Jason's Current Weight Training Routine - Feb 2012 - Current
I've stuck with the same workout structure with slight variations, mostly in regards to training days and days off, for the past several months. I tried 2 on-1off, 4 on-1off, and taking days off as needed which usually resulted in training 5-6 days in a row. Over my years of weight training I've found that I get better results in regards to muscle size and fullness from training each body part more than once a week. So last year in 2011 I started experimenting more with training each muscle group about every 5 days instead of every 7. I still want to train everything more than once a week but I feel it's time to change my workout schedule up a bit, so here we are.
This new workout program I'm starting now (which officially starts Monday, February 13th) will have me hitting each muscle group twice a week but like my past workout routines, I will not be doing the same exercises the second time around. Before it seemed although I was performing different exercises for the second workout of each muscle group I was still going heavy. With this new workout schedule I'll hit the muscles heavy the first workout then follow that up several days later with more of a pump workout. This means I'll be going a little lighter the second workout; however, these workouts will still be intense and I'll be focused more on the pump as well as contracting the muscles. The only body part I won't hit twice a week is shoulders. As I've explained before, shoulders get a lot of work on chest and back day so I feel once a week (and in the past I've even hit shoulders about every 10 days) is plenty.
Here's a quick layout of my workouts; the details of each workout will follow:
Monday - Back, Triceps, Calves
Tuesday - Chest, Biceps, Abs
Wednesday - Legs
Thursday - Shoulders, Traps, & Calves
Friday - Chest and Back Pump, Abs
Saturday - Deadlifts, Lunges, & Arms Pump, Calves
Sunday - Rest
* It's possible I may also rest on one of those pump days, Friday or Saturday. I'll have to listen to my body. If I feel I need a rest day, I'll take one.
** I'm also hitting 30 minutes of cardio in the evenings during the week apart from my weight training, which is in the early mornings (on the weekends I'll hit my cardio at various times). I've been alternating the elliptical and walking on a steep incline. I may also substitute my normal cardio with a 20 minute HIIT cardio session on the elliptical here and there. My goal is to do cardio at least 5 times a week.
*** I did not list any exercises for calves and abs in the below charts; I usually pick 2 exercises and hit 3-4 sets of each. Sorry, I didn't feel like typing all of that out!
This new workout program I'm starting now (which officially starts Monday, February 13th) will have me hitting each muscle group twice a week but like my past workout routines, I will not be doing the same exercises the second time around. Before it seemed although I was performing different exercises for the second workout of each muscle group I was still going heavy. With this new workout schedule I'll hit the muscles heavy the first workout then follow that up several days later with more of a pump workout. This means I'll be going a little lighter the second workout; however, these workouts will still be intense and I'll be focused more on the pump as well as contracting the muscles. The only body part I won't hit twice a week is shoulders. As I've explained before, shoulders get a lot of work on chest and back day so I feel once a week (and in the past I've even hit shoulders about every 10 days) is plenty.
Here's a quick layout of my workouts; the details of each workout will follow:
Monday - Back, Triceps, Calves
Tuesday - Chest, Biceps, Abs
Wednesday - Legs
Thursday - Shoulders, Traps, & Calves
Friday - Chest and Back Pump, Abs
Saturday - Deadlifts, Lunges, & Arms Pump, Calves
Sunday - Rest
* It's possible I may also rest on one of those pump days, Friday or Saturday. I'll have to listen to my body. If I feel I need a rest day, I'll take one.
** I'm also hitting 30 minutes of cardio in the evenings during the week apart from my weight training, which is in the early mornings (on the weekends I'll hit my cardio at various times). I've been alternating the elliptical and walking on a steep incline. I may also substitute my normal cardio with a 20 minute HIIT cardio session on the elliptical here and there. My goal is to do cardio at least 5 times a week.
*** I did not list any exercises for calves and abs in the below charts; I usually pick 2 exercises and hit 3-4 sets of each. Sorry, I didn't feel like typing all of that out!
