Before I even start, let me say, please forgive my sarcasm. I'm not arrogant and (this) sarcastic normally, but it is finals week and I'm stressed balls to the wall studying for all these tests. I'm generally not a happy person when stressed, and it carries over. Sorry again for any and all offensive content contained herein.
theangrytexan said:
I am looking for some advice from anyone who can help. I have recently dedicated myself to working out as I want to build some lean mass on my body. I have cleaned up my diet and have been taking protein shakes and Prolab Creatine for about 3 weeks now. I work out 5 days a week, focusing on one muscle group a day, as well as doing about 30 minutes on an eliptical each day. My regimen is below, if anyone knows a better one or has advice on good changes, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Monday-
Chest
Abs
Cardio
Tuesday-
Shoulders
Abs
Cardio
Wednesday-
Back
Abs
Cardio
Thursday-
Bi's/Tri's
Abs
Cardio
Friday-
Legs
Abs
Cardio
Any help you guys can give would be great
My fellow Texan, let me begin by saying that there is no need to do abs every day, that's called overtraining. Now, let's think through the rest of this routine:
You're currently doing this:
Monday:Chest
Tuesday:Shoulders
Wednesday:Back
Thursday: Bi's/Tri's
Friday: Legs
Ok, here goes.
Q) What muscle groups are involved in chest work? Also, consider what muscles are involved in shoulder work and/or tricep work?
A) Pectoralis Major/Minor, Triceps Brachii, and Deltoid group, among others (we're focusing on these b/c they are the target groups for your split days). Well, when you look at it like this, you hit chest on Monday, along with shoulders and triceps. Then, you hit shoulders again on Tuesday. (Chest and tri's are involved to an extent on shoulder work too - Tri's more than shoulders [think shoulder press for this one]). THEN, you hit triceps again on Thursday.
You're working shoulders/chest two days in a row, and triceps 3 days of the week. That will eventually lead you right into the pit of the hell of diminishing returns (also known as overtraining).
Q) What muscles are involved in back work? Also, what muscles are involved in bicep work (duh!)?
A) Traps, Lats, Rhomboids, Erector Spinae, etc. in the back, and Biceps Brachii, Brachioradialis, Brachialis, etc. when you directly target bicep movements.
Ok, you are working your back on Wednesday, followed by Biceps on Thursday. Well, what muscles are involved in pulling movements? (Hint, the answer I'm looking for starts with "Biceps"). When you split it like this, you are hitting biceps (and that whole group really) in all of your pulling movements on Wednesday, and then targeting them directly on Thursday. You're hitting biceps two days in a row. See comment above regarding 'the pit of hell......yadayadayada.'
Since you said you've only been on this split for about 3 weeks, I doubt you've run into any overtraining problems yet. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that you've been making pretty good gains. Well, unless you've got unholy recuperative abilities, I'd also be willing to bet even more that you WILL
eventually overtrain on this split.
So, let's think about it like this: Most people require a minimum of 48-72 hours to fully recuperate, and need direct stimulation only once per week to grow. Sooooooo....................Why not split the workouts up to recognize that fact?
Personally, I do something like this (and no, I'm not saying it's the best in the world or that you need to do this exact split, but it's what works for me):
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Back/Biceps
Wednesday: Off, cardio/abs
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Shoulders/Triceps
(Notice I only do abs once per week. Some people will tell you different, but this is just what works well for me.......not that you can see them, but they are very strong from this routine)
The minimum amount of time I have between working muscle groups that are involved in multiple movements is 48 hours Tuesday night to Thursday night, and that being only the lower back (and to some degree legs, from deadlifts) muscles which are used on back day and then as supportive muscles when squatting or doing SLDL's on leg day. With my chest workouts, I need the full week to recover enough to even think about doing shoulders or tri's, and I'm occasionally still sore when Friday rolls around, so I skip that day and assume that, since I'm still sore, the muscles got enough stimulation from chest work on Monday (assumption = makes an ass out of me only, in this case)
You could also go to a 3 day/week split, something like Monday: Chest/Shoulders/Tri's, Wednesday: Legs, and Friday: Back/Biceps. The only issue with this is, Will you be able to go balls out for all muscles if you do 2-3 groups in a particular workout?
Another consideration is, if you're trying to ADD mass, why are you doing cardio 30 mins/5x/week? That will, at the very least, hinder your ability to pack on size. Clean it up, yes. Make it take longer, yes. Beneficial to LBM : BF% ratio, yes. That's something you gotta decide personally. Me, I only do cardio about 3-4x/week, and I'm trying to cut right now. When I'm bulking (Yes, Pullinbig, I know you can do both at once - I'd just gotten to fat on the last bulk, before I realized that) I do cardio a MAXIMUM of 2x/week, for 30 minute per session (off days only), and ONLY to maintain cardiovascular health (I value keeping my resting pulse rate in the 40's).
I think this is all, but if I think of anything that might help, I'll add it. Sorry again for the sarcasm, I'll help ya best I can. Now, pullinbig/needsize/dadawg/etc. it's your turn.
BTW, have I seen your SN at another board, or am I dreaming?
Edit: Just as a friendly hint too, I wouldn't actually SIGN my name in my signature. There IS such a thing as 'big brother,' ya know. You can never be too careful, IMO. (If they wanna get us later on, at least make them work for it...lololol.)
