Hi All,

I am quite new to all this and only discovered John's site a couple of month ago, what a fantastic site! And what a great bunch of people.

I am 27, 5' 11 and 200lbs and 20% body fat, I am quite fit as I have studied martial arts for the last three years and lifted weights / run on and off for a year or two but not ever seriously, but I have had the same problem as lots of men - I love beer!.

Finding John's site has given me huge amounts of inspiration to get my body in shape and put on muscle while loosing fat.
I have sorted my diet out so I am eating quite clean and taking some supplements (protein, creatine, vitamins etc). And I have cut right down on my beer drinking. I have been hitting the gym 3/4 times a week hardcore for about 4/6 weeks but so far each work out has been full body focused and it is now taking me 1.5 hours to get through 75% of what I want to do.

So to get to the point I want to start on a new split routine workout but as a newbie I need some help/advice.

I have added my proposed work out below please feel free to rip it to shreds and set me straight on what I should and should not be doing. Any advice is greatly appreciated, I get the feeling I might be including too many exercises?.
PS I will be posting my first pics on the 6th of December :-)

Monday - Back, Shoulders, Traps,
10 mins rowing machine (warm up)
Lat Pull Downs 3x10,
Close Grip Assisted Chin ups / Pull Downs 3x10,
Assisted Chin ups 3x10,
Barbell Rows 3x10,
Bent Over Row 3x10,
Shoulder Press 3x10,
Lower back Machine (not sure what called) / Dead lifts 3x10,

Tuesday - 10 mins hill running, 1 hour Karate

Wednesday - 10 mins hill running, 1 hour Karate

Thursday - Chest, Triceps, Biceps,
10 mins rowing machine (warm up)
Bench Press 3x10,
Incline Bench Press 3x10,
Pec Dec 3x10,
Assisted Dips 3x10,
Skull Crushers 3x10,
Overhead Triceps Extensions 3x10,
Barbell Preacher Curls 3x10,

Friday - Legs, Abs
10 mins rowing machine (warm up)
Leg Press 3x10,
Squats 3x10,
Calf Raises 3x10,
Seated Hip Abduction 3x10,
Seated Hip Adduction 3x10,
Sit ups 3x20,
Leg Raises 3x10

Saturday - 1 hour Karate

Sunday - Rest

What do you think?

I tend to try to do 3 sets of 10 reps with every exercise aiming for failure on the 30th rep or as close to as possible. If I have done 30 and not reached failure I add more weight or do another 10 / or until failure.

Thanks for your help!

Sam

Hmmm does no replys mean my workout is OK or I am so far off I look past help? :d_confuse

Anybody?

Your workout isn't bad. Here's some tips and things I've noticed:
- Barbell Rows and Bent Over Rows are the same thing, unless you are using a dumbbell for the BO Rows. Either way, you don't need both. Just pick one and make sure you have good form. Pick one of these for 6 weeks, and then switch to another one.
- Lat Pull Downs, Close Grip Assisted Chin Ups/Pull downs, and assisted Chinups are all very similar. Pick one to do for 6 weeks, then switch to another one.
- Put the biggest compound lifts early in each workout. The biggest for muscle recruitment essentially go (most to least of the big group): Squat, Deadlift, Dips, Barbell Rows, Standing Shoulder Press, Pull ups, Bench Press
- Limit your isolation work. You won't need much of it at this point since you are just starting.

I edited your workouts and modified them a little. If you have any questions why, just ask. Oh, I did switch the days around because you don't want to kill your legs and then do karate the next day.

Sunday - Legs, Abs
10 mins rowing machine (warm up)
Squats 3x10,
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts 3x10,
Calf Raises 3x10,
Weighted Sit ups 3x10,
Leg Raises 3x10

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - 10 mins hill running, 1 hour Karate

Wednesday - 10 mins hill running, 1 hour Karate

Thursday - Back, Biceps, Traps,
10 mins rowing machine (warm up)
Dead lifts 3x10,
Assisted Pull ups 3x10,
Barbell Rows 3x10,
DB Shrugs 3x10
Barbell Preacher Curls 3x10,

Friday - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps,
10 mins rowing machine (warm up)
Bench Press 3x10,
Incline Bench Press 3x10,
Assisted Dips 3x10,
Shoulder Press 3x10,
Skull Crushers 3x10,

Saturday - 1 hour Karate

Good job having warm ups in there. You might consider shortening the warm up to 5 minutes to get the blood flowing and then focusing on lift specific warm ups (I.E. doing 10 reps at 50% bench press weight, then 5 reps at 75%, then doing your full bench for 3x10). You won't need them for everything, but I would recommend them for the major lifts.

Thanks very much for the good advice.
I will give it a go and see what happens!

Thanks again
Sam

One question - You have put stiff legged deadlifts in with legs/abs wouldn't they be better in the back day or am I getting confused?

Thanks
Sam

stiff leg=hamstring workout imo

Stiff-Legged Deadlifts and Romanian Deadlifts tend to active the hamstrings the most. They still activate the back, but believe me, they are primarly a hamstring exercise.

"Classic" Deadlifts activate the back and the quads much more than a hamstring. That's why deadlifts stay on back day and sldl's stay on leg day.

P.S. In your SLDLs, don't round your back like the guy in the EXRX.net clip does. That is bad form. Keep your back straight and stick your butt back as you bend down, keeping the bar right on your legs. Go as low as you can without rounding out your back.