So I’ve been lifting on and off for a year or 2 now, but have only started taking it seriously recently. I am 18 years old. I feel like i’ve got a pretty good excercise program going (my goal is to gain strength with a focus on size and weight) and have recently been working on my diet as well. This is my lifting program (3 sets of each, 8-12 reps on the first set):
Day 1
Chest - bench, flys, incline bench
Back - Pull ups, bent over rows, rows
Day 2
Bicepts - bar curl, incline dumbbell curl, hammer curl
Tricepts - skull crushers, push downs, extentions on a 90 degree seat with dumbbell behind head (not sure the name)
Day 3
Shoulders - shoulder press, upright rows, side/front lat raise
Legs - squats, lunges, calve press
Day 4 - Rest
This has been working well for me, but I feel like my body is getting a little bit used to it even as i increase in resistance weight. I keep reading articles on how important it is to change up your routine and i was wondering if anyone could help me on where to go from here? plus any pointers on my routine in general would be helpful. thanks
[quote]GDwarrior wrote:
i know, but any reponses for my particular program?[/quote]
You are devoting an entire day to bi/tri, while having half a day for leg extension and neither leg flexion nor any hip dominant exercise at all
you program is terrible, it’s like packing nearly all possible beginner mistakes into a single program
what kind of feedback do you want ?
There are threads on top of this forum, with lots of great information in them and links to information on how to design a real program and also dozens upon dozens of routines made by professionals.
i read those articles, and i appriciate the feedback on my routine, but rather than just shit on it and tell me to read can i get some positive feedback? a lot of those articles have very specific training routines which i intend to try in one way or another, but i would also like to hear what other people are doing.
i know i gotta build up a routine that works well for me but why not start with something that works for others? any specific critiques on my routine on how to tweak it/change it to be more efficient for weight/strength gains would be much appriciated.
ive been working out on and off for probably 3-4 years now, taking it seriously on and off for atleast 1-2. Ive gone though a bunch of workouts and this one kinda stuck. Ive worked my way up to:
Skull Crushers - 70 lbs bar
Tri extentions - 45 lbs dumbbell
(this is for a 5’4, less than 120 pound 18 year old)
instead of just telling me how little i know why dont u just tell me whats wrong with such a program? thats how ill learn not just by reading other programs
You have 3 threads going asking for help on your routine. Try a whole body 3 day/week program based on Squats, deadlifts, bench, bent rows, military press, pull ups, cleans and dips.
You can do half one workout (include at least 1 leg, 1 push, 1 pull), half the other. Do 5 reps each, 1-4 sets as you are able, increase the weight every workout.
There’s nothing wrong with http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=508031 that you suggested in your other post. or do the “Starting Strength” program taht otheres have suggested to you. Just pick something that works and stick to it.
Once you start to stall out (give it a good shot first) ask again. There are some very good intermediate programs like WS4SB or Bill Starr 5x5. I explained on your other thread about recovery. Let that be the key to program selection.
[quote]GDwarrior wrote:
ive been working out on and off for probably 3-4 years now, taking it seriously on and off for atleast 1-2. Ive gone though a bunch of workouts and this one kinda stuck. Ive worked my way up to:
Skull Crushers - 70 lbs bar
Tri extentions - 45 lbs dumbbell
(this is for a 5’4, less than 120 pound 18 year old)
instead of just telling me how little i know why dont u just tell me whats wrong with such a program? thats how ill learn not just by reading other programs
[/quote]
You have next to no lower body strength. You need to actually read. I’ve got much better numbers and I’m a dsmall little fucker and I haven’t lifted for nearly as long as you have.
Best advice for you at this point is to pick out a pre-made program from Waterbury or Thibs or another auther for newbies and use that.
I also don’t think you’ve read as much as you would like to think. If you’ve been keeping up with all the great articles this site puts out, then you should have read Thibs’ Training for Newbies part 1 and 2. And “How to design a Damn good program” by Thibs, and a bunch of others.
If you’re hell bent on using your own program, then read those articles and follow directions. It’s as simple as that. They’re practically walkthroughs on how to design training.
Btw, it is a cardinal sin to devote only half a day to legs. Your legs make up like 2/3 of your body weight for crying out loud. If anything gets half a day, it should be biCEPS, and triCEPS–there is no “t”, and you should train shoulders on that day as well. But I don’t like body part splits for newbs, so you should ditch that. Or at the very least redesign from the ground up using the articles.
Read. If you really read this stuff and keep up, you’ll have a lot less questions. Or maybe more, but seriously. Read some every day.
The one thing you’re doing right is using dumbbells instead of barbells or machines. Being as weak as you are, you need the stabilizer work more than anything else (sorry it’s the truth). Db’s are going to help you more than anything. But I would use some barbell movements instead every few weeks. Beginner = need stabilization = dumbbell usage.
I dislike the idea of working the chest without also working the triceps, or back without also working the biceps. Very few back/chest exercises don’t also include biceps/triceps, so to save the arms for a later day is redundant.