Please Critique my 4-day Routine
 

OVERVIEW
This is a 4 day per week routine that was developed over a period of some months, with the help of Carl1174 and a few other friends. The premise was to construct a well rounded beginner-intermediate level regimen without using a dedicated shoulders-only workout, but rather incorporating a minimal amount of shoulder training into each routine.

They are not necessarily performed in the below order, the only restriction being that Chest major, Shoulders minor and Arms (bi/tri jump-set) and Shoulders are spaced at least 1 day apart, and preferably 2

More info can be found in my log, but a few things to mention:
1. I train at home solo. This routine has no exercises which require assistance. I have no squat rack :mad:, no leg machines (yet) :mad: and no fancy equipment.
2. I am carrying too much weight right now to perform dead lifts without risking exacerbating my lower back injury, so they are not an option.
3. Several of the exercises performed involve the use a Savickas Press, and a few are Signature moves. For more info on these exercises, please refer to my log post #28 here: http://muscleandbrawn.com/forums/tra...ons-log-3.html
4. All routines are structured with heavy compounds performed first, isolations last, while minimising time wasted messing around with plates and equip between exercises.

Chest major, Shoulders minor
BB bench press flat
4 sets, 10-12 reps per set
BB bench press incline
3 sets, 10-12 reps per set
DB bench press flat
3 sets, 10-12 reps per set
DB rows to chest
3 sets, 10-12 reps per set
1 arm cable flys
3 sets per arm, 12-15 reps per set

Back major, Shoulders minor
Lateral pulldowns wide grip
4 sets, 10-12 reps per set
1 arm DB rows
3 sets per arm, 12 reps per set
Straight arm lateral pulldowns
3 sets, 10-12 reps per set
Sleeper row close grip
3 sets, 12-15 reps per set
Face pulls
4 sets, 12-15 reps per set

Legs, Traps and Forearms
Front squats
4 sets, 10-12 reps per set
Deep knee/DB lunges
3 set, 8 reps per set
Calf raises
4 sets, 12-15 reps per set
DB or BB behind back shrugs
4 sets, 12-15 reps per set
Wrist curl behind back
3 sets, 12-15 reps per set

Arms (bi/tri jump set) and Shoulders
OH press - either DB, Military or Savickas
4 sets, 8-10 reps per set
Triceps pushdown close grip
3 sets, 12-15 reps per set
DB bicep curls
3 sets, 8-12 reps per set
Triceps pushdown wide grip
3 sets, 12-15 reps per set
DB forward raises
3 sets per arm, 10-12 reps per set
Tri-delt cable row
3 sets, 10-12 reps per set

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

No squats or deadlifts? Otherwise looks pretty good to me.

4 sets of Front Squats on Leg day, but no DLs, no.
Thanks for the look-in Trevor.

Looks pretty good mate!!

If you want something different for chest, you could try dead bench?

Also you could do reverse grip bent over row with the EZ bar (as long as it doesnt hurt your lower back). Or even reverse grip narrow lat pulldowns as well?

I dont think you really need to change anything, they are just different things that you can do.

Thanks Spart - I'll look into those alternatives. A bit of variety down the track can only be a good thing!

Looks pretty good to me buddy :)

Carl.

It should - a lot of it was your idea!
I asked Steve if he could give it a thorough vetting, and he suggested I make a thread and get the whole MAB community's input.

Cool... there is probably loads that could be tweaked, but I think as a starting point it is pretty solid... Then again the members here might think not :eek: lol :D

Carl.

Getting on this is just a few...

:confused: