A Simple Total Body Workout Plan

[StaticShock]

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.

[thirddan]

just something i noticed...you do a lot more pushing than pulling...

[StaticShock]

[ QUOTE ]
just something i noticed...you do a lot more pushing than pulling...

[/ QUOTE ]

I go back and forth on this one - it is a bit unbalanced. I've got the rows and deads on Wednesday and the pullups the other two days so I don't worry too much about it.

[jah7_fsu1]

Not to bad, but I agree with Dan. Ideally you'd want balance in your horizontal pressing/pulling and vertical pressing/pulling (I'd say 95% of trainees should be err on the side of to much pulling than to much pressing to help correct previous imbalances from to much pressing).