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Click on the thumbnail to see a new gallery of shots from my off season workouts. |
Workouts are very personal. Not everything works for everyone. Experimentation is the key here, as you will be your best coach as far as your progress is concerned. You need to be honest with yourself and your goals. Do you like what you see? Then stay with your routine. If you are honestly not where you want to be physically, then I have a few suggestions.
I lift between 3-4 days a week. If I lift three days, it's Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If it's 4 days, I prefer to lift Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. My split is usually a Major muscle group paired with a Minor muscle group. An example routine would be (assuming the 4 day split):
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Click on the thumbnail to see a new gallery of shots from my off season workouts. |
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| MONDAY | BACK | Wide Grip Chins | 4 | 6 - 8 |
Barbell Rows | 3 | 8 - 10 | ||
Pullovers | 3 | 8 - 10 | ||
BICEPS | Barbell Curls | 3 | 8 - 10 | |
Incline Hammer Curls * | 3 | 10 - 12 | ||
| TUESDAY | QUADS | Squats | 3 - 5 | 8 - 10 |
Dumbell Lunges | 3 | 10 - 12 | ||
Sissy Squats | 3 | 10 - 12 | ||
HAMS | Stiff Legged Deadlifts | 3 | 8 - 10 | |
Leg Curls | 3 | 8 - 10 | ||
CALVES | Calf Raises | 3 | 15 - 20 | |
| THURSDAY | SHOULDERS | Overhead Barbell Press | 3 | 8 - 10 |
Upright Barbell Rows | 3 | 8 - 10 | ||
Dumbell Lateral Raises | 3 | 8 - 10 | ||
ABDOMINALS | Cable Crunches | 3 | 12 - 15 | |
Hanging Leg Raises | 3 | 12 - 15 | ||
| FRIDAY | CHEST | Incline Bench Press | 3 - 5 | 6 - 8 |
Dumbell Flat Flyes | 3 | 8 - 10 | ||
Cable Crossovers | 3 | 10 - 12 | ||
TRICEPS | Lying Triceps Extensions | 3 | 8 - 10 | |
Reverse Pressdowns * | 3 | 10 - 12 | ||
Above is an example of a routine that has worked well for me, however Ichange the exercises almost weekly. There are many good exercises that are not listed above, and I recommend trying them to see what works best for you. (A great source of information on exercises is Arnold Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.) I personally favor compound movements (Bench, Deadlift, and Squat), but will also include isolation movements so that my muscles cannot get accustomed to any one stimulus. And by changing the routine, I am ensuring muscle growth. The change could be also be minor, such as doing my routines out of order; or major, such as changing the exercises themselves.
Sometimes I will change my methods to focus moreon intensity, and cut back on my sets and my reps, and at other times Iwill cut back on the intensity and focus on volume and reps. I alsovary the tempo that I lift at, sometimes extremely slow, but neverfast. I lift very deliberately, and I try to feel the contraction of themuscle that I am focusing on, making sure that it is doing the work. Ialways train to temporary muscle failure, or the point where you can no longermove the weight, no matter how hard you try. I also suggest occasionally training to eccentric (negative) failure, or to when you can no longer safely lower the weight. Just make sure you have a spotter for this type of training! And don't train with heavy negatives every workout, or you may overtrain.
My workouts are generally 45 minutes to 1 hour in length, as I feel thatshorter, more intense workouts work better than the marathons thatused to be preached in the past. Occasionally, however, a longer workout with more sets is needed to shock complacent muscle groups. Use this technique sparingly however, as repeated sessions that are longer than an hour may cause you to overtrain, and rob yourself of hard earned muscle mass.
Off Season Mass Building Workout - I sometimes switch my workouts during the off season toemphasize more mass and strength. I will cease allaerobics, and go on a three day a week regimen thatlooks like this - CLICK HERE - I can't take credit for coming up with the routine. This routine is the creation of Mr. Stuart McRobert, author of the best selling bodybuilding book, Brawn. Always make sure that you train to fail on thelast prescribed repetition of each set, or your weight isn't heavy enough. And gradually increase the weight from week to week. If you follow a bodybuilding friendly diet, your strength and muscle mass will increase. Yes, it's as simple as it sounds. Bodybuilding need not be rocket science, or confusing.
Best of luck,
Ed Bednar
