I am thinking about split routines. I can only get to the gym (at best) on M-W-F. So I was thinking about an “every other workout” split.
That is; one week I do routine 1 twice and routine 2 once; the next week routine 1 is once and routine 2 is twice. Just a continual alternation.
Why? To prevent boredom and to give a more ‘well rounded’ workout.
Here is what I am doing now:
M-F
5x10 cruches (machine)
5 x 5 flat bench press
3x10 close grip benchpress
5x10 leg presses
4x10 calf lifts
4x5 Magnum pull downs
4x10 seated rows
4x10 lower back (magnum machine)
5x5 mil press (magnum machine)
4 sets db front raises
4 sets db side raises
4x5 EZ curl bar curls
3 sets db curls
4 sets body weight dips
4 sets triceps puchdown
W
5x10 crunch (machine)
4x10 torso twist
5x5 flat bench press
3x10 close grip bench press
5x10 leg press
4x10 calf raise
4 sets assisted pullups
4 sets db bent rows
4 sets assisted chin ups
4 sets Nautilus curls
4 sets body weight dips
4 sets Nautilus tri extensions
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I was thinking of either a “heavy day - 5 reps” vs a “lighter day - 10 reps”
or maybe completely different exercises on alternate days. For instance; on day I do flat benches and close grip benches; the next day I do incline benches and decline benches and flys.
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Any opinions on which might be a better way to go? I am looking mostly for strength, but a little toning and size ain’t all that bad either. I am 56 so I don’t expect to put on a lot of mass without doing some “extreme” nutrition / supplement stuff.
Man, that is a lot of volume. Must be around 60 sets in the first workout.
My opinion FWIW: go for an upper/lower split or do push one day, pull the other day and hip dominant one day, quad dominant the other day.
If it was me I’d be looking at cutting the number of sets considerably. It’s hard to imagine that you can be giving 100% intensity when you do 60 sets. I think it was Ian King who reckoned that no training session should have more than 12 sets, because after 12 sets at full intensity you can’t do any more.
I’ve heard other people say that I am doing way too much. But, it doesn’t seem like too much at the time. I leave the gym feeling tired, but not overworked. There are days that I think I should be adding other exercises to the workout. For instance, on the Wednesday workout adding 4 sets of upright rows for shoulder work.
Maybe my muscular endurance is at a higher level that I give myself credit for.
Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.
How long are your training sessions? Elite level trainer Ian King says workouts longer than one hour are counterproductive and based on my own experimentation, he’s right. I started making better gains when I dropped from two hour to one hour workouts.
I recommend you try it for yourself and see. Track your progress carefully and see what gets you better results.
Personally, I really don’t give a rat’s ass about theories. I track my training carefully and do whatever gives me the best results. I train for results. Period.
Speaking of results, you might want to consider whole body training such as found at hypertrophy-specific.com
My gains took a huge increase when I changed from splits to whole body.
Just my two cents.
I am doing the full body workout, if no other reason that I can’t guarantee when I will be at the gym next.
Today I started adding cardio again. I am starting to get a big gut from no cardio. Ran a 5k in 28 minutes. I plan to keep my cardio to 30 minutes or less.
My normal workout takes me from 3:15 pm to 4:45 pm. I never thought 1 1/2 hours was that extreme. Hmmmmm.
If only going to the gym MWF, why not just do three full-body workouts with basic movements (BP, rows, squats, DL) and maybe adding in arms, calves, lateral shoulders once a week? Seems like you’d get more bang for your buck that way. Seems like your program has a lot of “small” exercises and not enough of the big four-
[quote]The Bambino wrote:
If only going to the gym MWF, why not just do three full-body workouts with basic movements (BP, rows, squats, DL) and maybe adding in arms, calves, lateral shoulders once a week? Seems like you’d get more bang for your buck that way. Seems like your program has a lot of “small” exercises and not enough of the big four-[/quote]
I agree. If you are under any form of time limitation, the more of your body each exercise works, the better. The best growth stimulus comes from the hardest exercises, done at high intensity.
Interesting suggestionsall. Thank you. I have been making somewhat constant progress so far, but maybe it is time for a change.