What do you all think of this, dont hold back.

[joboco]

As I dont work (retired early), I have all day every day to do pretty much as I like. So I have been doing the following routine for a few months and tonight thought to myself why do I spend 1 hour + in my gym 3 nights a week. Why not do 25/30 minutes 5 times a week. It sure beats watching TV which has more repeats than a cow with indigestion.

My routine at the moment is.

Monday
Squats 3 x 8
Hack squats 3 x 8
Leg extensions 3 x 8
Leg curls 3 x 8
Stiff leg deadlift 3 x 8
Calf raisers 3 x failure

Wednesday
Flat bench press 3 x 8
Incline bench press 3 x 8
Flat bench fliers 3 x 8
Dumbbell press 3 x 8
Lateral raisers 3 x 8
Bent over raisers 3 x 8
Close grip bench press 3 x 8
Tricep cable pull down 3 x 8

Friday
Dead lift 3 x 8
Barbell shrugs 3 x 8
Shoulder wide pull ups 3 x 8
Shoulder wide cable pull down 3 x 8
Bent over barbell rows 3 x 8
EZ Bar curls 3 x 8
Alternate hammer curls 3 x 8
Concentration curls 3 x 8

Now then I would like everyone opinion on doing the following which does not add any exercisers, just splits up the existing routine.

Monday would stay the same as it is all legs

Tuesday
Seated upright dumbbell press
Lateral raisers
Bent over raisers

Wednesday
Flat bench press
Incline bench press
Flat bench fliers

Thursday
Close grip bench press
Tricep cable pull down
EZ Bar curls
Alternate hammer curls
Concentration curls

Friday
Dead lift
Barbell shrugs
Shoulder wide pull ups
Shoulder wide cable pull downs

My way of thinking is, if I split these exercisers up over 5 days I can reduce the time spent in the gym on a daily basis, and maybe increase the rep range of some workouts due to the fact that muscles that would normally be trained later in a workout will not be as tired.

 

[ct67_72]

Keep the routine you have. You are alternating body parts buy you are still taxing the CNS. Also no matter what you do you overlap at some point, so you need your rest time.

 

[Livebig14]

Are you on AAS? If you are, recovery time is faster and you can lift a little bit more than you usually do

 

[joboco]

Are you on AAS? If you are, recovery time is faster and you can lift a little bit more than you usually do

No not yet i'm going to run 10/12 weeks of test-e in the near future. Just a bit over weight at the moment 25%bf.

I just find it easier to do 25/30 minutes x 5 days rather than 60 to 80 minutes x3 days.

I would only be doing the same exercisers not matter which method I use.

 

[SloppyJ]

Why not keep the routine you have now and do cardio on your off days?

 

[joboco]

Why not keep the routine you have now and do cardio on your off days?

I'm only eating 2000 cal a day, lifting 3 days, treadmill 30 to 45 minutes every day, swimming for 30 minutes 3 time a week, and still cant loose any fat.
Life sucks sometime.

 

[CowPimp]

I'm only eating 2000 cal a day, lifting 3 days, treadmill 30 to 45 minutes every day, swimming for 30 minutes 3 time a week, and still cant loose any fat.
Life sucks sometime.

Sounds like you need to work on your diet more. Also, if the rest of your day is very sedentary, then you should take that into consideration as well.

As far as your original program, splitting it into 5 days is okay with the level of volume you have set for each session. However, your program needs a little balance work as far as exercise selection goes. I would advise reading through the stickies to help fine tune his component of your program.

 

[the_predator]

If your diets pretty good you might want to up the level and get on some clen/fat burner or dare I say t3/t4(taboo to some) if you are really stuck.

 

[the_warchief]

I would do stiff legged deads before you do leg curls. Compounds first bro!

 

[the_warchief]

Try to work in some more assessories for exercises also ex: Crossovers, fly's, and/or lats pulls/ many other exercises. Lets Get It!

 

[Built]

Lots of excellent advice here - I'd heed cowpimp's advice and look to balancing your push with your pull, and upper with lower.

I'm a big fan of shorter, but more frequent workouts. If I had my own gym, I'd probably do two workouts a day most days - but the workouts would be very, very short - like 15 minutes a pop.

Wake up; brush teeth, weighted chinups, lat pulldowns, walk; stretches
afternoon: dynamic warmup; squats, shoulders

Like that. Two posts I didn't agree with below:

If your diets pretty good you might want to up the level and get on some clen/fat burner or dare I say t3/t4(taboo to some) if you are really stuck.

Not horrible advice, but the op's not ready yet. And he may need HRT.

Try to work in some more assessories for exercises also ex: Crossovers, fly's, and/or lats pulls/ many other exercises. Lets Get It!

This is NOT a good idea while cutting. Save this stuff for bulking. For a cut, the workouts should be short, heavy, and focus on compound movements like squats, deads and bench - just like the OP is doing.

 

[mlc308]

My routine at the moment is.

