workout buffs rate my workout?

[jesse24b]

my workout is spilt into four days and each day is a different muscle group. I work out at home and i don't have access to a squat rack. I just started this workout a week ago and i really like it. I don't know many people who workout alot so i cant really ask any of them. Most of these exercises are done with two 25 pound dumbell, with the excpetion of press wich is 140 barbell, bent over row which is 160 barbell, bench which is 220 barbell, curl which is 100, squat which is 140 and deadlift at 220.

Monday is shoulders and triceps
-military press
-lat raise
-shrug
-standing lat raise
-uni overhead press
-kickback
-extension
-diamond pushup
-french press

Tuesday is back
-pull up
-bent over row
-bent over row with dumbbell
-renegade row
-romanian deadlift
uni close row on ball
-rear delt on ball

thursday is chest
-bench
-flat fly
-twisting bench
-push up
-crossover
-curl
-concentration curl
-reverse curl
-hammer curl

Friday is legs
-calf raise
-lunge
-lateral lunge
-goblet squat
-spilt squat
-step up
-uni stiff deadlift
-squat
-deadlift


After each workout I hit my heavy bag for about ten minutes, do some moutain climbers, box jumps, jump rope and hit a sledge on a heavy bag.

 

[Dan216]

my workout is spilt into four days and each day is a different muscle group. I work out at home and i don't have access to a squat rack. I just started this workout a week ago and i really like it. I don't know many people who workout alot so i cant really ask any of them. Most of these exercises are done with two 25 pound dumbell, with the excpetion of press wich is 140 barbell, bent over row which is 160 barbell, bench which is 220 barbell, curl which is 100, squat which is 140 and deadlift at 220.

Monday is shoulders and triceps
-military press
-lat raise
-shrug
-standing lat raise
-uni overhead press
-kickback
-extension
-diamond pushup
-french press

Tuesday is back
-pull up
-bent over row
-bent over row with dumbbell
-renegade row
-romanian deadlift
uni close row on ball
-rear delt on ball

thursday is chest
-bench
-flat fly
-twisting bench
-push up
-crossover
-curl
-concentration curl
-reverse curl
-hammer curl

Friday is legs
-calf raise
-lunge
-lateral lunge
-goblet squat
-spilt squat
-step up
-uni stiff deadlift
-squat
-deadlift


After each workout I hit my heavy bag for about ten minutes, do some moutain climbers, box jumps, jump rope and hit a sledge on a heavy bag.

Hey man, I'll give you my advice on it! Overall I really like it, but feel like it could be tweaked just a tad. Your leg and back workouts seem pretty spot on but I will probably change some things.

However, why not combine the chest and shoulder days into one? For me anyways, chest and shoulders go hand in hand and seem to both work the triceps a little (especially the pressing ones and push ups). I used to do chest and shoulder days on different days too but recently changed it because after chest days I would always be a little bit sore in my front deltoid.

Here's what I would do:

Monday is Chest/Shoulders/Triceps:

-Bench Press
-Military Press
-Flat Fly
-Seated Lat Raises
-Shrug
-Push ups (Three sets to failure)
-Rear Delts (Put the bench on incline, sit with chest on bench, take two light dumbbells and go back with them).
-Diamond Push Ups
-Kickbacks
-Extension

So I started with the two compound movements - Bench Press and Military because they will work the most. Maybe add incline press in there too? Ended with all the tricep workouts because by that point they should be worked a little bit anyways. I took your bicep lifts out because it is pointless to curl on this day. Why not add your curling to the end of your back workout? Pullups, rows etc.. all work your biceps as well as your back so you'd be halfway to fatigue on your biceps anyways.

Now, you have an extra day so I'd say create a day specifically for core work - abs, obliques and some higher intensity cardio would be good.

One thing I do is log every repetition and set that I do in a notebook. The next week I come back and try to 'beat' my previous workout by upping the weight just a tad. I think it's cool to track your progress.

Hope this helps! Just thought I'd share what I do!

 

[jesse24b]

Hey man, I'll give you my advice on it! Overall I really like it, but feel like it could be tweaked just a tad. Your leg and back workouts seem pretty spot on but I will probably change some things.

However, why not combine the chest and shoulder days into one? For me anyways, chest and shoulders go hand in hand and seem to both work the triceps a little (especially the pressing ones and push ups). I used to do chest and shoulder days on different days too but recently changed it because after chest days I would always be a little bit sore in my front deltoid.

