Upperbody 3x a Week?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hey, I’m 16 years old, 5’8" and 140 pounds. I’m looking to get more muscular and stronger.

I plan to do 3 upperbody workouts a week and 2 lowerbody workouts a week. I added another upperbody day to the traditional 2 upper, 2 lower split because I’m still young and I find that my arms recover relatively fast. I’m also still a beginner since I only have about 2 months of lifting experiance under my belt.

I’m debating over which upperbody workout to do. These are the 2 workouts I have narrowed it dwon to.

Option #1

Bench Press: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6, 1x4
Rows or Lat Pulldowns: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6, 1x4
Skull Crushers or dips: 1x10, 1x10, 1x8, 1x8, 1x6
Bicep Curls: 1x10, 1x10, 1x8, 1x8, 1x6

Option #2

Bench Press: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6
Rows: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6
Decline or Incline bench press: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8
Lat Pulldowns or Pullups: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8
Skull Crushers or Tricep Pulldown: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8
Bicep Curls: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8

Both Options have a total of 20 sets

Are both these options okay to do 3x a week?

2

ZOMG ELITEBALLA IS THAT U!?!??!

3

Depends what the hell do the other two session consist of. A w/o plan is not critiqueable in parts its only as good as its whole. show the whol plan and then maybe we can help.

Remember also more is not always better, You heal, progress, and grow out of the gym. You do damage in the gym.

Phill

4

IMO, don’t do skullcrushers for less than 8 reps as they are really harsh on your elbows.

5

I think your not going to grow on that routine. I’ll recommend the Waterbury Method (do a search). Post a sample of your current diet.

6

[quote]Serious Guy wrote:
I think your not going to grow on that routine. I’ll recommend the Waterbury Method (do a search). Post a sample of your current diet.[/quote]

The kid isn’t ready for the Waterbury Method at his experience level.

Take a few months (or years, even better) to focus on hard, heavy lifting, adding weight to the bar whenever possible. Do the basics before you try anything else. You’ve got to pay your dues and build a base of strength. Try something like this:

Monday

Bench
Squat
Bent Row
Barbell Curl

Wednesday

Military Press
Deadlift
Chin-up
Dips

Friday

Power Clean
Incline Press
Front Squat
DB Row

Do 3 sets of 5 (not including warmups) with the same weight. If you manage all 15 total reps, increase the weight next time. If you get 12-14 reps, keep it the same but try to increase by at least 1 rep next time. If you get 11 or fewer, decrease the weight next time.

After the main part of the workout, feel free to add calf raises, direct arm and shoulder work, etc. as you like. Just keep it sane. Eat like a horse and you’ll grow. Do this for a long time and you’ll be big and strong.

I like to include one day per week of metabolic conditioning to keep my bodyfat in check and smoke my aerobic and anaerobic systems. Sandbag work, high-rep snatches with a kettlebell or DB, sprints, etc. are all good for a day like this.

7

Ummm… Does 3=2? If not, try reading some of the articles and pick a routine that’s been set up by a pro. Otherwise, why would you work half(actually less than half) of your body 50% more per week?

8

[quote]Baller1950 wrote:
Hey, I’m 16 years old, 5’8" and 140 pounds. I’m looking to get more muscular and stronger.

I plan to do 3 upperbody workouts a week and 2 lowerbody workouts a week. I added another upperbody day to the traditional 2 upper, 2 lower split because I’m still young and I find that my arms recover relatively fast. I’m also still a beginner since I only have about 2 months of lifting experiance under my belt.

I’m debating over which upperbody workout to do. These are the 2 workouts I have narrowed it dwon to.

Option #1

Bench Press: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6, 1x4
Rows or Lat Pulldowns: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6, 1x4
Skull Crushers or dips: 1x10, 1x10, 1x8, 1x8, 1x6
Bicep Curls: 1x10, 1x10, 1x8, 1x8, 1x6

Option #2

Bench Press: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6
Rows: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6
Decline or Incline bench press: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8
Lat Pulldowns or Pullups: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8
Skull Crushers or Tricep Pulldown: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8
Bicep Curls: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8

Both Options have a total of 20 sets

Are both these options okay to do 3x a week?[/quote]

You are at an age that most of wish we could be again, and know what we know now. At 16 you have the oppertunity to become massive if you stick to basics like mentioned above. Dont try to get to fancy right now. I know sometimes you may see a person who has big muscles and they are only doing the exercises you mentioned, but guess what! they had to go through all the same road work that you will have to do.

If I were you I would do the 3x’s a week full body systems. This will get you bigger faster than any other workout plan. Once you have some size then start widdling away with some of the fancier methods. GOOD LUCK!!

