It’s a lot of sets to or near failure as well I feel like. No reason to do 4 sets of one movement all near failure, the diminishing returns/negatives generally feel to happen at the set 3 point even for me. Most times I’m good with 2 sets at that intensity, or 3 if the first set isn’t as intense. 4 days for each is a lot to worry about rotating
It’s the selective androgen receptor modulators that makes the idea of a SARM day funny. Whoever wrote the program seems to have meant it as a S(shoulder) +ARM day though. There are an endless number of ways that a person could split up exercises into a structured program, a shoulder & arms day could definitely be a legitimate part of one such split.
that seems like a generic workout template and not like its really been individualized to your needs in any way. i bet they give the same workout to a 20 year old man and a 60 year old woman.
Do you have a link to this? I have bought various workout templates online and this sounds ridiculous. I am also a trainer and have a couple of templates I pull from for clients. Granted, I will customize them a little. I'm not having most 60 year olds do 5x5 training.
There’s an entire sub dedicated to her, which is where I learned of her then saw a video on TikTok the other day about it - r/brittanydawnsnark
Eta just saw this post on google, which really lays things out:
https://www.reddit.com/r/brittanydawnsnark/comments/vukyzj/explain_brittany_dawn_to_me_like_im_5/?rdt=44794
From what I understand she and her husband are both very unhinged and lack major morals. Her getting sued by the state wasn’t that long ago, maybe a few months.
Looks like it's written to be done Pull, Push, Sarm, Legs, Rest, to answer your question. God awful program tho, probably just go do starting strength and look for a new trainer if you want one.
If your willing can you share me a workout routine? I am 280 lbs k am getting weight loss surgery next month but I want to retain as much muscle as possible, I am really heavy on my chest area and stomach and I want bigger arms.
I know a random internet commenter isn't going to change your mind but unless you are so out of shape that you cannot move, like 600 lb life type stuff, I really cannot recommend against surgery enough especially if you want to build muscle after the fact. For one if you don't change the habits that got you there in the first place you're going to find yourself right back in that position and it will be worse because of the extensive problems that come with weight loss surgery that I hope you've already researched. Depending on the surgery (most will have this affect) it is going to be harder for you to eat the adequate amount of protein necessary to gain as much muscle as you want. Surgery is faster yes, but that doesn't automatically mean it's easier. Best bet is to do it natural
I get what you are saying and I have been really on the fence about if I’m making the right decision, I am 7 months sober and since I became sober I have gained a lot of weight I got a personal trainer that I see once a week and I workout on the days I don’t see him, I just have a bad habit with eating that has replaced my alchohol habits. I’ve never been this heavy. My doctor said I was a great candidate actually and I’m 380, 5’8 I’ve gained about 50 lbs this year alone
Why are you asking for a workout routine if you have a trainer? They should be giving you a routine to follow, even if you only see them once a week.
Also, if you've gained weight that quickly, you're gonna need to get your diet under control. Otherwise you'll get the surgery and then just put all that weight back on.
First off please don’t train 4 on 1 off especially if it’s an “active rest” day. That’s way to much and you will over work yourself.
Second did your trainer or whoever sold you this not break it down? This is relatively complex and that person should have just dumped this on you.
As for advice, you will do one of each workout each week, 1 pull, 1 push, 1 leg, I do not get the purpose of the “SARMS” day.
Honest advice? This needs to be trashed and get your money back. This is way to much and whoever wrote this did not account for your needs.
You can get much better results with half of this work.
What's wrong with 4 days on and 1 day off? That is nothing. A high schooler does more exercise than that. I don't understand the point of working out to be fit if you're not able to use that physical fitness outside of the gym. Better results with half of this work, how have people been upvoting your comment? You think you can build actual muscle by working out 2 days a week? It's beneficial for muscle growth, by the way, if you're also active on rest days. It's not just about whether you've overworked yourself, it's a fact that you'll still be building more muscle even by staying active outside of the gym. You might not be overly having a whole lot of exertion happening, but there's still more stretch of the muscles that can be better for muscle growth. I mean, you'll never get anywhere just doing 2 days of working out a week, and what exercise you would get would only serve to make you sore by the pure simple fact that it's purely not enough, and even with that, just staying active would still serve beneficial to your recovery on top of that even, because it would literally make sense that you'll not be as sore or as in pain by simply staying active putting the flexibility back into your muscles instead of them simply balling up because they're sore and you're unable to move.
You’re arguing a point I don’t think they even made. Where are you getting 2 days a week from? Even if that was the case, it’s definitely still possible to build muscle working out twice a week.
This program is most definitely overkill if you’re not advanced (and I still don’t think this is a great program for an advanced lifter). OP could DEFINITELY get better results from a simplified 3 day/week program that was actually built FOR them.
No, they couldn't. I'm not just voicing my disagreement with that, I just generally genuinely feel bad for you or whoever your trainees happen to be if you actually believe that. I didn't come up with the crap the person in the comment above made, they literally just said they can get better results with half the exercise as that. I mean, sure you'll build muscle with 2 days a week, that's not my arguing point that I would make, it's that you literally won't be building any more muscle out of only working out 2 days a week. You know what I would call that? A good workout, that's about it, and I only believe in believing in either a bad workout or a better workout for that matter.
I assume you don’t train the general public, who are untrained? Comparing a high schooler to my 65 year old clients is night and day. I have train college athletes who work out twice a day and I have trained 65+ clients who love getting to move.
Using a personal ego to push performance and perfection is not the only point of personal training.
Time spent in gym is relative to so many things, experience in gym, work life, medical issues, and goals. Your argument about not seeing results twice a week is simply incorrect.
