Anything wrong with my routine?

[TheDevilAside]

A bit of a selfish thread But I'm relatively new to lifting weights and focused exercise in gerenal. I was wondering if anyone could give me a quick evaluation of the routine I pretty much compiled all by myself.

 

Alright, some background information, I'm 16 year olds 6'2", I weigh 175 lbs and I have an athletic build.

 

Here's my 45 minute routine (2-4 times a week):

 

1) Warming Up

 

- Stretching, apx 10 minutes.

 

- 10 "Warm Ups" (for lack of a better name) [do 10 jumping jacks, get down and do 10 push ups, then 10 crunches.. then do the same thing only 9, 9, and 9, then 8, 8, and 8, until you hit 1, I think it adds up to about 55.. kinda like Burn Outs]

 

- 40 Double Crunches

 

- 20 Twists

 

- 20 Reverse Crunches

 

2) Lifting Weights - all with 30 lbs dumbbells. And apx. 30 second rest between sets.

 

- Dumbbell Curls (5 reps, 4 sets)

 

- Concentration Curls (5x2)

 

- Overhead Extension on the Bench (3x2)

 

- Hammer Curls (3x2)

 

- Dumbbell Press (30x1)

 

- Dumbbell Fly's (10x2)

 

- Dumbbell Shoulder Press (10x1)

 

And then to top it off, 40 knuckle push ups.

 

So far, the results are amazing. I've gained an impressive amount of size, tone, strength and speed. But to be honest, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, I just printed off tons of exercises off of the internet and tried whatever I liked best. I've been working out a total of about 6 months or so, first I started with 15 lbs. and moved up to 20, now I'm at 30 and I think I'm going to have to increase soon here.

 

I appreciate any suggestions/criticisms you have to offer.

 

Ah yes, and the only leg exercise I ever really get is my PE class, riding my bike (3 mile stretch), martial arts and doing 20 "Jumping Squats".

 

*Note: I posted a similar thread to this a while back, but since then I've done a Lot of changes (a 10 lbs increase, for one) and I cut out a lot of the exercises I used to do which I deemed as useless, and I cut the whole thing into 45 minutes instead of 1hr to 1hr30. I took a lot of the advice given (writing down my routine to keep track of my improvements did wonders) and now I'm simply wondering if I've made a change for the better or worse. Again, I know, selfish thread, but any advice is very much appreaciated.

[Goku]

It all really depends on what you want to acheive. Do you want just mass? or tone? or toned mass? If it's working for you then I'd say stick to it.......but when you realize it isn't helping anymore..then change it. By the way...how old are you? that also has a lot to do with your training regimim. Well good luck to you on whatever you do.

[WolverineGuy]

It's good that you are asking advice. I think you're on the right track, but personally, there are a few things I wouldn't do.

 

Your warm up excercises should actually come before your stretching, in my opinion, and should be a lot less. THe more calisthetic type excercises you do BEFORE lifting, the less you'll be able to lift due to your energy loss. Its not a BIG drop, but its a drop nonetheless. You also don't NEED to push your abs that hard, but there's a BIG variety on what the best way to train abs is. Personally, I do 3 sets of 20 crunches and leave it at that.

 

As for your lifting:

 

- Dumbbell Curls (5 reps, 4 sets) - biceps isolation

 

- Concentration Curls (5x2) - biceps isolation

 

- Overhead Extension on the Bench (3x2) -triceps isolation

 

- Hammer Curls (3x2) - biceps isolation

 

- Dumbbell Press (30x1) - pec/tri compound

 

- Dumbbell Fly's (10x2) - pectoral isolation

 

- Dumbbell Shoulder Press (10x1) - shoulder isolation

 

I see a lot of basic problems here. First of all, you have ONE compound exercise. Your program should be based on compound movements that work multiple muscle groups at the same time. Compound exercises are things like:

 

Chest:

 

Parallel bar dips

 

Bench Press

 

Incline Press

 

Legs:

 

Squats (including front squats)

 

Stiff-Legged deadlifts

 

Calf-raises

 

Back:

 

Bent-over rows

 

Chins

 

Bent-legged Deadlifts (also a leg exercise)

 

Delts:

 

Military press

 

Lateral raises

 

Arms:

 

Close-grip bench press

 

Close-grip chins

 

Each of these will target a specific muscle group, but will incorporate one or more secondary muscle groups in addition to stabilizer muscles, thus allowing you to grow faster.

 

I would head to http://forum.bodybuilding.com and check out the stickies on workout programs. Its a fantastic resource from people that know what they are doing. Also, while you don't want to over do it, you should vary the weight a little bit. You can lift a lot more with compound movements than with isolation movements. That's my two cents.

[SevenStar]

yeah, that's what I was going to point out - too many isolation movements. Also, the imbalance of it - 3 exercises for the biceps, 2 for the tris, one for the shoulders, 2 for the chest, few for the legs, 0 for the lats, back and rear delts...

 

for your legs, you can add pistols and hindu squats to your routine. If you're not sure what they are, go to https://www.trainforstrength.com they have some good rountines there also.

