Is this routine good for strength?

Discussion in 'Strength & Conditioning Discussion' started by DLesko, Jul 11, 2005.

  1. DLesko Yellow Belt

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2004
    Messages:
    213
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Just outside Chicago IL, USA
    Hi guys. This is the split im doing at the moment:

    Monday:Chest/Shoulders/Tris
    Bench Press
    Incline Press
    Flys
    Military Press
    Trcept Pressdown

    Wednesday: Back/Bi
    Deadlifts
    Pulldowns (close grip/wide grip)
    Seated Rows
    Barbell curls
    Hammer curls

    Friday: Legs
    Leg press
    leg extension
    leg curl
    Calf Raise

    Is this a decent routine in order to gain strength? Except for warmup, my reps tend to be in the 2-6 range and heavy.

    Also, in order to increase the overall strength in my arms (bi/tri) would it be better for me to work out arms seperately on their own day, say saturday and add some excersises?

    Lastly, im recovering from neck surgery, had a disk removed and a titanium plate put in in January, what would be good to increase the strength in my neck? Ive never really done anything specific for it in the past.

    Thanks guys, any help would be greatly appreciated.
     
  2. Ted-P Brown Belt

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    Messages:
    3,961
    Likes Received:
    0
    No I think it sucks due to the selection of your exercises.

    What's your rep and set range.

    About the neck, you'll need to talk a doctor or a professional dude. Dont wanna mess with that stuff.
     
  3. DLesko Yellow Belt

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2004
    Messages:
    213
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Just outside Chicago IL, USA
    Hi Ted, whats wrong w/the choice of exercises? For sets and reps i tend to pyramid, starting with a warmup set of 10 and then doing sets with reps between 6 and 2. Big muscles get about 8-10 sets TOTAL, little muscles 6-8 TOTAL. As for the neck, ive already seen a doctor, he did the surgery, im not asking how to make it stop hurting or anything, that already been taken care of, im looking for some strength exercises for it :).
     
  4. Ted-P Brown Belt

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    Messages:
    3,961
    Likes Received:
    0
    Cause a lot of them are machines or isolation exercises. Working the muscles separately will not make you stronger.

    For sets and ranges, you should use this

    http://www.angelfire.com/pe/txpls/prilephin.html

    In terms of rearranging your routine, I think our resident veterans would do a better job.

    but ill give this one a shot

    Make its all free weights

    Monday:Chest/Shoulders/Tris
    Bench Press
    Incline Press
    Military Press
    Dips
    Close grip bench

    Wednesday: Back/Bi

    Pulldowns (close grip/wide grip)
    Seated Rows
    Shrugs
    Goodmornings?

    Friday: Legs
    Box Squat or Deadlift
    Straight legged deadlift
    some other squat variant.

    I'm not great at making routines so lets wait until one of the veterans drop in.
     
  5. Jun Fan Lee White Belt

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2005
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    DL thats an awesome routine for strenght , you're using basic heavy compound movements which is good because you're getting a multiple effect , this depends of prefference but you should always do biceps with back , because they are involved in most back exercises , and the same with chest and triceps , when you do any benching it works your triceps , front delts and chest , so try and seperate the arms accordingly ,you may want to ad skull crushes for your triceps which would work the rearhead of the tricep, squats would be better for overall strenght than leg presses , squats are hands down the single most bennifical exercise there is , they work more muscles than any other one single exercise , but if you don't want to do them you can do leg presses .

    the most important thing is to always warm-up , use perfect form and never use to much weight as your form to get sloppy.
     
  6. rEmY Needs to eat more

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2002
    Messages:
    10,091
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Tokyo, WI

    get rid of the flys
    only need one curl (id use the hammer curls)
    squat instead of leg press
    get rid of leg extensions and leg curls

    in fact this is how i have my leg day set up:
    squat
    sqaut assist (another compound movement in the 6-10 rep range, front sqauts, GMs, etc)
    unilateral leg work (step ups, lunges, reverse lunges, etc.)

    what are you doing for abs? grip?
     
  7. NEwrestler Red Belt

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2002
    Messages:
    8,849
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Philadelphia
    Squat Squat Squat
     
  8. DLesko Yellow Belt

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2004
    Messages:
    213
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Just outside Chicago IL, USA
    My only problem with the squats is that they bother my neck where the leg presses do not. I did squats before the surgery but ive had to alter my workout a bit in order to give my neck a break, its still pretty stiff. Ill forget about putting arms on a different day, i was just worried they were not getting enough work. Ted, the only iso exercies i have are for arms, and i throw in a few for legs but i think i do pretty well sticking to the basics. I dont do bent over rows due to my neck so i use the seated row cable.
     
