Hello,
I am looking for another person's opinion on this routine's effectiveness, in terms of what I have studied in SOST.
(3 minute rest between sets, notation is SetsxRep range)
Monday:
Bench Press
- 1x8-10 Warmup, light weight
- 1x6-8 (Heavy)
- 1x4-6 (Heavy)
- 1x2-4 (Submaximal)
- 1x2 (Submaximal)
- 1x8-12 Hypertrophy
Shoulder Press - (Same scheme as Bench Press)
Bar Dips - 4x8-12 (Bodyweight)
Crunches - 4x13-18 (Bodyweight)
Wednesday:
Squat - (Same scheme as Bench Press)
Stiff-Legged Deadlift - (Same scheme as Bench Press)
Calf Raises - (Same scheme as Bench Press)
Crunches - 4x13-18 (Bodyweight)
Friday:
Wide-Grip Pullups - 4x8-12 (Bodyweight)
Bent-over Rows - (Same scheme as Bench Press)
Bicep Curl - (Same scheme as Bench Press)
Crunches - 4x13-18 (Bodyweight)
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday - Active or passive rest.
This appears to be a correctly designed basic developing microcycle, according to what I have studied in SOST. It combines heavy to submaximal resistance (for motor unit mobilization) with hypertrophy (for muscle breakdown and rebuilding). Compound exercises are used instead of isolation movements. Is more hypertrophy work required? Is the rep range for the bodyweight exercises too low?
It allows 48 hours for major muscle groups to recover, but it does not seem wise to continually stress the neuromuscular system (p.70 SOST) every other day without also performing some training on the vegetative system, but adding endurance work to a strength workout reduces gains (p.174). Would it be a good idea to add a brisk walk on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday?
In short, is this an effective routine that will develop strength and muscle mass?
Thank you for any comments. SOST seems like a very complete and useful book to me.
Advice on Strength and Mass Routine
What are your goals?I assume because you mention no other type of training you are a body builder.How long have you been training?Do you see yourself as genetically gifted or a "hard gainer"?
The only thing i noticed(this is just a personal opinion) is that you perform bar dips AND bench press,pull ups AND bent over rows.Depending how far along you are with your training you may only need one execise per bodypart and could probably drop one of them.I also don't like bent over rows due to injury risk(again,just my opinion).
If you are a classic hard gainer(usually an ectomorph) without much muscle mass to start with then bench press,shoulder press,dips on one day with pull ups and bent over rows on another day(even with the rest in between) may fry your shoulders and lead to injury.
When i first started weight training i used the following routine-
Monday:- Wide grip weighted chin ups.
Low incline bench press.
Shoulder press.
Shrugs.
L-fly.
Ab work.
Thursday:-Squats.
Stiff leg deadlifts.
One leg calf raises.
Barbell curls.
Ab work.
This way all the shoulder exercises were done in one workout leaving a full week for recovery.I was extremely thin as a kid but this simple routine(it could be simpler if you drop the shrugs and curls) helped to pack on mass.
If you are a bodybuilder then functional strength isn't your priority.
I recommend a book by Stuart Mcrobert called Beyond Brawn.This is a bible of simple abbrieviated training for drug free trainees.
Dragon
The only thing i noticed(this is just a personal opinion) is that you perform bar dips AND bench press,pull ups AND bent over rows.Depending how far along you are with your training you may only need one execise per bodypart and could probably drop one of them.I also don't like bent over rows due to injury risk(again,just my opinion).
If you are a classic hard gainer(usually an ectomorph) without much muscle mass to start with then bench press,shoulder press,dips on one day with pull ups and bent over rows on another day(even with the rest in between) may fry your shoulders and lead to injury.
When i first started weight training i used the following routine-
Monday:- Wide grip weighted chin ups.
Low incline bench press.
Shoulder press.
Shrugs.
L-fly.
Ab work.
Thursday:-Squats.
Stiff leg deadlifts.
One leg calf raises.
Barbell curls.
Ab work.
This way all the shoulder exercises were done in one workout leaving a full week for recovery.I was extremely thin as a kid but this simple routine(it could be simpler if you drop the shrugs and curls) helped to pack on mass.
If you are a bodybuilder then functional strength isn't your priority.
I recommend a book by Stuart Mcrobert called Beyond Brawn.This is a bible of simple abbrieviated training for drug free trainees.
Dragon
Dragon:
Thanks for the advice.
I've been training for a few months, with a similar routine structure, but with lighter weights and higher reps. My goal is to put on a few pounds and become stronger, not really get into hardcore bodybuilding.
You mention functional strength isn't a priority - I'm a little confused by what you're getting at.
It does seem to put the shoulder through a lot. Looking at what you have, it does seem better do allow more recovery time.
Also, re-reading SOST and the newsletters on this site have shown me that over the long term it is better to first develop aerobic and muscle endurance before working on strength or mass. Maybe I am going about this the wrong way?
Thanks for the advice.
I've been training for a few months, with a similar routine structure, but with lighter weights and higher reps. My goal is to put on a few pounds and become stronger, not really get into hardcore bodybuilding.
You mention functional strength isn't a priority - I'm a little confused by what you're getting at.
It does seem to put the shoulder through a lot. Looking at what you have, it does seem better do allow more recovery time.
Also, re-reading SOST and the newsletters on this site have shown me that over the long term it is better to first develop aerobic and muscle endurance before working on strength or mass. Maybe I am going about this the wrong way?
If you are a bodybuilder it's the appearance of your muccles that matter,not the strength of them.Bodybuilders lift weights purely to get bigger,not stronger.Strength is just a side effect.There are some that say the more you lift the bigger you will get but there are some pro bodybuilders who lift relatively light weight compared to their size.Dakhath wrote:You mention functional strength isn't a priority - I'm a little confused by what you're getting at.
Again,if you are a bodybuilder the only aerobic endurance you need is enough to get you through a workout.If you have trouble gaining mass then aerobic work could be counter-productive as you will be burning valuable calories that would be better put to use for muscle building.Dakhath wrote:Also, re-reading SOST and the newsletters on this site have shown me that over the long term it is better to first develop aerobic and muscle endurance before working on strength or mass. Maybe I am going about this the wrong way?
Having said that though,some aerobic work is beneficial to keep you healthy.
Dragon