Is anyone doing this type split?

[plmb1]

For the last several years I've been doing this or something close to it.....

pretty common I would think........

legs
chest/tri
off
back/bi
shoulder/trap
off
repeat/unless I needed extra rest

But I've hit a wall here and I'm having trouble (more than usual) getting past it. All of my compound lifts have stalled.......and have been there for atleast a month or so.

I don't think it's my diet (ive been wrong before). To not make this any longer than it has to be I want list my entire meal plan but here is the short of it:

I "eat" no less than 200 grams of protein a day plus I get another 100 to 150 grams from protein powder......

I keep my carbs kinda low in the range of 50 to 100 grams a day through rice, sweet potatoes, oats plus I use waxy maize before/after training (another 80 grams carbs).

I eat no less than 3 bowls of green veggies and 3 bowls of salad a day.

I get my fat through my food (mostly red meat and eggs) plus I take fish oil, flax oil and olive oil.

anyways....

I've been kicking the idea around about doing a push/pull/legs/repeat split which would work everything twice a week in rotation. I'm hopeing that this will get the gains coming again.

I'm just worried about not being able to recover. I recover pretty fast compared to some at my age but at the same time........lol......I'm not 25 anymore either....

I know the only way to know if it will work for me is to try and see............but I was just wondering how many of you guys are doing this split or one that rotates as fast or faster than this one does.......

If so.........how in the crap can you do deads one day and then do squats the very next day on a regular basis........I love deads but I may have to delete them from my routine for 6 to 8 weeks (and do more rows instead) while I try this out...

By the way, in case anyone is wondering......my goal has never changed.....its still to get big baby!!........but I'm not worried about strength...

Any thoughts other than buying some of that der muskel tek.......

(This is for Old-Time-Lifter..........LOL........I thought about doing Circuit Training.......NOT!)

[paulb72]

I won't go intothe diet side of things as there are many far more qualified to comment.

I use a similar routine but goes mre like
Chest/Bi's/Forearms/Abs
Legs
Rest/Abs
Back/Traps
Shoulder/Tri's/Calves
2 Days rest and then repeat.

I found kickstarted again after getting tris away from chest day, and bi's from back.
The day rest seems to give me enough rest to work legs and then deadlifts 2 days later. Only thing I changed is to drop SLDL from leg day as the dealifts take care of that for now.

As for stalling out, why not try different rep ranges, exercise selection, the list goes on and on. Currently I'm ussing P/RR/S protocol. Power week, low reps heavy weights with eccentric emphasis, rep range working different exercises over differing repranges from 7-9, 10-12 and 13-15. Third week in the rotatation is all about supersets,dropsets and such.
Repeat week 1 and so on.

Early on though found full body workouts to be a good sound foundation focussing only on the big compound lifts. Work on the mechanics and good form, learn to feel the muscles work and go from there. From that moved onto an upper/lower split after the improvements stopped. For me the lower volume using full body was the limiting factor. After a while found more volume and splitting up the body parts was best. However every now and then still go back to the full body stuff for a while to change things up.

[Old-Time-Lifter]

Don't be so fast in passing up that "circuit training" idea.............. LOL

I'v never done that split but hey why not...........

[BergMuscle]

Regardless of what you do, it sure as h*ll sounds like you need to shake up your training if you are stalled like that.

When was your last rest week? Have you ever done a deload week (same routine at 50% weight for 8-10 reps per set)? I'd say do one of those and come up with a totally new split for the next week.

There are a ton of splits out there; just cruise the O35 journals for about an hour and you'll find a lot of ideas. My current one is:

quads/hams/biceps (with ATG squats)
chest/abs
cardio
dead lifts/back/triceps
delts/traps/calves
abs/cardio

I also found that squats and deads back-to-back just didn't happen for me. Now I've got at least two sessions between them.

Be bold! Experiment to get yourself unstalled.
And a week or two of circuit training might not be as far out there as you seem to think.

