New 3 Day Split - Advice/Critique

[DesertDude11]

Hey all. I am officially bored to death with my 4 day split and have been busy as phuck and having a hard time making it to the gym 4 days a week. Kids out of school, business, wife, etc.... you know. life.

Anyhow, I wanted to start a M,W,F full body workout so I took a look at some 5X5 plans, modified them to the lifts I can do (no squats for me at my advanced years... ) added a few iso movements, tried to do a push/pull kind of deal (sort of) and this is what I came up with:

Monday

Leg Press
Incline Bench
Decline Bench
Barbell Rows
One Arm HS Rows
Two ARm HS Rows
Standing DB Curls
Preacher Curls

Tuesday

Cardio/ABs

Wednesday

Pullovers
Pullups
Deadlifts
Cable Rows
Lateral Pulldowns
Hack Squat
DB Pullover for ABs
Tricep pushdown (tripple dropset)
Tricep overhead rope extension

Thursday

Cardio/ABs

Friday

Shoulder Press
Incline Flye
Cable Crossovers
Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Seated Calf Raises
Standing Calf Raises
Decline Weighted Situps
Cable Crunch
Lateral Arm Raises
Side Arm Raises

I still have cardio in there but just cuz I want to be able to keep up with my kids... not weight loss.

[-=FLEX=-]

Way too many exercises on each day, IMHO.

[DesertDude11]

Way too many exercises on each day, IMHO.

I am trying to make up for the lack of compound movements... some of them I am only doing 2 sets... what do you think the max number of sets per day would be?

[-=FLEX=-]

I am trying to make up for the lack of compound movements... some of them I am only doing 2 sets... what do you think the max number of sets per day would be?

I don't think anyone can answer that question for you, But IMHO you're better off doing more sets of fewer exercises than a few sets of a bunch of different exercises.

Solid FLEX-Science right there, so take it for what it is.

[Whiskeyjack]

I don't think anyone can answer that question for you, But IMHO you're better off doing more sets of fewer exercises than a few sets of a bunch of different exercises.

Solid FLEX-Science right there, so take it for what it is.

Concur.
IronWill is doing a good routine as per what Flex suggests. Look at IW's journal.

[DesertDude11]

I don't think anyone can answer that question for you, But IMHO you're better off doing more sets of fewer exercises than a few sets of a bunch of different exercises.

Solid FLEX-Science right there, so take it for what it is.

And that is just what I was looking for: Some FLEX-science! lol

I listen to my body when I lift, for example if my shoulders are feeling good one day, I may do 4-5 sets of incline bench... if my elbows are bitched up, 2 or less sets of tricep exercises...

Concur.
IronWill is doing a good routine as per what Flex suggests. Look at IW's journal.

I really just want to make sure that I am really hitting all angles... I will check his journal.

[TiberiusClaudis]

Just throwing this out...but obviously, you are alread in great shape. So if it's summer, you want to spend more time with the family etc...why not just go to a Full Body workout 2 or 3 times a week...then spend the rest of the time doing what you want.

This way you can recharge your batteries and hit it hard come Fall.

Just a thought.

[-=FLEX=-]

Look at IW's journal.

Yep; solid 3 day split there.

[pastorgbc]

Hey all. I am officially bored to death with my 4 day split and have been busy as phuck and having a hard time making it to the gym 4 days a week. Kids out of school, business, wife, etc.... you know. life.

Anyhow, I wanted to start a M,W,F full body workout so I took a look at some 5X5 plans, modified them to the lifts I can do (no squats for me at my advanced years... ) added a few iso movements, tried to do a push/pull kind of deal (sort of) and this is what I came up with:

Monday

Leg Press
Incline Bench
Decline Bench
Barbell Rows
One Arm HS Rows
Two ARm HS Rows
Standing DB Curls
Preacher Curls

Tuesday

Cardio/ABs

Wednesday

Pullovers
Pullups
Deadlifts
Cable Rows
Lateral Pulldowns
Hack Squat
DB Pullover for ABs
Tricep pushdown (tripple dropset)
Tricep overhead rope extension

Thursday

Cardio/ABs

Friday

Shoulder Press
Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Incline Bench
Decline Bench
Seated Calf Raises
Standing Calf Raises
Decline Weighted Situps
Cable Crunch
Lateral Arm Raises
Side Arm Raises

I still have cardio in there but just cuz I want to be able to keep up with my kids... not weight loss.

I work on 5 day splits, and I tend to do trisets and supersets, but for a different perspective I like to do several exercises as well. For it to work for me, I Ned to keep the intensity up, so I need to work heavy.

I think the program you have outlined can work, you just need to keep working hard at it.

Personally, I would squat 3 times a week, but that is me.

Ray

[Smelly bull]

Way too many exercises on each day, IMHO.

QFT

And what 5x5 programs did you review before coming up with this? I am a huge advocate of Starr's 5x5, which basically every 5x5 program out there is based on, and I cant recall ever seeing anything about that many exercises.

[DesertDude11]

QFT

And what 5x5 programs did you review before coming up with this? I am a huge advocate of Starr's 5x5, which basically every 5x5 program out there is based on, and I cant recall ever seeing anything about that many exercises.

