Modified 6x6 program - thoughts?

[heyhuggy]

Monday - Chest & Back

Incline DB Bench Press 6 x 6-8
Flat DB Flys 6 x 8
DB Pullover 6 x 8
Lat Pulldown (Wide Overhand Grip) 6 x 6-8
Cable Row 6 x 8


Tuesday - Shoulder, Bi & Tri


Behind Neck Shoulder Press 6 x 6-8
Lateral DB Raise 6 x 8
Standing BB Curl 6 x 6-8
Incline DB Curl 6 x 8
Lying French Press 6 x 8
Tri Rope Extension 6 x 8


Wednesday - Legs & Lower Back


Leg Extension 6 x 8-10
Front Squat 6 x 6
Romanian Deadlift 4 x 8


Thursday - Chest & Back


Flat Bench Press 6 x 6
Incline DB Flys 6 x 8
Straight Arm Pulldown 6 x 8
Chin Up/Supinated Lat Pulldown 6 x 6
Bent-over Row 6 x 8


Friday - Shoulders, Bi & Tri


DB Shoulder Press 6 x 6-8
Upright Row 6 x 8
Preacher Curl 6 x 6
Concentration Curl 6 x 8
DB Lying French Press 6 x 8
Tri Pushdown 6 x 8

Completed Six Weeks of Above Routine. What do you guys think? First time doing a 6x6 routine. Starting next week.

 

[napalm]

too

much

stuff...

that's a lot of volume, 5 straight days with no off days. recovery is going to be an issue. me, first thing i'd cut out half of the movements every day and up the intensity on the remaining. also, i'd go to four days a week and do some mobility/conditioning on off days.

what are your goals? there's a lot of movements you're doing that aren't the best bang for the buck, ie cable rows and lat pull downs. grab a barbell and just row, lots of rows. i love pendlay rows at a strict 90 degrees. also, face pulls are as good/better for traps than the movements you're doing now and also have the benefit of being great for the shoulder girdle/rotator cuff.

think training economy, just don't throw in a bunch of crap and beat the hell out of yourself. even if your goals are bb'ing, any solid routine is going to revolve around squats, dl, bench and rows. any other movements done are meant to improve those lifts. you also didn't mention your plans for progression.

believe me, you'll get bigger - provided your diet is in check, and you won't beat the hell out of yourself...

 

[napalm]

too

much

stuff...

that's a lot of volume, 5 straight days with no off days. recovery is going to be an issue. me, first thing i'd cut out half of the movements every day and up the intensity on the remaining. also, i'd go to four days a week and do some mobility/conditioning on off days.

what are your goals? there's a lot of movements you're doing that aren't the best bang for the buck, ie cable rows and lat pull downs. grab a barbell and just row, lots of rows. i love pendlay rows at a strict 90 degrees. also, face pulls are as good/better for traps than the movements you're doing now and also have the benefit of being great for the shoulder girdle/rotator cuff.

think training economy, just don't throw in a bunch of crap and beat the hell out of yourself. even if your goals are bb'ing, any solid routine is going to revolve around squats, dl, bench and rows. any other movements done are meant to improve those lifts. believe me, you'll get bigger - provided your diet is in check, and you won't beat the hell out of yourself...

 

[heyhuggy]

too

much

stuff...

that's a lot of volume, 5 straight days with no off days. recovery is going to be an issue. me, first thing i'd cut out half of the movements every day and up the intensity on the remaining. also, i'd go to four days a week and do some mobility/conditioning on off days.

what are your goals? there's a lot of movements you're doing that aren't the best bang for the buck, ie cable rows and lat pull downs. grab a barbell and just row, lots of rows. i love pendlay rows at a strict 90 degrees. also, face pulls are as good/better for traps than the movements you're doing now and also have the benefit of being great for the shoulder girdle/rotator cuff.

think training economy, just don't throw in a bunch of crap and beat the hell out of yourself. even if your goals are bb'ing, any solid routine is going to revolve around squats, dl, bench and rows. any other movements done are meant to improve those lifts. believe me, you'll get bigger - provided your diet is in check, and you won't beat the hell out of yourself...

