A few questions

V

Virv

0
First if all, here is my workout routine, three times a week:

Squats 2x12
Bench Press (1x10, 1x8, 1x6 increasing weight every set)
Deadlift 2x12
Military Press 2x12
Bent Over Row 2x12
Lat Pulldown 2x12
Crunches 4x20

1. Where do calves come in? Am I supposed to be working them seperately, or do one of my exercises cover them, maybe deadlifts or squats?

2. How does my ab routine look? I just made up that rep scheme, 4x20 so I'm not sure exactly if that is recommended or if I could be doing something better, seems to be working though.

3. Bench press, is it okay to decrease the reps as I add more weight? I get so tired I can barely lift that much weight anyway. And is it better to be increasing weight as I go or just keep a set weight on?

Thanks
 
the calfs are worked as stabilizers mainly for lower body lifts. If you want bigger calfs or stronger calfs, theres nothing wrong with adding some calf rises a coupple of days a week.

4x20, a bit high volume maybe. Personally im a fan of movements that stabilize the pelvis, since stabilization is the main purpouse of the abs.
Renegade rows
Ab rollouts
stuff like that.

The bench looks okay. what is you're goals with it though?
 
Most routines I've seen (& I've seen quite a few), place calve-work at the end of a workout. Some calve exercises are:

Basic:
* Standing Calve-Raise (i.e.: w/ a barbell, or w/ dumbells, or non-weight)
* Seated Calve-Raise (i.e.: w/ a barbell across both knees, or a dumbell on each)

Some Other Popular Calve Exercises:
* Donkey Calve-Raise (i.e.: bent-over w/ weight over hips)
* 1-Leg Calf-Raise (i.e.: upright w/ 1-hand & a dumbell, or leaning non-weight)
* Calve-Hop (i.e.: w/ 2-hands & dumbells, or barbell, or non-weight)
* Farmer's-Walk (i.e.: w/ 2-hands & dumbells)
* Walking Tippy-Toed¹ (i.e.: w/ or w/o any added weight)
* Skipping-Rope (i.e.: w/ rope, standard or weighted-handles)
* Sand-Sprints (sprinting in loose sand, like on a beach)

¹ a variation is to stay on your toes & move around like a western boxer (I call this a "Boxer-Bounce" for lack of a better name, & it's quite an aerobic activity, especially if I shadow-box or hold extremely-light weights in my hands, or both; note: there's a non-weight Chinese-boxing exercise similar to a standing calve-raise but done with hands & arms loose called a "Body-Shake" & is rather relaxing except for its stress on the calves)

Rep-ranges for calves tend to be high, but some folks go very heavy & low-rep (8-12 reps); most routines I've seen call for sets of 15-25 reps; one routine I've tried called for doing only one set of 75 reps, using rest/pause technique as necessary until 75 reps is accomplished.

NOTE: To counter the effect of calve-work you can easily toss in some non-weight shin-work immediately after each set for calves: place one foot on top of a chair or low stool... keep heel touching & rapidly lift & lower ball of foot for about 50 reps, then immediately do one slow, strong, isometric-like 12-second rep; repeat same with other foot elevated.

As for abs, here are some set/rep-schemes that I've used with success:

* 1-3 sets, 25 reps
* 1-3 sets, 20 reps (most often done w/ 1-2 sets: a favorite)
* 1-3 sets, 15 reps (most often done w/ 1-2 sets: another favorite)
* 1-2 sets, 12 reps (on low-energy days)
* 1 set, 10 reps SLOW (works quite well; saves time: yet another favorite)
* 1-set, 80 reps (or more -- up to 300; such works, but isn't necessary)

These were all non-weight ab-routine set/rep-schemes (I "play it by ear" when using weights on ab exercises -- though this may change with the new gym set-up I'll be using soon: an Inspire M2 :) ).

NOTE: Abs can be trained daily. A good ab-routine finish is to do 1-set of Standing (or Seated) Pole Twists in a gentle, relaxed fashion with high-reps (until you think "that's enough for now").

