Please critique this program

[mmafiter]

OK, I'm trying to make a basic beginner's program for a guy at work. He's 42 years old, thin, and in reasonably good shape, but he is starting to get a bad back.

He knows nothing about weightlifting and has asked me to go to the gym for a day and teach him what to do. I generally strength train for NHB fights, so I'm having difficulty making this sort of program, if you could give me a hand it would be great.

Day 1

sets reps rest

squat 3 8-10 90 sec
a) calf raises 3 8-10 1 min
b) leg curl 3 8-10 1 min

Bench 3 8-10 90 sec
shrugs 3 8-10 90 sec
E-z bar curl 3 8-10 90 sec

a) Pull ups 3 -2 (stop 2 before failure) 1 min
b)dips 3 -2 1 min
c) back extensions 3 -2 1 min
d) bicycle tucks 3 -2 1 min

Note; the a,b,c etc exercises are a superset


Day 2

a) Leg press 3 8-10 1 min
b) calf press 3 8-10 1 min

DB Press 3 8-10 90 sec
DB rows 3 8-10 90 sec
french press 3 8-10 90 sec
hammercurl 3 8-10 90 sec
arnold press 3 8-10 90 sec

a) full contact twist 3 8-10 1 min
b) good mornings 3 8-10 1 min


In addition to this workout, he has joined my grappling club and will be putting in 2 2hour classes per week of intense anaerobic grappling, as well as 2 1 hour sessions of kickboxing/heavybag work which is pretty much aerobic, I believe.

OK, flame away!

 

[mmafiter]

Dammit! I tried to make it all spaced out properly so you could read it, but when I posted it, it became a jumbled mess. Sorry if it's difficult to read.

 

[craig777]

It looks good, my opinion would be since he is a very beginner to up the reps to 12-15, use a lighter weight, and maybe even go down on the sets to 2. I would have him do very light deadlifts instead of back extensions.

His body will respond to anything right now since he is just getting started.

Tell him good luck and stay with it no matter how much it hurts.

Oh and here is the flame

 

[ballast]

I think it looks really well thought out and put together.The only red flag I see are the good mornings as they are a very concentrated exercise.If he wasn't a beginner with a potentially bad back, I wouldn't have even noted it.Other than that, I think it will be a productive routine for him.

 

[HickeyNC]

It looks like a great workout for someone who has already been working out. I would be worried that this may be too much for a first timer. He may get scared away after the first workout.

 

[Scotty the Body]

I would have to agree with Hickey, he may want to start with something like the hack squat to begin with and then go the the free squat once he's been lifting for a little bit.
I'd also replace the good mornings and the back ext with some Deads, starting light I think they're a far better and were very easy to learn (for me anyway).

Other than that, It looks good to me to!!!

 

[mmafiter]

Thanks guys.

I was thinking it might be a little too much as well, also, I'm a huge believer in compound movements, but I'm worried they may be a little advanced for him to start with. In a couple of weeks I thought I'd show him how to do , cleans and deadlifts etc, and get rid of alot of the extra stuff......hmmmm maybe I'll see what his reaction is to all these exercises and if he's intimidated, I'll take a few out.

I'm suprised everyone seems to want to change the back extensions for deadlifts...isn't thier more chance of injury for a newbie on those?

I don't have access to a hack squat, I agree that squats might be a little advanced for him though.....How about having him do them on a smith machine with his legs in front of him, so the movement would be like he's sitting in a chair with the legs 90 degrees from his body?

Once again, thanks for taking the time guys, you're awesome!