[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Get on a proven program.[/quote]
I second that, starting strength or 5/3/1, Why are you trying to workout Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday? A better 23 day split would be Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or any non-consecutive day schedule
[quote]A-Town wrote:
Is My Routine Sweet or Is It a Bag of Penis?[/quote]
That routine you listed is actually a big sweaty bag of dicks.
Sets and reps are almost always written as “sets x reps”, but some people do mix those up. Are you doing, for example, 8 sets of 3 reps on the flat bench?
In any case, you definitely need to get on a much better designed program. There are dozens of them here on the site and any one of them will be oodles better than what you’re doing now. Yes, oodles.
I hate to be “that guy”, but yeah, your profile says you’re 6’0" and 170. Is that current? What’s your general bodyfat - not percentage, but sorta chubby, kinda lean, or already with a 6-pack?
I also saw you had a thread a while back about taking the fat burner HOT-ROX. No.
EDIT: I almost forgot to say that your avatar pic is a bag of win. Well-played.
[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Get on a proven program.[/quote]
I second that, starting strength or 5/3/1, Why are you trying to workout Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday? A better 23 day split would be Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or any non-consecutive day schedule [/quote]
thats what poliquin said is a good split, so i listened lol. whats so bad about the routine though, if you guys can clarify. i have all the big lifts, high volume, heavy load. is that good to gain strength? i read it from poliquin’s site, he seems legit.
Sets and reps are almost always written as “sets x reps”, but some people do mix those up. Are you doing, for example, 8 sets of 3 reps on the flat bench?
I hate to be “that guy”, but yeah, your profile says you’re 6’0" and 170. Is that current? What’s your general bodyfat - not percentage, but sorta chubby, kinda lean, or already with a 6-pack?
I also saw you had a thread a while back about taking the fat burner HOT-ROX. No.
EDIT: I almost forgot to say that your avatar pic is a bag of win. Well-played.[/quote]
bro, thanks for the input. yes those stats are current, and i meant what i wrote at 8 sets of 3 reps. high volume+heavy load= strength, right? i mean i’m going 5 lbs every week on all of my lifts, so i am getting gains. do you think getting on 5/3/1 or SS will get me faster gains than i already have?
in regards of the HOT-ROX and weight, i am generally lean, and have always been very lean up until senior year of high school when i put on fat on my stomach, waist and back. probably from drinking everyday and eating like an asscock. but i can see my collar bones, my seratus muscles so im not that chubby. just stomach fat and some fat on my back.
Fuck supersets for heavy work. They save time, but they’re best reserved for accessory lifts. I’m also not a fan of working back and chest on the same day. Chest is easy enough, but to hit your back from all angles necessary for complete development is hard enough to fit into a workout on its own.
Push/Pull/Legs/Arms would be a better split, honestly, if you can fit another day into your schedule. If you can fit two or three more in, go with a standard 5- or 6-day bodybuilding split.
Too many sets per exercise and not enough variation will make you develop unevenly. For powerlifters, hammering the three big lifts is essential. For physique enhancement, you really need to hit each muscle group from different angles.
EXAMPLE: I’m a “chest bencher”. I worked on my bench press for a long time, and all it gave me was titty-shaped pecs. I could bench 285, but my high-incline press was only 185. Lately I’ve been focusing more on shoulders and upper pecs, and my physique is showing a lot of improvement. I haven’t benched in 9 months, and I really don’t miss it. On push day I do log press, weighted dips, and (superset) high incline press/lateral raises. Those lifts seem to hit all areas of the pecs evenly for me.
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
Oh, yeah: You do ramp your sets, right?[/quote]
on squats and deadlifts i do. i do dumbbell press for chest so not on that. and for dips and weighted pullups i deload using chains when i fatigue. so you’re saying i need more variety in my routine? im not big yet so would it be bad if i got good at the exercises im doing just to build some strength and such before i expand into a larger split?
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
Oh, yeah: You do ramp your sets, right?[/quote]
on squats and deadlifts i do. i do dumbbell press for chest so not on that. and for dips and weighted pullups i deload using chains when i fatigue. so you’re saying i need more variety in my routine? im not big yet so would it be bad if i got good at the exercises im doing just to build some strength and such before i expand into a larger split? [/quote]
You need those ramped sets on all your lifts. I know it’s a pain switching weight, but it’s worth it. You need to be able to practice your form and get the muscle good and primed on the lighter sets, and you need to be able to push balls-out on the heavy sets.
Don’t worry, you’ll still be getting stronger. You’ll just be getting stronger at a lot more lifts, and your physique will show it.
Day 3: Pull
warm up - face pulls/pendlay rows
Single-arm Pulldowns 3x8 (I do these first to activate the lats for DL)
Deadlift 3x5
Single-arm DB Row 2x10, 1xAMRAP or High Row 3x10
Superset - Narrow Neutral-Grip pullups 3x8 (I’m about to change these due to lack of results)
Shrug - 3x10
Day 5: Legs
warm up - lots of stretching and light squats
Front Squat 3x8
Reverse Lunges 3x8
Good morning or Stiff-legged RDL 3x10
Superset - Band Leg curl 3x12
Calf Raises 3x8
I fit arm work in where I can, and I can also usually get in an extra workout for shoulders (my main target at the moment). Arm work consists of one superset heavy lift for bi/tri, one medium superset, and John Meadows’ Crazy Eights to finish http://www.T-Nation.com/strength-training-topics/1110
[quote]A-Town wrote:
bro, thanks for the input. yes those stats are current, and i meant what i wrote at 8 sets of 3 reps. high volume+heavy load= strength, right? i mean i’m going 5 lbs every week on all of my lifts, so i am getting gains.[/quote]
Gotcha. I expected you had it reversed because the hamstring curls and the “arm work” threw me off. I also really don’t agree with using pull-ups and dips for back and chest, and then a few days later using slight variations on those exact same exercises for a different purpose. Exercise selection could definitely be improved, or go with a whole new plan as suggested.
Heavy, high volume training can definitely be productive - Chad Waterbury and others have been writing about it for years - but it obviously isn’t the only way to get there. If that’s your thing, it’s cool though.
“Fast” gains will happen simply by being a beginner and playing with weights. But, A - we don’t want to focus on “fast gains”, we want consistent gains. And B - we can still try to maximize things where ever we can.
Check out Starting Strength, read about 5/3/1, or consider the Waterbury Method program (it’s got that high volume you were using before):
Whichever plan you go with, eat well (no fat burners necessary), and stick with the program for a few months to squeeze out all the progress you can.
