Time for something new

Hey all, Been awhile since I've posted. I've been doing the basic workout for a while now. 3 sets of 4-10 bench, rows, pull downs, shoulder presses, squats and deads. I have been lifting heavy and wanting to change it up and get more conditioned. I have been considering a crossfit-ish style workout. Maybe doing blocks of bench for 30sec, rows 30sec and deads, 3 rounds of each for speed with lighter weights (and good form). The other days do a different workout like squat-press, cleans, medicine ball throw, and burpees. I would probably only do this 3 days a week. What do you think?

So what did your cardio consist of in your old training routine?
Your should google circuit training, seems like it might be a good fit for you.

Not much for actual cardio. I lifted relatively fast so I could get my heart rate up. I could get through the whole workout in about 45 min.

Why don't you try German volume training. T-nation has a real good guide to getting started and gives you a good split to start. https://www.google.com/url?q=http://...jHfT9QSryz2H9w

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Originally Posted by MMarty

Not much for actual cardio. I lifted relatively fast so I could get my heart rate up. I could get through the whole workout in about 45 min.

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Is time a problem? Why not add a cardio routine?

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Originally Posted by MMarty

Not much for actual cardio. I lifted relatively fast so I could get my heart rate up. I could get through the whole workout in about 45 min.

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That tells nobody anything.

Yeah, time is limited. What I mean't was that I would do 3 sets of 5-10 of bench, rows, shoulders, lat pull downs. and deads in that order. Last set to almost failure. I rest about a minute or so between sets and excercises. All told about 45 minutes.

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Originally Posted by MMarty

Yeah, time is limited. What I mean't was that I would do 3 sets of 5-10 of bench, rows, shoulders, lat pull downs. and deads in that order. Last set to almost failure. I rest about a minute or so between sets and excercises. All told about 45 minutes.

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So your rep range is 5-10... That seems like a really large range for three sets. How do you determine the weight you use for a particular rep range?

I put enough weight on to almost out of gas by 10 on the first two sets, but on the last set it ends up between 5-10, depending on how much steam I have that day.

What does your weekly split look like?

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Originally Posted by MMarty

I put enough weight on to almost out of gas by 10 on the first two sets, but on the last set it ends up between 5-10, depending on how much steam I have that day.

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Just to be clear, one day you will get 10,10,5, and then another day 10,10,10. The difference in reps would be in how much steam or energy you had that day.
So how do you measure progression? In other words, since the difference in reps is credited to that days energy, how do you know when to increase the weight?

My split is full body 3 days per week. I work as a welder/fabricator in a heavy repair facility for the railroad so depending on my workload (at work) it determines how much energy I have at the gym.