There are about 956,586 workout routines that you can try. One of the most effective types of routines I have found in my first 14 years of training is total body training.
The Principles of Total Body Training
- Work every muscle group 3 times per week.
- Select one exercise per muscle group, per day.
- Hit each muscle group from a different angle or intensity in each workout.
- Never go to absolute failure on any exercise; leave one rep in the bank.
- Keep workouts under one hour, not counting warm ups and stretching.
- Change everything up after two months.
Why Might This Be the Most Effective Form of Training?
- High frequency (how often you train any given muscle) means more chances to recover and grow stronger/bigger.
- Low daily stimulus (# of exercises and sets per day for any given muscle) lowers your chances of overtraining.
- Avoiding training to failure also lowers chances of overtraining.
- Hitting muscles from all angles each week strengthens stabilizers and is proactive injury prevention.
- Avoid muscle adaptation by changing up the whole routine after 2 months.
So What is the Routine Already?
I will outline a basic routine to follow in a 7 day period, but it can also be shortened to a 6 day period just as long as you see no signs of overtraining.
Your warm-up strategy: Please spend 5-10 minutes warming up your body with some cardio and some light weight lifting. This is your opportunity to do some shoulder rotations and non-hyperextending back extensions to warm up those areas that are prone to injury. For any given compound exercise, you decide if you want to include an initial warm-up set. I recommend it, but for a sissy exercise like bicep curls for example, you don’t really need to do a warm-up set.
Your weight/rep strategy: The first set should be a warm-up if necessary. Middle sets should increase by 10-20% depending on how you feel. Fourth set should be 100% of the max for the given rep range. For example if I can bench 100 lbs x 5 reps, I would do sets of 50 x 5, 80 x 5, 90 x 5, and 100 x 5. Once I set a new 5 rep personal record (PR) I would add the smallest amount of weight possible the next time I did that exercise. Most gyms have 2.5 lb plates, so next week I would use 105 lbs as my finishing weight on that exercise. This is called linear progression. Again, if the rep range is 5, you should be finishing with a weight you can get for 5, but not a weight that causes you to struggle to get 4.
Your exercise selection strategy: Given three workouts a week for each muscle, you must choose three exercises for each muscle group. You should choose one compound exercise and two assistance exercises. The assistance exercises should focus on bringing up weak points, fixing muscle imbalances, or breaking through a sticking point. This strategy was inspired by a training philosophy called the conjugate method.
Your exercise execution strategy: The first exercise of the workout should be done solo, as it is the most important exercise of the day. Rest for a minute or two between sets. All subsequent exercises should be done in groups of two. This is sometimes called a superset. Rest for a minute or two after each superset.
Ladies should do 4 sets of 7 where this program calls for 5 sets of 5.
Day 1:
a) Quads - Barbell back squats
reps: 5/5/5/5/5
b1) Chest - Incline dumbbell press
reps: 7/7/7/7
b2) Calves - Standing calf press
reps: 7/7/7/7
c1) Hamstrings - Stiff leg deadlifts
reps: 7/7/7
c2) Abs - (Weighted) decline sit ups
reps: 7/7/7
d1) Back - (Weighted) wide grip pull-ups
reps: 10/10/10
d2) Shoulders - Seated dumbbell shoulder press
reps: 10/10/10
e1) Stretch all your muscles for 10 minutes while sipping your post-workout drink.
e2) If you are still within your 60 minute workout and have gas left in the tank, do a tricep extension of your choice for 2 sets of 5 reps, or as many diamond push-ups as you can do.
Day 2:
Off or light cardio.
