HIT like routine?

[nodgodbod]

I'm looking to start a new routine for 2005 that is focused primarily on strength gains and some size would also be nice -

after much research I dreamed up the following:

DAY 1 -MONDAY:

1 set flat bench
1 set military press
1 set lying tricep extension
1 set dumbell curl
1 set weighted chins

DAY 3 -WEDNESDAY:

1 set 20 rep squat
2 sets good mornings
1 set power cleans
2 sets weighted situps
2 sets leg raises

DAY 5 -FRIDAY:

1 set incline dumbell press
1 set weighted dips
1 set lat raises
1 set barbell rows
1 set barbell curl

DAY 8-MONDAY:

2 sets deadlift 6-8 reps
2 sets leg press
1 set power cleans
2 sets weighted situps
2 sets leg raises

DAY 10-Repeat day 1

All sets would be to utter failure in the rep range 6-10 except those 20 rep squats which I've grown to love.

Current stats are:
- 5'8 190lbs,
- at a guess between 12 and 15% bodyfat
- big squat, little arms :sad:
I'm looking to add some poundage to my bench and military press.
To add to my woes I'll be doing 20 mins of intense cardio (running) on days I don't lift
plus 3 half hour leg sessions per week on the heavy bag (martial arts related).
I'll be upping my protein intake to 300grams per day (previously 200 - 250g), no carbs/low fat after 6.30pm, many carbs during the day and I'll be drug free.
The ideal plan would be to elminate some bodyfat aswell - but if I don't see my lifts increasing I'll stop all cardio.
What do you guys think of this routine? any criticism appreciated.

 

[exnihilo]

In a word: No.

Given the amount of non weightlifting stuff you want to do you could probably eat like 4500 calories and be fine as long as it's not junk food. Ask bobo about that stuff he's really into it.

As far as training, I'd set up something more like the following, if you're going for strength, speed and conditioning. This routine is going to assume you are somewhere in the low intermediate range and don't have access to a large amount of equipment that could be used for some of the WSB style stuff, which I wouldn't put you on anyhow:

You are going to have two upper body and two lower body workouts per week. One is going to focus on increasing maximal strength and one is going to work on speed and some assistance hypertrophy.

Upper body day 1: Pick one heavy press and one heavy pull, start with sets of 5 reps at a weight where that isn't too difficult, focus on proper form and speed (correct form is where almost 50% of your power is going to come from, ask any good powerlifter), keep doing sets and adding weight to the bar until 5 reps starts to feel heavy. Then switch to 3 reps, keep adding weight to the bar *slowly* (this means no more than 10 pound jumps as the weight starts to get hard) until you fail. As the sets get harder you can increase your rest to around 4 minutes or so to ensure you aren't fatigued during the set. After you fail on the pressing and pulling movements, you can do a couple sets of bis and tris maybe some lateral raises with a light weight that you can do 10-12 reps with, failure here is ok but not required.

Lower body day 1: Pick an exercise such as squats, good mornings, deadlifts, whatever, and do much the same as you did with your pressing and pulling movements on upper body day 1. Only difference is I would stay at 5 reps instead of going to 3 due to the inherent dangers with low rep heavy weight leg work without spotters or a full compliment of support gear. Wear a belt for the heavier lifts. After you finish the main exercise, do ab and lower back work.

Upper body day 2: Here pick different pressing and pulling exercises, and do ~8 reps as fast as you can go with good form, and stop short of failure (the last couple reps should be hard but not strenuous). Rest no more than a minute or so between sets, and do 6-8 sets like this, or until you fail to get 5 reps on a set. If you can do 8 sets like this increase the weight or reduce the time between sets (your choice, I'd go for the weight). Again, you can do light assistance work for bis/tris/etc if you want.

Lower body day 2: Again, same thing as upper body day 2, except this time you are going to do squats/deads/good mornings/etc (your choice) for ~12 reps, no more than 2 minutes at the most of rest, just the same as with the upper body day. Focus on good technique while keeping speed up. Again do lower back/ab work.

When your raw bench starts getting near 300 and your squat starts to come near 480 or so, I'll help you get set up with a legit westside style routine, which is what you'll need to progress from that point on.

 

[LCSULLA]

If it was me I would drop the amount of exercises and add a few sets to a few of the exercises. Example:

Chest:
Dips 5 sets of 5
Incline 2 sets of 10

Or something along those lines.

 

[nodgodbod]

In a word: No.

Given the amount of non weightlifting stuff you want to do you could probably eat like 4500 calories and be fine as long as it's not junk food. Ask bobo about that stuff he's really into it.

