Lower Body & Upper Body Workouts Critique

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Hey,

So after 3 months of doing nearly the same routine my trainer told me to do my lower body one day and then upper body to mix things up a bit. Which is great. Before I would do a upper body workout then lower, then upper...etc

So he introduced a couple of new things I liked that I can work into my routine and said do other exercises as well that I enjoy. So here are both, please give your opinion or share yours.!!

Lower Body Workout.
10min jog/walk (7:3) Warm up
Stretch
4x10 Leg step ups w/10kgs dumbbells.
4x10 Box Jumps, 60cm. aiming at explosiveness.
3x10 Barbell Squats 40kgs
4x10 Seated Calf Raises 45kgs
3x10 Hamstring Curls 25kgs
20 Lunges w/10kg Dumbbells
30 Squats w/10kg Dumbbells
10mins jog/walk (5:5)
Stretch

Upper Body Workout.
10min Exercise Bike. Warm up
Stretch.
4x10 Bench Press, 40kgs
4x10 Tricep Bench Dips, Body+10kgs
4x10 Barbell Row, 30kgs
3x10 Dumbbell Overhead Press 10kgs
4x10 Dumbbell Bicep Curls 12.5kgs
4x10 Bicycle Ab Crunches
10min Rower Machine, Warm down

I haven't had any trouble losing weight, but my main goal is fitness. Still eating in calorie defect though to lose a bit more weight (4kgs). I've been gym'ing for 3months now.

Along with this 3x a week I play basketball twice a week.

Cheers & thank you for your opinions.
Riley

Replies

  • rileyhall00
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    Bump for replies..! :D
  • ChrisLindsay9
    ChrisLindsay9 Posts: 837 Member
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    It looks like a pretty solid routine. If this is enjoyable and you are achieving benefit from it, then don't feel bad if you want to stick with it.

    With that being said, I have a few suggestions for your consideration.

    Maybe for every other lower workout, you can swap out the DB Lunges and DB Squats, and put in some Barbell Deadlifts? Maybe start with 4x6 or 6x4 at 50kgs? Deadlifts are an important compound lift that work a lot of muscles (hamstrings, glutes, core, upper back, etc.).

    And maybe for every other upper workout, you can reduce your barbell row and bicep curls by one set, and add a couple of sets of chin-ups? Chin-ups will hit your back and biceps, as well as forearms (for grip strength). Grip strength can be very useful for basketball, however, when you start doing them, the soreness may impact your playing if you do it the next day. If chin-ups aren't an option, then I would use a lat pull-down machine. I think it's important, when working your back to include a row-type exercise and a pull-down exercise (such as the lat pull-down, pull-ups, chin-ups to name a few).

    The tricep bench dips will probably start getting easy, and once you're hitting 15-20 reps per set, you'll want to add some weight. I think just adding more reps could potentially cause some shoulder injuries. You can either go to a dip station (where it'll be a bit harder), assisted dip machine (if one is available), or perhaps add a weighted vest?

    Also, an observation about the box jumps. I think 4x10 is too many. Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're working on building explosion, then you want to keep the reps low. Change it to 8 sets of 3-5 reps with 45-60 second breaks. I believe that with more reps, you're muscles start acclimating to endurance, rather than explosiveness. I think this would be more true to basketball style explosiveness as well? Usually, one might use those explosive muscles a couple-few times within a short period (getting a couple of rebound attempts, or firing off a couple jump shots, or scrambling for an errant pass or dribble?)

    You can also change the sequence of some of your exercises too to make things more interesting. Start with BB Squats, for example. End with the calf raises. Start with overhead press and move into bench/triceps, then back and biceps.

    Again, this is just some suggestions. I don't see anything wrong with your workout for your goals. Continued success to you! It sounds like you're commitment will get you to where you want to be.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    So after 3 months of doing nearly the same routine my trainer told me to do my lower body one day and then upper body to mix things up a bit. Which is great. Before I would do a upper body workout then lower, then upper...etc

    I'm confused - you used to do an upper / lower split, and the trainer told you to do an upper / lower split. I don't see how that "mixes things up".

    Anyway, if your goal is general fitness, i would probably do a full-body workout twice a week. Outside the gym, movements tend to be full-body activities, not split into parts, so it's important to train that way. And for same reason, i would do mostly standing, unsupported exercises. I would limit machine and bench exercises, since they're not as functional. Instead of the bench press, there's the standing cable chest press, or the single arm bar press. Those work the core plenty, eliminating the need for crunches.
    For legs, DB squats, lunges, and side lunges are all great, functional exercises and can replace the leg curls.

    Whatever you do, avoid leg exercises the day before basketball.