[drjoe]

There is no right or wrong split (for the most part). The only mistake people make with their workout splits is performing the same one month after month (or in some cases, year after year). The split you have been doing is fine but you obviously need to change it up. Why don't you try just hitting each major muscle group by itself. For example:

Legs
Chest
Off
Back
Shoulders
Arms
Off

Keep your training down to 45-60 minutes. You blast the muscle group and then have a full week of recovery before you hit it again. Good luck!

[ironwill2008]

I'm not sure what you're saying is your main problem. If it's simply the fact that several exercises have stalled (my definition of this is the inability to add reps and/or weight for 3 successive workouts for that exercise), there's no need to change your routine; just swap-out the stalled lifts for other exercises for the same bodypart. Examples: squats stalled--do front squats. Deadlift stalled--do rack pulls. Bench stalled, use dumbbells, or a machine.

Don't get bogged down thinking you have to deadlift all the time, or squat all the time. You don't. Move to another, similar compound, and come back to the stalled lift in several months.

[dungeonmistress]

more or less but mine is like this:

pecs/biceps
quads/calves
off
back/triceps
delts/hams
off, then repeat

abs every day, 20-30 minutes of cardio 6 days a week.

[plmb1]

Originally Posted by paulb72

I won't go intothe diet side of things as there are many far more qualified to comment.

I use a similar routine but goes mre like
Chest/Bi's/Forearms/Abs
Legs
Rest/Abs
Back/Traps
Shoulder/Tri's/Calves
2 Days rest and then repeat.

I found kickstarted again after getting tris away from chest day, and bi's from back.
The day rest seems to give me enough rest to work legs and then deadlifts 2 days later. Only thing I changed is to drop SLDL from leg day as the dealifts take care of that for now.

As for stalling out, why not try different rep ranges, exercise selection, the list goes on and on. Currently I'm ussing P/RR/S protocol. Power week, low reps heavy weights with eccentric emphasis, rep range working different exercises over differing repranges from 7-9, 10-12 and 13-15. Third week in the rotatation is all about supersets,dropsets and such.
Repeat week 1 and so on.

Early on though found full body workouts to be a good sound foundation focussing only on the big compound lifts. Work on the mechanics and good form, learn to feel the muscles work and go from there. From that moved onto an upper/lower split after the improvements stopped. For me the lower volume using full body was the limiting factor. After a while found more volume and splitting up the body parts was best. However every now and then still go back to the full body stuff for a while to change things up.

I too do bi/chest....back/tri from time to time..........thanks for the input......most helpful!

Originally Posted by Old-Time-Lifter

Don't be so fast in passing up that "circuit training" idea.............. LOL

I'v never done that split but hey why not...........

Oh, come on now.......you know your a fan of circuit training.........Ok.....I'll leave it alone before I get something started and get booted or negged by someone....

Originally Posted by BergMuscle

Regardless of what you do, it sure as h*ll sounds like you need to shake up your training if you are stalled like that.

When was your last rest week? Have you ever done a deload week (same routine at 50% weight for 8-10 reps per set)? I'd say do one of those and come up with a totally new split for the next week.


There are a ton of splits out there; just cruise the O35 journals for about an hour and you'll find a lot of ideas. My current one is:

quads/hams/biceps (with ATG squats)
chest/abs
cardio
dead lifts/back/triceps
delts/traps/calves
abs/cardio

I also found that squats and deads back-to-back just didn't happen for me. Now I've got at least two sessions between them.

Be bold! Experiment to get yourself unstalled.
And a week or two of circuit training might not be as far out there as you seem to think.

Oh yeah, I need to do something different for sure. I took a 10 days off about a 2 months ago and went back to a total different routine than I had been using but I'm still in the funk. I've done just about every split known to mankind (even the circuit type training which I hated because all I did was lose size very fast that way).........thanks for your reply as it makes alot of sense.

Originally Posted by drjoe

There is no right or wrong split (for the most part). The only mistake people make with their workout splits is performing the same one month after month (or in some cases, year after year). The split you have been doing is fine but you obviously need to change it up. Why don't you try just hitting each major muscle group by itself. For example:

Legs
Chest
Off
Back
Shoulders
Arms
Off

Keep your training down to 45-60 minutes. You blast the muscle group and then have a full week of recovery before you hit it again. Good luck!

