Some Criticism on My Training

Training Bodybuilding
1 
Interested in your opinons in regards to my following split. I've been running a ABCBABC routine. .

6’4" 182.0lbs 11.5%bf

A DAY
4x6 inclined press
4x6 flat bench press
3x10 chest dips
3x10 chest flies
3x10 cable curls
3x10 cable tricep extensions
3x10 seated row
3x10 reverse fly
3x10 pull-ups

3x100 flutterkicks
3x10 bicycles
3x10 crunches (weighted)
3x10 hanging leg lifts
3x10 decline weighted crunches
3x10 russian twists
3x10 jackknives (half/full)
3x10 side-to-side scissors and/or atomic crunches

500m swim (20laps)
500m swim w/ fins

Push-up drills
Sit-up drills
(the two above are outlined in ARFM 21-20 PT Manual)

20 min. running fartlek
2 mile timed run
another 20 min. running fartlek

B DAY
3x10 full squat
3x10 quarter squat
3x10 decline leg press
3x10 leg curl
3x10 leg extension
3x10 calf raises

1200m swim (48 laps)
1200m swim w/ fins

Push-up drills
Sit-up drills

20 min. fartlek
2 mile timed
20 min. fartlek

“4-6 Mile complex”
(Push-Ups/Sit-Ups alternating at each streetlight)
occasionally w/ weighted rucksack

C DAY
3x10 lateral raises
3x12 upright rows
3x10 seated db press
3x10 shrugs
3x~ pullups
3x12 lat pull-downs (close and widegrip)
3x10 cable curls
3x10 cable extensions

500m swim (20 laps)
500m swim (fins)

Push-Up Drills
Sit-Up Drills

20 min. fartlek
2 mile (timed)
20 min. fartlek

3x100 flutterkicks
3x10 bicycles
3x10 crunches (weighted)
3x10 hanging leg lifts
3x10 decline weighted crunches
3x10 russian twists
3x10 jackknives (half/full)
3x10 side-to-side scissors and/or atomic crunches

. I worship this place but have always felt a little reluctant to pipe up and talk for some reason? Army infantry recruit shipping to Ft. Benning this July for OSUT and Airborne, shooting for Ranger and SF later in my career, but taking it one step at a time. Weightlifting is one of the largest parts of my life, I’ve been lifting for about 3 years now recreationally, and see it as a hobby aside from military-oriented physical training. Performance is of course always the first goal, but the physique should never been too severely sacraficed.]

Looking forward to getting a new asshole ripped by you guys, I’m confident nothing but good will come of it.

Weight: 187lb Height: 6’4"
“The objective is always over the next hill.”

I am the Infantry. Follow Me.

2

Pretend you didn’t write this and go read the archives. There are hundreds of articles stored there. You’ve been here a month, by that time I had read a good 60% of all the articles. It was well worth it.

3

HOLY SHIT!!!

You do all that in one day. Say all the A stuff?? You must LIVE in the gym and use nothing for load to be able to complete it.

Just because you Can do everything doesnt mean you should in one day.

I agree pick a program here and do it then a few more. Once you begin to know what works for you then make your own.’

4

Wow, you do belong in the military.
Good effort but a waste of alot of time.

All those countless sets of 10. Why?
You would be better off either doing 1 burnout set or 3 progressive overload sets. And Stick to the basics like squats, you have entirely too many useless exercises in there like leg extensions and 10 bicycle kicks. huh? Whats that for? I do those kicks for a minute and get over a 100 reps and stopped doing them because it was wasting my time.

Simplify that routine with baic lifts, and keep all that cardio stuff you got like running, swimming and all the bodyweight exercises are great like push ups and dips.

Thanks for your wanting to serve, but you would serve T-Nation alot better by scrapping that routine and using like a simple Bruce Lee routine 3 days a week

Try this: [6- 12 Reps] [2-3 sets] [3 days a week]

Clean & Press
Squat
Pullover
Bench Press
Good Morning or Bentover Row
Barbell Curl

Do abs ,calves, & cardio/swimming/bodyweight push ups dips etc…etc on the other 3 days.

