Changing Routines

ive been doing one body part a day for a week for the longest like
monday - chest
tuesday - back
wednesday -off
thursday - legs
friday - arms
saturday - shoulders
sunday -off

but now im looking for something new like a full body routine like madcows 5x5 think ill get some good size and strength results from that?

primarily going for size im trying to get those 20’s or 21’s

ha
currently my arms are 18 flexed.
im 5’7 and 3/4 and about 225ish at 20% bf haha yeah kinda high i should cut but i need to get bigger

Size…?

Maybe diet first if you’re already at 20%. It’ll be worth it.

And ya, if you’re going for size why would you not use a split?

Do something like

Chest / Front + Lateral Delts
Quads + Hams + Calves + Abs
Triceps + Biceps
Lats + Rear Delts + Upper back
Repeat or Off

or some kind of variation. I don’t even know wtf 5x5 is, just focus on getting stronger on every single exercise you use to work that particular body part.

Ehh i dunno if id ever be able to do a full body routine…

Though i will say a Change in routine CAN be good. The problem is people change their routines TOO much and too quickly. If you do want to switch it up, split arms up and throw them into bigger muscles days, and you could toss Delts in with something else also if youd like, condense it to a 3/4 day split.

[quote]SSC wrote:
Size…?

Maybe diet first if you’re already at 20%. It’ll be worth it.

And ya, if you’re going for size why would you not use a split?

Do something like

Chest / Front + Lateral Delts
Quads + Hams + Calves + Abs
Triceps + Biceps
Lats + Rear Delts + Upper back
Repeat or Off

or some kind of variation. I don’t even know wtf 5x5 is, just focus on getting stronger on every single exercise you use to work that particular body part.[/quote]

youve never heard of 5x5 i mean yeah im chunkie but i still look muscular just little definition im not really going for a bodybuilder look i just wanna be as strong and big as possible naturally

Well, yeah I’ve definitely heard of 5x5 but I never understood if that means 5 working sets of 5… 5 sets ramped up to a top set of 5. Just seems stupid to set parameters like that.

IDK man you obviously look like you lift which is good (and surprising a bit, lol.) Probably don’t need to diet down as long as you feel comfortable where you’re at.

The non-bodybuilding thing kind of throws me for a loop, though. Bodybuilders want to get as big and strong as possible too, lol.

But really, that being said, I think you should re-assess things based on your strengths/weaknesses. I broke up my shoulder day because everything but my rear delts were lagging and I needed to find a way to put more focus on them in different ways. I saw you were already doing a split routine, seems like it was working well for you.

Just do some tiny changes - less volume, more frequency. Alter rep ranges, do some new exercises.

I’m just saying, all things considered, you’re going to find more people on the BB boards advocating using splits above total body stuff. At least, the guys advocating splits probably have pictures posted.

Look into C_C’s training thread, a good start.

I wouldn’t worry about major changes to your routine (ESPECIALLY not switching to full body). The idea of full body training is good for beginners simply to get them used to the lifts, but as soon as one get’s to grips with the lifts (technique etc), they need to rest as long as it takes to get stronger on them (usually always longer than 2 days).

[quote]SSC wrote:
Well, yeah I’ve definitely heard of 5x5 but I never understood if that means 5 working sets of 5… 5 sets ramped up to a top set of 5. Just seems stupid to set parameters like that.

IDK man you obviously look like you lift which is good (and surprising a bit, lol.) Probably don’t need to diet down as long as you feel comfortable where you’re at.

The non-bodybuilding thing kind of throws me for a loop, though. Bodybuilders want to get as big and strong as possible too, lol.

But really, that being said, I think you should re-assess things based on your strengths/weaknesses. I broke up my shoulder day because everything but my rear delts were lagging and I needed to find a way to put more focus on them in different ways. I saw you were already doing a split routine, seems like it was working well for you.

Just do some tiny changes - less volume, more frequency. Alter rep ranges, do some new exercises.

I’m just saying, all things considered, you’re going to find more people on the BB boards advocating using splits above total body stuff. At least, the guys advocating splits probably have pictures posted.[/quote]

for a long time i thought ramping up weight sounded stupid and it still slightly does i just hear a lot of good results from people on bodybuilding.com about full body routines
not so much on this forum.
im just trying to come up with something new to boost my growth because my chest has always been lacking and i figured maybe working it a little 3 days a week may help over working it a lot one day a week. know what i mean?

[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Look into C_C’s training thread, a good start.

quote]

who is that and how do i find their training thread

oh and what i mean by not trying to look like a bodybuilder is yeah i wanna get huge and strong like they do but im not worried about being under 10% i would be happy at 12-15% as long as i had the muscle mass and strength to make people say wow you’re fukin HUGE.

but thanks for the kinda compliment haha

oh and what i mean by not trying to look like a bodybuilder is yeah i wanna get huge and strong like they do but im not worried about being under 10% i would be happy at 12-15% as long as i had the muscle mass and strength to make people say wow you’re fukin HUGE.

but thanks for the kinda compliment haha

[quote]paulieserafini wrote:

[quote]SSC wrote:
Well, yeah I’ve definitely heard of 5x5 but I never understood if that means 5 working sets of 5… 5 sets ramped up to a top set of 5. Just seems stupid to set parameters like that.

IDK man you obviously look like you lift which is good (and surprising a bit, lol.) Probably don’t need to diet down as long as you feel comfortable where you’re at.

