*** The 2014 Gym Rats Thread ***

[Delvis]

Skip to 2:30 for hnnngsnap

 

[Steedie]

That didn't look as bad as some bench injuries I've seen but I bet it hurt like buggery

 

[Delvis]

It looks worse in the PIC as the bloods spread about

 

[XeNoN89]

Right, I plan on changing my routine when i get back from Holiday as i've been doing my current one for about a year and a half now and the progress has slowed. My goal is purely size and I'm not really sure what to change. Here is my current routine:

Week 1:

Mon: Chest
Dumbell Bench press 4x8
Incline barbell bench 4x8
Seated chest press machine 4x8
Incline chest press machine 4x8
Pec fly machine 3x10
Incline dumbell fly 3x10

Tues: Back
Wide grip pull ups 4x10
Close hammer grip pull downs 4x8
wide grip underhand pull downs 4x10
Bent over hammer grip rows 4x12
rear delt fly machine 4x10
Shrugs 3x10

Wed: Legs/Abs
Squats(pyramid)12reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps (weight increasing each set)
Leg press 3x12
Calf raise machine 4x12
Leg extensions 3x12
Crunch machine
Weighted decline situps

Thur: Shoulders
Front dumbell raise 4x10
Lateral dumbell raise 4x12
rear delt fly machine 4x10
shoulder press machine 3x12
lateral cable raise 4x12
rear delt row 3x10


Sat: Chest
Incline barbell Bench 4x8
Flat barbell bench 4x8
Incline chest press machine 4x8
Seated chest press machine 4x8
Incline dumbell fly 3x10
Pec fly machine 3x10


Week 2:

Mon: Back
Wide grip pull ups 4x10
Close hammer grip pull downs 4x8
wide grip underhand pull downs 4x10
Bent over hammer grip rows 4x12
rear delt fly machine 4x10
Shrugs 3x10

Tues: Chest
Dumbell Bench press 4x8
Incline barbell bench 4x8
Seated chest press machine 4x8
Incline chest press machine 4x8
Pec fly machine 3x10
Incline dumbell fly 3x10


Wed: Legs/Abs
Squats(pyramid)12reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps (weight increasing each set)
Leg press 3x12
Calf raise machine 4x12
Leg extensions 3x12
Crunch machine
Weighted decline situps

Thur: Shoulders
Front dumbell raise 4x10
Lateral dumbell raise 4x12
rear delt fly machine 4x10
shoulder press machine 3x12
lateral cable raise 4x12
rear delt row 3x10

Sat: Arms
Close grip bench press 4x10
weighted dips 4x10
barbell curls 4x10
hammer grip pull ups 3x10
rope tricep pulldowns 4x10
straight bar cable pulldowns 4x12
concentration curls 4x10

A few things to note, I double up on chest every other week as I struggle with chest gains, seems to be a bit of a weak point for me!(although this routine has helped)

I think this seems like quite a lot but i finish my sessions in about an hour so it isn't excessive, due to time constraints I split my sessions into 5 days as I was spending far too much time in the gym when I was on a 3 day split.

Any advice would be great, i basically want to change enough to shock my muscles into some new growth. I was thinking maybe going 5x5 on some bigger lifts to try to shock the muscles into some strength gains, it would also mean i have a more varied rep range over my sessions

Also some other ideas I've had but want opinions on: Maybe changing my saturdays so I have Week1: Chest, Week2: Back, Week3 Arms or doing a heavy full body workout every saturday and just add a couple of bicep/tricep excercises at the end of my back/chest sessions.

Thoughts?

 

[Begbie]

That looks awful to me, way too many exercises. Way too much isolation, way too many machines.

Putting on size means volume, you don't need to hit the muscles in 7 different ways to gain this. I always work around Bench, Squat and Deadlifts. Aux exercises become second to this, if that means I'm too ****ed to do them or I don't have time then so be it (not normally the case though).

No deadlifts either?

 

[XeNoN89]

That looks awful to me, way too many exercises. Way too much isolation, way too many machines.

Putting on size means volume, you don't need to hit the muscles in 7 different ways to gain this. I always work around Bench, Squat and Deadlifts. Aux exercises become second to this, if that means I'm too ****ed to do them or I don't have time then so be it (not normally the case though).

No deadlifts either?

Well this did work for me for a good amount of time before progress slowed, so you think I should increase my compound lifts and reduce the isolation?

I did used to dead lift but stopped due to excessive lower back doms (form was good, so wasn't because of this) and I also didn't find my back progress slowed when I removed them.

Does changing my big lifts to 5x5 sound like a good idea then? (I know this should focus more on strength but feel i need to change something!)

 

[mrthingyx]

Well this did work for me for a good amount of time before progress slowed, so you think I should increase my compound lifts and reduce the isolation?

I did used to dead lift but stopped due to excessive lower back doms (form was good, so wasn't because of this) and I also didn't find my back progress slowed when I removed them.

Does changing my big lifts to 5x5 sound like a good idea then? (I know this should focus more on strength but feel i need to change something!)

It probably worked for the first period of time because... Any progressive routine does: noob gains happen almost by accident.

