Newbies Routine for Building Muscle

[FitnessScotland]

I'm 185 llbs, 25.4% bodyfat (albeit on the dodgy scales, so I'm thinking more 20% looking at similar builds on here), and am looking to gradually build muscle, stay around the same weight, and drop bodyfat down to around 10%.

The advice I have had is to eat clean at around 2300 calories per day, keep the fat low but the protein high and the carbs reasonably high as well (probably a 50/30/20 split).

In terms of a programme, I can commit 3 days per week to it, sometimes 4.

I was thinking of:

1st day - Chest / Biceps / Quads & Hams (total exercises - 7, time spent - 1 hour)

2nd Day - Shoulders & back / triceps / calves (total exercises - 8, time spent - 1 hour)

3rd day - Chest / Biceps / Quads & Hams (total exercises - 7, time spent - 1 hour)

4th Day - Shoulders & back / triceps / calves (total exercises - 8, time spent - 1 hour)

Every day Abs - 250 reps per day of 5 different exercises.


The exercises I do on days 1 & 3 will be quite different (same with 2 & 4), despite working the same body parts. So although it will be 7 exercises, they will be different to the 7 I did earlier in the week. I do not want too rigid a routine!

Combined with a solid clean diet, is this a decent enough routine for me to see good progress over the next 3 months ? My target is to get as close to 10% BF as I can by the end of 2009, so would be looking to have dropped from 20% to 15% or so by the end of the summer as I know the initial gains are always the most dramatic, then it gets really hard !

Thanks for any words of advice or encouragement !

[ironwill2008]

A couple of things; what you've posted is a "split;" a "routine" will list each exercise, with sets/reps also listed.

It's not necessary, or a good idea, to work your abs every day. They're a muscle group like any other; you don't get definition by training them to excess. They also get a lot of work as supporting muscles during other exercises.

[FitnessScotland]

A couple of things; what you've posted is a "split;" a "routine" will list each exercise, with sets/reps also listed.

It's not necessary, or a good idea, to work your abs every day. They're a muscle group like any other; you don't get definition by training them to excess. They also get a lot of work as supporting muscles during other exercises.

Thanks for that, yes a 'split' then rather than an actual routine then, sorry. I do around 7 exercises in each 1 hours session, plus abs. I work on 2 main body parts plus throw in a different legs exercise in each session. I pyramid down on the reps (12/10/8) whilst up on the weights (i.e. Bench press 160/170/180 llbs).

An example of today's workout would be (excuse my ignorance of the correct names for some of the exercises):

Flat bench press - 12/10/8, Incline dumbell flys - 12/10/8, Standing Barbell Curls 12/10/8, Chin-ups (biceps) - 12/10/8, Pec deck - 12/10/8, cable crossover flys (for chest) - 12/10/8, leg press - 12/10/8 and 200 x abs (various exercises). This is fairly typical of a chest and biceps day.

Hope this clarifies a little better, and please excuse the dodgy naming of some of the exercises, hope you can figure out what I mean.

[ironwill2008]

Just about anything will work, if you put enough effort into it, but there's sometimes a more efficient way to train. First, you need to determine how many days a week you will definitely dedicate to training, week-in, week-out. You have to be honest with yourself; don't think you'll train 4 days, when you know it'll only be 3. You have to decide this first, before you can proceed.

[FitnessScotland]

Just about anything will work, if you put enough effort into it, but there's sometimes a more efficient way to train. First, you need to determine how many days a week you will definitely dedicate to training, week-in, week-out. You have to be honest with yourself; don't think you'll train 4 days, when you know it'll only be 3. You have to decide this first, before you can proceed.

I guess it will DEFINITELY be three per week, sometimes four, but the weeks I do four I can add in a few different things to mix it up a bit.

I will never do less than 3, unless I am out of the country on holiday, and even then I will try to do one of the programmes from p90x for an hour instead of a workout.

[was140]

Everyday abs is a bad idea. I do one day at home and a few days later at the gym with weight.

[flat6]

Why don't you just pick one of the proven beginner's routines: Rippetoe's, Madcow, etc...

Creating your own routine at an amateur stage doesn't make much sense.