Need Help With Developing Strength Routine

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Deleted member 87037

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Yes, I consulted the stickies.

I just finished college for the year and have 4+ months off. I want to gain overall strength/mass and am looking for help with developing a weekly routine. I just joined a community-center gym that opened (running-distance from me is a plus!) and am looking to take full-advantage of it.

After looking over some of the link-outs in the stickies, I'm overwhelmed. Example: catalogue of core exercises. There's ~40 there and if there's something I know not to do, it's a whole bunch of everything (which unfortunately I have been doing). I'd much rather stick to a select few, efficient work-outs and develop good form (ie: squats, deadlifts, bench press).

The gym is usually pretty empty (which is good, I know) but this could be problematic with exercises that require assistance. Please keep that in mind. My buddy joined with me as well but he's lazy and makes excuses not to go.. so relying on him to regularely spot me is out of the question.

I can hit the gym 3-4 times a week, but no more than that as I don't wanna burn myself out (I have Karate 3x a week as well).

Any help would be much appreciated. Please don't use abbreviations as I'm not familiar with much S&P terminology. Thanks.
 
Pick a few basic ones that you already know how to perform. Also, I believe that core training thread is split up into different functions and areas of the core so for now pick 1 from each section to ensure you are training your core properly.

In regards to training alone, as long as you have a Power Rack/Squat Rack youre fine. I train alone and stopped doing Barbell Benches because I wasnt able to really push myself with the weights and risk going to failure and having a bar stuck on my chest.

If you are worried about benching alone, you can always do dips (and later on weighted dips) and dumbell benching. Both of which are excellent exercises for the upper body and Imo superior to BB benching.

In regards to the frequency of your workouts. You want to do 3 a week at most in my opinion especially if you are doing other trainings in between.
 
Rippetoe Practical Programming Novice Program:

Monday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Wednesday
Squat 3x5
Press/bench press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Friday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Alternate Bench Press and Press (overhead) every workout. If you feel the need to add extra work, do it at the end. Although, it is not recommended. All exercises are performed in "sets across" fashion. (i.e. use the same weight for all three sets. Use good judgement and don't let your form break down.) Warm up properly.
 
2-day split from the FAQ in a 5x5 (5 sets of 5 reps) fortmat. Only thing you'll need a spotter on is bench. I've made steady gains stickin' with this basic routine for a year, with a couple times off.
 
I havent had a spotter for years...Just dump it if youre going to miss the lift.
 
Thanks guys, I was extremely relieved to see how few exercises were involved. I'm gonna check ExRx and look-up some vids for proper form.

vince89 thanks for the heads up, I'll replace barbell benches with dumbell benches/weighted dips.

Klotz: Port Union community center gym (right across from Mowat HS)

Merrill, I Googled the Rippetoe program and found this. Do you recommend this or what you said?
------
You alternate Workout A and Workout B every other day, 3 times a week. So you could either do Mon, Wed, Fri or Tues, Thurs. and Sat. Depending on what works best for you.

Example:

Week 1:

Monday - Workout A
Wednesday -Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:

Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

Etc.

For the actual workouts read below:

Note: This doesn
 
likkuid said:
Merrill, I Googled the Rippetoe program and found this. Do you recommend this or what you said?
------
You alternate Workout A and Workout B every other day, 3 times a week. So you could either do Mon, Wed, Fri or Tues, Thurs. and Sat. Depending on what works best for you.

Example:

Week 1:

Monday - Workout A
Wednesday -Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:

Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

Etc.

For the actual workouts read below:

Note: This doesn’t include warm-up sets

**Means this is OPTIONAL**

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
**2x8 Dips (if you cant do these or no assist machine then do Decline Dumbbell Bench Press with your hands Facing each other)

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Bent Rows
**2x8 Chin-ups
------

I'll work-in push ups + abdominal work just because I'm so used to it.

Anyways This guy later says though that people taking that program should be eating 3000-4000 calories a day and 1-2x their mass in protein :eek:... I know eat big/lean/green but wow I don't know if I can do that. Hmm, I'll look into the D&S board!
Click to expand...

