Critique my cycle.....training cycle that is!

[MAINEVENT]

Just kidding but in all seriousness, some recent posts have made me decide to throw this up and see what happens.

After training 'balls to the wall/failure' for so many years and not gaining much i switched my training this year. Now i am no where near the size most of you are but i think it really improved my physique, certainly made me stronger than ever, and if it can help some newer guys then by all means it was worth it.

What i did this year is train 3 days per week in the offseason....Mon/Wed/Fri. It would go something like this:

Mon: Chest/Delts/Triceps/Calves
Wed: Quads/hams/calves
Friday: Back/traps/biceps/Calves.

I would do ONLY 3 working sets per bodypart with different rep ranges week to week. The first week would be sets of 15, second week 10-12, third week 6-8, then repeat. I would also do one set of 'widowmakers' (20 reps) after my 3rd set.

I would also switch up the exercises weekly and try to improve/add each cycle.

After my show i would like to incorporate a little bit of powerlifting this offseason to help 'thicken' up my physique and see what happens. I hope to improve on my squat, bent row, deadlift and bench over the offseason.

 

[MilitaryMuscle]

Hey main, if your interested in getting your big 3 up, i would do Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 program this offseason. Its real laid back but provides structure on helping you reach your strength goals on the big 3. Let me know if you would like more info on it. I am currently doing it and i love it, it fits in real well with my strongman training. It can also be bodybuilder friendly at the same time, you just do different type of accessory work or whatever.....

 

[Ness]

I like it! It would be interesting to see what exercises you use. I agree that it would be a good system for newbs as it seems to provide plenty of rest days for eating and growing.

 

[MAINEVENT]

Hey main, if your interested in getting your big 3 up, i would do Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 program this offseason. Its real laid back but provides structure on helping you reach your strength goals on the big 3. Let me know if you would like more info on it. I am currently doing it and i love it, it fits in real well with my strongman training. It can also be bodybuilder friendly at the same time, you just do different type of accessory work or whatever.....

Post it up MM....lets get a good thread going here. I just love training....and learning.

Mainly i want to get my 'Big 3' up while having fun and then get back to what im doing...but of course with more weight!

 

[MAINEVENT]

I like it! It would be interesting to see what exercises you use. I agree that it would be a good system for newbs as it seems to provide plenty of rest days for eating and growing.

Well, ive been lifting for 23 years and it worked well for me so just about anyone could use this.

Ive stuck with this training throughout my contest prep but made a few changes along the way. I now rotate my 3 days on a 4 day/week schedule and ive added in the fst-7 (7 sets x 10) after my main 3 lifts.

Ive mainly stuck to the the basics...
chest : flat db press, hammer chest press and flat smythe machine presses. Occasionally i throw in dips or a low incline press as well.
delts its been smythe, db and hammer presses and laterals.
tricpes: close grip bench, dips, overhead db presses.

Quads: squats, front squats, leg press, hack squats
hams: stiff legged deads, lying leg curls, seated leg curls, db leg curls

back: hammer over and underhand pulldowns
t bar rows, db rows, bb rows and deads

biceps: ez bar curls, db curls, hammer curls
calves and traps: the usual

 

[Lenny]

Thanks for sharing Main because we can always grab an idea from someone else. Looks like good routine split you have going there. I will toss my split up and see what you are thing about it. I train very high frequency, not a ton of sets. I am usually done with weights in 45-60 minutes no longer!

My rep scheme is a warm-up set of 15 reps, stimulating set of 10 reps (just short of failure), and an all out set for 5 reps (everything I got, absolute failure set)

Day 1: Chest, Back, Abs
Bench Press: 3 sets of 15,10, 5 reps
Decline or Incline Press: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps
Pec Fly Machine or Cable Crossover: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps

BentOver Row: 3 sets of 15, 10 5 reps
Close Grip Pulldown: 3 sets of 15.10. 5 reps
Hammer Row or Seated Cable Row: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps
Chins: 3 sets to failure

Abs - 3 sets of hanging leg raises

Day 2: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps
DB overhead Press: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps
DB lateral raises: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps

DB curl: 3 sets of 15,10, 5 reps
Preacher Curl: 3 setsof 15,10, 5 reps

Close Grip Bench Press or DB skull crushers: 3 sets of 15,10,5 reps
Tricep Pressdown or Dips: 3 sets till failure

Day 3: Legs, calves
Squat: 3 sets of 15,15, 10, 5 reps
Stiff-Leg Deadlift: 3 sets of 15,10, 5 reps
Leg Curl: 3 sets of 15,10, 5 reps
Leg extension or leg press: 7 sets of 8-15 reps with 20-30 seconds of rest btw. sets

Seated Calf Raises: 3-4 sets till failure

REST....Repeat the cycle

Also, I do at least 30 minutes of moderate cardio on the bike 5 days per week.