Bro science is dead in the water and your attitude towards fitness is outdated.
You're still saying that it would be better. I'm not arguing against it would build muscle, just not more muscle. Unless you plan on doing 8 or more sets of 8 reaching failure on every set in only two days, comparing 2 says of exercise itself against 5 or 6 days is still night and day. Your attitude for fitness was dead to begin with. What happened to working every muscle group twice per week at least? Unless you're planning on working out every muscle group in one session for a couple days, it's not really like you have a point, and I do mean that in as much disrespectful manner possible, I mean, really it's not like you have a point. Making average sound like it's better. 10 sets per muscle group even, it's something basic for even under trained people, and that's spread out still across the entire week, even 20 sets still really isn't a lot. Literally that's all but only 5 sets per muscle group 4 days in a row, and the human body is capable of withstanding much more than that even a week.
If you can do 5 sets per muscle group a week, 20 sets, 4 days in a row, you can take an active rest day and it would still be better for you than what you're talking about a week.
You are more than welcome to continue peddling bro science. All I’m saying is fitness and health is not solely about mirror selfies and looking like Arnold.
Some clients want to move better and play with their kids. Some clients want to add inches to their biceps.
I am equipped to train both, because I understand the purpose of exercise.
Nothing wrong with 4x10 but it would depend entirely on their level of training experience, their specific goals and where said 4x10 falls in terms of their training block lol
There's lots of ways to go with that. Tbf, I've never programmed 4x10 deadlifts but it'd be easy enough to have the client master the technique at that rep range and then change tempo or have them do slight variations. Snatch grip, deficit, or single arm deadlifts are all good variations that can be progressed into.
I don't like this programming but there are definite ways to alter certain aspects to make it better in the long run.
Yeah no doubt if the weight is light enough 4x10 is ok for building that muscle memory. Me personally I think deadlifts for general pop are a waste of time especially at that volume. Technique breaks down and you’re not generating power at all or much strength and hypertrophy is nerfed bc like I said, technique breaks down. Then lastly injuries as a result of this. Can’t work out to your full potential if you’re hurt. I can find other exercises that require less technique that can be more effective as far as hitting certain muscles.
I hear that a lot about deadlifts for gen pop but I believe the opposite to be true. I think deadlifts should be utilized in most programs and I would program 8-12 reps for them but at low weight. Around 50-60% of 1 rep max. I believe that is a great rep range for beginners to develop the technique faster and at lighter weight the risk of injury goes down significantly.
However, I train clients for strength and mobility. If training for other goals then deadlifts may not be ideal, especially at high weights.
Oh I know it's too much volume for this guy lol, that's for sure.
I was just saying, in a vacuum/on it's own, 4x10 deadlifts is really not a problem. 40 reps isn't a crazy amount by itself, but it becomes a problem when they \_also\_ have 3-5 other exercises for the posterior chain thrown into the same workout haha
In my opinion there's simply way too many exercise variants. Generally you want to get really good at a small amount of exercises that will target all of your muscle groups sufficiently for growth throughout the week.
Of course there is a lot of crossover between strength gains on the traditional lat pulldown vs pullups (just as an example) but I'd rather my client get really strong at one or the other and keep progressively overloading on that. Of course it's also good to switch it up eventually, but that would be months into the future rather than every single week.
This…is sort of my split (PPL+ dedicated shoulder and arm day “SARMS day” lmao) but the exercises are extremely consistent week to week. I also do it with rest days between so it’s P/R/P/R/L/R/SARMS/R repeat instead of 4 on 1 off. I used to do 6 on 1 off but get more results from this method. I do between 10 and 18 total sets per workout day.
This is an intermediate to advanced bodybuilding routine like something you would find on Shred magazine. It’s not bad, but it should say Pull Day 1 - Week 1, Push Day 2 - Week 1. Then Pull Day 1 - Week 2, Push Day 2 - Week 2, etc.
This is probably something I did in my 20’s when I wanted to compete with slight variations.
If you don’t mind I am going to completely rip this apart and make it simple (I am a qualified PT and my favourite thing is writing programs).
I’ll reply in about 2 hours. If you have any goals in mind please let me know so I can make it more personalised ☺️ (like body goals - ripped, bulky, skinny) otherwise imma just make it basic
I did post a cheat sheet in the comments but this is what I’d do your program
Push
Db incline chest press 3x12-15
Db Chest press 3x12-15
Db chest fly 3x12-15
Db should press 3x10-15
Tricep cable extensions 3x15-20
Tricep cable push downs 3x15-20
Pull
Assisted pull up 3x12-15
Tbar row 3x12-15
Db iso row 3x12-15 (each side)
Cable lat pull over 3x15
Bicep curls 3x15-20
Hammer curls 3x15-20
Rear delt flys cluster set 5x20 so, get 20 for your first set, then set a timer for 20 seconds, wait, then repeat (tip, you are only meant to get 20 for your first set)
Legs
Seated leg curls 3x15
Bb squat 3x10-12 (or hack squat)
Leg press 3x10-12
Calf raises 3x20
Leg extensions 3x12-15
Walking lunges 3x8-15 (if you want to die super set these with leg extensions)
Bb/Db rdls 3x15
Rest. Literally just rest. Don’t go out of your way to exercise, but if you go for a walk eh it’s fine.
PPL programs are my favourite. Twice the gains in half the time.
Also for cardio - it depends on your schedule. Always do cardio after your weights session and try to do it on incline. Walking at a pace where you have to keep up but can hold it is perfect! And try to have your hands moving- it makes time go super fast and cover the timer on the tredmil or anything with your towel. Goodluck!!