To clarify, none of them had anywhere near as many exercises. I also am not doing 5X5 sets, but traditional 3-5 sets of 10-12 reps.

[Brad805]

I started one of Bill Starr's 5x5 a few weeks back and it is going great even on a fat loss diet plan. I can already see I will reach my squat goal much faster using this. As a bonus, it is more fun.

No comment on your program. Whenever I used to make my own I ended up with too many exercises, so I stopped that for now.

[Smelly bull]

I started one of Bill Starr's 5x5 a few weeks back and it is going great even on a fat loss diet plan. I can already see I will reach my squat goal much faster using this. As a bonus, it is more fun.

No comment on your program. Whenever I used to make my own I ended up with too many exercises, so I stopped that for now.

Repped for doing Starr routine. What week are you in?

[Jtbny]

Who needs cardio when you will be running from station to station trying to do all those exercises

Why no squats? Working around an injury? You're benching twice a week too? I think Flex gave you solid advice about too many things in there. Go with a proven program IMO. I'll add that I personally like 5/3/1 and that can be done in a 3 day split.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Repped for doing Starr routine. What week are you in?

^x2

DD looks like your taking a beating on the workout plan

Sorry, no wisdom to share. I was just wondering is this similar to what you have been doing so far?

[DesertDude11]

why not just go to a Full Body workout 2 or 3 times a week...then spend the rest of the time doing what you want.

Thats pretty much what I am trying to do... the cardio stuff I do at the skate park with the kids or running with my wife...

Personally, I would squat 3 times a week, but that is me.

Ray

I wish I could say the same... I can't do squats, my back and knees are trashed from years of abuse... I am lucky to still be able to do deadlifts and even then I have to stay pretty light at around 205lbs.

Whenever I used to make my own I ended up with too many exercises, so I stopped that for now.

This is actually about the same or less exercises than I am used to doing on a 4 day split... lol

Who needs cardio when you will be running from station to station trying to do all those exercises

Why no squats? Working around an injury? You're benching twice a week too? I think Flex gave you solid advice about too many things in there. Go with a proven program IMO. I'll add that I personally like 5/3/1 and that can be done in a 3 day split.

Hahaha, I know... plus a lot of those exercises I superset so I keep my heart rate up...

Sucks but no squats 4 me....

Yea, one of the 5x5 programs I found on this site (of course I cant find it now... ) had you benching on Mon and Fri... I thought that was a bit weird but WTF, I love me some benches! lol

I suppose that I should just go with a proven program from what everyone here is saying...

[DesertDude11]

^x2

DD looks like your taking a beating on the workout plan

Sorry, no wisdom to share. I was just wondering is this similar to what you have been doing so far?

Yea, I know... it's tee off on DD time again... lol I don't give a fuk tho... it's what I asked for.

And yea, it's pretty much the same program that got me where I am today but with a few less exercises and one day less time.

I have been watching a lot of the trainers and big fuks in my gym (and there are a LOT of big fuks there!) and they seem to do a lot of different exercises each visit. Pretty similar to what I have put together here...

[pastorgbc]

If the reality is you cannot squat due to injury or a chronic condition, I am sorry to hear that. My advice is always not to do something if the pain is too much (as long as the pain is not simply from weakness, doms, or stiffnes due to prolonged inactivity).

I will share this. I stink at squats and dead; it was always a ton of work to do them. In my early 40s, I started having repeat bouts of goutty arthritis. For months I was having recurrent bouts in my knees, ankles, and elbows. It put me on the shelf for a year and a half, and it caused deformity in my left ankle. I now have this under control.

When I started hitting the iron again, I convinced myself I couldn't squat anymore. However, I put a board under my heels and was able to. I then challenged myself to remove the board. It hurt some, but I was able to get to the point where I could break parallel. Earlier this year, I finished a 6 week run where I squatted six times a week. Currently I am running double splits and sometimes BB squat twice in the same day. I am not saying you have to do all this.I'm trying to put a bug in your ear to tell you that before you just decide to give up on them, make sure you really cannot do them. They can make all the difference in the world in helping you reach your goals and full potential.

BTW, I still stink at squats, but I have learned to love doing them

Ray

[TCO76]

Wow have been away from the boards doing life for some time and I must say desertdude you are looking great!! mad props for sticking it out man!!

[DesertDude11]

I'm trying to put a bug in your ear to tell you that before you just decide to give up on them, make sure you really cannot do them. They can make all the difference in the world in helping you reach your goals and full potential.

BTW, I still stink at squats, but I have learned to love doing them

Thanks for the encouragement Ray. I really love doing them too. However, I have smashed up vertebra in my lower back and bulging disks caused by years of skateboarding/snowboarding and lifting WAY too big a logs while doing tree work. About 5 years ago, I could just barely walk across the parking lot to my chiropractors office, had cyatic nerve issues so bad that my legs would fall asleep if I sat/stood/walked for too long.... blah blah blah.

Long story is that I tried squatting very light weight (135), loved the exercise but after a few weeks started having some really painful issues relating to it.

At this point, I am grateful to be able to do as much as I do... especially deal lift!

Wow have been away from the boards doing life for some time and I must say desertdude you are looking great!! mad props for sticking it out man!!

Thanks man!