Day 3:
a) Chest - Flat bench press
reps: 5/5/5/5/5
b1) Quads - Step ups onto a bench or box holding dumbbells
reps: 7/7/7/7
b2) Abs - Lying leg raises, get your lower back and butt off the floor, try to touch the ceiling with your toes
reps: 20/20/20/20
c1) Back/Hamstrings – Standing bent over dumbbell rows
reps: 7/7/7
c2) Calves - Seated calf raises
reps: 7/7/7
d1) Shoulders - Standing dumbbell raises to the side
reps: 10/10/10
d2) Biceps - Standing alternating dumbbell curls
reps: 10/10/10
e1) Stretch all your muscles for 10 minutes while sipping your post-workout drink.
e2) If you are still within your 60 minute workout and have gas left in the tank, do a hamstring curl machine for 2 sets of 5 reps;or lock your heels under something with the instep of your foot facing down and, starting with your thighs perpendicular to the floor, lower your upper body forward and down a couple degrees then use your hamstrings to pull it back up. I’ll have to see if I can find a picture of this somewhere.
Day 4:
Off or light cardio.
Day 5:
a) Hamstrings - Deadlifts
reps: 5/5/5/5/5
b1) Shoulders - Standing overhead shoulder press
reps: 7/7/7/7
b2) Abs - Standing side bends holding dumbbells
reps: 7/7/7/7
c1) Quads - Alternating barbell lunges
reps: 7/7/7
c2) Triceps/Chest – Decline close grip bench
reps: 7/7/7
d1) Back/Biceps – (Weighted) close grip chin-ups
reps: 10/10/10
d2) Calves – One leg standing calf raise on a 2 inch block or plate holding a dumbbell
reps: 10/10/10
e1) Stretch all your muscles for 10 minutes while sipping your post-workout drink.
e2) If you are still within your 60 minute workout and have gas left in the tank, do two sets of clapping pushups.
Day 6 and Day 7:
Off or light cardio.
So that’s it! Please take this full body workout routine with a grain of salt. At times you might need to skip the e) exercises and maybe even one of the second exercises in the d) superset. This will not kill you. Feel free to change up the exercises if you think you know what appropriate replacements would be. This is just a guide for those that have never experiences total body training before.
This workout should only be done for 2 months max before you either try a different workout, specialize for a certain muscle group, or completely overhaul the exercises and reps.
If I have helped or inspired you, please leave me a message so that I can tell that someone is actually reading this blog. Good luck!
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About Project Swole - Project Swole is managed and mostly written by Steve, a formerly IFPA and ISSA certified personal trainer and sport nutritionist, who has been studying, practicing, and experimenting with fitness and nutrition since 1992. Please use the content at Project Swole to supplement the advice of your doctor or physician. All medical questions should be directed towards a qualified medical professional, and the advice provided at Project Swole should be used at your own discretion.
Here are some humorous links:
Related posts:
- Body Types – Ectomorph | Mesomorph | Endomorph
- The Simplest, Easiest Workout Program Ever
- The Swole Principles of Exercise
- Workout 3
- Workout 1
Tags: full body, weightlifting, workout routine
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Thanks for the workout. I’ve needed a new one for awhile and this is exactly the kind of guidance I was looking for. Again, thanks.
Steve:
I have been working out for almost two months and i have lot some inches and also toned my body. I want to follow your advice and change up my routine to wake up my muscle but what do u mean by changing it up? Should i do different exercises for different muscle that i haven’t done before or should it do more reps or should i change from dumbell exercises to smith machines or cable machines?
Raina: I definitely don’t mean to change from free weights to machines unless it’s just for 1 or 2 active recovery weeks. You can change the number of sets and reps, for example change from 3 sets of 10 to 5 sets of 5. You can change angles, for example swap flat bench for incline bench. You can change equipment, but I don’t mean switching to machines, I mean switch from barbells to dumbbells, or odd objects like sandbags and kettlebells. You can change exercises altogether, for example swapping skullcrushers for overhead tricep extension. Use my top 5 best exercises posts to find great exercise ideas.
Steve, if I want to load up my legs on the 3rd day (Friday) of a total body routine, is it too stressful on my system to do both squats and deadlifts on the same day?
