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Hi,

I've been lifting for 4 1/2 months now and I wanted to check in and see if anyone recommends any changes with my routine. I'm interested in a combination of strength and size however lately I've been going heavier and wanted to emphasize more on strength. My current routine is 3 sets of 6 reps. I use a constant weight so I can get 6 reps on each set. I pick a weight that I can do for 6 reps and not go to failure on any set. When I first started lifting I was all over the place. Since then I got some advice and I have steadily decreased the reps and added weight trying not to over do it, and slowly get into lifting heavier weights safely. Over the past 2 1/2 months I have done a few weeks of 3x12, then a few weeks of 3x10 followed by 3x8 and so I just started my first week at 3x6. Here are the days I lift and the exercises I do. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Monday
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Bench Press - 3 sets of 6 reps
Incline Bench Press - 3 sets of 6 reps
Military Press - 3 sets of 6 reps
Standing Side Lateral Dumbell Raises - 3 sets 6 reps
Bent Over Lat Raises - 3 sets of 6 reps

Tuesday
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Rest/Cardio

Wednesday
-----------
Squats - 3 sets of 6 reps
Deadlifts - 3 sets of 6 reps
Lying Leg Curls - 3 sets of 6 reps
One Leg Calf Raises - 3 sets of 12 reps

Thursday
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Rest/Cardio

Friday
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Lat Pulldowns (In front of neck) - 3 sets 6 reps
Bent Over Rows - 3 sets of 6 reps
Barbell Curls - 3 sets of 6 reps

Saturday
--------
Rest/Cardio

Sunday
-------
Rest/Cardio

The only reason why I would change what you're doing is if you've stopped progressing, you're so bored that you don't really wanna workout, or your joints need a rest (to name a few). Basically, don't fix it if it isn't broken.

Why do you think you need a change?

__________________
"Pain don't hurt" - Dalton

"NO, this is my squat rack. Go get your own!"

"Damn that's shit heavy" - Wolf


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I have to agree with Kane. If your current routine is working why change it?

I'm not sure exactly how to tell if I'm progressing.

I also wasn't sure if working every body part/muscle group once per week was enough or if 3 sets per exercise was enough.

Thanks for the help.

Progressing means you're able to keep adding weight, reps, or sets.

If you're continually putting more weight on the bar then you will grow (if you eat enough)

yeah kane said it right. throw like 10 to 20 pounds on every few weeks and see if you can complete it. once you stop being able to do it switch up. and i guess normally a program lasts around 6 to 8 weeks. bu tif you been on yours longer an dits working for you keep it going

__________________
OH SHIT!!!! ITS THE COPS!!!!

You clearly don't know shit about fuck - KANE

You're not some sort of mystical creature that is immune to a training effect- KANE

I wish there was an entity that represented the term "injury" if it was, i would find it and beat the living shit out of it!!!!!

yes......i just type and press enter, i dont proofread i did enough of that in college. you know what i meant when i typed it anyway

Agreed.

Every few weeks I've been increasing the weight but doing less reps so I don't know if I'm really making any progress. I guess I would have to decrease the weight back to what I was doing and see if I can get more reps than I did before.

I haven't tried to see what my one rep max is in any of the lifts except for benching. I guess I need to do that to see if they increase a few months down the road.

Try a small decrease in the weight and see if you can add a rep. If you can add 1 rep then that's a good thing, then next time you can try and put that the weight back on and try to get the same reps. Or you can add another rep, just don't get carried away adding reps until you've got a set of 15 reps lol.

Here's what I mean:

Week 1: Hit 135 for 5 reps
Week 2: Do 130 for 6 reps (using 6 as your target for that set)
Week 3: Try 135 for 6 reps or do 130 for 7 reps
Week 4: 140 for 6 reps or 135 for 7 reps
etc..

Hell, you could even do the first 2 sets at 6 reps and the 3rd set at 7 reps, then the next time do the first set for 6 reps and the last 2 for 7 reps.

As long as you do more than you did the time before you're progressing. It doesn't necessarily have to be week to week either, it could be 2 weeks, a month, just as long as there is an overall improvement.

Beautiful.