Priority Training
 

Picked up a copy of FLEX magazine's July 2006 issue with an article about priority training and decided to give it a try myself. I've already got the 1.3g/kg protein ratio down, along with 6 meals a day, pre- and postworkout shakes and meals, at least 8 hours sleep(no more than 10 hours), 30 minutes cardio every other day, etc.

Can't remember what the exact training split was, but I did the first day today (arms... my priority)

(2 sets of 20) Rope Curls @ 40 lbs superset with Rope pulldowns @ 55

(4 sets of 10) Barbell Curls @ 60 superset with Two hands behind neck extension @ 60 lbs (haven't learned the right technique for close-grip bench press yet)

(4 sets of 10) Preacher curls @ 55 superset with Bench dips (3x10, 1xfailure)

General comment

OUCH! my arms should be up for grabs during the next Jello commercial, besides that, there's one helluva lot more food I'm eating now than before (eat big to get big, right... all clean of course)
:weights:
tomorrow is Chest and Back, hope I can move my arms to do it, this workout is supposed to be for the intermediate to advanced bodybuilder, but I'm kind of a beginner hehe :006:

Good Luck!

I definately do not recommend doing arms before chest/back. You probably will be too sore and your workout weights will suffer. :)

I agree with 0311 on that point. assuming this is the split, consider doing
workout 1: chest and back
workout 2: legs (and shoulders?)
workout 3: arms

this will give you a better workout on arm day and chest/back day

This is just more of the same shit you always see in those mags with a different name. When you're just beginning, your "priority" should be the big multi-joint (compound) movements for TOTAL body growth. These magazine write stuff like that cuz it sells. People want to do "beach" work so they give them what they want.

You say prioritize and 90% of your weekend warriors are going to prioritize arms, the same way people always have first starting out. You tell people what they want to hear and they'll buy more mags.

Wow, such hostility... it is true, but I'm a FUCKING BEGINNER!!
I'll post pics once I figure out how to download them onto one of these public computers so you can see why I want to first get fuller, more dense triceps, then move on to legs, then chest, then my whole back (as priorities). I'll take your word for it that "This is just more of the same shit you always see in those mags with a different name." My arms have always been small, but very tone, prolly due to playing a lot of tennis.
My core muscles are good right now, quads aren't too great, hamstring is decent, calves are decent, abs are very tough but aren't showing... yet, biceps are toned but small, same with triceps and forearm and shoulders, back is decent, and chest is good, but my resolve has never been stronger!! muahahaha

FYI, forgot to mention that I started this new account with this name, Sutiiven, cause I wanted to get rid of my other account: theGreennOOb, but couldn't find a way to delete the account and start over.

Well, so I messed up in the training split, forgive me!!! :439: Guess I been smokin' the roach too much, j/k.

Training split (thru the end of this week, today is Wednesday):

Thursday: rest
Friday: arms
Saturday: Legs/Shoulders
Sunday: Chest/Back

(next week)
Monday: rest
Tuesday: Legs/Shoulders
Wednesday: arms
Thursday: rest
Friday: Chest/back
Saturday: legs/shoulders
Sunday: arms

Thanks for the criticisms, though. I have noticed my arms have gotten much fuller and the rest of my body feels great. Gotten a bit bigger without sacrificing shape (I have a natural body that friends say looks like a diver's body when my bf isn't too high)
More fullness in a short time is prolly due to water retention, but I gotta start somewhere, right?

What's the rep ranges? Are they the same throughout or different depending on exercises? Also, are you going to post the actual workouts per day?

Good Luck. And I'll try to erase your GreenOOB if you want.

I showed no hostility toward you...only to crappy mags :) .

Thanks 0311, if you could do that then that would be awesome
Sorry Eric, I misread your statement, I just assumed that a "bodybuilding" magazine would give better advice than other magazines that don't specialize in bodybuilding. My bad

ok ok, here's my workout now:

arms
(at least until I feel they're just a tad more than symmetrical)

(2 sets of 20) Rope Curls @ 40 lbs superset with Rope pulldowns @ 55
(4 sets of 10) Barbell Curls @ 60 superset with Two hands behind neck extension @ 65 lbs
(4 sets of 10) Preacher curls @ 55 superset with Bench dips (3x10, 1xfailure)

doing this arms workout for 1 more week, then I'll change it

Legs/Shoulders
(4 WORKING sets of 8-12) Squats @ 135 (warmup of 15 reps) ; then 255 throughout
(4 sets of 10-20) Leg extensions @ 140 lbs (pyramid up from 120 lbs)
(2 sets of 10; 1 set to failure) Reverse Flyes (don't know weight yet)
(4 sets of 8-12) Barbell Shoulder Press (don't know weight yet)
(3 sets of 10-15; 1 set to failure) Leg Curls @ 140 or 150 lbs
(3 sets of 8-12) Front Raise superset with Side Raise @ 25-30 lbs
Leg Press Calve Raises: 1 set w/ 15 seconds rest in between... 10 reps, 15 reps, 25 reps, 15 reps, 10 reps

