Thoughts on My Workout Plan?

aaronbhatoa1111

Hey guys!

I’m looking for some feedback on my current gym routine. My goal right now is to lose body fat but still keep my muscle. I’ve been training hard and consistently, and I’m eating around 1.6g of protein per kg of body weight. Here’s what my workouts look like:

Lower Body:
Barbell Box Squats 3 x 10
Goblet Squats 3 x 10-12
Barbell RDLs 4 x 8
DB Step Ups 3 x 20
DB Calf Raises 3 x to failure
Cable Crunch 3 x 15
DB Preacher Curls 3 x 15

Upper Body:
Barbell Bent Over Row (Underhand) 5 x 15
DB Front Raise 3 x 20
High to Low Cable Flys 3 x 15
Incline DB Press 3 x 12
DB Bent Over Rows 4 x 15
Tricep Pushdown 3 x 15
Cable Curls 3 x 15

Push Day:
Flat DB Bench Press 3 x 12
DB Shoulder Press 3 x 12
Seated Cable Flys 3 x 15
Incline Cable Press 3 x 12
DB Lateral Raises 3 x to failure
Overhead Tricep Extensions 3 x 15

Pull Day:
Cable Face Pulls 3 x to failure
Barbell Bent Over Rows (Overhand) 5 x 15
Lat Pull Downs 4 x to failure
Seated Cable Row 3 x 15
Chest Supported Rear Delt Flys 3 x to failure
DB Hammer Curls 3 x 15

What do you guys think? Is there anything I should tweak or change to get better results? Appreciate any advice or suggestions!

Thanks a lot!

nossmf

First blush, it's not a bad start. Legs are hit once per week, other body parts twice each; most of the time your workouts start with compound moves before moving to isolation (notable exception being the face pulls starting pull day).

My big hang-up is the volume involved, especially with 16 sets per week taken to failure. Going to failure has its place, but it should be limited to only the last set of a given exercise, and usually reserved for the last exercise of the day. I also see you doing some variation of a bicep curl on three of the four days, but abs on only a single day. Virtually everywhere else is sets of 12-15.

I think you may do well with sets of 8-10 on your primary compound move of the day, followed by sets of 10-12 on the secondary move for the primary muscle, finished by sets of 12-15 for the minor muscle isolations. If you want to include something to utter failure, make it only a single set per day at the end of the day.

Retroguy2000

It's quite good, and assuming you're tracking progress and doing progressive overload. Your protein is sufficient. You should add creatine too. It's cheap, safe and effective.

I'm assuming you're a beginner? In which case, you don't need to be going to failure. Save that for when you reach intermediate/advanced, after 1+ years. It generates a lot of fatigue, and is unnecessary for growth for a beginner. It is important to know where failure is though, and going to 2 reps in reserve is sufficient. Or as nossmf said above, only to failure on your last set.

Now for the program. It's quite good, and you're doing good compounds, and doing them before isolation, except for the face pulls, which is OK. However, your leg volume is a bit light (9 sets for quads), and your back volume is a bit high especially for a beginner (21 sets). Your chest volume (15 sets) is on point. The sweet spot for a beginner is 10-15 working sets per week.

You're doing barbell row supinated one day. I wouldn't. It's risky for the biceps, also since it brings the biceps in more, your back is doing less work, and for that exercise you want to be training the back.

The front raise is the biggest waste of time for nearly everyone. Most people have over-developed front delts, relatively speaking, because of all the flat, incline and shoulder pressing. You'd be better off doing some lateral raises that day instead. Speaking of, check out the lying lateral raise, which looks quite similar to a Powell raise. It gives a better stretch, and the stretch under load is where the growth happens. You lie sideways on a small angle incline bench, and do a raise in that position. You'll probably need less weight than with standing lateral raises, and you'll probably feel it more. By turning your wrist you can also make it a rear delt exercise instead.

tomcustombuilder

So 4 day a week training?