Critique my routine

[Megadick3000]

Dig in boys. Too much volume? Not enough volume? Too much intensity? Not enough frequency? Too much frequency?

Notes:
+ symbol means supersetted with, as in no rest time between exercises
Last 2 sets of every exercise are performed to total failure, prior sets are performed to within 1-2 reps of failure
I dont really do warm up sets (i have sinned)
I dont workout with a spotter
Last set of most exercises are drop sets beyond failure (where applicable)
Im not on any gear and have not ran a cycle in over 4 years
Ab work gets thrown in randomly
Not currently deadlifting due to prior injuries. Squatting on leg days. Not dipping due to it giving me wrist and elbow issues lately.

Workout A (back, biceps):
Chin ups (AMRAP, 3 sets) + Rackpulls (6-8 reps, 3 sets)
DB standing bicep curls (8-10 reps, 4 sets) + barbell shrugs (8-10 reps, 4 sets)
T-bar standing cable bicep curls (8-10 reps, 4 sets) + V-bar seated cable rows (10-12 reps, 4 sets)
DB crossbody hammer curls (8-10 reps, 4 sets) + lat pulldowns (8-10 reps, 4 sets)

Workout B (chest, triceps):
Flat BB bench press (8-10 reps, 5 sets)
Guillotine BB bench press (8-10 reps, 5 sets)
Close grip BB bench press (8-10 reps, 4 sets) + Pec Dec Flyes (8-10 reps, 4 sets)
T-bar cable pushdowns (8-10 reps, 4 sets)
DB overhead Tricep extensions (8-10 reps, 2 sets)
DB Tricep kickbacks (8-10 reps, 3 sets)

Workout C (legs, shoulders):
BB back squats (8-10 reps, 3 sets)
Seated overhead BB press (8-10 reps, 4 sets) + leg press (8-10 reps, 2 sets at shoulder width, 2 sets at max width, 2 sets feet together) + leg extensions (8-10 reps, 6 sets)
DB or Cable side lateral raises (8-10 reps, 4 sets) + DB front raises (8-10 reps, 4 sets)
Incline bench laying reverse DB flyes (8-10 reps, 4 sets)

Workouts alternate for 5 days a week like so:
Monday “A”
Tuesday “B”
Wednesday “C”
Thursday “A”
Friday “B”
Saturday/sunday rest
Monday “C”... etc.

Sometimes rest days get broken up through the week. It depends on my schedule and also how im feeling in general. Its not always two days of rest in a row, sometimes its rest day after an ABC run.

On the V-bar cable rows reps are higher because i am maxed on the weight stack. Infact to totally fail i usually need upwards of 15 reps. To be honest i should probably switch to BB rows as i cannot add anymore weight to the exercise.

Over time i add a set to everything, then another set later on, then deload back to 4 sets with hopefully higher weight. I try to increase weight as often as i can but my joints tend to hold me back.

Sometimes i feel like i am over training. My recovery seems shit compared to past years of my life, im just getting fucking old i think. Keep in mind im off everything, AAS and GH. What do you guys think? I dont feel like im progressing, 2 years of COVID lockdowns peeled a lot of weight off me, i rapidly put back the majority of it within 2 months but now im stalling out. What would you change and why?

 

[Driada Medical]

Hello, sir!

I read that you add a set to everything but I can't get about weight progression and volume periodization, is there?

yes this this is more popular in PL, but I think its a base for every kind of sports progression

 

[Megadick3000]

Hello, sir!

I read that you add a set to everything but I can't get about weight progression and volume periodization, is there?

yes this this is more popular in PL, but I think its a base for every kind of sports progression

I progress weights whenever possible. If i can add weight and still hit my rep ranges then i add weight. If i try to add weight but fail to make my rep range then i dial the weight back down. Sometimes i can add weight from one workout to the next but only for one of the sets then exhuastion forces me to dial it back for other sets, sort of like pyramid sets if you will.

