Guys, it seems that a lot of people here are pretty new to lifting. I decided to post my total body plan that has been working out (zing!) really well for me. It is by no means the best program in the world, but I love it and think that just seeing something setup like this would benefit most posters here. Note the simplicity and lack of curls. I know I don’t have much in the row department, so they’ll probably figure more prominently in my next program.
Monday:
Squats
2X8 warm-up
3-4 work sets 4-8 reps each
Bench-press
1X8 warm-up
3-4 work sets at 6-8 reps
Weighted pull-ups / Single Arm Corner Bar Press
Superset X3 (8 pull-ups, 8 presses)
Weighted dips 3X 8-15 reps
Abs
Wednesday:
Front Squat or Deadlift
2X8 warm-up
3-4 work sets 4-8 reps each
Clean and Press
1X8 warm-up
3-5 work sets at 4-8 reps
DB Bench Press
1X8 warm-up
2-3 work sets at 6-8 reps
One Arm DB Rows
3 sets, 6-8 reps
Abs
Friday:
Heavy Bench-press
1X8 warm-up
3-4 work sets at 3-6 reps
1X suicide set
Lumberjack squats with press.
1X8 warm-up
3-4 work sets 6-8 reps.
Heavy Weighed Pull-ups
3X4-6 reps
Heavy Weighted Dips
3X6-8 reps
Abs
Notes:
I warm-up before every workout with a run. (I know it’s not popular these days, but that’s what I’ve always done and I’m not changing.)
The suicide set on Friday heavy bench is basically going to failure on bench with a weight that’s 50-60% of your max. Everyone I know uses 135. (A spotter is a good idea here, duh.)
The corner press and lumberjack squats are illustrated in this article if you scroll down a bit.
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle....7-058-training
Abs: I do a bunch of different stuff. Weighted sit-ups on the decline bench, leg raises on the roman chair, crunches, side crunches, leg scissors, medicine ball stuff, just whatever I think of.
As far as rep numbers, I start out a cycle with more sets, more reps, and lighter weights. Then each week I’ll drop the # of sets, number of reps, or both, and increase the weight.
If you can’t do weighted pull-ups or weighted dips yet don’t worry, just do regular ones. Do them on the assist machine if necessary but get off of there before it becomes a psychological crutch.