I stand corrected here.......I said I had done every split known to mankind but it seems I have not because I've never did just one bodypart a day........thanks, I will think about that one for sure. By the way, my sessions time frame is usually around 60 to 70 mins tops....thanks!

Originally Posted by ironwill2008

I'm not sure what you're saying is your main problem. If it's simply the fact that several exercises have stalled (my definition of this is the inability to add reps and/or weight for 3 successive workouts for that exercise), there's no need to change your routine; just swap-out the stalled lifts for other exercises for the same bodypart. Examples: squats stalled--do front squats. Deadlift stalled--do rack pulls. Bench stalled, use dumbbells, or a machine.

Don't get bogged down thinking you have to deadlift all the time, or squat all the time. You don't. Move to another, similar compound, and come back to the stalled lift in several months.

Hey Will, I know my post was kinda confusing....sorry. I'm just having a hard time right now (harder than usual) with my big lifts. I've done what your saying. Switching from back squats to front squats and from deads from the floor to rack deads but for some reason I'm just not getting past it.

I went through something like this several years ago and wound up leaving the gym........that is not going to happen this time for sure. I'm gonna train no matter what becasue I know if I stay at it at some point I will see daylight at the end of the tunnel.

The one thing in your post that made me do a re-take of this is the several months comment. Maybe I'm just not giving the new routine long enough to do it's job...

Thanks big man.....as usaul your in the know!!!

Originally Posted by dungeonmistress

more or less but mine is like this:

pecs/biceps
quads/calves
off
back/triceps
delts/hams
off, then repeat

abs every day, 20-30 minutes of cardio 6 days a week.

You always give good advice young lady............darn it........now I will have to go and look at ur pics again.........and we all know what that means........I want get chit done today.............oh but what a way to spend my time........thanks!!

[plmb1]

IronWill and Old-Time-Lifter..............reps on recharge.......

[Gwatson101]

Originally Posted by plmb1

For the last several years I've been doing this or something close to it.....

pretty common I would think........

legs
chest/tri
off
back/bi
shoulder/trap
off
repeat/unless I needed extra rest

But I've hit a wall here and I'm having trouble (more than usual) getting past it. All of my compound lifts have stalled.......and have been there for atleast a month or so.

I don't think it's my diet (ive been wrong before). To not make this any longer than it has to be I want list my entire meal plan but here is the short of it:

I "eat" no less than 200 grams of protein a day plus I get another 100 to 150 grams from protein powder......

I keep my carbs kinda low in the range of 50 to 100 grams a day through rice, sweet potatoes, oats plus I use waxy maize before/after training (another 80 grams carbs).

I eat no less than 3 bowls of green veggies and 3 bowls of salad a day.

I get my fat through my food (mostly red meat and eggs) plus I take fish oil, flax oil and olive oil.

anyways....

I've been kicking the idea around about doing a push/pull/legs/repeat split which would work everything twice a week in rotation. I'm hopeing that this will get the gains coming again.

I'm just worried about not being able to recover. I recover pretty fast compared to some at my age but at the same time........lol......I'm not 25 anymore either....

I know the only way to know if it will work for me is to try and see............but I was just wondering how many of you guys are doing this split or one that rotates as fast or faster than this one does.......

If so.........how in the crap can you do deads one day and then do squats the very next day on a regular basis........I love deads but I may have to delete them from my routine for 6 to 8 weeks (and do more rows instead) while I try this out...

By the way, in case anyone is wondering......my goal has never changed.....its still to get big baby!!........but I'm not worried about strength...

Any thoughts other than buying some of that der muskel tek.......

(This is for Old-Time-Lifter..........LOL........I thought about doing Circuit Training.......NOT!)

Hmm where is your leg training?? You want to grow but I don’t see any legs in that training in your original plan. Also if you have been doing this workout for a long time maybe its time for a change. Create some muscle confusion. Your body will adapt to a workout quickly so you need to hit the muscle from many angles different weights and rep ranges.

