Thread: My current program, any suggestions?

Originally Posted by Filipus

Hi everyone,

So I've been training for about 18 months.
Since I started working out I've gained a little weight but would like to gain more like 30-40 pounds more. I have always been skinny.
This program is pretty much what my brother has had for the past 3.5 years, and got it from a bodybuilding trainer he used to work out with in Madrid when he lived there.

I need some pointers on how to improve my program, also so "pro-tips" on how to gain more weight are welcome

Here it is:

Mondays - Chest
Bench press 4x10 (barbell)
Incline bench press 4x10 (barbell)
Standing fly 4x10 (Cables)
Seated fly 4x10 (machine)

Tuesday - Back
Cable pulldown 4x10
Rear pulldown 4x10
Narrow grip seated row 4x10
Pullover 4x10

Wednesday - Legs
Squats - 4x10
Leg press - 4x10 (45°)
Leg extension - 4x10
Lever kneeling leg curl 4x10

Thursday - Arms
Biceps
Dumbbell curl - 4x10
Hammer curl - 4x10
Seated curl - 4x10
Triceps
Cable pushdown 4x10
Skull crusher 4x10
Dips 4xfailure

Friday - Shoulders
Shoulder press 4x10
Behind neck press 4x10 (standing usually)
Arnold press 4x10 (usually standing and one armx10 then otherx10)
Seated rear lateral fly 4x10

In the weekends I sometimes (like every other weekend) throw in another lower body workout.


I weigh 167 pounds (around 76kg)
I'm 6'2'' (I think... it's 191cm) tall
My body fat is 10,8%

Every week is pretty similar exept I try to mix things a little bit up, heard I shouldn't let my muscles get too used to specific excercises.
So that's basically my program, Usually if I took one week with barbells in most exercises the next week I'll use dumbbells

Need to run now but I'll post a pic later.

Bill Starr 5x5 program, or Westside for skinny bastards program. If you want to put on pounds like that you need to be doing Squats Deads and simple presses Bench and Push Presses as the majority of your lifts. SIDE NOTE: Don't ever do rear pulldowns, there is nothing special that targets a different area of you lats when you do a behind the head pulldown, the line of pull is exactly the same if the bar is infront of your head,So your basically trashing your shoulder for no added benefit.

Originally Posted by Filipus

Hi everyone,

So I've been training for about 18 months.
Since I started working out I've gained a little weight but would like to gain more like 30-40 pounds more. I have always been skinny.
This program is pretty much what my brother has had for the past 3.5 years

your program needs to be modified or "switched out" way more frequently than every 18 months. you stopped gaining weight/ progressing because you are doing the exact same thing for such an extended period of time. there needs to be modification or a change in your program every so often (more like 6-8 weeks ) in order to keep stimulating growth.

i'll let the Gazman and co. bombard you with further details as they so eloquently do.

what is your diet like?

Originally Posted by Filipus

Mondays - Chest
Bench press 4x10 (barbell)
Incline bench press 4x10 (barbell)
Standing fly 4x10 (Cables)
Seated fly 4x10 (machine)

Tuesday - Back
Cable pulldown 4x10
Rear pulldown 4x10
Narrow grip seated row 4x10
Pullover 4x10

Wednesday - Legs
Squats - 4x10
Leg press - 4x10 (45°)
Leg extension - 4x10
Lever kneeling leg curl 4x10

Thursday - Arms
Biceps
Dumbbell curl - 4x10
Hammer curl - 4x10
Seated curl - 4x10
Triceps
Cable pushdown 4x10
Skull crusher 4x10
Dips 4xfailure

Friday - Shoulders
Shoulder press 4x10
Behind neck press 4x10 (standing usually)
Arnold press 4x10 (usually standing and one armx10 then otherx10)
Seated rear lateral fly 4x10

In the weekends I sometimes (like every other weekend) throw in another lower body workout.

couple of alarming things.
1st. 4/1 upper to lower body ratio. that is quite the imbalance

2nd. bench press, incline bench, fly, seated fly, pulldown, rear pulldown, row. all hit your shoulders in one way or another but on top of that you got- shoulder press, behind neck press, arnold press and rear lateral fly. You might be ok now but the day will come where something gives and with a bodypart like the shoulder there isnt always (most cases not) an easy or quick fix. plus overloading the shoulders like this is not the most affective way to get them to grow.