Peace

5

Just get a Ranger contract to start with. It will make your career a whole lot easier. Be prepared to walk out of MEPS without signing a contract. They might pressure you into just taking an Airborne contract, but they’ve got nothing on you until you sign the papers. Remember, the recruiters and MEPS staff are working for their best interests (filling their quotas,) not yours. Hmm, I guess if you know your ship date you might have already gone through MEPS. I was able to volunteer for RIP in Airborne School - I suggest you do the same if that option is still available.

Oh yeah, your workout is a little goofy too. I’d just go with any of the great workouts provided on this site, but make sure to keep up with some swimming and running. Walking with a load is a good idea too. Your recruiter might be able to help you with that one, but the SEAL physical fitness manual has some good guidelines, which you can find at most bookstores. You basicaly want to get to sub 15 min miles with around 40-60 pounds on your back, but start off slowly. Good luck.

6

Excellent advice, thank you. Hell, of course it is, did I expect anything less?

As for the contract statement, I am an 11x with an Airborne contract. Too many guys take Opt.40s and end up at RIP just to wash out. I’d like to put some time in with the 82nd before I go to RIP, but I do NOT want to wait for long. I know I’m ready for RIP, but I can’t say I’m a total supporter of the Opt40 program. I almost wish that all SOCOM forces were still E-6+ or at least E-4. But since I’m just a PV1 without my drethers, I’ll take it as it comes.

Intending on spending my life in the military, so I hope to have time to accomplish all the things I’ve dreamt of since I was a kid. Thats not saying I don’t intend on going in as high-speed as I can though, just not to rush things too much.

You can never be “ready” for RIP, its something you’ve just got to get up one day and decide to do. And one day in the near future, I’ll do just that. But right now, its time to get my feet wet.

(FYI, I ship to Benning 20060706 for OSUT and then ABN in Oct.)

Thanks again for the advice, I’m adjusting my program appropriately.

7

Reformed program, based on suggestions. I’ve added a Ranger-suggested light-weight shoulder workout to the 1,3,and 5 days. It was suggested that I move all body weight exercises to the non lift days. I assume that pull-ups, push-ups, dips, etc. will not conflict/overwork with only a 24 rest period since the previous day’s weighted lifts?

Here ya go:

1
3x12 Clean & Press
3x12 Full Squat
3x12 Pullover
4x6 Bench Press
3x12 Bentover Row
3x12 Barbell Curl

2x10 Lateral Raise
1x10 Thumbs Up
1x10 Thumbs Down
1x10 Front Raise
1x10 Cross Over
1x10 Military Press
(no rest between)

2
20 min. Fartlek
2 mile (timed)
20 min. Fartlek
Push-Up Drills
Chest Dips
Sit-Up Drills
4-Mi. Complex
1200m swim (48)
1200m swim (fins)
Pull-up Drills

2x100 flutterkicks
2x50 advanced crunch
2x50 reverse crunch
2x50 double crunch
2x100 bicycle crunches
2x50 situps
2x50 cross situps
2x100 leg levers
2x100 scissors
2x50 atomic situps

3
3x12 Clean & Press
3x12 Full Squat
3x12 Pullover
4x6 Bench Press
3x12 Bentover Row
3x12 Barbell Curl

2x10 Lateral Raise
1x10 Thumbs Up
1x10 Thumbs Down
1x10 Front Raise
1x10 Cross Over
1x10 Military Press
(no rest between)

4
20 min. Fartlek
2 mile (timed)
20 min. Fartlek
Push-Up Drills
Chest Dips
Sit-Up Drills
Ruck March (6 mi.)
1200m swim (48)
1200m swim (fins)
Pull-up Drills

2x100 flutterkicks
2x50 advanced crunch
2x50 reverse crunch
2x50 double crunch
2x100 bicycle crunches
2x50 situps
2x50 cross situps
2x100 leg levers
2x100 scissors
2x50 atomic situps

5
3x12 Clean & Press
3x12 Full Squat
3x12 Pullover
4x6 Bench Press
3x12 Bentover Row
3x12 Barbell Curl

2x10 Lateral Raise
1x10 Thumbs Up
1x10 Thumbs Down
1x10 Front Raise
1x10 Cross Over
1x10 Military Press
(no rest between)

6
20 min. Fartlek
2 mile (timed)
20 min. Fartlek
Push-Up Drills
Chest Dips
Sit-Up Drills
4-Mi. Complex
1200m swim (48)
1200m swim (fins)
Pull-up Drills

2x100 flutterkicks
2x50 advanced crunch
2x50 reverse crunch
2x50 double crunch
2x100 bicycle crunches
2x50 situps
2x50 cross situps
2x100 leg levers
2x100 scissors
2x50 atomic situps

7
REST

Thanks again in advance. T-Nation is God.