9

Squat hard , Deadlift hard, Bench hard and dont beleve all you hear but over head press hard.

end story
peace out

10

[quote]HoratioSandoval wrote:
Ummm… Does 3=2? If not, try reading some of the articles and pick a routine that’s been set up by a pro. Otherwise, why would you work half(actually less than half) of your body 50% more per week?[/quote]

Let’s not kid each other, we all know he’s going to skip on the lowerbody workouts.

11

[quote]Wreckless wrote:
HoratioSandoval wrote:
Ummm… Does 3=2? If not, try reading some of the articles and pick a routine that’s been set up by a pro. Otherwise, why would you work half(actually less than half) of your body 50% more per week?

Let’s not kid each other, we all know he’s going to skip on the lowerbody workouts.[/quote]

The reality is he isn’t likely eating enough to support 3 training sessions let alone 5. Hopefully he doesn’t become a “monday, wednesday bench and biceps” guy.

-chris

12

[quote]OneEye wrote:
Serious Guy wrote:
I think your not going to grow on that routine. I’ll recommend the Waterbury Method (do a search). Post a sample of your current diet.

The kid isn’t ready for the Waterbury Method at his experience level.
[/quote]

I honestly thought it was too advanced for his level too, but did you understand his plan?

He wants to work out 5x a week (3 Upper Body, 2 Lower Body) and he’s only been training for 2 months!

AND he’s going to skip the lower body workouts. Which 16 year old kid training for 2 months has the dedication to get in 2 lower body workouts a week? I was just being realistic when I threw The Waterbury Method at him. 3-times a week, basic yet effective Total-Body routine.

I just threw The Waterbury Method at him, because any routine is better than that routine he posted (at his experience level).

He can probably try OVT; not as demanding in my opinion.

If his dedication to the gym doesn’t throw him off, overtraining/lack of nutrition will throw him off.

-Serious

13

[quote]OneEye wrote:
Friday

Power Clean
Incline Press
Front Squat
DB Row

Do 3 sets of 5 (not including warmups) with the same weight. If you manage all 15 total reps, increase the weight next time. If you get 12-14 reps, keep it the same but try to increase by at least 1 rep next time. If you get 11 or fewer, decrease the weight next time.

After the main part of the workout, feel free to add calf raises, direct arm and shoulder work, etc. as you like. Just keep it sane. Eat like a horse and you’ll grow. Do this for a long time and you’ll be big and strong.

I like to include one day per week of metabolic conditioning to keep my bodyfat in check and smoke my aerobic and anaerobic systems. Sandbag work, high-rep snatches with a kettlebell or DB, sprints, etc. are all good for a day like this.[/quote]

C’mon. You’ve been working out for more than a year. You want the kid to do one-arm snatches, power cleans, front squats. He probably doesn’t even know what a kettlebell is! Front squatting demands good technique too.

This is great advice for someone with at least a year of training under their belt.

Unrealistic if you ask me…

-Serious

14

You have some good ideas for a relative newb. Stick with either option for 8-12 weeks and in the mean time have a look around here and see what will suit you after that. Don’t forget to eat big as well, if you want to grow.

I do upper three times a week and lower twice as wel. My legs for some reason take longer to recover.

I also suffer from a condition called delayed fatigue in my left hamstring. Where instead of feeling sore the next day or the day after that, I feel it three or four days later. Sometimes I have to keep some exercises, like squats, to once a week. It’s a right piss off as they are my fav.

15

[quote]Serious Guy wrote:

C’mon. You’ve been working out for more than a year. You want the kid to do one-arm snatches, power cleans, front squats. He probably doesn’t even know what a kettlebell is! Front squatting demands good technique too.

This is great advice for someone with at least a year of training under their belt.

Unrealistic if you ask me…

-Serious[/quote]

Maybe, maybe not.Some people may have a hard time learning these lifts, but I’ve used them for most of my time lifting (about a year and a half). I was doing front squats after just a few months, and power cleans way before that. You just have to take the time to learn them with easy weights.

Learning front squats, I just used an empty bar for a warmup every time I was in the gym, then I added a little weight once it became comfortable. Once I was able to do them with a reasonable amount of weight, I started using them as a main part of the workout. It took maybe a month and then I had a new lift under my belt.

Same with power cleans. Start light until you’re very comfortable. Guys like Mark Rippetoe (co-author of Starting Strength) teach power cleans as early as the second workout.

DB snatches have been a staple for me as long as I’ve been lifting. They’re very easy to learn. I believe John Davies has an article about one-hand snatch technique here.

As a side note, the original poster would do himself a HUGE favor by picking up Starting Strength. It has a great program for beginners, and teaches the lifts better than anything else I know of, other than having a great coach (hard to find and sometimes expensive).