Looking to add a little bit of lean mass, while adding strength and shape as well. I wanted to stick to a 6x6 to keep the intensity up, but not so much where it would effect adding size. This program would be switched to taking days off on Tues and Thurs for cardio and conditioning.

What about dropping off some of the isolation movements, working only 4 or 5 exercises a day?

 

[badidea]

I've been doing something similar for 2 years, but with less exercises in a push/pull format. It's tough but builds thickness and overall size. Here's how I approached:

Push 1
Ohp 8 sets x 6 (plus two warm up sets)
DB pullovers 6x6
Plate raises 6x8
Squats 6x6

Pull 1
BOR 8 sets x 6 (plus two warm up sets)
Lateral raises 6x8
Face Pulls 6x8
Dead lifts 6x6

Push 2
Weighted dips 6x6
DB pullovers 6x6
Standing cable chest press 6x8
Squats 6x6

Pull 2
Close grip pull downs 8 sets x 6 (plus two warm up sets)
Upright Rows 6x8
Hammer Strength hi row 6x8
Dead lifts 6x6

Two days cardio and abs and one rest day

I call it the gladiator program . My body seems to respond best with volume.

 

[napalm]

Looking to add a little bit of lean mass, while adding strength and shape as well. I wanted to stick to a 6x6 to keep the intensity up, but not so much where it would effect adding size. This program would be switched to taking days off on Tues and Thurs for cardio and conditioning.

What about dropping off some of the isolation movements, working only 4 or 5 exercises a day?

i'm kind of biased towards 5/3/1, with either bbb or periodization as assistance. i'm a firm believer that an intermediate lifter with good solid technique can run this successfully for 6 months or more w/o resetting and make great gains with a solid diet. i did...

spend 20 bucks and buy the book...

 

[heyhuggy]

I've been doing something similar for 2 years, but with less exercises in a push/pull format. It's tough but builds thickness and overall size. Here's how I approached:

Push 1
Ohp 8 sets x 6 (plus two warm up sets)
DB pullovers 6x6
Plate raises 6x8
Squats 6x6

Pull 1
BOR 8 sets x 6 (plus two warm up sets)
Lateral raises 6x8
Face Pulls 6x8
Dead lifts 6x6

Push 2
Weighted dips 6x6
DB pullovers 6x6
Standing cable chest press 6x8
Squats 6x6

Pull 2
Close grip pull downs 8 sets x 6 (plus two warm up sets)
Upright Rows 6x8
Hammer Strength hi row 6x8
Dead lifts 6x6

Two days cardio and abs and one rest day

I call it the gladiator program . My body seems to respond best with volume.

What kind of tempo are you using? I respond pretty well to 3-0-X-0 format.

 

[badidea]

I complete each workout in 50-65 min. I rest until I can go again each set. Normally never more than 2 min between sets. Not familiar with the protocol you referenced. I'm interested to learn if you don't mind explaining it.

 

[heyhuggy]

I complete each workout in 50-65 min. I rest until I can go again each set. Normally never more than 2 min between sets. Not familiar with the protocol you referenced. I'm interested to learn if you don't mind explaining it.

Basically when starting each rep, during the eccentric (shortening) portion of the rep I will move the weight as fast as I can, then slowly releasing tension during the concentric phase. Think of a bench press: slowly lowering the bar which in this case I take three to four seconds to perform, then bringing the weight back up as quickly as possible, not compromising form of course.

In the 3-0-X-0 format, with eaxh number representing number or seconds, while using the xample of the bench press, 3 would represent lowering the bar, the first 0 represent the hold time over your chest, the X represents "as quickly as possible while retaining form", and the final digit of 0 represents the hold time at the top of the motion.

Sticking to a strict tempo is as crutial as form. Really works those underlying muscle fibers, give it a shot!

 

[badidea]

I work at a very similar tempo. I strictly control the movements and go slow down and fast up. I'm a form junky and never allow my ego to allow form issues. Thanks for educating me on this.

 

[heyhuggy]

I work at a very similar tempo. I strictly control the movements and go slow down and fast up. I'm a form junky and never allow my ego to allow form issues. Thanks for educating me on this.

No problem!