No idea what routine to use/ tired of routines

chedapalooza

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This last week I have totally winged my workouts doing whatever sets and reps I wanted of whatever exercise until I felt like I had done enough. Suffice to say, this was pretty liberating and fun. The only issue is I feel like progress will be short lived utilizing this type of training. I've been training for 12 years as a hs and college football player and for the last 4/12 just for Health and physique. Not overly concerned with strength but still do the big lifts. I like to focus on wide lats and shoulders and do 2-3 days of hiit a week, separate from
Weights if i can. Just wondering what kind of split you all think I should use moving forward... How many times to hit each muscle per week. I know I will be hitting chest and legs only once bc those r my genetic strong points. I really want to bring up my arms and shoulders.... Any thoughts / suggestions? Thanks.
 
Montego1

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Tried mountain dog?

If not do that.
 

chedapalooza

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Tried mountain dog?

If not do that.
I have seen it and followed several logs. I found it very interesting and actually utilize some of his exercises, but I don't have any of the things like bands or chains.. Same for reactive pump. Plus those are more 5-6 day splits and I think I realized as I was writing my OP that I'm looking for 4 lifting days max , preferably 3.. Like m/w/f and do HIIT / GPP work tues/thurs

So I guess I'm just wondering the best way to break up the groups over those 3 days while hitting shoulders, back, and arms twice, legs and chest once. Allowing sufficient recovery and growth potential

I'm going to be VERY busy starting grad school in the fall and coaching d2 football starting July. So my time and energy will be LIMITED. This will be a shock for me as I have worked from home for the last year and a half after finishing my bachelors

I should also note that I do not recover well.. Classic skinny fat ecto. So I have noticed that shorter frequent intense workouts suit me better than say 5 days a week killing it bc I simply cannot recover even with great nutrition and supps- nasty cortisol effects and chronic inflammation.

With all this beig said..... Lol any ideas
 

PaulBlack

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I can attest to this.
Hey if at this point you are just burnt using the standard stuff, find something else and chase it for a bit.
It just almost sounds like a boredom thing, so moving in a different direction for a bit is not a horrible thing, especially if you look at lifting as a life long endeavor.

Stuff like Dan John's one lift per day or real simple stuff like...
Day 1: OHP
Squat

Day 2 BP
Deadlift

You can work progression in a single lift too, that has perhaps been lagging, or better yet, one you might get your head deep into.


I think the worst thing about lifting is, we feel at times that we have to be stapled or married to the schedule to make gains, and personally, I find that is not really true, if you know how to program some progression and are having fun with keeping things simple.
 
Montego1

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I went through MD with no bands or chains. It's fun but yeah I get what you're saying.

You could possibly work MD into a three day split though......chest and shoulders is already together so maybe do arm day with back? Might be a long session but probably better then adding something with legs.
 
ZiR RED

ZiR RED

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I can attest to this.
Hey if at this point you are just burnt using the standard stuff, find something else and chase it for a bit.
It just almost sounds like a boredom thing, so moving in a different direction for a bit is not a horrible thing, especially if you look at lifting as a life long endeavor.

Stuff like Dan John's one lift per day or real simple stuff like...
Day 1: OHP
Squat

Day 2 BP
Deadlift

You can work progression in a single lift too, that has perhaps been lagging, or better yet, one you might get your head deep into.


I think the worst thing about lifting is, we feel at times that we have to be stapled or married to the schedule to make gains, and personally, I find that is not really true, if you know how to program some progression and are having fun with keeping things simple.
I second this. After programming my own training every 6-9 weeks with very heavy loading, sometimes it is nice to take a week off, then come back for 3-4 weeks and just go with the flow. I am in the process of doing that right now, using a push/pull/lower split and focusing on racking up a lot of volume on one exercise (6-8 x 10 with only 1 set close to failure), doing some assistance, and going home. Between sets I've been working mobility or core to keep my heart rate up and continue developing work capacity.

I agree, go with the flow and experiment for a month or two. Make note of what you like and respond to, or what you dislike and do not respond to. Use what you learn in your next program.
 
KrisL

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Plenty of us proving you can be successful without a routine for years. Lift in whatever way keeps you going to the gym. If you never feel like going to the gym because it's not fun, it doesn't matter how perfect your routine is - it's just mental masturbation.

Thanks to a couple injuries, for the past few weeks I've been pressing and rowing heavy five days a week to the obvious advantage of my shoulders and arms. Yates rows are nice things to my lats. I curl down the bar tree twice a week because I think it's hilarious and need something to do when everything else is smoked - start with the 110, curl to failure for as many sets as it takes to get down to only ~5 reps the move down to the 100 and start over, etc.