Here's what I would do:

Monday is Chest/Shoulders/Triceps:

-Bench Press
-Military Press
-Flat Fly
-Seated Lat Raises
-Shrug
-Push ups (Three sets to failure)
-Rear Delts (Put the bench on incline, sit with chest on bench, take two light dumbbells and go back with them).
-Diamond Push Ups
-Kickbacks
-Extension

So I started with the two compound movements - Bench Press and Military because they will work the most. Maybe add incline press in there too? Ended with all the tricep workouts because by that point they should be worked a little bit anyways. I took your bicep lifts out because it is pointless to curl on this day. Why not add your curling to the end of your back workout? Pullups, rows etc.. all work your biceps as well as your back so you'd be halfway to fatigue on your biceps anyways.

Now, you have an extra day so I'd say create a day specifically for core work - abs, obliques and some higher intensity cardio would be good.

One thing I do is log every repetition and set that I do in a notebook. The next week I come back and try to 'beat' my previous workout by upping the weight just a tad. I think it's cool to track your progress.

Hope this helps! Just thought I'd share what I do!

I really like that idea and you made great points for the change. I am going to reconfigure the workout to reflect your input! You said you'd tweak somethings on my leg and back.. what would those be? Anything you have to offer I'll take into consideration!

 

[Dan216]

Awesome! I think all I meant by changing the back workout was adding the bicep curls at the end of it. Legs look good to me!

Let me know how the workouts go, I'm trying to get knowledgeable in fitness

 

[jesse24b]

I forgot to mention my chest is also split with my biceps. Should i move biceps to back? So it would be chest,shoulder and tri then back and biceps.

 

[Dan216]

Not quite sure what you mean. If it were me I'd do:

Monday is Chest/Shoulders/Triceps:

-Bench Press
-Military Press
-Flat Fly
-Seated Lat Raises
-Shrug
-Push ups (Three sets to failure)
-Rear Delts (Put the bench on incline, sit with chest on bench, take two light dumbbells and go back with them).
-Diamond Push Ups
-Kickbacks
-Extension


Tuesday is back/Biceps
-pull up
-bent over row
-bent over row with dumbbell
-renegade row
-romanian deadlift
uni close row on ball
-rear delt on ball
-curl
-concentration curl
-reverse curl
-hammer curl

Thursday is core or whatever you want it to be. I can give you my core workout if you want.

Friday is legs
-calf raise
-lunge
-lateral lunge
-goblet squat
-spilt squat
-step up
-uni stiff deadlift
-squat
-deadlift

That's what I'd do man, but it's completely up to you.

 

[jesse24b]

In my orginal post I didn't specify that my chest workout was also my bicep one. I had the exercises just not the title. When you said to move chest to monday I wasn't sure where to place my bicep workout. You have it squared away with the above post.

Whats your core workout?

 

[ThadeusJ]

Something that was introduced to me in the spring is "tabata" training. The guy who did it used no weights (and he trained in MMA) although I modified it with resistance. Its easily found through common search engines and you can get an app as well. The concept is "Four Minutes of Hell"...8 sets of 20 seconds with a 10 second "rest" between sets (i.e. 20 seconds on/10 seconds rest, 8 times for a 4 minute workout).

I recorded songs over the timer so I can listen to music while the timer prompts me. You may find that once you get past the first 3-4 sets, the rest can be brutal.

 

[Dan216]

In my orginal post I didn't specify that my chest workout was also my bicep one. I had the exercises just not the title. When you said to move chest to monday I wasn't sure where to place my bicep workout. You have it squared away with the above post.

Whats your core workout?

Ha yeah that's why I ended up giving the whole routine on my last post.. I figured the answer would be in it.

Not sure if you have all the equipment I do at my gym, but here's my core workout:

-I run a couple miles or bike beforehand.

-Decline bench leg raises with dumbbells between your feet. (Five Sets)
-Cable Crunches (Five Sets)
-Planks (One set to Failure)
-Not sure what to call this one, but you lie on your back with your legs extended straight out but like a 'V' out and you do a basically do a situp and alternate touching your toes. Not sure if that made sense, but it works your obliques a bit as well as abs.
-Torso rotation machine (Obliques) (Five Sets)
-Ab Crunch Machine (Drop sets)

 

[Happycoop]

Numbers would be helpful for a critique (sets, reps).

