Help Fix My Full Body Routine!!!

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vanillachunk2

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Hello, i'm a male, and im new here, and this is my first post. First off i would like to say this will be a long post, but i would appreciate if u read it all, and i know what i'm gonna say is gonna sound stupid and make me sound like an idiot for having a pointless routine like this, but thats why i'm here, cause i've relized its time for a change, so please don't be too harsh!

Alright, goin in the 7th grade i weighed 160 lbs, and i made the decision to lose that weight, by any means necessary! I completely changed my eating habbits around, and for the X-mas of 2005 i got a weight bench, so i started working out. Nobody told me how to use it, or the right excercises, or anything, but i just started on my own. For the past two years, i've done the same 2 hour + routine (again, I KNOW, a waste of time) and the only reason i continued doing the same time wasting routine was because, as of now, i weigh around 120 lbs, which obviosly showed my weight loss worked. The only changes i ever made to my routine were occasionally switching around the order of the excercises, and adding weight, sets. or reps.

Here is my current full body routine that i'm talking about, wich again has only had minor changes such as order, wight, sets, and reps:

TUESDAY, THURDAY, SUNDAY:
Flat Bench Press- 5 sets, 8 reps
Bent Over Barbell Row- 3 sets, 12 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Inclined flys - 3 sets, 15 reps
single arm bent over row- 1 set, 25 reps
Alternate dumbbell curls- 4 sets, 10 reps
isolation curls- 3 sets, 15 reps
dips (just on the side of my bench)- 3 sets, 35 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Tricep Dumbbell Extensions- 3 sets, 15 reps
Tricep Dumbbell Kick Backs -1 set, 12 reps
Leg Extensions- 3 sets, 35 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Seated Dumbbell Press (shoulders)- 3 sets, 8 reps
Leg Curl- 3 sets, 25 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press to sides- 3 sets, 8 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Standing Lateral Raise- 3 sets, 14 reps (first 6 reps with 30 lbs, then 8 reps with 20 lbs, then one more set of 12 with just 20 lbs)
Hold dumbells at side without lowering- 2 sets, 40 seconds
Front Raises- 1 set, 12 reps


MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY:
Pushups- 3 sets, 25 reps
ABs-the stupid John Bestow Six ABs which does not work!!!



Now i have no problem with my pushups and ab routine, but my full body workout= COMPLETE EXHAUSTION. And its not the healthy muscle burn exhaustion you're supposed to feel...its feeling like im gonna pass out, my bones are gonna snap...yeah i know im gonna get called an idiot for this routine which takes me between 2 and 2 and a half hours, but the only reason i continued it was because i thought if i lowered it i would lose any muscle i had made, i'd gain my weight back, and i also just had no idea how to change it. So for almost a year and a half i've been doing this 2 and a half hour routine, and it just has to stop. I'm not gonna lie, i'm so proud of my huge weight loss, and i have gained some muscle( i have good arm definition, and chest definition, but still have some fat on my chest), but i just think im doing this all for nothing. My friends will start working out for only a few weeks, not nearly spend as much time as me, and have great results. I've been doing this for over a year and a half, and barley have the results i want. My goal is not to get huge...i'm not looking to get huge muscles and mass....i just want some muscle, and to be tone, tight, and have definition.

So please, could i please get some help on fixing this time consuming routine. Between school, and just trying to have a life, i am sick and tired of spending 2 and a half hours 3 times a week on something that just completely tires my body (not in a good muscle burning way) and doesn't seem to be working as much as way simpler routines. I tried a full body routine the other day just out of curiosity that only took an hour and 15 minutes and i felt so much better, and i really concentrated on slower movements. I'm just afraid that taking out a bunch of excercises will cause me to lose any mucle that i do have. So again, please help me fix this routine, so it is less time consuming, but works just as good, if not better, that won't cause me to lose muscle, or gain weght back.

THANK YOU SO MUCH IF U READ ALL THIS, AND THANX IF U HELP!!!
 
