Workout Routines and Splits

ttuPrincess

Origionally on IntenseWorkout.com

I like this guys style a lot..

Princess

Workout Routines and Splits - weightlifting and bodybuilding programs
Workout routines are what exercises, how many sets, how many reps etc. that you do for each muscle. For example, 3 sets of the flat bench press, 3 sets on the incline bench press, and 2 sets of flat bench dumbell flyes is an example of one of the many chest weightlifting workout routines. A workout split is a term given to how you split up your workout. What days you do what muscle on. For example, doing biceps back and legs on Monday, and doing triceps shoulders and chest on Thursday is a workout split. Here i will give you some sample workout routines, the routine I use, and tell you how to make your own workout routine.

One rule when making weightlifting workout programs is to make sure to split it so that you aren't overtraining. Doing chest on Monday, then triceps on Tuesday, then shoulders on Wednesday will overtrain your triceps. Why? Because just about every chest and shoulder exercise works the triceps secondary. And almost every back exercise works the biceps secondary. So, you would need to do 1 of 3 things when making your workout routines and splits:

1) Work chest, triceps and shoulders on the same day, and biceps and back on the same day so that its ok if the secondary muscles get worked that day, because your doing them anyway.
2) Separate those muscles that work a secondary muscle so that they are far enough apart not to overtrain you. For example, do Chest Monday, triceps on Wednesdays, and shoulders Friday... and biceps Monday with chest, and back Wednesday or Friday.
3) This is personally what I prefer, and do myself. Do chest and triceps Monday, and shoulders Thursday, and back and biceps together on Friday.

Sample Splits

Coming up with weightlifting workout routines and splits and programs isn't really rocket science, once you understand the basics you can create your own. But, here are a few sample split routines and programs off the top of my head I have either used at one time, or are commonly used by other people

Monday - Chest/Triceps
Tuesday - off
Wednesday - Biceps/Back
Thursday - off
Friday - Shoulders/Legs
Saturday - off
Sunday - off

Monday - Chest/Biceps
Tuesday - off
Wednesday - Shoulders/Legs
Thursday - off
Friday - Back/Triceps
Saturday - off
Sunday - off

Monday - Chest/Back
Tuesday - Shoulders
Wednesday - off
Thursday - Biceps/Triceps
Friday - Legs
Saturday - off
Sunday - off

Remember, these are just sample programs. Some people like to workout on the weekends, and I don't. So in all the samples I made them off days. It all depends on what days you have time to workout and/or when you want to workout which is why these are just samples, not splits you have to use.

Sample Weightlifting Workout Routines

This is hard. There are so many exercises for each muscle, and so many ways to split them up and make a routine out of them. So instead of listing 10,000 workout routines, I'll just list what I think are the most effective muscle building exercises for each muscle and later on you can decide which to use in your own workout routines.

Chest
Flat Bench Press
Incline Bench Press
Flat Bench Dumbell Flyes
Incline Dumbell Flyes

Back
Deadlift
Lat Pulldown (or weighted pull ups)
Seated Cable Row
Bent Over Barbell Row
Bent Over 1 Arm Dumbell Rows

Biceps
Standing Barbell Curls
Preacher Curls (with dumbells or barbell)
Seated/Standing Dumbell Curls

Triceps
Tricep Press Down
Dips
French Press

Legs
Squats
Calve Raises

Shoulders
Seated/Standing Military Press (with barbell or dumbells)
Lateral Raises
Shrugs

Abs
Abs are an important muscle and should be worked, but most people are just soooo confused when it comes to ab workouts. So, for more information on how "important" ab workouts are, and how to put abdominal exercises into your workout, click here.

My Weightlifting Workout Routine And Split

I've tried a bunch of different workout routines, and this one is probably my favorite. Remember, I'm not selling this. Its just what I do. I'm not saying because I do it and it works for me, that you should do it and that it will work for you.

