are fulled with a different portion of carbs and proteins - it is different depending on what I want to eat and what we have in the fridge.

I eat whole foods mainly and a lot of vegetables because I LIKE IT ( don’t wanna make you think I am forcing myself to do something because sticking to a diet you don’t like is apt to failure, I do throw in some junks that I like).

As you can see I got a plan and a reasonable diet method but can’t seem to be less confused about routines. It sucks maaan