Critique of my current workout please :)

[Irish_Tom]

Lo all,

You guys helped me out greatly this time last year with a work out/regime that really improved my physique, health and well being. That was until last July when I finished uni for the summer and returned home to work in a pub over the holidays. Too much beer and pub food combined with little or no exercise really isn't good for ones body image.

Anyway when I got back to uni in October I started again and it's be going really well. I just thought I would let you all know the progress I've made but I'm also asking for any tips or anything you would change to my current plan.

This is going to be an uber post so I really appreciate anyone who makes it to the end!

I'm a bit limited by my equipment but I'm trying to work my up to the maximum amount of weight I have available before starting a cutting diet with extra cardio. If things to go plan I should achieve this by the end of march which will give me April, May and June to cut ready for the beach in the summer.

The Workout

I'll include the current weight that I'm using for each exercise (but you're not allowed to laugh - Its not very much). All weight will be excluding the bar and dumbell weights will be for each db.

Warm up

Press-ups - 10x4 of different style press-ups

Crunches – 20x5 of different style crunches

Stretches etc


Monday (Chest/Shoulder/Triceps)


Flat Bench Press – 3x8
22.5kg

Incline Dumbbell Bench – 3x8 10kg


Skull Crushers – 3x8
5kg - I really struggle with these, I know its puny.

Seated Dumbbell Military Press - 3x8 10kg


Close Grip Bench Press – 3x8
 22.5kg

Lateral Dumbbell Raises – 3x8

7kg I've tried getting this up to 10KG but can't complete 3x8


Wednesday (Back/Biceps) 


Dead lifts – 3x8
22.5kg

Bent over one arm Dumbbell rows – 3x8 10kg 


Chin-ups - 3x8 Well not quite. I can do 8 on the first set then it goes rapidly down-hill after that. I can do 5 quite comfortably for 3 sets.

Barbell Bicep Curl - 3x8
 10kg

Bent over Barbell rows – 3x8 22.5kg

One arm Dumbbell hammer Curls – 3x8 10kg





Friday (Legs/Abs)

Barbell Squats – 3x8
22.5kg

Dumbbell Lunges – 3x8 10kg


Straight Leg Dead Lifts – 3x8
22.5kg

Calf Raises - 4x10 10kg

Dumbbell Side Bends 3x8 10kg


Weighted Crunches 3x8 11.5kg


I said I was working towards the maximum weight I have available which for the bar is 36kg and for the db's is 17.5kg each. I realise this isn't very much but it's the best I can do at the minute. I'm hoping to get up to that level by the end of March.


The Diet


Breakfast 8.30ish:

Banana

Bowl of muesli with natural yoghurt and honey

250mm glass of orange juice (not from concentrate)

500mm Protein shake with 35mm scoop of unflavoured whey and 3g of L-Glutamine

Cup of tea with semi-skimmed milk

Multi-vitamin and minerals


Brunch 11.30ish:

Varies between a few meals:

Scrambled Eggs (2) on malted wholegrain bread (2 slices)

Mature English Cheddar on malted holegrain bread (2 slices)

Sweet potato with cottage cheese and cucumber

cous-cous with green leaves, onion, mushroom and a selection of nuts and seeds

Spanish omelette (2 eggs)

followed by two oranges and an apple


Lunch 2.30ish:

One of the above that wasn't eaten for Brunch with a pear instead of the oranges and apple.


Pre-workout 5.00ish:

500mm Protein shake with 35mm scoop of unflavoured whey, 3g of L-Glutamine and 3g of Creatine.


workout an hour after pre-workout shake 6.00ish


Post-workout Depends on the length of the work out which is usually about an hour so say 7.00ish:

500mm Protein shake with 35mm scoop of unflavoured whey, 3g of L-Glutamine, 3g of Creatine, half a 35mm scoop of Dextrose and half a 35mm scoop of Maltodextrine.

250mm of this is taken straight after the work-out the other 250mm is taken slowly over the follow hour.

After a shower this shake is followed by:


Dinner 7.30ish:

Varies but the most usual are:

Stir-fry with 250g (uncooked) chicken or prawns - mixed veg and egg noodles or a rice combination of 1/4 wild, 1/4 brown and 1/2 basmati

Spag-bol with 250g (uncooked) mince and brown pasta.

Pork chops (2) with boiled new potatoes, mixed veg and baked beans

Rump Steak 250g (uncooked) with boiled new potatoes and mixed veg


Supper 10.30ish:

Cottage cheese

grapes and brie

2 slices of malted whole grain bread with honey

Multi vitamin and minerals

Taurine, cod liver oil and vitamin B12 supplements

Bed by 11:00


That's pretty much it. On Tuesdays I scuba dive in the evenings and have a pre and post work out shake the same as above before and after the diving.