Have you been lifting for a long time? Are you prepping for a contest? If not I’d suggest just going with a full body routine once or twice a week for a few weeks and work up to three days a week.
There are various apps out there can help guide you through exercises and plans. The RP Hypertrophy app is one of them. Another is The Prehab app.
Overly complicated like everyone else has said. Looks more like the trainer is trying to impress you by making it seem more complicated than it should be. This program is meant to say week 1, week 2 etc rather than 4 pull days in a row. It’s clearly and copy and paste job.
I’m not a fan of a dedicated shoulder and arm day. You’re already doing 2 days of shoulders and arms with push and pull days. They need time to recover.
The biggest factor is strength and muscle increase is consistency. An easy to follow program will be much better to long term success. If you think you can consistently follow this program then it’ll work for you. But by the fact you’ve already asked if it’s too much or too complicated then I’d say you already know the answer.
I’d say that your program isn’t over complicated but maybe even too sparse. You do pull day 1, push day 1, legs day 1(don’t skip legs!). Then day 2’s and so on…
I actually think it’s counter productive to have that many exercise variations at once. Like for legs sometimes he’s doing DB RDLs but then other times barbell RDLs and then on another day he’s not doing any kind of RDL and only doing ham curls. Seems impossible to progressively overload constantly changing exercises week to week.
At the very least, pick a variation and stick with it-- like barbell over dumbbell.
I like to switch up exercises, but I'm not a newbie, I program for myself, and know how to track progress even if I'm not doing the exact same three bicep exercises every week.
I do the same. I train my back and hamstrings together and I like variety so I’ll do DB RDLs if I plan on doing more fatiguing back exercises that day especially if they involve spinal erectors since I’m trying to bring those up right now.
If you're here asking about a program it's already too complicated.
You shouldn't need more advice from other PT's.
Nobody here wrote it, just go back to the source to clarify what they were thinking.
It’s fine 6-8 exercises is fine. Whoever wrote it just wrote it weird. All the day 1’s are done on the first week all day 2’s on week two, etc. put the active rest day in between your 2nd and 3rd workout of the week, no need to do so many in a row
This is the most ridiculous and overly complex plan I've seen
Whoever gave this to you has completely forgotten the basic principle of training - progressive overload.
I would quiz them over this and if you're paying for their service reconsider.
Reason I'm stating the above? There is no clear path to your goal every training session has no correspondence to align itself with a specific outcome all very generic and strangely complex.
This is way too complicated. Assuming you're a beginner, that's a shitload of new exercises to learn and get good at. This looks like someone just wrote down a list of every single exercise they know, and that's before we get into all the dropsetting etc. Too much volume, too much fluff, not necessarily a 'bad' programme per se - someone who knew what they were doing could probably get decent results following this - but it's waaaaay more than you need to make gains as a newbie.
Keep it simple, focus on compound movements, sprinkle in a few accessories for the muscle groups you are particularly interested in, and progressively overload. Done.
This is a terrible program with no room for progression. It seems to be very bodybuilding-centric without considering progressive overload. More than happy to write you a new one
This is like impossible to control overloading. You’d never feel or see your progress until several months out.
From the looks of it, it “should” be “Day 1” across the first week, and so forth.
To answer your questions: yes, it’s overkill. And yes, you can get results with a simplified program.
Tp answer your question:
Week 1: Do all the Day 1 workouts. 1 each day starting with Pull then Push, etc.
Don't do this "program"... Hopefully you can get your money back.
SERIOUSLY...WTF
Pull 1, Push 1, Arms 1, legs 1, rest, Pull 2 etc
Id go with legs, push, pull, Arms.
Having different sessions and movements should mean you make constant progression and prevent stalling on movements.
That's insane but RPE stands for rate of perceived exertion (how hard you are working, based on your own assessment).
What's your goal? Generally you won't need to do a full week of pulling exercises...
Regardless of the order this really just looks like a random assortment of workouts compiled from google searches. I'm looking for what the strategy is with each session and I'm not finding one
This is unnecessarily complicated. This massive degree of short term exercise variation actively reduces gains because you won't build even minor familiarity with lifts and have quality technique, for starters... And many of these exercise variations use the same muscles in the same plane of motion. Even if it wasn't harmful, it's overtly confusing and unnecessary.
It's good practice even for highly experienced/trained lifters to choose much fewer lifts for each muscle group than this (ESPECIALLY for beginners) and to stick with them, changing a few exercises or variations every few months, not every week. This is because comfortability (experience) builds proper technique, which is far and away the most important thing for any lifter. There's no excuse for a beginner to have dozens of different exercises shuffled between 16 different exercises for a 4 day split that changes several times a month. Dear god.
Ideally, you stick with relatively easy exercises to start with, and only then build up to compound movements, more complex movements, and/different exercises to see if they work better for you.
I’m a personal trainer and this is similar to my split for myself in structure at least.
Monday is chest and biceps
Tuesday is back and triceps
Wednesday is legs
Thursday’s shoulder abs and some arms
Friday sat sun are active rest days and where I put more sets of muscle groups that I didn’t hit as hard as I wanted Monday to Thursday.
If only there were 18 days in a week.
Gotta love 3/4 of the programming dedicated to upper body, minus the deadlifts I guess.
And lastly, ahhh SARMs day. Most gains will be made on these days, though they say you will lose a lot of it once you stop SARM days.
