jonathan100

Right! in a nut shell i've decided to get off my lazy **** and get back to the gym. I trained 3 days a week for about 4 years but when we got our dog just over a year ago i stopped going because i was useing my free mornings befor work to walk the dog.
I work shifts at the moment 12-9 at a gym/golf club so i get a free membership.

Startin Stats
6'2ft
12stn
21.6 BMI
12%body fat

My work out at the moment is

Day 1
Chest/Back
flat bench press 12 reps 4 sets
incline bench 12reps 4 sets
cable cross over 12 reps 4 sets
Latt pull down 12reps 4 sets
seated rows 12 reps 4 sets
chin ups as many as i can lol

Day 2
shoulders/legs
seated shoulder press 12-4
lateral raise to side 12-4
lateral raise to front 12-4
leg press 12-4
leg curl 12-4

Day 3
bi's/tri's
seated curles 12-4
preacher curles 12-4
cable pull downs 12-4
close grip bench press 12-4
dips as many as i can.

I do abs at the end of evey weights day and do 10min of cardio to walm up and then 30 min of hi strain cardio at the end

Im taking in about 2g of proteen per lb of body weight. (including proteen shakes)

I just realy want to know if i'm doing a good work out as in the past i seem to increase the weights a tiny bit but then hit a wall and cant seem to increase them any more.

The Chief

I used to do a similar workout to you - i read an interesting article recently, how many of your sets are warm up?

Say you warm up and do a couple of sets on the bench press then your heavy weights - then when you move onto your incline you dont really need to warm up again as you are already warmed up from your flat bench - i got this info off Kerry kayes who is Ricky Hattons nutrition and strength coach (Ricky can leg press over 1000lbs which is awesome for a small guy)

A lot of energy is wasted in warming up - bob over to Ricky hattons website where in the forum Kerry Kayes has a Q&A forum - he is teh man and incidentally also owns CNP (Chemical Nutritional Products)

The Chief

also just noticed your doing too many reps on your workout set - i do this on my chest for instance.

5 sets

1st set 12 reps low weight
2nd set 12 reps bit higher
3rd set 10 reps higher still
4th and fifth will be my main set and i'll try and keep my set heavy and in between 6-8 reps.

my last set i'll struggle to push 6 out.

The Chief

Here ya go - dont say i dont do out ha ha

CNP's Kerry Kayes Q & A section

jonathan100

thanks cheif very helpfull

The Chief

My pleasure

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

I'd change your splits. Keep chest and back separate as they should be pretty intensive work out on their own. Shoulder and legs can be done together but I'd try split those as well. In any upper body exercise you're using your bi and tri anyway depending if you're pushing or pulling. Back exercises hit the bi's and chest the tris. Certainly throw in a arm workout now and then but the others are more important.

The Chief

This is from Kerry Kayes CNP website....

Warm up:
5 Minutes of stationary cycling followed by several light sets of various upper body exercises. 5 Minutes stretching. Each exercise should be taken to failure on the final set, with 1 or 2 forced reps if you have a partner. The preceding sets are warm up sets, usually warm up with 50 to 70% of my final set as a guideline. Perform all the sets in a slow controlled manner with special emphasis on the negative or lowering portion of the weight.
Day 1: - Delts - Traps - Triceps
Seated press dumbbell or Smith machine:- 3 x 6 - 8
Dumbbell Lateral raise:- 2 x 6 - 8
Cable lateral raise:- 1 x 6 - 8
Dumbbell Shrug:- 2 x 6 - 8
Triceps pushdown:- 3 x 6 - 8
Lying extension:- 2 x 6 - 8
Day 2: - Lats - Rear Delts - Lower Back
Close reverse grip pulldown:- 3 x 6 - 8
Barbell row:- 2 x 6 - 8
Cable row:- 2 x 6 - 8
Bent over dumbbell raise:- 2 x 6 - 8
Deadlift:- 3 x 6 - 8
Day 3:- Rest
20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise can be performed on rest days. Moderate aerobics can help recovery as well as aerobic fitness.
Day 4:- Chest and Biceps
30 degree incline press:- 3 x 6 - 8
Decline press:- 2 x 6 - 8
Flat bench fly:- 2 x 6 - 8
Concentration curl:- 2 x 6 - 8
Barbell curl:- 2 x 6 - 8
Day 5:- Quads - Hamstrings and Calfs
Leg extension:- 3 x 8 - 10
Leg press:- 3 x 8 - 10
Hack or Smith squat:- 2 x 8 - 10
Lying leg curl:- 2 x 8 - 10
Stiff legged dead lifts:- 2 x 6 - 10
Standing calf raises:- 2 x 10 - 12
Seated calf raise:- 2 x 8 - 10
Day 6:- Rest
Day 7:- Repeat Cycle
On this cycle, your training is 4 out of every six days
If you feel you need more recovery time, just schedule an extra rest day or 2 into the cycle so that you are training each body part once every 7 or 8 days. The exercises listed are good examples, but feel free to change them if you find others work better for you. Concentrate on making each set perfect, pushing to failure and beyond on the final sets. Do not be tempted to add more sets! Try to set goals for yourself and strive to be better each time you go into the gym. After 5-6 weeks of intense training I suggest you take 3-4 days away from gym followed by 2 weeks or more moderate training before embarking on another cycle.