The non-bodybuilding thing kind of throws me for a loop, though. Bodybuilders want to get as big and strong as possible too, lol.

But really, that being said, I think you should re-assess things based on your strengths/weaknesses. I broke up my shoulder day because everything but my rear delts were lagging and I needed to find a way to put more focus on them in different ways. I saw you were already doing a split routine, seems like it was working well for you.

Just do some tiny changes - less volume, more frequency. Alter rep ranges, do some new exercises.

I’m just saying, all things considered, you’re going to find more people on the BB boards advocating using splits above total body stuff. At least, the guys advocating splits probably have pictures posted.[/quote]

for a long time i thought ramping up weight sounded stupid and it still slightly does i just hear a lot of good results from people on bodybuilding.com about full body routines
not so much on this forum.
im just trying to come up with something new to boost my growth because my chest has always been lacking and i figured maybe working it a little 3 days a week may help over working it a lot one day a week. know what i mean?[/quote]

over training, under training, lack of focus on pectoral aspects, poor movements, secondary muscle involvements, form, etc etc. There can be many reasons for lagging body parts. If everything else is going fine, youre still growing and getting stronger in other areas and gaining weight, perhaps you might be better off posting your chest routine and seeking critique there.

Also as i said, form can be confining for growth. For example, If you Fly, perhaps you focus too much on touching your palms at the peak and not enough on your ROM on the distance back, The actual reason for the fly.

[quote]paulieserafini wrote:

[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Look into C_C’s training thread, a good start.

[/quote]

who is that and how do i find their training thread[/quote]

Here’s a good link:

http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/blog_sports_training_performance_bodybuilding_alpha/my_thoughts_on_how_to_handle_yatesstyle_training_no_this_is_not_the_promised_powerbuilding_article_sorry

He’s got a thread called “C_C, how do you train?”, but it’ll take you forever to read and is quite full of fluff lol

Read and soak up the first page, good stuff. BTW, I believe C_C’s been up to 280+lbs in BW, has crazy lifts especially his pressing exercises and is more into “power-building”…basically, all the stuff you apparently like

[quote]paulieserafini wrote:

for a long time i thought ramping up weight sounded stupid and it still slightly does i just hear a lot of good results from people on bodybuilding.com about full body routines
not so much on this forum.[/quote]

That is because this forum focuses (or attempts to focus) strictly on bodybuilding training. There are very few successful bodybuilders that use full-body routines (outside of the DC guys), so they don’t get much love here.

Since you say you don’t ramp weights, and you’re doing a bodypart split, may I ask what exactly you do for your set/rep schemes and loading?

The solution could be as simple as adding another day to work chest, or altering your training on chest day, or… need more info.

If you want a change of pace, check out John Meadows’ stuff. Do a Mountain Dog inspired routine. His stuff is fucking amazing.

PS you look solid, gj.

okay so my chest routine is kinda wierd how i change my rep scheme but was doing it for every other body part but i found that it increased my arm and chest strength a lot but my chest for some reason is a hard spot to get to grow.

flat bench
incline bench
decline or weighted dips
2-3 sets of flyes on a machine
2-3 sets of pushups to burnout usually 6-15 reps

week 1 - 3x10
week 2 - 3x8 with a 4th set not too concerned with getting 8 reps
week 3 - 5x6
week 4 - 5x4
week 5 - 5x2

this helped a lot with srength in like 3 cycles my 2 rep max went from 245 to 265
but i got very little growth if any.

i was going to switch to dumbbells since ive been doing straight bar stuff for like 6 to 8 months
but i hate dumbbells so i figured maybe another program like 5x5 would help

[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:

PS you look solid, gj.[/quote]

haha thanx i do have high bodyfat percentage though probably between 20-25%

[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
okay so my chest routine is kinda wierd how i change my rep scheme but was doing it for every other body part but i found that it increased my arm and chest strength a lot but my chest for some reason is a hard spot to get to grow.

flat bench
incline bench
decline or weighted dips
2-3 sets of flyes on a machine
2-3 sets of pushups to burnout usually 6-15 reps

week 1 - 3x10
week 2 - 3x8 with a 4th set not too concerned with getting 8 reps
week 3 - 5x6
week 4 - 5x4
week 5 - 5x2

this helped a lot with srength in like 3 cycles my 2 rep max went from 245 to 265
but i got very little growth if any.

i was going to switch to dumbbells since ive been doing straight bar stuff for like 6 to 8 months
but i hate dumbbells so i figured maybe another program like 5x5 would help[/quote]

Is your loading static? IOW, when you do 3x10, or 5x4, or whatever, do you use the same weight for all sets and reps?

not sure i understand

like if im doing 3x10 for all 3 sets the weight stays the same

but for instance lets say im benching 3x10 with 225.
then the next week i would attempt 3 or 4 sets of 8 with 245
and if i did that then i would attempt 255 or 265 for 5x6

each week i try to move up 10 - 20 lbs while lowering a couple reps

Right, I thought so. I suggest you start ramping weights, just search for that phrase on this site and you will get all the info you need.

Your 3x10 with 225 should look more like this:

205x10
225x10
245x10 - That last set you should go all-out with as much weight as you can handle for 10 clean reps. The poundages I put up are just for example, but you get the idea.

Search and you’ll find all you need.

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