Advice on my current routine

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Afternoon all,

I have been hitting the gym now for 10 weeks, total noob, and I just want a bit of critique on my current routine and if there are any areas that I could improve on. My initial goal was to reduce my weight, while building muscle, and create a good starting base to progress from. I am very pleased with my progress in that regard, my starting weight was 203 and I am now down to 182 (Height 6ft) while gaining noticeable muscle.

I have been following the basis of the Paleo diet, and I have been eating very cleanly, focusing only on lean meats, vegetables, nuts and fruits, with a Protein, creatine and flaxseed shake twice a day, absolutely no junk and Iâ??m only taking my carbs from fruit and vegetables.

Having read that I should be focusing on compound movements I have tried to base my workout around these, with a few assistance moves to complete the rest of my work out. I am currently not doing any form of splits and I am just following this routine 3 times week pushing that to 4 times a week every other week as my schedule allows. I have seen some great gains in how much weight I can lift and I have been increasing my weight on a weekly basis to keep the intensity up and I am taking 1 minute rest between each set.

Dumbbell bench press 3 sets of 8 reps (rotating every 4 weeks between flat and inclined)
Dumbbell flies 3 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell should press 3 sets of 8 reps
Front Raise 3 sets of 8 reps
Box Squats 3 sets of 8 reps
Deadlift 3 sets of 8 reps
Bench Leg swings 3 sets of 20 reps
Sit ups 3 sets of 15 reps
Standing barbell rows 3 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell curls 3 sets of 5 reps

I will then do 10-12 minutes of H.I.I.T, 30 seconds sprint, 1 minute rest. However I must admit that I have never enjoyed cardio on a machine, so sometimes I let this slip.

Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks,

Michael

2

1 - you will not be able to sustain this program after a while x3 a week, deads and squat to that level in same workout? daft. you wont be getting the full benefit of these exercises
2- i see 3pressing/front delt movements to 1, ONE pulling movement. either do 3 pulling movemnts to the same volume of pressing or reduce the pressing. for the sake of shoulder health and symmetry
3- at least you are actually squatting and deadlifting
4- shounds like the diet is on track, what numbers of protein/fat/carbs/calories are you getting?
5- do 5/3/1

3

Thanks for the reply. Yes i am starting to get to the point where my deadlifts are suffering as I am tired from my squats. This is why I was dropping in some abs work to allow myself to recover a bit prior to continuing. Point noted about the pulling and pushing ratio, I had not looked at it from that perspective, so thanks for bringing it to my attention.

I will look further into 5/3/1 as it does look like a nice simple programme to follow. My only concern with it is working out my 1RM as the programme seems to pivot on getting this correct.
With regards to the diet I am not currently calorie counting, and I am more following half a plate of vegetables, half a plate of protein and eating until I am full.

I am eating 3 main meals a day, and snacking on almonds and an apple mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Due to work eating 5-6 times a day is not an option. I will however start to pay more attention to my calorie intake as I am undoubtedly in a deficit at the moment and doubt I am hitting 2500.