Hey guys, wondering if I could get some feedback on my current lifting plan. Did basically starting strength over the summer while doing Bjj to maintain muscle while losing weight. Now I'm happily no longer a fatass and back at college, looking to put some lost muscle back on as lean as I can. Currently doing a 4 day alternating push and pull days and I'm liking it so far, just wondering if you all have any suggestions for improvements or modifications Push- Mon and Thurs Squat 3x5 Bench 3x5 Military/overhead press 3x5 Hack squat/leg press 3x5 dumbell flys/incline press 3x5 lateral dumbell raises 3x5 abs calves 3x10 triceps 3x7 Pull- Tues and Fri Deadlift 3x5 Pendlay rows 3x5 Pull-ups 3x9 Dumbell lunges 3x7 shrugs 3x5 other rows 3x5 abs biceps 3x7 (sorry...) So do I look on the right track? Trying to hit every large muscle group twice basically with high weight, lowish reps. Also it gives me the freedom to miss a day lifting and not worry about it as I can make up for it by moving my rest day from Wednesday to whatever day that was, or to go in on the weekend.
Not that there is anything wrong with these rep schemes, but why did you choose them? Seems like an exceedingly arbitrary choice of numbers, just to keep the odd-number them flowing.
You've got some of the basics for sure. A lot depends on exactly what your goal is and how your body responds to the training. For someone like me, I can tell you this would push me well into the overtraining territory. I have trouble doing heavy squats and deadlifts in the same week even. But thats me and my genetics (and lack of sleep). Elaborate on your goals and keep good notes on your progress and be sure to note fatigue level and whether or not you're progressing in weight on the lifts. I worked with a trainer who made me take progress pics twice a week when I got up, measurements on like 7-8 parts of my body, and of course weigh in. Thats a bit extreme but you'll learn a lot about your body and how it responds to your training that way. I hope this helps.
Those numbers kinda came about through trial and error. I found that for the smaller muscles I needed a few more reps to work them right. And the pullups is where I'm at now. Trying to be able to do 3 sets of 10 reps but can't quite get it. I'll get 10 first time, 9 or 10 second. But then i'm dead and get like 5 on 3rd set. And, does anyone have a better reference for a 4 day push/pull example maybe? I like the way this is working for me, but haven't seen any example plans from pros that are similar to this idea. I like the hitting each muscle twice a week, with options for which days I lift without screwing up the plan or having to hit muscles on back to back days to get back on track.
Alot wrong here. I'm saying all this without knowing much about you such as strength levels and goals but this is what I got from what I can assume. You have too much 5 rep stuff, so I would say there is probably too much intensity in your program. You are deadlifting the day after squatting and you are doing it twice a week. Those are two of the important ones. You've also got some lifts and rep schemes that might not be optimal but can't say exactly without knowing what you're looking for I guess. I am currently doing a 4 day split and it is something that could be considered hitting muscle groups twice a week if that is what you are interested in. I am doing something similiar to 531, it just has a little more volume on the main lift. Monday is squat, squat assistance, upper body pulling, and abs. Tuesday is strict press and strict press assistance (what you would think of as shoulders, triceps, and maybe chest). Thursday is deadlift, deadlift assistance, abs. Friday is bench press, bench assistance. I think it would be fair to say I'm doing something close to push/pull twice a week. I was a serial program jumper for a long time and have tried alot of programs and this one is probably my favorite so far. Of course there is a good chance your best bet is going to be SS or Texas Method or something like that, but if you are dead set on a 4 day split push/pull thing that hits body parts twice a week you could give this a whirl too.
