My training routine

[Lerho]

Hello all, my first post here. Founded this site yesterday, and seems like a very informative training site.

English is not my natural language so do not mind about grammar mistakes. I began training in april 2009. Some exercises are quite difficult for me, especially squat, because Im 186cm with long limbs. Its very hard to get deep enough, but with lot of stretching and training I now manage to get to position where my upper thigh is at parallel. Still, its difficult for me and progression is slow.

My current best results are:

squat: 110kgx3
bench: 100kgx3
deadlift: 150kgx3
overhead press: 67,5kgx3
dips: +30kgx6
chins: +10kgx6

At tomorrow and next week I will test my 1-rep maxes and in april I begin my new routine. I only train twice a week, in tuesday and friday. It fits my schedule and I get enough recovery time that way. One trainig session takes about 90-110 minutes. Having said that, I think that I do intensive and hard workouts so I really need that kind of recovery times for the kind of routines that I have done. My main focus is big basic movements and to get as strong as possible with good muscle gain also. My goal is some day to overhead press 100kg, bench 150kg, squat 200kg and deadlift 250kg.

So, I have planned this routine now and I hope to get some constructive criticism because Im still a beginner (even though I have tried to get as much quality information as possible about training).

ti:
bench, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
deadlift, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
weighted dips, 3x8
cable lat pulldown, 3x8
leg press,3x12
ab work

pe:
overhead press, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
squat, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
barbell row 3x8
narrow bench, 3x8
weighted dips, 3x6
cable seated row, 3x8

So is there something fundamentally wrong or would this workout work good towards achieving my goals? I have deadlifted, squatted and benched 2 x week all winter but lately I have had difficulties to recover for that kind of training so I think that its time for a change.

[ehubbard]

Looks pretty good. I would substitute DB Rows for Barbell rows. I would also get rid of the seated row and add in a lower back exercise (back extension, good morning, etc.) You will want do Abs on both days. I might also substitute a different tricep exercise on the second day ( I used DB Extensions below). Doing dips twice a week can be very tough on your shoulders. You might also want to throw in some hammer curls or reverse grip curls as well on the second day. I am not a fan of the leg press machine, especially for someone as tall as you so I would sub those with another squat variation (pause squat / box squat). I also think it's a lot of work so I think the narrow grip bench and the extra leg work may be too much. I put these in paranthesis. In other words, if you feel up to it and are recovering, then do them. Otherwise, it's OK to skip. So something like this:

ti:
bench, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
deadlift, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
weighted dips, 3x8
cable lat pulldown OR chins, 3x8
(Pause Squats or Box Squat,3x6)
Back Extension, 3x10
ab work

pe:
overhead press, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
squat, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
DB row 3x10
(narrow bench, 3x8)
DB Extension, 3x10
DB Hammer Curls, 3x10
Ab work

[ehubbard]

Also, if you have problems getting to parrallel you may want to use box squats in the interim and work your way down from a high box to below parrallel over the course of 6 weeks or so.

What you posted looks 1000% better than anything I ever did when I got started so good job and good luck!

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Lerho

ti:
bench, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
deadlift, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
weighted dips, 3x8
cable lat pulldown, 3x8
leg press,3x12
ab work

pe:
overhead press, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
squat, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
barbell row 3x8
narrow bench, 3x8
weighted dips, 3x6
cable seated row, 3x8

So is there something fundamentally wrong or would this workout work good towards achieving my goals? I have deadlifted, squatted and benched 2 x week all winter but lately I have had difficulties to recover for that kind of training so I think that its time for a change.

Welcome to the forum. You have some solid lift totals and a good grasp of exercise selection.

I'm not a big fan of lat pulldowns. I would rather see you do pullups. I would also drop the dips from the day you do close grip (narrow) bench presses. Dips can be harsh on the shoulders, so you don't want to overkill them.

I'm also wondering if you wouldn't be better off replacing the leg press with romanian deadlifts.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by ehubbard

What you posted looks 1000% better than anything I ever did when I got started so good job and good luck!

I didn't see Ehubbs' response when I posted. I think this quote is spot on. You have a good base and are making well thought-out decisions. I look forward to seeing your progress.

Please consider running a log on the forum so we can watch your progress.

[ehubbard]

Two old farts (well at least I look younger) giving basically the same advice.

[Lerho]

Thank you very much for your answers.

