My workout: Advice Please! - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

DAVID_1157 · 02-08-2003, 11:55 AM

I am 73 kilos (I think that's 162 lbs), and 1.79 metres (5'9 or something???)

My split is:

Monday:

Chest: Bench Press
Chest: Flies
Chest: This pull down thing that does abs and pecs.
Biceps: 3 sets of curls (12 kgs dumbells)
Triceps: 3 sets of tricep pull downs (I think 32 lbs or something)
Forearms: Mix and Match with 10 kg dumbells. Twist them just over a flat bench, raise them up just with my wrist or do reverse curls. Usually about three sets of any of those combinations.
Calves: 3 sets of calf raises (140 kgs or is it lbs?)

Wednesday:

Legs:
3 sets of sqauts @ 190 lbs
Hamstring lying down pull up thing: 4 sets @ 12 and 15 lbs
Quads - LEg rasies 4 sets of 12, 10, 8 and 6 @ ~130, 150, 170, 190 lbs
Leg Presses: 3 sets @ 360 lbs
3 sets of squats @ 200
Calves like Monday

Friday:

Shoulders: Shoulder raise where you lift it up behind you straight up: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6 and 4 @ ~ 100, 110, 115, 120
Back and Shoulders: Upright Row:
Shoulders and Back: Pull Down
Biceps: LIke MOnday
Triceps: Liek Monday
Forearms: LIke MOnday
Calves: Like Monday

I also do abs quite well on most days first thing in the morning.

I'm pretty sure I get one gram of protein per lb of body weight a day. I take protein shakes twice a day, first and last thing, and on a workout day after the workout and last thing before I go to bed.

My questions

1) I want to maybe take away one of my sets of sqauts and add the deadlift. Is this a good idea? I never feel that sore after doing squats. Maybe this is because I'm doing it incorrectly or something.

2) My arms and forearms look very small and weak in proportion to the rest of my body. I can do 160 lbs bench press for 6 reps, 120lbs shoulder raise for 6 sets, 200lbs squats - I'm sure 12 kg curls are proportionally too little. I'm sure this is partially genetic - my wirsts are very small - I can go around them with my index finger and thumb! But I'm also sure I neglect these areas because I concentrate more on chest, legs and shoulders on my respective workout days. Should I maybe re-arrange and dedicate a day just to arms?

Thanks a lot,
DAVID

CanadianConvict · 02-08-2003, 01:33 PM

(1)Definitely add deadlifts to your legs routine. Deads are important for your hamstrings, lower back, and are excellent for overall mass as well. The three big lifts are deads, squats, and bench presses. If you never get sore from squats you could try a couple of advanced techniques. You can try to pause at the bottom of your rep and just hold it there for 10 seconds. Or you could try a 30 sec squat....where you go slow enough to get one rep in 30 seconds. Or you might just need to squat lower or add more weight to your squats. You dont always have to feel sore to know you have done a good job though, failure is a good way of telling.

(2) Personally, i dont think that you are doing enough for arms. Close-grip bench and standing bar curls are really good for gaining size and strength, i would also add one or two more isolation exercises to both your triceps and biceps. Honestly i found that exercising my back, biceps, and doing deadlifts increased the size of my forearms way more than any isolation exercise would....maybe you dont need to do wrist curls, but thats up to you. I also noticed that on your routine you were doing shoulder before back. Just FYI, do larger muscle groups first before going to smaller ones.

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~If your not going to give 110% at the gym then why bother going at all~

H8CC · 02-08-2003, 08:27 PM

a contrasting view - i think your doing plenty for arms, maybe to much but thats just me. i only do maybe 3 sets for bis and tris per week. thats pretty much a personal thing though, but......
dude, wheres the back? unless i read that wrong just one exercise for lats?
i would bet that if you added more compound back movements, your bis would benefit. maybe bent over rows, pull/chin ups added to your pulldowns.

H8CC

DAVID_1157 · 02-09-2003, 06:00 AM

Good advice there - thanks. I'll take that all into consideration.

I'll start doing deadlifts on Wednesdays. Never done these before so will check a website to find out the technique. What kind of weight do you think I should start at, judging from the weights I'm currently doing in my other leg workouts? I'll give that leg squat 30 second thing a go too.

I think I'll just vary my arm routine it more and work harder on it - I'm sort of doing it half-heartedly at the moment.

I have been neglecting my back a little. I'll start doing that first and harder on a shoulder day. But I think I'm doing two back exercises. When I wrote upright row, I meant compound row which I think does your back.

I'll keep you posted on how I get on. Cheers,
DAVID

DAVID_1157 · 02-12-2003, 05:46 AM

Today is my leg workout day and I want to start doing deadlifts. I've never done a deadlift before but I think I know how to do them. You just lift with your back and legs right? What kind of weight do you think I should start at, judging from the other weights I'm lifting (see above)?