Hey guys just wondering what you think of this program that i've just made up, its a 4 day split were i work out monday to thursday and take friday to sundary off, with Day 1: Chest/Bi's Day 2: Shoulders Day 3: Back Triceps and Day 4: Legs
My program is as follows;
Day 1:
- bench press
- Incline (dumbbells)
- Flys (dumbbells)
- Crossovers (cable)
- dips
- Alt. Hammer Curls (dumbell)
- Zottman Dumbbell Curls
- Cable Curls
- standing dumbbell curl
Day 2:
- Back Military Press
- Seated Dumbbell Press.
- Dumbbells forward/sides
- Front raises (cable)
- Delt Cable Pull
- Upright Rows
Day 3:
- Barbell bent over rows
- Pull Ups
- Dumbbell bent over Rows
- Bench Pull
- Hyper extensions (weighted)
- Close Grip Bench
- Tricep Kickback
- French press with an EZ curl bar on a decline bench
- Tricep press down rope
Day 4:
- Squat (alternate with DL)
- Dead lift (alternate with squat)
- Calf Press
- Glute Ham Raises
- Seated Hamstring curls
- Standing Hamstring Curls
- Leg Press
I also run 3 times a week and do core training twice a week
Anything you have to tell me would be welcome, thanks heaps
I can tell you one thing I like about this program: you actually have deadlift with leg work. Good job for classifying the lift according to its mechanics. Not many people do that on this board, or anywhere else, actually.
That being said, there are many flaws here.
(1.) You're doing way too much upper body work relative to lower body;
(2.) You have too many unneccessary isolation exercises;
(3.) Too much upper body pushing and shoulder isolation -- potential rotator cuff injury;
(4.) You're training body parts unevenly, which is a common problem with muscle group splits like this.
My suggestions:
(1.) Cut the volume down significantly. Train 3 days a week.
(2.) Train solely with compound exercises for the time being (calf isolation excluded; maybe a few sets of planks for legitimate core strength).
(3.) Get out of the mindset of training "biceps, legs, chest, etc" and start training according to your body's natural movement patterns -- this means balancing upper and lower body pushing and pulling movements. Also, your upper body can move objects horizontally and vertically away from (push) and towards (pull) your torso. Each direction involves certain muscles, so if you train this way to work every muscle in the body several times over, elicit more growth hormones, get your workouts done faster, and develop greater strength. It will also prevent you from developing a hilarious, chicken-leg, pussy-back physique.
Example:
Monday: Lower Push/Upper Pull (A)
(1.) Back Squats - Lower Push
(2.) Pullups - Vertical Pull
(3.) DB Bulgarian Split Squats - Lower Push
(4.) BB Bent-Over Rows - Horizontal Pull
Wednesday: Lower Pull/Upper Push (B)
(1.) Deadlifts - Lower Pull
(2.) Bench Press - Horizontal Push
(3.) Unilateral DB Romanian Deadlifts - Lower Pull
(4.) BB Military Press - Vertical Push
Friday: Lower Push/Upper Pull (A)
(1.) Back Squats - Lower Push
(2.) Pullups - Vertical Pull
(3.) DB Bulgarian Split Squats - Lower Push
(4.) BB Bent-Over Rows - Horizontal Pull
*the following week alternate so A, B, A becomes B, A, B
for rep ranges
Quads & Hamstrings = 8-15 Reps / Set
Calves = 12-20 Reps / Set
Everything Else
Reps aiming for 10/8/8/fail (if possible keep going after reaching these number of reps in your set)
What's your rationale for these rep ranges? Also, you haven't indicated intensity. 8 reps performed at an 8 rep max (RM) is very intense (max effort), but 8 reps at a 20 RM is low-intensity.
Though you should research yourself and produce your own program, here's a basic example of periodization (I'll apply it to the example program above):
Week 1 and 2: 3 x 12 @ 14-15 RM w/ 1-1.25 min rest interval (RI)
Week 3 and 4: 3 x 8 @ 10 RM w/ 1.5 min RI
Week 5 and 6: 5 x 5 @ 6 RM w/ 2 min RI
Week 7 and 8: 3 x 3 @ 3-4 RM w/ 3 min RI (for weeks 5 - 8...for each leg plane's second exercise I'd suggest going for a higher rep range/lower intensity -- as from personal experience most unilateral leg lifts don't work very well with sub-maximal lifting)