Shotgun's workout

[Shotgun-Boogie]

I’m keen for some feedback on my routine noted below. Given I did not know the right name for each exercise, I had to consult http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm!!

Been going to the gym for 1.5 years so feel I have a good base, but I’m keen to expand my workout knowledge and fine tune and weaknesses.

I’ve only just started to re-incorporate a small bit of running back into my regime (as a bit of stomach fat that needs shedding for summer). This is usually sacrificed in favour of gym work if I’m unable to exercise as frequently as I like.

My gym visits fluctuate but roughly 4 times a week, sometimes 5 (depending on how crazy work is). My visits are normally mornings and I take a protein supplement before and after. Usually in and out in under 45 mins.

My goals is simply to look more musclular, hence I'm keen to life more weight.

On a high-level basis, my routine is roughly as follows (although I change it around a fair bit):

Monday

Chest

Dumb Bell / Flat bench (30kg x 12, 35kg x 8, 40kg x 3-4)
Incline flys (15kg x 12, 17.5kg x 10, 20kg x 5-6)
Barbell / Flat bench (80kg x 3-4, 70kg x 5-6, 70kg x 5-6)
Sometimes finish off the session with the Chest Press machine doing a drop set

Tris

Dips (8-10 first set, 6-8 2nd and 5-6 3rd)
Cable Rope Overhead Tricep Extension (50kg x 12, 60kg x 10 reps, 70kg x 5-8 reps)
Decline Close Grip Bench To Skull Crusher (15kg x 12, 20kg x 10, 25kg x 6-8)
Tricep Dumbbell Kickback (15kg x 12, 17kg x 10, 20kg x 6-8)

Tuesday

Shoulders

Sort of a Side Lateral Raise but hands start at front finish closer to head (12.5kg x 12, 15kg x 10, 17kg x 3-4)
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (20kg x 12, 22.5kg x 10, 25kg x 6-7)
Front Dumbbell Raise combined with a One-Arm Side Laterals (7kg x 10 front and 10 side, 7kg x 10 front and 8 side, 7kg x 10 front and 6 side)

Run (20 mins = 4.3km)

Wednesday

Rest

Thursday

Biceps

Incline Dumbbell Curls (15kg x 12, 17.5kg x 8-10, 20kg x 4-5)
Barbell Curl (25kg x 12, 30kg x 10, 35kg x 6-7)
Standing Bicep Cable Curl (60kg x 12, 70kg x 10, 80kg x 6-7)
One Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl (10kg x 12, 12kg x 10, 12kg x 6-8)

Stomach

Exercise Ball Crunch x 100
Plank & Side Bridge 1 min on left side, 1 min on front and 1 min on right side (x 2)
Exercise Ball Pull-In (x 12, x 10, x 8)

Friday

Legs

Lying Machine Squat (220kg x 12, 240kg x 8-10, 260kg x 5-6)
leg extensions (120kg x 12, 130kg x 10, 140kg x 5-6)
leg curls (80kg x 12, 90kg x 10, 100kg x 5-6)
calf raises (240kg x 12, 280kg x 10, 320kg x 5-6) – can’t remember exact kg’s, so may be off, but I use the highest weight on my last set.

Back
Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown (140kg x 12, 150kg x 8, 160kg x 6) or V-Bar Pulldown (160kg x 12, 170kg x 8, 180kg x 4-6)
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown (130kg x 12, 140kg x 8, 140kg x 6)
Lying T-Bar Row (25kg x 12, 30kg x 8, 35g x 6)

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

Run (20 mins = 4.3km)

Apologies in advance for any errors above. Hopefully you get the jist of it.

My gut feel is I need a bit more guidance (e.g. PT sessions).

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Hey mate, four questions:
What is your real first name? It's nicer that way.
Second, where are you in this wide brown land of ours? Who knows, someone here might live next door and be able to meet with you personally for some lifting.
Third, what is your bodyweight? That puts your lifts in perspective.
Lastly, are there any injuries or conditions that affect your training, apart from needing a quick session?

If you are over 70kg or so, then your lifts are not really strong for 1.5 years in the gym - overall you're about as strong as me (stats in sig), and I've only been going since April.

I don't say that as an insult, but just to put things in perspective for where you're at in training, given your stated aims of getting more muscular and strong. I believe that you get best and quickest results from a full-body workout with basic compound lifts, until you can manage

- Bench press, 1x bodyweight; Bent over barbell rows, 1xBW; Overhead press 0.75xBW; squats, 1.5x BW; deadlift, 1.75xBW -​

I say that until you can manage those lifts, then barring any injuries or other particular conditions of your body or the gym's equipment, you should focus on those lifts.

You say you change your routine around a bit - this is great for just being overall fit and strong enough for recreational sports, but not good for building genuine strength and substantial size. For that you need a solid routine with progressive weights.