 

[dragonfire101]

I loose strength hitting each bodypart once a week and some muscle density.

Maybe something like DC program and vary the reps each workout.

 

[MAINEVENT]

Thanks for sharing Main because we can always grab an idea from someone else. Looks like good routine split you have going there. I will toss my split up and see what you are thing about it. I train very high frequency, not a ton of sets. I am usually done with weights in 45-60 minutes no longer!

My rep scheme is a warm-up set of 15 reps, stimulating set of 10 reps (just short of failure), and an all out set for 5 reps (everything I got, absolute failure set)

Day 1: Chest, Back, Abs
Bench Press: 3 sets of 15,10, 5 reps
Decline or Incline Press: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps
Pec Fly Machine or Cable Crossover: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps

BentOver Row: 3 sets of 15, 10 5 reps
Close Grip Pulldown: 3 sets of 15.10. 5 reps
Hammer Row or Seated Cable Row: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps
Chins: 3 sets to failure

Abs - 3 sets of hanging leg raises

Day 2: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps
DB overhead Press: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps
DB lateral raises: 3 sets of 15, 10, 5 reps

DB curl: 3 sets of 15,10, 5 reps
Preacher Curl: 3 setsof 15,10, 5 reps

Close Grip Bench Press or DB skull crushers: 3 sets of 15,10,5 reps
Tricep Pressdown or Dips: 3 sets till failure

Day 3: Legs, calves
Squat: 3 sets of 15,15, 10, 5 reps
Stiff-Leg Deadlift: 3 sets of 15,10, 5 reps
Leg Curl: 3 sets of 15,10, 5 reps
Leg extension or leg press: 7 sets of 8-15 reps with 20-30 seconds of rest btw. sets

Seated Calf Raises: 3-4 sets till failure

REST....Repeat the cycle

Also, I do at least 30 minutes of moderate cardio on the bike 5 days per week.

I like that routine a lot Lenny. I think i will certainly give this a try. I lve thought of varying the reps (15,10,5) also throughout my sets by never did for some reason.

Thanks!

 

[Liphted]

Just kidding but in all seriousness, some recent posts have made me decide to throw this up and see what happens.

After training 'balls to the wall/failure' for so many years and not gaining much i switched my training this year. Now i am no where near the size most of you are but i think it really improved my physique, certainly made me stronger than ever, and if it can help some newer guys then by all means it was worth it.

What i did this year is train 3 days per week in the offseason....Mon/Wed/Fri. It would go something like this:

Mon: Chest/Delts/Triceps/Calves
Wed: Quads/hams/calves
Friday: Back/traps/biceps/Calves.

I would do ONLY 3 working sets per bodypart with different rep ranges week to week. The first week would be sets of 15, second week 10-12, third week 6-8, then repeat. I would also do one set of 'widowmakers' (20 reps) after my 3rd set.

I would also switch up the exercises weekly and try to improve/add each cycle.

After my show i would like to incorporate a little bit of powerlifting this offseason to help 'thicken' up my physique and see what happens. I hope to improve on my squat, bent row, deadlift and bench over the offseason.

Good to see this thread.
I'm a believer that you can learn more from your mistakes than anything else, so I'm curious about the part I underlined. I'm glad the new stuff is working, but why do you feel your "old" style left you with minimal gains? Was diet an influence, and have you changed that up with your new approach? Not enough rest? Too much volume? And most importantly why do you feel this new approach is better for you?

 

[STEVO 47]

I loose strength hitting each bodypart once a week and some muscle density.


Yes me too. Seems if I wait too long I loose strength
and some size. For me anything after 4 days is too
long.........