RJ: Probably not. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. I have done squats and deadlifts on the same day many times.
Steve:
Thanks for your guidance and insight. I recently joined Gold’s Gym and they have a lot of cable and other kind of machines. Why do u recommend free weights vs using cable machines? For example, a machine to do tricep extension or seated dips or even seated barbell curls does focus on the particular muscle group and i feel the burn. So why are they not effective?
Also, can you please comment on my routine: (Mon, Wed and Fri)
1) Bench, Dumbell Press and Incline/decline press for chest
2) Military press, Barbell upright rows and dumbbell side raise for shoulders
3) Bent over barbell, pullups and seated rows for back
4) Barbell curls, Dumbell curls and close grip chin up for biceps,
5) Skull crusher, Dips and Push down cable machine for triceps
6) dumbbell wrist curl, reverse curl and wrist curl again for forearms
7) Hanging leg raises, floor crunches and crunches on exercise ball for abs
9) standing calf raise, donkey calf and seated calf extension for calf
10) Stiff leg deadlifts and back extension (based on energy level left)
I do about 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps and i try to take less then a minute break. Is there something you would like to correct/add.
Raina: I addressed your questions here: Critique my Workout Routine
Thanks for all of your tips and I really enjoyed your top 5 best workouts for each muscle.
I wish I would have found this earlier as there is some crappy advice out there.
I am a beginner I would imagine as I have only been lifting for 7 weeks. After seeing great results during weeks 4-6 I am feeling burned out and hitting my first plateau.
I had been basically doing a total body workout 3x a week doing 3×8 sets for everything with the same weight each set.(that’s what me and a friend did in college)
Would you recommend going to the 3×5 approach program you mention or try to follow this Generic Total Body Workout? And as follow ups to that question, the 3×5 would be the same as I have been doing with the same weight per set, just fewer reps, correct?
And for the Total Body posted here, for benching for example, using a 1 rep bench max calc, if I max out at 213, I would do something like sets that consist of warmup, 95, 145, 165, 185 all for 5 reps I think. So for something like standing barbell curls, if I’m used to doing 75lb, 3×8, can I use a 1 rep max calculator to determine my different weights to use each set for biceps or are those meant more for squats and bench. Could you give me an example for one of the three set exercises?
Thanks a lot, I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to put this info out there.
Scott
hi
i just have few questions.. to start of i would like to know is this routine better than training a certain muscle each day eg. chest ?
second i wanted to know how many times a week should a certain muscle group be trained ? and what is the suitable amount of sets and reps for each muscle group in one workout?
with regards
mohammed: The answers to these questions depend on your goals.
1) For almost all goals except bodybuilding, I recommend full body training rather than a daily split.
2) You can train most muscle groups 3-4 times a week as long as you keep the total volume low for each workout. But some muscles like calves, abs, and forearms can be trained nearly every day.
3) For sets and reps, it depends entirely on your goals:
Strength: 5-7 sets of 1-5 reps
Size: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
Endurance: 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps
Hi Steve,
It took some digging to find your website. I’m not trying to steer anybody away from your site, but I had been using the full body workout found at Answer Fitness (http://www.answerfitness.com/150/full-body-workout-plan-workout-routines/) since it was the first thing that came up through Google when I typed in “full body workout.”
I liked that routine, but I’ve been at it for just short of 2 months and was looking to switch. I did your day 1 yesterday but felt that I moved through it too quickly (only 45 minutes). Not sure if I’m not resting enough between sets or what.
I did have some questions at least on day 1: is 3 sets of 7 decline situps that effective, and is 2 sets of 5 tricep extensions that effective as well? I almost felt like I didn’t get anything out of them.
Thanks for your input.
Why should females do twice as many reps with lighter weight? Isn’t this kind of “toning” exercise long outdated?
You are somewhat right Sarah. In my experience, females generally respond better to slightly higher reps. I think twice as many reps might be over kill for some of those exercises. I will change that point to reflect a more appropriate rep range for women.
