View Full Version : Powerlifting & Bodybuilding
littlekid
03-07-2002, 12:40 PM
I have a dilemma. My BP is stupidly low...I weigh 143 and i'm benching 150 haha. I've been on a bodybuilding routine to gain size proportionally all over for quite some time.
My problem is that I want to get my bench up, but when I look at the power lifting routines, they don't include much variety in the routines.....what about calves, bis, tris, etc.? So what I'm looking for is a way to improve my bench, while still keeping a BB style workout plan.
Here's my split:
Mon: Chest/Bis
Tue: Quads/Calves
Thur: Back/Tris
Fri: Shoulders/Hams
pure_power
03-07-2002, 04:52 PM
Your split is all screwed up. You have back with tri's, biceps with chest, even shoulders with hamstrings. First off, get organized, and get organized the correct way. I'd recommend this split...
Monday: Chest, Shoulders, Tri's
Wednesday: Quads, Hams, Calves
Friday: Back, Biceps, Traps
I go six days a week, but I just repeat everything, such as on thursday i repeat monday (except I do speed bench), friday repeated as tuesday (except I do speed squat) and on saturday I repeated as wednesday (exactly the same). It gives you 72 hours of rest between each muscle group. Of course though with you being really a beginner in all of these, I'd just recommend 3 days a week. All in all though, get your muscle groups organized better.
whats a speed bench and whats a speed squat?
littlekid
03-07-2002, 05:09 PM
i've used splits like that before.....I have to switch up my routine/split quite often because my gains stagnate quickly. But thanks for the reply, I'll try your suggestions
pure_power
03-07-2002, 05:13 PM
Speed bench and speed squatting are techniques used by the Westside Powerlifting Club. Speed bench is done by using between 50%-60% of your one rep max. You do 9-12 sets of 3 explosive (and I do emphasize EXPLOSIVE) reps. It's done as quick as you can, but under control. It works on the chest area of the bench (the first 1/3 of your bench technique), also you can use chains also or bands to add in with resistance. Speed squat is pretty much the same thing. It used the box in the squat though. You do 9-12 sets of 3 EXPLOSIVE (emphasis again) reps. As soon as you hit the box, EXPLODE! I'd recommend though to build up strength start out doing 12 sets, then after you start gaining significant strength, go down to 9. A warning though, you can't use this routine all the time, because after so long it will tear you down (overtraining), so I counter this by changing my grip area and by not doing chains or putting on chains. I change it up every 2-3 weeks, depending.
so,for the speed bench,you lower the weight to around 50%of your max and do about 9-12 reps very fast,while staying under control,with 3 sets.Whats the benefit of speed benches?
And can a bench be put in place for a box when doing the speed box squats?And whats the benefit of doing speed squats?
NO. You read him wrong. It's 10-12 sets with 2-3 REPS.
"Your split is all screwed up."
His split was fine man or can you find any mistakes in it? Maybe placing shoulder with triceps but that's it. Not everything is "chest with triceps and back with biceps". There is such a thing as variety.
-Zulu
pure_power
03-08-2002, 06:08 AM
Yeah, there is such a thing as variety, but you're overworking the muscle groups. It's commonly known that when you work your chest, the tri's and shoulders come in. Also on certain tri and shoulder exercises the chest comes in. What I'm getting to is that those days put the right muscle groups together. If you want variety, change the routine around. For example: after a few weeks put legs first then back/bi's then chest/shoulders/tri's. Or just tweak little things in your workout, such as subsituting exercises. (J.M. Presses instead of close grip, dumbell tricep press instead of skullbusters, etc.) The main reason also is to prevent overtraining, but it just depends on how frequent your workout is also. Oh, and speed squats help in just adding power to your squat. It adds mass also, but it will also help a lot in your strength. It's a known fact that if you train with over 80%-90% of your max, your strength will start to diminish rapidly after a while. That's why I do speed squats one day, and normal squats the other, changes things up and prevents this from happening.
Training triceps one day and your chest 3 days later is NOT overtraining, trust me.
Same for back and biceps.
I'm getting fed up with all this supposed information that's carved in stone. 'Always train your abs last'. 'Only train your biceps with your back', etc.... It helps to think outside the box. You should agree with me, afterall.... that's exactly what the WSB routines are based on.
-Zulu
pure_power
03-08-2002, 02:54 PM
Well I'm going straight with what I beleive in what has worked for me. Granted, Westside does like to mix things up a lot more, but I don't see the point. Just work the muscles that all work with each other one day. And like I said before, mixing it up can be just simply adding/substituting exercises in your routine. It just depends on who is doing it, plus the fact that each of us have our own opinion.
The main advantage in his routine was that he is NOT pre-exhausting his tris and biceps for example. I consider this to be an advantage. He is training them fresh, not after sets of bench and pull-ups when your arms are fried.
-Zulu
pure_power
03-08-2002, 09:14 PM
I know what you mean, and granted, it's a good idea. Yes, I can understand wanting to be fresh on biceps or triceps, but in my workout your working your tri's and bi's while doing back and chest. It may sound like it can lead into overtraining, but you just have to know how far to push yourself and how high to go on triceps when you get to them in your workout. I can see though now what you mean, and I admit, I've never thought of it from that perspective. Thanks Zulu, lol, disproving me in a way has helped.
I only mentioned it because I used to think exactly the same way you do. :)
Cheers man,
-Zulu