hi guys i am 47 years old and have been working out for a few years, i am 6ft 185lbs and a nice physique. i am thinking of changing my routine but not drastically and i was hoping some of you really knowledgable guys could give me some advice, i love my routine but i know i should change it from time to time, so here is my routine, feel free to comment and thanks to those that do.
i train 3 or 4 days, take a day off then another 3 or 4 days again, each work out takes me about an hour and i try to work each body part once a week. all exercises are 4 sets 12-6 reps
day one is chest
db bench press
incline db bench press
decline bb bench press
db flies
day two is biceps
4 light sets of bb curls warm up to warm up my elbows then another 4 sets
alt db curl
concentration curls
hammer curls
day 3 shoulders
db shoulder press
db side lat raises
db front raises
db bent over rear lat raises
db shrugs
bb clean and press
day 4 back
stiff legged dead lift
bent over bb rows
single arm db rows
lat pull down to the front
cable rows
chins
day 5 triceps
close grip bench press
cable press downs
single arm press
overhead rope extensions
dips
day 6 legs
squats
single leg press
leg extensions
hamstring curls
standing calf raise
seated calf raise
that is my routine. if anyone also knows a good supplement for soreness it would help. i find that i am always a little sore the next day but if i am not sore i dont feel like i worked hard enough. thanks guys, and i dont take any supplements
[quote]enzo59 wrote:
if anyone also knows a good supplement for soreness it would help.[/quote]
BCAAs immediately after a workout help me with soreness. It looks like you’re working hard so be sure you’re maximizing your results with proper nutrition. I highly recommend “Nutrient Timing” by John Ivy and Robert Portman.
thank you for your reply happy dog, so i take it you dont see anything wrong with my routine, maybe doing to much or doing something different. i use to be able to work out 5 or 6 days straight but its just to hard on the body to do that now, guess that happens as we get older lol.
It looks like a fair routine. However, you would benefit greatly from lifting heavier for a while(minimum 3 to 6 weeks). By heavier i mean in the 1-5 rep range, as opposed to the 6-12 rep range as you do now.
Heavier training gives you a denser look. Guys who train in the 1-5 rep range look harder than guys who train in the 8-12 rep range excluusively. Having done a cycle of heavier lifting you will be able to handle more weight when you go back to higher rep training(if you go back)
I could suggest a routine, however there’s little point in me reinventing the wheel. Poliquin has a several routines that would fit the bill as does Pavel on dragondoor.com. Find a good routine, follow what the coach says and get stronger and bigger
[quote]enzo59 wrote:
thank you for your reply happy dog, so i take it you dont see anything wrong with my routine, maybe doing to much or doing something different. i use to be able to work out 5 or 6 days straight but its just to hard on the body to do that now, guess that happens as we get older lol.[/quote]
After doing a lot of study and self-experimentation, I no longer workout more than every other day and I also take a full week off every three months. Your muscles grow during recovery, not during training.
If you’re training every day, you aren’t giving yourself enough time to recover and grow and so the extra work ends up being self defeating… especially as you grow older and hormone and enzyme levels in the body fall.
Recovery and nutrition are just as important as training, in my experience. I give it all when I’m in the gym, but I take recovery and nutrition just as seriously.
thanks for your input elliot but i just have one question, when you say to do 1-5 reps do you mean just for the basic exercises like bench press, squats, shoulder presses etc, because wouldnt those low reps heavy weights possibly cause injury if doing them for an exercise like curls or side lateral raises
thanks again happydog for your reply, so what your saying is that i might be better off doing one day off and one day on and sticking to one body part per day.
[quote]enzo59 wrote:
thanks for your input elliot but i just have one question, when you say to do 1-5 reps do you mean just for the basic exercises like bench press, squats, shoulder presses etc, because wouldnt those low reps heavy weights possibly cause injury if doing them for an exercise like curls or side lateral raises[/quote]
Well id probably ditch the isolation movements completely. They are totally unecessary until a person has a very significant amount of muscle. Until that point i dont think specialisation is required. Stick to the basics for 4 to 6 weeks lifting heavy and see your strength grow. Be sure to start the cycle modestly, taper in week 4 and smash your pb’s in week 5 or 6.
hi elliot, ok i really hate to ask this but what exercises would you recommend i do, i have just been reading so many articles on the net including pavels thats its kind of getting confusing, so i would really appreciate it if you could just tell me what exercises you think i should be doing while doing the low rep routine, and elliot do you think its ok to just do one body part per workout or should i try two body parts per workout. thanks elliot and i appreciate your advice
[quote]enzo59 wrote:
hi elliot, ok i really hate to ask this but what exercises would you recommend i do, i have just been reading so many articles on the net including pavels thats its kind of getting confusing, so i would really appreciate it if you could just tell me what exercises you think i should be doing while doing the low rep routine, and elliot do you think its ok to just do one body part per workout or should i try two body parts per workout. thanks elliot and i appreciate your advice[/quote]
Ok Enzo, this is straight from Pavel and fits the bill perfectly:
do 3-5 exercises for the whole body
3-5 sets
3-5 reps
3-5 mins of rest between sets
3-5 days of rest for each exercise
For example
Mon Squat
Tues Bech Press
Wed Deadlift
Thurs Squat
Fri Bench
Sat Off
Sun Off
Choose 2 other movements and put train them along the same guidelines where you tbhink they should go in your routine. Eg janda sit-up and hammer curl
This routine makes life very simple and i will use it myself sometime this year. Train Hard!
PS The only other guideline Pavel states is that you should not take any sets to failure, unless your hitting a pr at the end of the cycle
ok thanks elliot i am going to give this routine a try starting tomorrow for 3 weeks with some supplements as recommended by happydog. thanks a million guys and i will let you know how it is going.
hey elliot, so far i have been doing the low reps and i find that i am not sore the next day like before, but i am still pushing myself as hard, do you think that is an indication of something that i am doing wrong or do you just not get as sore as when you do highter rep workouts. thanks elliot