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View Full Version : Would like your opinion for either of these 2 routines for my upcoming bulker



cranny
08-22-2008, 10:02 AM
I heisted this from T-nation. It looked interesting b/c to be honest I've never done a workout like this ever. I've always done the usual one body part once per week. I think I've made decent gains over the years but I'm still pretty ignorant when it come to working out to my full potential I believe. You guys are way more savvy than I in this respect. I'm planning on hitting a bulker the first of Oct. The goal is more overall mass. My weakest body part are arms by far. Chemcial wise I'll be on for at least 14-16 wks. So I'm assuming if one of these would be good idea to hit it for 6-8 wks and then move on to something else?
Option 1: (three sessions per week, for trainees who have more time and adequate recovery)
Monday
Hyperextensions 3x10 (one minute breaks)
A1) Standing barbell military press 5x5
A2) Barbell bent-over row 5x5
Take two-minute breaks in between each set of A1 and A2. Go back and forth until all of the sets have been completed.
Barbell squat 5x5 (three minute breaks in between each set)
Wednesday
Hyperextensions 3x10 (one minute breaks)
A1) Weighted dip 5x5
A2) Weighted pull-up 5x5
Take two-minute breaks in between each set of A1 and A2. Repeat until all of the sets have been completed.
Barbell deadlift 5x5 (three minute breaks in between each set)
Friday
Hyperextensions 3x10 (one minute breaks)
A1) Incline barbell press 5x5
A2) Dumbbell renegade row 5x5
Take two-minute breaks in between each set of A1 and A2. Repeat until all of the sets have been completed.
Barbell squat 5x5 (three minute breaks in between each set)

Option 2: (3x per week for advanced trainees who have great recovery abilities)
Monday
Hyperextensions 3x10 (one minute breaks)
Barbell military press 5x5
Weighted pull-ups 5x5
Barbell squat 5x5
Romanian deadlift 5x5
Barbell curl 2x5
Close-grip bench press 2x5
Calf raise 3x12
Wednesday
Hyperextensions 3x10 (one minute breaks)
Bench press 5x5
Barbell bent-over row 5x5
Power clean 5x3
Barbell deadlift 5x5
Dumbbell curl 2x5
Weighted dip 2x5
Calf Raise 3x12
Friday
Hyperextensions 3x10 (one minute breaks)
Dumbbell clean and press 5x5
Weighted pull-up 5x5
Barbell squat 5x5
Dumbbell lunge 5x5
Barbell curl 2x5
Close-grip bench press 2x5
Calf raise 3x12
Take one-minute breaks in between each exercise and three-minute breaks in between each set.

BiggT
08-22-2008, 02:38 PM
They are Bill Starr-style programs that have been fucked with.

Basically, with a full body workout, you're looking at a squat, a pull, and a press. It's balanced, you're training the lower body, the back, and the pressing muscles. The routine is progress driven, meaning you guage progress with weekly increases in weight lifted.

In my opinion, there is just too many unnecessary "twists and tweaks." Like the supersetting with A1 and A2 and timing your rest and all of that stuff. Also, on option B, I'd personally do the assistance work at 2x8-12 instead of 2x5. It is like the author of the routine was like "okay, cool, 5x5, 5 reps, lets write an article and see what we can do to make it a good read." It just seems like typical t Nation to take something perfectly fine as is and tweak it inexplicably for the sake of churning out an article.

Weight selection is extremely important, I haven't seen the original article, but if there is no mention of weight selection, you need to make sure you understand how to implement a 5x5-style program or you'll be miserable in week 2 if you're just gonna go all out 3 days a week.

If you have the urge to train M-W-F- full body workouts, I have had great success with them and recommend them. I think you'd be better served with more of an advanced Bill Starr-inspired setup that stays true to what works about the program. Basically, Mon is your heavy day, Wed is light to add workload, and Fri is a medium day to not only add work, but mentally prep you to hit bigger numbers the following Mon.,

I'd suggest you check out the Bill Starr link here when you've got a free hour or so and once you're familiar you'll be able to "read between the lines" and see what you should take from the 2 above routines and what you may want to scrap.

If you are still thinking of giving it a go, feel free to post something or PM me, I've trained like this a lot over the years, and I think it would be pretty cool to see what kind of gains a physical specimen like yourself could make with this.