[Old_Swole]

Originally Posted by Gwatson101

Hmm where is your leg training?? You want to grow but I don’t see any legs in that training in your original plan. Also if you have been doing this workout for a long time maybe its time for a change. Create some muscle confusion. Your body will adapt to a workout quickly so you need to hit the muscle from many angles different weights and rep ranges.

First thing OP listed was legs.

[RonGoon]

Originally Posted by plmb1

For the last several years I've been doing this or something close to it.....

pretty common I would think........

legs
chest/tri
off
back/bi
shoulder/trap
off
repeat/unless I needed extra rest

But I've hit a wall here and I'm having trouble (more than usual) getting past it. All of my compound lifts have stalled.......and have been there for atleast a month or so.

I don't think it's my diet (ive been wrong before). To not make this any longer than it has to be I want list my entire meal plan but here is the short of it:

I "eat" no less than 200 grams of protein a day plus I get another 100 to 150 grams from protein powder......

I keep my carbs kinda low in the range of 50 to 100 grams a day through rice, sweet potatoes, oats plus I use waxy maize before/after training (another 80 grams carbs).

I eat no less than 3 bowls of green veggies and 3 bowls of salad a day.

I get my fat through my food (mostly red meat and eggs) plus I take fish oil, flax oil and olive oil.

anyways....

I've been kicking the idea around about doing a push/pull/legs/repeat split which would work everything twice a week in rotation. I'm hopeing that this will get the gains coming again.

I'm just worried about not being able to recover. I recover pretty fast compared to some at my age but at the same time........lol......I'm not 25 anymore either....

I know the only way to know if it will work for me is to try and see............but I was just wondering how many of you guys are doing this split or one that rotates as fast or faster than this one does.......

If so.........how in the crap can you do deads one day and then do squats the very next day on a regular basis........I love deads but I may have to delete them from my routine for 6 to 8 weeks (and do more rows instead) while I try this out...

By the way, in case anyone is wondering......my goal has never changed.....its still to get big baby!!........but I'm not worried about strength...

Any thoughts other than buying some of that der muskel tek.......

(This is for Old-Time-Lifter..........LOL........I thought about doing Circuit Training.......NOT!)

Originally Posted by Gwatson101

Hmm where is your leg training?? You want to grow but I don’t see any legs in that training in your original plan. Also if you have been doing this workout for a long time maybe its time for a change. Create some muscle confusion. Your body will adapt to a workout quickly so you need to hit the muscle from many angles different weights and rep ranges.

l-e-g

[SR800]

I think you need to learn about periodization at this point. You sound like you are still in a linear training mode. Here is a good primer and an excellent stall buster but it takes more determination and mental toughness than most bodybuilders are willing to give. Good luck with your decision. http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow...odized_5x5.htm

[dungeonmistress]

Originally Posted by plmb1

I too do bi/chest....back/tri from time to time..........thanks for the input......most helpful!



Oh, come on now.......you know your a fan of circuit training.........Ok.....I'll leave it alone before I get something started and get booted or negged by someone....



Oh yeah, I need to do something different for sure. I took a 10 days off about a 2 months ago and went back to a total different routine than I had been using but I'm still in the funk. I've done just about every split known to mankind (even the circuit type training which I hated because all I did was lose size very fast that way).........thanks for your reply as it makes alot of sense.




I stand corrected here.......I said I had done every split known to mankind but it seems I have not because I've never did just one bodypart a day........thanks, I will think about that one for sure. By the way, my sessions time frame is usually around 60 to 70 mins tops....thanks!


Hey Will, I know my post was kinda confusing....sorry. I'm just having a hard time right now (harder than usual) with my big lifts. I've done what your saying. Switching from back squats to front squats and from deads from the floor to rack deads but for some reason I'm just not getting past it.

I went through something like this several years ago and wound up leaving the gym........that is not going to happen this time for sure. I'm gonna train no matter what becasue I know if I stay at it at some point I will see daylight at the end of the tunnel.

The one thing in your post that made me do a re-take of this is the several months comment. Maybe I'm just not giving the new routine long enough to do it's job...