8

What are you trying to accomplish with 4200reps of ab exercises a week?

assuming each rep takes 1-2 secons that 70-140 minutes of ab exercises a week! On top of running/swimming and compound exercises that also work the ab’s

Same goes for the over abundance of isolation exercises for the shoulders. What are all these different variations of dumbell raises going to give you that some good old fashioned overhead pressing won’t?

Finally I think you need some more specific goals. Obviously running and swimming are important and thats fine. But it doesnt look like you have specific goals for your weight training. Define your goals and only then can you hope to make a program to reach them.

My over simplified veiw on what your doing: Train for strength/size in the weight room, and endurance on the field/in the pool.

9

Still seems like a lot. Although you better get used to it I guess, because you do a million pushups and situps in the military. Kind of a waste of time…but thats how they roll.

10

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Still seems like a lot. Although you better get used to it I guess, because you do a million pushups and situps in the military. Kind of a waste of time…but thats how they roll.

[/quote]

Sarcasm:
yeah those navy seals just waste thier time doing all those push ups, who needs a chest of steel anyway. heh!

11

Fighting Irish

do you ever chime in and say anything worth repeating or do you just type worthless nonsense on other peoples threads all day.

Do you have anything positve to say?
Or do you just look for threads where you can slip in a useless remark.

You must be bored out of you mind.

This guy is obviously an intense person looking for some help to tweak his program.

I saw he had an awful lot on the table there and just served up Bruce Lee’s regimen and he took a bite.

To the Poster. It would really help if you diplayed your specific goals. Im sure a trainer like Chad Waterbury here on T-Nation could offer you excellent advide on which program would be best for you. Maybe try to get his attention with a brief description of your goals and he’ll respond to it with an answer.

They’re plenty of professionals here on T-Nation that would love to help you out. I’m not qualified. I’m just telling you my point of view of your program. I thought it was way to much wasted effort. A simpliar more basic program might benefit you. I dunno, ask a pro. Maybe one will chime in soon.

12

Not incredibly specific, I know, but I thought the following might shed some light on my goals:

Three primary goals (in respective order of importance):

  1. Achieve 300+ score on APFT regularly (Army Physical Fitness Test) (2 min. Push-up, 2 min. Sit-up, Timed 2-mile)

  2. Maintain wide-range of physical ability during close combat situations, as well as the ability to perform my tasks as an infantryman to tbe best of my ability without any major physical blocks due to shortcomings. That means large amounts of endurance and strength, not just mass and appearance

  3. Physique betterment and maintenance. The age-old sex appeal we’re all always working to improve. Being 182 at 6’4" I’d like to gain to 194 or a little more while maintaining at least 11.5 bf%, though I’d like to drop it to around 8-9bf% at the same time, a rough task I know.

Thanks so much again for all of your time, each and every reply has helped educate me towards bettering the program. I have infact spent quite some time reviewing the articles in the archive, I try to check for new articles daily and have done so for some months. I do (as is obvious) need a little more work with incorporating the ideas suggested into my own program, though.

13

Rediculous amount of volume. Even after you reduced it, it’s almost definitely too much to recover from.

Go for quality reps, not quantity above all else.

But it’s your life. If you love spending 2hrs + in the gym, then you go for it.

14

That’s an aweful lot of volume, though I do have to say strength-endurance and relative strength are alot more important in the military than limit strength or muscle mass.

My best recommendation would be to use some kind of grease the groove program because that’s the way they’re going to train you when you get in anyways. I was marine recon not army airborne so I can’t tell you the exact details, but expect lots of volume with bodyweight or odd implements (like logs, equipment or other soldiers).

