I see numerous posts about a workout plan so I'm going to post my old and new workout plans, both of which are very similar. Note that this workout is for cutting/ maintaining. Adjust your calories accordingly. For bulking, you shouldn't really do much cardio IMHO.

There are lots of exercises out there, I suggest buying a book for info on which muscles are trained in each exercise. Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier is great because of the illustrations that show exactly which muscles are involved. I suggest at least 3 days of weight lifting. For my 3 day split which has given me results I did the following shedule. Start off with a warmup. I simply take a light weight and perform 1 or 2 warmup sets of different exercises according to the muscles I'm going to use. All exercises are performed with 3 sets (warmup set not included) and at 6-12 reps. You can either do this pyramid style (heavy weight 12 reps, heaviers weight 10 reps etc.) or you can target higher reps one week and lower reps the next (that's how I do it). Each set lasts at least 30 secs and no more than 60 secs. I take about a 1-3 minute break between sets. Try and not spend more than 60 minutes working out. For the cardio, an HIIT cycle is 15 second 100% sprint and 45 second walk/jog. You can start with just 4 cycles (yep, 4 minutes!) but should add one or two cycles every week.

Monday: Chest/Biceps
1)DB bench press
2)Incline DB bench press
3) Dips
4)Preacher bicep curl
5)Twist bicep curls
6)Shrugs (Back day is very tiring for my grip so I moved this exercise to chest day)

Tuesday: Morning fasted HIIT X cycles

Wednesday: Back/Triceps
1)Wide grip lat pull up
2)Seated row
3)Underhand pull ups
4)T-bar row
5)Bench dips
6)DB tricep extensions

Thusday: Morning fasted HIIT X cycles

Friday: Legs/Shoulders
1)Squats
2)Leg press
3)Hamstring curls
4)Calves
5)DB shoulder press
6)Side lateral raises or bent over side lateral raises
7)Wide grip upright rows

Saturday: Morning fasted HIIT X cycles

Sunday: Do anything, eat anything!


My new program is more intense but it means less time at the gym (around 30-40 mins) and it too has an off day. I wanted to focus on my arms more since they seemed to be lagging compared to the rest of me. I do morning fasted HIIT 3-4 days a week in the morning and weight train 4 times a week in the afternoon. Note again that I am cutting, not bulking or maintaining!

Monday:Back
1)Wide grip lat pulldown
2)Seated low row
3)Reverse grip pull ups
4)T-bar row or Stiff-Legged Deadlift (if deadlift, perform first)

Tuesday:Chest
1)DB bench press
2)Incline DB bench press
3)Dips
4)Shrugs (again, grip gets tired on back day)

Wednesday: Only HIIT, no weight workout.

Thursday:Arms/Shoulders
1)Tricep bench dip
2)DB tricep extension
3)BB curl or Reverse grip BB curl
4)DB twist curl or preacher curl
5)Shoulder press
6)Upright row

Friday: Legs
1)Squats
2)Leg press
3)Hamstrings
4)Calves

Saturday:Only HIIT, no weight training.

Sunday: Do anything,eat anything!

The most important factor is your diet.You should eat 6 times a day. I recommend LOTS of protein, 1g per lb of bodyweight. Chicken, Turkey, beef, pork, fish, shrimps etc. Get your healthy fats, at least 20% of your daily calories i.e. olive oil and don't miss out on your carbs i.e. wholewheat pasta, brown rice, vegetables, fruit.All this mass gainer, creatine and protein powder stuff however is all processed stuff. I would only recommend meal replacement shakes during the day if you really really don't have the time to eat properly, which in actual fact is quite rare as I take about 10 minutes to eat one of my packed meals. The only time that myself and others on this board have a protein/meal replacement shake is post-workout (i.e. right after a workout).

And finally a few points:
1)You DON'T need a dietician or a trainer to do things right but they can help you. You do however need dedication, research, patience and setting your workout as a high priority. After all, it's what... 4 minutes of HIIT in the morning and half an hour at the gym!

2)Don't take anyone's word as the sure thing, trainer, friend or some guy on a forum :D . My workout works great for me, it may not for you.

3)Prepare your meals in advance. Keep stuff in the fridge. Don't put something in your diet you don't like, even if someone else tells you. There are alternatives to everything.

4)Enjoy your off day! Have a pizza and a couple of beers with your mates.

5)Finally, have fun! Working out can be a great experience, especially when doing it with a friend.

This is a great post! I know I'm gonna reffer to it a lot!
This should be made a sticky! :tucool:

Looks like a great workout, but also a bit advanced for someone like me. May I ask how you would tone this down for a beginner with less muscular endurance. In other words, would you reduce the number of sets on each exercise, eliminate a couple exercises from the routine etc? If I were to eliminate a couple exercises out of each day, what would be the best exercises to neglect?

Looks like a great workout, but also a bit advanced for someone like me. May I ask how you would tone this down for a beginner with less muscular endurance. In other words, would you reduce the number of sets on each exercise, eliminate a couple exercises from the routine etc? If I were to eliminate a couple exercises out of each day, what would be the best exercises to neglect?

May I add that I think you should write the final number of HIIT sicles one should preform.
Again, great post!!

Looks like a great workout, but also a bit advanced for someone like me. May I ask how you would tone this down for a beginner with less muscular endurance. In other words, would you reduce the number of sets on each exercise, eliminate a couple exercises from the routine etc? If I were to eliminate a couple exercises out of each day, what would be the best exercises to neglect?

