Round 2

[vocathalete]

Okay, since my last routine was simply NOT okay I tried to develope another one that would be better for a beginner. I've been researching a lot of the suggested beginner routines and tried to compile another one. Thoughts, comments, suggestions, and criticisms please and thanks.

Cycle I

Day 1:
Incline Bench Press
Military Press
Inverted Squat
Calf Raises on Machine

Day 2:
Seated Rows
Pull Ups
DB Shrugs
Seated Leg Curls
Posterior Delt Fly

Day 3:
Rest

Cycle these three days for 3 weeks

Cycle II

Day 1:
Flat Bench Press
Overhead Press w/DB
Squat
Calf Raises w/BB

Day 2:
Bent Over Rows w/DB
Lat Pulls
BB Shrugs
Face down Leg Curls

Day 3:
Rest

Cycle these three days for 3 weeks

Cycle III

Day 1:
Incline Fly
Skull Crushers
Leg Extension
Calf Raise on Machine
Military Press

Day 2:
Weighted Pull Ups
Seated Row
Seated Leg Curl
DB Shrugs

Day 3:
Rest

Cycle these three days for 3 weeks

Cycle IV

Day 1:
Flat Bench Fly
Tricep Extension w/cable
Weighted Lunges
Calf Raises
Overhead DB Press

Day 2:
Lat Pulls
Bent over Rows w/DB
Face down Leg Curls
BB Shrugs

Day 3:
Rest

Cycle these three days for 3 weeks

It's a 12 week cycle. I wouldn't do the exercises in this order necessarily. I'm not sure of what kind of set x rep ratio I should be doing for max gains. There seems to be some controversy about that. I was thinking of doing a 3x8-12.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[vocathalete]

No reply is ... good?

[vocathalete]

Helpful forum is helpful... -.-

[JSNeves]

For a beginner you would be better off keeping most exercises the same for the full 12 weeks, cycling every 3 is just going to remove exercises right before you start really progressing on them. Sure you can change a few things up but focusing on a handful of basic movements and seeing how far you can take them in 12 weeks is likely going to give you the best results.

[krysix]

Why don't you pick a proven beginner routine made by an experienced lifter? I wouldnt make my own routine untill I'm an advanced intermediate. The problem I see with your routine is the lack of progression scheme and too many exercises. Do all pro's routine, starting strength or JasonDB 5x5 routine and you will have better results. Of course it's just my opinion.

[DetMatthews]

3 weeks is not long enough to gain the maximum benefit from a particular routine. The push/pull idea is sound, and most of the individual cycles have pretty good exercises.

Day 1
Horizontal Press
Vertical Press
Quad-dominant lower body exercise
Calf Raises

Day 2
Horizontal Pull
Vertical Pull
Leg Curl (would change to a complete lower body hamstring-dominant exercise like RDL or SLDL, or DL for that matter)
Shrug

What would be the issue with choosing the best out of each of those and doing it for 12 weeks? (Or longer if it keeps working.)

Frequency is a little steep with 4-2/3 workouts a week. You could do a MTThF scheme and reduce frequency a bit and increase simplicity and reduce scheduling conflicts.

EDIT: krysix is right. As a beginner, full body 3x a week is ideal and the common ones are all well thought out. But if you're just creating a workout for fun or as an intermediate routine once you're done full body progression, you are on the right track.

[ironwill2008]

I've been researching a lot of the suggested beginner routines and tried to compile another one.

Why are you doing this? You have no experience from which to write your own routine.

Pick a proven beginner program from the stickies and stop wasting your time writing these ridiculous programs and then complaining when no one wants to "critique" them.

[vocathalete]

Why are you doing this? You have no experience from which to write your own routine.

Pick a proven beginner program from the stickies and stop wasting your time writing these ridiculous programs and then complaining when no one wants to "critique" them.

just trying to apply myself and explore my understanding of the subject matter. I usually try to do it with the least amount of negativity possible. Try it!

[vocathalete]

I will definitely check out those routines. I don't have a problem using them. Just trying to see what I could make. Thanks for the positive replies and feedback.

[RockCrab]

Thanks for the positive replies and feedback.

Don't ask for 'criticisms' if all you want is positive replies and feedback. If your precious ego can't handle being told what you are suggesting sucks, then don't ask.

FWIW, I believe this proposal does suck. It reeks of dat dere musckle confuzzlement. You don't need to be constantly 'changing things up' to make progress. You need progression, either in weight added to the bar, reps, or sets.

Keep reading, keep learning, but more important, go lift some heavy sh!t and test your hypotheses and prove everyone wrong. Start a journal and go do your program for the next 12 weeks. Post before / after picks, before / after measurements, and starting / finishing lifts. Then you will have a frame of reference to make REAL judgements about what might work and what might not. The sample size will still be too small to make generalizations about the efficacy of your program, but at least you'll feel better about it.

[vocathalete]

Don't ask for 'criticisms' if all you want is positive replies and feedback. If your precious ego can't handle being told what you are suggesting sucks, then don't ask.

FWIW, I believe this proposal does suck. It reeks of dat dere musckle confuzzlement. You don't need to be constantly 'changing things up' to make progress. You need progression, either in weight added to the bar, reps, or sets.

Keep reading, keep learning, but more important, go lift some heavy sh!t and test your hypotheses and prove everyone wrong. Start a journal and go do your program for the next 12 weeks. Post before / after picks, before / after measurements, and starting / finishing lifts. Then you will have a frame of reference to make REAL judgements about what might work and what might not. The sample size will still be too small to make generalizations about the efficacy of your program, but at least you'll feel better about it.

It has nothing to do with ego or me not being able to handle what's being said. I asked for every response that I've gotten. That's what you risk when posting. I get that. That doesn't mean I have to swallow every bit of information being spoon-fed on here. I'm looking for positive feed back b/c usually the person that is being positive is actually trying to helpful instead of feed their own ego. You can be critical and productive at the same time. Instead people feel the need for destructive criticism which only affects negatively. It's unnecessary.

With that being said I really appreciate your feedback. I was wondering about the amount muscle confusion there was in a 12 week period. All I have to do is tweak it! I'm starting it Monday. I will do some before and afters and we'll see how it goes.

[RockCrab]

All I have to do is tweak it! I'm starting it Monday. I will do some before and afters and we'll see how it goes.

Awesome! Start a journal in the 'workout journals' section and post a link in here or in your sig. I'm interested to see how things go for you.

[CamLeslie]

Not gonna lie, I stopped reading at inverted squats and leg curls. Where are the actual leg exercises in the first cycle?

If this is for beginners why not include squats and deadlifts?