*PLEASE* critique routine. I think I'm overdoing it. Currently drug free...

Do 12 sets for bigger bodyparts, and 8 for smaller ones.Regardless of how you feel ,you are definately doing too much.Way too much.You grow outside the gym.Go home and eat and rest.Doing less volume isn`t a copout ,just put more into the "less" amount.Where is your leg work?With all that training & athletics 5 days a week besides,you are never going to grow unless you cut back.

You are working arms 4 days in a row. When you do "shoulders" on your off day, you aren't resting the muscles you used on days 1 and 3. Also, your back day is pretty limited (shrugs and upright row). All you are working out there is your trapezius. If you MUST stay at that volume, train to push days and two pull days (M,W chest, shoulders, tris and T, Th back, biceps). And if you add some squats, maybe your friends will stop calling you "stick boy".... What sports do you do that require so much cardio?

And if you add some squats, maybe your friends will stop calling you "stick boy".... well...i play hockey, so im on the ice 6 hours a week for practice and then 2 games on the weekend. trust me squats wouldnt be a good idea right now. my legs are already sore. and im not exactly a 'stick boy'. i wish i could post some pics for ya. thanks for the advice though...ill try and switch the routine up.

ooo Hockey my personal fortee!! If u are training for hockey I AM your man bro!! Im a Canadian! We LIVE that shit. I bet u got killer legs right now anyways. Maybe I wouldnt do a whole lot of leg training during the hockey season, but I would do lunges, stiff legged dead lifts and so solid heavy calf work, minimally for legs. Also adding some solid high rep, deep, breathing squats are very good. Im with 250 on the fact u are major overtraining on the number of set and the amount of arm work u are doing. I know WHY u are doing ti, when I used to play (all good canadian boys play the greatest sport in the world growing up...except littlewilly, that guy played bball, but i would question his patriotism....) I had legs the size of tree trunks and an upperbody the size of my 90 lb grandma. It was sick really. I would be doing less arms, and more back training...back is the key to a hard shot on the ice, also the second most important muscle group for skating and key to having a wicked left hook! I would incorporate chins for sure, barbell rows, t-bar rows, pull-throughs or reverse hypers and close grip lat pull downs into a workout, add in some heavy trap training...and u have a solid day at the gym. Next if u are going to train your arms, your triceps are WAY more important for both arm size and slap shot speed. Add skull crushers, close grip bench and dips to your workout. Finnally I would be doing ALOT more forearm and grip work. Grip and forearm strength are integral in like EVERY aspect of hockey, from stick handling to the slap shot. Start doing some reverse curls, wrist curls, behind the back wrist curls, do those puck on a string-attached to a hockeys stick and roll the hockey stick in your hands winding the string up, let it down do it the other way. (every good hockey player knows about these) For grip work u can do so heavy barbell holds, pile on shit loads of weigth on a barbell, pick it up and hold it for as long as u can. Okay, one more finnaly. Start incorporating SPEED training into your routine. Do like the power lifters do, do dynamic effort movements. lower slowly then pause at the bottom, them force the weight away from u/towards u at a crazy ass speed. Do benches and squats like thsi for sure...but also do regular ones.

