sagejx

Heya!

I'd like to start an upper/lower program > 4 days / week

Goal: Build muscle,increase strength of course

Monday: Upper Body

* Bench Press: 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions
* Bent Over Row: 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions
* Military Press: 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions
* BB Curl: 1 sets of 6-8 repetitions
* Rope Tricep Pull-downs: 1 sets of 6-8 repetitions

Tuesday: Lower Body

* Squat: 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions
* Deadlift: 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions
* Leg press: 1 sets of 6-8 repetitions
* Leg Curl: 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions
* Standing Calf Raises: 1 sets of 6-8 repetitions

Thursday: Upper Body ; same as Mon
Friday: Lower Body ; same as Tue


What do you think about this program?

Thanks!

sagejx

After a few months of overtraining I've finally got the big picture,or so I hope.

juggernaut

http://jcdfitness.com/wp-content/dow...outine_FAQ.pdf

same thing.

sagejx

Thanks a lot for that link!

The wo seems great,but IMO the volume is too big


I cut it in:

Mon: Lower
Squat: 3X6-8
Deadlift: 3X6-8
Leg press: 2X10-12
Leg curl: 2X10-12
Abs: 1x10-12

Tue: Upper
Flat bench: 3X6-8
Row: 3X6-8
shoulder press: 3X6-8
Triceps: 1X10-12
Biceps: 1X10-12

T_man

Why are you doing only one set for chest & back but doing the same amount for bicep & tricep when they get worked doing back & chest?? I'd swap the tricep work for something like Dips which hits both the chest & triceps hard, and something like chin-ups which work the biceps & back well.

Cheat on your girlfriend, not on your meal.

juggernaut

sagejx, you seem like you want to do a more HIT style routine. Google doggcrap training and see if that fits your need for less volume. I would like to know how long you've trained for.

quadluver

Three sets is generic in format. You should try cutrting some of the rest period down and adding 2 additional sets, just to make sure the bellies are completely fatigued.

sagejx

I've only been training for about 8 months

juggernaut

forget doggcrap-try buying p-funk's book. A helluva lot of information in that.

sagejx

Thanks for the tip,I will be looking into that!

Meh this is another routine that seems pretty good to me,what do you think about it?

Monday & Thursday:

* BB Bench Press: 5 sets of 6-8 reps
* Military Press: 5 sets of 6-8 reps
* Skullcrushers: 3 sets of 6-8 8 reps


Tuesday & Friday:

* Squats: 5 sets of 6-8 reps
* Bent Over Barbell Rows: 5 sets of 6-8 reps
* Barbell Curls: 3 sets of 6-8 reps

Let's say that I can Bench 30kg for 5 reps. Here's how I'll do 5 sets of BB bench :

set 1: empty bar
set 2: 15kg
set 3: 20 kg
set 4: 25kg
set 5: 30kg

gtbmed

That program is definitely lacking.

Add deadlifts and get rid of military press IMO. I also don't know if I would do 30-40 repetitions of compound movements like BP or squats in one workout.

gtbmed's strength journal

juggernaut

in what way is this lacking?> I'd say get rid of the skull crushers as the military presses take care of both delt work and tricep work. Explain your rationale.

Reps are a bit too high, lower to 3-4 sets at least.

gtbmed

There are 60-80 repetitions of lower body work in the week. There are 140-180 repetitions of pressing alone.

There's no accessory work for the lower body to hit the glutes, hams, or lower back. The whole program just seems imbalanced to me and heavily favors pressing. Plus, I think it's way too much pressing volume.

How you tweak it to work depends on what you want. I would say get rid of military presses and replace them with deads. Add some type of posterior chain movement to one day and some type of ab movement to another day. To me there's too little core accessory work.

Something like:

Monday/Thursday
Deadlift
Bench press/military press
Skullcrushers
Hypers/Glute-ham raises/Good mornings

Tuesday/Friday:
Squat
Row
BB Curls
Weighted crunches/planks

gtbmed's strength journal

powerlifter316

You need more variation. You're going to stall very quickly doing the same exercises twice per week. You also should not be doing squats and deads for reps on the same day. Try something like this:

Upper 1:
Bench variation
Secondary pressing movement
Pullup variation
Row variation
Arms / shoulders isolation work

Lower 1:
Squat
Secondary leg movement (i.e. leg press)
Heavy abs
Calves

Upper 2:
Overhead Press variation
Secondary pressing movement
Row variation
pullup variation
arms / shoulders isolation work

Lower 2:
Deadlift
Secondary Leg movement
Heavy Abs
Calves

For most or all exercises, work up to one heavy set of 4-6, and then do a "down" set of 10-12. Raise these ranges a bit for isolation exercises. Strive to increase weight or reps at every session.

sagejx

Thanks again for the replies.

Bah I consider this routine-not an upper/lower though-

week1:a b a
week 2: b a b
etc.
A

Stepups
military press
squats
bench


B

good mornings
bent rows
deadlifts
pullups

6-8 reps but how many sets?2 WU sets and 4 working sets?

gtbmed

Swap good-mornings and step ups. Squats and step-ups are quad dominant movements and GMs and deadlifts are hip dominant, so I would try to balance it out a bit.

gtbmed's strength journal

SnowManSnow

maybe i can help a little too. one thing i struggled with when i started lifting (the first go around haha) was that i had to get through my head that I didn't have to absolutely destroy my muscles to get results. High reps.. long sets... OUT.

Once I started lifting heavier with 8reps 3sets.. I started getting stronger... a LOT faster.

Another thing that made ALL the difference was diet. To gain I had to start eating A LOT MORE OFTEN than I was use too (and a lot more volume too!) Start keeping up with your protein and calories and see where you are on an average week.

at 190lbs.. I try to take about 200gprotein (working on my maintenance caloric intake now). and even 200 is probably a good bit too little.

for me, EVERYTHING rises and falls on my diet.

Here's the actual full body workout I do 3 x week (as suggested by Built some time ago)

lat pulls
flat bench DB press
bent over rows
arnolds
lumber jack squats
romanian deadlifts
and something else i cant remember for some reason haha

again.. i take this at 8 reps for 3 sets.

IMO it's a very good newb workout and has worked out great for me.

sagejx

Meh or this...(yeah,i have a lot of wo to consider)

A: Good Mornings,Squat,Bench,Row,Press,Shrugs
B: Step ups,Deadlift,Pullovers,Chins,Front Raise,Shrugs

ABA,BAB...