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02-08-2008, 08:52 PM
| #1 (permalink) |
| Rank: Member Experience: > 1 Year  Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: NY
Posts: 105
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Gender:  |  I am a \Please help a beginner with my routine I read the articles on routines and bulking and increasing strength and they were very informative but I'm still confused and think I'm making some mistakes. Also, I've only been lifting for a little over one month so I wasn't sure if some of it didn't apply to me being a beginner. I was hoping I could get some input on what I might be doing right and what I'm doing wrong and what I should change. Here is my routine: Day 1: Chest, Shoulders Triceps Day 2: Legs Day 3: Biceps & Back Day 4: Rest Then back to day 1 and repeat. Here are some sample workouts: Chest, shoulders, triceps: ******************* BENCH PRESS - Sometimes I do four sets ------------- 225lbs. - 6 reps 200lbs. - 8 reps 185lbs. - 8 reps INCLINE BENCH PRESS - Sometimes I do four sets --------------------- 135lbs. - 9 reps 135lbs. - 6 reps 100lbs. - 12 reps MILITARY PRESS ---------------- 100lbs. - 8 reps 100lbs. - 7 reps 85lbs. - 10 reps DUMBELL LAT RAISES -------------------- 10lbs. - 12 reps 10lbs. - 10 reps 10lbs. - 11 reps BENT OVER DUMBELL LAT RAISES -------------------------------- 5lbs. - 16 reps 5lbs. - 16 reps DUMBELL SHOULDER SHRUGS --------------------------- 25lbs. - 30 reps 25lbs. - 25 reps LEGS **** SQUATS -------- 185lbs. - 10 reps 185lbs. - 10 reps 185lbs. - 10 reps LEG EXTENSIONS ---------------- 25lbs. - 10 reps 25lbs. - 12 reps 25lbs. - 10 reps LYING LEG CURLS ---------------- 25lbs. - 20 reps 35lbs. - 16 reps 45lbs. - 12 reps Biceps & Back ********** BARBELL CURLS --------------- 75lbs. - 12 reps 95lbs. - 2 reps 85lbs. - 5 reps 75lbs. - 7 reps DUMBELL CURLS --------------- 25lbs. - 10 reps 25lbs. - 10 reps DUMBELL HAMMER CURLS ------------------------ 25lbs. - 12 reps 25lbs. - 8 reps LAT PULLDOWNS ---------------- 90lbs. - 13 reps 100lbs. - 6 reps 80lbs. - 12 reps 80lbs. - 16 reps BENT OVER BARBELL ROWS -------------------------- 95lbs. - 13 reps 95lbs. - 12 reps 95lbs. - 12 reps I usually do all my sets to failure and I'm not sure if that's right. I often start out doing the heaviest weights for my first set and then lower them to keep the reps up. Sometimes I just keep the weight constant for a constant number of reps to get a good burn/pump. Other times I'll increase the weight for set #2 and then decrease it for set #3. Not sure if any of that is good or not or if I should just be doing it one way. I read about progressively increasing the weights per set but if I do that would I still do each set to failure or would I stop a few reps short of failure so I would still be able to lift a heavier weight with the next set and get a good number of reps? From what I read it seems a 'good' number of reps is 8 with one or two 'finishing' sets of around 12 to 20 reps to get a pump. Is that correct? I started to doing regular deadlifts as part of my back workout however I really felt it in my legs so I stopped because it felt more like a leg exercise rather than a back exercise. I didn't want to do straight leg deadlifts because they sounded like they were bad for the back. I thought about adding the regular deadlifts to my leg routine but thought it might interfere with recovery from my biceps & back routine since it works the back as well. I'd really appreciate any help that anyone can provide as I would like to put an end to any mistakes I am making sooner rather than later. Thanks. |
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02-09-2008, 02:53 PM
| #3 (permalink) |
| Rank: Member Experience: > 1 Year Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: NY
Posts: 105
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Gender: | I believe so. I keep my legs about shoulder width apart or a little wider. I grip the bar just outside my knees. I look up/forward when lifting. I first drive with my legs and only really use my back as I straighten up to a standing position. I keep the bar close against my body as I lift. When I go heavy I like to put one hand facing forward and one hand facing back. |
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02-10-2008, 11:54 AM
| #4 (permalink) |
| Rank: New Member Experience: 2-3 Years Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: new york
Posts: 22