You should practice running with weight, climbing things, tons of pushups, pullups, burpees, situps, strong man stuff, isometric holds, etc. I’d check around online and see if you can find any actual airborne or ranger training programs and do that for a bit, by the way you’ll want to learn to train through the kinds of pain and sweat that most civilians can’t even imagine.

15

[quote]Mr. Push Ups wrote:
Fighting Irish

do you ever chime in and say anything worth repeating or do you just type worthless nonsense on other peoples threads all day.

Do you have anything positve to say?
Or do you just look for threads where you can slip in a useless remark.

You must be bored out of you mind.

This guy is obviously an intense person looking for some help to tweak his program.

I saw he had an awful lot on the table there and just served up Bruce Lee’s regimen and he took a bite.
[/quote]

I agreed with you up to that point.

But fuck off with your attitude. You are a horse’s ass.

16

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Mr. Push Ups wrote:
Fighting Irish

do you ever chime in and say anything worth repeating or do you just type worthless nonsense on other peoples threads all day.

Do you have anything positve to say?
Or do you just look for threads where you can slip in a useless remark.

You must be bored out of you mind.

This guy is obviously an intense person looking for some help to tweak his program.

I saw he had an awful lot on the table there and just served up Bruce Lee’s regimen and he took a bite.

I agreed with you up to that point.

But fuck off with your attitude. You are a horse’s ass. [/quote]

i rest my case

17

seconded on the GTG for pressups and situps. It’s much faster to improve then on what you’re doing (probably) although as I know bugger all about running, I won’t advise you on that.

BTW, just out of interest what is the max out score on pressups and situps in 2 mins?

18

Alright, in order to compensate for my somewhat generalized goals, I’ve developed the following, which I think are somewaht more specific:

  1. Add 3" to upper arms.
  2. Add 2-3" to chest.
  3. 71 Pushups in 2:00.
  4. 78 Sit-ups in 2:00.
  5. Maintain < 12% BF
  6. Incrase shoulder size by 2-3".

I’ve been running the Bruce Lee routine suggested to me over the past week, and as much as I’m enjoying the variety, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m actually working the muscles I want to work sufficiently enough to reach the above goals. Over the past 5 days, my “regimen” has looked like the following (keeping in mind that much of the non-lifting work I consider seperate from my lifting split):

Friday:
3x12 Clean and Push (95/105/95)
3x12 Squat (135/135/135)
3x12 Pullover (35/40/35)
3x12 Barbell Curls (65/70/65)
3x12 Bentover Row (95/105/95)
4x6 Bench Press (115/135/115)

Swam 500m

Saturday:
3x10 Chest Dips
3x30 Push-ups
3x10 Tricep Push-ups
3x10 Close grip Push-ups

6 mi. Ruck (80lb Pack)
Swam 1200m

Sunday:
REST

Monday:
3x12 Pullups
3x12 Clean and Push (95/105/95)
3x12 Squat (135/135/135)
3x12 Cable pulldowns (50/60/50)
3x12 Barbell Curls (65/70/65)
3x12 Lat Pulldown (225/250/240)
4x6 Bench Press (115/135/115)

I’ve been reading alot of the archive articles and working on how I could possibly adjust things to meet my goals, but I just can’t help but continue to think that everything I am doing is somewhat half-assed. I’ve been lifting for about 3 years now, and have had huge gains in performance and size just doing my own thing, but at the same time, it was mostly isolation, and I know that scientifically that’s not the way to do things. Perhaps I’m just missing something, or alot, heh.

I’d appreciate a few more tips if y’all aren’t convinced I’m totally hopeless yet.

Thanks again

19

Well I will say this as I am sure someone else will…

What have you been eating?

If you are not growing you are not eating enough…

See guys I am learning fast!

20

Yesterday (almost the same every day)

Breakfast:
Applesauce
30g Protein Bar
(had to eat fast was on the go)

Lunch:
3 93% Lean Ground Beef Hamburgers
Baked Lays Potato Chips

Dinner:
2 Skinless Chicken Breasts
Baked Lays Potato Chips

Downing about 2-3 Gallons of H20 daily.

The diet remains the same daily, but its supplemented with alot of fruit snacking (apples, oranges, bananas, kiwis, etc. etc.)