What Do You Think of this Routine

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hey guys, after a couple of months of looking for some programs to target my weak areas, I decided to use Thibs guide to creating your own program in one of the beginner stickies. My goals are pretty simple/cliche, I want to add size while staying as lean as possible. I am currently 167 lbs and 5’8 tall. I train MMA but have been on a break in order to gain as much size as I can, without getting to bulky and slow to fight, of course.

My weak areas would be the traps, shoulders, and chest and back. I am pretty happy with the progress i’ve seen in my legs/arms.
I would like a wider back, and bigger upper chest, bigger traps and shoulders.
4 day split

CHEST AND TRI’s
-bench press= 4x6-8 plus a drop set on the last set
-incline DB press= 4x 9-12
-incline flys= 3x 12-14
superset=3 sets of dips/push ups until failure

superset-skull crushers- 3x12-16 AND close grip press 3x12-16

-overhead DB tri extensions- quadruple drop set until failure

BACK AND BICEPS
-pull ups= 4x10
-dead lifts= 10,6, and 4 rep sets
-bent over T bar row= 3x 8-12 plus a drop set on last set
-one arm DB rows= 3x8-12
-barbell curls- 2 strict sets of 12-14 plus 2 cheat sets of 4-6
-incline DB curls- 4x8-12
superset preacher curls and hammer curls- 2 sets until failure

QUADS/HAMS
-back squat=4x6-8 plus drop set on last
-leg press= 4 x 10-12
DB alt forward lunges= 3 to 4 sets x 12-14
-leg curls= 4 x 8-12
superset leg extensions with jumping lunges 3x12-15
-straight leg deadlift 4x8-12

SHOULDERS/ TRAPS

-BB clean and press= 4x 3-5
-DB military press 4x 8-10 plus drop set on final set
-side lateral raises- 3x 10-12 plus triple drop set on last set
superset front raises and upright rows for 3x 10-14
-barbell shrup- 4 to 5 sets of 8-12

I plan on alternating abs and calfs at the end of each workout. I figured I can do Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Firday type of split. 20-30 minutes of cardio on off days ( usually hitting the heavy bag, some MMA agility drills to maintain my speed, and maybe sprints depending on the day.)

Feel free to call me an idiot, change up the reps/sets, or even the whole program. This is just what i’ve concluded after weeks of looking at other programs, reading articles here on T nation, trying different exercises, and looking at my self in the mirror.

2

What have you been doing up until now, training and diet wise? How has that worked for you, and what do you feel needs to be changed?

With respect to your elbow health, I suggest you at least look through John Meadow’s Mountain Dog Arms article and then revisit your plan for your triceps.

3

for the last four months i have been following arnold’s basic program number 1 in the encyclopedia of modern body building, somewhere in that 4 months I made a brief switch to t nation’s I body Builder for three weeks. Before that I tried out the 6 weeks to superhero on here as well. Maybe about 6 months ago I was very active in MMA so i was doing a program by Eric Wong, called the ultimate mma strength and conditioning program for amateur fighters. It required me to lift only two days a week though.

Out of all these programs, Arnold’s first beginner body building program in the encyclopedia of modern bodybulding has given me the best results. It had me working out 6 days a week, training each body part twice.

My diet has always been clean because of martial arts. Only difference is i eat more food. I only eat whole foods for the most part. Eggs, milk, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lean meats like chicken beef and different fish, tons of fruit and vegetables, organic peanut butter, whole grain whole wheat bread, whole grain whole wheat pastas,olive oil, over a gallon of water a day. I aim for 3,000-4,000 calories a day, higher when I am training mma, and more recnelty lower while im on this break.

4

Looks like overkill to me.

5

[quote]LoRez wrote:
What have you been doing up until now, training and diet wise? How has that worked for you, and what do you feel needs to be changed?