Thanks big man.....as usaul your in the know!!!




You always give good advice young lady............darn it........now I will have to go and look at ur pics again.........and we all know what that means........I want get chit done today.............oh but what a way to spend my time........thanks!!

aw gee thanks you're so sweet! i forgot to tell you that i do deads on my hamstrings day, along with STL's, leg curls and weighted hyperextensions using a 50 lb dumbbell and holding for a count of 3 at the top of each rep. after this, i hose my hammies by doing a 30 minute dreadmill session putting the thing all the way up at 15% grade at a speed of 3.6 or so. nice burn!!

[plumher]

i usually train back and biceps together, chest shoiulders tris together, calves abs and legs together then a day or two of rest, then again. Sometimes I take a day between w/outs when family schedule conflicts.
Mostly I try not to overtrain. Now that im laid off i usually do cardio mid morning/early afternoon then weights in the evening. After a few months I'll change things up a little. Every other back w/o is completely different because there's too many good exercises to throw into one w/out.


By the way thanx for the reps but i'm still 400k in the red from being mod negged a few years ago. I prolly had it comming but i dont even remember what it was about now

[ultimaxum]

Simply put: Stall/plateau is doing the same thing over and over even when you know you have stalled.

Research suggests you need to change up your routine. This is done by confusing your muscles.

I have created a routine of 3/12/heavy weight on even weeks, and 4/20/lighter weights on odd weeks. I have also broken the routine into 15 machines/muscle groups and further broke it down to 5 machines a day over 3 days with one day off. This allows 72 total hours of rest for all of your muscles.

BTW: carbs are energy, protean is muscle growth. My research says to increase your intake by 300 - 500 calories per day over your recommended calorie amount to give you fuel and muscle gains. Also stated is you need to take 1.5 grams of protean per pound of your weight.

Long story short, change up your routine to get gains.

[DeathtoToasters]

Originally Posted by SR800

I think you need to learn about periodization at this point. You sound like you are still in a linear training mode. Here is a good primer and an excellent stall buster but it takes more determination and mental toughness than most bodybuilders are willing to give. Good luck with your decision. http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow...odized_5x5.htm

Dead linky....

[ironwill2008]

Originally Posted by DeathtoToasters

Dead linky....

Geocities no longer exists. Here's the site that has Madcow archived:

Madcow Intermediate: http://www.wackyhq.com/madcow5x5/geo...Linear_5x5.htm

[Fifty+]

Originally Posted by plmb1

For the last several years I've been doing this or something close to it.....

pretty common I would think........

legs
chest/tri
off
back/bi
shoulder/trap
off
repeat/unless I needed extra rest

But I've hit a wall here and I'm having trouble (more than usual) getting past it. All of my compound lifts have stalled.......and have been there for atleast a month or so.

I don't think it's my diet (ive been wrong before). To not make this any longer than it has to be I want list my entire meal plan but here is the short of it:

I "eat" no less than 200 grams of protein a day plus I get another 100 to 150 grams from protein powder......

I keep my carbs kinda low in the range of 50 to 100 grams a day through rice, sweet potatoes, oats plus I use waxy maize before/after training (another 80 grams carbs).

I eat no less than 3 bowls of green veggies and 3 bowls of salad a day.

I get my fat through my food (mostly red meat and eggs) plus I take fish oil, flax oil and olive oil.

anyways....

I've been kicking the idea around about doing a push/pull/legs/repeat split which would work everything twice a week in rotation. I'm hopeing that this will get the gains coming again.

I'm just worried about not being able to recover. I recover pretty fast compared to some at my age but at the same time........lol......I'm not 25 anymore either....

I know the only way to know if it will work for me is to try and see............but I was just wondering how many of you guys are doing this split or one that rotates as fast or faster than this one does.......

If so.........how in the crap can you do deads one day and then do squats the very next day on a regular basis........I love deads but I may have to delete them from my routine for 6 to 8 weeks (and do more rows instead) while I try this out...

By the way, in case anyone is wondering......my goal has never changed.....its still to get big baby!!........but I'm not worried about strength...

