My training routine

[admin]

This is long, and I don't expect everyone to read it. Atleast read the first few paragraphs about mental and intensity.
The rest read if you need help with a training program, or want to try something new and quick.

I am going to give my training routine as it seems to be working for me.
For the last few years I have been doing some not so ordinary training.
I am no longer a believer in 1-1.5 hrs in the gym 5 days a week.
However, I should clarify, at the present time, and for the last four or so years, I have not been trying to put on size, or muscle.
If I was looking to put on size, my diet would change, and probably this routine.
At the current time I would lift heavy, low reps, a lot of rest. It did work well.

Over the last few years I learned two very important aspects of bodybuilding, of course I read, and new about them, but finally fully understood them and how to work with them.


Those two things are intensity and the mental aspect of bodybuilding.
Now I was alway intense when I worked out, but with the long breaks between sets it really disrupts your tempo. Mental aspect I read about when I was young and brushed it off, thinking it was old men not knowing what they are talking about. It wasn't until recent when my only option was working out at a low resistance circuit training place I put both intensity and the mental aspect into my training.
I was working out 3-4 times a week for no more than 30 minutes at a time.
The weight, would be comparable to what a 12 year old kid could lift.
I would get great workouts in. There was zero breaks for the thirty minutes, so intensity was up the whole 30 minutes. Mental focus was up on each set to get the most out of each exercise. When I say mental focus, I'm talking about really focusing on the muscle group you are working.

Now to my workout.
My work out is 40-45minutes, four days a week.
I'm not going to give scientific knowledge to support any of my theories, it's just my personal opinion on something I threw together.

I am focusing on high reps, 10-15 reps. Couple months ago I was lifting heavy so it's a nice change for the body. I am lifting pretty light weights compared to what I normally do which probably gives me some funny looks, but whatever, lol. I'm out in 40 minutes, and there are there for another hour.

Day 1 is chest day.
Chest day will look pretty much like a regular chest workout for the most part... kinda.
I'll start with a core movement like chest bar, or dumbells.
I'll do a light weight, like one plate. I'll do 15 reps to get warmed up.
Next I'll move to two plates. This in the past would be a warm up too, but lately this is where I would stay, or I would add a 25lber.
I'll do 15 reps. Now I'll rest about a minute, up to two minutes when I start to get tired. With little rest the light weight will get harder and harder.
I will do 1 warm up set, then 5 sets of this. Aiming for high reps, but when I'm at my last set, I'm only doing 6-8 reps.
This will take 10-15 minutes. Like I said, as I get tired I will take more rest.
I dont' want to be fully recovered, but I don't want to be so tired I can barely lift the weight. Next I will move to a machine, and do an incline like HammerStrenght Incline. I'll start with a weight where I can do about 15 reps. Then I might add a bit more weight and do two more sets aiming for about 10 reps. That's it. Then I'll finish up with some type of cable or fly exercise. Now I will alternate this exercise with my ab workout. I will even start before my last set on the HammerStrength. I won't go into my ab routine I'm always changing it up. I focus mainly on decline weighted situps, leg raises, plus a number of core exercises, like planks.
That's it, that will take about 40-45 minutes. I try and make it last atleast 40 minutes. If I am quiker I will do some more ab, or even walk on the treadmill for 5 minutes.

Day 2: Back, bi calves.
Each day I am focusing on one main bodypart with smaller ones worked in.
I think arm training is over rated, I haven't dedicated a full day to arms in about 5 years.
I will start the same as I did for chest. I will start with a main exercise like bent over rows. I will do one lighter, then go into 5 sets of a heavier weight. That's all I do for core back. If I notice in a couple months it's lacking I will add more. I then go do the same with cable pull downs. I'd do pullups if I had a training partner to help me stretch out a few more, but I don't so at the moment I am not doing them.
Lately I've cut my pulldown weight by about 40-60lbs. I am concentrating on form and mental focus. I'm not jerking the cable, or my body to get the weight down, I am pull down slowly, straight down, really focusing on pulling with my lats rather than any other muscle group. Five sets of this again. Now in my last or second last set, I will alternate with calves.
One I am down pull downs I move to Biceps, and alternate with calves. I pick one exercise and will do four sets on it. Bis are tired from some of the back already, so I am not doing a lot for bis.
I will end up doing about 5-6 sets on calves, all the same exercise, alternating foot positions.

Day3 is an off day.

