Critique/Amend/Comment on my routine
Discussion
Afternoon all,
I used to have a nice little weight routine going a couple of years ago that I stuck to well and started to see some good improvements from. Then due to swapping jobs etc etc I fell out of routine and didn't really enter a gym for the best part of 18 months. Now the time has come to change this.
The general aim is to put size and weight on whilst building strength. Simple. I find it really hard to put weight on and was sitting just below 12 stone (approx 6ft1) up till about 3 weeks ago when I got flu, shat/vomitted everything I tried eating for about a week and am now down to just over 11 stone. So the time has come to start taking things seriously again, sort my diet out, hit the gym hard and get massive (or at least a bit bigger...)!
I have access to a work gym which is slightly lacking in equipment to be fair so I need to be creative. For example, there is no bench press, no squat rack, no smith machine, no straight bar...in fact there are only a couple of benches, dumbbells, EZ bars and a few machines such as chest press and pec deck. Below is the routine I've done for the last two weeks, which I found online and to be fair I have certainly felt the effects the morning/week after so far:
Monday: Pulling (Back/Biceps/Deadlift)
- Deadlifts (3 sets) - I am having to use an EZ bar to do these with which is less than ideal at the moment
- Chins (3 sets)
- One-Arm Dumbbell Rows (2 sets)
- Close Grip Pulldowns (2 sets)
- Barbell Curls (2 sets)
- Hammer Curls (1 set)
Wednesday: Pushing (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps)
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press (3 Sets)
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (2 sets)
- Dips (2 sets)
- Seated Dumbbell Military Press (3 sets)
- Overhead Dumbbell Extension (2 sets)
- Side Laterals (2 sets)
- Pushdowns (2 sets)
- Pec Deck (1 set)
Friday: Lower Body (Legs)
- Squats (4 sets) - Having to do front squats with an EZ bar, again, less than ideal
- Strait Leg Deadlifts (2 sets)
- Walking Lunges (2 sets)
- Leg Curl / Feet High Leg Press Superset (2 sets)
- Calf Raises (3 sets)
NB - I would like my legs to get bigger, in particularly calves as I look like a sparrow trapped in a plastic bag at the moment
I know the ideal solution would be to join a proper gym and have access to a full range of equipment but I am reluctant to do this when I have easy access to a gym before/after work.
On top of the above I have 'sorted' my diet out. I'm now having porridge and fruit juice for breakfast, mid morning snack of banana/nuts/protein shake, usually chicken or tuna wholemeal bagel for lunch, mid afternoon snack of banana/nuts/protein shake and an evening meal of chicken/turkey with wholemeal pasta or potatoes and veg (delicious). If I get hungry at home then I try to have boiled eggs, nuts, fruit or something similar and have cut out sweets and all the other s
t I like eating.
So does the above seem about right or are there any glaringly obvious things I am missing and should be including? Two things to note are I get a lot of CV throughout the week from football and cycling and I am lactose intolerant so cannot add dairy to my diet.
I am bored from writing this so you must be bored from reading it but any advice is much appreciated. If anyone helps me get hench, I promise to send pictures...in all seriousness though I was thinking about starting a thread on here and updating it with workouts/diet/results in case any other skinny people are interested in what is (hopefully) achieveable.
I used to have a nice little weight routine going a couple of years ago that I stuck to well and started to see some good improvements from. Then due to swapping jobs etc etc I fell out of routine and didn't really enter a gym for the best part of 18 months. Now the time has come to change this.
The general aim is to put size and weight on whilst building strength. Simple. I find it really hard to put weight on and was sitting just below 12 stone (approx 6ft1) up till about 3 weeks ago when I got flu, shat/vomitted everything I tried eating for about a week and am now down to just over 11 stone. So the time has come to start taking things seriously again, sort my diet out, hit the gym hard and get massive (or at least a bit bigger...)!
I have access to a work gym which is slightly lacking in equipment to be fair so I need to be creative. For example, there is no bench press, no squat rack, no smith machine, no straight bar...in fact there are only a couple of benches, dumbbells, EZ bars and a few machines such as chest press and pec deck. Below is the routine I've done for the last two weeks, which I found online and to be fair I have certainly felt the effects the morning/week after so far:
Monday: Pulling (Back/Biceps/Deadlift)
- Deadlifts (3 sets) - I am having to use an EZ bar to do these with which is less than ideal at the moment
- Chins (3 sets)
- One-Arm Dumbbell Rows (2 sets)
- Close Grip Pulldowns (2 sets)
- Barbell Curls (2 sets)
- Hammer Curls (1 set)
Wednesday: Pushing (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps)
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press (3 Sets)
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (2 sets)
- Dips (2 sets)
- Seated Dumbbell Military Press (3 sets)
- Overhead Dumbbell Extension (2 sets)
- Side Laterals (2 sets)
- Pushdowns (2 sets)
- Pec Deck (1 set)
Friday: Lower Body (Legs)
- Squats (4 sets) - Having to do front squats with an EZ bar, again, less than ideal
- Strait Leg Deadlifts (2 sets)
- Walking Lunges (2 sets)
- Leg Curl / Feet High Leg Press Superset (2 sets)
- Calf Raises (3 sets)
NB - I would like my legs to get bigger, in particularly calves as I look like a sparrow trapped in a plastic bag at the moment
I know the ideal solution would be to join a proper gym and have access to a full range of equipment but I am reluctant to do this when I have easy access to a gym before/after work.
