Please critique my workout routine

[djtdot]

I used to workout three days a week from about October last year to March this year, then it got too busy at my uni and didn't get time. So now I finally decided to workout again. The first time I worked out I certainly felt stronger but didn't see any gains in muscle size and I was still the good ol' skinny bastard. Earlier I used to do two sets of each exercise now I have decided to do three sets.

Day 1: Chest, back, abs

1) Chest
Incline bench(every third week I do decline bench)
DB fly or pushups
2) Back
Lats pulldown (I do toe touch every third week)
Seated row
3) Abs
Crunch
DB side bend

Day 2: Thighs and legs

DB squat
Leg extension
Leg curl
Leg press
Ankle flexicon with weight plate
Donkey calf raise

Day 3: Shouldors and arms

1) Triceps

Cable pushdown
Cable pulldown

2) Biceps

Concentration curl or Barbell curl

3) Shouldors

Behind the neck press with barbell
DB raise
DB military press

Cardio

I do cardio atleast twice a week for abt 30-40 min and try to burn atleast 300 or so calories.

And should I do warmup lifiting for each of the exercises? And should I do all my three sets at once with one or two minute break and then move on to the next exercise or should I do a set of each exercise and move on to the next one and once I completed the cycle come back to the original one?

Thanx a lot

 

[akeith90]

I can tell you 3 things I'm pretty sure people are going to tell you...

1) Don't do 2 major muscle groups in the same day (Chest and Back)

2) Do Deadlifts. They are amazing and you can add 10's of lbs each week just workin on it.

3) Cardio kinda nulls out some of your muscle gains

 

[EFFORT]

From Ironaddicts.com, do this one for awhile

Day One:

Dips or Bench Press 2 x 6-8

Incline Press, or incline Fly 2 x 10-12

Military Press, Or Hammer Shoulder Press 2 x 6-8

Tricep (skull crushers) Extensions or Tricep Pushdowns 2 x 10-12

Heavy Abs 3 x 10

Day Two:

Pull-Up 3 sets to failure

Barbell Row 2 x 8

EZ-Bar Or Dumbell Curl 1 x 10

Squats 2 x 10

Deadlifts, or Stiff-Legged Deadlift 1 x 10

 

[don juan jr]

I can tell you 3 things I'm pretty sure people are going to tell you...

1) Don't do 2 major muscle groups in the same day (Chest and Back)

2) Do Deadlifts. They are amazing and you can add 10's of lbs each week just workin on it.

3) Cardio kinda nulls out some of your muscle gains

dead on :rockon:


cardio for 30-40 minutes way too long bud

 

[EFFORT]

Not if hes doing low intensity cardio for fat loss. 45-1hr is good.

 

[djtdot]

From Ironaddicts.com, do this one for awhile

Day One:

Dips or Bench Press 2 x 6-8

Incline Press, or incline Fly 2 x 10-12

Military Press, Or Hammer Shoulder Press 2 x 6-8

Tricep (skull crushers) Extensions or Tricep Pushdowns 2 x 10-12

Heavy Abs 3 x 10

Hi, I did all that and I also did 'Behind the neck press with barbell'.

Day Two:

Pull-Up 3 sets to failure

Barbell Row 2 x 8

EZ-Bar Or Dumbell Curl 1 x 10

Squats 2 x 10

Deadlifts, or Stiff-Legged Deadlift 1 x 10

I will do this on Sunday.

 

[djtdot]

This is my diet

8:00 AM

Cerel with milk and nuts
Milk + 1/2 scoop whey protein

11:00 AM
1 bagel + peanut butter
1 yogurt
1/4 cup soyabeans

2:00 PM

1.5 cup rice
Dal(Indian lentil curry with some veggies, has abt 25gms of protein for the amount I eat)
Veggie or Salad with tofu

5:00 PM
1 apple
1 egg
1/4 cup soya beans

8::00 PM
2 cups rice
Dal(same as above)
Veggie
1/2 cup soyabeans

10:30 PM
1 cup milk + 1/2 scoop whey protein
Fruits, usually a banana or some strawberries

Preworkout meal: 1 apple or some crackers with peanut butter
Postworkot meal: 1 banana with an egg.

 

[EFFORT]

Your not eating enough protein, i'd be suprised if what u posted breaks 100g of protein

 

[MrS]

Woah woah!
Whats wit the soya beans?
They increase estrogen.
Don't eat no soya beans, foo'!

 

[djtdot]

@Espi, here are my stats.

Current height= 5'9
Starting weight = 171 pounds
Current weight=172.4 pounds.
BF: about 23%
Target BF: 16%.
Target weight = 185 pounds by September(new year at uni starts and there will be lotsa new chicks )


From the diet in my previous post

Current protein intake: abt 150 grams
Carbs:530 grams
Fats:90 grams or so
@ 20 cals per lb, I require : 3448 cals.
Calories I take: 4*150 + 4*530 + 90*9 = 3,530 calories.


The problem is I can't figure out how to add more proteins to this. I am a vegetarian. I could take just add another scoop of why protein to a cup of milk and I get extra 30 grams of protein. But I want to take natural foods not whey.