Day4 Shoulder Day, tricep day.
I just recently started training shoulders again. Shoulders were one of my strong points, so I felt I wasn't missing much if I wasn't doing them, especially when I was doing a lot of incline in the past.
Just like Chest I will pick a main exercise like dumbell or barbell presses.
I will then do the 6 sets with this.
Next I will go to side dumbell raises and do 4 sets of this. After the 6 sets (1 warmup) of presses, these sides tire you out pretty fast. My traps are naturally big as well, plus get worked in things like deadlifts, powercleans, etc and other exercises so I have never ever trained traps, maybe a handful of times. When I was working the lightweight circuit training there was a lot of rear delt work, so lately I have been minimizing my rear delt work. I will finish my shoulders off with two sets of front raises for the front delts. After this I do tris. I don't alternate this because I don't want my shoulders or tris to be sore for the other exercise. I will then do about 4 exercises of a heavy tricep exercise, then possibly finish off with something light like cables or kickbacks.

Day5 Leg day.
I made my leg day pretty intense, but lately have cut it back a bit for two reasons. 1. Squatting leaves awful marks on my shoulders which last over a week, and it's summer here! So I've been doing leg press instead
2. I hurt my shoulder doing power cleans so I stayed away from them for a while.
What I would do is squat, same as above 6 total sets. Then do stiff deads, same, 6 sets. Then I would do 5 sets of power cleans. Usually light, just for the workout. Then would finish off with some leg extensions.

Lately I've been doing Leg Press, Deads, then alternating between extensions, and hammy curls. Leg workouts have been slacking with the squats. Two weeks I will squat again.

That's it.
Now I want to make some notes before any questions or anyone tries it.
I made this for me built around my strengths, weaknesses, goals, and time on hand to work out.
I am not trying to put on size at the moment. I want to keep my build, and keep the muscles active and pumped.
I want to keep BF down.
Now these are 40 minutes for two reasons. 1 Enough time to get the muscles worked. 2 Keeping the heart rate up for fat loss and cardio.
I will check my heart rate 4-8 times during a workout. Some times my muscles feel exhausted so I will take a longer rest, but I keep checking my heart rate so it doesn't go below 60% of my max heart rate. I also usually walk around between sets.
Lately I've biked once or twice a week, and walk my dog 7 days a week in the morning. Probably 6 evenings as well. I don't walk fast though so I don't count that as cardio.
I've lifted heav most my life, so besides the circuit training I did, this is a big change for my body which is why it works well.
Now I will need to change these exercises every now and then, but this is what I've been doing lately, and I'm happy with it.
My muscles feel nice and full, and my bodyfat has gone down quite a bit in a short time. I am currently thinking about getting 'BIG' again. I'm trying to decide if I want to dedicate the time and eating habits. I eat well now, but I don't know if I want to force feed myself again, lol. But being big and strong is one of the best feelings in the world.

That sound like a good idea. I would like to try that workout. I think I will try it in January for the 1st of the year. Good post Admin.

Very nice workout plan Admin..Mentally and physically..Im glad to see your jumping back in the game and adding back in bodyparts to hit up

Originally Posted by KINGMERC

Very nice workout plan Admin..Mentally and physically..Im glad to see your jumping back in the game and adding back in bodyparts to hit up

King, it's good to see you back...Hadn't seen you posting in a little while...

I wouldn't use this workout, I think your just been lazy and doing as little as possible

Only jokin, I think this type of regine is for someone who is avoiding injury, keeping interest healthy, and is not gaining or losing muscle..........I've often pictured what I'd workout like if I just wanted to maintain and was happy with the way I looked............

Good post thanks admin

Originally Posted by Action

King, it's good to see you back...Hadn't seen you posting in a little while...

Thanks bro..yeah i had to camp out for a bit and take care of some late crops

[admin]

lol it is a bit of lazy, which is why I said if you are tight on time, this is for you.
I am happy with my size, but I would like my bodyfat lower. Mind you I wouldn't mind 20lbs heavier with my bodyfat lower, lol.
One negative aspect to this I'm sure, is when I switch to go low reps, and a lot heavier, I won't be able to lift nearly the same weight for a short while.

Originally Posted by Admin

lol it is a bit of lazy, which is why I said if you are tight on time, this is for you.
I am happy with my size, but I would like my bodyfat lower. Mind you I wouldn't mind 20lbs heavier with my bodyfat lower, lol.
One negative aspect to this I'm sure, is when I switch to go low reps, and a lot heavier, I won't be able to lift nearly the same weight for a short while.

Yeah I had that problem when i went from mainly cardio, dieting and just going thru the motions weights...........but it comes back, i think its all about them fast twitch and slow twitch fibres and what your muscles are composed of and used for.......

[DBOY1]

i know this is old, but it was a good read, nice variation...it always good 2 change things up...