Any thoughts other than buying some of that der muskel tek.......

(This is for Old-Time-Lifter..........LOL........I thought about doing Circuit Training.......NOT!)

Hitting a wall is part of life. We do it over and over again throughout our lives. Some evaluate the situation and plan a new strategy. Some simply let time provide the answers. As bodybuilders who have taken our ambition to reshape our physiques to the the Nth degree, sometimes we forget that our brains are actually in command. Everytime you fail at 6 reps with 315 on the bar, it's programmed. Your brain knows it at 5 reps. You've made wonderful progress in the time you've been reshaping your physique. You should be proud. This is the time to remember the pasion that sent you on that journey. Your brain is telling you that it's time to review. Stop worrying! Remember the roots of your passion. Routines are nothing more then juggling exercises and rep schemes around. Moving up in weight is an anatomical and physiciological result of mind over matter. Stop worrying! Sit down and think about getting back to your roots. The bottom line comes from within. Breaking thorough plateaus is more mental then physical. Instead of constantly trying to better yestyerday, try using what you accomplished yesterday. Take that max and work it. Take that 1RM to 2 reps then 3 then 5 etc...When you can't move up, move sideways. Just keep moving. It's passion that continually moves the weight over the years, not muscle. Stop worrying, drop back and regroup, remember it's a lifelong endeavor and hit the trail once again. You've done a great job and you'll continue progressing. Listen to your brain and stop worrying..

my .02
Keep hammering

[plmb1]

Originally Posted by Fifty+

Hitting a wall is part of life. We do it over and over again throughout our lives. Some evaluate the situation and plan a new strategy. Some simply let time provide the answers. As bodybuilders who have taken our ambition to reshape our physiques to the the Nth degree, sometimes we forget that our brains are actually in command. Everytime you fail at 6 reps with 315 on the bar, it's programmed. Your brain knows it at 5 reps. You've made wonderful progress in the time you've been reshaping your physique. You should be proud. This is the time to remember the pasion that sent you on that journey. Your brain is telling you that it's time to review. Stop worrying! Remember the roots of your passion. Routines are nothing more then juggling exercises and rep schemes around. Moving up in weight is an anatomical and physiciological result of mind over matter. Stop worrying! Sit down and think about getting back to your roots. The bottom line comes from within. Breaking thorough plateaus is more mental then physical. Instead of constantly trying to better yestyerday, try using what you accomplished yesterday. Take that max and work it. Take that 1RM to 2 reps then 3 then 5 etc...When you can't move up, move sideways. Just keep moving. It's passion that continually moves the weight over the years, not muscle. Stop worrying, drop back and regroup, remember it's a lifelong endeavor and hit the trail once again. You've done a great job and you'll continue progressing. Listen to your brain and stop worrying..

my .02
Keep hammering

Thanks Fifty........repped for a very solid post..

It's almost like you new what I did before you posted.....

I took some time off and got a ton of rest becaue I had got to the point to where I was very stressed over this. I mean you/me/we put alot of time, effort, money etc... into what we do so it really put me in a bad place mentally when I could not find the answer. I started to feel that I was wasting my time and actually started to fall backwards instead of going forward (and we all know thats not how a bb.er should feel at any level).

Like you said........get back to my roots.........

Sometimes we need to take a long look in the mirror and remind ourselves of where we came from and how far we have come instead of looking at all the negative things.

Bottom line...........I learned to enjoy my gym time again and it seems that somehow that did the trick.

[Bob45]

Do you feel good and energetic on the low carb diet? I know I don't when I am that low. You have to go into the workout feeling great and ready to push hard. Have the number in your head you want to hit when you get there. Even using the tiny plates to add to the bar helps. The split looks good but maybe try to keep the heavier days a little farthur apart for recovery. Legs and chest are both heavy. A small surplus in calories may help too. If you want to be bigger you need more food to do it. Carbs do help build muscle too. Not just protein. What are your calories at? If you are only getting around 1200 from good carbs and protein maybe they are too low. Lots of great opinions on here. You'll get it. You seem like a determined guy from the posts I have been reading.