Need advice

[Trifid]

I'm 28 5'11 and right now my weight fluctuates between 200 and 208lbs, im not fat, but def. not as toned as Id like. I have been lifting off and on for years now. In sept I started up again after shoulder surgery had me down for almost a year.
I have never had a trainer in the weight room and most of what I know I have learned either through trial and error or good advice from fellow lifters.

I have a few questions about routine and recovery if anyone has a few minutes to read all this mess.
Right now I work out 5 sometimes 6 days a week. 3 of those days are intense lifting, about 60 min sessions.

I am trying to build muscle
mass and strength so I have been limiting cardio to 30min in the morning, and then lifting around 5pm. Is this good? Is it true cardio can steal energy from muscle recovery? Would I be better served to run/swim after lifting or just before rather than separating the two by several hours?

Right now I have, for the most part this routine. Each muscle group has 4 exercises (IE day 1 = 8 total exercises) with 3-4 sets of 15/12/10/8. My biggest question is are these the right pairings to get the most out of my weekly routine? Are there groups that I should pair together for certain reasons? Ive been using abs as kinda a rest period between weight days.. not sure if this is good either.
day 1 - Chest / Tricep
day 2 - abs
day 3 - Shoulders / Back
Day 4 - abs
Day 5 - Biceps / Triceps
Day 6 - Abs / Legs

And finally recovery... Post workout whey protein. My diet is good as long as I follow it. But some days my muscles feel tense even the next day or two. Others, like today.. my arms and chest feel weak and squishy for lack of a better term. Is there a difference in feeling? Should I be feeling 1 way and not the other, or is this just natural based on intensity/duration of the workout?

 

[razorwire]

First let me say there is nothing wrong with your routine. You'll find things that work better for you that may not work well for others. Change is good though and I have used plans similar to yours and am sure I will again. I tend to find once a week a bodypart is too much rest for me. I look to hit a body part every 4-5 days. That being said, I will give exa,ples of two plans I alternate frequently.

I am using the following plan right now. Each large muscle group (chest, back, legs) gets 4 exercises of 4 sets each. Each small muscle group gets 4 exercises of 3 sets each. My reps vary, but are always between 6-10, I personally think a set of 15 is too high. None of this includes warmup sets. Also, stretching is very important both to your flexibility and strength gains. I stretch the muscle I am working in between each set.

day 1 - Back / Forearms / abs
day 2 - Chest / Biceps / Legs
day 3 - Shoulders / Triceps / abs
Day 4 - off

Or

day 1 - Back / abs
day 2 - Chest / Triceps
day 3 - Legs / Biceps / abs
day 4 - Shoulders / Triceps
day 5 - off

On either of these I do cardio every day I lift so that an off day is truly a day of rest. These are just suggestions to try down the road. Good luck.