I had great gains on my last cycle - could have been muscle memory from January. I could also have a bit of that this cycle. I ran a standard cycle last time, but had a split routine. I found out what exercises I truely liked, and here is what I have for this routine.
I am also adding abs/obliques into this cycle... and these exercises aren't performed in this order by the way.
Flat DB Press
Dips
Incline Chest
Cable Pulldowns
Chins
Leg Press
Calf Raises
Stiff Legged Dead Lift
Pulley Crunches
Broomstick Twists
Shrugs (Smith)
Shoulder Press
Barbell Curl
Okay, so that seems like a lot of exercises - 13.
a) Should I throw out the flat DB Press since I have incline and dips? I could even alternate incline and the flat DB press.
b) Should I wait to add isolation exercises like the cable pulldowns (tris) and barbell curl (bis) for the 5's? My arms are lacking in proportional size to the rest of my upper body, so I am not sure if that's the best idea.
c) There are a lot of exercises. If I keep it how it is, there are 13. If I follow possible given advice for a and b, I will then have 10 exercises. I read that splitting your routine into two (upper and lower) is better for hypertrophy - maybe because you have more energy when you are lifting. Depending on the answers to a and b, should I do split it up or keep all the exercises full body 3x/week?
d) I thought a lot about rep stages since daxie and chiefhog made posts about their ideas for upcoming cycles. I may save a change to these until late fall when scheduling conflicts play a big deal and cycles will need to be changed in size. I lift alone, so negs are tough to do, but I am thinking of doing 3's instead of progressing on my 5RM. There will be a lot of zig-zagging, which I know hasn't been proved in practice to be worse than total progression, so would that work out?
On a note, I am going to change how I do dips since reading a certain post, thinking about it logically, and checking the exrx website. One set I sit straight up to hit the tris, and on another I will lean forward to hit the chest.
This cycle is due to start this Monday, September 19th.
Thanks
,
-Colby
I am also adding abs/obliques into this cycle... and these exercises aren't performed in this order by the way.
Flat DB Press
Dips
Incline Chest
Cable Pulldowns
Chins
Leg Press
Calf Raises
Stiff Legged Dead Lift
Pulley Crunches
Broomstick Twists
Shrugs (Smith)
Shoulder Press
Barbell Curl
Okay, so that seems like a lot of exercises - 13.
a) Should I throw out the flat DB Press since I have incline and dips? I could even alternate incline and the flat DB press.
b) Should I wait to add isolation exercises like the cable pulldowns (tris) and barbell curl (bis) for the 5's? My arms are lacking in proportional size to the rest of my upper body, so I am not sure if that's the best idea.
c) There are a lot of exercises. If I keep it how it is, there are 13. If I follow possible given advice for a and b, I will then have 10 exercises. I read that splitting your routine into two (upper and lower) is better for hypertrophy - maybe because you have more energy when you are lifting. Depending on the answers to a and b, should I do split it up or keep all the exercises full body 3x/week?
d) I thought a lot about rep stages since daxie and chiefhog made posts about their ideas for upcoming cycles. I may save a change to these until late fall when scheduling conflicts play a big deal and cycles will need to be changed in size. I lift alone, so negs are tough to do, but I am thinking of doing 3's instead of progressing on my 5RM. There will be a lot of zig-zagging, which I know hasn't been proved in practice to be worse than total progression, so would that work out?
On a note, I am going to change how I do dips since reading a certain post, thinking about it logically, and checking the exrx website. One set I sit straight up to hit the tris, and on another I will lean forward to hit the chest.
This cycle is due to start this Monday, September 19th.
Thanks

-Colby