critique my routines, specially volume

[SoreArms]

I lift on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. For a month now I've been taking my little sister to the YMCA on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, so while she's in her classes I take advantage and get some cardio and leg work done. My left knee is recovering from an injury so I can't do squats, deadlifts, or even lock out on leg press, but I do strengthening exercises twice a week with lite-moderate weight.

current stats
28, 205 lbs, BF % probably in the high teens, 5'11

Give me some feedback, tips, suggestions, advice, etc............

Monday; Arms & shoulders
lateral raises 3x10
front raises 3x10
front press 3x6-8
seated DB curls 3x6-8
standing bb curls 3x6-8
tri pushdown 3x6-8
skull crushers 3x6-8
reverse curls 3x10
behind the back wrist curls 3x25
incline sit ups 3x25
knee raises 3x15

Tuesday; Legs & Cardio
leg press 3x25
seated leg curls 3x25
adductor 3x25
abductor 3x25
standing calf raises 4x25
Elliptical 35 mins

Wednesday; Back
T bar 4x6-8
seated low row 3x6-8
upright rows 3x6-8
rear delt rows 3x10
DB Shrugs 3x6-8
weighted back extensions 3x15
incline sit ups 3x25
knee raises 3x15

Thursday; Cardio, calfs
elliptical 45 mins
standing calf raises 4x25

Friday; Chest
flat bench db press 3x6-8
decline bb press 3x6-8
incline db press 3x6-8
cable cross overs 3x10
incline sit ups 3x25
knee raises 3x15

Saturday; Legs & Cardio
leg press 3x25
seated leg curls 3x25
adductor 3x25
abductor 3x25
standing calf raises 4x25
Elliptical 35 mins

Sunday; Rest
couch potato all day

 

[string_bean00]

I would not put the shoulder and arm workouts before your chest and back workouts. The bigger bodyparts should come first in the week, imo. Your shoulders and triceps will be fresher for chest day, and your biceps will be fresher for back day. But...you do have some decent spacing in days there so perhaps this is not an issue for you.

 

[cmdubs]

Are you doing the lateral and side raises before the presses? I'd switch those around. Compoud before isolation always unless you are trying to pre-fatigue the muscle group for whatever reason. It's kind of like doing cable crossovers before bench press.

Also you don't have any width excercises for back. How about some pull-downs or better yet, pull-ups or chins.

Otherwise your excercise selection looks pretty solid to me.

 

[SoreArms]

I used to do arms and shoulders at the end of the week (Friday), but my lifting partners schedule changed, and now Fridays are the only day we can lift together, so I figured chest day is the day that a spotter comes in handy the most, so I changed Friday to chest. I'm really hoping that because of the spacing it's not an issue, but I'll try it out for a few weeks and see how it goes. Aside from that, how does the volume look on Day 1?

I am doing front and lateral raises before press, my rotator cuff is easily bothered, so I thought this might be a good way to get the rotator cuff warmed up first before the heavier weight of the press. I'll try changing it and see if that affects the cuff any.

Looking at the muscles worked, I thought T bar was good for width? People use bent over rows for width, T bar is basically the same thing, same muscles worked, same motion. Pull ups fuck with my rotator cuff. I chose low row over pull downs because low rows incorporate more muscles in the movement than pull downs do, would you guys recommend pull downs over low rows?

 

[bran987]

man that seems like a lot of volume especially for 6x/week, you on something I don't know about?

 

[chewyxrage]

Why do you make things complicated by have 20 billiion different exercises?


I don't see any squats or deadlifts and why are you doing 3 sets of 25 reps on leg press?


Also, your in the gym 6 days a week....you could design a much better split using all 6 days IMO, or even 5.

 

[bran987]

Why do you make things complicated by have 20 billiion different exercises?


I don't see any squats or deadlifts and why are you doing 3 sets of 25 reps on leg press?

I believe he is still recovering from a pretty serious knee injury.....

 

[SoreArms]

Why do you make things complicated by have 20 billiion different exercises?


I don't see any squats or deadlifts and why are you doing 3 sets of 25 reps on leg press?


Also, your in the gym 6 days a week....you could design a much better split using all 6 days IMO, or even 5.

read the first post

I do legs 2x per week because I'm working on gaining strength back from a knee injury.

I agree with you that arm and shoulder day look a little busy, but there's only 2-3 exercises per muscle. Do you still think it's too much volume, what would you change?

Aside from arm and shoulder day, which day seem too intricate to you?

 

[bran987]

Aside from arm and shoulder day, which day seem too intricate to you?

that is the day that most concerned me

other than that unless you are on steroids I wouldn't go to the gym more than 5x/week

 

[chewyxrage]

Incline situps and knee raises 3 times per week I feel is unnecessary. One day a week I do 5 heavy sets....weighted resistance incline situps and that's that, it's plenty.