On my other days of rest, Thursdays and the weekend, I have a shake with dinner that's the same as my breakfast shake.


My Cutting Plan

After March when I start the extra cardio I will be running before the workout (starting at about a mile and working up my distance and my speed).


Monday will be a straight run over the whole course

Wednesday will be stop-start sprints over the course

Friday will be HIIT over the whole course


I will also start swimming on Thursdays and Saturdays and take Sundays off.


Well done if you made it to the end of that. Thanks for any tips or advice you can give me based on the above. I hope I've provided enough info but if you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them.

Panzer

 

[Participant]

Hi and first of all, good luck with your goals. I have very similar aims between now and the summer. First thing that springs to mind is to not do cardio before your weights. If you must do cardio on the same day, do it after your workout as after a decent cardio session especially HIIT, I doubt your lifting performance would be half of that lifted on a normal day. Preferably do your cardio on entirely independent day.

As regards your diet and workout, some people might grumble about you doing three so important muscle groups on the same day, i.e. chest tris and shoulders. I'd move one of these to the abs day. I'm far from a diet expert but the diet seems fine as far as I can tell. Possibly needs less fruit when you're cutting and I'm not sure about the conconction of supps post-workout, but at this point I'll have to move over and let someone else talk further.

 

[Irish_Tom]

Thanks for the speedy reply Robbie!

What you say about cardio and weights makes sense, I'll maybe move the running to my rest days and forget about the swimming (this will save me the costs of going to the pool as well so I quite like that).

Fair point about muscle-groups on the same day, it is based it on GordyR's Sticky though. I'm going to struggle to cut out the fruit I like it so much.

Cheers again!

Panzer

 

[alexakasloth]

The diet looks good to me but as robbie G has said i'd move the shoulders to a different day, swapping them with the abs.

 

[Irish_Tom]

Cheers $loth I shall do that indeed. I'm a very happy chappy tonight because I managed to do my 3x8 chins!

That's a small goal acomplished. Now my next question is, do I up the reps or add extra weight to make it harder?

I take it by the few responses that everything is fine with the above (bar switching shoulders and abs) and I shall carry on as I have been.

Cheers again.

Panzer

 

[Participant]

Cheers $loth I shall do that indeed. I'm a very happy chappy tonight because I managed to do my 3x8 chins!

That's a small goal acomplished. Now my next question is, do I up the reps or add extra weight to make it harder?

I'd stick to 3x8 and up the weight if you're purely looking for muscle gain, as opposed to endurance for climbing or something.

 

[Paracelsus]

Don't overthink it, and don't do too many exercises. I think you are doing both, you don't need to be so anal about diet.

 

[Irish_Tom]

Cool cheers guys.

Parcelsus the diets not set in stone, it's indicative rather than resolute but I needed to put something up.

Panzer

 

[Yucca]

Don't overthink it, and don't do too many exercises. I think you are doing both, you don't need to be so anal about diet.

This is quite true, i think one can easily fall into what i call the "robot trap". D?iet is very very important and the more anal you are the better the results will be, hopefully. BUT you are human and life is about enjoying as well as maximising. Train hard, eat clean but remember to enjoy life to.

Perhaps the best way of doing this is to either have 2 cheat meals a week, when you can eat and drink whatever you want. Or another way is to look at the meals you normally eat, the ones you like to eat and just think of how you can make each one of them a little healthier.

Hope that helps. And good luck!

 

[Chong Warrior]

Fair point about muscle-groups on the same day, it is based it on GordyR's Sticky though. I'm going to struggle to cut out the fruit I like it so much.

Don't cut out the fruit, cut out the dextrose and maltodextrin instead. Always aim for the most nutritious food and you'll do better imho.

 

[Killa_ken]

Hi there,
Thats a solid routine you have there, however - I don't mean to sound rude - but are you purposely lifting light? What makes me ask is that you seem to be squatting 22.5kg which sounds very light, unless of course your just getting your form right on each excursive then carry on

 

[Irish_Tom]

Cheers again for the extra recommendations.

Killa I know it's very light but as I said in the OP that's all the weight that I got with the bench (was given to me and I can't afford a Gym membership or any additional weight).

It is helping me with my form I guess and for certain exercises (squats - deadlifts - bench press) I think I could do a whole lot more that what I'm currently lifting but unfortunately I don't have the extra weight to make it harder.

Panzer