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Hey guys...

I have been on the same routine for about 3 months now and its getting old. Of course I think I am hitting a plateau too. I have read into a few routines, but I just can't seem to make up my mind on which one to pick.

I have seen distinct size and strength gains so far. Just wondering if someone can suggest a new routine for me. I would like to continue to get stronger, but maybe now I think I need to get a little more definition but would like to continue to hit the weights hard...

Discuss Discuss!

What is the routine that you have been doing? In detail.

Just a full-body three day a week routine. Usually 3 sets of 8, for the most part. Unless Im doing like dead lifts or chin ups.

If you want I can write down my whole routine. But really its like a 30-45 min workout that I maybe do 1-2 workouts per body part. Bicep, Tricep, Back, etc.

id like some details and a rough plan of progression. usually u need to make minor changes. its very rare that u need to revamp ur entire program - unless it really sucks balls.

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ok well I'll list the exercises I do. No particular order.

Hammer Curls or EZ Bar Curls
Preacher Curls
Triceps Pushdown or Triceps Extension
Dip Machine or Bench Dip
Pec Fly
Pushups
Bench Press
Upright Row
Shrugs (rarely)
Lat Pulldown
Military Press or Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Seated Side Lateral Raise (kinda stopped doing this one)
Chinups or Pullups
Deadlifts (once or twice a week)
Seated Row
Back Extension
Leg Press
Standing Calf Raises

Obviously I have some cardio in there as well. I also play college roller hockey, so I get a lot work there too. These are just the usual exercises i do. Sometimes not all of them either. I know I am missing one very key exercise...the Squat. I haven't really gotten into that exercise yet because my knees kinda hurt when I do them. Probably from all the hockey I play. Please critique and let me know if I am doing too many exercises or the wrong one. Thanks

no need for the lat pulldown if you're doing pullups....i'd concentrate on those...and get a belt and add weight to yourself if necessary.

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As you say, you need squats. They're essential. Your knees will hurt when you do them if you're still getting used to them , unless you have a knee condition outside of that. You're doing a lot of isolation stuff you probably don't need to do - direct biceps work, the calf raises, flys, shrugs, and the lateral raises (as you say) are definitely not key ingredients here. I'm sure many guys can tell you that they've added mass to, say, biceps without doing curls - I got way bigger traps/calves/biceps because I stopped doing isolation stuff and focused heavily on compound stuff.

I say that knowing, though, that you HAVE the compound stuff, you just have a lot of other stuff in there too that you don't need. One major point is that you don't need to isolate/target each specific body part, so that helps clean up a lot of routines and streamline them.

Sentinel is absolutely right, though - you've got some good stuff there and 3x8 isn't a bad setup, nor is 3x a week full body workouts. You probably need some tweaking and programming but it's not like you need a whole new routine.

One more thing about plateauing, as I had this problem once: I just wasn't moving up on bench. The problem was really nothing more complicated than that I wasn't eating enough to keep stimulating growth, and I was overestimating my caloric intake. So, along those lines, can you supply what your average daily intake is? If you're hitting a wall, 3mo. is a long time to run one program, but it could also be a diet thing.

Good luck and get to those squats man.

Oh I have no doubt Diet is a part of it. Being in college and working 5 days a week doesn't help. I try to get as good of meals in me as I can, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. I have no clue as to what my caloric intake would be.

As far as supplements go, im full of those so thats not the problem either. Just your typical ON, creatine, fish oil, flaxseed and green tea.

Thanks for the info so far, good to know Im doing pretty good for the most part. I will probably start doing squats, taking it slowly and building up. Like I said I play hockey, my lower body is absolutely stacked. So I think when I incorporate Squats its only going to help me.

Bingo! Some muscles such as chest are getting SLAMMED with up to 4 exercises while others such as legs only get ONE lol. Legs are your biggest muscles you have, so they need the most attention. That is the biggest list I've seen thus far in the past few years being a member on many forums.

If you're doing 3 sets of 8 reps for everything, there's absolutely no way you could lift with any kind of intensity doing that. If I was doing that, I'd be going through the motions about halfway through!

Here's a suggestion. Don't just jump on any routine. Instead, try putting some progression together along the same lines you are doing. Example:

Basically, I'm saying you don't need to bomb and blast every individual "section" of a muscle vs. grabbing a handful of compounds and gaining some sick strength and mass.

Workout A:
Bench or Dip
Incline Bench
Chin
Barbell Curl
Deadlift


Workout B:
Bench or Dip
Incline DB Press
Row
Decline Skull Crushers
Squat


It's really that simple. You don't need to individually work each and every "side" of a muscle. For example, shoulders don't need military presses (for the anterior), side laterals (medial), and rear delt work for (posterior).. They get blitzed fine if you're busting out some heavy chest presses and rows... Along the same mindset of which would you take: A 40 lb rear lateral raise or a 200 lb barbell row for your rear delts?

As far as volume goes, remember you're doing the same muscles every other day! That gives you a day and a half to recover. That amounts to keeping the amount of sets on the lower end of the spectrum. My suggestion is to keep the 3 x 8 and start progressing heavier. It shouldn't be a problem since you cut out all the clutter from what you were doing. After a few weeks, drop the reps down and continue. OR you could undulate your reps which is what I prefer. That means doing something like this:

Bench or Dip: 3 x 5
Incline DB Press: 3 x 8-10
Row: 4 x 8
Decline Skull Crushers: 2 x 15
Squat: 3 x 8-10

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Ok makes sense.

I don't particularly do all those exercises every time I work out. Thats why I said I'll just put down the exercises I have been doing but in no order.

My legs get a huge workout each week thats why I try not to blast em with a ton of exercises, especially with me riding the bike (cardio) and playing hockey 2-3 times a week. Like I said my lower body is really strong. I'm very happy I don't have the chicken leg problem haha.

Anyways I like the less cluttered routine Seems pretty straightforward.