Thanks to everyone who has gave me advice on a training split. I have finally decided on a split, and I am going to base each workout for each bodypart using the “Maximal Weights” program. This is what I am planning to do, please offer suggestions if you have them.
On Mondays I will do shoulders and triceps, with more main exercises being dumbell shoulder presses, and dips. I am short on time on this day, the gym is crowded, and everyone else is doing chest and bis.
On Tuesday I am going to do quads, with my main exercise being front squats. I am also going to do calves on this day, what calf exercise is good for calves using the 5x5, etc? I suppose I should do abs on Tuesday, too.
On Thursday I will do chest and bis. For chest my main exercise will be dumbell declines, and I am unsure about what to do for biceps. I guess something with a barbell, so I can move up in smaller increments. Any ideas? I’ll work my forearms, too.
On Friday I am going to do hamstrings, back, and traps. For hamstrings I am going to do stiff legs, back neutral grip pull ups, and dumbell shrugs for traps, if I feel the need to work them after the other exercises.
I don’t usually have a spotter, so I like to use dumbells. Thanks!
Calves - Id do the routine from tmag online issue 1. As for 5X5 - I only do core movements or stalled lifts this way (10-15 will give you better size gains, period) and keep some movements in the normal range (eg i have 5x5 bb curls but then do 10-15 hammers etc). MOST IMPORTANTLY you cannot do your back justice if its the day after a bicep workout cause your pulling power will be compromised - superset with tris on mon (this works well although I know it will complicate the busy day) or put bis on thurs or frid. Otherwise, you would be better off abandoning direct bicep work.
Sounds good to me. Remember, no training program is going to be perfect. So even though you are doing biceps the day before your back workout, I wouldn’t worry about it. Because you should be changing your workout in the next 4-12 weeks anyway. And then you can switch it up.
As for 5x5, you can still do that for standing calf raises and seated calf raises. I've done it before. It works fine. But you could always do more reps for those exercises too. If you haven't tried this already, get yourself a jump rope. It will give you a calf workout like you wouldn't believe! Your exercise selection looks pretty good. So go get some!! And keep us updated on your progress.
That’s some good advice from Dre and Nate Dogg. One thing I’d like to add is that I think you will get more desirable results if you do incline DB presses for your chest day rather than decline. It is hard to see the lower pecs on a woman due to the breast tissue anyway, plus the lower pecs will get plenty of work when you do dips on Monday.
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I now see that doing the biceps the day before back is not ideal. However, I think my back is pretty good, and for some reason, my bis never seem really sore.
What is the calve exercise in issue One? If I do standing barbell curls, I am afraid I will cheat with my back too much, should I stand against a wall or something?