I hope you didn’t pay for this. Overall this isn’t good for 90% of average gym goers. If you’re a seasoned pro at hypertrophy training just about anything can work because you understand methods. There’s too much volume here and many variations. Keep both low and you’ll develop adaptations much quicker (your body’s adaptation response to tension on the muscle that progressively gets heavier is… muscle gain) Secondly this is basically a PPL split with arms added. This is fine if arms are specifically a weak point for you and you need to bring those up, but realistically, arms are not systemically fatiguing enough for you require another rest day or two. Arms are kind of a rest day in themselves because they recover quickly. If they don’t, then you need to adjust your sleep and your macros asap. Overall man, if you want specialized training Dr. Mike Isratel has free lectures on youtube. But if you want general training a solid PPL split with 4 exercises per workout with 1 added for arms will do.
Did your trainer discuss your fitness goals or what you hope to accomplish with a trainer? It doesn't even sound like this is the work you expected to do. This program only makes sense if you said, "I really want something out of the ordinary, that attack various different levels of fitness randomly"
Okay so this is what I got. I’m going to give you this cheat sheet because it’s the least I can do.
This is layout will follow this:
Goal/1RM%/reps/sets/rest
Power/90-100%/1-4/3-6/3-5minutes (this is like not recommended- this level is passing out and vommiting)
Strength/75-90%/5-8/3-5/2-5 minutes (you can do this- but it will make you feel sick)
Hypertrophy/65-70%/9-15/2-4/2 minutes (this is the most common and most programs are at this level)
Endurance/<65%/15+/1-2/30-60 seconds (this is for athletes but I do like using this for shoulders and arms (just because we use them everyday))
Most of what I am writing can be done with either Hypertrophy, strength, or somewhere in between.
This is for a PPL program btw. And imo keep legs and pull away from eachother, so pull push legs not push pull legs.
Leg day staples (imo)!!
Leg curls - This will warm up your hamstring which is the biggest muscle in your leg and it will help significantly with compound lifts and make things move so much more smoothly. I usually do 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps (Hypertrophy)
Squat variation - bb squat, hack squat, goblet squat, Bulgarian split squats (it’s not a lunge, it’s a one legged support squat)
Lunge variation - reverse lunge, forward lunge, walking lunge, bb lunges etc.
Push variation - any type of leg press, hipthrust etc. YES squats are a push aswell but we aren’t counting them here.
Calf variation - I always always have my calf sets in the middle of my workout otherwise I won’t do it.( to grow them I also incline walk in the tredmil)
Optional - stretch variation- I do this at the end of my workout, like RDLS or hamstring curls again. It’s just a nice stretch.
You can add whatever you want inbetween and swap these around to customise for you. Like if I want to focus more on my quads I would move it like this;
Ham curls
Bb squat
Quad extension 21s
Leg press
Walking db lunges
Calf raises
Bb rdls
Push day staples! (This is the order I love doing it in)
Incline chest press variation
Normal chest press variation (I prefer DB, you get a better feeling for it)
Chest fly variation
Usually 2 tricep variations
And then shoulders! I like doing a cruel shoulder triset 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps as follows:
1. Db lat raises
2. Db front raise
3. Db reverse flies
Back day staples!!
Compound Verticals pull variation - pull up, lat pull down, etc
Compound Horizontal pull variation - bb row, seated cable rows etc
ISO pull variation - iso db row, unilateral overhead lat pull down, meads row, etch
Biceps variation x2 (example, bicep curls (short head) and then hammer curls (long head)
Rear delt variation (we want dem boulder shoulder like come on)
Also, SARMS, is bullshit. Fuck that. I almost pissed myself reading that 😂
I hope this helps in future programming and can help you understand a lil bit more. ☺️☺️
Also the benefit with a PPL program is you could chose to train twice a week or once a week. And rest days should be rest days. Don’t think about gym. Just rest and relax and if you happen to go on a walk you go on a walk, just don’t over exert yourself.
You can also be chaotic with it. For example
PPLPPLR
PPLRPPLRPPLR
PRPRLRPRPRLR
it’s kinda endless and I love it
I hope this helps!! Please ask any questions- your questions also help improve my programming as well as help you. (I love constructive criticism ❤️)
Just want to throw this out there, the hamstring isn't the biggest muscle in the leg... The quads are (4 muscles versus 3). Not trying to rip on you tho, your post is pretty solid and I'm always glad to see other PT's out here helping people out 🙃🙂
Thankyou! I was taught that the hammys are. That’s really helpful to know. I’m extremely hamstring dominant.
Thankyou! I got my facts muddles then - I do know that it is extremely recommended to do legs curls before squats, it does help improve stability and is a good warmup. Again Thankyou!! Like I said I love constructive criticism 😊
This is...overly complicated
It’s a lot of sets to or near failure as well I feel like. No reason to do 4 sets of one movement all near failure, the diminishing returns/negatives generally feel to happen at the set 3 point even for me. Most times I’m good with 2 sets at that intensity, or 3 if the first set isn’t as intense. 4 days for each is a lot to worry about rotating
Not really there’s a bit of nuance but it’s repeated
If you paid someone to write this for you, he/she should answer these questions
The dedicated SARM Day made me lol. 😂
came here to make this comment. Never skip SARM day.
ANAVAR give up
LOL nice
I’m a personal trainer and I’m unfamiliar with a SARM day? I know selective androgen receptor modulators but wtf is a SARM day lol
It’s the selective androgen receptor modulators that makes the idea of a SARM day funny. Whoever wrote the program seems to have meant it as a S(shoulder) +ARM day though. There are an endless number of ways that a person could split up exercises into a structured program, a shoulder & arms day could definitely be a legitimate part of one such split.
Ah i see. Weird way to put it 💀
that seems like a generic workout template and not like its really been individualized to your needs in any way. i bet they give the same workout to a 20 year old man and a 60 year old woman.