Hope this helps
 
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Most routines I've seen (& I've seen quite a few), place calve-work at the end of a workout. Some calve exercises are:

Basic:
* Standing Calve-Raise (i.e.: w/ 2-hands on a barbell, or non-weight)
* Seated Calve-Raise (i.e.: w/ a barbell across both knees)

Some Other Popular Calve Exercises:
* Donkey Calve-Raise (i.e.: bent-over w/ weight over hips)
* 1-Leg Calf-Raise (i.e.: upright w/ 1-hand & a dumbell, or leaning non-weight)
* Calve-Hop (i.e.: w/ 2-hands & dumbells, or barbell, or non-weight)
* Farmer's-Walk (i.e.: w/ 2-hands & dumbells)
* Walking Tippy-Toed¹ (i.e.: w/ or w/o any added weight)
* Skipping-Rope (i.e.: w/ rope, standard or weighted-handles)
* Sand-Sprints (sprinting in loose sand, like on a beach)

¹ a variation is to stay on your toes & move around like a western boxer (I call this a "Boxer-Bounce" for lack of a better name; note: there's a non-weight Chinese-boxing exercise similar to a standing calve-raise but done with hands & arms loose called a "Body-Shake" & is rather relaxing except for its stress on the calves)

Rep-ranges for calves tend to be high, but some folks go very heavy & low-rep (8-12 reps); most routines I've seen call for sets of 15-25 reps; one routine I've tried called for doing only one set of 75 reps, using rest/pause technique as necessary until 75 reps is accomplished.

NOTE: To counter the effect of calve-work you can easily toss in some non-weight shin-work immediately after each set for calves: place one foot on top of a chair or low stool... keep heel touching & rapidly lift & lower ball of foot for about 50 reps, then immediately do one slow, strong, isometric-like 12-second rep; repeat same with other foot elevated.

As for abs, here are some set/rep-schemes that I've used with success:

* 1-3 sets, 25 reps
* 1-3 sets, 20 reps (most often done w/ 1-2 sets: a favorite)
* 1-3 sets, 15 reps (most often done w/ 1-2 sets: another favorite)
* 1-2 sets, 12 reps (on low-energy days)
* 1 set, 10 reps SLOW (works quite well; saves time: yet another favorite)
* 1-set, 80 reps (or more -- up to 300; such works, but isn't necessary)

These were all non-weight ab-routine set/rep-schemes (I "play it by ear" when using weights on ab exercises -- though this may change with the new gym set-up I'll be using soon: an Inspire M2 :) ).

Hope this helps
 
Thanks for your help. So what I'll do is add in calves at the end, I like to do the ones where you sit down and raise your legs, it's a machine. Also I will lower my ab volume a bit, I'll try 3x25, does that look okay? And my goals for bench press, well I don't really have any goals for it, I just want to work the muscles.
 
Calves are usually done at the end because as Karky points out, they're in more of a "supportive" role, if you will. Definitely do some calf raises if you want bigger calves, I think I know the machine you are talking about for calves, I don't like it (but then again, I don't like most machines, thinking free weights give you better balance and everything). Try holding a 45 pound plate and standing up and down on your "tippy toes".

Otherwise, that's not a bad looking plan! Good luck!
 
It looks ok...

Why lower the reps on bench and keep the same for everything else? Keep the reps the same for everything you're doing, if you wanna lower them, lower them for all exercises.

I wouldn't military press three times a week just because it puts a lot of stress on your shoulders, and your shoulders already get hit with flat bench, as well as the posts with pulling exercises. Some rc work would help eventually too.
 
I'll try your idea for calves, Doug.

I lower reps for bench press because by the time I even get to the last set, I can barely do 6. Remember I am adding weight every set, if I was keeping it the same then I'd do the same reps. As for other exersises, I keep the same rep scheme because I do the same weight for both sets.
 
Virv said:
I'll try your idea for calves, Doug.

I lower reps for bench press because by the time I even get to the last set, I can barely do 6. Remember I am adding weight every set, if I was keeping it the same then I'd do the same reps. As for other exersises, I keep the same rep scheme because I do the same weight for both sets.
Click to expand...

That's exactly my point: add weight for all exercises, or keep the same weight for all sets on all exercises. It doesnt make sense to add weight on one exercise and not on the others.
 
Agreed AJP.

And while that routine isn't horrible, it seems to be a blindly followed routine without you understanding its purpose. If you don't know what your goals are you aren't going to get anyway, you are just mindlessly lifting weights which in my experience just leads to injury and frustration.