I certainly understand the lack of a squat rack being a hindrance for a home gym workout...but if you're benching 220 and curling 100, but only squat 140 and deadlift 220, you must have a huge upper body and chicken legs. I'd move the heavy leg movements to an earlier slot of your leg workout, and consider doing supersets in order to compensate for the inability to push really heavy weights without a safety rack.

When I used to compete, the goal was always: 2 x BW in bench; 3 x BW in squat; 4 x BW in deadlift. It's the rare and dedicated lifter that ever reaches that, but it's something easy to calculate in terms of having a goal to strive towards.

 

[jesse24b]

Ive taken your advice and i enjoy this new workout setup!

 

[jesse24b]

Numbers would be helpful for a critique (sets, reps).

I certainly understand the lack of a squat rack being a hindrance for a home gym workout...but if you're benching 220 and curling 100, but only squat 140 and deadlift 220, you must have a huge upper body and chicken legs. I'd move the heavy leg movements to an earlier slot of your leg workout, and consider doing supersets in order to compensate for the inability to push really heavy weights without a safety rack.

When I used to compete, the goal was always: 2 x BW in bench; 3 x BW in squat; 4 x BW in deadlift. It's the rare and dedicated lifter that ever reaches that, but it's something easy to calculate in terms of having a goal to strive towards.

If i could put up and hold more than the 140 over my head i'd be squatting more. I'm actually the opposite, my legs are huge. I wish i could cut them smaller but i think years of hockey, rugby and all the other outdoor activities have made them that way. I don't really have any heavy leg movements. I squat my 140 and that's about it. everything else is done with two twenty five pound dumbbells. when you say 2x BW are you saying multiple your bodyweight by two and that equals what you want to bench?

 

[Happycoop]

For leg exercises, you could add in walking barbell lunges (clean the bar, press overhead, shoulder it...presumably the same method you use for squats). These can pack quite a punch when mixed in with squats, box jumps, step ups and step downs, etc. If done as a single movement (vs. super setting), I'd mark off a decent distance...alternating lunges down, then either rest, or immediately turn and alt. lunges back. Keep the reps north of 15 and you shouldn't have too much issue with bulking up.

To answer the Q, yes 2 x BW would refer to 2 times whatever your body weight is. They are lofty goals, but if you don't shoot for something really high, you'll plateau too quickly.

 

[jesse24b]

For leg exercises, you could add in walking barbell lunges (clean the bar, press overhead, shoulder it...presumably the same method you use for squats). These can pack quite a punch when mixed in with squats, box jumps, step ups and step downs, etc. If done as a single movement (vs. super setting), I'd mark off a decent distance...alternating lunges down, then either rest, or immediately turn and alt. lunges back. Keep the reps north of 15 and you shouldn't have too much issue with bulking up.

To answer the Q, yes 2 x BW would refer to 2 times whatever your body weight is. They are lofty goals, but if you don't shoot for something really high, you'll plateau too quickly.

Thanks for the tip, i'll give it go. My legs never really feel like i worked on them after the workout. Hopefully i'll get that burn that comes from my other lifts.

That makes sense, i've been at 220 for sometime now. I'm hoping to get more weights within the next few weeks. Right now i bench with a curling bar...so its pretty sub par.

 

[Altitudes]

my workout is spilt into four days and each day is a different muscle group. I work out at home and i don't have access to a squat rack. I just started this workout a week ago and i really like it. I don't know many people who workout alot so i cant really ask any of them. Most of these exercises are done with two 25 pound dumbell, with the excpetion of press wich is 140 barbell, bent over row which is 160 barbell, bench which is 220 barbell, curl which is 100, squat which is 140 and deadlift at 220.

Monday is shoulders and triceps
-military press
-lat raise
-shrug
-standing lat raise - Pick either seated or standing; don't need both
-uni overhead press No real need to do two different OHP variations
-kickback
-extension
-diamond pushup
-french press

Where is the posterior delt work?