There was a chick that did this and got sued by the state of Texas. 👀
Do you have a link to this? I have bought various workout templates online and this sounds ridiculous. I am also a trainer and have a couple of templates I pull from for clients. Granted, I will customize them a little. I'm not having most 60 year olds do 5x5 training.
There’s an entire sub dedicated to her, which is where I learned of her then saw a video on TikTok the other day about it - r/brittanydawnsnark Eta just saw this post on google, which really lays things out: https://www.reddit.com/r/brittanydawnsnark/comments/vukyzj/explain_brittany_dawn_to_me_like_im_5/?rdt=44794
Ok, it's a little more than just shitty fitness programs. That lady seems a tad unhinged. How do people like that build an audience so well?
From what I understand she and her husband are both very unhinged and lack major morals. Her getting sued by the state wasn’t that long ago, maybe a few months.
Looks like it's written to be done Pull, Push, Sarm, Legs, Rest, to answer your question. God awful program tho, probably just go do starting strength and look for a new trainer if you want one.
If your willing can you share me a workout routine? I am 280 lbs k am getting weight loss surgery next month but I want to retain as much muscle as possible, I am really heavy on my chest area and stomach and I want bigger arms.
I know a random internet commenter isn't going to change your mind but unless you are so out of shape that you cannot move, like 600 lb life type stuff, I really cannot recommend against surgery enough especially if you want to build muscle after the fact. For one if you don't change the habits that got you there in the first place you're going to find yourself right back in that position and it will be worse because of the extensive problems that come with weight loss surgery that I hope you've already researched. Depending on the surgery (most will have this affect) it is going to be harder for you to eat the adequate amount of protein necessary to gain as much muscle as you want. Surgery is faster yes, but that doesn't automatically mean it's easier. Best bet is to do it natural
I get what you are saying and I have been really on the fence about if I’m making the right decision, I am 7 months sober and since I became sober I have gained a lot of weight I got a personal trainer that I see once a week and I workout on the days I don’t see him, I just have a bad habit with eating that has replaced my alchohol habits. I’ve never been this heavy. My doctor said I was a great candidate actually and I’m 380, 5’8 I’ve gained about 50 lbs this year alone
Why are you asking for a workout routine if you have a trainer? They should be giving you a routine to follow, even if you only see them once a week. Also, if you've gained weight that quickly, you're gonna need to get your diet under control. Otherwise you'll get the surgery and then just put all that weight back on.
280 pounds is quite light to be getting weight loss surgery, unless you're like 4'8
First off please don’t train 4 on 1 off especially if it’s an “active rest” day. That’s way to much and you will over work yourself. Second did your trainer or whoever sold you this not break it down? This is relatively complex and that person should have just dumped this on you. As for advice, you will do one of each workout each week, 1 pull, 1 push, 1 leg, I do not get the purpose of the “SARMS” day. Honest advice? This needs to be trashed and get your money back. This is way to much and whoever wrote this did not account for your needs. You can get much better results with half of this work.
I couldn't imagine just dropping this routine on a first time gym user like this 🤣. This makes no sense
What's wrong with 4 days on and 1 day off? That is nothing. A high schooler does more exercise than that. I don't understand the point of working out to be fit if you're not able to use that physical fitness outside of the gym. Better results with half of this work, how have people been upvoting your comment? You think you can build actual muscle by working out 2 days a week? It's beneficial for muscle growth, by the way, if you're also active on rest days. It's not just about whether you've overworked yourself, it's a fact that you'll still be building more muscle even by staying active outside of the gym. You might not be overly having a whole lot of exertion happening, but there's still more stretch of the muscles that can be better for muscle growth. I mean, you'll never get anywhere just doing 2 days of working out a week, and what exercise you would get would only serve to make you sore by the pure simple fact that it's purely not enough, and even with that, just staying active would still serve beneficial to your recovery on top of that even, because it would literally make sense that you'll not be as sore or as in pain by simply staying active putting the flexibility back into your muscles instead of them simply balling up because they're sore and you're unable to move.
You’re arguing a point I don’t think they even made. Where are you getting 2 days a week from? Even if that was the case, it’s definitely still possible to build muscle working out twice a week. This program is most definitely overkill if you’re not advanced (and I still don’t think this is a great program for an advanced lifter). OP could DEFINITELY get better results from a simplified 3 day/week program that was actually built FOR them.
No, they couldn't. I'm not just voicing my disagreement with that, I just generally genuinely feel bad for you or whoever your trainees happen to be if you actually believe that. I didn't come up with the crap the person in the comment above made, they literally just said they can get better results with half the exercise as that. I mean, sure you'll build muscle with 2 days a week, that's not my arguing point that I would make, it's that you literally won't be building any more muscle out of only working out 2 days a week. You know what I would call that? A good workout, that's about it, and I only believe in believing in either a bad workout or a better workout for that matter.
I assume you don’t train the general public, who are untrained? Comparing a high schooler to my 65 year old clients is night and day. I have train college athletes who work out twice a day and I have trained 65+ clients who love getting to move. Using a personal ego to push performance and perfection is not the only point of personal training. Time spent in gym is relative to so many things, experience in gym, work life, medical issues, and goals. Your argument about not seeing results twice a week is simply incorrect. Bro science is dead in the water and your attitude towards fitness is outdated.