Given that you have just 45 or so minutes in the gym, I would suggest,

Workout A - Squat, Bent over BB rows, overhead press
Workout B - Deadlift, Heaves, Bench press​

doing these workouts alternating, with a day's rest in between.

To really build strength, go for low reps. Begin each lift with just the bar for 10-20 fairly quick reps, this warms up the muscles and stretches them out a bit. After that, you're going for 5x5 - 5 sets of 5 reps of ascending weight. Begin at half your top weight. For example, with bench topping out at 80kg you'd go for,

Bench - 5x 40kg, 5x 50kg, 5x 60kg, 5x 70kg, 5x 80kg​

If you can't make all 5 reps on all 5 sets, that's okay, just try again next time. If you still can't make it, add an extra set on the end - whatever it takes to get some more work out of your muscles.

When you can make all 5 reps on all 5 sets, up the weight on each by 1.25, 2.5 or 5kg - whatever is the smallest your gym equipment allows, and whatever you think you can handle. It'll usually be larger jumps on things like squats, and smaller on things like overhead press.

Again, aim at completing all 5 sets with 5 reps. Cycle through like that.

With heaves, this is just chinups or pullups - don't worry about palms forward or away, spacing of grip or whatever, just do whatever's comfortable. Your aim is to be able to do 4 sets of 10-12. If you can't do that, that's fine. If you can do 1 heave, you can do 10 - spread them throughout the rest of your workout. In your first week, get a total of at least 10. In your second, at least 20. And so on until it totals 50. When you can do a total of 50 you should be able to manage sets of 5 or more heaves. In each set do as many reps as you can, and keep the total at 50. In time you'll be able to do 4x 10-12.

When you can do those 4x 10-12, you can start doing other things like holding a dumbell between your feet, or doing a set of wide-grip, set of narrow grip, and so on. It'll depend on what your aims are. But in the beginning just aim to get up there for 4 sets of 10-12.

I think you'll find that your strength will come up on these six basic exercises quite quickly, as all this other stuff you've done has prepared your muscles for it. In that respect, the only guidance you might need from a PT will be in doing the lifts correctly, to avoid injury and get the most possible work from your muscles.

Let me know if anything I've said is unclear to you, or doesn't work for you because of some other issue.

 

[Shotgun-Boogie]

Awesome Kyle. Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed and quick response.

Q: What is your real first name?
A: Baz

Q: Second, where are you in this wide brown land of ours?
A: Living in Port Melbourne and working out at South Melbourne.

Q: Third, what is your bodyweight?
A: 85kg at present.

Q: Lastly, are there any injuries or conditions that affect your training, apart from needing a quick session?
A: I did my rotator cuff (shoulder) about 4 months into my training, but much much better now. I tend get a stiff back every now and then, but usually easily sorted with a massage.

You mentioned the following workout, alternating, with a day's rest in between.

Workout A - Squat, Bent over BB rows, overhead press
Workout B - Deadlift, Heaves, Bench press​

Do I do both these sessions in one day and then rest, or is is say Monday = Workout A, Tuesday rest, Wednesday Workout B?

I notice I have not been warming up the muscles but rather launching into my sets, so this tips sounds good. I sometimes do these low weight / high rep exercises at the end of a session just to squeeze out any life left in my muscles.

I like the sound of the 5 x sets. This should add some variety to my workout and make things more interesting (as 1.5 years of 3 sets can become boring).

I am hopeless with pullups (which I dont understand given the other work I do). Chin Ups are okay. Spacing them throuhout the workout sounds like a plan though.

Would you suggest maybe trying the above workouts for a certain period (say 2-3 months) and assessing?

Thanks

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Thanks Baz (you should put your name in your sig!)

Another Melburnite, good to hear. We have a few too many banana-benders on this forum

Yep, definitely keep an eye on those rotator cuffs. Check with a physio, they can give you some exercises to strengthen them directly. My woman has these rubber bands she hooks onto a doorknob, does them daily at home, helps a lot.

Yes, A and B would be on alternate days with rest in between. eg
Monday - Workout A - Squat, Bent over BB rows, overhead press
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - Workout B - Deadlift, Heaves, Bench press
Thursday - rest
Friday - Workout A - Squat, Bent over BB rows, overhead press
Saturday & Sunday - rest

then the following week,

Monday - Workout B - Deadlift, Heaves, Bench press
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - Workout A - Squat, Bent over BB rows, overhead press
Thursday - rest
Friday - Workout B - Deadlift, Heaves, Bench press
Saturday & Sunday - rest

and so on. Just do the three exercises in each workout, nothing else. Once you build up the weight, you'll have to work hard to do the warmup 20 reps and the 5x5 for all three in 45 minutes, and you'll definitely be tired.

Beginners definitely need the days off in between. Someone with some gym time behind him like yourself, if you do a few days in a row you'll be alright. However, you like doing your runs, so do them on your "rest" days, don't put them on top of the lifting. Just make sure you have at least one genuine day of rest a week to let your body recover.

