How is my routine?
Discussion
I'm 5ft11
About 10.7 stone but slightly skinny fat.
Monday -
Cable woodchopper
Upright row (cable)
One arm row
Machine shoulder press
Back pull machine thing
Seated row (low)
Single arm pull down
Cable close grip pull down
Machine lat raise
Hanging leg raise
Ab crunch machine
Ab cable pulls (side)
Situp with medicine ball
And treadmill
Tuesday -
Cable biceps curl
Cable triceps overhead pulls
Cable tricep push down
Concentration curl
Overhead dumbbell tricep thing (same motion as skull crusher but not lying down)
Shrug
Machine bicep curl
Machine chest press
Cable chest crossover
Hanging leg raise
Ab crunch machine
Ab cable pulls (side)
Situp with medicine ball
And treadmill
Wednesday - Day off
Thursday -
Rock climbing (moveable wall)
Machine leg extension
Machine leg curl (reverse)
Machine leg press
Calf raise
Squat
Hanging leg raise
Ab crunch machine
Ab cable pulls (side)
Situp with medicine ball
And treadmill
Friday -
Cable bicep curl
Cable tricep pushdown
Overhead tricep dumbbell
Barbell bent over row
Cable close grip pulldown
Cable straight arm pulldown
Machine chest press
Cable front raise
Machine shoulder press
Hanging leg raise
Ab crunch machine
Situp with medicine ball
Ab cable pulls (side)
And treadmill
All 10x3
Any advice please say
In my head I'll have a body like captain america in a few years...
About 10.7 stone but slightly skinny fat.
Monday -
Cable woodchopper
Upright row (cable)
One arm row
Machine shoulder press
Back pull machine thing
Seated row (low)
Single arm pull down
Cable close grip pull down
Machine lat raise
Hanging leg raise
Ab crunch machine
Ab cable pulls (side)
Situp with medicine ball
And treadmill
Tuesday -
Cable biceps curl
Cable triceps overhead pulls
Cable tricep push down
Concentration curl
Overhead dumbbell tricep thing (same motion as skull crusher but not lying down)
Shrug
Machine bicep curl
Machine chest press
Cable chest crossover
Hanging leg raise
Ab crunch machine
Ab cable pulls (side)
Situp with medicine ball
And treadmill
Wednesday - Day off
Thursday -
Rock climbing (moveable wall)
Machine leg extension
Machine leg curl (reverse)
Machine leg press
Calf raise
Squat
Hanging leg raise
Ab crunch machine
Ab cable pulls (side)
Situp with medicine ball
And treadmill
Friday -
Cable bicep curl
Cable tricep pushdown
Overhead tricep dumbbell
Barbell bent over row
Cable close grip pulldown
Cable straight arm pulldown
Machine chest press
Cable front raise
Machine shoulder press
Hanging leg raise
Ab crunch machine
Situp with medicine ball
Ab cable pulls (side)
And treadmill
All 10x3
Any advice please say
In my head I'll have a body like captain america in a few years...
The only obvious one for me is: if you're doing abs every day, are you going hard enough? I did ab work last night and if you asked me to train abs tonight I'll tell you where you can go. 
I could barely sit up this morning.
Couple of other things I've learnt:
-do bench presses instead of machine chest presses, Bulgarian squats instead of the squat machine and deadlifts for the back. They will work your core.
-do ab work last eg cable woodchops
Hanging leg raises - do FULL raises as per this video: http://youtu.be/Ry43h-eBlT4
(I keep meaning to make a better one.)
I could barely sit up this morning.Couple of other things I've learnt:
-do bench presses instead of machine chest presses, Bulgarian squats instead of the squat machine and deadlifts for the back. They will work your core.
-do ab work last eg cable woodchops
Hanging leg raises - do FULL raises as per this video: http://youtu.be/Ry43h-eBlT4
(I keep meaning to make a better one.)
Edited by Hoofy on Wednesday 11th January 10:48
PSBuckshot said:
Today I can feel it quite a lot.
I usually don't go mega heavy on the abs though. On the machine I ab crunch around 35kg sometimes 30kg if I'm feeling it from previous day.