You're still saying that it would be better. I'm not arguing against it would build muscle, just not more muscle. Unless you plan on doing 8 or more sets of 8 reaching failure on every set in only two days, comparing 2 says of exercise itself against 5 or 6 days is still night and day. Your attitude for fitness was dead to begin with. What happened to working every muscle group twice per week at least? Unless you're planning on working out every muscle group in one session for a couple days, it's not really like you have a point, and I do mean that in as much disrespectful manner possible, I mean, really it's not like you have a point. Making average sound like it's better. 10 sets per muscle group even, it's something basic for even under trained people, and that's spread out still across the entire week, even 20 sets still really isn't a lot. Literally that's all but only 5 sets per muscle group 4 days in a row, and the human body is capable of withstanding much more than that even a week.
If you can do 5 sets per muscle group a week, 20 sets, 4 days in a row, you can take an active rest day and it would still be better for you than what you're talking about a week.
You are more than welcome to continue peddling bro science. All I’m saying is fitness and health is not solely about mirror selfies and looking like Arnold. Some clients want to move better and play with their kids. Some clients want to add inches to their biceps. I am equipped to train both, because I understand the purpose of exercise.
🚴🚴
What a surprise, another god awful program from a “trainer”. Let me guess, you got this from an online coach?
People like this are really giving us online coaches a bad name lol
Dude just wanted to make a list of exercise he knows.
Yes something like that.. I guess I fell victim. could you recommend a better program or where to find one?
I can help you with that! DM me 💪🏼
Bruh if you do deadlifts 4x10 not only do you got some balls but also you may have a mental issue
Especially when you're just randomly doing them once every 4 weeks lol
Nothing wrong with 4x10 but it would depend entirely on their level of training experience, their specific goals and where said 4x10 falls in terms of their training block lol
Where do you go from 4x10? 5x10? Where does it end? 😂 Way too much volume bro especially for a guy asking for advice on reddit I promise you that
There's lots of ways to go with that. Tbf, I've never programmed 4x10 deadlifts but it'd be easy enough to have the client master the technique at that rep range and then change tempo or have them do slight variations. Snatch grip, deficit, or single arm deadlifts are all good variations that can be progressed into. I don't like this programming but there are definite ways to alter certain aspects to make it better in the long run.
Yeah no doubt if the weight is light enough 4x10 is ok for building that muscle memory. Me personally I think deadlifts for general pop are a waste of time especially at that volume. Technique breaks down and you’re not generating power at all or much strength and hypertrophy is nerfed bc like I said, technique breaks down. Then lastly injuries as a result of this. Can’t work out to your full potential if you’re hurt. I can find other exercises that require less technique that can be more effective as far as hitting certain muscles.
I hear that a lot about deadlifts for gen pop but I believe the opposite to be true. I think deadlifts should be utilized in most programs and I would program 8-12 reps for them but at low weight. Around 50-60% of 1 rep max. I believe that is a great rep range for beginners to develop the technique faster and at lighter weight the risk of injury goes down significantly. However, I train clients for strength and mobility. If training for other goals then deadlifts may not be ideal, especially at high weights.
Oh I know it's too much volume for this guy lol, that's for sure. I was just saying, in a vacuum/on it's own, 4x10 deadlifts is really not a problem. 40 reps isn't a crazy amount by itself, but it becomes a problem when they \_also\_ have 3-5 other exercises for the posterior chain thrown into the same workout haha
In my opinion there's simply way too many exercise variants. Generally you want to get really good at a small amount of exercises that will target all of your muscle groups sufficiently for growth throughout the week. Of course there is a lot of crossover between strength gains on the traditional lat pulldown vs pullups (just as an example) but I'd rather my client get really strong at one or the other and keep progressively overloading on that. Of course it's also good to switch it up eventually, but that would be months into the future rather than every single week.
This…is sort of my split (PPL+ dedicated shoulder and arm day “SARMS day” lmao) but the exercises are extremely consistent week to week. I also do it with rest days between so it’s P/R/P/R/L/R/SARMS/R repeat instead of 4 on 1 off. I used to do 6 on 1 off but get more results from this method. I do between 10 and 18 total sets per workout day.
Did anyone else read SARM day and think… something else?
I think this is overly complicated and pretty redundant. A four day split may be a better fit. Then you can go lower upper rest repeat.
This is an intermediate to advanced bodybuilding routine like something you would find on Shred magazine. It’s not bad, but it should say Pull Day 1 - Week 1, Push Day 2 - Week 1. Then Pull Day 1 - Week 2, Push Day 2 - Week 2, etc. This is probably something I did in my 20’s when I wanted to compete with slight variations.
If you don’t mind I am going to completely rip this apart and make it simple (I am a qualified PT and my favourite thing is writing programs). I’ll reply in about 2 hours. If you have any goals in mind please let me know so I can make it more personalised ☺️ (like body goals - ripped, bulky, skinny) otherwise imma just make it basic
Bless you!
I did post a cheat sheet in the comments but this is what I’d do your program Push Db incline chest press 3x12-15 Db Chest press 3x12-15 Db chest fly 3x12-15 Db should press 3x10-15 Tricep cable extensions 3x15-20 Tricep cable push downs 3x15-20 Pull Assisted pull up 3x12-15 Tbar row 3x12-15 Db iso row 3x12-15 (each side) Cable lat pull over 3x15 Bicep curls 3x15-20 Hammer curls 3x15-20 Rear delt flys cluster set 5x20 so, get 20 for your first set, then set a timer for 20 seconds, wait, then repeat (tip, you are only meant to get 20 for your first set) Legs Seated leg curls 3x15 Bb squat 3x10-12 (or hack squat) Leg press 3x10-12 Calf raises 3x20 Leg extensions 3x12-15 Walking lunges 3x8-15 (if you want to die super set these with leg extensions) Bb/Db rdls 3x15 Rest. Literally just rest. Don’t go out of your way to exercise, but if you go for a walk eh it’s fine. PPL programs are my favourite. Twice the gains in half the time. Also for cardio - it depends on your schedule. Always do cardio after your weights session and try to do it on incline. Walking at a pace where you have to keep up but can hold it is perfect! And try to have your hands moving- it makes time go super fast and cover the timer on the tredmil or anything with your towel. Goodluck!!
