Program Advice Please

TechnoFreek

Hi all,

I was wondering could anyone recommend a program to me please.
I work out at home, with a reasonable bit of kit:
Squat rack, adjustable bench, barbell, ez bar, plates and dumbbells.

I'm 39 and working out for a few years, mostly as a way of trying to keep fit plus I enjoy it!

I'm by no means a monster - 5 foot 8, 10.5 stone - so I want to try add on some size.

I can commit to three days per week, one hour per session.

The catch is this. I have a young family (and a child was doesn't like sleep) and between work and other commitments my three sessions per week fall between Mon-Thurs. So at least 2 days are consecutive.

I started 5 by 5 a few months ago, made good progress for the first few weeks but the recovery time hit me like a brick wall by week 4 or so.

So given my age, recovery time and consecutive workout days, I am wondering can anyone advise a program that will still promote gainzzz.
I don't have unreasonable expectations, just try maximise as best as possible to my situation.

Thanks in advance.

Dave 101

monday = push (bench, db press, military press, side laterals, skull crushers)
tuesday = legs (squats, front squats, rdl, lunges)

thursday = pull (deadlift, rows, pullups, barbell curls, hammer curls)

TechnoFreek

Thanks Dave,

Two questions please.

What sort of sets and reps for the big lifts do you advise?
On push day you say db press. Incline or flat?

Thanks again

geotrig

At a guess I would say you need to drop the weights and increases for the 1st run of 5x5, 4 weeks in tells me you may have been too ambitious overall. i.e you've probably lifted those weights numbers before but not at or with the added volumes from a programme of 5x5 or the likes. we've all probably done it.use it to perfect form and iron out any imbalances in the lifts.

I've run similar mon, tue ,thurs ,sat or sun depending on constraints and it can be though depending on week and workout day but once its done it grand its only 5 sets like :pac:!!

TechnoFreek

Thanks. I'm awake several times per night with the young lad so the disturbed sleep is definitely impacting things too. Coupled with the back to back days it just makes recovery slow

Crank Stain

I do German Volume Training (GVT) 3 days a week, I have kids too and the local gyms close at 10pm and with other commitments it can be 10pm before I’m ready to start my workout so I have some weights in the garage.

With GVT you do high reps with a lighter weight (approx. 60% of your max), because the weight is lighter you can work out alone, and because repetitions are high you don’t need a lot of equipment, or to make a lot of adjustments to equipment as you workout.
Tempo is important, it’s a fluid movement, 2 seconds to lower the weight, 1 second to raise it with no rest at top or bottom

Monday - Chest and Back
Bench Press - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest between sets.
Barbell Row - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Single Arm Row – 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Incline Dumbell Press - 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest

Tuesday – Legs and Abs
Squats - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest between sets.
Deadlift - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Hip Thrusts– 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Kettlebell swings - 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest

Thursday – Arms and shoulders
Overhead Press - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest between sets.
EZ bar Curl - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Hammer Curl – 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Wrist Curls - 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest

The programme builds strength, you will notice the difference and see gains, but it’s not body building, but you can add a 4th day if you want to focus on biceps, etc. You can mix it up with other compound exercises after a few weeks to keep it interesting.

caviardreams

Crank Stain wrote: »

I do German Volume Training (GVT) 3 days a week, I have kids too and the local gyms close at 10pm and with other commitments it can be 10pm before I’m ready to start my workout so I have some weights in the garage.

With GVT you do high reps with a lighter weight (approx. 60% of your max), because the weight is lighter you can work out alone, and because repetitions are high you don’t need a lot of equipment, or to make a lot of adjustments to equipment as you workout.
Tempo is important, it’s a fluid movement, 2 seconds to lower the weight, 1 second to raise it with no rest at top or bottom

Monday - Chest and Back
Bench Press - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest between sets.
Barbell Row - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Single Arm Row – 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Incline Dumbell Press - 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest

Tuesday – Legs and Abs
Squats - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest between sets.
Deadlift - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Hip Thrusts– 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Kettlebell swings - 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest

Thursday – Arms and shoulders
Overhead Press - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest between sets.
EZ bar Curl - 10 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Hammer Curl – 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest
Wrist Curls - 3 sets of 10 with 60sec rest

The programme builds strength, you will notice the difference and see gains, but it’s not body building, but you can add a 4th day if you want to focus on biceps, etc. You can mix it up with other compound exercises after a few weeks to keep it interesting.

I'm pretty sure that's not GVT (but I'm no expert)

Dtp1979

caviardreams wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that's not GVT (but I'm no expert)

I’m pretty sure it’s not GVT too. And it certainly is more body buildery than strength based.

Dave 101

TechnoFreek wrote: »

Thanks Dave,

Two questions please.

What sort of sets and reps for the big lifts do you advise?
On push day you say db press. Incline or flat?

Thanks again

6-8 reps on main lifts then 8-12 on the others

flat or incline which ever you prefer

Blacktie.

O God 10x10 squats and deadlifts the same day!?

TRS30

Am similar to you OP (age, kids, workout at home, limited time etc) and ran the following programme, twice and fond is excellent.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=92687179

It get hard to complete in an hour as the weeks go on so maybe drop one of the assistance exercises if you struggling with time however always get the three main ones in.

Lusocu

Keep it as simple as possible. Getting strong needn't be complicated and it doesn't require complex programming. As long as you are adding reps and weight to the bar over time you're good. Periodisation can be useful as you get more advanced.

5×5 is intermediate level volume and can easily bury you. 3×5 is better for someone yet to build a strenght base as it will have you stall out on linear progression later on rather than sooner due to being able to recover better.

Focus on building your strenght base with the barbell movements and exclude the accessories like curls and skullcrushers to maximise your recovery for your muscles, tendons and ligaments. Wrist curls are a waste of time. Forearm strenght is more efficiently built though getting stronger with pressing and pulling with compound exercises.

Take longer rest times between sets, 3+ mins for big barbell movements. You get greater strenght gains when you recover properly between sets. Otherwise you are not putting the muscle through the same mechanical tension due to being fatigued and not able to do as many reps or as heavy a weight on subsequent sets. It's just a more efficient way to build stenght.

Aim for 5 to 7 reps or maybe just 5 for your lifts. Back squat twice a week with a day or 2 separating sessions, and bench or overhead press twice a week (on the weeks you're benching twice over head press once and vice versa). You could have one 8 to 10 rep day for bench or overhead press on the weeks you are doing it twice in order to reduce intensity to allow recovery. Bent over standing barbell rows are superior to single rows and are a full body exercise. Deadlift once a week. Throw chins and pull ups in when you like on days with a break between. Add facepulls and external rotation exercises with cables or bands to help keep healthy rotators cuffs. You need to be doing as much if not more pulling than pressing in the vertical and horizontal planes to keep healthy shoulders.

Studying good form through videos or having someone assess you on every exercise will help keep you injury free. Mark Rippetoes and Alan Thralls videos are quite good.