Workout Routines

[weighted chinup]

This is good shit right here. I'm looking at making some changes now too after reading this. I've been doing a really basic 2 day on, 1 day off cycle of

Chest, shoulder, tri
Back, bi
Legs,abs

But I've been noticing good progress in some areas, not so good in others.

I did a 10x10 last chest, shoulder, tri day. Picked 1 exercise per muscle group. Did flat bench press, shoulder press and overhead dumbbell tri press. It was a great change up.

Thanks for the inspiration to look at more changes

I like this split Furious. Frequency seems to be good.

What areas are you not satisfied with your progress in? Maybe some slight adjustments in exercise selection or volume are all you need to bring the other areas up to par.

 

[FuriousWO]

I'm definitely not an advanced lifter, have a little more than a year under my belt this time. I was lifting years ago when I was in my 20's but not for size, for endurance and strength. This go around in my early 40's I realized I was turning into a blob at 5'11 205 and 28% body fat. Today I'm sitting much better 5'11 180 13% and looking good, but now I'm trying to add lean mass.

I've seen decent progress in my chest, shoulders and tri's, but my biceps seem to be lagging behind a bit. I haven't been doing any chin-ups or chest dips, after reading this thread I'm going to add those in and see where I'm at in 4-6 weeks.

I'm really happy to see this thread at meso, like others I think it was much needed around here.

 

[weighted chinup]

I'm definitely not an advanced lifter, have a little more than a year under my belt this time. I was lifting years ago when I was in my 20's but not for size, for endurance and strength. This go around in my early 40's I realized I was turning into a blob at 5'11 205 and 28% body fat. Today I'm sitting much better 5'11 180 13% and looking good, but now I'm trying to add lean mass.

I've seen decent progress in my chest, shoulders and tri's, but my biceps seem to be lagging behind a bit. I haven't been doing any chin-ups or chest dips, after reading this thread I'm going to add those in and see where I'm at in 4-6 weeks.

I'm really happy to see this thread at meso, like others I think it was much needed around here.

Furious,

Your split is fairly similar to mine. For me, the most effective lifts for biceps have been weighted chinups and heavy rowing with lots of volume. I use rowing primarily for middle back development, but it has also been extremely useful for bicep growth. I would attribute most of my bicep related gains to heavy poundage's used in chin ups and during rows.

There are 2 back exercises in particular that I found out to be extremely effective at hitting your biceps. Better than any curl variation I have ever come across for overall bicep growth.

Weighted Chin-Ups
- Great for lats and Great for arms. I like doing these with strict rest pause. Your biceps will get hit plenty here.

Seated Row
- Do this with a Neutral Grip and your elbows tucked in. Not only is this extra volume for middle back/rhomboids/rear delts/lats, but its absolutely amazing for bicep growth. Heavy fucking seated rows with the right grip WILL hit your biceps HARD.

Incorporate these 2 lifts into your back day and focus on getting really strong in them.


If you want a more complete back day with slightly more emphasis on your biceps, how about something like this:

Weighted Chin Up
Wide Grip Pull Up
A Horizontal Row of your choice (ideally a compound)
A Reverse Fly of your choice
Seated Rows
A Bicep Curl Variant of your choice

Do plenty of volume for rowing and weighted chin ups, you will be surprised how unnecessary insane amounts of bicep isolation exercises are.

 

[FuriousWO]

Awesome thanks buddy, I'll definitely incorporate these this week. It's back day on Wednesday so I'll give this a try and report back.
Thanks for taking the time to lay this out for me.

 

[weighted chinup]

Awesome thanks buddy, I'll definitely incorporate these this week. It's back day on Wednesday so I'll give this a try and report back.
Thanks for taking the time to lay this out for me.

No worries man. These 2 lifts + Wide Grip Pull ups I found to put slightly more emphasis on your overall arm development than most other back lifts I have messed around with. Add them into your normal routine for a little bit and see how it works. I still believe in doing bicep isolation though, but with good exercise selection I find I only need one bicep curl variant to fully stimulate my biceps.

Seated Rows isn't my primary lift for middle back (chest supported rows are), but they are certainly the best row when it comes to hitting my biceps (neutral grip), so I decided to incorporate them for that reason into my routine.

Keep the volume high for chin ups and rows and most importantly keep getting stronger, and you will see improvements in bicep size.

