Em I Going Crazy?

[BalcoBob]

Guy since I have been working out I have gone 4-5 days a week doing one muscle per week.

example

monday-chest 4x10,8,6,4 with 4 diffrent exercises
tuesday- back same thing
wednesday- shoulders same thing
thursday-off
friday-arms but I go to failure but pretty much 10,8,6,4
saturday-off
sunday-legs

Okay, I have been getting advice and reading and it seems like 3 days is enough. I just cant see how that is enough. Every day I take off I feel like I'm shrinking. Some of these routine only have you doing one thing for your shoulders one for your legs and one for your arms how is that enough? Some please explain what over training is because i think im doing it can someone also tell me how one exercise is enough. THANKS!

 

[Soul Rebel]

Post your full routine (not weights, but specific exercises involved) and a sample of your daily diet. It's more than likely just in your head, unless your not dieting correctly because 3 days is really all it takes for most guys.

 

[outlawtas]

If your lifting right, 3 days should be enough...personally I like 4 but anymore than that is too much lifting for most! Not including cardio of course. If your eating right you won't be shrinking...someitmes less is more.

Over-training is simply what the name says, training too much and not allowing your body to recover (in otherwords, grow!). I'm usually so sore I couldn't work the same muscle group 2 times a week if I tried!

 

[Lucky13]

I can feel when I overtrain, hard to get pumps, achy and remember it's not just muscles that get overtrained but also joints and the good old central nervous system...eat right, rest/sleep right and this speeds up recovery...and obviously steroids help recovery...

 

[Swellin]

It's hard to get it into your head that pumps and DOMS don't help you do shit. When we start lifting, we hear all the stupid old adages the other guys say about soreness and about a pump. Truth is, you work the damn muscle and get out of the gym to recover.

DC training is 3 days a week. Dante has only a handful of people that he can get to four days (unless they are actually breaking the 3 into 4 instead of doing 4 complete days).
IronAddict prefers 3 day routines for almost everybody.

These guys have more experience training people than most can imagine. I have been doing this for quite a while myself and I can tell you that one body part per day is the worst routine I have ever done. My dumb ass continued to do it for quite a long time too. No wonder I was getting injured and not growing. On top of over training, I was too stupid to figure it out.

But I thought I was a big bad weight lifter who had to be in the gym until I was too tight to move from the pump. I thought If my legs weren't sore for a week, I hadn't pushed them. truth is, I was way off base.

 

[Skarhead1]

^swellins advice is pretty spot on

As far as you "shrinking" bb-ers havethis problem because they do a lot of "pump" training which swells the muscle up with oxygen and muscle loading. It has the lifter thinking he gained all this muscle, then it swells down and the lifter freaks out!!

Personaloly i think your split sucks!! I have found the best 4 day routine to be 1 day heavy legs 1 day heavy upper body 1 day light lower and 1 day light upper... but you seem really lost and I wo uld consult some training articles over at Ironaddicts.com IA is pretty experienced in helping out newbs

 

[Swellin]

Skar, I actually sent him to IA's simple power based routine. that is what started this thread. He is training mma as well. So imagine how the body responds to mma training a couple of days a week and weight lifting 5 days a week.

His body doesn't like him very much right now. that's why we are here though. We try to help a brother out so he doesn't do the stupid shit some of us have done..specifically the stupid shit I have done.

 

[Skarhead1]

all i did was box and 2 days a wk almost fried me up pretty good

 

[Swellin]

I'm only lifting two days a week as well. My body simply can't handle the abuse right now. training morning and evening twice a week and training morning on Fridays, sled pulling 3-5 times a week and cardio outside the gym 3 times a week...then throw in weight lifting twice a week. I'm spent.

 

[BalcoBob]

my body feels fine im 24. What I do is go in and if I hit back I do

4 sets up pull ups
4 set pull downs
4 sets bend over rows
4 sets one arm rows

I switch it up though I add difrrent back stuff like dead lifts in there but I feel stupid cause I thought this was the right way to train. Every person at my gym does one body part. EVERYONE! I know you guys are huge so I take your word. I'm just trying to educate myself. Outlaw and sweeling you guys have been great. I need a 4 day routine that will help me gain some serious weight im gonna be cycling soon so I want to get my routine down asap!

 

[Swellin]

Thing is bud, I "felt great" too. You don't yet know what and how your body is trying to tell you as far as overtraining goes. Reason being, you only know that way.

Don't think for a minute that you can't overtrain with a four day program. I would argue that many still do.

As far as your exercises, we need to throw out some and make others the center piece. Honestly, the simple power based routine puts meat on almost everybody that does it...even long time lifters who are big guys. I recently put my younger brother on that program and he though it was nuts because he has been doing DC training. He has made gains in only a few weeks on the new program. I also got an Air Marshall buddy of mine (who I train MMA with once a week) to try it and he is loving the routine and the 12lbs he has gained while all of a sudden finding his abs. he has been on it for about 2 months (clean), and he is 36.


Squats/deads/bench should be the heart of your workout. if you want to swap things around, do it with your auxiliary lifts and not the heart of the routine. The exception to that would be doing rack deads instead of deads.

Do you currently keep a written log?

 

[BalcoBob]

you guys are great...so can you break down this routine for me?

