working on a new routine

[Nakor]

I like to workout 5 times a week but I could drop it to 4 if you guys think that it's a good idea. I like to hit chest 2x a week as well. I've been doing the following

Monday - Chest
Tuesday - Legs
Wednesday - Shoulders & Tris
Thursday - Off
Friday - Chest
Saturday - Back & Bis
Sunday - Off

How does this look? What would you guys change? I would really appreciate any help you guys could offer. Thanks.

 

[JDid23]

posted in your other thread-- didn't have much time to respond so feel free to ask more ?s in there

 

[JDid23]

Upper Body


Bench Press
145x7 (failed on 8th)
155x4
135x9

DB Row
55 lb DB x 8 (per arm)- PR 3x8
55 lb DB x 8
55 lb DB x 8

Incline DB Bench
40 lb DBs x 12
50 lb DBs x 9- PR
50 lb DBs x 5 (failed on 6th i think, mighta been 5th lol.. not enough rest)

Pullups (extremely wide grip)
6
4

DB Skull Crushers
15 lb DBs x 12- PR 3x12
15 lb DBs x 12
15 lb DBs x 12

Lat Pulldowns
110 x 10
110 x 10
110 x 10

Incline DB Curls
15 lb DBs x 10
15 lb DBs x 10

EZ Bar Curls- Bar + 20 x 10


Comments: Bench was ok.. need a real plan for benching, maybe 3x3 or 3x5 even. Rows felt good today, going to try to do the same with 60 lbs next week. Incline DBs with 50 on the first set was good, didn't have enough rest between the last 2 though. Pullups are extremely uncomfortable because they're ridiculously wide- i wish i had a normal pullup bar at home. I went slow and controlled on lat pulldowns and they felt good, and i also had pretty slow negatives on the incline curls. Not a terrible workout

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Best thing I have found for improving the bench is the basic linear 5x5 because you bench twice a week. The volume is fairly low since you really only have 2 top sets each week, but you still bench 10 sets a week total so you are working the movement.

Dual factor 5x5 kicks ass for bench with the increased volume, but you need to have every thing in order to recover from the workload as a novice or better yet not bother with dual factor until you start getting fairly advanced.

IMHO, if you want your bench to go up I would drop the incline db bench. I would do 5x5 with your top set being the max weight for 1 set of 5. Another day of the week do 5x5 close grip bench with grip shoulder width or slightly narrower for 5x5.

Don't do too much heavy shoulder work except for some basic presses.

Try to push for reps or weight gain every week on the bench and close grips. Eat enough food to gain weight.

That would drive your bench up.

Imo, younger guys have alot of energy and burn alot of calories and because of this they A. Don't eat as much as they need to grow even if they think they do and B. Overtrain with excessive volume and going to failure.

 

[JDid23]

Best thing I have found for improving the bench is the basic linear 5x5 because you bench twice a week. The volume is fairly low since you really only have 2 top sets each week, but you still bench 10 sets a week total so you are working the movement.

Dual factor 5x5 kicks ass for bench with the increased volume, but you need to have every thing in order to recover from the workload as a novice or better yet not bother with dual factor until you start getting fairly advanced.

IMHO, if you want your bench to go up I would drop the incline db bench. I would do 5x5 with your top set being the max weight for 1 set of 5. Another day of the week do 5x5 close grip bench with grip shoulder width or slightly narrower for 5x5.

Don't do too much heavy shoulder work except for some basic presses.

Try to push for reps or weight gain every week on the bench and close grips. Eat enough food to gain weight.

That would drive your bench up.

Imo, younger guys have alot of energy and burn alot of calories and because of this they A. Don't eat as much as they need to grow even if they think they do and B. Overtrain with excessive volume and going to failure.

Thanks for stopping by.... I might look into 5x5 specifically for bench, but at the moment i want to enjoy my training and put on some size- i do want to train the big 3 in lower rep ranges though. My upper body has lagged since i couldn't do any pressing for 2 months, so my lower body is leagues above.

The main reason I am doing incline DB press is because military pressing hurts my shoulder and incline benching feels fine for it.

As i previously mentioned, i do workout to really enjoy my training since i'm not training for sports anymore. I am fully aware my diet isn't up to par; i try to get in protein whenever i can whether it be by shakes, cheese in the fridge, nuts, etc.... I eat pretty healthy, but again i know i can eat more to fully optimize my gains. Once i hit college, I'm going to have more options as far as food goes so i'll hit up the diet section in about a month. I hated going to failure on that bench.. thought i had another one in me on incline and flat, but i have noticed that my best strength gains come when i don't train to failure.

Thanks again and your input is always appreciated man

 

[the.gladiator1987]

Jdid I don't think u are fully understanding that size comes from diet. You can start geting technical about reps, tempo, weight, etc but as long as u tear a muscle down you will grow as long as you are eating. Ghetto said it perfectly.

 

[Andalite]

Jdid I don't think u are fully understanding that size comes from diet. You can start geting technical about reps, tempo, weight, etc but as long as u tear a muscle down you will grow as long as you are eating. Ghetto said it perfectly.

Why are you making so much sense these days???

 

[JDid23]

Jdid I don't think u are fully understanding that size comes from diet. You can start geting technical about reps, tempo, weight, etc but as long as u tear a muscle down you will grow as long as you are eating. Ghetto said it perfectly.

I'm fully aware of this.... I know what the weak point in my training is, but the size gains i've been seeing have been consistent and i want to enjoy the next month at home before heading off to college for the first time. Having said that, regardless of this fact isn't there an optimal range for hypertrophy and an optimal range for strength? In the end i know diet is the determining factor, but there has to be rep ranges that lean towards one or the other.

 

[the.gladiator1987]

Why do you and EM keep saying youre lifting to enjoy? wtf is that? Youre lifting for goals, so what are your goals? To get to your goals you cant lift to "enjoy"

 

[JDid23]

Why do you and EM keep saying youre lifting to enjoy? wtf is that? Youre lifting for goals, so what are your goals? To get to your goals you cant lift to "enjoy"

I am not going to speak for EM, but as far as I'm concerned I want to lift for the rest of my life (knock on wood) providing i am capable of doing so. I don't want to force myself into any type of training I don't enjoy doing, because as i said i want lifting to be a longass marathon for me and i want to enjoy every step of the way. I purely just love the feeling i get after/while working out and the aesthetic/strength gains that come with it. I don't want to be a PLer/BBer or anything, but I am looking to learn more about something i love to do (why i am on EF).

I have a great deal of respect for guys like you strive to be the very best you can be, but that's not me- i don't want my schedule everyday to revolve around getting enough food in and shit like that so i see better gains. I'm leaner and stronger than most people i meet, and that's more than sufficient for me.