 

[djtdot]

I changed my exercise routine to the following one

The first sets are all warmups. I pick a weight 5-10lbs less than the max I lifted last time and do warmup with that.

Day One (A):

Dips or Bench Press 3 x 6-8

Incline Press, or incline Fly 3 x 10-12

DB Military Press, Or Hammer Shoulder Press 3 x 6-8

Tricep (skull crushers) Extensions or Tricep Pushdowns 3 x 10-12

Heavy Abs 3 x 10

Day Two (B):

Lats pullldown / one armed DB row 3 x 8-10

Barbell Row 3 x 8-10

EZ-Bar Or Dumbell Curl 2 x 10

Squats 3 x 8-10

Deadlifts, or Stiff-Legged Deadlift 3 x 10

I train 3 days a week.

XAXBXAX,XBXAXBX

The problem with me is my lower body is kinda huge (especially my @$$) and my upper body isn't that big. It looks so bad that I wear loose cloths. So that's why I do a bit of cardio. Sometimes I just walk around the town for an hour or so and sometimes I use the exercise bike.

 

[djtdot]

Goals for in terms of weights lifted.

Right now

Bench: 50lbs + bar(which I think weighs 15lbs or so)

Squat: 60 lbs + bar(which is abt 40 lbs or so)

Deadlift: 45 lbs

By the end of June

Bench: 100 lbs + bar

Squat: 100 lbs + bar

Deadlift: 85 lbs

 

[Skilla_Staz]

Being a vegetarian is putting you at a huge disadvantage. I would do some serious research for vegetarians and gaining weight.

Bodybuilding.com: Vegetarian Articles

I'm not fond of their forums, but their website has plenty of articles. Hopefully this gives you a little more help.

Now on to your workout. You are 170lbs and only squat 100lbs? Before I got in trouble, I weighed about 150 and was squatting 350 for reps of 3.

This is a workout I created, and have had critiqued.

It's a three day split, focused around bench, squats and deadlifts. It also has olympic lifts in it for explosiveness, since I am participating in sports. Given the feedback on this routine from friends and other forums, this should be a good mass builder, if you take in the proper nutrients.

 

[Skilla_Staz]

Not if hes doing low intensity cardio for fat loss. 45-1hr is good.

15-20 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training is optimal for burning fat. Extensive bouts of slow, methodical cardio only ends up hurting your muscle gains.

Example, look at distance runners. They could go forever, but they look like flabby little skinny mofo's.

Now, look at sprinters. They are high intensity athletes, who are often times below 10% bodyfat. Endurance runners are often times well above 10% because of the lack of muscle mass.

Which would you choose?

 

[EFFORT]

15-20 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training is optimal for burning fat. Extensive bouts of slow, methodical cardio only ends up hurting your muscle gains.

Example, look at distance runners. They could go forever, but they look like flabby little skinny mofo's.

Now, look at sprinters. They are high intensity athletes, who are often times below 10% bodyfat. Endurance runners are often times well above 10% because of the lack of muscle mass.

Which would you choose?

Endurance runners aren't doing low intensity cardio. I'm talking about walking on the treadmill at 2.5-3mph with a slight incline, you should be able to hold a conversation with someone the whole time. This is good cardio that won't mess up your weightlifting progress and what top trainers like Iron Addict, DC, Inhuman have there clients doing to keep bodyfat at bay while increasing muscle mass.

 

[[S]alvatore]

15-20 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training is optimal for burning fat. Extensive bouts of slow, methodical cardio only ends up hurting your muscle gains.

HIIT is a good option, if you are fit enough to attempt it. The majority of people aren't hence why steady state long duration cardio is better. As long as you consume whey or glutamine before your cardio, and whey after, you will lose minimal muscle mass. This is also determined by your diet, when you are performing cardio and when you are weight training, as both require different fueling. I recommend cardio first thing in the morning after a protein only meal (ideally whey) or glutamine, then a carb+protein based meal half an hour after your whey shake.

Eg:

6:45am Wake
7:00 40g whey in water/10g L-Glutamine
7:15 30-40 minutes steady state cardio 65-70% max heart rate
8:00 40g whey in water
8:30 50g oats, 4 egg whites, 200ml skimmed milk

 

[Skilla_Staz]

Well, do what suits you I guess. I just know that during track season, I generally become more lean than any other time of the year.

 

[Skilla_Staz]

Drastically reducing the calories that much is going to cause some large amounts of muscle loss. I still preach intense cardio, proper nutrient balances, heavy weight training and lots of rest.

The results won't be immediate if you're losing or gaining weight. Just to let you know the obvious.

 

[djtdot]

Well here are my current photos....

Sideview

http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc0068423gf.jpg

Frontview

http://img309.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc0068322gs.jpg

 

[Skilla_Staz]

It is possible to gain lean muscle and lower your body fat at the same time. HIT, along with intense weight training, and a diet that MEETS your daily caloric expediture often times keeps your weight the same. However, athletes in such studies (I'll try to find the sources) who maintained the weight, improved their body composition. This means they lost fat, and gained muscle. Now, since muscle is much more dense, you will appear as if you're smaller, while the numbers say your the same weight.