With respect to your elbow health, I suggest you at least look through John Meadow’s Mountain Dog Arms article and then revisit your plan for your triceps.[/quote]

do you think it would be too much too add one of those sample arm workouts to the shoulder and traps day? And work back and chest together, and quads and hams on another day. That’d give me three workouts. Would three days on and 1 day off be too much? I felt great doing 6 days on and 1 day off on Arnold’s program.

6

[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Looks like overkill to me.[/quote]

what would you suggest taking out to make it not over kill?

7

[quote]justinpalmz wrote:

[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Looks like overkill to me.[/quote]

what would you suggest taking out to make it not over kill?[/quote]

I don’t know why you would do a BB routine if you’re a fighter. Now, I’m not a fighter, but don’t you want to do things that promote explosiveness and are explosive? Bench, squat, deads, that’s good for everyone, but how about more body weight things and plyometrics. Box jumps, push up, pull up variations, Oly lifts, sprints, stuff like that?

8

I can only speak from personal experience here, but I would think the volume would be exhausting. That while the first few sets of the first few exercises would be done with good form, by the time you got to your 12th set of chest exercises (your superset dips), there just really wouldn’t be much more in the tank. Each day seems like it could take two hours or more.

A rule of thumb I picked up is to put your money exercises up front… so if you’re targeting a wider upper back and a bigger upper chest, put the exercises that work best – for you for those goals – first. You can then, later, hit them with more volume once they’ve had a few sets to recover.

This might be worth reading through to get some more ideas for exercise selection and order:

I’m guessing you haven’t read that yet.

9

[quote]strangemeadow wrote:

[quote]justinpalmz wrote:

[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Looks like overkill to me.[/quote]

what would you suggest taking out to make it not over kill?[/quote]

I don’t know why you would do a BB routine if you’re a fighter. Now, I’m not a fighter, but don’t you want to do things that promote explosiveness and are explosive? Bench, squat, deads, that’s good for everyone, but how about more body weight things and plyometrics. Box jumps, push up, pull up variations, Oly lifts, sprints, stuff like that?
[/quote]

That is how i train when i am going to the gym regularly. I took a couple months off to focus on getting bigger. I am the smallest guy at my gym. or atleast i was last time i was there.

10

You say arms have made good progress, why do 4 different variations of curls?

You say traps are lacking, why only work them directly once? Why not do some shrugs on your back day as well.

I apologize if you mentioned this, but how do you know what weight to use? When will you increase the weight youre using?

Also, is that the order you do the workouts within the week? I’d switch your legs and should days.

11

I’ve just decided to keep searching for a better program. I dont feel like I know enough to make one from scratch. Thanks for the input though! Always appreciated.

12

[quote]justinpalmz wrote:

[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Looks like overkill to me.[/quote]

what would you suggest taking out to make it not over kill?[/quote]

About 90% of it.

I know you said you want to get bigger, but the whole point behind getting bigger is to get better at your sport correct? If that’s the case, the first thing you need to do is go re-enroll in your classes. This is the biggest factor in your development as an athlete. Lifting weights is just GPP.

I would suggest you use some kind of program or template developed by someone who knows about programming. Good places to start would be 5/3/1, the juggernaut method, and WS4SB.

The program you wrote above is obscenely high volume, even if you were a bodybuilder. I would suggest you keep your lifting sessions to 3 or 4 exercises.

An example of how I set it up:

Bench (set of chins between each set)
Rowing movement
Curls/Tricep pushdowns

Squat
Hamstring movement
Ab movement

Press (set of chins between each set)
Rowing movment
DB bench or dips

Deadlift
Quad movement
Ab movement

In that template, all the bases get ample work, and you aren’t going to be in the gym for 2 hours killing yourself. You can also focus more on the lifts you’re doing since you aren’t doing 15 exercises.

What you need to realize out of all of this is that as an athlete, lifting weights is not as important as you think. You need to keep it simple, progress, and train for your sport (meaning go take your MMA classes).