Monday
Squats 3 x 8
Hack squats 3 x 8
Leg extensions 3 x 8
Leg curls 3 x 8
Stiff leg deadlift 3 x 8
Calf raisers 3 x failure

Wednesday
Flat bench press 3 x 8
Incline bench press 3 x 8
Flat bench fliers 3 x 8
Dumbbell press 3 x 8
Lateral raisers 3 x 8
Bent over raisers 3 x 8
Close grip bench press 3 x 8
Tricep cable pull down 3 x 8

Friday
Dead lift 3 x 8
Barbell shrugs 3 x 8
Shoulder wide pull ups 3 x 8
Shoulder wide cable pull down 3 x 8
Bent over barbell rows 3 x 8
EZ Bar curls 3 x 8
Alternate hammer curls 3 x 8
Concentration curls 3 x 8

Now then I would like everyone opinion on doing the following which does not add any exercisers, just splits up the existing routine.

Monday would stay the same as it is all legs

Tuesday
Seated upright dumbbell press
Lateral raisers
Bent over raisers

Wednesday
Flat bench press
Incline bench press
Flat bench fliers

Thursday
Close grip bench press
Tricep cable pull down
EZ Bar curls
Alternate hammer curls
Concentration curls

Friday
Dead lift
Barbell shrugs
Shoulder wide pull ups
Shoulder wide cable pull downs

My way of thinking is, if I split these exercisers up over 5 days I can reduce the time spent in the gym on a daily basis, and maybe increase the rep range of some workouts due to the fact that muscles that would normally be trained later in a workout will not be as tired.[/QUOTE]


Actually, I believe you should stick to your current routine, just clean it up a little. For example, you use three lifts for biceps but only 2 for triceps. Triceps are twice the size of biceps and should be trained in proportion, regardless of the chest work done. Though they are taxed, your biceps are also taxed because they are worked on "back days." Therefore, increase your tricep workout by one exercise and decrease your bicep by one.
In addition, where is the overhead press work? Nothing builds better delts than OHP. Also, perhaps restructuring so that your shrugs are done last and you include hanging cleans or a clean an press. All in all, your new routine would just tax you too much without rest in between and if you incorporated a few different lifts into your current routine you would see better gains and then just do cardio on the rest days.

 

[the_warchief]

Built, I would have to disagree with what you said about only doing compound movements when cutting. I can see your side to why you wouldn't, but the accessory exercises are important for bringing out striations and using the muscle to mind recruitment. I know a couple Pro's that have given this advice, and in turn they do these exercises by themselves on a complete separate day in order to focus on the movements. Also, while cutting, caloric levels may be lower and accessory exercises provide the chance to use strict movements and reframe from injury. They are also important because accessory exercises, like crossovers, can develop the connection for recruitment of different fibers that can show different striations when you pose, that may have not been seen before. Please tell me your thoughts on why you wouldn't do these exercises. Thanks, Warchief!

 

[SloppyJ]

You might want to go to the doctor and get some blood work done to see if you should be on TRT. That could be a problem with this also. Built had good advice.

 

[Built]

Built, I would have to disagree with what you said about only doing compound movements when cutting. I can see your side to why you wouldn't, but the accessory exercises are important for bringing out striations and using the muscle to mind recruitment.

Pros are on a LOT of gear.

I know a couple Pro's that have given this advice, and in turn they do these exercises by themselves on a complete separate day in order to focus on the movements. Also, while cutting, caloric levels may be lower and accessory exercises provide the chance to use strict movements and reframe from injury. They are also important because accessory exercises, like crossovers, can develop the connection for recruitment of different fibers that can show different striations when you pose, that may have not been seen before. Please tell me your thoughts on why you wouldn't do these exercises. Thanks, Warchief!

You just don't have a whole lot of calories to spread around while cutting. Unless you're taking something to oppose catabolism, you're probably better off avoiding this stuff unless you're getting ready to go on a stage and are willing to pay for detailing with size.

My .02 CDN

 

[SuperLift]

i dont like it i like 5x a week

 

[zoco]

Lots of excellent advice here - I'd heed cowpimp's advice and look to balancing your push with your pull, and upper with lower.

I'm a big fan of shorter, but more frequent workouts. If I had my own gym, I'd probably do two workouts a day most days - but the workouts would be very, very short - like 15 minutes a pop.

Wake up; brush teeth, weighted chinups, lat pulldowns, walk; stretches
afternoon: dynamic warmup; squats, shoulders

I know what you mean Built.I usually alternate between upper/lower workouts, but I'm on vacation now and the place I'm staying has a gym.Just for the sake of changing things and to pound myself I decided to do a little experiment. 10 days, 10 whole body 30minute workouts and 30 minutes of cardio.I'm at my 7th workout today and feeling great.Very short intense and frequent workouts seem to work very well.

