I realize this is a bit self indulgent but I would love an honest critique of my current upper/lower 4 day a week split. Saturdays lower, Sundays Upper, Tuesday lower, Wednesdays upper. That split works best with my work schedule. My days off work which Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and I work 10-12 hour days so I'm lucky to get Saturdays in.
I am 5'8, currently at 162lbs around 10% body fat. I'm 34 years old and have been lifting consistently most of my life although never really had any focused goals besides maintaining a lean athletic look. Within the last several months my intensity and focused has increased and my goal is to reach 170lbs while maintaining current bodyfat level. There is a lot of room for growth in my legs so that is a heavy training emphasis, specifically on the posterior chain. There is slightly less emphases on my chest as it's pretty well developed so I spread the energy out to the rest of my body.
I have combined several advanced hypertrophy protocols which I've taken from various articles on Tnation and put them together. Let me know your thoughts.
Currently taking RAD-140 and MK-667 as well as Indigo-3G, MAPS aminos, casein protein, and creatine.
Day 1
Lower body - my posterior chain is weak and quads are ok so I emphasize hams.
5x12 hamstring curls
5x12 calf raises - emphasizing squeeze and stretch
5x5 squats - last set I drop the weight and do 20 reps
5x8 romanian dead lifts
50lb kettle bell swings. 75 reps which I can accomplish in 4:30
3 sets of dumball deadlift eccentric holds for 30 seconds
3x12 leg extensions followed by a 4 drop sets totaling 20 reps
seat calf raise 100 reps no weight. Working on getting to 100 without a rest. Last workout got to 65
Level 12 incline walk at 2.5 mph for 20-30 minutes
Day 2
Upper Body
I start with a lower body anabolic burst as I call it.
3 super sets of...
Exercise ball single leg hip thrusters
Leg extensions slow and steady with a strong squeeze for 12 reps
Leg press calf raises 10-12 slow reps emphasizing stretch and squeeze.
Super set
5x5 Bench
5x12 rope face pulls
Super Set
3x6 Close grip bench - 4 sec negative
3x6 chin-up - 4 sec negative
3x6 Weighted dips - double rest/pause on the last set
3x6-10 Bent over rows
Super set
3x10-12 for all exercises
Shoulder press
Lateral raise
Front plate raises
Giant set
3 sets of 8-12
Machine incline
Lat pull down
Reverse flys
Machine rows
2x15 shoulder shrugs
Day 3 Anabolic burst
3x15-20 Elastic band flys, lateral raises, and reverse flys,
Maybe walk or cardio depending on time. But today is mostly an active rest day.
Day 4
Lower body
5x5 front squats
5x5 deadlift - double rest pause on the last set
Giant set
3x10-12 Leg press, hamstring curl, leg extension, hack squat
100 rep seated calf raise
3-4 sets 10-15 standing calf raise
Day 4 Upper Body
Superset
3x12 leg extension, single leg thrusters, calf raises
5x15-20 Close grip bench
5x 8-12 Barbell shoulder press
3x15 pull ups. Will use pullup assist on the 3rd set
Superset
3x12 Front dumbell raise, lateral raise, dumbell row
Superset
3x6-8 skull crushers 4 second eccentric
3x6-8 barbell curl 4 second eccentric
superset
3x6-8 hammer curl regular tempo
3x6-8 dumbell skull crusher regular tempo
3x6-10 Incline curl regular tempo with 30 second mTOR activation stretch
3x6-10 skull crushers with 30 second mTOR activation stretch
100 reps calf raises
3x20 standing calf raises
Day 5
upper body anabolic burst
3x15-20 Elastic band flys, lateral raises, reverse flys, curls and kickbacks
I will do 15-30 min HITT workouts followed by steady state cardio for an additional 15-30 min 2-3 times per week also when I can squeeze it in.
As I type this out the volume looks ridiculous but it doesn't feel like it. It takes me about an hour to complete the workout. I've been seeing good gains. I'm not overly sore and progress seems steady.
Thank you for your input.