Monday
Squat or box squat 2 x 5
Glute/Ham Raises or pullthroughs 3 x 10
Bent Row or Chest Supported row 4 x 6
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl 3 x 8
Calf Raises 3 x 15

Wednesday
Bench Press or low board press 3 x 5, or 3 x 3
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 8
Military or Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Skull Crushers 3 x 10
Ab work 3 x 10

Friday
Deadlift or rack deadlift 2 x 5
Leg press 2 x 10
Chin or lat pull-down 4 x 6
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl 3 x 8
Calf Raises 3 x 15

Monday
Incline bench press or Incline Dumbbell Press 3 x 5, or 3 x 3
Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 8
Military or Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Tricep pushdowns 3 x 10
Ab work 3 x 10 Monday

Wednesday
Squat or box squat 2 x 5
Glute/Ham Raises or pullthroughs 3 x 10
Bent Row or Chest Supported row 4 x 6
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl 3 x 8
Calf Raises 3 x 15

Friday
Bench Press or low board press 3 x 5, or 3 x 3
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 8
Military or Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Skull Crushers 3 x 10
Ab work 3 x 10


OKAY how is one 3x8 dumbell curls enough to make you bies grow? I just dont understand all I have to do is 48 reps in one week? I just don't get it. When I hit my arms I hit them to the point I can't move them! Just break it down for me please!

 

[Swellin]

Most people over work the fuck out of their biceps. When you learn to work your core lifts and not worry about your biceps, they will grow. All you do is stimulate growth, you do not want to destroy the muscle. My biceps have grown the most when I only worked them once a week with only one exercise for 2-4 sets.

You get tons of bicep work when you perform your back exercises.

You are murdering your ligaments and tendons in your arms by doing the work load you mentioned.

You simply have to throw out all that bullshit you have heard in the gym and fed yourself for years and simply trust us. Accept this different training notion as though it were you changing religions. You really have to just believe it and accept it..then do the damn thing and grow.

Will you answer me on the written log?

 

[Richard85]

I have to tell you dude... I spent all of my high school years busting my ass in the gym, spending money on supps, and then spending some money on juice all to get nowhere because I had no clue what the fuck I was doing. All of the routines most people tell you about... simply don't work, unless you have great genetics or are juiced to the gills. I would have KILLED to get with IA and do the routines on his board when I was younger if I only had known about them. Seriously bro, try the routines and diet advice for 3 months. Do exactly what they say. If you don't like it, then you can always go back to whatever you are doing.

 

[BalcoBob]

i believe in outlaw and i believe in swells as well as this board. Ive seen pics I know you guys know your shit. Im gonna do the routine thats for sure I just want to find the best one for me and it's between the 5x5 or the one swells told me about the one i posted.

 

[BalcoBob]

Does arnold over train cause this is his routine? he only takes one day off...



Mon, Wed, Fri

Chest:
Bench press - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Flat bench flies - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Incline bench press - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable crossovers - 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Dips - 5 sets, to failure
Dumbbell pullovers - 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Back:
Front wide-grip chin-ups - 6 sets, to failure
T-bar rows - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated pulley rows - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm dumbbell rows - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Straight-leg deadlifts - 6 sets, 15 reps

Legs:
Squats - 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg presses - 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg extensions - 6 sets, 12-15 reps
Leg curls - 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Barbell lunges - 5 sets, 15 reps

Calves:
Standing calf raises -10 sets, 10 reps
Seated calf raises - 8 sets, 15 reps
One-legged calf raises (holding dumbbells) - 6 sets,12 reps

Forearms:
Wrist curls (forearms on knees) - 4 sets, 10 reps
Reverse barbell curls - 4 sets, 8 reps
Wright roller machine - to failure

Abs:
Nonstop instinct training for 30 minutes

Tues, Thurs, Sat

Biceps:
Barbell curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated dumbbell curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Dumbbell concentration curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Triceps:
Close-grip bench presses (for the all three heads) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Pushdowns (exterior head) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Barbell French presses (interior head) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm dumbbell triceps extensions (exterior head) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Shoulders:
Seated barbell presses - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Lateral raises (standing) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Rear-delt lateral raises - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable lateral raises - 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Calves and Forearms:
Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Abs:
Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

 

[BalcoBob]

damn i feel dumb. i felt like i knew so much. its kind of depressing cause this whole time i was working out wrong. stil i did gain 45 lbs but i worked out alot and very hard.

 

[outlawtas]

damn i feel dumb. i felt like i knew so much. its kind of depressing cause this whole time i was working out wrong. stil i did gain 45 lbs but i worked out alot and very hard.

It's okay, that's how a lot of us started too

 

[Swellin]

damn i feel dumb. i felt like i knew so much. its kind of depressing cause this whole time i was working out wrong. stil i did gain 45 lbs but i worked out alot and very hard.

Difference is, you are finding it out at 24. I didn't figure it out until I had surgery as a result of the workouts I was doing...I guess I was 27 then.

Of course, I had put on some weight and was looking pretty good, but I was battering my joints and didn't realize it.

 

[mister69]

swelling--joint issues suck i feel ya.

I wear knee warmers\elbow sleeves and apply msm blend lotion on daily.
Not to mention TRAUMEEL which works very well