 

[Built]

I really think it's more natural for us to train daily. Underlying this, of course, is the need to vary modalities. One workout could be mostly heavy. One could be mostly metabolic. One could be yoga and a walk. Another could be pump training. Or a bit of each, but varied.
Monday: Heavy bench, pump quads, stretches.
Tuesday: metabolic circuits; walk
Wednesday: moderate hams, moderate shoulders, chins
Thursday: dynamic warmup, sprints, walk
Friday: yoga
Saturday: diving practice, swimming, recreational whatever
Sunday: heavy squats, bis and tris
etc
An easy way to do it would be to write down a balanced four-day program, then just make a list of the movements, sets, reps and weights you would use over the week. Then just check off a few every day until you're done. I kinda do this in my head - two months in, I'm not making gains but I'm not making losses either - it's a nice, organic way to maintain and my workouts are very short - I do 'em on my lunch break most days.

 

[Gissurjon]

I really think it's more natural for us to train daily. Underlying this, of course, is the need to vary modalities. One workout could be mostly heavy. One could be mostly metabolic. One could be yoga and a walk. Another could be pump training. Or a bit of each, but varied.
Monday: Heavy bench, pump quads, stretches.
Tuesday: metabolic circuits; walk
Wednesday: moderate hams, moderate shoulders, chins
Thursday: dynamic warmup, sprints, walk
Friday: yoga
Saturday: diving practice, swimming, recreational whatever
Sunday: heavy squats, bis and tris
etc
An easy way to do it would be to write down a balanced four-day program, then just make a list of the movements, sets, reps and weights you would use over the week. Then just check off a few every day until you're done. I kinda do this in my head - two months in, I'm not making gains but I'm not making losses either - it's a nice, organic way to maintain and my workouts are very short - I do 'em on my lunch break most days.

HAHAHAHAHA

 

[Built]

Well, I'm not very good, but that's why I practice.

 

[240PLUS]

I'm only eating 2000 cal a day, lifting 3 days, treadmill 30 to 45 minutes every day, swimming for 30 minutes 3 time a week, and still cant loose any fat.
Life sucks sometime.

Bro, I feel ya. It's probably diet. I have no problem gaining fat and muscle. But you want me to shave off a few pant sizes, I am shit out of luck.

 

[wilgates]

just add 5 sets to the squats 3 sets is not enough legs are the biggest muscles you have train them hard don't worry

 

[horstwessel]

Too much volume.

 

[CowPimp]

I really think it's more natural for us to train daily. Underlying this, of course, is the need to vary modalities. One workout could be mostly heavy. One could be mostly metabolic. One could be yoga and a walk. Another could be pump training. Or a bit of each, but varied.
Monday: Heavy bench, pump quads, stretches.
Tuesday: metabolic circuits; walk
Wednesday: moderate hams, moderate shoulders, chins
Thursday: dynamic warmup, sprints, walk
Friday: yoga
Saturday: diving practice, swimming, recreational whatever
Sunday: heavy squats, bis and tris
etc
An easy way to do it would be to write down a balanced four-day program, then just make a list of the movements, sets, reps and weights you would use over the week. Then just check off a few every day until you're done. I kinda do this in my head - two months in, I'm not making gains but I'm not making losses either - it's a nice, organic way to maintain and my workouts are very short - I do 'em on my lunch break most days.

I agree. I have always had the best results achieving virtually every goal when I do something daily, even if it's just get outside and walk around. You don't need intense labor every day, but some level of physical activity is good. Frequent walks between the couch and fridge and heavy sets of Bud Light curls don't count either.

Although I've just recently broken through some plateaus, the last time I did so my workout schedule looked like this:

Monday - Upper body lifting, 90 minutes of softball
Tuesday - 60-90 minutes volleyball, 15 minutes interval training
Wednesday - Lower body lifting, 90 minutes of softball
Thursday - 60-90 minutes volleyball, 15 minutes interval training
Friday - Upper body lifting
Saturday - Random stuff (Sometimes it would be a hike between 1-5 hours long, sometimes it was just lots of walking, sometimes it was playing a sport, sometimes it was low intensity sustained cardio, etc.)
Sunday - Lower body lifting

The intensity of my lifting sessions varied from week to week. This doesn't count the fact that I was commuting a ton via public transportation and walking, so I was walking several miles each day as part of my normal routine to live. It also doesn't factor in that I was heavy part time to full time personal training at the time and you are on your feet and handling weights a lot. Not exactly manual labor, but not a desk job either. Anyway, the point is you can see that my activity levels were ludicrously high. My body fat levels were as low as ever without me really attempting to achieve that, and my strength was blossoming.

I've become a bit more lazy since then, but still active on all or most days of the week in some way, haha.

 

[joboco]

Thanks for all the replies.
Well i'm doing my 5 day routine now. Its so easy 20 to 30 minutes its all over and done with. My weights are still increasing, something I find strange as I'm trying to loose fat on 1800 - 2000 cal a day. What is even stranger is my weight is going up.