Originally posted by Valkyl ooo Hockey my personal fortee!! If u are training for hockey I AM your man bro!! Im a Canadian! We LIVE that shit. I bet u got killer legs right now anyways. Maybe I wouldnt do a whole lot of leg training during the hockey season, but I would do lunges, stiff legged dead lifts and so solid heavy calf work, minimally for legs. Also adding some solid high rep, deep, breathing squats are very good. Im with 250 on the fact u are major overtraining on the number of set and the amount of arm work u are doing. I know WHY u are doing ti, when I used to play (all good canadian boys play the greatest sport in the world growing up...except littlewilly, that guy played bball, but i would question his patriotism....) I had legs the size of tree trunks and an upperbody the size of my 90 lb grandma. It was sick really. I would be doing less arms, and more back training...back is the key to a hard shot on the ice, also the second most important muscle group for skating and key to having a wicked left hook! I would incorporate chins for sure, barbell rows, t-bar rows, pull-throughs or reverse hypers and close grip lat pull downs into a workout, add in some heavy trap training...and u have a solid day at the gym. Next if u are going to train your arms, your triceps are WAY more important for both arm size and slap shot speed. Add skull crushers, close grip bench and dips to your workout. Finnally I would be doing ALOT more forearm and grip work. Grip and forearm strength are integral in like EVERY aspect of hockey, from stick handling to the slap shot. Start doing some reverse curls, wrist curls, behind the back wrist curls, do those puck on a string-attached to a hockeys stick and roll the hockey stick in your hands winding the string up, let it down do it the other way. (every good hockey player knows about these) For grip work u can do so heavy barbell holds, pile on shit loads of weigth on a barbell, pick it up and hold it for as long as u can. Okay, one more finnaly. Start incorporating SPEED training into your routine. Do like the power lifters do, do dynamic effort movements. lower slowly then pause at the bottom, them force the weight away from u/towards u at a crazy ass speed. Do benches and squats like thsi for sure...but also do regular ones. thanks for the advice. can't do bench press though bc i seperated my shoulder last year thats why i switch to dumbells on my chest workout. heres a question...should i keep the sets at 5x6 and just do less exersices, or should i do like 3x6 and just keep doing the same chest workout. and should i keep the sets at 6 or should i go back up to 8 which is what i normally did. you guys are probably right that i am overdoing it, but gosh darnit it just doesnt feel right walking out of that gym only doing 12 sets of chest. i dunno what it is, i feel like im cheating myself. the protein intake is fine for me: yesterays food: breakfast just had a bagel thats all i had time for lunch tyson chicken strips (61 grams protein) workout protein shake (50 gr protein) meat loaf for dinner (not that tv dinner shit) (i think it was tyson) later on...beef strips (60 grams protein) then a glass of low fat milk before i went to bed. i drink tons of water, but tend not to watch my calories because lets face it...i burn them all off in hockey, and couldnt gain some fat if i wanted to.

ok here we go...the new routine. please crituque again. monday and wednesday: chest, shoulders, triceps 3x6 flat bench dumbell press 3x6 incline bench dumbell press 3x6 cable flys 3x6 reverse cable flys - 3x6 seated dumbell press 3x6 shrug machine 3x6 front dumbell raises (? on exercise name) 3x6 barbell upright row (i think thats what its called) - 4x6 skullcrushers 4x6 other tricep exercise or dips tuesday and thursday: back, biceps, and some forearms + grip work, maybe a little abs 3x6 deadlifts 3x6 reverse hyperextensions 3x6 close grip lat pulldowns 3x6 seated row or 3x6 of hammer strength pull back back machine - 4x6 standing curls 4x6 cable bicep exercise - 4x6 hammer strength grip machine 4x6 wrist curls then some abs. well everyone thanks for all the input, and any more is appreciated.

Why the 6 reps on every movement?Some bodyparts respond better to higher reps like 8-12.By the way ,your diet is atrocious!!

^^^ well dont just criticize man im trying to learn here too. what body parts respond better to 8-12 reps and what can i do to better my diet.

Wow you must be able to tolerate a lot of exercise. I don't know many juiced up bbers who could tolerate 15-20 sets per muscle group twice a week... you are also playing hockey 5-6 days a week. Thats serious over training. Take a month off from the gym. Instead of working out use the time to eat some food and get some rest. You'll feel better. You'll have more energy. And you'll probably come back to the gym stronger than you were when you left. AFTER THE MONTH OFF ... Pick three compound exercises per major bodypart and do two hard sets per movement. Pick one or two movements for your minor muscle groups and about the same volume. Do not workout more than 3 times per week. Train each muscle group once a week or less. EXAMPLE: Day One (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps) - Incline Press, Flat Press, Weighted Dips, Lateral Raise, Shoulder Press, Close Grip Triceps Press Day Two ( Back, Biceps, Forearms) - Weighted Chins, Barbell Rows, Hammer Strength Machine, Barbell Curls, Reverse Grip Bar Curls, Wrist Curls. Day Three (Thighs, Abs, Calves) - Barbell Squats along w/ various ab crunches, leg raises, and calves. Lift on Mondays and Thursdays ... so you hit each muscle group hard once every 9-10 days. The reason your thighs are probably big is because they are not as over trained as your other muscle groups so they have a chance to grow and get stronger. Take time off and give your upper body a chance to catch up to your lower body.