  9. Urban Savage Mystic

    Joined:
    May 16, 2003
    Messages:
    16,942
    Likes Received:
    60
    Location:
    Sippin on sunshine
    consider front squats if backsquats bug your neck surgery. it's understandable, however, if you are unable to squat due to injury. It is not understandable to do leg extensions and curls though, nor calf raises or flyes, or two curls on one day (I don't curl at all and my biceps are getting bigger and stonger. if at ALL possible get a rope to climb)
     
  10. DLesko Yellow Belt

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2004
    Messages:
    213
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Just outside Chicago IL, USA
    Urban, if i dont do the leg curls/extensions, should i add some more sets to leg press? How many total sets of leg presses do you recomend? Also, i just dont understand what the problem is working out an individual muscle group, like calves or bi's. Why cant these muscles be strong too? I dont see how it hurts to give them some work. Why is this a bad thing? Im not trying to be a smartass or argue, i honestly dont understand why this is frowned upon.
     
  11. Evil Eye Gouger Gold Belt

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2004
    Messages:
    19,583
    Likes Received:
    0
    Try Zerchers for squats. I don't have a squat rack and I found Zerchers far superior to the leg press.
     
  12. colinm Brown Belt

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2004
    Messages:
    3,441
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Joe's Garage
    also without trying to be a smartass, a lot of your answers lie in the stickies. i dont normally give advice because i consider myself an absolute newbie to strength training, but the short answer is that compound movements are better b3ecause they teach your central nervous system to coordinate movements among multiple muscle groups and use more muscle fiber in general. this means more strength. you're basically teaching your body to work harder and bettter use the muscle you have while you build muscle at the same time. as i understand it, bodybuilding programs tend to not give as many strength gains because they dont teach your CNS to be more efficient, just make you bigger but with no ability to use your muscle.
     
  13. Jun Fan Lee White Belt

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2005
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Don't ingnore any muscle group , you should do standing barbell curls and dumbell curls , there is NO other way to effectivly and efficently build strenght in the biceps , the same with calves DO NOT ignore this muscle either , do standing calf raises and seated calf rasies , and if regular squats hurt your neck , try them on a smith machine , this way you really don't have to worry about balancing the bar , and you can't do them with your back straight and head-up , the leg extensions you can toss , they're useless for building strenght in your quads and the leg curls you can keep , or subsitute with still-legged deadlifts if they don't bother your neck .
     
  14. Jun Fan Lee White Belt

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2005
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    No offense but you have no clue what you're talking about , bodybuilding programs tend to not give as many strenght gains ? thats an oxymoron , they are gear specifically for increased muscle size & muscle strenght and heavy lifting with freeweights directly work your central nervous system , basic compound movements have been perfected for about the last 100 years and have been proven scietifically to be the most effective and efficent way to ad muscular size & strenght in the shortest time avaible , there is simply NO other way it can be done faster.
     
  15. krellik Gimli son of Cisco

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2003
    Messages:
    4,596
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Sweden (Kalmar)
    Squat, deadlift, bench or dumbell press, military press, dips, chins, barbel rows.. The fountains of strength.. do you really need anything else?
     
  16. Evil Eye Gouger Gold Belt

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2004
    Messages:
    19,583
    Likes Received:
    0
    Sorry dude, but do you know what an oxymoron is? Muscle size is not the same as muscle strength, which is not the same as strength.

    Bodybuilding is about building muscle size. Powerlifting is about strength. Other sports are about neither.

    He was talking about bodybuilding programmes, which are full of isolation exercises and rep ranges which favour sarcoplasmic growth.

    Really? Scientifically? Show me these scientific studies then.
     
  17. semiotik White Belt

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2005
    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    0
    Where are the squats?
     
  18. Barut Banned Banned

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2004
    Messages:
    6,324
    Likes Received:
    0
    Squat causes him pain due to a surgically repair neck...you would already know that if you took the time to read all the posts in the thread before posting.
     
  19. Sean S Brown Belt

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2003
    Messages:
    3,954
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    A lab in Troy, Mi
    That's cool but where are the squats?
     
  20. NEwrestler Red Belt

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2002
    Messages:
    8,849
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Philadelphia
    no,you have no idea what your talkin about,so your sayin bodybuilding programs will give anywhere near the strength gains as a STRENGTH program? no pec deck flyes and cable curls wont get u that
     

Share This Page

X
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.