Chest/Back
(4 WORKING sets of 6-12 reps) Incline Bench @ 135 lbs (warmups of 10 reps); then 185 throughout
(4 sets of 9-12 reps) Pec Dec @ 70 lbs
(2 sets of 10; 1 set to failure) Wide-Grip chinups with bodyweight
(4 sets of 5-10 reps) Incline Bench Flyes (heavy enough weight to get the reps needed)
(4 sets of 8-12) Seated Rowing @ 140 lbs
(2 sets of 10; 1 set to failure) Hyperextensions (first 2 sets holding 25 lb plate, last set bodyweight)
(2 sets of 8-10; 1 set to failure) Bent over rowing on Smith Machine @ 135 lbs

if still feel strong (which I doubt at this point) I'll add more weight to the Bent over rowing

General Comment
I prolly won't be able to move very much after the chest/back workout, but it's still fun! plus I have a naturally high recovery rate. Still feel sore the next day, but after that I feel fine.
Supplements: Centrum Performance Multivitamins, Chromium Picolinate, Hydroxycut Hardcore, Zero Carb Isopure (ordered a 7.5 lb tub of Isopure Mass, but Zero Carb is all I got right now)
If this is all wrong, plz tell me!

I'll let others comment on the layout, I dont care for that split but hell you can do whatever you want.

Here is were I will throw in my two cents. Drop the Chromium and the hydroxycut, they wont do much but lighten your pockets. If your trying to cut, then get your diet in check, pick up some fish oil caps, and add in some cardio.

It's all cool, bro. I can see how you could misunderstand me! I'm not a fan of high volume splits of this nature but good luck on it :)

I'm about 20 minutes from starting my leg/back workout, but so far after this 1st week of bodybuilding, I've noticed that I'm leaning out while my arms are gaining mass (everyone's dream right?)
My weakest point right now is obviously going to be trying to do a lat pose... don't really have ANY lower lats, but the shape and cuts are coming into play very nicely.
I'll prolly use Hydroxycut only during my cardio/abs day b/c while Hydroxycut Hardcore is doing its job incredibly well (it does what the ads say it does, dropping bf% rapidly while sparing muscle), I found that I'm always hungry, so I have to eat almost twice as much as normal, if I don't drink water while using it I feel extremely fatigued, and it gave me insomnia!!
Other than that, I'm glad I chose to prioritize arms first b/c even though it really is a beach muscle, making my arms grow bigger has motivated me to make other things bigger. Honestly, I'm being a bit narcissistic right now, but my overall goal is to be able to compete in some bodybuilding contest within 5 years. I tried doing a volume-low workout, but it's not for me, maybe when I get better at lifting. Right now, I'm gonna stick with what's working... volume heavy and super-high intensity!
The only problems I've faced so far is that doing all this has hurt my social life. I've told my friends my goals, yet they keep trying to make me deviate from the "road" by always wanting to go somewhere to eat (i.e. Chili's or Mexican food places) and playing video games. Oh well, they're still friends, right?

Just a friendly piece of advice...LOWER Lats are the same as LOWER pecs...you can't isolate them from the rest of the muscle. So you have no LATS, but heavy pull-downs will help alot and so will BB Rows (JS or otherwise)

Although many people here don't really like this style of training...I have seen alot of growth from this type of split (not necessarily the routine, just the split).

But keep in mind that intensity is inversely proportional to volume, meaning that as volume goes up, intensity must go down. So a super high intensity for this routine will be a low intensity for ,say, a 5x5 program.

ps. I've used the term "intensity" in the same context as the post...Intensity is a measure of how close you are to your 1RM...so just as an fyi, doing bicep curls for 2x20 will be very low intensity. I understood what you meant but its just one of those terminology things.

When you're first starting out just about anything should work well for you providing your diet is adequate.

Wow, maybe I should forget weights and just jerk it all day, alternating hands of course.

Second time you've taken an attitude with me. What I stated is just a basic fact. I'll stay out of your journal. It's your loss.

If it's joking you don't know me well enough to take such liberties.

Thanks, this IS a journal, right? I'll learn all I need to learn about the art of bodybuilding in time, but that's also the second time that I've viewed your comments more along the lines of trying to destroy my motivation than constructive criticism. Yes, it's true that certain workouts are printed in magazines purely to sell the magazines because they promote "beach muscles," but beach muscles are still muscles and I read all I can about kinesiology, physiology, timing of nutrition, the latest published scientific research on supplements and/or training techniques, other people's ideas (in real life and online) about their training philosophies who are more advanced than me, the latest published books on fitness, workouts that pro bodybuilders use, etc.

of course it is a basic fact that the first week or two of weight training will cause your body to adapt to the new stress forced upon it, but you gotta know that I come from a competitive tennis background, meaning I'm not new to working out, just new to lifting weights. I used to do pushups, pullups, crunches, etc. (bodyweight exercises) then just moved into weight lifting and stopped playing tennis. Thank you so much for your consideration of deciding to stop posting in my journal, if there's ever a question I want answered I will post one and ask specifically for you to answer it.