Monday - Chest/Triceps
Tuesday - Legs
Wednesday - off
Thursday - Shoulders
Friday - Back/Biceps
Saturday - off
Sunday - off

Chest
Flat Bench Press 4 sets
Incline Hammer Strength Machine 2 sets
Dumbell Flyes 2 sets

Back
Deadlift 3 sets
Lat Pull down 3 sets
Seated Cable Row 2 sets

Biceps
Standing Barbell Curls 3 sets
Preacher Curls (with dumbells) 1 set

Triceps
Tricep Press down 2 sets
Dips (weighted) 2 sets

Legs
Squats 4 sets
Leg Extension 2 sets
Leg Curl 2 sets
Seated/Standing Calve Raises 5 sets total (2 or 3 sets each way)

Shoulders
Seated Military Press (with dumbells) 4 sets
Lateral Raises 3 sets
Shrugs 3 sets

*Note, on all exercises I do 6-10 reps. As I increase the weight, I decrease the reps. For example, if I'm doing dumbell military presses, it might be 60lb dumbells for 8 reps, then 65lbs for 6 reps.

Now, some questions you might have about weightlifting workout routines, splits, programs and what I do.

Why do you do the incline hammer strength machine and not the incline bench press? Well, I used to do the incline bench press, but I never felt right on it. I can't really explain it, but I couldn't get into a groove so to speak. So I went to the next best thing to free weights (by the way, free weights are the best thing for building muscle mass) which are hammer strength machines. They are the closest thing to free weights, and I happen to love the incline hammer machine, so I use it.

Why do you do so little? Wouldn't you be better off doing 10 sets for biceps or doing 15 sets for the chest? Nope, I tried that and it didn't work. After trying a bunch of different workout routines and programs, I discovered that the one I am using now works, so I use it. 10 sets for biceps might work for you but it doesn't for me. For more information on this, read the Important Facts section where I explain this in more detail.

If you did for example, biceps and back on different days, or triceps and chest on different days, would you do more for the secondary muscles, biceps and triceps? This is hard to answer. You see, I never did triceps on a different day then chest, or biceps on a different day then back. Like I said, this routine works for me, so I stuck with it. But I would guess, if I did them on different days, I would probably end up doing a few more sets for biceps and triceps.

Warrior

Good post Princess!

I'll say that those splits should be geared toward a current athletic conditioning... probably an Intermediate Level. Certain people can handle more than others. And the greater load you can use on a muscle group - the more rest you need... in the word's of Peter Sisco and John Little, "Every day is a kidney day." Your muscles grow and adapt to training but your internal filtering organs and CNS remain the same. A beginner can work total body or upper/lower body splits just fine... and an advanced should, IMO, work a bodypart once it is recovered... which may not be a set amount of days depending on how intense the workout was...

I also advice to never think of your split in days of the week but training days. This is to leave room for extrnal commitments out of the athletes control, as well as any needed additional rest days. Under a Monday-is-Chest-and-Wednesday-is-Back type split you don't make room for this variable. So what happens you have to take a day off to help with family issues or for additional rest? Using the training day method, you don't skip a bodypart but just pick up where you left off. like this:

Day 1 - Chest/Triceps
Day 2 - off
Day 3 - Biceps/Back
Day 4 - off
Day 5 - Shoulders/Legs
Day 6 - off
Day 7 - off

Plus, if anything it adds variation which fosters more interest in training...

The original author mentions doing what worked - and thats the bottom line... find what sets/reps/load get you into a progressive routine...

ttuPrincess

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warrior

The original author mentions doing what worked - and thats the bottom line... find what sets/reps/load get you into a progressive routine...

very awesome point!!!!!

ttuPrincess

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warrior

Good post Princess!

, "Every day is a kidney day."

...

every thought of that for a shirt idea????

Warrior

Quote:

Originally Posted by ttuPrincess

every thought of that for a shirt idea????

Got the creative juices movin'... thinkin' up som'in'...

*Naughty Nurse*

Gosh, you two make a great team!!! Excellent posts.

ColdStone

I agree...what he has up is very basic, or an intermediate w/o plan...i wouldnt see myself making any progress on that really...but good article for general info and points

assassin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coldstone

I agree...what he has up is very basic, or an intermediate w/o plan...i wouldnt see myself making any progress on that really...but good article for general info and points

give me some input people!

assassin

what about this
d1 chest
d2back+bi+rear dlts + traps
d3 rest
d4 legs+abs+obliques
d5shoulders + tri
d6,7 rest