Volume, sets go up over several weeks until ive added 2 sets ontop of whats posted, after awhile i drop back to whats posted but with, when possible, heavier weights. I dont follow any specific periodization program, its mostly based on feelz, if i feel i need more volume i ratchet it up again. I base that on how well im recovering from the volume im using at the time.

 

[Driada Medical]

I progress weights whenever possible. If i can add weight and still hit my rep ranges then i add weight. If i try to add weight but fail to make my rep range then i dial the weight back down. Sometimes i can add weight from one workout to the next but only for one of the sets then exhuastion forces me to dial it back for other sets, sort of like pyramid sets if you will.

Volume, sets go up over several weeks until ive added 2 sets ontop of whats posted, after awhile i drop back to whats posted but with, when possible, heavier weights. I dont follow any specific periodization program, its mostly based on feelz, if i feel i need more volume i ratchet it up again. I base that on how well im recovering from the volume im using at the time.

Well, Megadick3000, you have a periodization, and its simple but it exist ( many athletes have no).
In my opinion its the most important thing in training.
You can progress linearly only if you are a complete beginner. Experienced athletes tend to enjoy small gains per cycle, because the higher you go, the more hard the move on.

Therefore, the very process of training - its strategy, I see more important than the routine of the number of repetitions.

In one of the Russian books by Louis Simmons, I read a clever idea that the essence of the training is the body adapting to a shift in homeostasis. And if training becomes a ROUTINE, then it becomes homeostasis, so no shift.

In the cross-fit "sect" there is a term "strategic deconditioning" - in fact, this is the very step back that is needed to jump forward.
However, the size of this jump begins to decrease with experience.
Titled powerlifters rejoice at such an increase of 10 kg per year.

Volume, sets go up over several weeks until ive added 2 sets ontop of whats posted, after awhile i drop back to whats posted but with, when possible, heavier weights. I dont follow any specific periodization program, its mostly based on feelz, if i feel i need more volume i ratchet it up again. I base that on how well im recovering from the volume im using at the time.

I made it in paint but I hope you will get my point

This is your periodisation

as the volume goes down , intensity increase

And here the thing i talk about.

probably it would make sense to mirror it after to get something like


this is a more suitable plan for long-term training, but still, I advise taking at least a few months of the year to complete rest


ok, I'm not so good at MS PAINT BRUSH but lazy morning is not the time to charge Mathplotlib n Python.

I hope I was able to describe my idea
have a good day,sir)

 

[Barbarian]

It seems to me that there is too much training volume in your program. No wonder you get too tired. In this case, it seems to me that it is worth abandoning approaches to complete rejection.

I practiced similar workouts, but the rest between training days was always much more. I am definitely sure that the muscles of the upper body need to be trained several times a week, but then there should be no failure repetitions in such heavy exercises as bench press.

In my experience, the refusal of basic exercises leads to a significant increase in rest between workouts.

 

[Driada Medical]

I practiced similar workouts, but the rest between training days was always much more. I am definitely sure that the muscles of the upper body need to be trained several times a week, but then there should be no failure repetitions in such heavy exercises as bench press.

And your rest between workouts was always the same ?
Did you use something to recover faster?

 

[Megadick3000]

It seems to me that there is too much training volume in your program. No wonder you get too tired. In this case, it seems to me that it is worth abandoning approaches to complete rejection.

I practiced similar workouts, but the rest between training days was always much more. I am definitely sure that the muscles of the upper body need to be trained several times a week, but then there should be no failure repetitions in such heavy exercises as bench press.

In my experience, the refusal of basic exercises leads to a significant increase in rest between workouts.

So your of the opinion im doing too much volume + intensity + frequency?

You think i should either reduce volume (cut some sets out) or reduce frequency (once a week per workout?) or dial back intensity (no failure on certain lofts, no drop sets?) or all 3?

Because on paper my volumes really not -that- crazy. My intensity is pretty high though.