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Gender: | damn man, you're pretty strong for lifting for only a month. looks like a solid routine, but pitysister is right, you need to get deadlifts in there somewhere. best exercise ever. |
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02-10-2008, 03:03 PM
| #5 (permalink) | |||
| Rank: Lightweight Experience: 3-5 Years  Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,590
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Gender: | Quote:
Quote:
I'm also curious as to why Biceps get so much attention, yet triceps have nothing specific in here. Quote:
Training to failure on all exercises is not a good idea at all, especially since you're going 6 times a week. You're going to burnout or stall in no time. You should also keep about 1-2 reps 'in the tank' for each set. Meaning that you should be able to do 6 reps for a 5 rep set. A good piece of advice is to ignore how you feel during the workout. Just because you feel a good pump or a good burn it doesn't necessarily mean you created an environment for maximum muscle growth. It is a useful tool but it should not be used to gauge the effectiveness of your workout. With that in mind, the idea of a 'kill set' or a couple sets of 12-20 reps is not a good idea. IMO it is a rediculous idea if you're trying to bulk up. I would definitely put deadlifts in your routine. They're a great exercise for the whole body. Keep your reps under 8 though, prefereably around 3-6. You should be feeling them in your legs, afterall you're driving the weight up with your legs as well as your back. IME when people starting out say they feel them all in their back it means that their legs and hips are not in synch and their back is rounded. Make sure that everything is in the right position when you reach the top and bottom of the movement. When you're legs stop moving everything else should as well, its a very fluid movement. I know my response is fairly lengthy but I hope I addressed everything. I'm sure someone else may catch something I've missed. It's also a bit chaotic since I was thinking of so many things to say all at once.  I'm also guessing some of the articles you read were from a muscle mag...Don't use those as your bible. | |||
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02-10-2008, 07:50 PM
| #6 (permalink) |
| Rank: Member Experience: > 1 Year Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: NY
Posts: 105
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Gender: | Thank you! Wow! Thank you for taking the time to read my long post and answer so many of my questions. I figured I had it all wrong and was probably just spinning my wheels and going nowhere fast. I really appreciate it. I had a question about one thing you said. When you said I should take a rest after each day lifting, did you mean this? DAY 1: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps DAY 2: Rest DAY 3: Legs DAY 4: Rest DAY 5: Back and Biceps DAY 6: REST DAY 7: Back to DAY1 with Chest, Shoulders, Triceps etc. Thanks again! |
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02-10-2008, 08:50 PM
| #7 (permalink) | |
| Rank: Lightweight Experience: 3-5 Years Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,590
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DAY 1: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps DAY 2: Rest DAY 3: Legs DAY 4: Rest DAY 5: Back and Biceps DAY 6: REST DAY 7: REST Day 7 is also a rest day. This way you have 2 full days to recover, and you're doing the full routine once a week. It will be alot easier to plan things as well as progress if you do it this way, IME anyway. | |
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02-11-2008, 03:27 PM
| #9 (permalink) |
| Rank: Middleweight Experience: 1-2 Years  Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Midwest
Posts: 2,465
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Gender:  | rest is important....took me awhile to get used to it at first....i was the classic overtrainer....i felt useless taking the whole weekend off...it was a foreign concept. definitely helps with the progress though. but i was never doing many compound movements...i only do heavy squats twice a week....and deadlifts once a week otherwise...i'm dead.  |
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02-11-2008, 04:32 PM
| #10 (permalink) | |
| Rank: Lightweight Experience: 3-5 Years Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,590
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