I’M 30YS OLD 5’6 FEMALE AT 165LBS =( I’VE BEEN EATING NOTHING BUT CRAP AND NOT WORKING OUT FOR AWHILE NOW, AND WANT TO START EATING LOW CARB ORGANIC AND WORKING OUT AGAIN SO I CAN GET BACK TO 120 – 125LBS. I WANT TO LOSE LOTS FAT AND TONE UP. I DEF WANT PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO TELL I WORK OUT ( NOT BODY BUILDER LOOK, JUST REAL TONED)
WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST FOR ME TO REACH THAT GOAL AS FAR WGHTS, CARDIO, AMOUNT OF PROTEIN AND CARBS A DAY?
THANKS STEVE LOVE UR SITE.
gday steve im about to go back to full body it seems to work best for me after the 2 mths and i change to different routine can i change back to the full body again after 2mths and i deadlift 140 kilo 6 reps 3 sets is 3 times a week to much at that weight and rep thanks top site just found it
Dave Davis, your comment doesn’t make much sense. In the future you might want to try using capital letters, full words, and punctuation. I will try to answer your question (was there a question?) the same way you asked it.
gday dave i think u shuld go back 2 full body after 2 mths and deadlift 5 reps 3 sets its not to much if u push urself u will grow
Thanks for the comments!
ps im 39 5foot 8 beer gut and 80 kilo
THANKS STEVE. SORRY ABOUT THE SPELLING.TO MUCH COFFEE.
Dave: I guess that would also explain the SCREAMING! And don’t you mean ‘too much coffee’?
Steve, I appreciate all of this helpful info. One question though…
Why so many days off? I feel, as though, Im not getting anything done. I ask because I know you know better and your the expert. I would commit to the days off if I believed they were beneficial.
Ian: the days off are for recovery. Since you are working your full body every other day, it only makes sense to give each body part 48 hours to recover from weight training. I don’t have a problem with you adding conditioning training on the off days, I just don’t think you should be lifting weights on those days, or if you do they should be light weights with a focus on conditioning and you should not take your sets to failure. KnowwhatImean?
Steve,
First off very good site, very informative. I am 33 5-11 170lbs. I just went from a split where I was doing 30 min low int cardio after the work out. I have been enjoying the full body I feel I get more out of it. I am trying to maintain the muscle I have and get more ripped toned. Should I keep doing a low int cardio session after my work out or should I move to HIIT or some sort of other interval training on the off days. I always read cardio after lifting or in the am is the best. So will I still burn fat doing cardio on the off days? Help!!
Steve,
One more thing. Is the super sets much more effective than say if I do 4 sets of bench then 4 sets squats and then 3 sets biceps. Are you saying for muscle doing 1 set bench then 1 set biceps until both set are done is better. I read super sets should be used sparingly. Is this a prefference?
GREAT JOB WITH THIS SITE STEVE,VERY HELP FULL ,IM TRYING TO REARAINGE MY HOLE ENTIRE WORK OUT ,TO YOUR SUGGESTIONS.I WILL LET U KNOW ABOUT THE RESULTS.THANKS
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS ALEX. I HOPE YOUR NEW WORKOUT GIVES YOU GREAT RESULTS.
Hey Steve, your site is awesome.
I am a skinny guy and would like to gain some weight. The thing is, I play soccer so I do cardio all the time. Does this mean that my weight lifting won’t do much because I am also doing a lot of cardio? I’m 16 yrs old, 5’8 and 130 soaking wet.
Also: Have you done any articles on stretching? I am still trying to get a good dynamic stretching routine to do as a warm up before soccer and a good static stretching routine to do to increase flexibility.
