critique my routine (:

[polak]

I was forced to stop training because of a injury for 6months and only now can start lifting again.
for 2 weeks i have been doing a 2day split now i want to do a 3day split that works muscles twice a week but wanted some comments on routine before i start.

I basicly copied arnolds routine for beginners in his book encyclopedia but tweaked it a bit because i have trouble with lower back.
Instead of chosing multiple exercises that hit same muscle i just do more sets eg more sets of bench press instead of dumbbell press or something.


Monday/Thursday
Chest/Back

Bench Press
pec deck or (cable crossovers, dumbbell flys)

Dumbbel rows
Lat pull downs

Abs

Tuesday/Friday
Shoulders/Arms

Seated barbell overhead press (soz if its wrong name)
Dumbbell lateral raises
Upright rows

superset #1
Close grip benchpress
Standing barbell curls

superset #2
Standing concentration curls (or seated? any dif?)
Tricep pushdowns

Abs

Wednesday/Saturday
LEGS

Squats

Circut
Leg extentions
Leg curls? (for hamstring)
calve press (using legg press machine)

Abs


would be 6 days on 1 off

thoughts?

[big_swede]

Looks like a good approach but I personaly would tweak a few things.

To start with, lifting 6 days in a row is not optimum in terms of growth. You will burn out quite fast using compounds this way. I would do day 1: Chest/back, Day 2: Off, Day 3: Legs, day 4: Off, Day 5: shoulders/arms, day 6: Off.

The rows and presses works your arms to a high degree so isolating them more than once a week is not nessesary.

I would variate DB/BB presses for shoulders, and also for rows (db, bb, t-bar)

Do you have an injury that prevents you from deadlifting? Otherwise I would deadlift on backday too - 2x8 +warmup.


Are your goals to add size or to lose weight? Remember that recovery is essential and that alot of work are done at the dinner table.

And again; take it easy on the arm work and other isolation, focus on heavy compounds.

Good luck!

[Carl1174]

Swede has given you solid advice there mate, less is definitely more wrt to training and trying to grow (just cos Arnold trained 6 days a week, doesnt mean normal mortals should). 3-4 day per week is plenty mate

Go heavy on the compounds and take it easy on the isolation stuff and you will get some great gains.

Carl.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by polak

thoughts?

Swede and Carl have given you some great advice. I simply want to chime in on Arnold's "routine". Arnold didn't actually gain most of his mass on that routine. Most of his size and strength were build using a fullbody workout, training 3 days per week.

Here is something I wrote that explains it in detail:

Why You Shouldn’t Do Arnold Schwarzenegger Style Volume Workouts - Primal Lifter

Here is a quote from Arnold himself:

When I was trying to get bigger in my early days of training, I followed a routine called the Golden Six. I made tremendous gains on this program and do did many others who trained at my gym in Munich.

Arnold did the following exercises 3x a week:

1.) Barbell Squats. This exercise not only develops the lower body, but it strengthens the heart and lungs while improving the general circulation as well. Use a weight that will permit you to perform 4 sets of 10 reps. Always lower yourself until your upper thighs are at least parallel to the floor, and keep your back flat.

2.) Barbell Bench Presses. This is my favorite upper body exercise, and almost every training program I’ve ever used includes it. Take a fairly wide grip — your hands about 32 inches apart. Inhale as you lower the bar to your nipples and exhale as you push it back to arms’ length. Don’t bounce the weight off your chest. 3 sets of 10 reps.

3.) Chins. If you have limited training experience you may find chins difficult at first. If you have a lat machine, you can perform pulldowns until you’ve developed sufficient strength to do chins. Use a fairly wide grip and try to bring your chin over the bar. Do as many reps as you can for 3 sets.

4.) Overhead Presses. This exercise reigns supreme for widening and thickening the shoulders. I prefer to do it seated and often press behind the neck. Use a wide grip — your thumbs about six inches wider than your delts on each side. Lower the weight slowly and don’t pause at the bottom. 4 sets of 10 reps.

5.) Barbell Curls. The triceps have already been thoroughly exercised during the bench press and the overhead press. Use a shoulder width grip and a weight you can curl without any body movement. Don’t let your elbows move away from the sides of your body, make sure you straighten your arms completely before each rep and do 3 sets of 10 reps.

6.) Bent-Knee Situps. It’s only sensible to keep your midsection firm and toned when gaining muscular weight. Situps also improve digestion and elimination as well. Don’t pause between reps and continue for 20 or as many reps as you can do without stopping. Do 3 or 4 sets.

[wesrman]

What about cardio?

[polak]

thnx swed im going to try out exactly what you suggested.


@bend good article thnx for link im confused why arnie didnt publish that in his book instead offered 6day routine for newbies like me.

@wes i use to run 4-6km a day but cant run longer than 10min thnx to mc donalds and pancakes for 6 months :*(

im confused though when do you start with the more complicated split routines?
when should someone start hitting same muscle twice i week.
i worked with a guy who went twice a day! but he was on something

[wesrman]

Originally Posted by polak

@wes i use to run 4-6km a day but cant run longer than 10min thnx to mc donalds and pancakes for 6 months :*(

Are u planning on adding cardio into ur schedule?

[polak]

yeah i started light cardio everyday

warm up 5 min - run 10 min - fast walk for 15 min

[Trevor Ross]

Originally Posted by polak

I was forced to stop training because of a injury for 6months and only now can start lifting again.
for 2 weeks i have been doing a 2day split now i want to do a 3day split that works muscles twice a week but wanted some comments on routine before i start.

I basicly copied arnolds routine for beginners in his book encyclopedia but tweaked it a bit because i have trouble with lower back.
Instead of chosing multiple exercises that hit same muscle i just do more sets eg more sets of bench press instead of dumbbell press or something.


Monday/Thursday
Chest/Back

Bench Press
pec deck or (cable crossovers, dumbbell flys)

Dumbbel rows
Lat pull downs

Abs

Tuesday/Friday
Shoulders/Arms

Seated barbell overhead press (soz if its wrong name)
Dumbbell lateral raises
Upright rows

superset #1
Close grip benchpress
Standing barbell curls

superset #2
Standing concentration curls (or seated? any dif?)
Tricep pushdowns

Abs

Wednesday/Saturday
LEGS

Squats

Circut
Leg extentions
Leg curls? (for hamstring)
calve press (using legg press machine)

Abs


would be 6 days on 1 off

thoughts?

Throw that in the trash, the only thing you'll gain on something like that is disappointment. Now there's nothing wrong with that 3 way split being done either three days a week, or rotated through four days a week. I think a Push/Pull/Legs is better balanced. Try training fullbody 3 days a week,or an upper/lower split done 4 days a week, and don't forget to add weight to the bar on top of eating and sleeping properly. Good luck.

[Mr.Silverback]

here is my two cents, I would do a 3 day split and stick real close to the big 3 (sq,bench, dead) and some variation of it. If you are curious PM me and I can send you a sample that created for one of my clients