Lifting 3 Days In A Row?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
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[quote]disciplined wrote:

Personally, I wouldn’t force myself to completely follow that routine’s formula. For example, let’s say on my pull-day I really feel like doing an exercise or two that doesn’t fall under that category, like barbell lunges, I’ll do them in addition to all the pulling exercises and not wait until next leg-day to perform them.

Know what I mean? I like your idea, but I just want to point out that if the OP has well-developed training instincts, he can break the rules if his instincts tell him to.[/quote]

This isn’t meant as a slam, but as an observation. Given the nature of this question, I would wager that the OP does not have well-developed training instincts, and in that case, it’s probably better to do what a coach tells you to do for a while, and then start to play around with things, once you see how your body reacts.

Knowing what you do not know is a sign of intelligence. So is knowing how to find the answers to those questions. The OP demonstrated both of these qualities, so I count him in the “not an idiot” category. That does not mean, however, that he also falls into the “well versed in exercise theory and the nuances of my own physiology” category. I believe that he, along with the majority of people reading this site, would be better off doing a workout designed by one of the honest-to-goodness, paid-to-do-this-stuff coaches that write for T-Nation.

Where the line is drawn, though, is kind of an interesting question. Six months? A year? When you notice that your rear delts are lagging behind? I’m not sure.

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[quote]thomas.galvin wrote:
disciplined wrote:

Personally, I wouldn’t force myself to completely follow that routine’s formula. For example, let’s say on my pull-day I really feel like doing an exercise or two that doesn’t fall under that category, like barbell lunges, I’ll do them in addition to all the pulling exercises and not wait until next leg-day to perform them.

Know what I mean? I like your idea, but I just want to point out that if the OP has well-developed training instincts, he can break the rules if his instincts tell him to.

This isn’t meant as a slam, but as an observation. Given the nature of this question, I would wager that the OP does not have well-developed training instincts, and in that case, it’s probably better to do what a coach tells you to do for a while, and then start to play around with things, once you see how your body reacts.

Knowing what you do not know is a sign of intelligence. So is knowing how to find the answers to those questions. The OP demonstrated both of these qualities, so I count him in the “not an idiot” category. That does not mean, however, that he also falls into the “well versed in exercise theory and the nuances of my own physiology” category. I believe that he, along with the majority of people reading this site, would be better off doing a workout designed by one of the honest-to-goodness, paid-to-do-this-stuff coaches that write for T-Nation.

Where the line is drawn, though, is kind of an interesting question. Six months? A year? When you notice that your rear delts are lagging behind? I’m not sure.[/quote]

Oh, I agree 100%. But like I said, if you have well-developed training instincts, you can break away from the system/program that you’re following in order to add this or remove that. Like my example earlier, where a trainee might feel like adding in some barbell lunges on a day that, at least on paper, is dedicated exclusively to upper body pulling movements.

But as you’ve said, if those training insincts aren’t that well-developed, follow your plan and try to remember how it worked for you once finished. Was it too much volume? Too little? Too much volume regarding one body-part or another? Catch my drift?

So if the OP isn’t at the point in his training career yet where he can trust his instincts over his program, like you said, he should just follow protocol until the day he feels confortable making on-the-fly changes.

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Ooops, I forgot to add that what I like to see is trainees trusting their instincts. You have to learn to trust yourself, eventually. It starts with slight changes here and there, but over time, you really begin to depend on cues from your body when deciding what to do and what not to do.

Hope that all makes sense.