Someone's going to tell me that's not an ideal routine and they can go pound sand because it's fun and I'm growing. Do what's fun, what feels good, and what shows growth. Toddling around with a calculator and a clipboard sucks almost as much as doing nothing at all.
 

kdeveiro

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I said this on a similar post, bit I say CrossFit for like a month and you'll be mentally ready to go back to a real workout routine. It's like a halfway organized way to just do random stuff and not really feel like you have to track of anything.
 

chedapalooza

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I said this on a similar post, bit I say CrossFit for like a month and you'll be mentally ready to go back to a real workout routine. It's like a halfway organized way to just do random stuff and not really feel like you have to track of anything.
Haha funny you mention that. I did something about as crossfit as u can get without it actually being crossfit this week. Its

One upper push
Rest 15 sec
One upper pull
Rest 15 sec
One lower (squat or dead variation )
Rest 15 sec
One ab exercise
Rest 15 sec
Repeat for ten total rounds
6 reps per exercise at medium weight and don't change load throughout at all.

I don't like it but it's a good change of pace for a week
 

Mystere3

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I think stack 8 training with a 4 day split works pretty well. You start at 60% of 8RM and increase in 10% increments as high as possible before failure to get 8 reps. Then rest pause to 8 reps.

Split would be

1. chest/back

Incline db, flat bb, incline fly, bent over row, weighted pull-up, cable row

2. Legs
Squat, leg press, deadlift, seated calf raise, SLDL, standing calf raise

3. Arms
Ezcurl, skulls, cgbp, preacher, incline db, rope pushdown

4. Shoulders
Db overhead press, military press, front/lat raise, rear delt raise, db shrugs
 

chedapalooza

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I went through MD with no bands or chains. It's fun but yeah I get what you're saying.

You could possibly work MD into a three day split though......chest and shoulders is already together so maybe do arm day with back? Might be a long session but probably better then adding something with legs.
I used to have a whole MD routine bookmarked but cannot find it now. It was on t n a tion.. Do u or does anyone have a link to a md routine?
 

chedapalooza

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I think my biggest worry is doing cardio on same day as lifting. I've gotten it in my head that doing HIIT or LISS after a workit is gonna kill any gains.. I must say I am way leaner than when I used to do cardio constantly (4-5 days a week) 2 days seems to be trating me well... Maybe a 3rd would be good for extra fat loss. But I find that I don't want to mix cardio and weights. Are my worries stupid?
 
wasme

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I can email you the 4 day MD routine if you want it.. let me know.

- not too much call for chains/bands in that one.
 
Sean1332

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Just thinking outside the box here, seeing as you're frequent here and have already been given good suggestions: Have you ever thought about competing in something, even down the road? Physique, BB, PL, Strongman.,whatever. It might give you some extra drive in the gym.
 

geniusesq

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An app called JE Fit for smartphones is cool. Has a ton of exercises for you to put together a variety of workouts.
 

kisaj

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I can attest to this.
Hey if at this point you are just burnt using the standard stuff, find something else and chase it for a bit.
It just almost sounds like a boredom thing, so moving in a different direction for a bit is not a horrible thing, especially if you look at lifting as a life long endeavor.

Stuff like Dan John's one lift per day or real simple stuff like...
Day 1: OHP
Squat

Day 2 BP
Deadlift

You can work progression in a single lift too, that has perhaps been lagging, or better yet, one you might get your head deep into.


I think the worst thing about lifting is, we feel at times that we have to be stapled or married to the schedule to make gains, and personally, I find that is not really true, if you know how to program some progression and are having fun with keeping things simple.
All this 10000x over. I have been weight training for 23 years and I have had many times of boredom and why am I doing this thoughts over the years. All it takes a shake up or to simplify things. I like to simplify things during these periods like Paul mentioned as it also takes the burden off your mind of the routine. Knowing that you are going in and will only be doing squats that day or maybe 2 things, makes it easier to concentrate on that movement and make you more excited to go without feeling like you are stuck in a routine. If you go this route, it should be big, compound movements.

The nice thing (and bad thing) is that you are in complete control over what you do. I've had days I go in and I just feel like leaving because I am exhausted or wanted to do something else, so I'll literally go to the rack and do as many pullups and dips as possible in 15-20 min and leave. Better than not doing anything.

Also, if you haven't had a deload week in some time, try it. I do them every 7-8 weeks and it is recharging for the body and mind.
 

chedapalooza

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All this 10000x over. I have been weight training for 23 years and I have had many times of boredom and why am I doing this thoughts over the years. All it takes a shake up or to simplify things. I like to simplify things during these periods like Paul mentioned as it also takes the burden off your mind of the routine. Knowing that you are going in and will only be doing squats that day or maybe 2 things, makes it easier to concentrate on that movement and make you more excited to go without feeling like you are stuck in a routine. If you go this route, it should be big, compound movements.

The nice thing (and bad thing) is that you are in complete control over what you do. I've had days I go in and I just feel like leaving because I am exhausted or wanted to do something else, so I'll literally go to the rack and do as many pullups and dips as possible in 15-20 min and leave. Better than not doing anything.

Also, if you haven't had a deload week in some time, try it. I do them every 7-8 weeks and it is recharging for the body and mind.
Thank you.

My recovery is very poor due to past health and hormonal issues and just taking a beating as a hs/college football player. I plan a deload every 4 weeks (reduced intensity and volume and frequency) and a complete 5-7 days off every 8th or 9th week.
 

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