Looks like pretty much the same thing with added assistance work. I think in the Practical Programming manual he does it as an A,B alternating program as well. This is how he presents it in the Starting Strength manual. You should eat big. Rippetoe is a big proponent of milk and eggs.
 
So what would you personally recommend? The A/B or yours?

Oh, forgot to ask: how long do I rest in between reps? How long do I rest in between exercises (ie: from squat to bench) and finally "Warm up properly" - meaning? ..Weights, stretching, what? Thanks.
 
That gym is actually pretty close to where I'll be working. What are the facilities like and how much does it cost? edit: no it isn't. It's at the end of bloody Scarbrough!

how long do I rest in between reps?
Click to expand...
3-5 minutes. Less if you want to work on cardio (you'll need less weight though)
How long do I rest in between exercises (ie: from squat to bench)
Click to expand...
Not very long. As long as it takes you to set up.

and finally "Warm up properly" - meaning? ..Weights, stretching, what? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Doing things like bodyweight squats for stretching, then working up to your working weight. So if I was going to do 275 lb squats, I'd do 135, 225, then 275.
 
likkuid said:
So what would you personally recommend? The A/B or yours?

Oh, forgot to ask: how long do I rest in between reps? How long do I rest in between exercises (ie: from squat to bench) and finally "Warm up properly" - meaning? ..Weights, stretching, what? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I would do the one in the link that you found. Once you become stronger you might notice that deadlifting twice in one week will probably be too much. Rippetoe changes the routine once a person becomes stronger so that you are only deadlifting once a week. He has you subbing power cleans the second week. He also switches from squatting three times a week to twice a week, subbing front squats on the second workout. Like this:


Week A

Day 1
Squat 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets, weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps

Day 2
Front squats 3x5
Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5 (more sets may be added due to reduced frequency)

Day 3
Squat 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Week B

Day 1
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Day 2
Front squats 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Power clean 5x3

Day 3
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets, weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps


Klotz covered you on the rest.
 
Great! Just gotta work on my diet and then I'm set! Thanks guys!
 
so i think i may have done deadlift wrong by slightly curving my lower back when adding more weight - though i'm not sure. right now (day after) my lower-back feels stiff, is this normal? doesn't hurt; don't mind it, just..stiff.
 
Isn't muscular or skeletal that hurts?

If you're unsure of your form, get a video of you deadlifting and post it here.
 
likkuid said:
so i think i may have done deadlift wrong by slightly curving my lower back when adding more weight - though i'm not sure. right now (day after) my lower-back feels stiff, is this normal? doesn't hurt; don't mind it, just..stiff.
Click to expand...

I think it's perfectly natural if you're not used to it. DL does work the core as well as legs, so if your body isn't used to holding/stabilizing that kind of weight, it's gonna be sore. Just don't overdo it.
 
mschatz said:
I havent had a spotter for years...Just dump it if youre going to miss the lift.
Click to expand...

Same here. Just leave the safety-clips off for bench... and obviously dont go for 1RM's without someone around, and you should live.
 
likkuid: how long do I rest in between reps?
Klotz: 3-5 minutes. Less if you want to work on cardio (you'll need less weight though)

Okay, wait. Likkuid, did you really mean "how long do I rest between sets?"

I assume Klotz took the question that way.

Minority viewpoint -- the amount of time you rest between sets can be influenced by the amount of time you have for your workout. I usually have about half an hour so I tend to keep my rest time to 2 minutes or less between sets. Does it reduce the amount of weight I can move? Probably. But I get a lot more sets done by taking short breaks.
 
oops, yup I meant sets.

OK today and yesterday @ the gym when I was doing the routine (i know I'm supposed to take a days rest in between but I had to go today to help my friend w/ something) neither me or my buddy felt tired (at all) after doing the squats/bench/deadlift/dips. we did our max weight and took 3-5 min rests in between. is this normal?? we didn't feel muscle burn/strain/fatigue, anything.. though when we were doing the actual exercises it was difficult.
 
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