[SevenStar]

as far as abs, yeah, it's up to you. my ab routine consists of 100 flutter kicks, 100 crunches, 50 bicycle crunches, 30 leg raises and I'll usually throw a few other exercises in there too. On mondays, I go to my friend's circuit training class at my gym during lunch break, and she blasts our abs for like 10 mins nonstop.

[WhiteBelt]

When I go to the gym I do my abs with weights. I leave all the endurance work for my MA place of interest.

 

Decline sit-ups with a plate on your chest

 

Full contact twists

 

Saxon side bend (deadlier than it looks )

 

etc.

 

However if you want a bodyweight only ab routine... look into Dragon Flies.

[Rich67]

The bottom line is this: if the program is working, then continue doing it. How do you KNOW it's working, though? Here are hints that it is:

 

1) You are gaining lean body mass. The only way to know for sure is to have your bodyfat tested on a routine basis during the program. Most gyms have this testing available free of charge if you are a member.

 

2) You see a difference in your musculature.

 

3) You are routinely lifting more and more weight each time you hit the gym, or are able to do more reps of the same weight week after week. The only way to gauge this is to keep a training log and record all your lifts.

 

4) You are happy and love going to the gym.

 

How do you know it's STOPPED or ISN'T working?

 

1) You are stagnating. Both in lean body mass building and in the weight/reps you can handle.

 

2) You are actually going DOWN in weight/reps (overtraining)

 

3) You are burnt out, have headaches and have trouble falling asleep (also overtraining). You don't want to go into the gym.

 

4) You notice no difference in your physical appearance.

 

Pretty simple, right? Just keep in mind, no program is wrong for you unless it doesn't work or help you improve. You are a tall, thin guy, and if you are just starting to lift, then pretty much anything you do will stimulate growth. If you add the compound lifts to your routine, you will really get stronger and bigger. Just remember the above tips, and recognize the symptoms your program has stopped working.It will eventually, and you should always switch routines every 3-4 months.

[SevenStar]

When I go to the gym I do my abs with weights. I leave all the endurance work for my MA place of interest.

 

Decline sit-ups with a plate on your chest

 

Full contact twists

 

Saxon side bend (deadlier than it looks )

 

etc.

 

However if you want a bodyweight only ab routine... look into Dragon Flies.

 

There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you aren't trying to compete seriously.

[SevenStar]

The bottom line is this: if the program is working, then continue doing it. How do you KNOW it's working, though? Here are hints that it is:

 

1) You are gaining lean body mass. The only way to know for sure is to have your bodyfat tested on a routine basis during the program. Most gyms have this testing available free of charge if you are a member.

 

2) You see a difference in your musculature.

 

3) You are routinely lifting more and more weight each time you hit the gym, or are able to do more reps of the same weight week after week. The only way to gauge this is to keep a training log and record all your lifts.

 

4) You are happy and love going to the gym.

 

How do you know it's STOPPED or ISN'T working?

 

1) You are stagnating. Both in lean body mass building and in the weight/reps you can handle.

 

2) You are actually going DOWN in weight/reps (overtraining)

 

3) You are burnt out, have headaches and have trouble falling asleep (also overtraining). You don't want to go into the gym.

 

4) You notice no difference in your physical appearance.

 

Pretty simple, right? Just keep in mind, no program is wrong for you unless it doesn't work or help you improve. You are a tall, thin guy, and if you are just starting to lift, then pretty much anything you do will stimulate growth. If you add the compound lifts to your routine, you will really get stronger and bigger. Just remember the above tips, and recognize the symptoms your program has stopped working.It will eventually, and you should always switch routines every 3-4 months.

 

I agree and disagree. His goals can make it wrong. If he's an MA that wants "functional" muscle, he needs compound exercises, not isolation, regardless of what results he may be getting. The results he's getting should be in line with his goals.

[Rich67]

That's a good point. However, the point I was trying to make was a general muscular growth program, not a training specific program. Compound exercises, as always, are the best for achieving gains. But for a beginning weightlifter, and program is better than none at all. Even though his program is not one I would recommend, he's off to a good start. Here's my recommended program:

 

CHEST

 

Warmup with pushups

 

Bench presses followed by chest dumbbell flyes

 

SHOULDERS

 

overhead presses with dumbbells or a Smith machine if available

 

Dips

 

TRI'S

 

Machine pressdowns or skull crushers with EZ curl bar

 

Next day,

 

BACK

 

Pullups

 

One arm rows or bent over rows with barbell

 

BICEPS

 

Dumbbell curls or preacher curls with EZ bar

 

ABS

 

Hanging leg raises (the best!) and crunches

 

Then,

 

LEGS

 

Squats or leg presses on the sled

 

Straight-leg deadlifts for the hams

 

calf raises on machine or with dumbbells in hand

 

LOWER BACK

 

lying extensions or roman chair extensions

 

ABS

 

ab burnout routine

 

(10 reps each of crunches, reverse crunches, leg lifts, oblique crunches, bicycles,ins and outs, full body crunches and toe touches without any rest in between).

 

I used a similar program when I first started, and made the biggest gains I ever made in my whole weightlifting career....ah to be young again....