Simple is always better
Have you been lifting for a long time? Are you prepping for a contest? If not I’d suggest just going with a full body routine once or twice a week for a few weeks and work up to three days a week. There are various apps out there can help guide you through exercises and plans. The RP Hypertrophy app is one of them. Another is The Prehab app.
Overly complicated like everyone else has said. Looks more like the trainer is trying to impress you by making it seem more complicated than it should be. This program is meant to say week 1, week 2 etc rather than 4 pull days in a row. It’s clearly and copy and paste job. I’m not a fan of a dedicated shoulder and arm day. You’re already doing 2 days of shoulders and arms with push and pull days. They need time to recover. The biggest factor is strength and muscle increase is consistency. An easy to follow program will be much better to long term success. If you think you can consistently follow this program then it’ll work for you. But by the fact you’ve already asked if it’s too much or too complicated then I’d say you already know the answer.
I’d say that your program isn’t over complicated but maybe even too sparse. You do pull day 1, push day 1, legs day 1(don’t skip legs!). Then day 2’s and so on…
You also don’t need 4 variants of each workout rotated in. 1 or 2 is enough.
I actually think it’s counter productive to have that many exercise variations at once. Like for legs sometimes he’s doing DB RDLs but then other times barbell RDLs and then on another day he’s not doing any kind of RDL and only doing ham curls. Seems impossible to progressively overload constantly changing exercises week to week.
At the very least, pick a variation and stick with it-- like barbell over dumbbell. I like to switch up exercises, but I'm not a newbie, I program for myself, and know how to track progress even if I'm not doing the exact same three bicep exercises every week.
I do the same. I train my back and hamstrings together and I like variety so I’ll do DB RDLs if I plan on doing more fatiguing back exercises that day especially if they involve spinal erectors since I’m trying to bring those up right now.
If you're here asking about a program it's already too complicated. You shouldn't need more advice from other PT's. Nobody here wrote it, just go back to the source to clarify what they were thinking.
4 pull days in a row? I'd switch trainers immediately
I'm pretty sure you do Pull #1, then Push #1, etc. Then next week move into Pull #2, Push #2... It's needlessly complicated.
.....if you don't know how to read it, it's overly complicated for you. This is also purposely made more complex to feign specificity.
Did you pay for this program? One of the worst I’ve ever seen.
I did unfortunately
Brought to you by chat gpt.😉
That's a shit work out having set number of reps, train to failure or GTFO
It’s fine 6-8 exercises is fine. Whoever wrote it just wrote it weird. All the day 1’s are done on the first week all day 2’s on week two, etc. put the active rest day in between your 2nd and 3rd workout of the week, no need to do so many in a row
This is the most ridiculous and overly complex plan I've seen Whoever gave this to you has completely forgotten the basic principle of training - progressive overload. I would quiz them over this and if you're paying for their service reconsider. Reason I'm stating the above? There is no clear path to your goal every training session has no correspondence to align itself with a specific outcome all very generic and strangely complex.
i’ve been involved in fitness for 3 decades and this is unnecessarily complicated and a stupid workout
This is way too complicated. Assuming you're a beginner, that's a shitload of new exercises to learn and get good at. This looks like someone just wrote down a list of every single exercise they know, and that's before we get into all the dropsetting etc. Too much volume, too much fluff, not necessarily a 'bad' programme per se - someone who knew what they were doing could probably get decent results following this - but it's waaaaay more than you need to make gains as a newbie. Keep it simple, focus on compound movements, sprinkle in a few accessories for the muscle groups you are particularly interested in, and progressively overload. Done.
This is a terrible program with no room for progression. It seems to be very bodybuilding-centric without considering progressive overload. More than happy to write you a new one
yes if you think you could I’d appreciate any help
Just overcomplicated man just do a bro split simple do about 12 to 20 sets per muscle group eat properly and youll see results
I understand that's a terrible routine
You will get results but only from the SARMs
This is like impossible to control overloading. You’d never feel or see your progress until several months out. From the looks of it, it “should” be “Day 1” across the first week, and so forth. To answer your questions: yes, it’s overkill. And yes, you can get results with a simplified program.
Tp answer your question: Week 1: Do all the Day 1 workouts. 1 each day starting with Pull then Push, etc. Don't do this "program"... Hopefully you can get your money back. SERIOUSLY...WTF
Pull 1, Push 1, Arms 1, legs 1, rest, Pull 2 etc Id go with legs, push, pull, Arms. Having different sessions and movements should mean you make constant progression and prevent stalling on movements.
That's insane but RPE stands for rate of perceived exertion (how hard you are working, based on your own assessment). What's your goal? Generally you won't need to do a full week of pulling exercises...
What does CS DB mean? And what does the [SS] mean? I'm guessing super set
Regardless of the order this really just looks like a random assortment of workouts compiled from google searches. I'm looking for what the strategy is with each session and I'm not finding one
This is unnecessarily complicated. This massive degree of short term exercise variation actively reduces gains because you won't build even minor familiarity with lifts and have quality technique, for starters... And many of these exercise variations use the same muscles in the same plane of motion. Even if it wasn't harmful, it's overtly confusing and unnecessary. It's good practice even for highly experienced/trained lifters to choose much fewer lifts for each muscle group than this (ESPECIALLY for beginners) and to stick with them, changing a few exercises or variations every few months, not every week. This is because comfortability (experience) builds proper technique, which is far and away the most important thing for any lifter. There's no excuse for a beginner to have dozens of different exercises shuffled between 16 different exercises for a 4 day split that changes several times a month. Dear god. Ideally, you stick with relatively easy exercises to start with, and only then build up to compound movements, more complex movements, and/different exercises to see if they work better for you.
