ExRx.net

I am 16 and I have been working out on and off for about 3 years. Recently i have decided to start seriously working out again. I am 5' 9" and i weigh about 150. I have a six pack when i clench up and when im not clenching i have some definition. I dont have very much muscle mass though and my arms arent that big. I'm looking to get stronger, define my abs more, and gain muscle mass. Is this a good workout schedule?

Mon: chest and triceps
Tues: abs and cardio
Wed: biceps, back, and forearms
Thurs: rest
Fri: legs and shoulders
Sat: abs and cardio
Sun: rest

it's ok, but how hard you work and how well you eat will make much more difference than what schedule you decide on.

Seeing as you're a beginner, I think you'd be better off choosing a routine from the "collection of beginners routines" thread at the top of this foum

Well it's not the worst. Isolation work isn't the best way to get stronger and lose bodyfat. Maybe if you give us a more accurate look of your workouts and cardio we can say more.

It's sort of funny with these kinds of splits, you only have half a day for your whole lower body, but two and a half workouts for upper body work. Granted, there is lots of muscles in the upper body, but I don't think you can neglect the lower body. If you can give half a workout for shoulders, biceps and triceps each, it's funny you only have a total of half a workout for legs, consisting hamstrings, glutes, quads and calves all in the same. That's a total of 9 muscles in half a workout, and I'm not even counting the stabilizers. Not totally directed to you, just a general note on these bodybuilding splits. I think one should have atleast two lower body workouts. One for posterior chain (Glutes, hamstrings, maybe calves), one for anterior (Quads mainly).

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Prove the impossible!

bodybuilding splits are all well and good when you're so advanced you need to absolutely trash your bodyparts to grow, and so need a full week to recover before you train that bodypart again.

Beginners however can train everything two or three times a week, which is why I always recommend upper/lower splits.

Squats.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

That wasn't my point right now. Bodybuilding splits are not my cup of tea, but I got nothing against it. The point was that this split in particular has two and a half workouts for upper body. Including isolated work for back, forearms triceps, biceps, shoulders and pecks. Then it has half a workout for "legs". That's it. So you isolate everything from little wrist extensors and elbow flexors but you give half an hour to knee and hip in total? Surrounding these joints are quite the handful of muscles. BIG muscles. Point was that you could maybe seperate posterior and anterior chain work here. Or seperate hip and knee movements. Something like that. Not just do two exercises of leg work, the same amount of time you waste doing different variations of wrist curls. That was the point.

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Prove the impossible!

He never said he's doing isolation exercises. He's described a Push/Pull/Legs split and didn't say anything about exercise selection.

It could be this:

Mon: chest and triceps (Bench variations)
Tues: abs and cardio (rope climbs, sprints and turkish get ups)
Wed: biceps, back, and forearms (Deadlifts and rows)
Thurs: rest
Fri: legs and shoulders (Squats and push press)
Sat: abs and cardio (KB swings, sled pushes and ab rollouts)
Sun: rest

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
_________________
Thanks TimD

exactly what I was thinking. All he said was the days he was working each bodypart.

Just to clarify, i'm not really a beginer, i've been working out for at least 2 years. I have just never really followed a schedule. Also, i probably should've been more clear, i dont care as much about getting strong so much as i do looking jacked. Thats why i didnt care as much about legs, no one really sees them.
Heres a more detailed schedule i was thinking of:

Mon:
-3 sets bench press 6-8 reps
-3 sets incline bench 8-10 reps
-3 sets pec flys 8-10 reps
- 3 sets dips 10 reps
-3 sets skull crushers 6-8 reps

Tues:
- hill sprints
- 3 sets bench planks
-3 sets side bench planks
-3 sets lying leg raises 10 reps

Wed:
-3 sets incline forearm curls 6-8 reps
-3 sets hammer curls 6-10 reps
- 3 sets wide grip pullups 10-15 reps
- 3 sets dumbell rows
- 3 sets wrist curls 6-10 reps

Thurs:
Rest

Fri:
-4 sets dumbell squats 6-8 reps
- 3 sets lunges 6-8 reps
- 3 sets calf raises 6-8 reps
- 3 sets dumbell shrugs 8-10 reps
-3 sets arnold presses 8-10 reps

Sat: same as tues


So this is just a rough draft, i've done most of the excercies before but i havent done some so the sets and reps might be a little off.

Also keep in mind that i dont have access to the gym, i have spinlock dumbells, a bench, a pullups bar, and perfect pushups at my house. And a hill on my street for hill sprints.

