Workout Routine...help!

caseh · April 28th, 2009, 11:03 AM

Hiya,

I'll try and give as much info as I can, ill just start out by saying i'm around 185lbs 6' tall and although im not an experienced lifter ive dipped in and out of training for past 10 years. Diet mainly consists of pasta (lots of!), chicken and milk. The odd junk meal sneaks in if I dont have time to prep a meal. Protein/creatine suppliments are taken once/twice daily to meet daily recommended daily levels.

Basically my routine is as follows:

*Note: 10 rep = warmup, 8 = intermediate, 6 = 80-90% max weight

Routine one:

Flat Bench, smith machine x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Inclined bench, dumbells x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Cable cross-overs x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Flys x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Barbell curls x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Hammer Curls x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Pressups x 50 to finish, kickbag session 15 mins

Routine two:

Military press, smith machine x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Lat pull-downs (wide grip) x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Upright rows (close grip) x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Pull downs (rope, for triceps) x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Dips x 1 sets - reps: 10, 10, 10
Pull-ups x 1 sets - reps: Whatever I can get!
Kickbag if I have the stamina, 10 mins.

Now the problem I have is i like to work to the above routines, and I can only really make the gym on mon, weds and fri. Which means on the above routines some muscle groups get more action the one week, and less the next. I don't know if this is a good thing or not! In case anyone is wondering, I do triceps outside of my chest routine as they get a hit when working chest, this also alows me to put a bit of extra effort in after a shoulder workout as they dnt feel drained...BUT im not sure if this is affecting my chest routine (flat bench feels a bit weak at times) as a result.

Routines are not set in stone, sometimes an incline may be swapped out for decline. wide grip to cloe grip etc. now, I can see im missing some compound excercises. Deadlift and squats, now deadlifts I dont mind but avoiding at moment as I dont have a belt. a bit apprehensive about squats as I seriously screwed my shoulder a few months back and im certain it was due to the grip i was using when squatting. Anyway shoulder at full strength and dont want to tempt fate.

Now my legs I don't really need to worry about, i mountain bike around 2-3 days a week so my legs get pounded quite frequently. they are naturally strong anyway and I can lift close to a full stack of weight on any leg related machine without much effort.

is there anyway I can get this routine split into 3 days, without neglecting a particular muscle group or over working it? Seriously, any suggestions are welcome as this is now beginning to keep me awake at night when i think about going to gym next day!

**wildstang** · April 28th, 2009, 11:31 AM

sorry if this comes across a bit sarcastic but 185lbs 6ft and off and on ten years? no leg work such as squats, deads, or olympic lifts equal 185 no matter how many years. without the fundamentals wich we seasoned vets seem to have to continuously help new posters understand why they are not getting any bigger is the basics are missing. you can mountain bike untill the cows come home and your upper body wont increase any unless you utilize basic legwork wich in simplest terms is required to trigger your body to release natural test and human growth hormones. bike riding will not! as far as the workout i'd change things up. how long have you stuck with this particular workout? key to growth is switch up workouts hit muscles from different angles every so many months with different excercises. search members workouts onsite or utilize a better body split from http:www.bodybuilding.com
diet is another important factor. search the workout database

**wil** · April 28th, 2009, 01:22 PM

Yeah, what wildstang said.

Use your 3rd workout day for Deadlifts and legs (SQUATS, leg press, stiff-legged deadlifts).

Also, could you do your flat bench and military presses with barbells/dumbbells instead of a smith machine?

**Steel_UK** · April 28th, 2009, 02:22 PM

Maybe he wants to look like this...

**wil** · April 28th, 2009, 03:38 PM

Don't we all...

**Steel_UK** · April 28th, 2009, 03:39 PM

I'd rather have some legs rather than pipecleaners though!

(that was my original point that seems to have been lost

)

**lizzyb** · April 28th, 2009, 03:44 PM

Do FULLbody 5x5 2-3x week.....and yeah, what everyone else has already said!

**wil** · April 28th, 2009, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steel_UK

I'd rather have some legs rather than pipecleaners though!