3rd. VOLUME vs. REST

yeah man you need to take more rest to allow your muscles to recover and grow and too much volume as was just said ^^^

As far as gaining weight, you should look to your diet not your training routine. You could have the greatest training routine in the world and if you're not eating enough then you're not going to be gaining weight. For this, you should post your current diet and goals in the Diet and Nutrition Forum.
It's time for a new training routine. There are a lot of good programs already out there, some have already been mentioned, 5/3/1 or starting strength are good ones as well. The stickies are good if you want to construct a push/pull routine.
Here is an additional read on periodization since most people overlook it in the stickies.
getlifting.info » Linear Periodization

You could completely eliminate Thursday- Arms by splitting up the bicep and tricep into two of your other workouts. That would give you a rest day right off the bat.
I agree that you should definitely add Deads and eliminate behind the neck pulldowns. Deads = Mass. Leg extensions I wouldnt waste much time on either. Great for warmups and getting cut but not great for mass. Maybe add some more hamstring work and dont forget about your calves. I wouldnt do back and legs on consecutive days either. Biggest muscle groups need more rest. If It were me I would take Thursday and the weekend off but if you cant bring yourself to do it at least take Thursday and Sunday off. Like the guys said above, Rest and Diet are basically the most important things to concentrate on. Your training will come along but nobody can make you eat right but yourself.

Originally Posted by Filipus

Mondays - Chest
Bench press 3x10 (barbell)
dips 3xfailure
Standing fly 2x10 (Cables)

Wednesday - Legs
Squats - 4x10
Leg press - 2x10 (45°)
leg extensions or something if you feel like it

friday - Back biceps
pullups 3x failure
standing rows 2x6-10
Narrow grip seated row 2x10
curls 3x6-10 (if you even need to directly hit bi's)

sunday- legs
dead-lifts 4x6-10
Any kind of core work do a few sets

If you want to get bigger focus on intensity, you can do something else after dead-lifts if you want but I'm usually hurting after 3-4 sets of dead-lift with the intensity I use.

Thanks for all the great tips. As far as my diet goes it has been pretty random, I'd like to blame it on a messed up schedule at school but that's just a crappy excuse.
I just bought my first journal (yeah I know I'm about 18 months late). And I am taking this week off to rest a bit and create the new program.
Like you guys said I should try and eat more so I'll make that my no.1 priority now. As far as the program goes I like all your suggestions especially the read on Linear Periodization, and also Bill Marr's 5x5.

I think I might try and mix Bill Starr's Intermediate 5x5 Workout with the Linear Periodization

I might do some variation of this:

Monday
Squat: 5 sets of 5
Bench Press: 5 sets of 5
Barbell Row: 5 sets of 5
Assistance (optional): 2 sets of weighted hypers and 4 sets of weighted sit-ups

Wednesday
Squat: 4 sets of 5; First 3 sets are the same as Monday, the 4th set is repeating the 3rd set again
Incline Bench or Military Press
Deadlifts: 4 sets of 5
Assistance (optional): 3 sets of sit-ups

Friday
Squat: 4 sets of 5, 1 set of 3, 1 set of 8; First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Bench Press: 4 sets of 5, 1 set of 3, 1 set of 8; First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Barbell Row: 4 sets of 5, 1 set of 3, 1 set of 8; First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Assistance (optional): 3 sets of weighted dips (5-8 reps), 3 sets of barbell curls, and 3 sets of triceps extensions (8 reps)

(found it on a website called nutribody, couldn't post link though)

Off to the store to buy some chicken and rice