Critique please

[dejansen]

I posted on another board (won't mention any names) but didn't receive much help. I keep hearing about this board so I thought I'd register and give it a shot...

I'm six foot, approximately 190lbs, 34 yrs old. I'm not sure what my body fat is but I'm guessing 12-15% (34 inch waist). I've been lifting for a year but recently got more serious. Below is my new routine and I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Sunday – Chest
Bench presses (4 sets)
Dumbbell flies (4 sets)
Incline presses (4 sets)
Push ups (to exhaustion)

Monday – Shoulders/Back
Shoulders presses (4 sets)
Upright rows (4 sets)
Bent over side laterals (4 sets)
Cable pull downs (4 sets)
Shrugs (4 sets)
Pull ups (3 sets)

Tuesday – Cardio/Abs
Bike 30-35 min.
Weighted crunches
Reverse crunches
Crunches

Wednesday – Legs
Squats (4 sets)
Leg extensions (4 sets)
Hamstring curls (4 sets)
Calf raises (4 sets)

Thursday – Arms
EZ bar curls (4 sets)
Close grip bench presses (4 sets)
Dips (4 sets)
Preacher curls (4 sets)
Press downs (4 sets)
Tricep curls (machine) (4 sets)
Dumbbell curls (4 sets)

Friday - Off

Saturday – Cardio/Abs
Bike 30-35 min.
Weighted crunches
Reverse crunches
Crunches

I eat 5-6 meals a day and get plenty of protein. I throw creatine and l-glutamine into my shakes although it seems quite a few people think this is a waste of money. I'll have to see if I notice any difference when I finish out my current batch. I'm very curious about doing my first cycle but I still have more research to do.

Thanks in advance!

 

[StoneColdNTO]

First off....Welcome to the board bro !!

I think what stands out most to me is your arm day, too much IMO. You have 16 sets for tris and 12 for bis, I'd maybe cut back to 10 & 10.

The other thing I don't like is your Shoulder/Back routine. Not enough true back excercises, and you go from shoulders to traps to shoulders to back to traps and then to back. I would do all shoulder work first, back second and then traps to finish.

You might want to have a look at a series of routines I posted here (8 of them), might give you some different ideas.

 

[dejansen]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I should have mentioned that I have some constraints. I have a bench and free weights at home and also access to a small apartment gym. If I were going to a gym, I'd have more possibilities at my disposal.

I will heed your advice though, and if anyone has any other suggestions, they'd be much appreciated.

Thanks again!

 

[DADAWG]

i wouldnt work shoulders the day after bench you get a lot of shoulder work on bench day , id drop some of the arm work also

 

[dejansen]

What about reversing the chest and shoulder days? It doesn't seem like the chest muscles are used much in these shoulder exercises...

 

[DADAWG]

you will still get 2 days in a row with a lot of shoulder work , it will be easy to overtrain them

 

[dejansen]

OK, so will sticking a cardio day or day off in between them be sufficient? Or do I need more than 48 hours in between these two workouts? Thanks!

 

[StoneColdNTO]

There are so many possibilities when it comes to splits.

You are basically doing a 4 day split, maybe give this some consideration;

Day 1- Back & Traps
Day 2- Chest & Abs
Day 3- Off (or cardio)
Day 4- Thighs, Hams, & Calves
Day 5- Shoulders, Bis & Tris
Day 6- cardio
Day 7- Off