On top of the above I have 'sorted' my diet out. I'm now having porridge and fruit juice for breakfast, mid morning snack of banana/nuts/protein shake, usually chicken or tuna wholemeal bagel for lunch, mid afternoon snack of banana/nuts/protein shake and an evening meal of chicken/turkey with wholemeal pasta or potatoes and veg (delicious). If I get hungry at home then I try to have boiled eggs, nuts, fruit or something similar and have cut out sweets and all the other s
t I like eating.So does the above seem about right or are there any glaringly obvious things I am missing and should be including? Two things to note are I get a lot of CV throughout the week from football and cycling and I am lactose intolerant so cannot add dairy to my diet.
I am bored from writing this so you must be bored from reading it but any advice is much appreciated. If anyone helps me get hench, I promise to send pictures...in all seriousness though I was thinking about starting a thread on here and updating it with workouts/diet/results in case any other skinny people are interested in what is (hopefully) achieveable.
I'd just pick 3, maybe 4 exercises per session- a main one (squat/dead/bench etc) and 2/3 'accessory' ones. Concentrate on the main one. What you pick as the accessory exercise isn't really important.
Otherwise looks good to go- the main thing is to do something; fine tune it as you progress.
Otherwise looks good to go- the main thing is to do something; fine tune it as you progress.
didelydoo said:
I'd just pick 3, maybe 4 exercises per session- a main one (squat/dead/bench etc) and 2/3 'accessory' ones. Concentrate on the main one. What you pick as the accessory exercise isn't really important.
Otherwise looks good to go- the main thing is to do something; fine tune it as you progress.
Thanks for the advice. I didn't want to be selling myself short by not doing the main compound exercise properly (which I struggle to do given the current equipment). A deadlift for example I can get to a max of about 100kg with the weights on offer, which was fine for last week with it being the 1st time in a while but it isn't going to suffice for long.Otherwise looks good to go- the main thing is to do something; fine tune it as you progress.
Tiggsy said:
Wow....got half way through the second day and needed to sit down!
Cant recall the last time I did more than 4 exercises in a session...often only 2 or 3.
Cant recall the last time I did more than 4 exercises in a session...often only 2 or 3.
I'm quite surprised by that, I always used to do a minimum of 4 which took about 45 mins and it always felt enough without being too much.
Just as a quick update to this now that I am about a month into it.
Changed the workout slightly after the above advice so I have less exercises per session - didn't think it would be enough but I always leave the gym feeling well worked.
Eating so much food I can't believe I can manage it all, even managed to stick to a healthy diet over Christmas. I thought it would become a chore but I'm finding ways to keep the food interesting whilst ensuring I'm getting everything I need.
And so far it's all looking good. My strength has improved and I've put on a bit of weight which is something I've always struggled with. Had a couple of comments re looking like I'm going to the gym but think that's more post-workout swell rather than anything else.
Changed the workout slightly after the above advice so I have less exercises per session - didn't think it would be enough but I always leave the gym feeling well worked.
Eating so much food I can't believe I can manage it all, even managed to stick to a healthy diet over Christmas. I thought it would become a chore but I'm finding ways to keep the food interesting whilst ensuring I'm getting everything I need.
And so far it's all looking good. My strength has improved and I've put on a bit of weight which is something I've always struggled with. Had a couple of comments re looking like I'm going to the gym but think that's more post-workout swell rather than anything else.
Another update for the millions of people that are obviously waiting for one...
Been religious with attendance at the gym and diet and seeing very positive results. Was 11.5 stone 2 weeks before Christmas and had been this weight for the previous two years despite trying, albeit half-arsed, to gain weight. 3 days later I was 11 stone after getting ill (I lose weight very easily). Now up to just over 12 stone which is the heaviest I've ever been and feeling really good for it.
Physique has improved noticeably, it's nice to see improvements from areas such as back and shoulders as these were things I never really concentrated on when I used to work out (I've also moved from a medium to a large in tops without getting fat - win!). Most of all my strength has exploded and I'm lifting far more than I have ever before. Not going to win any strongman contests but seeing as I'm only a couple of months into the workout I'm certainly heading in the right direction. Best of all I'm getting lots of positive comments, which help with the motivation (although I'm enjoying the gym so much at the moment this isn't something I need yet).
What I have learnt the most in the past couple of months is diet really is key and when that is sorted, it is possible to go from a skinny, lanky lad to someone who actually looks like they hit the gym. I'll give it another month and probably put up some before and after pics in the hope they might give a skinny kid a little bit of hope. Right, I'm off to find a protein shake given how much they have helped...
Been religious with attendance at the gym and diet and seeing very positive results. Was 11.5 stone 2 weeks before Christmas and had been this weight for the previous two years despite trying, albeit half-arsed, to gain weight. 3 days later I was 11 stone after getting ill (I lose weight very easily). Now up to just over 12 stone which is the heaviest I've ever been and feeling really good for it.
Physique has improved noticeably, it's nice to see improvements from areas such as back and shoulders as these were things I never really concentrated on when I used to work out (I've also moved from a medium to a large in tops without getting fat - win!). Most of all my strength has exploded and I'm lifting far more than I have ever before. Not going to win any strongman contests but seeing as I'm only a couple of months into the workout I'm certainly heading in the right direction. Best of all I'm getting lots of positive comments, which help with the motivation (although I'm enjoying the gym so much at the moment this isn't something I need yet).
What I have learnt the most in the past couple of months is diet really is key and when that is sorted, it is possible to go from a skinny, lanky lad to someone who actually looks like they hit the gym. I'll give it another month and probably put up some before and after pics in the hope they might give a skinny kid a little bit of hope. Right, I'm off to find a protein shake given how much they have helped...
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