I work out about once every other day with the following plan kept in mind. My problem is that I almost always skip one or two of the exercises because I get too exhausted towards the end.
Basically I have three questions:
1) How should I effectively group the following exercises per session?
2) How many days between sessions?
2) How much should I rest between sets? Right now I take about 30sec between sets.
Exercises:
Barbell Curls: 3 of 8
Push Downs: 3 of 8
Bench Dips: 3 of 8
Bench Press: 3 of 8
Squat: 3 of 8
Leg Lift: 3 of 10
Barbell Deadlift: 3 of 8
Calf Raises: 4 of 20
Thank You in advance!
Well, I like the workout... it is really old skool, like a workout from the 60's. those simple workouts were sometimes the best at building muscle... simplicity is best when trying to put on size and strength.
I do however notice that you have two exercises for the triceps. I would cut out the bench dips, it is pretty much duplicating the movements done in the push downs and the bench presses. Once you exhaust the muscle, it is done. Only a small segment of the population can train past muscle failure and get results... it requires too much recuperation and can leave you vulnerable to colds and viruses by taxing your immune system. That is the main advantage to steroids, they make the body able to recuperate from super intense workouts much, much faster.
When you say deadlift... is it the powerlifting kind with the opposing grip or the stiff legged version for the hamstrings and spinal erectors? I would suggest the powerlifting kind. You will need to be VERY warmed up for the deadlift and might need 3 warmup sets before you hit your final and heaviest set. Pyramid up in your weight with your most intense and heaviest set last, this will keep your joints safe.
By leg lift, do you mean a leg curl (hamstrings) or a leg extension (quadriceps)? It doesn't matter... cut it out, 'cause the deadlifts and squats are all that you need to build strength and mass in your lower body. Increase the sets of the deadlifts and squats to 4 each... the first set should be
very light and the weight increased each set until he last set you can only do 8-10 reps with the last rep being pretty hard to do. If you don't have a spotter, do the squats
inside of a power rack and set the poles so that you can ditch the bar and slide out from under it if you are not gonna make it.
I see nothing for your lats and traps... please add in barbell rows, T-bar rows (recommended), or one arm dumbell rows for this very important muscle group. Barbell shrugs will give you a bit of extra power in your deadlift and protect your shoulder girdle from injury... when I was a bouncer I only concentrated on dumbell shrugs and tricep extensions since the elbow and shoulder get worn out when you break up fights.
It is a push/pull based workout
Day One
Squat: 4 of 6-10
Bench Press: 3 of 6-10
Push Downs: 3 of 8-12
Day Two - Off
Day Three
Barbell Deadlift: 3 of 6-10
Calf Raises: 4 of 20 (this is so you can get a bit of a break between the deadlifts and the rows)
Barbell or T-Bar Rows: 3 of 8-10
Barbell Curls: 3 of 8-12
Day Four - Off
I didn't put in anything for your delts. Until your bench press is strong enough (200+), I wouldn't mess with your delts because bursitis is a nasty, nasty condition. The shoulder is a very delicate joint with 360 degree mobility and can be easily over-trained and injured.
If you are still sore on day three, take another day off before you do the deadlift based workout. You only grow
after you are recuperated from the last workout.
As far as resting between sets, only rest long enough so you don't blow the next set due to going too fast through your workout. Rest longer between the squats, bench presses and deadlifts... you will need it.
Was that too much information? Get a bunch of rest, eat plenty of high quality protein and drink lots of fluids. Make sure that you eat a post workout meal within half an hour of working out, this decreases your recovery time required between workouts. Good Luck! :smile:
