Hi All
After 8 weeks of training I am hooked. So much so I may even reduce the amount of on the water rowing I have done for the last 4 years.

My new routine for the next 8 weeks is based on one from Simon which I like as its varied. Three sessions a week & pyramiding the weights. I considered doing a upper, lower split but I know the lower days will drive me nuts.

Workout A – Light

Leg Press 4 x 12.
Incline DB press 4 x 12
Reverse, close grip pulldowns 4 x 12
Seated DB shoulder Press or smiths press 2 x 12
Incline DB curls or Hammer curls 2 x 12
Triceps rope extension 2 x 15

leg raises 2 x 12


Workout B – Medium

Squats 2 x 8
Flat BB bench press 3 x 8
Deadlift 3 x 6
Bent Over DB Rows 3 x 8
Seated DB Shoulder press or Smiths press 2 x 8
EZ bar curls 3 x 8
Triceps dips 4 x 10


Workout c – Heavy

Squats 5 x 5
Decline DB or BB press 5 x 5
Reverse, close grip pulldowns 5 x 5
Seated DB Shoulder press or Smiths press 5 x 5
Power Cleans 5 x 5

Declined situps 2 x 10

I have added the power cleans & deadlifts as I like them.
Any comments or advise welcome.

Stats 34 93Kg 6'1".

I am taking whey pulse taurine & mono

Workout c – Heavy

Smith Squats 20x5 40x5 40x5 80x5 90x5 100x5 120x5 130x3 120x5
Decline BB 60x5 70x5 80x5 85x5 85x6 pb
Reverse, close grip pulldowns 91x5 98x5 105x5 112x5 117x4 pb
Seated DB smiths shoulder press 40x5 60x5 65x5 70x5 80x3 pb
Power Cleans 60x5 70x5 75x5 80x5 82.5x5 pbcable tri extensions 130x6 140x6
lying tbar bi cable curls 160x10 160x10 160x8
dips bwx10

Work out time 80minutes

Squats:-I have out grown my shorts lol.. Split them right down the side on my first working set.

Decline press:- pleased with the 6x85

Smith Shoulder press:- First time away from the db's. I actually quite liked it. Made a change. Bit unsure how far to lower the bar. Is it the same as with db's? Just parallel? or lower?

Power cleans;- managed to wack the bar into my throat on the 82.5 but no harm done

Breaking your shorts with squats is pretty cool. Good work.

Good squats & cleans there Dusty. In fact looking pretty strong all round mate.

& well done with the shorts

Great work Dusty.

I think that "splitting the shorts" is now short hand for an awesome leg workout!

Good work Dusty.

I'd love to split some shorts, I've only managed the arms of a couple of T-shirts.

Thanks all.
What about the smith shoulder press? Is it just to parallel on the arms or lower? Hats off to you. I can't imagine doing 150 on that. Cheers

Dusty wrote:lying tbar bi cable curls 160x10 160x10 160x8

What are these mate? 160kg??

Bison
Yes kg but its a cable machine & using a T bar so thats both arms at the same time. I move the pivot to the lowest setting lie down on my back & then curl the bar. I have no idea how that relates as actual KG but I just manage 40kg on a ez preacher curl so it must be affected vastly by the mechanism.

Dusty wrote:Thanks all.
What about the smith shoulder press? Is it just to parallel on the arms or lower? Hats off to you. I can't imagine doing 150 on that. Cheers

Usually to chin height or lower. I try to go to throat/collor bone height.

Alex
So why is the form different to shoulder db press? Or should I be lowering db's to neck height as well.
Excuse my ignorance as usuall
Due to the length of my forearms if I went to neck depth with the barbell the first part of the lift would be very hard & the second part from say head height (my arms are parallel then) would be easy.

I always start the Press from my collarbone Dusty. I guess the difference between pressing with a barbell & dumbells is that your elbows point foward with the press - like you've just cleaned the bar & with DB shoulder press the elbows go out to the sides.

Arr I see. Thanks Richard. My form was wrong then as I was sticking my elbows out like a DB press with my grip way wider than my shoulders.
I understand. Thanks

Thats going to bring me on to another question. How wide should the grip me then? Just about shoulder width?

Dusty wrote:Arr I see. Thanks Richard. My form was wrong then as I was sticking my elbows out like a DB press with my grip way wider than my shoulders.
I understand. Thanks

Thats going to bring me on to another question. How wide should the grip me then? Just about shoulder width?

Just outside for me.