TheMuscleProgram.com
Train with Passion
Schedule: 5-6 Days on, Sundays Off
Monday - Training Day 1 - Back and Triceps
Back to Training
Tuesday - Training Day 2 - Chest and Biceps
| Exercise |
Sets x Reps |
Notes |
|
Incline Barbell Press |
3 x 6-12 | May do regular bench press about every 3rd chest workout |
| Flat Dumbbell Press Decline Press |
3 x 6-10 |
If I do bench press first (see above), I'll do incline dumbbells here |
|
Dumbbell Pullovers |
3 x 8-10 |
|
| Decline Barbell Press |
3 x 8-10 |
|
|
Cable or Incline Dumbbell Flyes |
3 x 15-20 |
|
|
Barbell Curls |
3 x 8 |
|
| Dumbbell Curls |
3 x 8 |
May alternate hammer and alternating curls each week |
|
Concentrated Curls |
3 x 12 |
Thursday - Training Day 4 - Shoulders and Traps
Friday - Training Day 5 - Chest and Back Pump
| Exercise |
Sets x Reps |
Notes |
|
Incline Hammer Strength Chest Press |
3 x 15-20 |
|
| Dumbbell Flyes |
3 x 15-20 |
|
| Decline Barbell Press | 3 x 15-20 | |
| T-Bar Rows |
3 x 15-20 |
|
|
Lat Pulldowns |
3 x 15-20 |
|
| Hammer Strength Rows |
3 x 15-20 |
May alternate with one-arm cable rows every other workout |
Saturday - Training Day 6 - Legs and Arms Pump
| Exercise |
Sets x Reps |
Notes |
|
Deadlifts |
4 x 6-12 |
This will depend on how I feel, and how my lower back is feeling |
| Lunges |
3 x 15-20 |
|
| Preacher Curls |
3 x 15-20 |
|
| Incline Dumbbell Curls |
3 x 15-20 |
|
| Rope Tricep Extensions |
3 x 15-20 |
|
| Dumbbell Extensions |
3 x 15-20 |
| Exercise |
Sets x Reps |
Notes |
|
Leg Extensions |
3 x 20 | Warm up the quads with these |
| Hack Squats |
4 x 10-12 |
Drop set on final set |
|
Machine Squats |
4 x 15-20 |
Drop set on final set |
|
Leg Press |
3 x 20 |
|
|
Seated Leg Curls |
4 x 12-15 |
Drop set on final set |
|
Standing Leg Curls |
4 x 12-15 |
|
| Stiff Leg Deadlifts |
3 x 12 |
May superset these with leg extensions, depending how my quads feel |
| Exercise |
Sets x Reps |
Notes |
|
Barbell Bent Over Rows |
3 x 12-15 |
May hit a set or 2 of pullups for a warm up |
| Dumbbell Rows | 3 x 6-8 | I go heavy on these |
|
Close Grip Pulldowns |
3 x 8-10 | My alternate with regular pulldowns |
|
Hammer Strength Rows |
3 x 12-15 |
May do low or high rows |
| Pullups | 3 x 12-15 | |
|
Tricep Pushdowns |
3 x 12 |
|
| Skull Crushers |
3 x 12 |
|
| Machine Tricep Extensions |
3 x 12 |
Wednesday - Training Day 3 - Legs
Started: 2/13/2012
Updated: 2/18/2012
Updated: 2/18/2012
| Exercise |
Sets x Reps |
Notes |
|
Seated Barbell Press |
3 x 6-8 | |
| Arnold Presses |
3 x 10-12 |
May alternate these with regular dumbbell press or Hammer Strength Press |
|
Behind the Neck Press |
3 x 15-20 | I do these on the Smith Machine and use lighter weights |
| Bent Over Raises |
3 x 12-15 |
May alternate with rear cable flyes for rear delts |
|
Lateral Raises |
3 x 12-15 |
|
|
Dumbbell Shrugs |
3 x 8-12 |
|
| Machine Shrugs |
3 x 8-12 |
May alternate with reverse shrugs on the Smith Machine every other workout |