For a true beginner, I would say even one set of each exercise would be enough. But then again research suggests 3 sets to near failure are better than 1 set to failure. Its not that hard really. I started off a complete beginner on this program and I could take it. Now my new program, well, it just can't get much simpler really. On chest day for example you have 9 sets in total to work on your chest, one exercise for mid chest, one for upper and one for lower and the recommended is 9-12 sets on big muscle groups. On arm/shoulder day you have 6 sets for biceps (although the wide grip upright row does incorporate biceps too) and the recommended is 6-9 sets for small muscle groups. I really would suggest you try for a couple of weeks of either program with HIIT just twice a week,then see how you feel. Whatever program you start on, the first week is quite hard.

Gila monster, you're right, I forgot to mention.If you are fairly fit to start off with, you should be able to complete 15 minutes (15 cycles) within a couple of months. Don't worry if you haven't reached this goal in two months. I know I won't! I'm on 8 cycles and its been 5 weeks. But I have been pushing myself hard! If you have STILL got more energy left, you can either go for 20 minutes (20 cycles) of a 15/45 split or try the same duration of 15 cycles but with a 30 second sprint, 30 second jog.

After trying my new program for a few weeks now, I have to admit that HIIT in the morning with weights in the evening on at least one day has been too tiring and have decided to drop to 2 days of HIIT, Wednesday and Saturday. Hope you're all doing well!

Hey all! Thought I'd might add a few new pointers:

>You will find a high proportion of slow-twitch muscle in the calves, and trunk (spine) and in the forearm predominantly. I've heard of many people adjusting their workout to stimulate different fibres. However, after research, I believe it is worthless to try to adjust the program to "stimulate" or "isolate" any specific type of fiber i.e. first the slow twitch fibers in the biceps, then the fast twitch. Hypertrophy of both slow twitch and fast twitch fibers will happen when you lift heavy. BUT feel free to do calf, forearm or spine isolated exercises to 20 reps or so (basically, till the so called burnout of the muscle) i.e up to 120 seconds under tension.

>About time under tension and time under load. When I do 6 reps, I take 2 deep breaths and on the third exhale I push. I take about 45 seconds for each set. When doing 10 reps, I take a deep breath and on the exhale push. I take about 40 seconds. Your body doesn't count reps, it counts time under tension. Try timing yourself doing 6 reps for 40 seconds and doing 10 reps for 40 seconds. Bet you are just as tired on both!

>I also should mention that every 5th or 10th week or so, you should try something radically different! No, I'm not telling you to try and lift a car instead of weights! I'm talking about forced reps, drop sets or 3x10s,for both of which you need a spotter:

--Forced reps: I'll use the bar bell bench press as an example. Use about 150% of you maximum 1RM weight so for me that would be 220*1.5=330lbs. Now, your spotter must hold the bar bell at all times! You are not going to lift the weight. You are simply going to try and hold it for as long as possible. Take the weight off its stand, bend your arms a little and hold! Hold for as long as you can. When your muscle are starting to give up and the barbell is close to your chest, signal the spotter (shout, scream whatever!) so he can help you bring it up to the start up position. Then do it again. 3 or so "reps" should do it. One set is enough believe me!
Check out:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/phano2.htm

--Drop sets: On the last set of your exercise or collection of exercises for a muscle group, do your normal weight-rep pattern i.e. 40lbs for 8 reps. Then, as soon as you're done, go about 10-20% lighter and go to failure. That's it! That's a drop set!

Check out:

http://www.bodybuilding-supplement-guide.com/drop-sets.html

--3x10s:Simply perform 10 sets of 3 reps using a very heavy weight. Forget about TUT and TUL, just lift heavy! Select just one exercise for the day i.e. BB bench press for chest day.


--20 rep squats: This can be used to make massive overall gains quick. Check out:

http://www.leehayward.com/squats.htm

>>>DO NOT TRY AND DO THESE ON A DAILY BASIS UNLESS YOU'RE ON "CHEMICAL ASSISTANCE". These exercises are very taxing on the body and you should take a weeks rest (i.e. 6th or 11th week) afterward.

What does HIIT stand for?

What does HIIT stand for?
High Intensity Interval Training

http://www.stud.ntnu.no/~shane/stasj/pics/humor/div/bart.jpg

Update!!!
After trying stiff-legged deadlifts a couple of times, I find it a great exercise and incorporated it on my back day instead of T-bar rows. Note that if you are going to do deadlifts, do them first out of all the exercises for the day. Note that its the stiff legged version, meaning hamstrings and lower back are worked. Its a hard form to keep. Bend legs a little, push butt out and try and look as high as you can to keep your back straight.

Also, I got an e-mail asking me how one should perform leg exercises. Does full ROM matter? What about reps? For legs, ROM is very important. The bigger ROM, the better development. That's why I dip quite low for squats. DO NOT USE A WEIGHT OR ANYTHING UNDER YOUR HEEL TO DIP LOWER! I've had a couple of trainers at the gym try and do that to me but its a mistake. It puts your knee in a difficult position. For upper body, you can benefit from limited ROM if you have hit a plateau. As for reps, 6-12 is fine, you can hit higher reps for legs (up to 15) if you want and up to 20 for calves.


Whoareume, I wish you good luck in reaching your goals. 1000lbs deadlift will be a world record!