Do more reps then. You can do it to failure if the ab work is at the end. I usually don't go mega heavy on the abs though. On the machine I ab crunch around 35kg sometimes 30kg if I'm feeling it from previous day.
I added to my reply, btw.
Hoofy said:
Couple of other things I've learnt:
-do bench presses instead of machine chest presses, Bulgarian squats instead of the squat machine and deadlifts for the back. They will work your core.
-do ab work last eg cable woodchops
Hanging leg raises - do FULL raises as per this video: http://youtu.be/Ry43h-eBlT4
(I keep meaning to make a better one.)
I do struggle with bench press so was avoiding it until I've gained more strength using the machine. Would you say go straight into bench or build up a bit first?...-do bench presses instead of machine chest presses, Bulgarian squats instead of the squat machine and deadlifts for the back. They will work your core.
-do ab work last eg cable woodchops
Hanging leg raises - do FULL raises as per this video: http://youtu.be/Ry43h-eBlT4
(I keep meaning to make a better one.)
Edited by Hoofy on Wednesday 11th January 10:48
And the video doesn't work properly. (might be because I'm at work)
PSBuckshot said:
I do struggle with bench press so was avoiding it until I've gained more strength using the machine. Would you say go straight into bench or build up a bit first?...
And the video doesn't work properly. (might be because I'm at work)
It's impossible to struggle with bench presses. You simply have to go light enough. And the video doesn't work properly. (might be because I'm at work)
Use dumbbells if you can't manage a loaded bar. Bench presses train the supporting muscles as well as the chest and triceps so will be harder.Try this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry43h-eBlT4 (both URLs work for me).
PSBuckshot said:
It worked now and thats what I do anyway.
I just look silly benching little weight
I'll give it a bash though.
Sure, but we all have to start somewhere. If you're skinny, if anyone is watching, waiting to kick sand in your face, they will expect you to only bench 1kg wrist weights. I just look silly benching little weight
I'll give it a bash though. 
Outrageously complicated routine. Like, seriously. That's way more volume than you need as a beginner.
What you've made there looks like the routine of someone who's already an intermediate lifter and roiding as well.
You weigh way way way too little to be doing that routine and you won't see the gains you could get from a drastically simpler routine.
The two I'd recommend are:
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-st...
Or
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Startin...
These are the 2 best beginner strength routines available. There's a huge amount of information on the internet about them and whichever one you pick you'll do fine. Personally I prefer Stronglifts5x5 because it has bent over rows rather than power cleans (Which are real hard to learn and do safely).
Both routines are based on the big compound lifts. Compound lifts are really what you want to be concentrating on as a beginner because they use more than one muscle during the lift. This allows for maximum gains in strength and muscle mass.
Equally important to your muscle gain will be eating enough calories. You weight 10KG less than me, yet you're 1 inch taller. I'd class myself as reasonably skinny. You see the problem here.
Easiest way to ingest extra calories is 4 pints of green cap milk a day. That's going to add about 1000 extra calories to your diet which will be helpful. You also want to be eating lots of chicken, beef, eggs, tuna. Anything with high protein. You want to be getting about 140g of protein a day really.
Get some protein shakes if that'll help you but try and get quality real food sources of protein as well.
One last thing, google form videos for all the exercises and make sure you've got form down. The two routines I posted have you starting with really low weight (Usually the bar, IIRC) and this is to allow you to perfect form before you're lifting real large amounts. This stops you from injuring yourself.
Please ditch that routine you're doing. I know only doing 3 exercises looks like it won't get you the gains of doing a quadtrillion exercises, but it's just wrong. It's the mistake every beginner makes, including me.
You'd want to do one of the 2 routines I posted for about 6 months, then you could move onto a routine somewhat like the one you posted.
Oh, and cut out the cardio altogether unless CV health is one of your aims. It'll just mean you have to eat even more calories. You certainly shouldn't do cardio on your lifting days.
What you've made there looks like the routine of someone who's already an intermediate lifter and roiding as well.
You weigh way way way too little to be doing that routine and you won't see the gains you could get from a drastically simpler routine.
The two I'd recommend are:
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-st...
Or
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Startin...
