Thread: Simple Split to kick Start

Originally Posted by steel

hi, starting a new split for 2006, i used to train on and off for the past year or so but want to make 2006 my best year in terms of physical condition. anyway, im trying to loose some fat and get stronger. when iv been off the weights before (usually due to injury) when iv got back into it i seemed to progress very quickly and got back up to where i was if not stronger within a few weeks. this in mind i want to do a 4 week phase of lightish training to avoid injury and to get to a point where i feel iv got a good base to go on from. i was thinking of a simple upper/lower split with 2 cardio days (when i play 5 a side football). id appreciate any advice from you guys with a bit more experience than me, am i right doing few excersises (the basics) with higher reps and sets or should i incoperate more exercises now? by next month ill be moving onto a 3 or even 4 day split but i feel i need to get into some sort of overall condition first so this is what i was considering:

Upper:
3 x 10 Bench Press
3 x 10 Dumbell Fly
3 x 10 Upright Rows
3 x 10 Sholder Press
3 x 10 Dumbell Curl
3 x 10 Reverse Curl
3 x 10 Tricep Extension

Lower:
3 x 10 Squats
3 x 10 SLDL
3 x 10 Leg Extensions
3 x 10 Leg Curls

does this look ok for first 4 week conditioning phase?

way to many presses.

you have no back exercises.

how do you plan on varying the rep scheme week to week?

Why not train total body if you are going to train only twice a week? that way you can get more volume spread out over the week.

thanks for the reply

im training 4 times a week, the upper and lower twice a week = 4.

i might add bent over barbell row? can i swap it with something? do i need anything else in there?

after a month i will probably do 3 or 4 day split, heavier in the 6-8 rep range. and every once in a while do lighter weight in the 12-15 range. i find it keeps me more interested mixing things up a bit.

thanks

Originally Posted by steel

thanks for the reply

im training 4 times a week, the upper and lower twice a week = 4.

i might add bent over barbell row? can i swap it with something? do i need anything else in there?

after a month i will probably do 3 or 4 day split, heavier in the 6-8 rep range. and every once in a while do lighter weight in the 12-15 range. i find it keeps me more interested mixing things up a bit.

thanks

so you repeat those same workouts two times a week?

I would drop so much of the pressing and put in more pulling. Your routine lacks balance.

Why not split lifts or planes of motion over the two days of training?

yeah its going like this:

mon:upper
tue:cardio
wed:lower
thu:upper
fri:cardio
sat:lower

have you any suggestions for pulling? i only got free weights but got bench, quite a lot of weights, BB, DB and some cardio stuff. i can do bent over row yes? is upright row not pulling to? iv got bench press and shoulder press so is it not 2 each? or do curls and stuff count as either? do i need to do any other exercise apart from a bent over row?

what about pull ups?

upright rows are pulling, yes. I am just not that partial towards them and tend to lean towards more back work like rows and pull ups/downs.

How could you forget deadlifts? I see the SLDLs but deadlifts will certainly help.

I see two chest exercises and two biceps exercises along with a back, a shoulders and a triceps exercise. I'd say to just do more things for back and drop the biceps exercises completely. Change flat bench and flyes to DB benches. I would also do a standing military press instead of just a shoulder press. This way the DB benches will work the triceps and chest to quite an extent and the military presses will work the shoulders and triceps. For back, do what P-Funk said and add in pull ups and chin ups and take out the rows unless you've developed a fetish. This will take care of back and biceps.

For lower body, I would get rid of the leg extensions and curls and add deadlifts and/or lunges.

Just some suggestions...

Start with the compounds and work from there. Get a horizontal pressing (Bench press, decline press, DB bench, etc.) and pulling movement (Bent rows, seated cable rows, Yates' rows, etc.) as well as a vertical pressing (Overhead press, dips, steep incline press, etc.) and pulling movement (Chinups, pullups, pulldowns, etc.) for each upper body day, or spread between the two. Add a bit of accessory work from there if you must.

Your lower body day looks fine in terms of exercise selection; you have both a knee and hip dominant movement in there.

It would probably be a good idea to vary repetition ranges, although it may not be as important right now as you are getting conditioned once again as you stated. However, once you get back into it for a few weeks, then you should definitely periodize intensity in some form or fashion.

thanks for the input, im feeling sore after football (soccer) tuesday and i have another game friday so im going to do some stretching and very light lifting tonight. i will alter my routine to include the points youve all made. i will add some pull ups definitely and some deadlifts and then see how i go.

thanks again