Thanks a bunch
i have a question about supplements
i know that nutrition is very important but i was wondering what pre and post workout drinks will help boost muscle gain
i’ve heard of a line known as bsn products but their loaded with chemicals and i don’t know whether its safe to be introducing that into my body
nonetheless your routine is great
Steve,
What does the 5/5/5/5/5 exactly mean? And are we supposed to do all of these workouts every workout day? Because it says to pick 3 for each muscle. Thanks!and also I’m 14. Is it safe for me to do these workouts? Thankyou!
Mark: each 5 is the number of reps and the backslash separates the sets. Therefore, 5/5/5/5/5 means 5 sets of 5 reps; 10/10/10 would mean 3 sets of 10 reps. Knowwhatimean?
O and thanks for the great workout!
Oh ok thanks so much and would it be safe for someone my age to do this?
Is it true that we loose sugar during work outs. It is my assumption that as we get wetting while work out, we should intake sugar in any form during work out, pls suggest?
Amit, sipping an electrolyte drink like Gatorade can improved your workouts.
Mark: you are not too young to do these workouts, but you better be careful. I would rather see you use PERFECT form and less weight than to hurt yourself by jumping into a workout that includes squats, deadlifts, and overhead press without knowing full well what to do. Just please make sure you know what you are doing. That being said, 14 is a great age to start teaching your body to be fit. By building a solid base through your adolescence, you are setting yourself up to be strong and muscular for the rest of your life.
Hey Steve,
I took the supplement CellMass for a few months and it seemed to improve my strength a decent amount, yet when I stopped taking it, I lost some muscle mass… (water?) Any way, what would be the #1 muscle gainer that you would suggest?
Ian: food, protein powder, and then maybe Xtend – a BCAA supplement. Then if you still want more, perhaps NO Xplode or creatine.
K thanks alot Steve!
I’m just finishing two months of your generic total body workout and plan on switching to your 3×5 approach. On my last benching day I couldn’t get my final rep on the fifth set at 205 lbs. I would hate to waste a couple weeks figuring out what my ideal weight would be now transitioning into doing 3×5 with the same weight. Question, in your experience do you know of any type of calculators that can roughly estimate something like this? Example, I can barely do 205 for 5 reps so how much should I decrease to get 5 reps for 3 sets. Thanks.
Scott: I’d try a 10% decrease to start. 185 seems sensible. It should only take you that initial week to figure out what you should be using for all 3 sets.
Steve,
You said that its hard to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. So what should I do first, lose the fat or try to gain muscle. Which should take precedence?
Thank you,
Larry
Larry: I usually recommend people to lose fat first, then bulk up slowly. Studies have proven that when you have excess bodyfat your body tends to store more calories as adipose tissue. I know this sounds counter intuitive, but I have read several studies on this. Your best bulking phase will come after a fat loss phase.
are you a grammer teacher too steve
No, I am not a ‘grammar’ teacher too. Why do you ask?
Hey Steve,
First off I would like to thank you for the plethora of information you have provided, and am hoping you could give me a little more. Right now I am 285lbs and my main goal is to drop body fat. I know my way around a weight room, but most of my workout days are spent with a few hours of pretty competitive basketball, soccer, or racquetball. My question is do you think a I could benefit from a full body workout a couple of days a week, and would I be risking injury following up one of these full body workouts the next day with a couple hours of sports.
Thanks
Elias: Honestly, I’d lift 3 days a week and do the sports on off days. You should be able to get in much better shape that way.
Thanks for the response, love your site. Could you help me with two more questions? For incline presses I’ve heard people say you must put your bench at a 45 degree angle while others have told me a 30 is fine. What do you recommend?
Also I’ve read that it’s a very smart decision to take a week or two off every 2-3 months. I dont’ feel burnt out at all but I’m only 4 months in and have much to learn so any thoughts? Thanks
Scott: Both 30 and 45 degrees for the incline press is fine. So are 25, 35, 40, and even 50. You can spend 4-6 weeks working one angle, switch for 4-6 weeks, the switch again or switch back. It is good to work your muscles from a wide variety of angles; it prevents complete adaptation and works the stabilizers to a greater degree.