These are the 2 best beginner strength routines available. There's a huge amount of information on the internet about them and whichever one you pick you'll do fine. Personally I prefer Stronglifts5x5 because it has bent over rows rather than power cleans (Which are real hard to learn and do safely).
Both routines are based on the big compound lifts. Compound lifts are really what you want to be concentrating on as a beginner because they use more than one muscle during the lift. This allows for maximum gains in strength and muscle mass.
Equally important to your muscle gain will be eating enough calories. You weight 10KG less than me, yet you're 1 inch taller. I'd class myself as reasonably skinny. You see the problem here.
Easiest way to ingest extra calories is 4 pints of green cap milk a day. That's going to add about 1000 extra calories to your diet which will be helpful. You also want to be eating lots of chicken, beef, eggs, tuna. Anything with high protein. You want to be getting about 140g of protein a day really.
Get some protein shakes if that'll help you but try and get quality real food sources of protein as well.
One last thing, google form videos for all the exercises and make sure you've got form down. The two routines I posted have you starting with really low weight (Usually the bar, IIRC) and this is to allow you to perfect form before you're lifting real large amounts. This stops you from injuring yourself.
Please ditch that routine you're doing. I know only doing 3 exercises looks like it won't get you the gains of doing a quadtrillion exercises, but it's just wrong. It's the mistake every beginner makes, including me.
You'd want to do one of the 2 routines I posted for about 6 months, then you could move onto a routine somewhat like the one you posted.
Oh, and cut out the cardio altogether unless CV health is one of your aims. It'll just mean you have to eat even more calories. You certainly shouldn't do cardio on your lifting days.
Edited by Frankeh on Wednesday 11th January 11:53
)Frankeh said:
Oh, and cut out the cardio altogether unless CV health is one of your aims. It'll just mean you have to eat even more calories. You certainly shouldn't do cardio on your lifting days.
I'm not trying to become Jay Cutler though more Chris Evans in Captain America. Edited by Frankeh on Wednesday 11th January 11:53
Because your muscles grow when they're repairing from the work you did in the gym. If you're stressing them every day then there's no time for them to grow.
The routine you've posted is something more like someone who was doing steroids would do. This is because steroids speed up recovery.
More isn't always better.
The routine you've posted is something more like someone who was doing steroids would do. This is because steroids speed up recovery.
More isn't always better.
PSBuckshot said:
Frankeh said:
Oh, and cut out the cardio altogether unless CV health is one of your aims. It'll just mean you have to eat even more calories. You certainly shouldn't do cardio on your lifting days.
I'm not trying to become Jay Cutler though more Chris Evans in Captain America. Edited by Frankeh on Wednesday 11th January 11:53
No one has ever gotten huge by accident. It takes a massive amount of effort to look the way bodybuilders look.
Frankeh said:
Because your muscles grow when they're repairing from the work you did in the gym. If you're stressing them every day then there's no time for them to grow.
The routine you've posted is something more like someone who was doing steroids would do. This is because steroids speed up recovery.
More isn't always better.
I see. I'm not on steroids.The routine you've posted is something more like someone who was doing steroids would do. This is because steroids speed up recovery.
More isn't always better.
Does it not make a difference even though I'm working different muscles different days?
Surely the recovery would be okay?
Except for the abs
PSBuckshot said:
Does it not make a difference even though I'm working different muscles different days?
Surely the recovery would be okay?
You're not though. You are hitting the same muscles on consecutive days pretty consistently. Surely the recovery would be okay?
You think your tricep doesn't get worked when you do rows?
You think your biceps don't get worked when you do shoulder press?
etc.
The basis of absolutely any routine should be the big compound lifts:
Squats
Deadlifts
Bench press
Overhead press
Bent over row
They're the big mass builders. They work LOADS of muscles at the same time.
Just a note on your leg day, if you're squatting heavy enough then every other leg exercise on that list would be impossible to do with any useful weight.
Just check out the muscles used during the big compounds I listed:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBS...
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSterna...
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/BB...
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ErectorSpinae/...
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterio...
Is there a single muscle that you care about that's missing from those lists of muscles used?
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBS...
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSterna...
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/BB...
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ErectorSpinae/...
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterio...
Is there a single muscle that you care about that's missing from those lists of muscles used?
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