13

[quote]Chris87 wrote:

[quote]justinpalmz wrote:

[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Looks like overkill to me.[/quote]

what would you suggest taking out to make it not over kill?[/quote]

About 90% of it.

I know you said you want to get bigger, but the whole point behind getting bigger is to get better at your sport correct? If that’s the case, the first thing you need to do is go re-enroll in your classes. This is the biggest factor in your development as an athlete. Lifting weights is just GPP.

I would suggest you use some kind of program or template developed by someone who knows about programming. Good places to start would be 5/3/1, the juggernaut method, and WS4SB.

The program you wrote above is obscenely high volume, even if you were a bodybuilder. I would suggest you keep your lifting sessions to 3 or 4 exercises.

An example of how I set it up:

Bench (set of chins between each set)
Rowing movement
Curls/Tricep pushdowns

Squat
Hamstring movement
Ab movement

Press (set of chins between each set)
Rowing movment
DB bench or dips

Deadlift
Quad movement
Ab movement

In that template, all the bases get ample work, and you aren’t going to be in the gym for 2 hours killing yourself. You can also focus more on the lifts you’re doing since you aren’t doing 15 exercises.

What you need to realize out of all of this is that as an athlete, lifting weights is not as important as you think. You need to keep it simple, progress, and train for your sport (meaning go take your MMA classes).[/quote]

that is almost exactly how i train 8-9 months out of the year. the problem with trying to gain mass while training mixed mrtisl arts is you are constantly burnng an obscene amount of calories. There is no off season in MMA, and training 12 months out of the year starts to become very physically demanding, thats why i, like alot of fighters, have decided to take some time off. I appreciate your input but i am going to continue with my break and look for some mass building routines that i am pleased with.

14

[quote]justinpalmz wrote:

[quote]Chris87 wrote:

[quote]justinpalmz wrote:

[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Looks like overkill to me.[/quote]

what would you suggest taking out to make it not over kill?[/quote]

About 90% of it.

I know you said you want to get bigger, but the whole point behind getting bigger is to get better at your sport correct? If that’s the case, the first thing you need to do is go re-enroll in your classes. This is the biggest factor in your development as an athlete. Lifting weights is just GPP.

I would suggest you use some kind of program or template developed by someone who knows about programming. Good places to start would be 5/3/1, the juggernaut method, and WS4SB.

The program you wrote above is obscenely high volume, even if you were a bodybuilder. I would suggest you keep your lifting sessions to 3 or 4 exercises.

An example of how I set it up:

Bench (set of chins between each set)
Rowing movement
Curls/Tricep pushdowns

Squat
Hamstring movement
Ab movement

Press (set of chins between each set)
Rowing movment
DB bench or dips

Deadlift
Quad movement
Ab movement

In that template, all the bases get ample work, and you aren’t going to be in the gym for 2 hours killing yourself. You can also focus more on the lifts you’re doing since you aren’t doing 15 exercises.

What you need to realize out of all of this is that as an athlete, lifting weights is not as important as you think. You need to keep it simple, progress, and train for your sport (meaning go take your MMA classes).[/quote]

that is almost exactly how i train 8-9 months out of the year. the problem with trying to gain mass while training mixed mrtisl arts is you are constantly burnng an obscene amount of calories. There is no off season in MMA, and training 12 months out of the year starts to become very physically demanding, thats why i, like alot of fighters, have decided to take some time off. I appreciate your input but i am going to continue with my break and look for some mass building routines that i am pleased with. [/quote]

I understand what it’s like trying to gain weight while training so much. The only answer is to eat more. It’s hard for sure, but if you put as much effort into it as you do your lifting and training, it will be worth it. You are losing ground to your competition every time you miss a class. Remember that.

15

Having been in your situation, I suggest reading both starting strength by rippetoe, and 5/3/1 by wendler. I agree with other posters- bodybuilding should not be your goal as a fighter, strength should. Drop sets on back squats? Deadlifts in sets of 10? Your training and your goals don’t line up, how I see it.