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Whoa dude, you do all of
vanillachunk2 said:
TUESDAY, THURDAY, SUNDAY:
Flat Bench Press- 5 sets, 8 reps
Bent Over Barbell Row- 3 sets, 12 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Inclined flys - 3 sets, 15 reps
single arm bent over row- 1 set, 25 reps
Alternate dumbbell curls- 4 sets, 10 reps
isolation curls- 3 sets, 15 reps
dips (just on the side of my bench)- 3 sets, 35 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Tricep Dumbbell Extensions- 3 sets, 15 reps
Tricep Dumbbell Kick Backs -1 set, 12 reps
Leg Extensions- 3 sets, 35 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Seated Dumbbell Press (shoulders)- 3 sets, 8 reps
Leg Curl- 3 sets, 25 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press to sides- 3 sets, 8 reps SUPER-SETTED WITH...
Standing Lateral Raise- 3 sets, 14 reps (first 6 reps with 30 lbs, then 8 reps with 20 lbs, then one more set of 12 with just 20 lbs)
Hold dumbells at side without lowering- 2 sets, 40 seconds
Front Raises- 1 set, 12 reps
Click to expand...

3x a week? and no deadlifts or squats

A good workout takes 45 to 60 minutes. For a full body workout 3x a week, you should stick with
Squat
Deadlift
Bench or Chest Press or Incline Chest Press
Chinups
Dips
Bentover Rows

Not necessarily in this order and they can be supersetted. I'd doabout 3x10
This way you can just use alot of weight for these excersizes because you only have to hit trhe muscles 1 or twice in stead of 5 times or whatever in the workout you have above. Take a break on your offdays. If you've been doing that for 2 years now I'm surprised you aren't completely burned out. Workouts like that probably hurt you much more than they help you.

First, I would take 2 weeks off of lifting so you can full recover before stopping again.
 
Agreed. I see no rhyme or reason to everything this routine (not that it's not there...it may just not be obvious to me). But I see no logical flow and it's like an exercise list was tossed into a blender. Pull back on some of the isolations and work on something starting with the list AZN_Dave provided.
 
Oh btw, you should probaly superset antagonist movements, i.e. pullups and dips. You shouldn't try to superset dips and tricep dumbbell extensions or whatever.
 
Would this be a good full body routine 3x a week?....

Bench Press OR Dunbell bench press (switched every work out)- 3 sets, 8-15 reps
Flys- 3 sets, 15 reps
Deadlifts- 3 sets, 6-8 reps
Squats- 3 sets, 8-10 reps
Bent Over Row- 3 sets, 15 reps
Barbell Curl- 3 sets, 15 reps
Isolation Curl-3 sets, 15 reps
Dips (side of bench)-3 sets, 20 reps
Pull Overs-3 sets, 12-15 reps
Lateral Raises/Front raise-2 sets, 12 reps/1 set, 15 reps
Millitary Press-3 sets, 15 reps

this routine consists of 2 workouts per body part, and includes a lot of compound movements, as well as some isolation movements...this workout takes me 1 1/2 hours, and every other day (workout Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday) i switch the order of the excercises for variation. So does this look like a good routine, or is it still to much, or even too less?

THANK YOU SO MUCH...AND THANX FOR THE REPLIES I'VE ALREADY RECIEVED! :)
 
No. The order is off, and I would drop the flyes in favor of pushups. I see that you were doing your FBW three days a week, and then pushups on the off days. No reason to do that. Put the pushups with your actual workout. Try this order: Squats, Bent row, Bench, Deadlifts, Pushups, shrugs, Overhead Press, biceps curl, lateral raises, triceps. Also, find a rep/set scheme and stick with it. (IE: 3 X 15, or 4 x 6-8).

On Your non weight training days, run and work your abs.

Last, search the internet for variations of the exercises squat (lunges, bulgarian's instead of squats, hammer curls over bar curls etc.)
 
PS: I absolutely agree with Dave that antagonistic movements can be performed in superset. I tend to keep squats and deadlifts solo though.
 