With your heaves, like I said just build them up to 4x 10-12, when you can do that then worry about your grip.

Here's the details if you want them. I put it in grey text so you can ignore them if you don't care. "Hopeless with pullups, okay with chinups," let's look at that. This is very typical with blokes, and usually means you have relatively strong biceps and relatively weak back.

Normally a "chinup" is supinated (palms up grip, a pullup is pronated (palms away from you) grip. To understand how the arm muscles work in this, think of a bicep curl. When you have a supinated grip, your bicep is worked. When you have a pronated grip, not so much - it's your brachialis, in fact, a muscle running under the biceps.

Now, translate this to a chinup/pullup - the chinup with its supinated grip uses more biceps, the pullup more brachialis. The typical bloke will have much stronger biceps than brachialis, so he'll find the chinup easier.

Also, when people do pullups they tend to have a wider grip. You may have noticed with your bench press that if you have a narrower grip it uses your arms more and chest less, and more chest and less arms with a wider grip. Well, a heave is the same. If you have a narrow grip it uses more arms, if you have a wide grip it uses more back muscles.

So, if you find chinups easier than pullups, that usually means you have relatively strong biceps and relatively weak back. This is very common in blokes.

The bent over barbell rows and deadlifts will help your back strength a lot. But really to get good at heaves, do heaves.

Yes, definitely give this a go for 6-12 weeks. Obviously if you have genuine pain (not discomfort) with any of them then stop immediately and see a physio, especially because of your previous RC issues. But if it's okay, just try it out, see how you go.

You need 4 weeks or so to really settle into the new workout and be used to the movements, and by about week 6 you'll know for sure if it's doing you any good. By week 12 you'll've either achieved those goals I suggested (squatting 1.5x bodyweight, etc) or you'll've plateaued somewhere, can't get past some weight on a couple of exercises. Then you might need something different.

A trainer at your gym or an experienced person ought to be able to show you these lifts. Proper form is really important for your regular workouts (people sometimes break form for heavy lifts at competitions and things, but doing it "wrong" for a rep or two is different to doing it in every workout!)

If there's no-one we can arrange to meet up and I can show you, I'm in Clayton South.

 

[Josh_GTiR]

You need to do more free weights, and you also need to squat, Deadlift and Military Press.

That is how I see it. I think some of the stuff you are doing is pointless unless you are sculpting the last little bit you can out of muscles if you are a BB (Tricep Kickbacks), and even then they are pretty useless.

Pull as much as you press. Hit legs hard and lift heavy. For example, we use a Barbell on the ground and a few other pieces to do T-Bar Rows. We usually use 75kg.

 

[PTC]

I'd rather not comment in this forum.

One of my clients, Nick, is NPR on here. He lives in South Melbourne. He comes to PTC twice a week.

I suggest you contact him and come along for a session. Actions speak louder than words.

Its up to you Baz.

 

[Shotgun-Boogie]

Thx chaps.

Kyle, The brachialis! That's a new one for me. This will need some work me thinks. Would barbell curls, but reversing my normal grip help work this area (given what you said about likley having stonger biceps and hence being better at chin ups)?

Josh, you mentioned the Military Press. I've been doing the overhead dumb bell press. Surely similar exercises, but I thought the free weights version would be better. Y/N??

Cheers
Baz

 

[Josh_GTiR]

I just had another look. I think you are mixing up some of your weights or something. You T-Bars are kind of low, and your lat pull downs are 150kg+? Wha the? Our machines at our gym only go to 120kg.

After having a closer look at everything, it seems like a pretty pointless routine. Sorry mate, not trying to be a dick. You need to use more free weights and get back to basics. Are you happy with your development so far? I feel as though you would have quite a bit lacking from a "decent" base to be honest. You and I have both been doing this stuff for the same amount of time. I have recently bought everything back to basics. Although I always used free weights and used to deadlift and squat as well.

 

[Shotgun-Boogie]

Appreciate all feedback. Some food for thought.
Thanks
Baz

 

[Kyle Aaron]

brachialis! That's a new one for me. This will need some work me thinks. Would barbell curls, but reversing my normal grip help work this area (given what you said about likley having stonger biceps and hence being better at chin ups)?

Just do heaves and bent over barbell rows, mate. Forget all that small isolation stuff for a while. Get your overall strength up.

 

[Josh_GTiR]

Do you basically use Machines for your whole workout?

What is the calf raise machine? 320kg? hmmmmmm......

 

[Shotgun-Boogie]

Here's the best picture of the calf exercise I could find (although the one I use is more upright). Standing Calf Raises is probably a better description.

Just about everyone at the gym uses the maximum weight possible on this machine. I'll confirm the exact weight tomorrow, but expect its close to what I said.​