Thread: Ok please critique my new routine...

What are your goals? Reps seem kind of high for mass. Personally, I'd add more volume as well.

Oops sorry forgot that part. I thought most people on here knew me by now with all the bitching I do

I am in process of losing 55lb. I'm 6'1"and started at 257lb 8 weeks ago and got down to 237lb and then over the last 10 days shot back up to 247lb with no changes in my training or diet. I have the diet stuff under control. I want to preserve as much LBM as I can while losing fat and getting down to 10% BMI. I have calipers in route so I will have a better idea of where I'm currently at then.

OH ok. Sorry, normally I would but I havent been in these parts much lately. Weight loss is definitely not my forte, but best of luck w/ your goals. High reps seems right, might still want more volume though.

How's your diet? Cardio?

Why not create a full body program based around rotating an A day and a B day? It gives you so many options.

Originally Posted by Bakerboy

Why not create a full body program based around rotating an A day and a B day? It gives you so many options.

that and do more supersets and circuit type work. I think the best/quickest way to drop body fat it to create as much metabolic work as possible.

Originally Posted by Uthinkso

I've previously been doing a split routine. Chest/tris, back/bis, legs/shoulders. At the reccomendation of some members and my own frustration with my lack of success thus far. I'm changing things up a bit, so here it is. It seems light to me, in that I need more excercises.


Day One- Upper Push
Flat DB Press
Dips
Overhead DB Press
Overhead Extensions

Day Two –Legs -wheres the deads?
Squats
Leg Press w/Calf Raises


Day Three- Upper Pull
Pulldowns - drop this do pullups if you can
Straight Bar Curl - do these last
Barbell Shrugs - do these 2nd to last
Rows - do these 1st or 2nd

Rep range 15-12-10 and three sets per movement.

my 2c. i think you could add in some more rows and chinups on pull day and i think you could add in incline presses on push day.

I wouldn't do deadlifts and squats on the same day...

Circuit / superset / short rest interval work would benefit your metabolic expenditure during and post workout (as Patrick said). Also, the 15-20 rep range is too high. Go with 10-15 and make sure you are progressing and NOT overdoing it. You WANT muscle. Muscle is active tissue and requires calories to function and maintain, raising your BMR. Using rep ranges at a more aerobic rate would do you better, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by P-funk

that and do more supersets and circuit type work. I think the best/quickest way to drop body fat it to create as much metabolic work as possible.

What do you mean by circuit type work? I read all the stickies here and then came up with this. I have only every trained with a very basic split. Which worked very well for me four years ago, but times have changed.

Also I didn't want to be redundant with my excercises. For example front squats and rear squats on the same day seemed crazy.

I go to the gym tommorrow so I want to get this all sorted out by tommorrow. I'll add incline db press/decline db press on push day and rotate those two weekly.

Basically, you take little rest between exercises and go from one to the other. Squat to calf raise to leg extension, one set each, then maybe repeating.

Originally Posted by Duncans Donuts

Basically, you take little rest between exercises and go from one to the other. Squat to calf raise to leg extension, one set each, then maybe repeating.

Oh ok that makes some sense. The other side of my gym they have two circuits set up, they are all machines. The are total body circuits, my wife uses those.

Ya know come to think of it there are a handfull of BIG dudes at gym, and I never understand what day they are training. They start with bench and then onto dumbells, and then back to bench eventually. Always working but all over the place. Perhaps now I have an answer.

What about supersetting DB Press with DB flys??? I'
m trying to think of items in the gym that are near one another as well. I just can't figure if a fly is a push or a pull. I'd say push even though your not directly pushing out like a press.

Originally Posted by Uthinkso

I've previously been doing a split routine. Chest/tris, back/bis, legs/shoulders. At the reccomendation of some members and my own frustration with my lack of success thus far. I'm changing things up a bit, so here it is. It seems light to me, in that I need more excercises.


Day One- Upper Push
Flat DB Press
Dips
Overhead DB Press
Overhead Extensions

Day Two –Legs
Squats
Leg Press w/Calf Raises


Day Three- Upper Pull
Pulldowns
Straight Bar Curl
Barbell Shrugs
Rows

Rep range 15-12-10 and three sets per movement.

hes olny doing up to 15 reps

Ok so what is the opinion on my post about supersetting DB press with DB fly? Am I on the right track?