Now, you should be upping workload through volume/intensity as well as diet: most people don't realise how much is actually required to gain once the initial noob period is over.... Lots.

And yes: concentrate on compound lifts. You may be surprised by how much you can gain through basic compound lifts or slight variations of them:

Bench -> dumbell bench.
Deadlift -> snatch grip deadlift.
Back squat -> front squat/deficit Bulgarian split squats.
Strict press -> push press.

Making gains is not complicated...

 

[jernau_gergeh]

Looks like overtraining and overspecialising to me. You could do half the exercises and make twice the gains.

 

[icecold]

I did used to dead lift but stopped due to excessive lower back doms (form was good, so wasn't because of this) and I also didn't find my back progress slowed when I removed them.

Incorrect.

 

[mrthingyx]

Incorrect.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Deadlift always seems to be the compound lift that nobody wants to do. I've always struggled with it compared to squats, bench and ohp but I'll never stop doing them. Did you try sumo deadlifts XeNoN? Some people find them easier to perform.

 

[Freefaller]

Deads to me are just the best exercise - I love 'em. They do stuff you though

 

[tom_e]

I love the deads! There's something about just ripping a great big weight off the floor.

 

[mrthingyx]

Deadlift always seems to be the compound lift that nobody wants to do. I've always struggled with it compared to squats, bench and ohp but I'll never stop doing them. Did you try sumo deadlifts XeNoN? Some people find them easier to perform.

Most people don't do them properly, so it's no surprise that they then go on to hurt themselves. And then don't like them.

Deads to me are just the best exercise - I love 'em. They do stuff you though

I love the deads! There's something about just ripping a great big weight off the floor.

There's more to ripping it off the floor and keeping it above your head.

Possibly the world's heaviest body-weight snatch...

 

[XeNoN89]

Incorrect.

My form was fine.

Deadlift always seems to be the compound lift that nobody wants to do. I've always struggled with it compared to squats, bench and ohp but I'll never stop doing them. Did you try sumo deadlifts XeNoN? Some people find them easier to perform.

I tried sumo deadlifts a couple of times and they seemed Ok, but at that point I hadn't done deadlifts for a while and so dropped the weight right down anyway. I might start them again when I change my routine up.

I've never actually had an issue doing the deadlifts themselves, it's just the lower back doms that put me off! Was often finding on nights out for example I would struggle, standing for a long time with lower back ache was not easy!

 

[XeNoN89]

It probably worked for the first period of time because... Any progressive routine does: noob gains happen almost by accident.

Now, you should be upping workload through volume/intensity as well as diet: most people don't realise how much is actually required to gain once the initial noob period is over.... Lots.

And yes: concentrate on compound lifts. You may be surprised by how much you can gain through basic compound lifts or slight variations of them:


Making gains is not complicated...

My noob gains were long finished before I started this routine! I've been lifting for years now, my diet should be sorted now. I'm just finishing my cut so when I change up my routine after holiday i'll also be changing my diet as I'm going for a clean bulk!

Any good splits you would recommend me to move on to?

 

[mrthingyx]

I generally don't bother with bodypart splits because I'm not a bodybuilder, but typically work around segregation of specific compound movements (Olympic lifting twice a week, squatting on two other days, and a day for deadlift-y stuff).

There are three possible reasons you may not be gaining as you'd like:

- Your diet is insufficient (unless you're very experienced in this area, the chances are it probably is - quite simply - not enough food);
- Your routine is not sufficiently progressive (i.e. you're not pushing your muscles hard enough... and that's not saying "not enough exercises" but that your chosen lifts are not being pushed hard enough);
- You're not resting enough (not just time between lifts, but also sleep).

It's actually not very difficult to gain mass provided a lifter address the three areas above, but addressing them is not easy, because too many people get hung up on a routine without sufficient volume or consistency, or they think they're eating enough (we've all been here!), or we think working hard every day without sufficient rest looks fine for pros, so why not us?

When I go for hypertrophy, I normally replicate my existing training regime, but with greater volume (i.e. more reps, less weight) that can be carried by the primary lifts with some additional accessory work.

But again: the key element is a sufficient, balanced diet. Log your diet for a couple of weeks to get a view as to your intakes vs. your vital statistics (BMR, height, weight, etc.).

 

[Zatoichi.uK]

I injured my lower back doing deadlifts on 5x5 and am pretty sure it was just my lower back was a weak link in my posterior chain. The new routine I'm on has stiff leg deads and whilst I initially had DOMS, I don't have any now despite the weight going up.

 

[mrthingyx]

Your lower back is just part of your core... what you're effectively saying is that you either:

- Didn't know how to brace your core effectively;
- Didn't know how to set up/move correctly during a deadlift;

Doing an SLDL/RDL will be 'easier' because you're bracing from the top down for the lift... which suggests you probably can address #1, but your problem was actually with #2.

 

[Zatoichi.uK]

Quite possibly yes. I did lots of reading up and watched a ton of videos etc. but ultimately injured myself anyway. Nothing bad, just severe DOMs. I really tried to emphasise pushing with my heels but perhaps ended up pulling with my back too much anyway.

My point was that SLDLs hopefully have filled a weak point to some extent now.