Thread: Rate my Workout Routine

Originally Posted by saint

Hi all,

This is my first time posting as well as my first time learning how to workout properly. I have read some of the articles on this site and they've been very helpful. Here is the workout plan I am currently using, please share your comments.

Day 1: Chest
Day 2: Biceps
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Cardio, Legs
Day 5: Triceps

Right now, I am doing 5 reps. of various exercises pertaining to each of the areas. On the exercise machines, I try to go up 1 bar every 2 reps. I start out usually with something that is lighter than what I would normally do just to warmup and then progress upward from there.

Quick Stats:

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 137lb

Questions:

1. Should cardio. be included everyday? For example, a 15 minute warmup everyday before the daily respective workout?

2. Is targetting just one area per day a good strategy to pursue? Are there any "coupling" muscle groups that (should) work great in combination?

3. I am trying to enhance my chest and waist. Currently, I am using the machine that has braces-support to do my benching. How effective are they; how well (results wise) do they stack up when they're compared with the old fashioned bar/weights?

4. What exercises are recommended for getting a bigger forearm? My biceps and triceps are fine, but the bone structure near my wrist are very narrow - I would like to change that.

Finally, because I am under weight, I've began drinking On Whey protein mixes to try and build mass. From what I understand, I am about 20-25lb under weight for my height. Although this may sound like a inane question, I would like to know if there are any coorelation between increases in weight to amount of mass on face. Due to naturally high cheekbones, I find that having one's cheekbone hugging the skin tightly to be similiarily akin to envisioning Monty Burns having sex - not particularly enjoyable.

Thanks for reading this long, deluded post. I hope that vision won't stay in your head for too long.

- Bill

I think you are making alot of mistakes. First of all, at 5 10 137, you are an ectomorph. Ectos burn energy quickly. If you want to gain weight and mass, you need to minimize your cardio, the amount of days you train and duration of your workouts.

So I would first cut the number of training days to 3 ( there is no reason to be going to the gym just to train triceps. That is for advanced bodybuilders, not for beginners and most of us ordinary folk).

You need to focus on basic compound exercises ( bench presses, squats, rows, deadlifts, curls, not "isolation" stuff) with an emphasis on the big muscle groups, chest, back and legs ( I do not see back in your routine above). Whatever training split you use, you must work large muscle groups before smaller ones ( such as arms and delts) as gaining size means you need to focus your energy on the larger bodyparts.

You SHOULD NOT be doing cardio every day. That is not necessary for your bodytype. That is for overweight people or those who are endomorphs( who carry more fat genetically than other bodytypes). If you want to use cardio as a warm up ( I would prefer that you do light stretching and some light warm up sets instead), limit to 5 minutes of low intensity on a bike or treadmill. Otherwise, you should only be doing one or two cardio sessions a week, either AFTER your workout ( and if so, NEVER the same day you are training legs) or on off days from the weights. I am an ecto who has transformed into an ecto/mesomorph through 5 years of intense training and proper diet and rest and I keep at less than 10% bodyfat almost year round with one and on occasion two cardio sessions a week. If I go to three for any period of time, I end up burning more muscle than fat and this is NOT what you want to do.

Also, to gain weight, you are going to have to EAT EAT AND EAT SOME MORE and REST REST AND REST, which means not spending hours a week in the gym and making sure you get enough sleep every night.

Lastly, I have some thoughts on training splits, but before I go into that, I need to know how long you have been training. I am not sure when you say "first time learning how to work out properly" if this means you have been training for awhile or not.

Egoatdoor, I remember my first months in IM looking at your posts. They are very good, too long and every response comes with a lot of patience. I give you two months to be at Openchat and Sexual Area most of your time. You will come back here just to say "Yes" or "No" and say "use the search button" with a lot of sarcasm.
Welcome to IM

Originally Posted by Vieope

Egoatdoor, I remember my first months in IM looking at your posts. They are very good, too long and every response comes with a lot of patience. I give you two months to be at Openchat and Sexual Area most of your time. You will come back here just to say "Yes" or "No" and say "use the search button" with a lot of sarcasm.
Welcome to IM

how true