Hi comrades, what do you think of my routine?
shoulder press 3x10 25kg chest press 3x10 25kg incline press 3x10 20-25kg seated dip 3x10 30kg biceps curl each arm 10kg 3x10 total arnold pose 3x10 7.5kg biceps curl with iron rod 20kg 3x10 middle chest 5x8 10kg leg press 3x10 20kg mid row 3x10 35kg lat pulldown 3x10 35kg
I go three times to the gym per week. I’m getting noticeable improvements lately, wondering if I can do any improvements. No splits at the moment.
You have some good specific recommendations from @sobuddywhoneedsyou@lemmygrad.ml, so I’ll talk more about high level, type stuff.
I’d worry less about the specific amount of weight and reps and more about RPE (rate of perceived exertion). Make sure you are pushing yourself to change through progressive overload. I don’t know what your progression plan is, but if you don’t have one, you should consider having a plan in place. You need to stress the body to change or it won’t, that includes muscle growth, strength or whatever your goals are.
That leads to my other point, it’s great to get active and improve your health, but part of what will inform a good program is what your goals are. Are you looking at health, practical strength, sport, aesthetics? There’s overlap in all of those, of course, but knowing what you want out of your time at the gym can better inform what you want your routine to look like.
I just add 5kg to the exercises when I feel capable to do it, for example I recently jumped from 20kg to 25kg after being there for like a month and a half. My goals right now is to bulk, I managed to bulk around 6kg since I started, so I won’t be so skinny lol. Mainly health and practical strength.
Deadlifts and squats are the best exercises for gaining mass because of how many muscles they target and how big the targeted muscles are.
I would agree with @sobuddywhoneedsyou@lemmygrad.ml again and say you’ll want to focus on big complex lifts then. Bench, overhead, squat, deads, barbell rows, etc. The dips you’ve got are good, and I’d add some sort of pull/chin-up. Wide grip is the most effective in my opinion, but they are rather difficult and you do have lat pull downs, so neutral grip could be good too.
Once you get more comfortable with lifting, I’d say Olympic lifting might really be where it’s at (assuming you have the space/equipment for it). Moving bigger weight with a wide variety of muscles is a great way to build mass and health. We all love curls and having pump in the arms, but for health and mass, you can’t beat a powerful clean and press. Big weight, lots of muscles involved and puts a good amount of stress on your cardio system for health.
This seems like an universal recommendation hah, thanks a lot!