In fact I made a mistake when I wrote my program in here. In the second workout there wasnt supposed to be a dips. There should have read weighted chins!! So, that I will keep there! Couple of questions, though.. About pause squats, does that mean a brief pause between reps at the top? So basically basic squat but with a pause? One problem where I train is lack of dumbbells. Smallest is like 18kg and then it goes like 22kg, 25kg, 28kg, 31kg,33kg, 35kg, 40kg. So that makes it quite a difficult to use them. Why dumbbell rows instead of barbell rows? And would that be with one hand at a time or simultaneously? That lack of dumbbells makes it difficult to do a dumbbell extension and hammer curls. So how can I get around that, would barbell curls be ok substituting hammer curls and Lying triceps extensions with barbell substituting dumbbell extensions?

So with using ehubbard suggestions with those changes, is this ok?

tuesday:
Bench, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
Deadlift, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
Weighted dips, 3x8
Cable lat pulldown, 3x8
Pause Squats, 3x6
Back Extension, 3x10
Ab work

friday:
Overhead press, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
Squat, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
DB row or Barbell row 3x10
Weighted chins, 3x6
Lying triceps extensions, 3x10
Barbell Curls, 3x10
Ab work

OR

because I own dumbbells that I can load a weight up to 32kg per dumbbell, I could also do a home workout in sunday (although I prefer just 2 days/week training but if it would make a better results I could try it). So it could look like something like this:

tuesday:
Bench, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
Deadlift, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
Weighted dips, 3x8
Cable lat pulldown, 3x8
Pause Squats, 3x6
Back Extension, 3x10

friday:
Overhead press, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
Squat, 5/3/1 (Wendler style)
DB row or Barbell row 3x10
Narrow bench, 3x8
Weighted chins, 3x6
Ab work

sunday (at home):
DB Extension, 3x10
DB Hammer Curls, 3x10
Ab work
Chins with bodyweight 3x max

Heh, this is getting complicated. Maybe that home training day would be stupid.

*BendtheBar*, running a log sounds interesting. I will look into that. It might give even more motivation to train. One of my biggest goals is also to close down the gap to my training partner who is quite a bit stronger than me. I want to catch him someday.

[ehubbard]

Originally Posted by Lerho

Thank you very much for your answers.

In fact I made a mistake when I wrote my program in here. In the second workout there wasnt supposed to be a dips. There should have read weighted chins!! So, that I will keep there! Couple of questions, though.. About pause squats, does that mean a brief pause between reps at the top? So basically basic squat but with a pause? One problem where I train is lack of dumbbells. Smallest is like 18kg and then it goes like 22kg, 25kg, 28kg, 31kg,33kg, 35kg, 40kg. So that makes it quite a difficult to use them. Why dumbbell rows instead of barbell rows? And would that be with one hand at a time or simultaneously? That lack of dumbbells makes it difficult to do a dumbbell extension and hammer curls. So how can I get around that, would barbell curls be ok substituting hammer curls and Lying triceps extensions with barbell substituting dumbbell extensions?

Pause squats are a basic squat paused in the bottom position. I pause for a second, some people pause longer. The longer you pause the more dificult it will be. I do not use a belt when I do these, I like the pace of this guy:



Why DB rows? Because I said so. I like them better because they are harder to do, better on your shoulders and most importantly they are awesome. BUT, if you dont have heavy enough dumbells stick with the Barbell Rows



There are all kinds of tricep and bicep exerices you can do (Barbell Tricep Extensions, Tricep PRessdowns, barbell curls, cable curls, etc.) You dont have to pick one, try a few out and do the ones that you are weakest at or the ones that you hate to do.

The extra day is up to you. Try it out and see how you recover.

[Lerho]

Thank you ehubbard. That pause squat seems like a horrible exercise for me and for my hate of squatting so I have to use it. I will look more closely about those dumbbells tomorrow at the gym.

My recovering ability is not great, so maybe its better at least start with 2 day a week and doing all those exercises that I hate to do.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by ehubbard

Two old farts (well at least I look younger) giving basically the same advice.

It's always good to see that us old farts have our act together.

Originally Posted by Lerho

Thank you ehubbard. That pause squat seems like a horrible exercise for me and for my hate of squatting so I have to use it. I will look more closely about those dumbbells tomorrow at the gym.

My recovering ability is not great, so maybe its better at least start with 2 day a week and doing all those exercises that I hate to do.

Keep listening to your body. John Christy advocates training only 2 days a week. Anything is possible with hard work and a good diet.

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