Thread: Critique Routine Please!

I'd say way too much volume. Why do you work your arms twice as much as anything else? Remember that the legs and back are the most important things to train. I'm not sure how knowledgeable you are, but make sure you've read the stickies, etc. Personally I don't even do direct arm work, but my goal is basically to get as much usable strength as possible (how often do you curl something in your everyday life?). The only things I used to do for biceps were hammer curls because you actually do pick up a lot of things like that, but for now pull ups are my mainstay for indirect bicep involvement. I'm just seeing where my compound routine takes me and I may have to add in some direct work to some places if they lag behind. Just remember, however, that I'm no expert, so don't think that this advice is set in stone by any means. Good luck.

anyone else...?

your squating two days in a row?

Why so much bicep work? Isn't that like 25 sets? Personally I do 2 sets and see growth.

If you are squatting hard you shouldn't be able to go for a 45min run after squats, let alone more squats the day after.

Do regular deads on back day too. SLD are mainly for hamstrings.

too much volume, your bi's are worked alot, and hardly anything for your tri's, which are actually bigger and should be hit more, just my 2cents!!!

I gotta agree with the other guys, 25 sets for biceps is FAR too many, I think I do close to a total of 25 sets in a day... And maybe also try incline barbell raises instead of cable laterals for your delts... mmmm... incline bb raises...

Ok - seems to be the common idea here - too much volume.

Even though these are only 5x5?

I mean if I do 3x8 thats 24 lifts of the bicep and a 5x5 is only 25 total. Not much more.

I'm happy for the criticism and will act on this but can you explain a little more what is wrong with 5x5.

Thanks in advance.

There's nothing wrong with 5x5 - it's the fact that you do this for five different exercises for your biceps alone. 5x5 is 25 reps, times 5 exercises each doing 25 reps is 125 reps for your biceps alone. This is way too much even for the bigger muscle groups, let alone something small like the biceps. You can keep 5x5, but if I were you I'd do maybe two biceps exercises at the most.

First of all, you should be putting rest days in between the sessions. Don't lift more than 2 days in a row if you can help it.

Second, you are wasting too much time on arm work and not spending enough time on leg work.

In my opinion, your volume is too high in general.

It looks like you are aiming for the following split: arms, legs, back, chest. You like the 5x5 protocol. You prefer to hit your abs on multiple days. Here is my suggestion for a program with a similar split and those ideas in mind:

Monday - Legs:
Squats 5 x 5
Deadlifts x 3
Good mornings x 2
Standing Calf Raises x 3

Tuesday - Chest, Abs, & Lower Back:
Bench Press 5 x 5
Incline Press x 3
Decline Situps x 3
Hyperextensions x 3

Thursday - Back & Abs:
Chinups 5 x 5
Bent Rows x 3
Shrugs x 2
Reverse Flys x 2
Hanging Leg Raises x 3

Friday - Shoulders, Arms, & Obliques:
Military Press 5 x 5
Upright Rows x 2
Skull Crushers x 3
Hammer Curls x 2
Side Bends x 2

How about that?