 

[optgrowth]

Also, I do at least 30 minutes of moderate cardio on the bike 5 days per week.

I see Lenny decided to do some cardio in the offseason

Question for ya Lenny, Are these days consecutive? If so this means you're training each muscle twice a week, correct?

 

[Lenny]

I see Lenny decided to do some cardio in the offseason

Question for ya Lenny, Are these days consecutive? If so this means you're training each muscle twice a week, correct?

Yes, I decided to do some cardio in the offseason, my wife does it, so I figured it will not hurt anything and stimulates my hunger which I do not mind at all right now.

Yes, I train consecutive hitting every muscle group twice. I always take at least one day off. I always make sure to hit the big muscles groups twice (legs, chest, back). The training sessions do not take very long, I can be done in 45 minutes without a problem. Of course the second time thru I am not as strong, but still feel pretty good. I always listen to my body if it calls for another day of rest, I take it. But, so far this style seems best for me.

 

[optgrowth]

Cool.. the reason I asked, I have the same type routine and I really enjoy it. It's different in ways but I won't post here bc I don't want to to hijack Main's thread.

 

[MAINEVENT]

Good to see this thread.
I'm a believer that you can learn more from your mistakes than anything else, so I'm curious about the part I underlined. I'm glad the new stuff is working, but why do you feel your "old" style left you with minimal gains? Was diet an influence, and have you changed that up with your new approach? Not enough rest? Too much volume? And most importantly why do you feel this new approach is better for you?

I was constantly going to failure every set, forced reps, etc. and i just think my body had enough. I felt i was just beating a dead horse.

My diet was pretty decent...i would say 80+% of the time it was good......good enough that i should have been growing anyway.

I feel the new approach is working for many reasons but mainly because I'm older and my body cant take the abuse anymore, I'm stimulating the muscle not annihilating it, and I've varying the rep ranges to hit different muscle fiber types.

 

[MilitaryMuscle]

Post it up MM....lets get a good thread going here. I just love training....and learning.

Mainly i want to get my 'Big 3' up while having fun and then get back to what im doing...but of course with more weight!

heres a copy/paste......

A program from Jim Wendler:
**broken link removed**

Basic setup:

Week 1 = 3 sets of 5 reps
Week 2 = 3 sets of 3 reps
Week 3 = 5/3/1
Week 4 = deload, 3 sets of 5 reps

Percentage setup:

Week 1 = 75% x 5 reps , 80% x 5 reps , 85% x 5 reps
Week 2 = 80% x 3 reps , 85% x 3 reps , 90% x 3 reps
Week 3 = 75% x 5 reps , 85% x 3 reps , 95% x 1 rep
Week 4 = deload - 60% x 5 reps , 65% x 5 reps , 70% x 5 reps

the cycle:

Week 1-

mon - military press
wed - deadlifts
fri - flat bench

Week 2-

mon - squats
wed - military press
fri - deadlifts

Week 3
mon - flat bench
wed - squats
fri - military press

Week 4
mon - deadlifts
wed - flat bench
fri - squats

Accessory Work :

MILITARY PRESS DAY -

delt / chest exercise - pick one of the following : 3-5 sets of 6-20 reps -

side db raises
db incline press
db flat bench
weighted dips
blast strap pushups

rear delt / trap exercise - pick one of the following for 3-5 sets of 10-25 reps -

barbell shrugs
db rear delt raises
face pulls
db power cleans
band pull aparts

DEADLIFT DAY -

Pos. chain / Ham exercise - pick one of the following for 3-5 sets of 5-30 reps -

kettelbell swings
leg curls
back extensions
glute ham raises
pullthroughs

Abs / Obliques exercise - pick one of the following for 3-5 sets of 10-50 reps -

ab wheel rollouts
situps
hanging leg raises
weighted crunches
side bends

FLAT BENCH DAY -

delt / chest exercise - pick one of the following for 3-5 sets of 6-20 reps -

pushups
incline bench
machine military press
upright rows
side db raises

lat exercise - pick one of the following for 3-5 sets of 6-30 reps -

chinups/pullups
pulldowns
db rows
chest supported rows
pulley rows

SQUAT DAY :