(that was my original point that seems to have been lost

)

Not lost... I was just running with it because Johnny Bravo is soooooooooooo cooooooool...

**Steel_UK** · April 28th, 2009, 04:08 PM

Do the monkey!

caseh · April 28th, 2009, 05:45 PM

Quote:

sorry if this comes across a bit sarcastic but 185lbs 6ft and off and on ten years? no leg work such as squats, deads, or olympic lifts equal 185 no matter how many years. without the fundamentals wich we seasoned vets seem to have to continuously help new posters understand why they are not getting any bigger is the basics are missing. you can mountain bike untill the cows come home and your upper body wont increase any unless you utilize basic legwork wich in simplest terms is required to trigger your body to release natural test and human growth hormones. bike riding will not! as far as the workout i'd change things up. how long have you stuck with this particular workout? key to growth is switch up workouts hit muscles from different angles every so many months with different excercises. search members workouts onsite or utilize a better body split from http*
diet is another important factor. search the workout databas

I understand where you are coming from, but seriously my legs are naturally huge. You would be surprised how much power your legs gain from mountain biking, i cover like 30-40 miles at a time. Im not looking to get massive lol, I just want a well rounded workout that keeps me in shape with gains that are noticable over time. Ive only been doing this routine for the past 4 weeks and come across the 5x5 article which was interesting but a bit much for me, so was looking to work deadlifts and squats if i *ABSOLUTELY* had to into the above routine. Thanks for feedback.

Oh and I use a smith machine as I rarely have a spotter.

**pliny_2001** · April 28th, 2009, 09:59 PM

Here's the bad news: I've found my best gains in size (upper body in particular) ALWAYS come when I'm also lifting legs AND lifting heavy (5 rep weights or less). If you're happy with your leg size, then you don't have to lift them (but you should -- I, however, can't make you do lifts), but you're doing so at the expense of rate and ease of upper body growth.

And your weights are just way too light. The only worthwhile set you're doing on upper body is the 6-rep one, and I'm willing to put (not much) money down on the fact that it's actually a 7-rep weight that you're using. For purposes of growth, cross-overs and flyes are at best over-rated, and IMO kind of wastes of time. Smith machines are great for injury rehab, gaining confidence when you first start lifting, and little else. If you can do 3 pullups, then you should ignore the lat pulldown machine until you're an advanced lifter (or at least an advanced intermediate).

You don't need (and shouldn't use) a belt for deads, and at 6' tall you'll probably get more out of front squats and lunges than back squats, so there's no need to worry about stressing your shoulder. Upright rows'll do more to your shoulder than squats any day, so swap that out for power cleans.

And eat more. If your weight goes up and your lifts don't, then you're eating too much and not lifting with enough intensity. The intensity comes from mental conditioning, the cerebral aspect of the sport which must be understood before true progress can be made. No need to eat a ton more, or go crazy on protein shakes. Just get a diet put together; it'll serve you well throughout life.

And don't worry about a spotter -- just use dumbells if you don't want the bar on top of you. Though benching without a spotter really does give you motivation to lock out that bar.

katz7479 · April 28th, 2009, 10:08 PM

smith machine you still a need spotter if your gonna push your self so dont give that bullshit excuse.

smith machine lets you cheat and you never gain much from it.

just use dumbells if you are afraid to ask for a spot from someone.

also do
mondays chest
wednesday legs
friday back

it gonna take you a long time and lots of roids if you are gonna get huggeee..even to get big you will need lots of eating and lots of lifting and alot more then 3 times a week.

I have buddys who think their gonna suddenly get huge from lifting in a week. Ive lifted for 5 years and i am not close to huge. If you dont want to bulk dont eat lots of food and dont keep increasing weight. and you wont get bigger

also one thing you dont need a belt to deadlift go light until your form is correct. and squating should not hurt ur shoulder. no matter how bad your form is. you must have been fing around. not to be mean.

**Steel_UK** · April 29th, 2009, 04:51 AM

I'm of the opinion of using a belt for deadlifts when doing max lifts and if doing low reps for multiple sets when the fatigue really kicks in. It's just there as a safety precaution!