I figured hill sprints were also pretty good for leg development so thats another reason
why i didnt have much leg work ln the schedule.

That's wrong on so many levels.

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

Yeah I kind off got ahead of myself there, people do see legs. But I figured the hill sprints toned legs pretty well.

The legs contain the largest muscles in the body. Without working legs hard, you miss out on most of the benefits of exercise. It's not just looking good. It's health and performance as well. Working the legs builds muscle all over as well as working your heart and lungs. If you do nothing else, get in a good leg workout as often as you can, I and I don't count calves. Add deadlifts to your back day, glute bridges to your core day and add some intensity to your squat day, front or back squats done below parallel. Sprints are not enough.

The girls notice your rear end more than you think.

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
_________________
Thanks TimD

Ok thanks, I understand now. Does anyone have a link to a good workout for me?

This is a routine that got good reviews here on this board a year or so ago:

[quote="robertscott"]
do this routine, it's called The Nygmen Body Bulk Blast:



Day 1
*Front squats - ramp up to a 5 rep max 1 or 2 work sets
*DB or BB Flat bench - ramp up to a 5 rep max, 2 or 3 work sets
*DB or BB Incline - ramp up to a 5 rep max, 1 or 2 work sets
Lateral raises - 3 or 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Pushdowns - 3 or 4 sets of 8-12 reps
cable or DB flies if your feeling peppy.

Day 2
*Deads or Rack pulls - ramp up to a 5RM - 1 work set (MAYBE 2 worksets)
*Tbar or BB rows - sets of 8-12 reps, 3 or 4 work sets
Pulldowns or chins - sets of 8-12 reps, 3 or 4 work sets
DB rows - sets of 12-20, 1 or 2 work sets
Curl variation - sets of 8+ reps, 2 or 3 sets total
Different curl variation - same

Day 3 (Take an off day between day 2 and 3)
*Back squat - ramp up to 5RM - 3+ work sets
*Leg Press - sets of 8-25 - 2 or 3 work sets
any other leg assistance, high rep work
---*** See Pete's comments in post 4***---

Day 4
*OH press - ramp up to a 5RM, 1-3 worksets
Lateral Raises - same as before
Rear delt work - same as lateral raises
*BB row - Same as before
Close grip bench
curl variation
*Shrugs - sets of 15-25, as heavy as humanly possible, 1 or 2 work sets


* = look to add weight to each lift as fast as possible. 5lbs a workout, 10 if you can. But shoot for no less than 10lbs a month if you can. Push yourself, but keep form.

EDIT: I forgot skull crushers because they murder my elbows, but throw them in on day 1 or 4.

EDIT 2: For the iso/assistance/non-stared work, start with a weight that is challenging for 8 reps, try and add reps each workout, once you can can 12 reps, instantly move up the weight. So, if week one you hit 9 reps with some DB curls with 30lbs, and week 2 you hit 12 reps, week 3 you are going to want to be using the 35lbs dumbells.

If you want to loose fat, focus on having one big compound exercise every workout. I would do it high intensity (3-5 reps for 3-5 sets). Altough there is nothing wrong with the hyperthrophy time-frame (6-12 reps for 3-5 sets). The former is just the better rep range to get you actually stronger, and you can focus on hyperthrophy on accesorial exercises. The big exercises I recommend:
Squat
Deadlift
Pull-up or a row variation
Press variation (bench press, overhead press, incline press)

Many times you get two or three in the price of one here. See, the bench press for example works the pecs, triceps and shoulders, some even say it's a lat developer. Deadlift works your legs, back and forearms, so you don't have to do wrist curls anymore. If you want more forearm strenght, take farmers walks with DB's along the workout.

Do the compound movements first. Why? Because they are the biggest exercises with most muscles involved. They burn the most fat and build the most muscle. No wrist or hammer curls before the pull-ups.

Stu said enough about legs. Sprints do not build your muscle or strenght, they build anaerobic endurance and the skill to tolerate all the lactate trying to clog your muscles. Sprints may even improve your VO2 max. But they will not get you bigger or stronger legs. Poor hip and knee stability caused by lack of leg training combined with worked upper body leads to nowhere but injuries and pain. But keep the sprints tho, they are a great fat burner.

If you're looking for a more specific exact program to follow, the sticky in this forum area has some beginner routines which are proven effective and good. Now I say beginner routines because that's what they mainly are, but they will improve a more experienced lifter as well. So you could also do them and get good results.

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Prove the impossible!