Weight lifting now for about 8 months.... not sure what to do next
I know what some of you are going to be thinking right now... here we go again you're thinking... another guy asking for advice on training and his programme is absolutely dreadful.
There is SO much info out there... so much jargon too and I admit, I haven't got a clue where to go next. I have been training for 8 months now and this is what I did last week...
My current stats are:
Aged 25, I weigh 73kg and my body fat is 9.7%.
I work out 4 times a week and this is what I did last week
Mon
Biceps
Chin ups - 10, 8, 7, 6, 6 ,6
Hammer curl - 20k 10, 8 and 17.5kg 8, 7.
Barbell Curl - 40kg 8, 35kg 8, 8 and 30kg 10.
Dumbbell curl (sitting on bench) - 15kg 8, 7, 6
Triceps
Tricep press - 22.5kg 10, 10, 9, 8
Skull crusher - 25kg 10, 8, 8
Pull down - 86kg 10, 7, 79kg 10, 7
Dips (73kg (BW plus 7.5kg) 10, 9, 8 8.
Abs 3 sets of 20.
Wednesday chest and back.
Pull ups 10, 8, 6, 6, 6, 6
Bench Press - 77.5kg 10, 7, 6 and 75kg - 7, 8
Incline dumbbell press - 27.5kg - 9 and 25kg 9, 9, and 8.
Dips (BW plus 7.5kg) - 9, 6, 6, 5.
Cable cross over - 27kg 10, 10, 10
Multi grip 66kg - 10, 10 and 59kg - 10.
Lats - 59kg - 10, 8, 8
Abs - 3 sets of 20
Thursday
Squats 92.5kg - 10, 8, 7, 6, 6
Seated leg rpess - 164kg - 10, 10, 10 10
Leg extension - 95kg - 10, 10, 9
Pile dumbbell squat - 27.5kg - 12, 12, 12
Dips (weighted as above) - 10, 10, 9, 9
Abs - 3 sets of 20.
Friday
Arnold shoulder press - 20kg - 10, 8, 8, 8
Shoulder press - 22.5kg 10, 8, 8, 7
Military press - 40kg - 10, 8 and 35kg 10, 8
Deadlift (I am still practising form here my back aches after these so I am practising form) 60kg 9, 9, 9
Abs 3 sets of 20
Dips (weighted) - 10, 10, 9, and 9.
I know I need to change but I haven't got a clue where to start. I want to get bigger and be stronger. I have absolutely made some progress with the above but there are better ways of achieving big muscles than the above.
I have been looking at this
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/get-huge-fast-the-2-year-plan-for-extreme-mass.html?page=5
and this
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/go-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-year.htm
But I want to get some good advice first before embarking on any new changes. I don't want my comfortable regime anymore. I want to lift big and be big. I am prepared to work hard but I just need direction. I hope someone can help. Cheers
There is SO much info out there... so much jargon too and I admit, I haven't got a clue where to go next. I have been training for 8 months now and this is what I did last week...
My current stats are:
Aged 25, I weigh 73kg and my body fat is 9.7%.
I work out 4 times a week and this is what I did last week
Mon
Biceps
Chin ups - 10, 8, 7, 6, 6 ,6
Hammer curl - 20k 10, 8 and 17.5kg 8, 7.
Barbell Curl - 40kg 8, 35kg 8, 8 and 30kg 10.
Dumbbell curl (sitting on bench) - 15kg 8, 7, 6
Triceps
Tricep press - 22.5kg 10, 10, 9, 8
Skull crusher - 25kg 10, 8, 8
Pull down - 86kg 10, 7, 79kg 10, 7
Dips (73kg (BW plus 7.5kg) 10, 9, 8 8.
Abs 3 sets of 20.
Wednesday chest and back.
Pull ups 10, 8, 6, 6, 6, 6
Bench Press - 77.5kg 10, 7, 6 and 75kg - 7, 8
Incline dumbbell press - 27.5kg - 9 and 25kg 9, 9, and 8.
Dips (BW plus 7.5kg) - 9, 6, 6, 5.
Cable cross over - 27kg 10, 10, 10
Multi grip 66kg - 10, 10 and 59kg - 10.
Lats - 59kg - 10, 8, 8
Abs - 3 sets of 20
Thursday
Squats 92.5kg - 10, 8, 7, 6, 6
Seated leg rpess - 164kg - 10, 10, 10 10
Leg extension - 95kg - 10, 10, 9
Pile dumbbell squat - 27.5kg - 12, 12, 12
Dips (weighted as above) - 10, 10, 9, 9
Abs - 3 sets of 20.
