proposed new rotuine!

hey guys

its time for a new routine for me, i was thinking maybe the following:

Day 1, Chest Abs
_________________
Incline bench press 2 sets 6-8 reps (after warmup 1-2 sets 12-15 reps)
Flat bench using bb/db 2 sets 6-8 reps (1-2 sets warmup)
Incline flies 2 sets 8-10 reps

Abs:

4 sets 15-20 reps hanging leg raises
4 sets 15 crunches

Day 2, Back/Traps
_________________
Back:
Lat pulldown, 2 sets 4-6 reps
Deadlifts, 3 sets 6-8 reps
BB/db rowing 2 sets 4-6 reps

Traps:
Either db/bb shrugs: 3 sets 8-10 reps

Day 3 - Rest

Day 4: Legs (calves, hammies, quads)
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Calves:
4 sets 15-20 reps standing calf raise
4 sets seated calf raise

Hammies:

2 sets leg curl, lying/seated 8-10 reps (havent got access to one atm)

3 sets straight legged dead 8-10 reps

Quads:
squats 3 sets 6-8 reps (sometimes front, sometimes back)
leg extensions, 2 sets 8-10 (light weight, due to the recent concern of leg extension possibly being dangerous)


Day 5: Shoulders/Tricep/Bicep
__________________________
Tricep

3 sets close grip bench press 6-8 reps (after warmup)
2 sets tricep kickback 6-8 reps

Bicep
3 sets standing straight bar curls 6-8 reps (1 warmup set)
2 sets 8-10 reps hammer curls

Shoulders
3 sets shoulder press 9either using db/smith machine) 6-8 reps
2 sets bent over side lateral raises (6-8 reps)

Day 6 - Rest

Day 7 - Repeat, day 1


That's what i proposed to do, id appreciate all the flaming/criticising possible, so i can make it better, what exercises would u guys get rid of, and what about my sets-reps, im not 'new' but still find it hard making a decent routine

oh, and the other question was, ive read numerous articles saying calves can be done a lot with high sets:reps, should i change it and do them every time or what? and the same for abs (i realise how visible they're largely depends upon bf)

cheers guys

sorry for the long writeup:)

would help if you provided everyone with your older routine to see how much its changed up and what suggestions to give

hey critter, my old routine that i was recently using was baed on HST principles and was a full body workout (just wanted to see how i respond to full body workouts), but i personally feel i get more out of splitting it up into 1/2 bodyparts/day

Seems like day 1 & 5 aren't balanced very well. Day 1 is Chest/Abs and day 5 having Shoulders/Bis/Tris I think is a bit much for one day. I can't do back the day after bis or my back routine suffers and I usually need to lay off the upper body for a couple days after chest so you may want to swap around your days 2 & 4 as well.

Day 1, Chest Abs
_________________
Incline bench press 2 sets 6-8 reps (after warmup 1-2 sets 12-15 reps)
Flat bench using bb/db 2 sets 6-8 reps (1-2 sets warmup)
Incline flies 2 sets 8-10 reps

i would do 3 sets on all stations skip the warm ups on the flat bench since you should be already warmed up from incline bench


Abs:

4 sets 15-20 reps hanging leg raises
4 sets 15 crunches

good

Day 2, Back/Traps
_________________
Back:
Lat pulldown, 2 sets 4-6 reps
Deadlifts, 3 sets 6-8 reps
BB/db rowing 2 sets 4-6 reps

I would do 3 sets on all stations here

Traps:
Either db/bb shrugs: 3 sets 8-10 reps

good

Day 3 - Rest

good

Day 4: Legs (calves, hammies, quads)
__________________________________
Calves:
4 sets 15-20 reps standing calf raise
4 sets seated calf raise

Hammies:

2 sets leg curl, lying/seated 8-10 reps (havent got access to one atm)
3 sets straight legged dead 8-10 reps

looks good

Quads:
squats 3 sets 6-8 reps (sometimes front, sometimes back)
leg extensions, 2 sets 8-10 (light weight, due to the recent concern of leg extension possibly being dangerous)

looks good


Day 5: Shoulders/Tricep/Bicep
__________________________
Tricep

3 sets close grip bench press 6-8 reps (after warmup)
2 sets tricep kickback 6-8 reps

I would replace kickbacks with skull crushers

Bicep
3 sets standing straight bar curls 6-8 reps (1 warmup set)
2 sets 8-10 reps hammer curls

looks good

Shoulders
3 sets shoulder press 9either using db/smith machine) 6-8 reps
2 sets bent over side lateral raises (6-8 reps)

looks good

Day 6 - Rest

good

Day 7 - Repeat, day 1

all and all looks fine

Quote:

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Originally Posted by doby48

Seems like day 1 & 5 aren't balanced very well. Day 1 is Chest/Abs and day 5 having Shoulders/Bis/Tris I think is a bit much for one day. I can't do back the day after bis or my back routine suffers and I usually need to lay off the upper body for a couple days after chest so you may want to swap around your days 2 & 4 as well.

---

hey,

i did think about chest/tris/abs

but well wasnt too sure, thanks for the suggestions, i may change 2 and 4 just thinking about it:)

does anyone see anything wrong with the sets/reps i have chosen and the exercises?


and what about my ab/calves question

once again, cheers all:)

With regards to Abs & Calves, you will get different opinions but most people will say either 1 or 2 days a week is enough. I do Abs 2x a week and do Calves 1x a week on Quads day, but I do Hams on a seperate day and calves get worked pretty good on some of the ham exercises I do.

I do 3 sets of 10 for my calves, the biggest thing I have found is to hold each one for about a 5 count. So... raise hold for 5 sec then go back down and repeat 10 times for 3 sets.

thanks doby

so any last comments, before it goes into action, the sets/reps are ok?
:)

It looks pretty good to me.

Like doby said though some people say hit abs 1, 2, or even 3 days a week. I'm one of the people that has to hit them 3 times a week atleast to really crack them in shape. So it is all up to how your body responds to your routine.