"If it's joking you don't know me well enough to take such liberties"

wtf??? you posted in MY ONLINE JOURNAL! Keep in perspective that this is more like notes to myself more than questions to be answered (with the exception of getting my training split right). personally, I'd like to look back on this journal to see how far I've come since I began lifting. Yes, it was meant to be a joke. No, I couldn't care less about earning "liberties" to worry about how my comments online affect you. Sorry if I hurt whatever feelings you have, but don't ever post in someone's journal except if it's constructive criticism or something positive.

Eric's Quotes:
"When you're first starting out just about anything should work well for you providing your diet is adequate."

"This is just more of the same shit you always see in those mags with a different name. When you're just beginning, your "priority" should be the big multi-joint (compound) movements for TOTAL body growth. These magazine write stuff like that cuz it sells. People want to do 'beach' work so they give them what they want.

You say prioritize and 90% of your weekend warriors are going to prioritize arms, the same way people always have first starting out. You tell people what they want to hear and they'll buy more mags"

1. I'm not a "weekend warrior" I train 5 days a week with cardio every other day at 70% MHR and a maximum of 45 minutes
2. Anything working well starting out should be motivational; then ask how to break plateaus
3. I had to begin prioritizing something, I just picked my weakest area: arms. Would you have been more satisfied if I chose to prioritize my hamstrings?
4. I still make multi-joint (compound) movements my staple exercises in every workout
5. "Beach muscles" such as arms still need to be huge, symmetrical, proportional (relative to the rest of your body), and have awesome muscle separation and striations to win shows
6. I'm not in this for the short term, I'm doing my best to grow proportionately throughout my life. Think about it: when your arms are proportionately SMALL relative to the rest of your body, wtf do you think should be the focus of your workouts? I don't know about you, but I don't feel like having (exaggerated numbers) 100 inch thighs and 13 inch arms

I don't think I'm gonna post in this forum again, I'll just browse the posts. I don't feel like having to explain myself in my own journal, I'm sure other beginners who have questions will post the questions I have, too and mature users such as 0311, Kane, etc. will post answers I seek.
(as if I'll be missed, I only have 16 posts as of this last post)

ha ha... lol... u dont need a journal for that...!!! just go lift weights for 40 years and at the end of it you'll probably know what worked best for you - provided your still alive.....

1.) eric is wwwwwwwaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more advanced and knowledgeable than you...
2.) pro bodybuilders use a SHITLOAD of drugs (i think as a beginner you might want to skip this)

he doesnt owe you an answer......

how old are you kid ???

when you "look back" on this shitty program and dumbbass journal, you'll notice how constructive it was....but by that time you'll probably grow up as well...

so WHAT ???

what does motivation have to do with plateaus..???

good...

so what are you getting at...???

at the rate at which your going, i doubt you'll even have 13" arms....lol, go read the stickies....

good...

chill...i guarantee you wont...

it sure is....

-Anuj

oh, and one last thing Sutiiven:

ppl start journals to track their own progress and to take advice from more experienced and / or knowledgeable ppl than themselves...

i started my first journal when i was 17, and i've had my share of arguments with Eric, 0311, Kane, etc...but in the end, if i look back, i know that i came out as a better and more knowledgeable person thanks to them....

so dont feed me bullshit about not wanting members to post in your journal and if they do u decide not to post anymore on this board..!!! if you didnt want feedback on your program, you should've stated that in your first post itself (not so late to edit)...

when i read my very first posts on this board, i laugh because i had a SERIOUS attitude problem....but right now, i know when i look back, how much i've grown as a person....

i went from doing bi-weekly programs to following programs for over 7 weeks...!!! and how?: thanks to the flak i got from Eric and 0311....i could've easily told them to fuck off and leave me alone, but hey: i was smart, i used their advice and here i am: better than before :)

i dont know why you have such an attitude problem Sutiiven, but i agree 100% with:

-Anuj

Its good to see my reputation is getting better and better on this site :spam:

ps. Take this for what you will Sutiiven....but Eric was more or less (from the way I read his post) commenting on my comment

If you glance at the thread "Kane's Training" you will see the routine I was on when I first came here (as a newb seeing great results from ultra high volume....not saying youre a newb lol) and then maybe the post he made will make a little more sense. Just my 2 cents in this heated debate lol