Quad exercise - pick one of the following for 3-5 sets of 6-20 reps -

bulgarian split squats
lumberjack squats
hack squats
belt squats
leg presses

Abs / obliques exercise- pick one of the following for 3-5 sets of 10-50 reps -

weighted situps
hanging leg raises
ab wheel rollouts
weighted crunches
side bends



you can also have your percentage make bigger jumps, which is what i like to do.....

for 5/5/5 week i like to do 65%/75%/85%
for 3/3/3 week i like to do 70%/80%/90%
for 5/3/1 week i like to do 75%/85%/95%

i feel more fresh on my last set


on the last set for your main lift on the day, you go to failure..... so if you can get more reps than your supposed go for it, but if your not feeling it that particular day..... then hit your required reps and move on. Thats the beauty about this, the only real thing that matters is the big lift and keep on progressing week to week.

Every cycle, you add 5 pounds to upper body and 10 to lower body.....

accessory work is up to you, you can do as much or as little as you would like. The template posted was just one of them. I personally like to do bodyweight template a lot, or i train strongman events after i do my main lift.... so it could look something like this...

close grip bench

225 x 5
275 x 5
305 x 7

dips x 100 reps total

pull ups x 50 rep total


or....


squats

worked up to 550 x 5 (one of those days where i got my reps and moved on)

then i did 470 x 10
315 x 2 sets of 25

so as you can see i vary my accessory work all the time..... thats why i like to program so much, i go by feel as well on how much i do.... i also train EOD, since it work well with my scheadule..... but you can also go 4 days a week as well (m/t/th/fri) ect.....



i do suggest buying the e-book, but to be honest most of it is over at his log on elitefts.com anyways. You just have to do a little reading

 

[Lou]

I was constantly going to failure every set, forced reps, etc. and i just think my body had enough. I felt i was just beating a dead horse.

My diet was pretty decent...i would say 80+% of the time it was good......good enough that i should have been growing anyway.

I feel the new approach is working for many reasons but mainly because I'm older and my body cant take the abuse anymore, I'm stimulating the muscle not annihilating it, and I've varying the rep ranges to hit different muscle fiber types.

Your training is very similar to mine. I basically blast and cruise (like DCers). In my blast I do 3 exercises per muscle group, 1 set each RP. Training 4 days a week, FST7 on lagging bodyparts. When I cruise, well I just go to the gym and do a regular workout.

 

[superman21]

Hey Mainevent, i am actually doing close to the exact same routine you are doing. i feel like doing anymore just exausts me. I can say that my weight is jumping up pretty good. my split is:

Monday: Chest, shoulders, Triceps, Abs
Wednesday: Legs, Calves
Friday: Back, Biceps, Abs

I am doing 3 sets per bodypart and i feel i am recovering very well. I will say that on leg day i do 3 sets of squats, 3 sets leg curls, and 3 sets extensions along with 3 sets of calves. This is too much, because i dont recover in time for back, biceps cuz i feel exhausted. so im going to cut out the extensions and see if that helps. everything is at high intensity.

Im very glad to see someone else doing a very basic routine like i just started a couple weeks ago. There are so many things that work for different people, and the bodybuilding mentality is more is better, but it just isnt that way for me it seems. More just seems to make me More tired.

Whats your diet like?

Im running a palumbo bulking style diet( works great for me).

Did you go to failure on those sets?

 

[Ironraider]

Main...

I'm sure that you've looked into DC training (three days per week), is there a reason not to pursue that model? I believe you stated that you might want to throttle down on your intensity level, but even with that, I would think this would give you the stimulus you would need to for growth, the rest needed for recovery, and with the right diet, pack on the size you're looking for.

It seems you're looking at adding widow's...would that be for all muscle groups?

Just my $0.02 worth...but I thought I would throw it out there, since I noticed Dragonfire made mention of it, but there was no response.

 

[chris250]

I like it, simple but effective programs are best....

progressive strengh and muscle gains

 

[Pathfinding77]

AGREED

Hey main, if your interested in getting your big 3 up, i would do Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 program this offseason. Its real laid back but provides structure on helping you reach your strength goals on the big 3. Let me know if you would like more info on it. I am currently doing it and i love it, it fits in real well with my strongman training. It can also be bodybuilder friendly at the same time, you just do different type of accessory work or whatever.....

agree with this...wendlers "pupils" and himself are making awesome gains with this template