Tuesday is back
-pull up
-bent over row
-bent over row with dumbbell Do these with your chest supported
-renegade row Worthless exercise IMO
-romanian deadlift Done properly, this is a hamstring/glute movement, not back
uni close row on ball Work on a ball is IMO, and many others, worthless & stupid. If you want to train your back, train your back. If you want to train abs/lumbar region, then train abs/lumbar region
-rear delt on ball

thursday is chest
-bench
-flat fly
-twisting bench What is this?
-push up
-crossover
-curl
-concentration curl
-reverse curl
-hammer curl

Incline work? Drop either the flies or crossovers and add either BB or DB incline pressing on an ~30 degree incline

Friday is legs
-calf raise End with calf work
-lunge
-lateral lunge Worthless movment & potentionally unsafe - drop it
-goblet squat
-spilt squat
-step up
-uni stiff deadlift
-squat
-deadlift

Too many squatting variants. Start with BB backsquat - it is king. I'd also move your deadlift to your back day if you going to do this split (I do a squat/quad dominant workout, and a deadlift/hammie dominant workout, with a seperate back day. OR alternate heavy/light for squat & deadlift. EX: week 1: squat heavy, dead light. week 2: dead heavy, squat light.

After each workout I hit my heavy bag for about ten minutes, do some moutain climbers, box jumps, jump rope and hit a sledge on a heavy bag.

Rep/set/tempo schemes? What do you weigh? You need to get your big 3/4 numbers up.

Added my comments/opinions in bold. You have what seems like a lot of volume, which you will have difficulty recovering from unless you are using PEDs/hormones. Also for your arm work, you could also drop an exercise & only do three.

Source: Me, a (accused) big guy who powerlifts.

 

[jesse24b]

Rep/set/tempo schemes? What do you weigh? You need to get your big 3/4 numbers up.

Added my comments/opinions in bold. You have what seems like a lot of volume, which you will have difficulty recovering from unless you are using PEDs/hormones. Also for your arm work, you could also drop an exercise & only do three.

Source: Me, a (accused) big guy who powerlifts.

Most of my workouts are done with four sets of eight reps. I weigh 155. What do you mean by big 3/4 numbers up? I dropped my barbell curl from my biceps since I got a pair of 30 pound dumbbells. I was using 25 pounders for most of my workout. I'll drop the seated lat raise and bar overhead press. What would you suggest for the post delt workout?
By chest supported I assume you mean with an incline, my bench doesn't convert to an incline. Is there another alternative?
The twisting bench is using two dumbbells (30pds) and pressing them while rotating them 180 degrees, I saw it on a workout website under best chest exercises. I'll move deadlift.
So I should toss out all the ball work? I don't really have a problem with being sore after or the next day from my workout. I feel like I should be doing more exercises...

 

[Happycoop]

Jesse,
You mention doing 4 sets of 8 reps, but I never actually saw a post re: what your goal is. Are you lifting for fun, to maintain, to get bigger, to get stronger, to help lose weight?? The reason I ask is that will dictate what your sets/reps should be. Getting bigger (hypertrophy of the muscle) has a specific set/rep range just like getting stronger, etc.
In reference to the soreness and wanting to do more exercises...you might simply need to up the intensity of the exercises you're doing. Also, you don't want to do the exact same workout every single time you do chest, or back, or whatever. You need to at least have a few different workouts you cycle through in order to keep the body adapting.

 

[jesse24b]

My goal would be to get stronger. I would like to build muscle endurance and gain some size but not alot. I'm getting into rock-climbing and it would hinder me to get really big. I go pretty hard, I wait about 30 seconds until I start my next set. Is there anything else you recommend to up the intensity.
How many workouts should I keep to each group? Should I have two workout plans and switch them off every other week?

 

[Altitudes]

Most of my workouts are done with four sets of eight reps. I weigh 155. What do you mean by big 3/4 numbers up?

Big 3=Bench, deadlift, squat (the three powerlifting competition lifts)
Big 4=Bench, deadlift, squat, strict OHP

I dropped my barbell curl from my biceps since I got a pair of 30 pound dumbbells. I was using 25 pounders for most of my workout. I'll drop the seated lat raise and bar overhead press. What would you suggest for the post delt workout?

Hmmm...I didn't see that you were using the same weight DBs for everything. I'll address this in the second post quote that you made after I posted.

My posterior delt work is rear delt cable flies and at the end of my OHP/delt training, I finish off with supersetted swinging lateral & swinging posterior raises. The posterior delts flies are essentially a fly as you would do for the pectoral muscle, except you start with the weight in front of you (beginning & end point) and then use your rear delts to pull your arms straight out to the side. A quick youtube search would yield a video for a demo if you need it. Don't need a lot of weight with these.

Or you can do the reverse pec dec. This machine (usually) allows you to move the handles more towards the machine so that you can sit backwards on it and do, well, reverse flies. I'm pretty old school lifting wise, give me a barbell, a cage, and some weights & I'll be happy, but I actually love doing rear delt flies on a pec deck. My current uni gym just doesn't have one.

