Thread: does this look ok?

Originally Posted by jon1234

i am training mainly for size with some strength as well. This is my current routine, is it ok? Will i gain some good muscle with it?

day 1 upper body

pull up 2 sets as many as i can
row 2 sets 6-10 reps
bench press 2 sets 6-10 reps
dumbbell fly 2 sets 6-10 reps
shoulder press 3 sets 6-10 reps
hammer curl 2 sets 6-10 reps
seated dumbbell extension 2 sets 6-10 reps

day 2 rest

day 3 lower body

squat 3 sets 6-10 reps
lunge 3 sets 6-10 reps
dumbbell calf raises 3 sets 6-10 reps
shrugs 3 sets 6-10 reps
weighted crunches 3 sets 6-10 reps

day 4 rest

day 5 back to day 1 and repeat

i know shrugs isnt lower but it makes the time spent for both days the same and the sets etc same for both days. I have some back issues which is why deadlifts arent there. Is the days i do it enough rest inbetween ad the sets reps etc. I do tempo of quick concentric so maybe 1 second and then about 3-4 second eccentric for each rep

Upper - Good to see a compound lift for each plane of motion. However, (a) you should follow a rep-range structure to your pullups, just like you would other exercises. They'll develop with everything else. Also, (b) drop the isolation work. If you can, throw in one more compound per plane of motion (though, that might be too taxing of a workout). What kind of rows did you have in mind, by the way?

Lower - good choice of push exercises, but you have NO pulls. Where are deadlifts? You NEED these in your program more than anything, except maybe squats (they're basically equal in value). As for a second pull, how about good mornings, rack pulls (heavy on the traps, by the way) or romanian deads? So many options. Just stick to compound. I'd add one more calf exercises, maybe seated so that you also hit the soleus muscle harder (it's 60% of your calf mass). And, please, please, PLEASE drop the shrugs. I can't think of an exercise more useless than that one (unless maybe you're a highly experienced lifter who's asses his/her physique and wants a little extra oomph in their upper traps..that's about all their good for). With rows, deads, and other lifts like hang cleans if you decided to use them, your traps will get enough of a workout through isometric tension.

Also, drop the crunches. For one thing, spinal flexion is not so good. And the other thing.....with heavy compounds your abs work hard enough to negate direct work. Compound = more bang for your buck..like a multitasking hoooker.

compound= more bang for your buck...like a multitasking hooker. Lol funny shit I like that Phineas

Ok the equally important question is what is your intake looking like?

my intake is actually pretty good now i have recently started eating a shit load more food as i think that may have been one have my issues, i'm 150lbs in weight and i take in 2750-3000 calories a day, and approx 150-175g protein. I just don't know whether to do a workout like that OR do a traditional:

day 1 chest/triceps

chest
bench press 3 sets of 6-10 (all till failure)
dumbbell flys 3 sets 6-10

triceps
one arm dumbbell extension 2 sets 6-10
tate press 2 sets 6-10

day 2 rest day

day 3 shoulders/legs
shoulders
shoulder press 2 sets 6-10
standing dumbbell front raise 2 sets 6-10

legs
squat 3 sets 6-10 reps
romanian dl 3 sets 6-10 reps
dumbbell calf raises 3 sets 6-10 reps

day 4 rest day

day 5 biceps/back

biceps
concentration curl 2 sets 6-10
hammer curl 2 sets 6-10

back
bent over one arm dumbbell row 3 sets 6-10
pullups 3 sets as many as i can do (i can't do many)

day 6 rest day

back to day 1

which is a better workout?

They're both equally bad.

thats very constructive, would you like to share why, and give me something to work with considering you took the time to post

Originally Posted by Merkaba

Ok the equally important question is what is your intake looking like?

Jesus, I completely forgot about that, haha.

You mentioned 150-175g protein and was it about 3000 calories? Could you post your macros? What do your meals look like? Are you taking any supplements? What times in the day do you eat? What's your weight/bf? Post everything.....

Originally Posted by PushAndPull

They're both equally bad.

Well, at least you've included a lower pull. However, you still need to drop the isolation work. Really man, I know it seems weird to take out the lifts that give you that intense burn on your biceps, and whatnot; when I first cut out isolation I was so worried my arms were going to shrink. But, trust me -- with compound you'll grow way more and get much stronger. This is the way the muscles were meant to work. Also, If you're going to split your days from two I would add more volume and even switch the workouts around. Why not try a 4 day upper/lower push/pull split? It would look like this:

Lower Pull/Calves
Upper - Horizontal Push/Vertical Pull
Lower Push/Calves
Upper - Horizontal Pull/Vertical Push

You can tweak however you want, but this works wonders. This is how I train, and it's been incredible. If you're wondering why so much calf it's because they can generally take a hell of a lot more beating than other muscles; in fact, unless you're some genetic freak, you're going to have to brutalize your calves to get them to grow. It's unfortunately the way it goes with them.

