If i want to be a bodybuilder ? I am.
I did say I dont want to do splits any more.... so not doing the routine on the post you linked me.
I want 3x sessions a week full upper body workouts.
lol. but seriously. even if your legs are bigger, still work them as the gains will slow down. you could at least spend time on mobility and strength so you can train for more years without injury.
Your telling me to learn but only tell me my planned routine is terrible without any reason... Why is it terrible? How could it be improved? What does it not do that I will want it to do?
on the learning part, reading about proven programs and understanding the reasons why it works as well as doing the programs for months can teach you what works and why it works. slapping together exercises without any reason other then you like them, without any built in progression, without regulation, and without regard to intensity, volume, load, and frequency is not a good program by any means.
why its terrible, here are some points.
1)upright rows are horrible for your shoulders. i will let you do some googling on what it does, mainly impingement. many people do it to hit the medial delts and upper traps. you could be doing overhead press for the delts and get more out of it with less chance of injury. throw in some cleans, snatches, seated goodmornings, and/or facepulls and your upper traps will thank you as well.
2)your exercise selection gives you twice as much work on the smallest muscles. that should be reversed if anything or at least balanced. the biceps, shoulders and triceps are movers in bench and rows. so i ask, why not do more for chest and back?
3)where is you progression in load? when do you up the weight, or up the sets, or up the reps, etc? do you have a deload week? do you need one?
4)trunk work? you know, abs, low back, hips. mobility work for the hips and shoulders, you know prehab stuff. you could lift more with overhead presses, squats, deadlifts, rows, etc with a stronger more mobile trunk and hips.
5)only doing legs as an afterthought can in the long run produce imbalances on your physique. as mentioned above you could work on mobility and strength with your legs which can and will improve the rugby you also play
I do like the 5x5 program but it leaves me feeling like I havent done enough which is why I aim for 8.
then you went too light. you can do 3 sets of 5 and see strength and mass gains. 5/3/1 is a great example of 3 work sets that has been proven to work. so you should also look into your intensity, not just percentages of max but how hard you strain.
I cant do 5,3,1 unless I have a spotter which isn't too often.
do you not have access to a power cage? or bumper plates? or knowing when you are done with a lift. 5/3/1 program states you should leave on in the tank. not go to eccentric failure so you dont need a spotter. i train at home alone several days a week and i can and will strain hard enough to burst blood vessels all over mu body and in my eyes at least once a month.
now i understand if you dont believe in a workout. many people will not put in their all into a plan they dont want to do so no matter how great it is it wont work cause the person did not work.
My logic for my plan was bench, skulls, curls for my tri's
Bench, Upright rows, bent over rows for chest, shoulders, back and slightly biceps.
Curls - more for biceps.
Arnold Press - More for shoulders
Please explain why this isnt a full upper body workout and why it wont do what I want it to?
it is full body. but so is squats and dips. and they are better choices for more results in less time with fewer exercises and fewer possible injuries (mainly by dropping upright rows which i cannot say enough bad things about).
I figured hitting the same muscle groups twice in a session with mainly compound lifts would be fine, why wouldnt it be?
Browsing the internet the routine I planned looked similar to Peters on sixpackfactory.com/killer-full-upper-body-workout-chest-back-triceps-shoulders-biceps/
Only difference is he is doing side lateral raise where I am suggesting upright row and the bent over tricep extension he does I replaced with skull crushers.
Exercises that seem to work very similar muscle groups.
Thanks for any more input.
an optimal full body should focus on movements not muscles. if you try and hit every muscle individually you may end up with 20-30 exercises. do 3-5 sets per exercises and you could be doing 60 - 150 sets. how long do you think that will take? how effective do you think that will be? there is a direct relationship between intensity and volume. the greater the volume the lower the possible intensity.
i would take a note from dan john for your workout ideas.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/mass_made_simple
i like to recommend using the biggest bang for your buck on full body. in other words only use isolation to work on a weakness or injury, not as a bread and butter move. using isolation on full body workouts is like majoring in the minors. try to train these 5 movements and in this order of importance:
1)loaded carries
2)squats
3)hip hinge
4)pulling
5)pressing
you could try:
workout A
squats
pulling/rowing
farmers
abs
mobility work
workout B
deadlift/swings
pressing
fill in the holes for weaknesses or injuries
mobility work
you cover all 5 movements plus more for injury prevention. do this 3 times a week. so one week you will do workout a twice, the next workout b twice. simple, covers all the bases.
i think it was pavel tsatsouline that wrote about a strength program that was as simple as something like deadlifts and dips. 3 or more times a week and thats it. do those with enough volume each workout, eat enough food, and you will grow.
the point is keep it simple. do major movements as 80% of your work. leave the 20% for fluff, mobility, prehab, etc. and do what works as proven by a hundred plus years of results from those before us.