[quote]astrbac wrote:
Aragorn - thank so much for the effort of taking the time to write out a detailed workout plan plus explanations, much appreciated! I have started with Bill Starrs Original routine yesterday and am going to stick to it at least 12 or even more weeks. I’ll keep tracking my progress as I always do and will report here.
When time to switch comes, Ill get to your plan and keep at it for another 12-18 weeks.
Also, I feel I haven’t been clear enough in my initial and some posts further down the line - I AM all up for raising the volume, I’m not avoiding it on purpose. The thing is, a lot of the info available is contradictory. My initial instinct is to do a couple of whole body, compound movements each training day. After that I read about things like “rear delts frequently lagging… certain injuries when weight progresses”, etc. and I decice to include some targeted isolations which is not good because now my time in the gym is too long if I want to stick to the original plan.
By mentioning that I would do only one excercise if I could I didn’t mean 3x10 and going home. In this case I would go for something along the lines of GVT, like 10x3 or even 10x5, keep things simple and play around with loading waves.
Mon - squat 10x5
Wed - OH press or Clean and press 10x5 or 10x3 if too difficult
Fri - 10x2, 3, 4, 5… Pull ups
I know this might seem totally ridiculous but it’s just an example of simplicity. Keep doing one thing, with good form and vary weights. It’s 50 reps per bodypart, compound movements, the ones that really require CNS activation, coordination, strength, the lot.
Cheers![/quote]
No that’s perfectly fine, the 3x10 comment I made was directed at someone else–not you–explaining why it wouldn’t be recommended. 10x3 is great, loading waves are cool too.
For the record, my “plan” as you say was not really thought up with you specifically in mind, it was more to make a point–although it may have been lost in translation. I am not sure if english is your first language and I get the impression it is not?..you do use the metric system after all
At any rate, my point in showing you that weekly layout was this: doing only a couple exercises in a session only works if you can hit the gym very frequently. If you can only hit the gym 3 or 4 times, consistently, then the sessions have to be longer to get the work in that you will need to progress. So, for instance, a guy hitting the gym only 3 times a week will need to have longer workouts–meaning mostly workouts with more than 3 exercises–to make the progress he wants to make.
Regarding my week’s layout, I would add a squat variation to Wednesday, done lighter and for technical speed, not heavy weight. Lower reps. That way you keep 3 squat days in there. I would actually just suggest a different workout protocol like Westside for Skinny Bastards or something. Or even the Beginner’s template for Westside.
Your problem, which I can’t be certain of but have a very good feeling for, is that you need more assistance exercises to bring up weaknesses in the big lifts that are not being addressed by simply doing the lifts themselves. Meaning, you need to do more than squat, bench in order to increase your squat and bench. This is particularly true because you said you are a long limbed individual.
Do not be so worried about the time spent in the gym being “too long” unless you have schedule conflicts with work or family. It is more important to get the essential work done than to be “on time”. There is no invisible limit to how long you can spend in the gym. Well, there is…but it is a lot longer than 45-60 minutes.