Varboy

Firstly recognise that routines will work better for some than others:

Also have a look at the following link for the Dog Crap routine, stupid name I know but for me it worked. After a back injury, I managed to put 55kg on my squat over about 10 months.

The DOGG Pound - IntenseMuscle.com

also check out muscletalk.co.uk

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

The chief has posted some good stuff there, have a look at CNP Professional for the ultimate in sports nutrition which is the site he mentions, it has all sorts of good stuff on there, including forums for training, diet, general advice, supplements etc.

Incidentaly Chief, although Ricky *can* leg press 1000lb have you seen how far he moves it, hardly any movement whatsoever

Jonathan, you need to work out a training plan based on what you wish to achieve. With 12% BF if you literally dropped another 2% you should look bigger as the muscles you have will show their definition, yet you will be lighter. Surprised you BF is 12% though at 12st as I am 16% bf weighing nearly 17 stone at present(heavy christmas )

killerscoob

Personally I do the following:

Day 1 Chest, Biceps (Free Weight only on biceps), 12-6 reps of 4 sets.
Day 2 Back, Triceps. " "
Day 3 Shoulders, Biceps (Machine only on triceps)
Day 4 Legs, Abs, Triceps (Machine Only on Biceps)
Day 5 Abs First then Cardio (30 min run or 4 miles)
Day 6 Rest
Day 7 Rest
I use my push bike to go to work every over day so Cardio is not an issue for me 22 miles every over day is quite enougth.

Just remember that if you train 2 Major muscles together then the first that gets the workout will get the most out of the workout always train major with a minor I.E Chest, Biceps.
Also remember you use your triceps when bench pressing so try to avoid training them together.
maximum time to train is 1 hour, I normally do it in 45 mins any longer than that you produce latic acid in your muscles and it just burns them away.

Try something called negitive training but you need a spotter. Basically you use heavy weight and concentrait the movement of the weight when you lower it down, look it up on internet it's a good way to shock the muscles.

SetoN

If your doing 12 reps you lifting too little.

To get bigger you need to over-load the body. I aim for 10 reps each time. If I get 10 then im lifting too little, I'll add another 2.5k total. Then go again. Im aiming for 10, but if i only get 8 then its a success. Hell if you only manage to get 5 its a success, becasue your lifting over your limit so your body will try to grow to match what your lifting.

5 reps of a heavy weight, is better for bulking up, than 12 reps of a medium weight. If its not a chalange for your body, then why grow? You need to make your body feel week.

Keep eating

SetoN

Varboy

Traditionalist view which is not necessarily true though will suffice as a general rule.

You are correct that you have to overload the body to break down muscle tissue to promote growth but 12 well executed reps with good timing and form will be far more beneficial than bouncing a heavy weight off your chest and arching your back to get it up.

Try it for yourself, load up the bar and do 5 rep max squats and compare this to squatting a moderate weight to failure post 20 reps. Your legs and lungs will be screaming in the second scenario.

I'm not saying that lifting big for low reps does not have it's place but the problem is that people become too focused on the weight with detriment to form and an increased risk of injury.

killerscoob

sorry but you can put heavy weight and still get 10 reps out, I used to believe that attitude that lifting has heavy as possible was the best way to bulk up.. it was untill I ripped my side Lat doing lying down two arm triceps extensions with 70Kg.. 2 half years later I finally have it back to normal.
The lowest I train now is 6-8 no more.

jonathan100

To be honest i'm not too sure that 12% is right it was on a scale thing with no socks on.not to sure how accurate it is.

jonathan100

A year or so ago i was traning heavy ie 8 reps max.It's only been a few week since i've started training again so i wanted to get a good bass of mucle back befor going heavy again.

SetoN

I said I go for 10