Friday
Arnold shoulder press - 20kg - 10, 8, 8, 8
Shoulder press - 22.5kg 10, 8, 8, 7
Military press - 40kg - 10, 8 and 35kg 10, 8
Deadlift (I am still practising form here my back aches after these so I am practising form) 60kg 9, 9, 9
Abs 3 sets of 20
Dips (weighted) - 10, 10, 9, and 9.
I know I need to change but I haven't got a clue where to start. I want to get bigger and be stronger. I have absolutely made some progress with the above but there are better ways of achieving big muscles than the above.
I have been looking at this
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/get-huge-fast-the-2-year-plan-for-extreme-mass.html?page=5
and this
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/go-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-year.htm
But I want to get some good advice first before embarking on any new changes. I don't want my comfortable regime anymore. I want to lift big and be big. I am prepared to work hard but I just need direction. I hope someone can help. Cheers
Sounds like you are a bit confused and i will do what I can to help.
I would say that your routine is a little bit off for starters in terms of what is optimal. But firstly your goals are to get bigger and stronger. It really isn't all that complicated, although it is hard work. There are lots of routines out there, but they all share common strategies - progressive overload with the right amount of volume/time under tension. Do that, eat well and keep going.
It sounds like you are a little bored with your routine and from a program design sense, there's a little bit of change to be made. For example, you are training the same muscle groups on consecutive days which is FAR from ideal. It seems that you want to train a lot. I would suggest that you follow an upper/lower split four days a week. On the lower body days, start with a squat or a deadlift. Since your goal is hypertrophy, the volume should be high but not unnecessarily so. Thus, I would stick to 4 sets of 6 or 5 sets of 5 for your squat and 3 sets of 5 for your deadlift. You are doing high reps for deadlifts which are not really recommended. No matter what your form is like, you're back will ache if you are doing sets of 8-12. It is more of a strength movement. These are the two key movement patterns in the lower body and lead to good gians. You can follow this up for accessory work in the way of the 3 main functions of your legs - knee extensions (squats, split-squat, lunge variations), hip extension (romanian deadlifts, hip thrusts, pull-throughs etc), knee flexion (any hamstring curl movement). These would be for lower body. Pick 3/4 and go for 3-4 sets of 8-12. You can add some calf isolation at the end too. Isolation movements should always come after your compounds.
These principles can apply to your upper body sessions too. Start with your big 'bang for your buck' exercises, usually something like a chin up and a bench press. Do these for 4 sets of 6. Follow this up with various push and pull accessory movements for higher reps. Then, do isolation exercises for your biceps, triceps and traps.
Example:
Day one -
Back squat 5x5
Romanian deadlift 4x8
Walking lunges 3x12
Standing calf raises 3x12
Day two -
Chin ups 4x6
Push press 4x8
DB one arm row 3x12
Dips 3x12
Lateral raises 3x12
Cable bicep curls 3x12
Tricep extensions 3x12
Dragon flag 3x12
Day three - rest/light cardio
Day four -
Deadlift 3x5
Rear foot elevated split squats 4x8
Glute-ham raise 3x12
Leg press calf raises 3x20
Day five - rest/light cardio
Day six -
Bench press 4x6
DB chest-supported row 4x8
DB military press 3x12
Chin ups 3x12
Shrugs 3x12
Hammer curls 3x12
Tricep pushdown 3x12
Ab roll out 3x12
Day seven - REST
You can change the movements every couple of months. Eg Back squats to front squats, conventional deadlift to sumo deadlift, and there's so many variations for your accessories (there's about 10 simple uni-lateral quad dominant variations I can think of - reverse lunge, forward lunge, step up, walking lunges, split squats, rear foot elevated split squats, single leg box squats, pistol squats, walking lunges, etc). The same can be said for all the horizontal/vertical pulls and presses and hip dominant work. This will allow for variety.
Then just keep adding weight to the bar, monitor progress and persist to move towards your goals of getting bigger and stronger.
P.S. you asked for hard days at the gym. Those two lower body days will be hard work.
Hope that helps and good luck!