k..im spending alot of time on this so listen up!!1 like data said 2 times a week...9-10 day splitt routine. Divided as follows. Day 1- back, tris chins 3 sets to failure lets say 15, 10, 8 reps...once u are getting more then that, add weight, suspended on a weight belt. Barbell rows or t bar rows..warm up to 2 heavy sets of 6-8 then 1 back off set of 12. Close grip lat pulldowns. 3 sets of 8-10 reps. Reverse hypers or pull throughs, 3 sets of 12 reps Barbell shrugs or db shrugs 3 sets of 15 reps. Tricep skull crushers, work up to 2 heavy sets of 8 1 back off set of 12-15. close grip bench press, 3 sets of 12 day 2- legs, abs, forearms. squats, 3 sets of 20 reps deep breathing. lunges or 1 legged squats 3 sets of 15 reps each leg. leg raises 3 sets of 15-20 weighted ab work, roman chair or rope pull downs 3 sets of 15 reverse preacher curls supperseted with wrist curls, 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps each. hammer calf, standing calf or donkey calf raises, 3 sets of 20 reps. day 3- chest shoulders and bis flat db press work up to 2 heavy sets of 6-8 1 back off set of 12 weighted dips, 3 sets of 10 crossovers or flat or inc db flyes 3 sets of 12-15. behind the neck shoulder press 2 heavy sets, of 6-8 back off set of 12. side laterals, 3 sets of 10 rope or db front raises 3 sets of 8 barbell curls work up to 2 sets of 6-8 hammer db curls, or preacher curls 2-3 sets of 12 On your off days do alot of stick and puck wind ups, at least 20 min 2-3 times a week. also get a hockey stick and add about 5 lbs of weight to the shaft, at the end just before the blade. Use that to stick hand, using a higher then normal grip, agian 20 min 2-3 times a week. Make sure u stretch out all your body parts after each set of training.... Every second week change squats for dynamic effort box squats, and switch db bench press to dynamic effort bench. In the off season ramp up the workouts to be 3 times a week.

Sorry guy I didn`t mean to just critisize you.You should eat every three hours or so, and take in good quality protein at every sitting.Eat a lot of chicken breasts,eggs,tuna,lean beef and take in good carbs from yams,brown rice,potatoes,oatmeal,and veggies.You need the carbs for energy.A bagel in the AM will not cut it over time.Eat a really good breakfast as this is the time to really put in good food after not eating for 8 hours or so.Try to take in a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight minimum.After training take a protein drink with some carbs.A guy with your schedule needs a lot of carbs for energy.Cut back on your training and you should do better.I hope this helps.Good luck!!

Originally posted by teejaye Sorry guy I didn`t mean to just critisize you.You should eat every three hours or so, and take in good quality protein at every sitting.Eat a lot of chicken breasts,eggs,tuna,lean beef and take in good carbs from yams,brown rice,potatoes,oatmeal,and veggies.You need the carbs for energy.A bagel in the AM will not cut it over time.Eat a really good breakfast as this is the time to really put in good food after not eating for 8 hours or so.Try to take in a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight minimum.After training take a protein drink with some carbs.A guy with your schedule needs a lot of carbs for energy.Cut back on your training and you should do better.I hope this helps.Good luck!! This is very good, very construcive diet advice. Do this aswell.

Also drink a ton of water.At least a gallon a day, if not more.Pyramid your sets, starting off light with higher reps, and cutting reps as you add weight to the bar,This way you get to stimulate both types of muscle fibers,those that respond well to high reps, and the ones that need lower reps.

Originally posted by teejaye Sorry guy I didn`t mean to just critisize you.You should eat every three hours or so, and take in good quality protein at every sitting.Eat a lot of chicken breasts,eggs,tuna,lean beef and take in good carbs from yams,brown rice,potatoes,oatmeal,and veggies.You need the carbs for energy.A bagel in the AM will not cut it over time.Eat a really good breakfast as this is the time to really put in good food after not eating for 8 hours or so.Try to take in a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight minimum.After training take a protein drink with some carbs.A guy with your schedule needs a lot of carbs for energy.Cut back on your training and you should do better.I hope this helps.Good luck!! hey thanks a lot for the advice and to everyone else for the advice. ill try to take the eating advice to heart but its so hard being a college student and athlete. i mean waking up everyday at 7 30 am...leaving by 8 15, going to school till 12 ish, coming home and working out, studying, then going to practice, then coming home late (were talking 11 or 12 here) and then sleeping and doing it all over again.