Critique My Workout Please

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hi,

Im new to this web site, and find it very helpful so far.
For my first post I’ll keep it pretty simple.
Im 5’11", 200lbs, and bit of body fat tucked away : ).

I work out on a five day split:

Day 1: Chest
Day 2: Back
Day 3: Arms (Triceps & Biceps)
Day 4: Legs
Day 5: Shoulders & Traps

I try to do 4 sets of given exersice (about 4-6 exercised per body part) 12, 10, 8 & 6 reps, increasing the weight on each.

I just wanted to know what you guys think and if need be,
I’ll go into a bit more detail.

P.S. Which one of the above days would be best for dead lifts.

Thx

2

Are you new to lifting? or just new to the site ? If your new to lifting Total Body Training is the way to go. We would need more details to tell you if the program is a good one, and also what are your goals. I would recommend a higher frequency split, Maybe push/pull/legs or something similar if you don’t like full body workouts. Lastly, if your going to stick with what you have down deadlifts should be done on leg day if your form is on you should be lifting the bar with your legs and not your back although either one would probably work since they are spread apart on your program.

3

No, not new to body building, but coming back after a longer break, other things in life got in the way.

I work on a five day split due to the fact that I need the rest (dont sleep alot), dont want to over train.

The routine I stated above got me to 18" biceps in the past, so I thought it wasn’t bad.

For now I will be trying to bulk up a little more, and eventually cut up.

chest: Flat bench, incline, dumbell flys and presses, and some cable work

back: cable rows, lat pulls, barbell rows, single arm dumbell rows, and …(insert suggestions)…whatever I decide to throw in the mix

biceps & triceps: standard stuff, no magic here, never had a problem getting strenght and size on my arms.

legs: squats, leg presses, extensions, curls, cavs, and now dead lifts.

shoulders & traps: presses, lateral raises, reverse flys, front/back/side shrugs.

So far its been working for me, but I feel like throwing something else in the mix and Im hoping you guys can help : )

4

[quote]Goryl wrote:
Hi,

Im new to this web site, and find it very helpful so far.
For my first post I’ll keep it pretty simple.
Im 5’11", 200lbs, and bit of body fat tucked away : ).

I work out on a five day split:

Day 1: Chest
Day 2: Back[/quote] --best day for deads[quote]
Day 3: Arms (Triceps & Biceps)
Day 4: Legs
Day 5: Shoulders & Traps

I try to do 4 sets of given exersice (about 4-6 exercised per body part) 12, 10, 8 & 6 reps, increasing the weight on each.[/quote]

I like to follow the rule of 24 I.E. 3x8, 4x6, 2x12, etc. Yours is fine. I only like any pyramid type of training with legs. I just don’t like doing those pyramid or ramp type of training with upper body.

[quote]I just wanted to know what you guys think and if need be,
I’ll go into a bit more detail.

P.S. Which one of the above days would be best for dead lifts.

Thx[/quote]

I would seperate your squat days and deadlift days throughout the week. I’d say 2-3 days apart to let the body recover.
Maybe:

Day:1-Back
2-Arms
3-Chest
4-Legs
5-Shoulders/Traps

can be any order but I like to seperate my squats/deads like this…my opnion :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Gerdy

5

A few issues:
Not enough balance with the legs. You want as much quad and hip-dominant exercises. You have one hip-dominant exercise. + leg curls, which kinda suck. Also extensions are pretty useless.

A problem with doing shoulders one day, chest another, and back another is that you end up with an imbalance around the shoulder joint. you want as much vertical pulling and pushing, similarly horizontal pulling and pushing.

I would probably add another day where you do hip-dominant lower body and some extra upper back exercises. Maybe make that your vertical pull (pullup variations) and just do rows on your regular back day (and maybe throw in abs on that day)

Do some sort of pullups on your back day.

This may be a personal preference, but I like doing heavy stuff earlier. When you pyramid up like that you end up fatiguing, so you’re not really lifting that heavy on the last set.

Other than that, some people may give you shit about doing a split like this, but that’s really a contentious issue (for building mass, at least).

6

Wow, interesting stuff, so I have been on the right track so far : ).

Blade,

How would you suggest splitting up my routine in regards to vertical and horizontal pushes and pulls (exercise wise), I have read a ton of magazines on just about any mass building workout. It seems like everyone raves about doing just one body part once per week and workout. So you threw me of a little with pushing/pulling, horizontal/vertical…that adds alot to the mix : )

g.