Routine Critique

[ballast]

I am starting a hypertrophy routine in about two weeks.I wanted to get some opinions on what you guys thought of it:
Day 1-Back/Chest
Back:
1-Close Grip Chins 3x6
2-Barbell Rows 2x8-10
3-Wide Grip Chins 1x12-15
Chest:
1-Dumbell Bench Presses 3x6*
2-Dumbell Flyes 2x8-10*
3-Feet Elevated Push-ups 1x15-20
*performed on a swiss ball, as I have no bench yet.
Day 2-Quads/Calves
Quads:
1-Front Squats 3x6
2-Back Squats 2x8-10
3-Barbell Lunges 1x12-15
Calves:
1-Single-Leg Standing Calf Raises 3x10-12
2-Single-Leg Seated Calf Raises 2x20-25
Day 3-Off
Day 4-Shoulders/Arms
Shoulders:
1-Standing Barbell Presses 3x6
2-Standing Dumbell Presses 2x8-10
3-Dumbell Lateral Raises 1x12-15
Biceps:
1-Barbell Curls 3x6
2-One-Arm Dumbell Preacher Curls 1x10-12*
*No preacher bench, so here I would use the swiss ball.
Triceps:
1-Standing Overhead Tri Extensions w/ E Z Curl Bar 3x8
2-Bench Dips 1x15-20
Day 5-Low Back/Hamstrings/Calves
Low Back/Hamstrings:
1-Romanian Deadlifts or Standing Good Mornings 3x6
2-Manual Resistance Single-Leg Curls 2x8-10
3-Swiss Ball Back Extensions 1x15-20
Calves:
1-Single-Leg Standing Calf Raises 3x10-12
2-Single-Leg Seated Tibialis Raises 2x20-25
Day 6-Off
Day 7-Off or Repeat
After six weeks or so of hypertrophy training I will return to a strength cycle.I feel I need to add some size due to the fact that, every time I take my clothes off in front of my wife, she starts laughing.Maybe it's not my muscles she is laughing at?

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.



------------------
"I'm just here to kick a$$, sleep till noon"

 

[TheSupremeBeing]

Looks good. There are a few minor changes I would make, but the overall routine is solid.

------------------
Complex problems have simple, easy to understand, wrong answers.

 

[Maki Riddington]

I just skimmed it very briefly.
The swiss ball extensions caught my eye.
I would drop them and do hypers.
ROM is compromised when using a Swiss ball.

------------------
Exercise, my drug of choice

 

[ballast]

Maki-I work out from home, and don't have a hyper bench yet.Using the swiss ball is the only option I can think of and you're right, the range of motion is pretty small.
Supreme-I'm open to any suggestions you've got.Thanks.

------------------
"I'm just here to kick a$$, sleep till noon"

 

[Scotty the Body]

It looks damn good to me.
The only stuff I didn't like were:

3-Feet Elevated Push-ups 1x15-20
I'd only use these for a warmup maybe, kind of pointless.

1-Front Squats 3x6
2-Back Squats 2x8-10
Why do both? I could be wrong but I thought they were more of a preference thing and that the width of your feet made more of the difference.

But all in all, I liked it.



------------------
Just another day in the gutter

 

[ballast]

Scotty, I feel that the front squats target the quads more than back squats due to the upright posture that is needed to hold the bar in front of the body.I really like the way they feel, but I have found that maintaining the bar in that position fatigues the back so higher reps get a little difficult.I think back squats are more suited to higher reps which are valuable in a hypertrophy program.That is one reason why I like to include both movements.If I find I am overtraining, I may drop the front squats.As for the push-ups, I agree with you.They are kind of useless except for a warm-up.I just don't have many chest exercises at my disposal when training at home.I think I will just drop them completely.Thanks for the suggestion.

------------------
"I'm just here to kick a$$, sleep till noon"

 

[Scotty the Body]

I'm gonna have to try those front squats out, thanks Ballast

------------------
Just another day in the gutter

 

[ballast]

Let me know what you think of them.They have really helped my back squat ALOT!And my skinny little chicken legs are beginning to sprout some muscles just above my knees.Just keep in mind that they are more difficult to perform than regular squats, but I think they are just as productive if not more so.Good luck.

------------------
"I'm just here to kick a$$, sleep till noon"

 

[ballast]

Scotty, front squats were the most difficult exercise for me to get used to.I don't like to use the crossed arm method because it feels unstable to me.If you want to experiment, try this:Take a shoulder-width grip or slightly narrower and use a thumbless grip(this takes a lot of strain off of the wrists).Hold the bar so it rests on the shoulders just below the adam's apple.Try to keep your elbows up and pointed slightly in as opposed to pointed out(this helps to control the bar a little better).Your upper arms should be atleast parallel to the ground or slightly higher.It is slightly easier using this method as opposed to the crossed-arm method IMO.I lost the site that showed a lifter doing front squats this way.We are supposed to be getting our digital camera back next week.If I can't find a picture by then and you still need help with the form, I will take one of how I do it and post it here.Definetly stick with the front squats.If you want to spend some time working on your form, use front squats as a warm up for regular squats, keeping the weight fairly light.When I first started doing them, I had a hard time doing reps with 115 and it took me atleast four sessions to get the form down.They are a tough exercise.Good luck to you.

------------------
"I'm just here to kick a$$, sleep till noon"

 

[Scotty the Body]

Thanks for the tips Ballast, I'll try the thumbless grip out, like you, I used them for more of a warmup befor regular back squats and I think I'll continue that way till I'm more use to them.

------------------
Just another day in the gutter

 

[Scotty the Body]

I tried the front squats, didn't use alot of weight cause I just couldn't get use to placement of my hands.
The bar should be resting on the tops of your front delts with your arms crossed and elbows up and out right?
Anyway, I did try them and just did a higher rep, like 12 and I did feel it more in my quads.

Guess I'll just keep doing them till I get use to it.

------------------
Just another day in the gutter