Hey! Been reading a lot currently on how to create a routine and found this
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-beginner-weight-training-workout-routine/
And read quite a lot on his side.
So the idea (if natural beginner) is basically to do Upper Lower (3-4x) or Upper Lower with PPL (5x) as a beginner.
My idea right now is doing PPL 5x a week but cycle through. So I start Pull, Push, Legs, Pull Push (weekend rest) and start my next week with Legs, Pull Push, Legs, Pull (weekend rest) and then go on with Push, Pull, Legs, Push Pull (weekend rest) and so on.
This should provide enough recovery for me as a beginner (7 months gym) or am I wrong?
I also should reduce volume from 6-7 exercises for better recovery.
So my new workout is basically:
Pull A: (Lat Pulldown + Wide Grip Focus)
- V Bar Lat Pulldowns 3x6-8
- Wide Grip T Bar Rows 3x8-10
- Cable Face Pulls 3x10-15
- Seated Dumbbell Curls 3x10-15
Push A: (Chest Focus)
- Flat DB Benchpresses (3x6-8)
- Bodyweight Dips (3 Sets to failure)
- Cable Lateral Raises (3x10-15)
- EZ Bar Skull Crushers (3x10-15)
Legs A: (Squat Focus)
- Squats 3x6-8
- Seated Leg Curls 3x10-15
- Smithmachine Calf Raises 3x10-15 (each set different stance)
- Decline Crunches 3 Sets to failure
Pull B: (Pull Up Neutral Grip Focus)
- Pull Ups (2 Sets Wide Grip)
- Pull Ups (2 Sets Neutral Grip)
- T Bar Row (Neutral Grip) 3x8-10
- Cable Hammer Curls (Rope) 3x10-15
Push B: (Shoulder Focus)
- Seated DB Overhead Presses 3x6-8
- Cable Lateral Raises 3x15-20
- Machine Chest Press 3x8-10
- Incline Bench DB Flys 3x10-15
- Triceps Overhead Extensions (Cable) 3x10-15
Legs B: (RDL Focus)
- RDLs 3x6-8
- Seated Leg Ext. 3x 8-10
- Bulgarian Split Squats 2x 8-10
- Smithmachine Calf Raises 3x10-15
- Hanging Leg Raises 3x to Failure
Any thoughts on this? Is volume "decent" or too low?
I know I should stick to a programm but I haven't found one I enjoyed and just changed a few exercises to what I like and matched the Set/ Rep range and reduced exercises to beginner level (8 months gym experience).
Is this okay?
Question would be: Is this allowing for enough recovery even if I go 5x a week? Should I just combine Pull/Push to Upper Day and do 8 Exercises on each upper day instead for an extra rest day? Upper Lower Rest Upper Lower Rest Rest?
What I like about 4-5 exercises is that I can easily do 20-30 minute low intensity cardio after each workout day?
So look, if you keep changing the program you're going to be wasting a lot of your time by misdirecting your focus on stuff that doesn't matter that much.
It sounds like you've gone to the gym at least 5 days per week for 7 months. That should've been enough to be much, much stronger than when you started, maybe doubling or tripling your starting weight on the big lifts.
If you haven't made progress on your lifts, your program isn't the problem, and you have to look at why you haven't been improving. Have you been lifting to failure? Every workout, you should be failing on at least one main lift, where you keep doing reps until you actually have to bail halfway, and you drop the weights safely (or set it down on a safety bar or your spotter comes to help you get the weight off). And then when you fail at the top of the rep range, add weight so that you're back into the proper rep range for your program.
So the question is: 7 months ago, how much weight were you lifting on the flat DB bench? T bar rows? Barbell squat? Romanian deadlift? Have you doubled those numbers since then?
Well Reps are going up on Dumbbell Benchpress, but I struggle at 25 kg Dumbbells. I started at 15 kg, went to 17,5, then 20 and now I am stuck at 22,5 kg since 2 months but not because my chest can't handle the weight (I do chest press and increase weight there too) but I can't lift the 25 kg dumbbells lol.
Or I can't balance them properly and I don't know what muscles I need to target to pick those up easier and set them up properly.
I do 3 Sets of 8-10 Dumbbell Bench Presses and currently doing 3 Sets of 15 Reps each set of 22,5 kg dumbbells. I would like to go back to 8 reps but I can't pick up the 25 kg dumbbells? I don't know what I should do.
It wasn't a problem doing 3x10 with 20s and upgrading to 3x8 for 22,5. But going from 22.5 to 25 kg isn't really possible with lifting them properly out of the rack and setting myself up. I almost fell trying to balance them on my leg lol.
I started at 27.5 kg 3 Sets of 8-10 Pulldowns and now I am at 3 Sets of 6 at 73.5 kg.
I know for sure I couldn't do 41 kg pulldowns cause I tried pulling down a 50 kg at the beginning and didn't work good. My warm ups were 20 kgs. Now my warm ups are like 40-50 kgs
For my isolation exercises I m not sure. Still using the 10 and 12.5 kg dumbbells for bicep curls lol cause I am always exhausted at workout end. So I just do those but I didn't track them properly. Don't see me curling 15 kg Dumbbells anytime soon though. To me it's hard to increase weight on isolation exercises?
Romanian Deadlifts, Squats etc. I just started 2 months ago. Don't feel safe with form so I started with just the barbell and now I am doing 15 kg left and right so about 50 kg (Barbell + Weights) for Squats and RDLs
So that's what I mean. For some of your exercises, what's holding you back is something other than your programming.
For this:
You can do this:
https://youtu.be/rVh8i5G-XC4
That's how you bench press dumbbells that are heavy enough to where you wouldn't be able to get to starting position from a laying position.
Alternatively, you could consider doing a barbell bench press.
But the program doesn't much matter. I like to focus on just 6 lifts, and make progress on those:
I've switched between different programs, but everything revolves around those 6 lifts, mainly the first 3. From there, I program around those based on whatever I happen to be prioritizing.
Ah okay.
Thanks for video.
Is it normal that my arm strength is holding me back on DB Presses though?
Do I need other exercises to be able to ever lift those 25 kg DBs ?
It's normal for people to progress to a point where they're not able to get into the starting position any other way than what I showed you. Whether that happens at 25kg or 45kg doesn't much matter, at some point you'll be unable to get those dumbbells in place except by standing up with them, putting them on your thighs while you sit down, and then rocking back so that they're in the up position to start bench pressing.
Even if you were to spend the time and the effort getting there on 25 kg, you'd eventually run into the same problem at 30 kg. The strongest people in my gym are bench pressing dumbbells at 100 lb (roughly 45 kg), but they can't lift them into place.
That is a lot but it doesn't sound a lot compared to me.
I unrack the dumbbells and farmer walk the 25 kgs to the bench lol looks like I am just struggling lol until I sit. Thats why I do the 22.5 kgs to not look like that.