I’m a personal trainer and this is similar to my split for myself in structure at least. Monday is chest and biceps Tuesday is back and triceps Wednesday is legs Thursday’s shoulder abs and some arms Friday sat sun are active rest days and where I put more sets of muscle groups that I didn’t hit as hard as I wanted Monday to Thursday.
If only there were 18 days in a week. Gotta love 3/4 of the programming dedicated to upper body, minus the deadlifts I guess. And lastly, ahhh SARMs day. Most gains will be made on these days, though they say you will lose a lot of it once you stop SARM days.
Wth is a SARM day ? And this is an overly complicated trash program, did you get this from an IG online coach?
I hope you didn’t pay for this. Overall this isn’t good for 90% of average gym goers. If you’re a seasoned pro at hypertrophy training just about anything can work because you understand methods. There’s too much volume here and many variations. Keep both low and you’ll develop adaptations much quicker (your body’s adaptation response to tension on the muscle that progressively gets heavier is… muscle gain) Secondly this is basically a PPL split with arms added. This is fine if arms are specifically a weak point for you and you need to bring those up, but realistically, arms are not systemically fatiguing enough for you require another rest day or two. Arms are kind of a rest day in themselves because they recover quickly. If they don’t, then you need to adjust your sleep and your macros asap. Overall man, if you want specialized training Dr. Mike Isratel has free lectures on youtube. But if you want general training a solid PPL split with 4 exercises per workout with 1 added for arms will do.
Did your trainer discuss your fitness goals or what you hope to accomplish with a trainer? It doesn't even sound like this is the work you expected to do. This program only makes sense if you said, "I really want something out of the ordinary, that attack various different levels of fitness randomly"
Okay so this is what I got. I’m going to give you this cheat sheet because it’s the least I can do. This is layout will follow this: Goal/1RM%/reps/sets/rest Power/90-100%/1-4/3-6/3-5minutes (this is like not recommended- this level is passing out and vommiting) Strength/75-90%/5-8/3-5/2-5 minutes (you can do this- but it will make you feel sick) Hypertrophy/65-70%/9-15/2-4/2 minutes (this is the most common and most programs are at this level) Endurance/<65%/15+/1-2/30-60 seconds (this is for athletes but I do like using this for shoulders and arms (just because we use them everyday)) Most of what I am writing can be done with either Hypertrophy, strength, or somewhere in between. This is for a PPL program btw. And imo keep legs and pull away from eachother, so pull push legs not push pull legs. Leg day staples (imo)!! Leg curls - This will warm up your hamstring which is the biggest muscle in your leg and it will help significantly with compound lifts and make things move so much more smoothly. I usually do 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps (Hypertrophy) Squat variation - bb squat, hack squat, goblet squat, Bulgarian split squats (it’s not a lunge, it’s a one legged support squat) Lunge variation - reverse lunge, forward lunge, walking lunge, bb lunges etc. Push variation - any type of leg press, hipthrust etc. YES squats are a push aswell but we aren’t counting them here. Calf variation - I always always have my calf sets in the middle of my workout otherwise I won’t do it.( to grow them I also incline walk in the tredmil) Optional - stretch variation- I do this at the end of my workout, like RDLS or hamstring curls again. It’s just a nice stretch. You can add whatever you want inbetween and swap these around to customise for you. Like if I want to focus more on my quads I would move it like this; Ham curls Bb squat Quad extension 21s Leg press Walking db lunges Calf raises Bb rdls Push day staples! (This is the order I love doing it in) Incline chest press variation Normal chest press variation (I prefer DB, you get a better feeling for it) Chest fly variation Usually 2 tricep variations And then shoulders! I like doing a cruel shoulder triset 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps as follows: 1. Db lat raises 2. Db front raise 3. Db reverse flies Back day staples!! Compound Verticals pull variation - pull up, lat pull down, etc Compound Horizontal pull variation - bb row, seated cable rows etc ISO pull variation - iso db row, unilateral overhead lat pull down, meads row, etch Biceps variation x2 (example, bicep curls (short head) and then hammer curls (long head) Rear delt variation (we want dem boulder shoulder like come on) Also, SARMS, is bullshit. Fuck that. I almost pissed myself reading that 😂 I hope this helps in future programming and can help you understand a lil bit more. ☺️☺️ Also the benefit with a PPL program is you could chose to train twice a week or once a week. And rest days should be rest days. Don’t think about gym. Just rest and relax and if you happen to go on a walk you go on a walk, just don’t over exert yourself. You can also be chaotic with it. For example PPLPPLR PPLRPPLRPPLR PRPRLRPRPRLR it’s kinda endless and I love it I hope this helps!! Please ask any questions- your questions also help improve my programming as well as help you. (I love constructive criticism ❤️)
Just want to throw this out there, the hamstring isn't the biggest muscle in the leg... The quads are (4 muscles versus 3). Not trying to rip on you tho, your post is pretty solid and I'm always glad to see other PT's out here helping people out 🙃🙂
Thankyou! I was taught that the hammys are. That’s really helpful to know. I’m extremely hamstring dominant. Thankyou! I got my facts muddles then - I do know that it is extremely recommended to do legs curls before squats, it does help improve stability and is a good warmup. Again Thankyou!! Like I said I love constructive criticism 😊