Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh Rider
I've decided to design a new workout plan and FINALLY try and get my diet dialed in. I've ballooned up from 235 to 265 (6'1" is height) in the last year (originally 320) however my bodyfat % has roughly stayed the same and my strength has increased quite a bit (still, no EXCUSES). I'm looking to mainly lose some weight at this point obviously mainly because the scale is simply way too high and I will be in California during the second half of August so to lose a bit of weight for the beach would be nice. At this point, I would like to lose weight as quickly as possible with AT LEAST maintaining my strength levels if not getting PRs on a regular basis (which will be difficult).
Basically, I chose to train all my body parts twice a week (1 day rest between each workout) in a Chest/Back/Shoulder and Legs/Arms split. On most exercises, I will be ramping up to a top set of roughly 4-8 reps depending on the exercise (most of the time it will be 4-6). For example, say I'm doing Bench Press as my first exercises of the day; I'd do a set of 15, a set of 12, a set of 8, a set of 7, then max out with a set of 5 and call it quits with that exercise. It will never obviously be a precise pre-planned number of reps but basically I will start light for most exercises and end with going as heavy as possible (in the 4-8 rep range). I plan to go to failure on certain sets but not frequently (1-2 sets per exercise at most).
For certain back exercises, I add an extra set of 10-12 with a light weight to improve my "mind-muscle connection" (for example, 45 seconds after my top set).
So, in my workout plan below, every exercise works this way unless specified to be straight sets in a certain range. Rest times will be dictated by how heavy the set is and how close to failure (or if I failed) I reached.
Letters are not used to denote supersets or alternating sets in this case, just to show the different "phases" of each workout.
Day 1: Chest/Back/Shoulder 1
A1. Flat DB Press
A2. One Arm DB Row
B1. Seated DB Overhead Press
B2. Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
C. Seated Cable Row: 3x8-10
Day 2: Legs/Arms 1
A1. Romanian Deadlifts
A2. Leg Press
B1. Stationary Lunges: 3x6-10
B2. Lying Leg Curls: 3x10-12
C1. Seated DB Curl
C2. DB Skull Crushers
Day 3: Chest/Back
A1. Decline Bench Press
A2. Chest Supported Row
B1. Incline DB Press
B2. Atlantis 45 degree Plate loaded Pulldown Machine (don't know what it's actually called)
Day 4: Legs/Arms 2
A1. Front Squat
A2. Romanian Deadlift
B. Leg Extension/Leg Curl Superset: 3x8-12
C1. Seated DB Curls
C2. CGBP (possibly smith machine)
Supplemental work (done on off days or after any of the days):
Face Pulls (2-4 sets of 10-12), Reverse Flye Machine (2-4 sets of 10-12), Plank, Side Plank, Crunches, Reverse Crunches, Quad/Hamstring stretches, small amounts of shoulder/chest stretches, possibly 2-3 sets lateral raises
Cardio: 3-4 10 minute HIIT sessions weekly
What do you guys think of this program? Do you think it will be too much volume for fat loss? Do you think as a training program it will be adequate in maintaining/gaining strength during a fat loss phase? What would you change, add, etc? Is their any design flaws? Thanks.
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A few things I see:
1) I would not isolate your arms twice a week. Your arms are already getting worked hard with the heavy compound movements on the "Chest/Back" days.
2) A better idea for the rep scheme could be to do the following:
a) Perform 4 sets of 6 reps per exercise on day 1
b) Perform 2-3 sets of 12 reps per exercise on day 2
3) The Leg press and leg curl, in my opinion, are inferior leg movements. Some good choices are single-leg squats, bulgarian split squats, sumo deadlifts, and step-ups.
4) There are some well-balanced training routines tailored to fit your needs listed on one of the threads at the top of the "Training Discussion" forum index. You may want to take a look at them.