 

[Megadick3000]

Well, Megadick3000, you have a periodization, and its simple but it exist ( many athletes have no).
In my opinion its the most important thing in training.
You can progress linearly only if you are a complete beginner. Experienced athletes tend to enjoy small gains per cycle, because the higher you go, the more hard the move on.

Therefore, the very process of training - its strategy, I see more important than the routine of the number of repetitions.

In one of the Russian books by Louis Simmons, I read a clever idea that the essence of the training is the body adapting to a shift in homeostasis. And if training becomes a ROUTINE, then it becomes homeostasis, so no shift.

In the cross-fit "sect" there is a term "strategic deconditioning" - in fact, this is the very step back that is needed to jump forward.
However, the size of this jump begins to decrease with experience.
Titled powerlifters rejoice at such an increase of 10 kg per year.


I made it in paint but I hope you will get my point

This is your periodisation
View attachment 165727
as the volume goes down , intensity increase

And here the thing i talk about.
View attachment 165723
probably it would make sense to mirror it after to get something like

View attachment 165725
this is a more suitable plan for long-term training, but still, I advise taking at least a few months of the year to complete rest


ok, I'm not so good at MS PAINT BRUSH but lazy morning is not the time to charge Mathplotlib n Python.

I hope I was able to describe my idea
have a good day,sir)

I appreciate the effort.

I used to apply the following 6-week training cycle system:

Week 1: target rep range 8-10 for 4 sets
Week 2: target rep range 4-6 for 4 sets
Week 3: target rep range 8-10 for 5 sets
Week 4: target rep range 4-6 for 5 sets
Week 5: target rep range 8-10 for 6 sets
Week 6: target rep range 4-6 for 6 sets
REPEAT

On the lower rep range weeks i did heavier weights than on the higher rep range weeks. The goal being failure within the rep range, at least on the final 2 sets. The lower rep weeks were more for building strength and the higher rep weeks for hypertrophy. Sets increased progressively.

However i retired about 4 years ago and began travelling the world. I am constantly travelling places every couple weeks. Because of this i cannot strictly follow my usual system as its frequently being interrupted by my travelling. Its because of this i also have not ran any cycles of AAS in years, only some GH due to no PCT required so i can just stop when i depart to travel.

 

[Demondosage]

Looks good to me, only change I’d make is a rep range change up every other week or so, get into some of those higher rep schemes with lighter weights. Not every workout, just from time to time

 

[Driada Medical]

On the lower rep range weeks i did heavier weights than on the higher rep range weeks.

In my opinion it should work another way:
pay attention to the terms on the charts

volume = weight x reps

so the volume in weightlifting counts as TONNAGE - how many tonnes of weight you worked during the training.

Intensity is a maximum weight per training calculated as a % of 1-rep max

what you have done here is always replace intensity with volume, but the resulting "damage" of training is the same

and is there a low-intensity and low-volume training?

I think you will not argue that some body systems require more time to recover than others.
For example joints and ligaments. Еhe nervous system exhaustion causing a type of depression associated with a lack of neurotransmitters



you may add a one-week recreational training with a lightweight, pump, and some cardio. make some effort on stabilizers and other small and weak muscles that prevent injuries

 

[Megadick3000]

In my opinion it should work another way:
pay attention to the terms on the charts

volume = weight x reps

so the volume in weightlifting counts as TONNAGE - how many tonnes of weight you worked during the training.

Intensity is a maximum weight per training calculated as a % of 1-rep max

what you have done here is always replace intensity with volume, but the resulting "damage" of training is the same

and is there a low-intensity and low-volume training?

I think you will not argue that some body systems require more time to recover than others.
For example joints and ligaments. Еhe nervous system exhaustion causing a type of depression associated with a lack of neurotransmitters

View attachment 165960

you may add a one-week recreational training with a lightweight, pump, and some cardio. make some effort on stabilizers and other small and weak muscles that prevent injuries

I understand brother.