**Insex** · April 29th, 2009, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caseh

Basically my routine is as follows:

*Note: 10 rep = warmup, 8 = intermediate, 6 = 80-90% max weight

Routine one:

Flat Bench, smith machine x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Inclined bench, dumbells x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Cable cross-overs x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Flys x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Barbell curls x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Hammer Curls x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Pressups x 50 to finish, kickbag session 15 mins

Routine two:

Military press, smith machine x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Lat pull-downs (wide grip) x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Upright rows (close grip) x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Pull downs (rope, for triceps) x 1 sets - reps: 10, 8, 6
Dips x 1 sets - reps: 10, 10, 10
Pull-ups x 1 sets - reps: Whatever I can get!
Kickbag if I have the stamina, 10 mins.

Don't worry about hitting one muscle group more often than the other during one week, then the opposite during the following week. If you're working out on a consistent basis, it will all even out.

You cover a lot of body parts in your workouts (I hope you're doing some core work or abdominal exercises too) but I think you can challenge yourself more. For the bigger lifts, you seem to do one warm-up set and just two "work sets" after that. Instead, challenge yourself by doing the warm-up set, then three, four, or five heavy sets. Crank up the intensity.

I can understand that you may not be inclined to do much leg work in the weightroom, because you get a lot of leg work done outside the weightroom while mountain biking. However, in my experience (and I'm sure others can attest to this also) my capacity to lift more weights in less time in the weightroom for every body part increases while I am performing hard and heavy exercises for the legs, on a consistent basis. This means that if you start incorporating your legs at a high level of intensity in the weightroom by performing compound exercises like Squats and Deadlifts, your stamina and the strength will increase for all of your other lifts too. Like wildstang mentioned earlier, working out the legs (and the entire body) heavily in the weightroom will act as a trigger for more of your own testosterone and growth hormone to be released. Also, tough leg workouts like heavy Squats and Deadlifts will make you breathe and sweat more, while over time, will condition your body to perform at a higher level for all other exercises. So you think about it, put your fear behind you, and consider hitting your legs in the weightroom too.

Also, don't forget to stretch to increase and maintain your flexibility, promote recovery, and prevent injuries.

On Deadlifts: A weightlifting belt is not necessary, so don't hold out on them if your only reason for not doing them is because you don't have a weightlifting belt. The only time you would actually need a weightlifting belt is when you're lifting real heavy--which would be with weight that you could only lift for less than six repetitions.

More on Deadlifts: Many newbies to the Deadlift are afraid to do it (heavy) at first, because they think they'll hurt their back. That's part of the problem--they think it's a primarily a back exercise. Instead, you should view it as a leg and back (but mostly leg) exercise--like a variation of Squats. Instead of using your back to pull the weight off the ground, you should envision yourself pushing your feet into the ground, lifting with your legs, straightening the back, and merely just using the arms and hands as "hooks" for holding onto the weight.

**torofuerte** · April 29th, 2009, 10:09 PM

To the OP:

DO.

NOT.

USE.

THE.

SMITH.

MACHINE.

ps. read this: http://tinypaste.com/1f3cd

**wildstang** · April 29th, 2009, 11:08 PM

lot of good advice here caseh! once you get the diet and intensity with the legs added in you will grow like a weed! with a proper workout and diet you should easily hit 200lbs in a year.

n10city · April 29th, 2009, 11:16 PM

you're not gonna see gains, okay well maybe perhaps very mild ones, on 3 partial to full body workouts a week with what you've listed.

Listen to what's been said. Focus on power lifts, then move to isolating movements if necessary.

Don't train for more than an hour, and i doubt you'll be able to, but it may be hard depending on how much you want to get done in a given workout.

I second the notion of no smith machine for squats. Natural body motions are rarely ever in straight lines. All that extra stress is then put on your body, especially your knees during a squats...

p.s. I bet what would work is something similar to a wrestler's workout schedule. High intensity, low reps, few times a week.