Ok, I recently invested in a weight sets (this one ) to go with my chin-up bar. I was looking to make a workout, and decided to split it into 3 days: Day 1 Chest: Bench Press (barbell) Bench Press (dumbbell) Lats: Pull Up Back: Bent Over Row Deadlift Traps Barbell Shrug Abs: Crunches Leg Raises Day 2 Quads: Squats Hamstrings: Straight Leg Deadlift Calves: Standing Leg Calf Raise Obliques: Dumbbell Side Bend Abs: Crunches Leg Raises Day 3 Deltoids: Dumbbell Front Raise Tricep: Tricep Extension Kickback Biceps: Curls Concentration Curl Forearms: Wrist Curl Reverse Wrist Curl Abs: Crunches Leg Raises I'm aiming for reps with a weight that is challenging but not solid to do and was going to aim for 5-6 reps with 2 sets of each exercise (except for abs). There is a days rest between each with the weekend included (I was thinking Monday - Wednesday - Friday). So what you think? I'm not an expert at this (I wouldnt even consider myself knowledgable) so I need you guys to help me in case I end up doing harm. :cry: And I got the cardio sorted out so that side is alright. Exercises are on here if you want to refer to the ones you aren't familiar with.
looks alright to me, only thing i would say is do Abs everyday as much as you can (within reason of course)
You only need to work abs 2-3 Xs a week. Just like every other muscle in your body they need rest. Muscle's respond to your workout after the fact and if you continue to work your abs all the time you are not giving them a chance to properly respond.
i would say more like 4-5 times a week i would give them the weekend off. Just because abs are so reseilient and dont need as much rest. If you carry on doing them twice a week soon you wont seen any gain at all
A myth. Seems the abs are often portrayed as a muscle with super muscle recovery capabilities. And because of this misconception, (as you say) can be trained almost everyday! Perhaps training (almost) everyday works for some... but not for those people work them to true failure. For ex. forty to fifty crunches four times a week is not training abs properly. When it comes to HEAVY abdominal training, such as weighted decline sit-ups, hanging leg raises, russian twists, etc., abs should be trained heavily no more than 2-3x a week. This guideline assumes that the you haveknowledge of how to train the abdominals under heavy resistance, and train them to failure. So tom I would include these ab workouts in your routine no more than 3x a week
ah ok see i always thought that, although i never use weights doing situps personally. And do find it takes alot to fatigue them.
Ok thanks guys. Much appreciated. I will incorporate them into my first post as we can edit it as we progress.
Quick question KC. I do heavy abs 3 time a week M-W-F and to lite crunches on T-TH. Should I just drop the Tuesday and Thursday stuff?
I do believe that doing a light workout even on supposedly your rest days, will slow down recovery and gains made with the heavy workout. Anyone else?
Looks pretty good, a lot of different exercises but hey that's upto you. Drop the incline and decline bench - no need in this variations just yet. Drop the third day almost entirely aside from the ab work. Go for an over head press or even clean and press. Heck, overhead squats could also be a great addition to this day. Do some specialist grip work like farmers walks and using a wrist roller. Thoughts anyone?
yea Yea I agree drop the decline and incline but remeber to try this out one time to make sure you can handle and be able to stick to it consistence is the key remeber this also when training remeber its not about how much you do but how you perform them, Just remeber this and to rest and eat properly and stretch between reps lightly on that bodypart and you should be good to go everything else looks good Good luck those are some nice weights I might order me some I need some more ne way
Yeah they are good weight at a decent price. You can buy extra weights to go with them: 2 x 11.3kg - £14.99 4 x 1.1kg, 4 x 2.3kg, 2 x 4.5kg - £14.99 That's in Argos, and if I sound like a salesman for them it's because I am!
I'd find it difficult to comment on ur routine without knowing in advance what you hope to gain from your workouts, but from a general perspective i'd say that you firstly include abdominal work too frequently, and second without enough variation. Try adding in a different form of ab work instead of the old crunches/leg raises every time, u'll find it to be a more efficient way to train those muscles. I'd suggest adding in maybe wieghted twists of some kind (full contact twists?) or weighted crunches.
I don't know about doing squats and deadlift two days in a row... but other than that looks good. However, if you are a little confused with making up a workout, it's always good to keep it to a full-body workout. You don't have to, just makes life easier... I learnt this the hard way... :cry: Hah, and yeah, you've been getting some pretty conflicting opinions about abs, but this isn't uncommon. I stand with KC on this one... I just need a scientific reasoning as to why the abs would be any different (the musculature I mean), has it got super duper muscle fibers or something?!