Traditionally in my scheme mentioned, week 7 would be a rest week (no volume or intensity).

Is there really any advantage to doing a low intensity, low volume week verse just a complete week of rest?

The way ive always seen it is low volume and intensity is not going to stimulate growth, so why not just rest completely instead, which is presumably going to be better for the joints and tendons?

 

[Driada Medical]

Is there really any advantage to doing a low intensity, low volume week verse just a complete week of rest?

It depends, but I think there is.


the fact is that in the same Russian book by Louis Simmons, another interesting idea was indicated, that rest is a change in the type of activity.

Even low-intensity cardio will give you more than just lying on your back. Man is made to move. Part of the processes in the body is designed for movement, and digestion and blood transfer.
Bedridden patients have a very high mortality rate precisely because of the lack of mechanical movement.

There are a lot of scientific studies on this topic, but I think this question is quite transparent.

So I would choose to move at low intensity or low BPM cardio. For sure

 

[Hightower]

It depends, but I think there is.


the fact is that in the same Russian book by Louis Simmons, another interesting idea was indicated, that rest is a change in the type of activity.

Even low-intensity cardio will give you more than just lying on your back. Man is made to move. Part of the processes in the body is designed for movement, and digestion and blood transfer.
Bedridden patients have a very high mortality rate precisely because of the lack of mechanical movement.

There are a lot of scientific studies on this topic, but I think this question is quite transparent.

So I would choose to move at low intensity or low BPM cardio. For sure

Excellent words. Another scientist said that no medicine can replace movement, but movement can. Movement is life. Therefore, you need to move, low-intensity loads are only in favor.

 

[Barbarian]

So your of the opinion im doing too much volume + intensity + frequency?

You think i should either reduce volume (cut some sets out) or reduce frequency (once a week per workout?) or dial back intensity (no failure on certain lofts, no drop sets?) or all 3?

Because on paper my volumes really not -that- crazy. My intensity is pretty high though.

It is very difficult to talk about how much training load should be if there is no statistical data. I have been keeping a training diary for a very long time where I see my training weights and can analyze in which places I made mistakes if my weights fall as well as my own body weight falls. You need to understand the pattern of why you are not recovering.

For example, I realized that my results in the bench press progress well when I press 3 times a week (for example, Mon, Wed, Fri), but as soon as I start using weights more than 80% of 1 of my maximum often, my result drops and I begin to feel slight discomfort in my shoulder joints. This is a clear sign that my intensity is too high in this exercise. Next, I conclude about the training load with regard to the bench press. If, in addition, I start doing heavy delta exercises, then most likely I will get injured. Now I have talked about how you can draw a conclusion on the example of a specific exercise. I would do something like this for each heavy exercise like squats and deadlifts and then build a wave periodization as Driada Medical wrote.

This is a very big topic that requires a lot of attention. In my experience and the experience of many of my friends powerlifters - when you're over 30 - doing exercises like squats and deadlifts is better once every two weeks. For example, one week you do squats, and the other week you do deadlifts. At the same time, in each of these days, you can do exercises on machines to grow your legs.

 

[Driada Medical]

when you're over 30 - doing exercises like squats and deadlifts is better once every two weeks. For example, one week you do squats, and the other week you do deadlifts. At the same time, in each of these days, you can do exercises on machines to grow your legs.

Hello, sir!

100% Agree. but I would add: when you're over 30 or your 1rm is around 300kg

 

[Barbarian]

Most likely yes. I am completely in favor of taking into account the tonnage of the load both weekly and each workout, but first you need to understand what % weight to work with and how often it needs to be done for heavy exercises and for large muscle groups.

I am sure that it is possible to train the biceps more often than the legs, but you need to deal with the intensity so as not to get chronic inflammation of the tendons.

 

[Hightower]

I think it takes time to control this and correctly dose and cycle loads.