I’m starting my first real bulk, I’ve been working out for a while but for a long time I fell into the trap of doing pointless isolation exercises and having a bad diet.
Anyway, I’m doing a 3 day split, and so far it looks like:
Day 1:
5x5 benchpress
4 sets of dips to failure
4x8 dumbell flys
3-4 sets forearm curls to failure (don’t know if I need this)
Day 2 rest
Day 3:
5x5 deadlifts
3-4 sets pullups to failure
4x8 pulldowns
3-4 sets reverse forearm curl
rest
day 5:
SQUATZ
calf presses
barbell military press
dumbell front raises
dumbell lateral raises
Anyhow, my problem is that I feel like my workouts, especially day 1 and 3, are too short, and I’m often in and out of the gym in less than 45 minutes. I’d like to incorporate an extra exercise or two on both days, and perhaps replace the forearm work. Could anyone give me some suggestions? Any other critiques are appreciated as well.
Um… rippetoes? I know it gets around like the village bicycle, but it’s for a good reason.
Or you could go with a traditional push/pull.
Day 1:
Bench Press
Dips
Squats
Military Press
Day 2:
Barbell rows
Deadlifts
Curls
Pullups.
Reps within the same range (5-8 or 9-12, depending on what you like)
And just repeat day one or day two, for a third workout in the week. The advantage here is more volume overload on certain muscles, as opposed to rippetoes emphasis on frequency and intensity to stimulate the nervous system.
Zep and Otep have given solid suggestions so far, so I just wanted to address two points.
[quote]the_overman wrote:
I’ve been working out for a while but for a long time I fell into the trap of doing pointless isolation exercises[/quote]
You’re stillin that trap. The plan you laid out gives your forearms nearly as much attention as your entire lower body. If you’re trying to get big, doesn’t that seem like a problem?
There’s nothing wrong with training for 30-45 minutes, as long as you’re busting your ass. But if you finish the workout quickly and you still feel fresh as a daisy, then you’re likely not cranking the proverbial dial to 11.
[quote]Otep wrote:
Um… rippetoes? I know it gets around like the village bicycle, but it’s for a good reason.
Or you could go with a traditional push/pull.
Day 1:
Bench Press
Dips
Squats
Military Press
Day 2:
Barbell rows
Deadlifts
Curls
Pullups.
Reps within the same range (5-8 or 9-12, depending on what you like)
And just repeat day one or day two, for a third workout in the week. The advantage here is more volume overload on certain muscles, as opposed to rippetoes emphasis on frequency and intensity to stimulate the nervous system.
[/quote]
This is one of the best splits around. I do this kind of split, along with one final set of an iso exercise for the target muscle groups. I go balls to the walls (and then some) with the iso set.
[quote]forbes wrote:
Otep wrote:
Um… rippetoes? I know it gets around like the village bicycle, but it’s for a good reason.
Or you could go with a traditional push/pull.
Day 1:
Bench Press
Dips
Squats
Military Press
Day 2:
Barbell rows
Deadlifts
Curls
Pullups.
Reps within the same range (5-8 or 9-12, depending on what you like)
And just repeat day one or day two, for a third workout in the week. The advantage here is more volume overload on certain muscles, as opposed to rippetoes emphasis on frequency and intensity to stimulate the nervous system.
This is one of the best splits around. I do this kind of split, along with one final set of an iso exercise for the target muscle groups. I go balls to the walls (and then some) with the iso set.
OP try this one. You wont regret it.
[/quote]
hmm I will try this. Could I just alternate back and forth between them every other day?
I mean, would I not be overtraining doing squats every fourth day?
[quote]the_overman wrote:
forbes wrote:
Otep wrote:
Um… rippetoes? I know it gets around like the village bicycle, but it’s for a good reason.
Or you could go with a traditional push/pull.
Day 1:
Bench Press
Dips
Squats
Military Press
Day 2:
Barbell rows
Deadlifts
Curls
Pullups.
Reps within the same range (5-8 or 9-12, depending on what you like)
And just repeat day one or day two, for a third workout in the week. The advantage here is more volume overload on certain muscles, as opposed to rippetoes emphasis on frequency and intensity to stimulate the nervous system.
This is one of the best splits around. I do this kind of split, along with one final set of an iso exercise for the target muscle groups. I go balls to the walls (and then some) with the iso set.
OP try this one. You wont regret it.
hmm I will try this. Could I just alternate back and forth between them every other day?
I mean, would I not be overtraining doing squats every fourth day?[/quote]
You could do it that way, but I think you’d be shortchanging your self. Do each workout twice. You would not be over training, so long as you eat adequately.
[quote]Otep wrote:
Um… rippetoes? I know it gets around like the village bicycle, but it’s for a good reason.
Or you could go with a traditional push/pull.
Day 1:
Bench Press
Dips
Squats
Military Press
Day 2:
Barbell rows
Deadlifts
Curls
Pullups.
Reps within the same range (5-8 or 9-12, depending on what you like)
And just repeat day one or day two, for a third workout in the week. The advantage here is more volume overload on certain muscles, as opposed to rippetoes emphasis on frequency and intensity to stimulate the nervous system.
[/quote]
How is there a volume overload with this workout?? You’ve got one exercise for each movement with a rep range averaging who knows how many sets of 10. If it’s his first week of lifting this might work for a bit, but beyond that one exercise for a few sets of 10 for each exercise isn’t going to do a whole lot of good.
[quote]usaffirefighter wrote:
Otep wrote:
Um… rippetoes? I know it gets around like the village bicycle, but it’s for a good reason.
Or you could go with a traditional push/pull.
Day 1:
Bench Press
Dips
Squats
Military Press
Day 2:
Barbell rows
Deadlifts
Curls
Pullups.
Reps within the same range (5-8 or 9-12, depending on what you like)
And just repeat day one or day two, for a third workout in the week. The advantage here is more volume overload on certain muscles, as opposed to rippetoes emphasis on frequency and intensity to stimulate the nervous system.
How is there a volume overload with this workout?? You’ve got one exercise for each movement with a rep range averaging who knows how many sets of 10. If it’s his first week of lifting this might work for a bit, but beyond that one exercise for a few sets of 10 for each exercise isn’t going to do a whole lot of good.[/quote]
Volume load? the hell? It’s all about linear progression, especially a sa beginner. He SHOULD be able to do an A-B split for frequent growing opportunities and be able to add weight to the bar frequently. This is MUCH better then doing a huge volume per bodypart as a beginner.