Needing some insight about my workout routine

Nallkal

New member
Hi everyone! I'd like some thoughts about the following plan. I've recently started going to the gym after working out at home during the pandemic (body weight only).

Tuesday & Saturday:
Upper Body
Dumbbell Chest Press: 9 sets (6-12 reps each) (1,5 min rest)
Military Dumbbell Press: 9 sets (6-12 reps each) (1,5 min rest)
Lat Pulldowns: 9 sets (6-12 reps each) (1,5 min rest)
Bicep curls: 9 sets (6-12 reps each) with odd sets performed while standing and even ones while sitting on a 45° inclined bench (1 min rest)

Monday & Friday:
Lower Body
Squats: 9 sets - 5 reps each (same weight for all sets)
Sumo Deadlift: 9 sets - 5 reps each (same weight for all sets)
Cable Ab Crunches: 5 sets (6-15 reps each)
Hanging Leg Raises: 5 sets (each one to failure with body weight)
Wood Chopper: 5 sets (6-15 reps each)

A little bit of background: during the last 2 months I've followed a full body routine which was basically the same you see above but split in 6 sets for each exercise instead of nine (and 3 sets of each ab exercise instead of 5). It took me 3 hours to complete each workout: for a variety of reasons at the moment I can only workout for 1,75 hours 2x a week and for 2,5 hours 2x a week (with the days being those above).

The idea is to get 18 sets X week for each muscle (squats are quads focused while sumo are glutes/hamstrings focused).
The lower takes longer because I take longer rests, depending on the difficulty of the last one (usually 1,5 Min between 1 and 2, 3 mins between 2-7 and 5 between 7-9, but it varies).
I'm still a begginer: I weight 70 kg and lift 70 kg on the squat, 20 kg x Dumbbell on chest (10 reps on 1st set), 14 kg X Dumbbell on military (8 reps on 1st set) and 55 kg on lat machine (10 reps on 1st set).
I prefer going for strength for lower body and for hypertrophy on upper body because I prefer Dumbbells over barbell for chest and if I raise the weight in order to get to the 5 rep range I easily lose proper form and it gets heavy on the wirsts. On the other hand I like squatting in the 5 rep range way more than squatting in the 6-12 rep range.

My doubts are as follows:
1) Is it too much volume? The idea is to maintain the 18 sets per muscle. I know that glutes and hamstrings help during squats or that deadlifts involve quads, but is it enough to consider my routine as a, for example, "36 sets" for quads? I don't feel the glutes as involved in the squat as the quads, not even remotely, but maybe I got it all wrong. (I ask this because I know more than 20 weekly working sets for a given muscle becomes detrimental, and I truly fear to be hindering my progress).
2) Does it make sense to take 1,5 Min rests for hypertrophy compound movements? Or should I go for, let's say, 6 sets of dumbbell chest press with 3 Min rests like I would do for squats? Obviously I'd lose 1/3 of my weekly chest volume.
3) In a couple of months I might be able to switch back to my full body 3x a week (as described above): should I do it? If yes, what could I improve? Which one is better in the long run?

Thanks in advance for reading, I'm still a newbie and I'd love some feedback!
 

suppsforlife

Well-known member
Is it too much volume?
hard to say because everyone is so different. it doesn't seem to be too much for me, but you said yourself you're a beginner so it might be. that's highly individual.
Does it make sense to take 1,5 Min rests for hypertrophy compound movements?
yes, the optimal time to rest for hypertrophy is 30-90 seconds rest
In a couple of months I might be able to switch back to my full body 3x a week (as described above): should I do it? If yes, what could I improve?
yes you can. "shock" your body by changing the workout routines/ weights/ exercises to continue seeing improvement.
Which one is better in the long run?
there isn't a "best".
everyone is different with different goals and different responses. Just make sure you don't keep pushing the exact same 8-12 exercises for months without changing anything. again, you need to "shock" your body with different things.
IMO, if you're going to the gym, ask a professional trainer to help you. While in there, he's the best that can answer all your questions as he can see you, ask other questions and so on.
 

Nallkal

New member
First of all, thanks for the tips!

1) If you were to follow this split, would you consider it 16 sets for quads or 32? If I get it correctly, going above 20 weekly working sets for a given muscle group is not just useless but detrimental to muscle gains. I think I can "handle" it (I love squatting), but I'm very much afraid of junk volume: does a sumo deadlift still count as a quads set?

2) How frequently would you suggest to change exercise? Isn't progressively overloading the weight not enough? I ask this because I noticed it takes me a lot of time to learn proper form for a given exercise (e.g.: while benching I still feel it more on the arms and less on the chest, even after 2 months, as if I still lack the proper mind-muscle connection with my pecs.

3) I tried consulting the trainer working at the gym, but he is not personal and he basically just gave me the "basic" routine (X bicep curls, X machine isolation exercises, treadmill, etc. with no compounds) which I do not like (I prefer compounds over isolation). That's actually the reason I registered on this forum looking for help
 

suppsforlife

Well-known member
is not just useless but detrimental to muscle gains.
overtraining is actually a real thing. and yes, overtraining is detrimental to muscle gains. That's why is so hard to tell. if you should increase or not. it highly depends on your level. but 16 sets a week sounds good enough, esp considering you are not 100% experienced.
does a sumo deadlift still count as a quads set?
sumo deadlift does work your quads
How frequently would you suggest to change exercise?
again, that's individual. there are "basic" exercises, but there are some that can be changed. say every once in a month or two. but then again, that's all individual.
Isn't progressively overloading the weight not enough?
yes and no. that's enough, but switching exercises is even more effective. also, once in a while you can shock your body with REDUCING weight for a week or two (to about 70-80% or so of your max) and then increase again. there are different techniques.
I ask this because I noticed it takes me a lot of time to learn proper form for a given exercise
that's the point. you can't do that specific exercise for a while because the specific muscles for it aren't developed enough.
while benching I still feel it more on the arms and less on the chest, even after 2 months, as if I still lack the proper mind-muscle connection with my pecs.
that's normal during benching. but on the rest days, isn't the chest "burning"?

3) don't you have any personal trainers anywhere around you? at a different gym? or somewhere else?
 
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