10 exercises, its just too much. all you need is 4 core lifts to work the entire body, then throw inn some iso at the end if you want.

Like this:
Squat
RDL
Bench press
Bent over row
Overhead shrugs (trap isolation)
Ab rollouts (ab isolation)

dont go that high on volume and intensity on the RDL since its the second leg exercise for the day. i like doing it that way, you can do the squats heavy and get some strenght, and do the RDLs with higher reps to get some volume inn. On days you do more hip dominant stuff the second leg exercise is knee dominant and visa versa, works like a charm.
 
Below is a FullBody routine that I have been doing 3x per week for about 5 weeks now with great gains. The bare bones of it consists of two triads and a superset as follows.

Triad #1
BB Squat
Clean/Press
Pullups

Triad#2
Dead Lift
Bench Press
BO Row

Superset
Dips
DB Curl

I alternate between 3x10, 4x(6-8). I also alternate DL with RDL, and assorted BP. It takes about 50-55 minutes.

If you begin this WO (assuming you are a beginner lifter) be sure to perfect your form on the lifts with light weight first....especialy the squats, DLs, C&P.
 
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triad one and two in the same session? if you ask me, both triads are enough for a session by themselves, maybe add one more big compound movement to them.
 
Yep, all in one session. I've been using it more for a cutting routine (high volume moderate intensity). It really gets the heart rate up, and you know you've had a WO afterward!!

But you are right. If one is going more for strength/high intensity loading, then on Triad with an additional compound lift (broken into two SS) would suffice. You could still throw in a couple of Iso moves if you had time.
 
FastLane: You and I Have very similar ideas. I usually run a 10 exercise workout in supersets or triple sets as well.
Karky: Yours is great too.

The best thing to take from this post, Vanilla, is that now you've got two different and intense workouts to run.
 
Alright...i realy appreciate all this feedback...so with all these suggestions i did this workout today...it consists of triads (these are just supersets, but with 3 excercises right?) and supersets...i also tried to only superset/triad antogonist movements as mentioned...also the reason my reps are kinda scattered all over the place is cause i'm new to some of these workouts like squats and deadlifts, so i'm still tryin to get situated with the excercises, and i tend to be able to do do less reps after each set...so it went like this:

Triad #1:
Squats-3x8-10
Bench Press-3x8-10
Bent Over Row-3x15

Superset #1:
Deadlift- 3x8
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension-3x15

Triad #2
Barbell Curl- 3x15
Flys-3x15
Dips-3x20 (i do 20 cause its pretty easy since its only off the side of my bench)

Superset #2:
Military Press- 3x15
Lateral Raises/Front Raise-3x15/1x15

Isolation Curls: 3x15


So, this FBW still takes me 1 1/2 hours, and i still think thats too long, judging by the fact that most people say it should be only 45-60 min. Is this a good workout, or is it still to long, with useless excercises. Again, i'm NOT trying to get huge, i'm just trying to get/stay toned, tight, and defined, with some good muscle. THANK U SO MUCH AGAIN FOR ALL THE REPLIES AND HELP!
 
I would get rid of :
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension-3x15
Flys-3x15
Lateral Raises/Front Raise-3x15/1x15
Isolation Curls: 3x15

replace Barbell Curl- 3x15 with pullups and do it as a superset with dips.

Rows and pullups are enouhg work for your biceps. You don't need curls.
If you want to try sometihng with triads I'd do what fastlane did, without the curls. Since you're jsut starting, just 6 exercises like squat, deadlift, bench, dip, pullup, bentover row, would be fine for you. of course you could switch it up like bench with chest press/ incline bench or whatever.
 
hey, i just saw your routine, it looks like your goals are somewhat similar, along with body size to me, i made a thread, it's called "Advice with Routine", people replied in it, and i have a decent routine going, it's not too complicated like ur older one either :| , check it out
 
Alright i'm still tryin to find a good routine...i'm tryin to consider EVERYONE'S input and reccomendations, so its kinda hard....a couple posts ago i posted this as my new FBW routine:

Triad #1:
Squats-3x8-10
Bench Press-3x8-10
Bent Over Row-3x15

Superset #1:
Deadlift- 3x8
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension-3x15

Triad #2
Barbell Curl- 3x15
Flys-3x15
Dips-3x20 (i do 20 cause its pretty easy since its only off the side of my bench)

Superset #2:
Military Press- 3x15
Lateral Raises/Front Raise-3x15/1x15

Isolation Curls: 3x15



AZN_Dave posted:
I would get rid of :
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension-3x15
Flys-3x15
Lateral Raises/Front Raise-3x15/1x15
Isolation Curls: 3x15

replace Barbell Curl- 3x15 with pullups and do it as a superset with dips.

Now, i really want to keep the Lying Dumbell Tricep Extensions, because i have been doing dips for 2 years, and if i have to get rid of a tricep excercise, i'd prefer it to be dips, so i can get a new tricep excercise in. I would also like to keep the flys because my chest is the most important thing i want to keep toned and tight, so i really dont wanna take out another chest excercise! And, i can't do pullups (for now) cause i dont have a pullup bar, nor do i have anything (tree, ledge, etc) that could act as one, so i have to keep the barbell curl!

i am however considering taking out these:

Dips-3x20
Lateral Raises/Front Raise-3x15/1x15
Isolation Curls: 3x15



This would then leave me with this new routine:​


Bench Press-3x8-10
Bent Over Row-3x15
Deadlift- 3x10
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension-3x15
Barbell Curl- 3x15
Flys-3x15
Military Press- 3x15
Squats-3x10-15​

I would do this routine 3x a week, continuosly alternating between doing it with supersets one day, triads the next, and changing the order for variation. Now, is this a good routine? I can pull this off in about 1 hour and ten minutes. I'm kinda afraid of taking out the dips, isolation curls, and lateral/front raises cause i don't really want to lose muscle from my shoulders and arms, which are pretty toned, but people said to not do isolation excercises. Is 8 excercises enough....etc?


THANKS AGAIN SO MUCH FOR ALL THE HELP!:)
 
vanillachunk2 said:
This would then leave me with this new routine:​


Bench Press-3x8-10
Bent Over Row-3x15
Deadlift- 3x10
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension-3x15
Barbell Curl- 3x15
Flys-3x15
Military Press- 3x15
Squats-3x10-15​

QUOTE]


I wouldn't do military press and bench press on the same day. Dips are more helpful than lying tricep extensions. I would replace barbell curls with pullups and get rid of flys.

I also woulnd't do deadlift and squat on the same day becuase if you go hard on one you can't on the other. Also since these use the most energy and power I would do them first.

I would do squat, bench, pullup, dip, bentover row.
next time deadlift, military press, pullup, dip, upright row.
Click to expand...
 
Make sure your workout is under an hour. about 45-60 minutes is decent. If you spending too much time in the gym try supersetting some exercises or resting shorter.
 
AZN_Dave;211211 I wouldn't do military press and bench press on the same day. Dips are more helpful than lying tricep extensions. I would replace barbell curls with pullups and get rid of flys. I also woulnd't do deadlift and squat on the same day becuase if you go hard on one you can't on the other. Also since these use the most energy and power I would do them first. I would do squat said:
so you're saying just do 5 excercises....is that enough? I mean everywhere i read says at least do 6 excercises. And, if i don't do benchpress on the day i do millitary press, then i won't be workin my chest, and if i don't do millitary press on the day i do bench, then i won't be workin my shoulders. I don't wanna lose results.

Also again, i've been doin dips for SO long (like 2 years), shouldn't i change my tricep excercise to something else now, like lying dumbell tricep extensions, or french press?


One more thing, i workout at home just on a cheap bench, so i don't have a pullup bar, and can't do pullups, so i kinda have to keep barbell curls! And why does everyone keep sayin to take out fly's, aren't those great for workin the chest?

I'm not tryin to refuse doin this routine you suggested, i'd just like to understand the suggestion a bit more!


THANX A LOT! :)
Click to expand...
 
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