I would say that your routine is a little bit off for starters in terms of what is optimal. But firstly your goals are to get bigger and stronger. It really isn't all that complicated, although it is hard work. There are lots of routines out there, but they all share common strategies - progressive overload with the right amount of volume/time under tension. Do that, eat well and keep going.
It sounds like you are a little bored with your routine and from a program design sense, there's a little bit of change to be made. For example, you are training the same muscle groups on consecutive days which is FAR from ideal. It seems that you want to train a lot. I would suggest that you follow an upper/lower split four days a week. On the lower body days, start with a squat or a deadlift. Since your goal is hypertrophy, the volume should be high but not unnecessarily so. Thus, I would stick to 4 sets of 6 or 5 sets of 5 for your squat and 3 sets of 5 for your deadlift. You are doing high reps for deadlifts which are not really recommended. No matter what your form is like, you're back will ache if you are doing sets of 8-12. It is more of a strength movement. These are the two key movement patterns in the lower body and lead to good gians. You can follow this up for accessory work in the way of the 3 main functions of your legs - knee extensions (squats, split-squat, lunge variations), hip extension (romanian deadlifts, hip thrusts, pull-throughs etc), knee flexion (any hamstring curl movement). These would be for lower body. Pick 3/4 and go for 3-4 sets of 8-12. You can add some calf isolation at the end too. Isolation movements should always come after your compounds.
These principles can apply to your upper body sessions too. Start with your big 'bang for your buck' exercises, usually something like a chin up and a bench press. Do these for 4 sets of 6. Follow this up with various push and pull accessory movements for higher reps. Then, do isolation exercises for your biceps, triceps and traps.
Example:
Day one -
Back squat 5x5
Romanian deadlift 4x8
Walking lunges 3x12
Standing calf raises 3x12
Day two -
Chin ups 4x6
Push press 4x8
DB one arm row 3x12
Dips 3x12
Lateral raises 3x12
Cable bicep curls 3x12
Tricep extensions 3x12
Dragon flag 3x12
Day three - rest/light cardio
Day four -
Deadlift 3x5
Rear foot elevated split squats 4x8
Glute-ham raise 3x12
Leg press calf raises 3x20
Day five - rest/light cardio
Day six -
Bench press 4x6
DB chest-supported row 4x8
DB military press 3x12
Chin ups 3x12
Shrugs 3x12
Hammer curls 3x12
Tricep pushdown 3x12
Ab roll out 3x12
Day seven - REST
You can change the movements every couple of months. Eg Back squats to front squats, conventional deadlift to sumo deadlift, and there's so many variations for your accessories (there's about 10 simple uni-lateral quad dominant variations I can think of - reverse lunge, forward lunge, step up, walking lunges, split squats, rear foot elevated split squats, single leg box squats, pistol squats, walking lunges, etc). The same can be said for all the horizontal/vertical pulls and presses and hip dominant work. This will allow for variety.
Then just keep adding weight to the bar, monitor progress and persist to move towards your goals of getting bigger and stronger.
P.S. you asked for hard days at the gym. Those two lower body days will be hard work.
Hope that helps and good luck!
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by orangeboy
I know what some of you are going to be thinking right now... here we go again you're thinking... another guy asking for advice on training and his programme is absolutely dreadful.
There is SO much info out there... so much jargon too and I admit, I haven't got a clue where to go next. I have been training for 8 months now and this is what I did last week...
My current stats are:
Aged 25, I weigh 73kg and my body fat is 9.7%.
I work out 4 times a week and this is what I did last week
Mon
Biceps
Chin ups - 10, 8, 7, 6, 6 ,6
Hammer curl - 20k 10, 8 and 17.5kg 8, 7.
Barbell Curl - 40kg 8, 35kg 8, 8 and 30kg 10.
Dumbbell curl (sitting on bench) - 15kg 8, 7, 6
Triceps
Tricep press - 22.5kg 10, 10, 9, 8
Skull crusher - 25kg 10, 8, 8
Pull down - 86kg 10, 7, 79kg 10, 7
Dips (73kg (BW plus 7.5kg) 10, 9, 8 8.
Abs 3 sets of 20.
Wednesday chest and back.
Pull ups 10, 8, 6, 6, 6, 6
Bench Press - 77.5kg 10, 7, 6 and 75kg - 7, 8
Incline dumbbell press - 27.5kg - 9 and 25kg 9, 9, and 8.
Dips (BW plus 7.5kg) - 9, 6, 6, 5.
Cable cross over - 27kg 10, 10, 10
Multi grip 66kg - 10, 10 and 59kg - 10.