Deacon

the biggest mistake to many make it not getting the right split - good post

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	#1 (permalink)
ttuPrincess Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Age: 36 Posts: 4,642 Rep Power: 9	Workout Routines and Splits Origionally on IntenseWorkout.com I like this guys style a lot.. Princess Workout Routines and Splits - weightlifting and bodybuilding programs Workout routines are what exercises, how many sets, how many reps etc. that you do for each muscle. For example, 3 sets of the flat bench press, 3 sets on the incline bench press, and 2 sets of flat bench dumbell flyes is an example of one of the many chest weightlifting workout routines. A workout split is a term given to how you split up your workout. What days you do what muscle on. For example, doing biceps back and legs on Monday, and doing triceps shoulders and chest on Thursday is a workout split. Here i will give you some sample workout routines, the routine I use, and tell you how to make your own workout routine. One rule when making weightlifting workout programs is to make sure to split it so that you aren't overtraining. Doing chest on Monday, then triceps on Tuesday, then shoulders on Wednesday will overtrain your triceps. Why? Because just about every chest and shoulder exercise works the triceps secondary. And almost every back exercise works the biceps secondary. So, you would need to do 1 of 3 things when making your workout routines and splits: 1) Work chest, triceps and shoulders on the same day, and biceps and back on the same day so that its ok if the secondary muscles get worked that day, because your doing them anyway. 2) Separate those muscles that work a secondary muscle so that they are far enough apart not to overtrain you. For example, do Chest Monday, triceps on Wednesdays, and shoulders Friday... and biceps Monday with chest, and back Wednesday or Friday. 3) This is personally what I prefer, and do myself. Do chest and triceps Monday, and shoulders Thursday, and back and biceps together on Friday. Sample Splits Coming up with weightlifting workout routines and splits and programs isn't really rocket science, once you understand the basics you can create your own. But, here are a few sample split routines and programs off the top of my head I have either used at one time, or are commonly used by other people Monday - Chest/Triceps Tuesday - off Wednesday - Biceps/Back Thursday - off Friday - Shoulders/Legs Saturday - off Sunday - off Monday - Chest/Biceps Tuesday - off Wednesday - Shoulders/Legs Thursday - off Friday - Back/Triceps Saturday - off Sunday - off Monday - Chest/Back Tuesday - Shoulders Wednesday - off Thursday - Biceps/Triceps Friday - Legs Saturday - off Sunday - off Remember, these are just sample programs. Some people like to workout on the weekends, and I don't. So in all the samples I made them off days. It all depends on what days you have time to workout and/or when you want to workout which is why these are just samples, not splits you have to use. Sample Weightlifting Workout Routines This is hard. There are so many exercises for each muscle, and so many ways to split them up and make a routine out of them. So instead of listing 10,000 workout routines, I'll just list what I think are the most effective muscle building exercises for each muscle and later on you can decide which to use in your own workout routines. Chest Flat Bench Press Incline Bench Press Flat Bench Dumbell Flyes Incline Dumbell Flyes Back Deadlift Lat Pulldown (or weighted pull ups) Seated Cable Row Bent Over Barbell Row Bent Over 1 Arm Dumbell Rows Biceps Standing Barbell Curls Preacher Curls (with dumbells or barbell) Seated/Standing Dumbell Curls Triceps Tricep Press Down Dips French Press Legs Squats Calve Raises Shoulders Seated/Standing Military Press (with barbell or dumbells) Lateral Raises Shrugs Abs Abs are an important muscle and should be worked, but most people are just soooo confused when it comes to ab workouts. So, for more information on how "important" ab workouts are, and how to put abdominal exercises into your workout, click here. My Weightlifting Workout Routine And Split I've tried a bunch of different workout routines, and this one is probably my favorite. Remember, I'm not selling this. Its just what I do. I'm not saying because I do it and it works for me, that you should do it and that it will work for you. Monday - Chest/Triceps Tuesday - Legs Wednesday - off Thursday - Shoulders Friday - Back/Biceps Saturday - off Sunday - off Chest Flat Bench Press 4 sets Incline Hammer Strength Machine 2 sets Dumbell Flyes 2 sets Back Deadlift 3 sets Lat Pull down 3 sets Seated Cable Row 2 sets Biceps Standing Barbell Curls 3 sets Preacher Curls (with dumbells) 1 set Triceps Tricep Press down 2 sets Dips (weighted) 2 sets Legs Squats 4 sets Leg Extension 2 sets Leg Curl 2 sets Seated/Standing Calve Raises 5 sets total (2 or 3 sets each way) Shoulders Seated Military Press (with dumbells) 4 sets Lateral Raises 3 sets Shrugs 3 sets *Note, on all exercises I do 6-10 reps. As I increase the weight, I decrease the reps. For example, if I'm doing dumbell military presses, it might be 60lb dumbells for 8 reps, then 65lbs for 6 reps. Now, some questions you might have about weightlifting workout routines, splits, programs and what I do. Why do you do the incline hammer strength machine and not the incline bench press? Well, I used to do the incline bench press, but I never felt right on it. I can't really explain it, but I couldn't get into a groove so to speak. So I went to the next best thing to free weights (by the way, free weights are the best thing for building muscle mass) which are hammer strength machines. They are the closest thing to free weights, and I happen to love the incline hammer machine, so I use it. Why do you do so little? Wouldn't you be better off doing 10 sets for biceps or doing 15 sets for the chest? Nope, I tried that and it didn't work. After trying a bunch of different workout routines and programs, I discovered that the one I am using now works, so I use it. 10 sets for biceps might work for you but it doesn't for me. For more information on this, read the Important Facts section where I explain this in more detail. If you did for example, biceps and back on different days, or triceps and chest on different days, would you do more for the secondary muscles, biceps and triceps? This is hard to answer. You see, I never did triceps on a different day then chest, or biceps on a different day then back. Like I said, this routine works for me, so I stuck with it. But I would guess, if I did them on different days, I would probably end up doing a few more sets for biceps and triceps.