As far as training, I'd set up something more like the following, if you're going for strength, speed and conditioning. This routine is going to assume you are somewhere in the low intermediate range and don't have access to a large amount of equipment that could be used for some of the WSB style stuff, which I wouldn't put you on anyhow:

You are going to have two upper body and two lower body workouts per week. One is going to focus on increasing maximal strength and one is going to work on speed and some assistance hypertrophy.

Upper body day 1: Pick one heavy press and one heavy pull, start with sets of 5 reps at a weight where that isn't too difficult, focus on proper form and speed (correct form is where almost 50% of your power is going to come from, ask any good powerlifter), keep doing sets and adding weight to the bar until 5 reps starts to feel heavy. Then switch to 3 reps, keep adding weight to the bar *slowly* (this means no more than 10 pound jumps as the weight starts to get hard) until you fail. As the sets get harder you can increase your rest to around 4 minutes or so to ensure you aren't fatigued during the set. After you fail on the pressing and pulling movements, you can do a couple sets of bis and tris maybe some lateral raises with a light weight that you can do 10-12 reps with, failure here is ok but not required.

Lower body day 1: Pick an exercise such as squats, good mornings, deadlifts, whatever, and do much the same as you did with your pressing and pulling movements on upper body day 1. Only difference is I would stay at 5 reps instead of going to 3 due to the inherent dangers with low rep heavy weight leg work without spotters or a full compliment of support gear. Wear a belt for the heavier lifts. After you finish the main exercise, do ab and lower back work.

Upper body day 2: Here pick different pressing and pulling exercises, and do ~8 reps as fast as you can go with good form, and stop short of failure (the last couple reps should be hard but not strenuous). Rest no more than a minute or so between sets, and do 6-8 sets like this, or until you fail to get 5 reps on a set. If you can do 8 sets like this increase the weight or reduce the time between sets (your choice, I'd go for the weight). Again, you can do light assistance work for bis/tris/etc if you want.

Lower body day 2: Again, same thing as upper body day 2, except this time you are going to do squats/deads/good mornings/etc (your choice) for ~12 reps, no more than 2 minutes at the most of rest, just the same as with the upper body day. Focus on good technique while keeping speed up. Again do lower back/ab work.

When your raw bench starts getting near 300 and your squat starts to come near 480 or so, I'll help you get set up with a legit westside style routine, which is what you'll need to progress from that point on.

Thanks for the advice Exnihilo. Funny that you mentioned it but I was thinking about trying a westside like rountine recently but after some reading of Iron Addict's site changed my mind - he said the squating/benching twice a week with heavy triples overtrained him badly. Usually his HIT style of training suits me pretty well (I've gained about 15 lbs of lean weight over the last year using a low volume 20 rep squat program I got from his site). That type of training seems to have stopped working for me now, hence the change.

Do you reckon I should cut out some of the cardio? (My cal intake is generally 3500 - 4500 per day).
My current lifts are as follows:
Squat 400 x 20
Deadlift 385 x 8
Flat Bench 250 x 4
Shoulder Press 180 x 8

I have access to a reasonably well equipped gym but there is no chains, bands or boards for benching.
Anyway I'm willing to give your routine a go for 6 weeks or so - we'll see what happens -Much appreciated.

 

[exnihilo]

Yeah, that's a good start, I would say pick up some 5/8" chains at the hardware store, and some loop chains, and make yourself a set of chains man. Or buy some jump stretch bands, green minis would do, they're like 20 bucks or less. Your squat and bench aren't too far off from when you'll want to start incorporating them on to leg day 2 and upper body day 2, and lowering the reps to compensate, to really bring the speed up.

I can't really advise anyone to do max effort days that doesn't have a powerlifting background and training partners, it's probably just not going to be productive. But read the articles over at www.elitefts.com anyhow to get a sense for how things work in the realm of the extremely strong - the louis simmons and T-mag articles are good, as is the QA section.

The key to continuing to gain strength is to really push yourself in the upper body day 1 and lower body day 1 every week. Focus every week on getting stronger at the max triple that you do, psyche yourself up if need be. The 2nd day is for working on speed, conditioning and also hypertrophy. Also, when you do assistance work after the main lift, focus on body parts that are lagging, don't do arms if they are growing well, etc.

If you are practicing a sport (you mentioned MA) I would keep the cardio in there for conditioning purposes, just eat to compensate for it, and if you start to feel fatigued in general then start cutting it out. Try to eat 4000 calories a day (if you eat REALLY cleanly, even up to 4500) consistently and see how your weight and bodyfat change given the amount of cardio and general activity you have. After about 2-3 weeks or so adjust up if you are staying lean but not really gaining, adjust down if you are getting fat too quickly.