Originally Posted by Uthinkso

Ok so what is the opinion on my post about supersetting DB press with DB fly? Am I on the right track?

No.

Are you still planning on doing a Push/Legs/Pull setup? Honestly, give a A, B full- body routine a try. It's easier to set up circuits because you can work opposite planes.

you are making this way to difficult.

Here:

Day 1:
1a) Squat
1b) pull up/down
rest repeat

2a) DB romanian deadlift
2b) incline press
2c) plank
rest repeat

Day 2:
1a) bench press
1b) deadlift
rest repeat

2a) seated row
2b) walking lunges
2c) crunches or bird dogs or whatever
rest repeat

Originally Posted by P-funk

you are making this way to difficult.

Here:

Day 1:
1a) Squat
1b) pull up/down
rest repeat

2a) DB romanian deadlift
2b) incline press
2c) plank
rest repeat

Day 2:
1a) bench press
1b) deadlift
rest repeat

2a) seated row
2b) walking lunges
2c) crunches or bird dogs or whatever
rest repeat

I'm simply trying to understand this by asking questions, bare in mind that while you live and breath this stuff these are uncharted waters for me and many other newbies here. If asking questions makes things difficult, then yes guilty as charged. I refuse to just do something blindly that I don't understand.

So this is two days and I work out three, so should I just start the cycle over again. For example M- Day A, W-Day B, F-Day A...then start the following week with Day B.

From the curb just looking at things, it looks pretty weak but I'll give it a whirl.

Yes, you just rotate days... So if you workout M, W, F your first two weeks would look like this A, B, A B, A, B. It is smart you are asking questions.

Now you just have to plug in your RI (rest intervals) and how you want to cycle your reps and sets. Take a look at the stickies and you will see some suggestions. Trust me, it may look easy on paper but like anything you can make it as hard as you want by- increasing the weight, adding sets, shortening your rest intervals, or add another day etc. Another thing to think about is your warmup. A good warmup prepares the body to work. Without a proper warmup you increase your chances of injury. You can find that in the stickies too. And remember it's not how long you are in the gym- short but intense workouts are better, anything over an hour is too much. Aim for 45min of lifting or less.

Originally Posted by Bakerboy

Yes, you just rotate days... So if you workout M, W, F your first two weeks would look like this A, B, A B, A, B. It is smart you are asking questions.

Now you just have to plug in your RI (rest intervals) and how you want to cycle your reps and sets. Take a look at the stickies and you will see some suggestions. Trust me, it may look easy on paper but like anything you can make it as hard as you want by- increasing the weight, adding sets, shortening your rest intervals, or add another day etc. Another thing to think about is your warmup. A good warmup prepares the body to work. Without a proper warmup you increase your chances of injury. You can find that in the stickies too. And remember it's not how long you are in the gym- short but intense workouts are better, anything over an hour is too much. Aim for 45min of lifting or less.

Yeah cardio and all I am in there about 1:15 and thats with 30 min cardio. HIIT is kicking my ass, did it last night and it was brutal. I didn't sweat I was literally raining.

As I said I will give it a shot, its just very strange to me is all. I'm eating more food than I ever have in my life and I'm working out with a strange program all in an effort to lose weight. I understand the starvation thing and that your body needs calories, but I can't wrap my mind around the converse idea. That your body needs calories to lose weight. I'm still reading and still learning, this isn't a diet its a new way of life.

It's a good idea to switch things up. Maybe your body has adapted to what you have been doing at it needs some of the parameters changed. It's easy to become complacent- not that I'm saying you are- just that you have to be one step ahead of your body- thinking about what it needs before it tells you. Not that pain is a sure sign that you are working hard enough- in fact you should never be in pain- uncomfortable maybe but not in pain. Every 4-6 weeks it's a good idea to switch things up. But as P- funk says- You should not just focus on the short term think in terms of what you want to achieve in cycles. Working, being healthy afterall is an ongoing quest- it's not just about getting to one place and staying there- it's about how you want to exist and interact physically and to better understand what you need to do to stay healthy for the rest of your life.

So that being said, how many routines do you personally have and how often do you change them up???

Originally Posted by Uthinkso

So that being said, how many routines do you personally have and how often do you change them up???

I am always adjusting things every 6-8 weeks or less. Before I came to IM I was really into BW stuff. As my goals change I change how I train. Right now I am focusing on getting better at Olympic lifting. P-funk and Dale have been helping me out with that as they know a lot more than me.