I Bar Press similar to DB Press, pretty wide and with my arms bent at right angles down from the bar and across to my shoulders. I always try to keep the line of my arm down as vertical as possible.

I guess this shows we all press differently.

DB's I go as low as possible, almost touching my shoulders with the plates.

Alex you are just hardcore & trying to find the most difficult way to do everything
I will go lower tonight & see how it feels but not stick my elbows out so much.

Dusty wrote:Alex you are just hardcore & trying to find the most difficult way to do everything
I will go lower tonight & see how it feels but not stick my elbows out so much.

Shoulders are all about getting low and not locking out at the top so you work the Shoulders and take emphasis away from Triceps.

Thanks Alex.
I just wish there was a experianced guy at my gym to talk to about things like this. Explaining something is one thing but doing it is another. I dont want to start pissing you guys off being such a novice. Nevertheless you can be assured I take advice on & dont just go & do my own thing after good advice is given.

Week 4

Workout A – Light

Leg Press 12x106 12x115 12x124 12x133
Incline DB press 12x20 12x25 12x25 12x25
Reverse, close grip pulldowns 12x56 12x63 12x70 12x84
Smiths shoulder Press 12x40 12x45 rest pause at 10
Incline DB curls 10x15 10x15 10x15
Triceps rope extension 15x120 12x120

leg raises none too fed up

Workout time 60 minutes

Pants work out. Just felt very weak.

I did 11x35 on the inclines last week.
The leg press is starting to make my hips hurt which put me off. I do get some joint ache (not pain) even from rowing so I am wondering if anyone can offer advice on any good supps that may help. I may start a thread to ask.

I found the smiths press to collar bone very difficult & it made my shoulders feel awkward & stressed. Not a very nice feeling so I may go back to db's
My weights were also down on the curls & extensions. I tried to do some dips at the end & managed 6. You have got to laugh.

Not really sure what to put it down to but I did go to the gym late tonight after my main meal of steak veg & pots but I still had my whey & pulse as normal 30 minutes before.

All in all absolute rubbish.

What angle do you have the Bench at? 75-80 degrees is about right as you don't want it too upright. The feeling should feel similar to an Incline BB Press.

I had it on the first notch back maybe 85 deg. Maybe thats it. It felt nothing like incline BB to me. I will give it another go & experiment a bit. I just did not enjoy it at all It felt like a forced movement rather than a flowing movement.

Sorry to hear you had a bad session - happens to us all.

The following may help with the smith presses:

The Smith gets you over one of the things that exacerbates a shoulder injury and that's the initial movement to get the weights into position and the first press.

As you can well imagine, getting a weight into position with an injury is a problem. Every time you clean a weight up, you will be putting the shoulder joint through a series of complex movements which can have a negative effect upon the joint and the underlying injury.

Have the weight in the stretched (extended) position, set on the Smith rack removes the clean and the pressure that the first rep creates. So your first rep on a Smith is a slow controlled negative by which you can gauge the weight and the best range of motion to work within, so not to cause pain. You can then get into a good rhythm and train without worry.

The key to the Smith Machine is the set up.

As I have said, first get the bar into the stretched position.

Set the back on an incline bench to just below verticle (one notch off should be perfect).

Then edge the bench so that when you lower the weight it almost brushed your nose. This puts your shoulders in an unstressed position and allows maximum contraction of the delts.

One final point, sit with your back firmly into the back rest of the bench, don't arch you back or push so hard with your feet that the bench moves. If the bench is moving as you struggle to move the weight, reduce the load as it is too heavy.

Simon.
Yes I read that thread somewhere else yesterday & to be honest thats exactly what I did to the letter.
I had no problem with it on Friday on my heavy day but I was only lowering the bar until my arms were just below parallel. Yesterday I was lowering it to my neck/collar bone. My stupid long arms just felt very awkward & my elbows felt under alot of pressure even at that weight. I have looked at the ExRx site & it seems I am doing it ok it just does not feel right to me. I will keep at it & try again.

Is flexibility an issue for you when you have the bar on the collarbone Dusty? I have very long arms too & find stretching the triceps & lats helps.

No not really Richard. Its a bit hard to explain. It feels like between just below parallel to just above parallel my shoulder joint is at a un natural angle especially on my left side. It feels like my shoulder goes thru a transitional rotation over that period that the joint does not like. Its not painfull but it feels like its going to grind or click. It does it no matter what weight I use. It may be better if I incline the bench more like Alex said. Or I will just do it like a DB press & not go past parallel.