Looking for opinions

[z0rr0]

Hey guys. I'm going to be in school this summer, and my friend is looking to me for advice. This is the basic idea so far:

Sunday- Cardio (Basketball, Jogging, etc...)

Monday- A.M. Cardio
P.M Pull- Bent over barbell rows, Cable rows, Pull ups, Barbell curls

Tuesday- Cardio

Wednesday- A.M. Cardio
P.M. Push- Flat db press, Militaries, Upright barbell row, Skull crushers

Thursday- OFF

Friday- P.M. Legs/Lowerback- Front squats, alternate between stiff-legged and traditional deads weekly. (i.e. week 1 stiff-legged deads, week 2 traditional barbel deads)

Saturday- OFF


I'm was trying to acheive a good way too keep my stregnth, as well as lose a bit of the gut. He's interested in losing a bit of fat too, and wants to add a bit of muscle, which I belived would be possible with him just starting to lift on a regular basis. It's my job to make sure he's in the gym . Without a calorie deficit, I'm guessing this should yeild a good 10-15 lb loss over 3 months for me, and a loosening of the beltline for him, while gaining a bit of stregnth and definition.

I was trying to acheive a bit of a 'buffer' around the legs day on friday from cardio, to give the legs a bit of time to recoup before and after the time in the gym. I also tried to stick to more of the core compound lifts. I'm really looking for opinions on what you guys think of this, if it's too much/too little.

For me, this is my normal split, with the addition of cardio 4 days a week. I'm about to start the cardio tonight, so I'm not sure how my body will react.

Like I said, I'm interested in feedback, so lay it on me .

 

[Beelzebub]

Well, you did say you wanted to stick to the core compound lifts but I'm wondering where the good ol' squats are in this picture? And 1 exercise for chest, triceps, and biceps? Just curious.

 

[z0rr0]

Well, you did say you wanted to stick to the core compound lifts but I'm wondering where the good ol' squats are in this picture? And 1 exercise for chest, triceps, and biceps? Just curious.

First off, thanks for the input.

I've been doing front squats instead. I feel they offer me better control and allow me to strech deeper into the squat while keeping my back more upright. I've always had trouble getting deep into regular squats, while keeping my back fairly straight--I feel like I'm bending way too far over. A guy at my gym suggested the fronts to me so I decided to try 'em out and personally, I like them much better. Also, in the event I have to dump the bar, I feel more comfortable just dropping my arms down and stepping back, as opposed to not being able to see where the bar is going to land when it's behind my head. I also felt more stress on my quads when I started doing them instead of regular squats. I wasn't aware that switching the bar from your traps to your delts would make that much of a difference...I always thought it was a personal preference between the two. Thanks again for your thoughts.

For the 1 set for chest, bi's and tri's, I feel that when I do my push days, my triceps are farily worked up after the pressing movments, as are my bi's on my pull day. I felt that by just isolating those two small groups for another 3 or 4 sets would be more than enough for me.

I used to do a 4 day split, with a day for my arms all to themselvs. But I wasn't having good results size-wise, and my lifts never went up. I just figured that hitting my arms ealier in the week with my chest and back days, and then going back on friday and doing another 12-15 sets was just simply overkill for me and that they couldn't handle it. With this current 3 day I've been doing, I've been adding weight every week for the last 2 months and I feel like i'm warding off overtraining, whereas before, I'd need to take a break every 7-10 weeks because I just felt wasted. Every day that I'm not in the gym, I wish I where and I've been attributing that to not overworking myself like I did when I was in the gym Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Could you possilbly clarify the differences between the front squats and the regular old 'bar on the traps' squats?

 

[Beelzebub]

A good saying, "Don't fix what ain't broke." If that program works for you then definately don't change it. As for the difference between front squats and regular squats: front squats focus more on the quads and, don't get me wrong, are a great exercise. However, regular squats help overall upper leg development. And from what I understand, regular squats boost testosterone naturally from the amount of stress it applies during the movement, or something to that effect. I'm pretty sure there's an article about it somewhere on this forum, everything else is. I know plenty of guys who just do regular squats for their leg workout and have great leg development. Not telling you how to workout but a common trend is for guys to eliminate squats from their routine simply because they hurt too much. If it hurts your lower back, try moving the bar a little lower on the traps. Here's an article that you might find interesting called "the cheapest anabolic" http://customnutritionwarehouse.com/shop/article_info.php?articles_id=20

 

[z0rr0]

Thanks for that article . I beleive I read that over at IA's site a while back, it looks familliar.

If I'd known that there was such a big difference between the two, I would've never stopped doing the more traditional squats. I just feel more comfortable doing the fronts than I ever did doing the traditional's. But maybe comfort=easier and that's why they're not as good . I watched Ronnie's video, and he exclusivley does the fronts, that's where I got the notion they where 'different but equal'. Thanks again for your thoughts.