 

[FuriousWO]

On my back/bi days, which are relatively short, Ive been doing 3-4 back and 2 bicep exercises for 3, sometimes 4 sets, 8-10 reps. Maybe its time I step this up now that Im not a complete noob at this again? Here's what I have been doing

Back (usually 4 sets, 8-10 reps)
Alternate these two every other workout

• Bent over barbell row
• 1 arm dumbbell row

Choose two of these

• Close grip pulldown
• Wide grip pulldown (not very often)
• Machine high row
• Straight arm pushdown

Always

• Weighted back extensions

Bi (3 sets, 8-10 reps)
Choose two of these

• Barbell curl
• Dumbbell curl
• Hammer curl
• machine preacher curl

I hope Im not hijacking this thread... if so I'll take to another one

 

[weighted chinup]

Your exercise selection looks good furious. Especially the number of exercises you do. Volume looks good as well.

Instead of alternating lifts, I would recommend you pick your 2-3 major lifts and do those ones every time you train back, rather than alternating or swapping them out. Progressive overload is very important for long term progress and the more frequently you do your lifts the better. Change for the sake of change isn't always wise, I think its better to stick to 2-3 major lifts per muscle and get as strong as you can rather than continuously changing exercise selection.

I went into more detail about this in another thread but I believe you only really need 3 kinds of movements to fully address your upper back development.

A vertical pull
for lat development

A Horizontal Row
for middle back / rhomboids

A Reverse fly
for rear delts

So to start off I would find 1 lift for each of these movements and incorporate that as the main part of my back routine. Once you have your lifts down you can start adding other lifts for variety or extra volume, but stick with 2-3 lifts CONSISTENTLY and focus on getting stronger in them.

My thoughts on your choices:

Your horizontal rows are actually pretty good. I am personally not a huge fan of barbell b-over rows, too much legs middle back and body English.

Dumbbell Rows are solid but I think doing them 2 arms at a time is more ideal for symmetrical reasons. Its also wise to support yourself on your chest (lying on a bench) when doing these so you can reduce body english and take your lower back out of the equation.

So my suggestion is pick a vertical pull a horizontal row and a reverse fly. Do these 3 lifts every time you do back and keep them in your routine / back day permanently and focus on getting really strong in them.

You should also add in additional lifts as well, like an extra row or an extra pull, just for variety and volume.

Here's a good way to structure your back day that gives you plenty of volume and room for additional exercise variety.

Vertical Pull
Another Vertical Pull Excercise
Horizontal Row
Reverse Fly
Another Horizontal Row
Bicep Isolation

Here are some exercises that I find place a little more emphasis on overall arm growth

Vertical Pulls: Chin-Ups, Wide Grip Pull Ups
Horizontal Rows: Chest Supported Row (Machine), Chest Supported Dumbbell Row, Seated Row (Neutral Grip), Inverted Row
Reverse Fly: Reverse Pec Deck Fly, Rear Delt Flys, Lying Incline Rear Delt Flys

My back day looks like:

Weighted Chin Up
Weighted Pull Up
Wide Grip Pull Up (BW)
Chest Supported Dumbbell Row
Reverse Pec Deck Fly
Neutral grip Seated Rows
Lying Cable Curl

Weighted Chin Ups and Chest Supported Rows and my rear delt fly are my main lifts for back. I added in extra lifts for variety and to increase volume but most of my results come from Weighted Chin Ups and Chest Supported Rows.

 

[FuriousWO]

Thanks man, i appreciate all the feedback, I'll try this out Wednesday and let you know how it goes.

 

[pmac928]

I'm definitely not an advanced lifter, have a little more than a year under my belt this time. I was lifting years ago when I was in my 20's but not for size, for endurance and strength. This go around in my early 40's I realized I was turning into a blob at 5'11 205 and 28% body fat. Today I'm sitting much better 5'11 180 13% and looking good, but now I'm trying to add lean mass.

I've seen decent progress in my chest, shoulders and tri's, but my biceps seem to be lagging behind a bit. I haven't been doing any chin-ups or chest dips, after reading this thread I'm going to add those in and see where I'm at in 4-6 weeks.

I'm really happy to see this thread at meso, like others I think it was much needed around here.