	#2 (permalink)
Warrior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Da Middle East brah! Posts: 329 Rep Power: 5	Good post Princess! I'll say that those splits should be geared toward a current athletic conditioning... probably an Intermediate Level. Certain people can handle more than others. And the greater load you can use on a muscle group - the more rest you need... in the word's of Peter Sisco and John Little, "Every day is a kidney day." Your muscles grow and adapt to training but your internal filtering organs and CNS remain the same. A beginner can work total body or upper/lower body splits just fine... and an advanced should, IMO, work a bodypart once it is recovered... which may not be a set amount of days depending on how intense the workout was... I also advice to never think of your split in days of the week but training days. This is to leave room for extrnal commitments out of the athletes control, as well as any needed additional rest days. Under a Monday-is-Chest-and-Wednesday-is-Back type split you don't make room for this variable. So what happens you have to take a day off to help with family issues or for additional rest? Using the training day method, you don't skip a bodypart but just pick up where you left off. like this: Day 1 - Chest/Triceps Day 2 - off Day 3 - Biceps/Back Day 4 - off Day 5 - Shoulders/Legs Day 6 - off Day 7 - off Plus, if anything it adds variation which fosters more interest in training... The original author mentions doing what worked - and thats the bottom line... find what sets/reps/load get you into a progressive routine... __________________ "Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you." <span style=\'font-size:12pt;line-height:100%\'><a href=\'http://www.warriorfx.com/knowledge.sht\' target=\'_blank\'>Recommended Reading</a></span> <span style=\'font-size:12pt;line-height:100%\'><a href=\'http://www.canyoudrinkwinny.com\' target=\'_blank\'>CanYouDrinkWinny.com</a></span> <a href=\'http://www.warriorfx.com\' target=\'_blank\'><img src=\'http://www.warriorfx.com/images/banner/002.gif\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /></a>

	#6 (permalink)
Naughty Nurse Female Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Heaven Age: 35 Posts: 1,938 Rep Power: 6	Gosh, you two make a great team!!! Excellent posts. __________________ What I Wear to Bed Anything I say is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose or treat. Please consult with your medical practitioner, as they will be able to see and more accurately gauge the depth of the problem...my advice shall be meant as suggestions only, as advice and opinions can vary widely amongst professionals.

	#7 (permalink)
ColdStone Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 906 Rep Power: 5	I agree...what he has up is very basic, or an intermediate w/o plan...i wouldnt see myself making any progress on that really...but good article for general info and points

	#9 (permalink)
assassin New Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Age: 22 Posts: 15 Rep Power: 0	what about this d1 chest d2back+bi+rear dlts + traps d3 rest d4 legs+abs+obliques d5shoulders + tri d6,7 rest

	#10 (permalink)
Deacon Musclesci Vet Join Date: Nov 2004 Age: 43 Posts: 279 Rep Power: 5	the biggest mistake to many make it not getting the right split - good post __________________ Originally Posted by Doink the clown; "Every gym has the tard who never gets bigger,never shuts up,and never goes away!" "Wife who puts husband in the doghouse sooner or later finds him in a cathouse!"

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