Shoulder day I like to start with the pressing movement and I do 5 sets because its the main exercise. Side laterals are also good - I never liked nor felt that doing front raises after pressing was worth anything.

Only other thing is for triceps I would drop the pushdowns and start with closed grip bench, followed by skullcrushers....

Chest day you like doing flat/incline/decline? I'm all about choosing one main exercise, doing at least 5 sets with it, then using 1-2 others as auxilliary movements.

Like flat bench - 5 sets, Incline - 3 sets, Flies - 2 sets or something similiar. You have 4 exercises, I feel you should drop one.


All just my opinion, of course

 

[SoreArms]

Thanks, I posted this thread to get opinions so feel free to let me know what you think but more importantly, why you think it.

I tried to make each WO target every muscle on the muscle group being worked.

Chest
Flat bench stresses the medial part of the pectorals
Incline bench stresses the upper pectorals
Decline bench stresse the lower pectorals

So I'm just trying to make sure I work the entire muscle group, do you really think I should drop one, maybe alternate incline and decline every couple of weeks or every month?

Abs are fast healing muscles that can be worked 3x per week, I do them as a finishing exercise.

I'm not on anything, just have the time so I'm trying to take advantage while I have it.

Would doing shoulders by themselves on a separate day help?

 

[chewyxrage]

So I'm just trying to make sure I work the entire muscle group, do you really think I should drop one, maybe alternate incline and decline every couple of weeks or every month?

I lead with flat bench for a month or two and then switch it up and lead with incline......I could see alternating incline and decline every month or so. Not sure how the results would turn out. I just keep focused on increasing the poundages. Lift more weight = I grow. That's why I don't like doing 3 different pressing movements for chest. It's hard to increase on 1 exercise let alone trying to do 3 each time.


A seperate shoulder day would be ideal.....actually a seperate day for each muscle group would be more ideal but.... Not sure where you would put the shoulder day. You can't really put it on thursday because you have chest on friday.

Here's my split to maybe give you ideas:

Day 1 - Bis/Tris
Day 2 - Legs/calves/forearms
Day 3 - Delts/Traps/Abs
Day 4 - Back Width (upper)/calves
Day 5 - Chest/Back thickness (lower)

 

[Gambino]

no deadlifts or squats? what up with that?

 

[SoreArms]

no deadlifts or squats? what up with that?

read motherfucker!

 

[H_T_]

i'd stress more upper pec than lower.

 

[Smurfy]

For shoulders Id throw in a compound movement like push presses or seated barbell or something (not sure what front presses are?)
For back, you have alot of rowing type movements, what about pulldowns or pullups?
For chest, I would toss out decline and throw in some dips.

This is my .02.

Good luck on the knee recovery.

 

[chewyxrage]

read motherfucker!

So.........where's the squats and deadlifts?

 

[tzan]

The best 3 day split I ever used was:

monday-chest/front delts/biceps
wendsday-legs
friday-back/rear+side delts

This way each day is very similar in volume(unlike how you have 24 sets for monday and 12 for friday), and it allows for your arms to be hit directly once and then hit again as a secondary muscle all in the same week.

Monday-
incline 3x
flat 3x
incline fly 3x
millitary 3x
bb curls 3x
seated db curls 3x

Wendsday:
squats 3x
leg press 3x
curls 3x
extensions 3x
calf raises 3x

Friday:
deads 3x
weighted pulls 3x
rows 3x
upright rows 3x
weighted dips 3x
french press 3x

Just plugged in abs/cardio when needed

 

[SoreArms]

The best 3 day split I ever used was:

monday-chest/front delts/biceps
wendsday-legs
friday-back/rear+side delts

This way each day is very similar in volume(unlike how you have 24 sets for monday and 12 for friday), and it allows for your arms to be hit directly once and then hit again as a secondary muscle all in the same week.

Monday-
incline 3x
flat 3x
incline fly 3x
millitary 3x
bb curls 3x
seated db curls 3x

Wendsday:
squats 3x
leg press 3x
curls 3x
extensions 3x
calf raises 3x

Friday:
deads 3x
weighted pulls 3x
rows 3x
upright rows 3x
weighted dips 3x
french press 3x

Just plugged in abs/cardio when needed

I did that when I couldn't dedicate a separate day for arms, right now I can. I'm probably going to shuffle things around a bit and give shoulders their own day so that "arm" day is not so loaded. The only problem is going to be working everything around that Friday chest day, that's the only day that's kind of set in stone right now.

 

[Illuminati]

For shoulders Id throw in a compound movement like push presses or seated barbell or something (not sure what front presses are?)
For back, you have alot of rowing type movements, what about pulldowns or pullups?
For chest, I would toss out decline and throw in some dips.

This is my .02.

Good luck on the knee recovery.

how is he gonna do push press with a bum knee? you need your legs to explode the weight up.