If you want to add some "ab" work, feel free. It's unnecessary if you're squatting, deadlifting, etc, but it's not going to really hurt you (most likely, lol). You can add grip work if you'd like, but, again, I've never found it to be necessary with all the heavy BB and DB work I do in this program. This program gives you 7 days of rest between a given workout, and 3 or 4 rest between smaller muscle groups like biceps, which are worked secondarily in both pull days. This also gives you the luxury to add more exercises/volume; variety is key. It will get boring using RDLs as your only pull. For instance, at the moment I do traditional deads, good mornings, and unilateral DB RDLs on lower pull. Keeps things fresh.

Here is some criticism for this rountine.
Although you only asked

Originally Posted by jon1234

which is a better workout?

This routine is very confusing to me.
Not sure if it's aimed at building mass or just toning.

Originally Posted by jon1234

day 1 chest/triceps
chest
bench press 3 sets of 6-10 (all till failure)
dumbbell flys 3 sets 6-10

Basic chest routine aimed at adding mass.
I would add weight to the bench press till your reps drop in the 5-8 range, and drop the dumbbell flys to two sets.

Originally Posted by jon1234

triceps
one arm dumbbell extension 2 sets 6-10
tate press 2 sets 6-10

Hate the tate press. French press is far better for adding mass.
One arm dumbbell extension is not going to add any real mass.
I would drop both exercises and do three sets(reps 5-8) of heavy french press.

Originally Posted by jon1234

day 3 shoulders/legs
shoulders
shoulder press 2 sets 6-10
standing dumbbell front raise 2 sets 6-10

Shoulder press is great for adding mass.
You'll get far better gains dropping the front raises and doing 3 sets of heavy shoulder press. Corner press is also a really good shoulder exercise and you can go heavy on it.

Originally Posted by jon1234

legs
squat 3 sets 6-10 reps
romanian dl 3 sets 6-10 reps
dumbbell calf raises 3 sets 6-10 reps

Your orig post says you have back problems so you can't do deadlifts, and yet squats and romainian deads are fine?
Either way they're both good exercises for mass, just bring the reps down and weight up.
Dumbbell calf raises are alright if that's all you're working with, but I found elavated calf raises on the smith machine are a far better option for mass, because you can add way more weight, better range of motion, and you don't have to worry about your grip.

Originally Posted by jon1234

biceps
concentration curl 2 sets 6-10
hammer curl 2 sets 6-10

Perfect routine if you're not looking for mass.
Heavy ez bar or barbell curls are much better for mass.

Originally Posted by jon1234

back
bent over one arm dumbbell row 3 sets 6-10
pullups 3 sets as many as i can do (i can't do many)

Pull-ups are fantastic for building the back. So stick with them and make sure they're your first exercise performed that day. You might also consider doing chin-ups instead, because they're easier.
I would replace the dumbell rows with lat pulldown since they will help more with gaining strength on the pull-ups.
Finally, i'd recommend you spit this up over four days instead of three.

There's my 2 cents.

If I were you I would stick to something like this:

Legs
Squats x 4
Lunges x 3
SLDL x 3

Chest/Shoulders
Flat Bench press or DB press x 4
Inline Flys x 3
Push Press x 3

Back
Deadlifts x 4
DB Rows x 3
Weighted Pull-ups x 3

Keep it simple. Go heavy. Stick to the 6 -8 rep range. Strict on form.

thanks for that push and pull. Is this looking better then?
day 1 chest/triceps

chest
bench press 3 sets of 5-8 (all till failure)
dumbbell flys 3 sets 5-8

triceps
french press 3 sets 5-8

day 2 rest day

day 3 shoulders/legs
shoulders
shoulder press 3 sets 5-8

legs

squat 3 sets 5-8
romanian dl 3 sets 5-8
dumbbell calf raises 3 sets 5-8

day 4 rest day

day 5 biceps/back

back
pullups 3 sets as many as i can do (i can't do many)
bent over one arm dumbbell row 3 sets 5-8

biceps
barbell curl 3 sets 5-8

day 6 rest day

rep speed, explosive concentric, 3-4 second eccentric?

Personally, i like
Tris/Bis
Chest/Shoulders
Legs
Back
If you're going heavy your rep speed generally won't be that fast. I do 1.5-2 minutes per set. It's long enough to recover but not go cold. Remember to gain mass, you need to go Heavy and if you rep speed is to fast you're gonna get wore out way to fast. My point is, rep speed is not going to gain you mass, moving heavy weight will.
Of course gaining mass is contingent on your diet as well.

ok thats fine, are the sets reps and exercise selection a bit better?

Originally Posted by jon1234

ok thats fine, are the sets reps and exercise selection a bit better?

Absolutely, that's a program geared to gain mass. Just remember to eat right and get your rest, because that's equally important.

Also, I like alternating corner press with the overhead press, because you can go heavy on the corner press as well, and the symmetry is a nice bonus, especially if one of your shoulders is lagging.

thanks very much mate, i'll split it like that and give those exercises a go with those rep ranges hopefully can get some good gains out of it!!

do you do all the exercises for one body part first before going onto another? as in do i do:

back
pullups 3 sets as many as i can do (i can't do many)
bent over one arm dumbbell row 3 sets 5-8

biceps
barbell curl 3 sets 5-8

all the back before any bicep or could i do:

pullups
barbell curl
bent over row