Lats - 59kg - 10, 8, 8
Abs - 3 sets of 20
Thursday
Squats 92.5kg - 10, 8, 7, 6, 6
Seated leg rpess - 164kg - 10, 10, 10 10
Leg extension - 95kg - 10, 10, 9
Pile dumbbell squat - 27.5kg - 12, 12, 12
Dips (weighted as above) - 10, 10, 9, 9
Abs - 3 sets of 20.
Friday
Arnold shoulder press - 20kg - 10, 8, 8, 8
Shoulder press - 22.5kg 10, 8, 8, 7
Military press - 40kg - 10, 8 and 35kg 10, 8
Deadlift (I am still practising form here my back aches after these so I am practising form) 60kg 9, 9, 9
Abs 3 sets of 20
Dips (weighted) - 10, 10, 9, and 9.
I know I need to change but I haven't got a clue where to start. I want to get bigger and be stronger. I have absolutely made some progress with the above but there are better ways of achieving big muscles than the above.
I have been looking at this
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/get-huge-fast-the-2-year-plan-for-extreme-mass.html?page=5
and this
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/go-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-year.htm
But I want to get some good advice first before embarking on any new changes. I don't want my comfortable regime anymore. I want to lift big and be big. I am prepared to work hard but I just need direction. I hope someone can help. Cheers
There is SO much info out there... so much jargon too and I admit, I haven't got a clue where to go next. I have been training for 8 months now and this is what I did last week...
My current stats are:
Aged 25, I weigh 73kg and my body fat is 9.7%.
I work out 4 times a week and this is what I did last week
Mon
Biceps
Chin ups - 10, 8, 7, 6, 6 ,6
Hammer curl - 20k 10, 8 and 17.5kg 8, 7.
Barbell Curl - 40kg 8, 35kg 8, 8 and 30kg 10.
Dumbbell curl (sitting on bench) - 15kg 8, 7, 6
Triceps
Tricep press - 22.5kg 10, 10, 9, 8
Skull crusher - 25kg 10, 8, 8
Pull down - 86kg 10, 7, 79kg 10, 7
Dips (73kg (BW plus 7.5kg) 10, 9, 8 8.
Abs 3 sets of 20.
Wednesday chest and back.
Pull ups 10, 8, 6, 6, 6, 6
Bench Press - 77.5kg 10, 7, 6 and 75kg - 7, 8
Incline dumbbell press - 27.5kg - 9 and 25kg 9, 9, and 8.
Dips (BW plus 7.5kg) - 9, 6, 6, 5.
Cable cross over - 27kg 10, 10, 10
Multi grip 66kg - 10, 10 and 59kg - 10.
Lats - 59kg - 10, 8, 8
Abs - 3 sets of 20
Thursday
Squats 92.5kg - 10, 8, 7, 6, 6
Seated leg rpess - 164kg - 10, 10, 10 10
Leg extension - 95kg - 10, 10, 9
Pile dumbbell squat - 27.5kg - 12, 12, 12
Dips (weighted as above) - 10, 10, 9, 9
Abs - 3 sets of 20.
Friday
Arnold shoulder press - 20kg - 10, 8, 8, 8
Shoulder press - 22.5kg 10, 8, 8, 7
Military press - 40kg - 10, 8 and 35kg 10, 8
Deadlift (I am still practising form here my back aches after these so I am practising form) 60kg 9, 9, 9
Abs 3 sets of 20
Dips (weighted) - 10, 10, 9, and 9.
I know I need to change but I haven't got a clue where to start. I want to get bigger and be stronger. I have absolutely made some progress with the above but there are better ways of achieving big muscles than the above.
I have been looking at this
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/get-huge-fast-the-2-year-plan-for-extreme-mass.html?page=5
and this
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/go-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-year.htm
But I want to get some good advice first before embarking on any new changes. I don't want my comfortable regime anymore. I want to lift big and be big. I am prepared to work hard but I just need direction. I hope someone can help. Cheers
If the routines you posted appeal to you id start on stage 3 of the first one.
Im not too sure about your strength levels for your back, you have a lot of volume in regards to chins which is good, but you have no row variant and your deadlift seems off.
You dont need to do 3 sets of high reps, the aches most likely come from form breaking down because of the volume. A heavy set of 3-6reps is all you need, stance and style isnt very important, form and lifting heavy is.
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