You can have a workout plan that is good even, but don't know what you are doing with it and it is just going to do you.

What do you really want to gain from this routine?
 
So what is better, keeping the same weight for all sets, or adding more for each set? I've heard from people that you will excel on the bench presss by doing ladders.

My goal is to get bigger, I am bulking up right now.
 
There are two general (semi-old) schools of thought for gaining size:

1) The Heavy-Weight School: Many sets (5-10 sets, with 5 or 8 being quite popular) of very-low reps (1-6 reps), often split unless just doing a few basics

2) The Pump School: High reps (generally around 8-15, with 8-12 being quite popular, & with even more reps for abs & calves; & sometimes with super-dooper pump-schemes*) & with just a few sets (often 1-4 or 5 sets: 1-2 sets if doing around 15-20 exercises &/or just beginning, or 3-5 sets when doing around 12 or less exercises daily for 2 or 3 days a week)

Both involve getting good nutrition & plenty of quality rest between workouts.

* Some pump-schemes I've used: "21's" (aka "Tri-Pump Set" -- 7 beginning-half partials + 7 ending-half partials + 7 full-range reps -- I've even reversed this with decent effect), "Multi-Pump Set" (1r, pause for 10-count, 2-reps, pause, 3-reps, pause, etc.... up to 10-reps or Max/Failure, or near-failure), "Drop-Set" (do several reps, drop some weight & do more reps 'til tired), & "Tri-Contractional Set" (a drop-set with either beginning or ending partials added at the end of the set until quite tired)

NOTE: Both schools promote adding weight (Progessive Resistance Training), the advice when to add more weight ranges from "when the weight feels light" to "when you reach 'X' number of reps."
 
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Thank you for your help everyone. I thought of another question.

You say abs can be done everyday, however I'm only at the gym every other day; what's a good ab workout to do at home? I am thinking crunches, but that is what I do at the gym, would that be okay or is it better to mix it up?

And just for the record, yesterday when working out I did the adding more weight with every set routine and I felt way more worked out after.
 
Virv said:
Thank you for your help everyone. I thought of another question.

You say abs can be done everyday, however I'm only at the gym every other day; what's a good ab workout to do at home? I am thinking crunches, but that is what I do at the gym, would that be okay or is it better to mix it up?

And just for the record, yesterday when working out I did the adding more weight with every set routine and I felt way more worked out after.
Click to expand...

Abs can be done every day if you are using an innefective rep/loading protocol, which begs the question of "why bother?" While it can be argued that the primary role of the abdominals and paraspinals (the "core") is endurance stabilization, there's really no "true" need to work them every day. A few sets at the end of a fb workout is all that you would need in just about any scenario. What you should look at, however, is exactly what you're using: abdominal training can have significant impact on pelvic posture, and there are functional and non-functional methods to train the abs as well (side planks vs. situps, for instance), so you really should do your "homework" before throwing together an ab routine (or any other type)
 
bipennate said:
Abs can be done every day if you are using an innefective rep/loading protocol, which begs the question of "why bother?" While it can be argued that the primary role of the abdominals and paraspinals (the "core") is endurance stabilization, there's really no "true" need to work them every day. A few sets at the end of a fb workout is all that you would need in just about any scenario. What you should look at, however, is exactly what you're using: abdominal training can have significant impact on pelvic posture, and there are functional and non-functional methods to train the abs as well (side planks vs. situps, for instance), so you really should do your "homework" before throwing together an ab routine (or any other type)
Click to expand...

Amen. Since i started using more effective ab exercises after my FBW's ive noticed i can stabilize my pelvic better
 
Great thanks. I'll just stick to working the abs after my FBW then, is there a particular exercise you'd recommend? I saw Karky said Renegade rows and Ab rollouts, I don't know how to do them, and are they more effective than crunches?

Thought of another question. :p

Lately I've been making my protein shake at my house before going to the gym, then I bring it with and leave it in my car (I live in Minnesota, so the temp is about 10F right now), it stays cold but is this okay? On the bottle it says drink immediately. Thanks
 
i think they are more effective.



heres a good article on rollouts. an Abwheel is preffered but you can use a barbell. the article goes over importaint aspects of it, its a good read.
 
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