Hey Steve ,
Am a beginner .I am going to start training from today and this site has been the inspiration behind it ..Thanks a lot
Arjun: Come back and lets us know how you do.
Steve,
When you say “…it can also be shortened to a 6 day period just as long as you see no signs of over-training” what are the signs of over- training? Also, what is your take on taking a one week completely off from the gym every now and then?
Thanks!
steve: i have just completed my first week of the full body training .I was just wondering , i have very lean physique , except that i have a ponch (not much) but its is certainly not flat .I wanted ur advise to concentrate on a little bit on the mass ,should i do anything dofferent or do u feel this routine take care of mass as well .Please advise me on this .thanks in advance
Arjun: To gain mass you should follow this program for 3 months to build your strength up, then switch to a slightly higher rep routine for 3 months where you will use 10 rep sets to induce hypertrophy instead of 5-7 rep sets, then switch back to a 5 rep routine for 3 months to increase the density of your new muscle mass. Of course, this might not work for you depending on your physiology. What I gave you is, at best, just a guess at what might help you gain mass.
thanks for the pointers once again .appprecite it
Hello steve love your site I am 5’7 female 166lbs. I’m tryna tone and go down to 140lbs. I started at 213lbs and I am scared of getting flabby. I still have body fat and I’m confused as to how many times I week I should lift weights? How long should I do cardio? And should I completely avoid carbs. I need to shred fat please help!
P.s only took about 5 months to lose the weight
Steve,
I posted a question for you several days ago, but it has never returned from “approval”?
Anyways,
Started the workout yesterday and finally managed to brake the plateau. Wanted to say “Thank you” for the great workout and an awesome website!
Sanja: I didn’t approve your comment because I’ve been thinking about writing a post about overtraining, so I was waiting to approve it until I wrote that post. Sorry for the delay.
In any case, some signs of overtraining include lethargy, chronic soreness, insomnia, elevated resting pulse rate, and lack of motivation. I will expand on that shortly.
I highly recommend taking a week off from the gym now and then. It should be an active recovery week that includes some form of low intensity exercise, but definitely not heavy weight training, and probably avoid HIIT cardio at that time as well.
Steve,
Thanks so much for responding and I think that writing a post about overtraining is a great idea- we could all learn from it.
Again, thank you and I’ll be keeping an eye open for the overtraining post:-)
Cheers!
Steve,
After 2 months of being on a different workout program would it be okay to revert back to this one?
Yes Quinton, it sure would.
Hey, i will start this program next week. Ive been training for about 2 years but i can seem to be able to gain weight. Are the sets good in this training or should i modifie to gain some weight ?
Thanks for the site, it is great and provides excelent information !!!
To gain weight: lift heavy, eat food, rest well.
How do you know when ur body is over training? i work out 6 days a week for the past two months and evry one has noticed i have gotten bigger. i do not ever feel any pain or abnormal fatigue in my muscles. it seems its working and i noticed my strength go up. a workout week is: day1-chest, tri; day2-back, bi; day3-legs, shoulders; day4-rest; and continue the cycle by changing up exercises. i do 4 sets of 5 reps for the bigger muscle groups and occasionally do 3 sets of 8 reps for others. if its workin am i over training?
Hi Steve, thanks for the good articles on your site like full body workout, top 5 exercises and all. I am going gym for past 7 months (worked with trainer as well for 6 months). I am 25yr, 65kg and 5.5″
There is a fat on my chest and abdomen sides. I know for sides, i have to do lot of cardio to remove it but i dont understand how to get rid of the fat on the chest. it looks bad as well (fat on boy’s chest)
Even I am doing weights + interval cardio exercises for 7 month but i hardly see any reduction in fat on chest (i do see some reduction on sides).
can you pls advise what kind of exercises i should do?
Thanks in advance. Regards.
