Routine Adjustment

I am a long time lurker on this site and I love it. I have learned a ton from you guys. I recently suffered a shoulder injury and have had to take some time from training. I thought this might be a good time to make some adjustments in my lifting before I can get back to it in a few weeks.

I am six feet tall, 190lbs and have probably around 15 per cent body fat. I carry most of my weight around my waist.

I lift three days a week.

Day 1 Chest and Biceps

Incline Dumbell Presses 55lbs each 4x8
Flat Barbell Benchpress 120lbs 4x8

Standing Dumbell Curls 45lbs each 4x8
Standing EZ Bar Curls 70lbs 4x8
Incline Dumbell Curls 25lbs each 4x8

Day 2 Back and Triceps

Close Grip Pulldowns (palms inside) 140lbs 4x8
Wide Grip Pulldowns (palms Out) 120lbs 4x8
T-Bar Rows 50lbs 4x8
Seated Rows 110lbs 4x8

Cable push downs 70lbs 4x8
Cable pulldowns (rope) 50lbs 4x8
Seated French Presses 60lbs 4x8

Day 3 Shoulders and Legs

Shoulder Presses 45lbs each 4x8
Straight Arm Raises 20lbs each 4x8
Lateral Raises 25lbs each 4x8

Squats 200lbs 4x8

I would love to add more lean mass but I want to make sure I’m on the right track.

How much time do you spend in the gym each day?

Usually and hour and a half. Sometimes more some times less depending on my energy levels. If I’m motivated I’ll blow through it faster than if I’m tired.

If you only have 3 days per week to lift, do a full body routine each time instead of some split.

Also I would ditch the cable movements. You need to be doing close grip benches and skull crusher for triceps. You need dips and declines on some chest days, and try pyramiding your weights up. Stick to heavy BB curls (or EZ bar) first, then do one or two other bicep movements.

In addition you need to add deadlifts and some sumo or wide leg squats, (leg presses would help too) in your routine too. Legs are a big part of your body and if you want to shock growth thats where you should start. Especially if you are tall. I am over 6 feet and serious leg training is what moved me from 170-175 to 207 in my first year.

I think the full body workouts suggested above are not a bad idea if you use the heavy compound movements (squats, clean and press, dead lifts, etc). Either way you need bigger heavy classic movements for your major body parts.

Also look into high pulls and upright rows for shoulder days, get some heavy BB shrugs in there too.

Hope this makes sense, and good luck.

Based on amount of weight you have for some of those lifts, I think 3 days of full body might be a good idea. Either that or start working out 4 days a week with an upper/lower split.

I’m not sure how you settled on the split you laid out, but it doesn’t seem like it is the best thing for you at your strength level. Take 6 months to focus on those compound movements before you break your workouts down with so many isolation movements. You may want to take even longer.

Another recommendation, time your rest intervals. Regardless of whether I feel like garbage or not, the timing of my workouts is fairly precise because I time all of my rest intervals. This makes sure my intensity stays high all the time as well. Every once in awhile I reduce the weight, but I don’t take longer. A lot of times consistency and staring at my previous lifts is all it takes to bust me out of a bad funk.

Thanks guys. I think I will add another day to my routine. I am definitely down with starting deadlifts. I do shugs as well on my shoulder days I just forgot to mention it. I usually shrug 180lbs or so.

So to conclude. I should try to change to total body lifts like deads, cleans and squats, or add another day to my split, remove cable movements, perhaps change to an upper/lower split. Sound about right?

Sounds about right to me. Be careful to maintain good form on those compound movements. Watch a couple of good videos (quick one minute internet videos, no need to blow $30 on a dvd)and dont go so heavy that your form goes to shit. -Good Luck