Then, obviously, some indirect work from any sort of pulling motion (pullups, lat pulldowns, any rowing, etc).

By chest supported I assume you mean with an incline, my bench doesn't convert to an incline. Is there another alternative?

Yeah, you set a bench to an incline, lay on it on your stomach, then row. Doing this will result in you being able to use almost no momentum, which means you are effectively training the lats, rear delts, & traps. I'm assuming you're working out at home, or a super, SUPER small gym given the lack of an adjustable bench & the few DBs.

To set it to an incline, if you have something you can set under one end of the bench, you can make it into an incline bench. Just be sure it's stable before you start performing movements on it (& I wouldn't do any benching on it). Or I guess if you have T-rex arms you could do it on a flat bench.

The twisting bench is using two dumbbells (30pds) and pressing them while rotating them 180 degrees, I saw it on a workout website under best chest exercises. I'll move deadlift.

Ok, I believe I know what you are talking about, although I've only seen rotation to 90 degrees (think that's what your meaning?) Valid exercise - basically a press/fly hybrid. I rotate it in and out of my training.

So I should toss out all the ball work? I don't really have a problem with being sore after or the next day from my workout. I feel like I should be doing more exercises...

The issue with work on a ball is that you have to use less weight. And while I have no issues with lowering weight (in fact I encourage 99.99% of the people who ask me for advice to lower the weight because most people use wayyy to much; I also deload every 8 weeks & it is not uncommon for me to drop 15-20lbs off my main lift estimated maxes every 3rd or 4th deload before my next cycle begins resulting in lower work sets than if I had not dropped those 'maxes') you cannot effectively train the muscle you want to train if you have to lower the weight due to instability.

As I mentioned, if I want to train my abs or lower back, then I will do so, but when I want to train, say, my chest, then I want to use the most weight I can with good form for a given rep range. This is what will cause the microtears in the tissue & lead to a bigger, stronger muscle.

Soreness is not an indicator of a good workout, and most people will actually get MORE results from LESS work. A lot of people seem to think that you get stronger in the gym - not true. You grow when you are NOT in the weightroom, when you are resting and sleeping. Training simply provides the trauma to the tissue that the body will then repair, creating bigger and stronger muscles and tendons.

My training is pretty much on par, volume wise, with yours and I am a much more advanced lifter than you (nothing wrong with that BTW everyone starts somewhere). I have also been doing this for a pretty good amount of time and my body has become accustomed to an extremely high workload.

My goal would be to get stronger. I would like to build muscle endurance and gain some size but not alot. I'm getting into rock-climbing and it would hinder me to get really big. I go pretty hard, I wait about 30 seconds until I start my next set. Is there anything else you recommend to up the intensity.
How many workouts should I keep to each group? Should I have two workout plans and switch them off every other week?

You are an interesting one, given your goal & your hobbies.

Best rep range for strength: 1-5 reps
Hypertrophy rep range: 8-12
Endurance rep range: 15-20+

Now, as I mentioned, I am a powerlifter/bodybuilder, so much of my training is focused around the big 4 with less than or equal to 5-6 rep per set with most supplemental movements in the 6-15 rep range, although for legs I am known to hit up around 20-25 reps per set. And even for things like incline cable flies, I try to get above 12 reps per set - usually want at least 15 & I will go up to 20.

Given your goals & hobbies, I think it would be beneficial for you to train in all three of the above rep ranges. The low rep range will develop strength, hypertrophy range will give you some size (both of these two are given enough calories, so above your maintenance caloric intake), and the higher rep stuff will give you the endurance you desire.

ALTERNATIVELY: there is this 'powerbuilding' rep range of 6-8 reps per set. It will provide strength gains, because the reps are still fairly low, but also size gains, because that range is on the lower end of the 'hypertrophy' rep range.

You may want to consider an actual gym. You seem limited in basically your entire goal by the equipment you have available to you.

As for getting 'too big', you don't need to worry about this. No one gets 'too big' by accident. You have to eat an insane amount of food over a long period of time to pack on size. And trust me, it is not fun; currently bulking season for me, so 5500-6000 calories per day is the norm for me at this time of the year. And those guys you consider 'too big' are also on grams and grams of hormones and IUs and IUs each day of HGH and slin. Don't be like those girls who think that if they touch any DB over 5lbs that they'll turn into Arnold overnight...not gonna happen lol.

Whew, this was a long post!