I'm 6' 200lbs about 10-12%bf it's hard to ad lean mass. I find the harder I work(career) and sweat the leaner I become. I feel it all about genetics, I'll never have the body I dream of but have become content with the results I've gained over the past 7 months, hard earned but the compliments are why I train like I do. Keep it up furious

 

[Ozzy619]

On my back/bi days, which are relatively short, Ive been doing 3-4 back and 2 bicep exercises for 3, sometimes 4 sets, 8-10 reps. Maybe its time I step this up now that Im not a complete noob at this again? Here's what I have been doing

Back (usually 4 sets, 8-10 reps)
Alternate these two every other workout

• Bent over barbell row
• 1 arm dumbbell row

Choose two of these

• Close grip pulldown
• Wide grip pulldown (not very often)
• Machine high row
• Straight arm pushdown

Always

• Weighted back extensions

Bi (3 sets, 8-10 reps)
Choose two of these

• Barbell curl
• Dumbbell curl
• Hammer curl
• machine preacher curl

I hope Im not hijacking this thread... if so I'll take to another one

You're good man, feel free to post anything you want right here, that's how you're going to get the feedback and make the progress you want.

 

[HuckingFuge]

I'm 6' 200lbs about 10-12%bf it's hard to ad lean mass. I find the harder I work(career) and sweat the leaner I become. I feel it all about genetics, I'll never have the body I dream of but have become content with the results I've gained over the past 7 months, hard earned but the compliments are why I train like I do. Keep it up furious

I find hard gainers do not eat enough fat. consuming fat will not make you fat.

 

[brutus79]

I find hard gainers do not eat enough fat. consuming fat will not make you fat.

But consuming penis made you a total dick- how do you explain that total lack of correlation?

 

[pmac928]

I find hard gainers do not eat enough fat. consuming fat will not make you fat.[/
I can eat anything(and do) but it doesn't matter, genetics play the biggest role in the human body. But as I get older the weight seems a bit easier to put on, plus the gear helps

 

[HuckingFuge]

how much fat do you consume in a day?

 

[pmac928]

I eat 5 meals everyday, chk, fish, eggs,turkey, protein po wo, and before bed. I actually don't count fat calories. However on most days at work I can walk miles swing a chainsaw, or a pick ax. So the amount of calories I take in really has to be on point. I can burn up to 2500 calories or better on a hot day.

 

[Ozzy619]

I eat 5 meals everyday, chk, fish, eggs,turkey, protein po wo, and before bed. I actually don't count fat calories. However on most days at work I can walk miles swing a chainsaw, or a pick ax. So the amount of calories I take in really has to be on point. I can burn up to 2500 calories or better on a hot day.

I used to run a chainsaw like a champ every day too. It burns a ton of energy, I used to drip in sweat wearing my heavy ass chaps.

 

[pmac928]

So today I took the advice of some meso members and did the volume training, what an intense workout. I am looking forward to seeing the results over the next few months

 

[pmac928]

I used to run a chainsaw like a champ every day too. It burns a ton of energy, I used to drip in sweat wearing my heavy ass chaps.

Yes sir chaps hard hat safety glasses, ear plugs...sweat,sweat,sweat. If I'm not running equipment it's my next favorite thing to do. No better feeling then putting a tree down right where you want it.

 

[weighted chinup]

Whats everyone's leg day look like? I am hitting legs tonight. This is what I do for legs:

Romanian Deadlifts

60 Total Reps. Short Rest Periods with 10 reps in my first set and 6-10 in the subsequent sets.

Front Squat

Around 50 total reps. First set I get about 6-8 reps in, and around 5 reps in the following sets. Rest periods end up getting longer towards the end of the lift due to oxygen depletion.

I do these with a 45lb plate underneath my heels, kind of like what Dave Draper is doing in this pic:

I used to use 5lb plates underneath my shoes when I did these but I switched to 45 per a friends recommendation and it certainly feels better.

I have a narrow stance when doing these and I go for maximal depth on every rep.

These two lifts take me around an hour or so to complete with the amount of volume I do for them, and because I do so much volume there really isn't a need to do a lot of extra lifts for legs. I wrap things up with some isolation movements.

Single Leg. Leg Extensions
Single Leg. Leg Curls

and If I'm feeling up for it I do a few sets of seated calf raises.

 

[rutman]

Leg day for me as well....

Will start out with a few leg ext to loosen my knees up.

Then proceed to squats. Doing maybe 4-5 warm up sets, then 3 working sets of 20 reps.

Then probably leg presses followed by more leg ext.

Things are subject to change as always. Maybe superset squats and leg presses, who knows.