AKP, I’m sorry to say this is a problem that has only two solutions:
1) Keep perfecting your diet and training in order to lose more fat. When your body fat gets low enough, the chest fat will mostly go away. But then you have to maintain a low bodyfat to keep the man boobs away.
2) Surgery.
I’ve been fighting this battle my whole life. Sorry that there is no easy answer.
Steve,
I am 24 years old, about 178 lbs, and have been working out consistantly for about 3 1/2 months. I have been using a full body routine 3 to 4 nights a week, and doin light cardio 1 to 3 nights a week. Although i am fairly satisfied with my gains, i feel im stuck at a plateu. Will a full body routine allow me to push through this plateu on its own in time? should i continue my routine but hit the gym twice a day for a few weeks to push through? Or completely revamp my training style?
Steve,
My wife and I had been working out with Chad Waterbury’s Total Body Training in the past, and we liked it. However, we really like yours more. It has a little more variety, and really focuses on getting stronger on the big lifts like squats, deadlifts and chest press. Have you thought about a follow up program for this, or do you suggest one? I know I could tweak this one by changing some of the exercises and reps, but I wanted to know your opinion. And, what do we do about the big compound exercises like the squats? Do we change that to another exercise, or just change rep/set schemes? Thanks for any information.
Hello Steve
My weight is 58 Kg.will this routine be suitable for me to gain weight.
aashish: This would be suitable for you to gain weight, but the 3×5 workout routine might be even better.
Steve, thanks a million for all of the great lists and advice. I’m loving the full body workout.
I’m wondering if you’ve ever considered doing a list about the best warmup/stretching exercises, or just laying out a good warmup/stretching routine. So much of what I see about this subject is contradictory or not comprehensive.
Thanks for all the helpful stuff.
Harley: So you are looking for a Best Warmup Routine or Best Stretching Routine post? I will do my best. If you don’t see it soon, please remind me.
John: First of all, I refuse to take any credit for my workout routines being ‘better’ than anything Chad Waterbury writes. That being said, I’m glad you are experiencing great results.
As for changing the routine, I recommend changing up everything. You can change the exercises used in the full body workout routine, or you can change to a new routine all together. Try the Project Swole 3×5 routine if you like, or try a HIIT/HIRT routine for a while… especially for fat loss in the new year. Maybe you could focus on full body training with 20 rep sets for a month, or try to maximize strength on the front squat. It really is totally up to you.
I do realize sometimes people just want to have a routine they can follow to a T. In that case, I am working on some new routines for you to try, which I can hopefully publish sometime in December and January 2010.
Pete: Start by taking a week off for active recovery. Then switch to a full body routine for 2 weeks. Then do 2-a-days for one week. Then back to a full body routine for 2 more weeks. Then take another active recovery week. Let me know how far you’ve put that plateau behind you after those 6 weeks.
Anthony: If it is still working, you are not overtraining. You either could be genetically gifted to respond to such an intense workload, or perhaps you will start overtraining eventually and have to back off for a while. Either way, make the best of it while it’s still working.
Steve,
I workout 4 days a week normally, and I do use the split method. I have seem extremely great results before but my obvious problem is control what I eat. Anyhow, I started getting serious again and I’m the kind of person that is more serious when I do cardio and weight training as I am ok with taking a little bit longer to build muscle. I really just wanted to know, what is the BEST method to put on lean muscle MASS. I do want to get toned but that will come later. My goal now is to put on mass and lose weight in the process which I know will happen naturally. I feel I get great results when working a specific muscle group 3 or 4 times on its designated day, but I will confess I often go till failure on all my workouts. Also, how do I put mass on my rear delts and triceps? I would consider myself an experienced weight lifter.
Aden: Try Werewolf Training for mass gains. Use heavy bent over rows and reverse flyes for the rear delts. For triceps you should focus on the exercises detailed in my 5 Best Triceps Exercises post. Best of luck!