In the original workout routines article, I explained the basics of how to create a weight training program and showed a few examples. At the end, I also included what my own weight training program was at the time. The thing is, I wrote that article quite a while ago. As of right now, my routine is not the same as it was then. Don't get me wrong here, there is absolutely nothing bad, wrong or out of date about that workout routine (or any of those routines) in any way whatsoever.

It's just that over time, my weight training program has changed a little. The main reason being that if you're still doing the exact same exercises in the exact same order on the exact same days for the exact same reps using the exact same weights over the course of a few years... you most likely aren't getting any results. For the most part, the core of the original routine is still basically the same. However, some exercises have changed, and some of the days I work certain muscles have changed as well.

So, first I'll give a quick overview of what my current weight training program is. After that, I'm going to take you through each day, each muscle group, and each exercise to explain every single aspect of the workout.

Like I mentioned in the original workout routines article, I'm not showing this to you as if it were the "Greatest Workout Program In The World." It's just what I do. Feel free to use it as is, or feel free to change things around to suit your own preferences. I'm not trying to sell it to you. You don't have to use it. But, will it work for you? My guess is probably. Why? Because it's pretty much based on what I think are the 3 most important weight training principles... compound exercises, rest and progression.

My Current Weight Training Program

Monday: Chest and Triceps

Flat Bench Press - 4 sets
Incline Dumbbell Press - 3 sets
Dumbbell Flyes - 2 sets
Dips - 3 sets
Cable Press Downs - 2 sets

Tuesday: Back and Biceps

Pull-ups - 4 sets
Bent Over Barbell Row - 3 sets
Seated Cable Row - 3 sets
Barbell Curls - 3 sets
Seated Dumbbell Curls - 2 sets

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: Shoulders, Traps and Abs

Seated Barbell Press - 4 sets
Single-Arm Lateral Raises - 3 sets
Barbell Shrugs - 4 sets
Various Weighted Crunches and Hanging Leg Raises

Friday: Legs

Squats - 4 sets
Leg Press - 3 sets
Stiff Legged Deadlifts - 3 sets
Leg Curls - 2 sets
Standing Calf Raises - 5 sets

Saturday/Sunday: OFF

As you can see, this routine is not THAT far off from the original. It's still 4 days on and 3 days off, and it's still chest and triceps together, back and biceps together, and then one day for shoulders and one day for legs. There are probably a lot of similar looking routines out there, and with good reason. Simple is what works. Like I said before, the only real keys to an effective weight training program is the right exercises, the right amount of rest/recovery, and the constant push towards progressing.

Now that you have an idea of what my routine looks like, let's go through it all from top to bottom so I can hopefully answer any possible questions you have now, or may have in the future.

Monday: Chest and Triceps

My chest workout starts with, big surprise, the bench press. It seems most people's weight training program begins with chest, and that chest workout begins with the bench press. This is why Monday is usually the most crowded bench press day in most gyms. I start with 2 warm-up sets, and then I do my 4 real work sets. The first work set can almost be considered somewhat of a warm-up still, because I am using a weight I can probably do 12 reps with, but I stop at 10. The second set I increase the weight and try to get 10 reps, and here 10 reps is really all I can do. The same goes for the third set, when I increase the weight and go for 8 reps. And just like the others, the forth set I increase the weight again and go for 6 reps.

Because I'm going to failure or pretty near to failure on those last 3 sets, I always have someone spot me. For anyone wondering, "failure" is when you are at the point where you absolutely can't do another rep. When this happens during something like bicep curls, there's very little to worry about. When it happens during the bench press, you can, ya know, kill yourself. So, the SOWTTOTD (Super-Obvious-Weight-Training-Tip-Of-The-Day) is... be sure to have someone spot you if you think there is even the slightest chance you're going to need it.

Back to my bench press routine. My goal here is to, while increasing the weight each set, end up doing reps of 10, 10, 8, 6. Sometimes I get something more like 9, 8, 6, 3 or 10, 9, 7, 4. However, my goal is to get an exact 10 10 8 6. I work as hard as I can to reach those reps. Sometimes it takes a week, sometimes a month, sometimes more. But, when I finally reach that goal, it means it's time for me to increase the weight I'm lifting on each set. When this time comes, I usually increase each set by 5 pounds. Once I do that, I just start this whole cycle all over again and basically just work my ass off to get 10, 10, 8, 6 with these new heavier weights. Once I do that, I increase it all over again.

Remember when I mentioned "progression" as one of the keys to an effective weight training program? Well, what I just described above is exactly that. Whether it's 1 extra rep, or 5 extra pounds, it's that type of weight training progression that builds muscle. This is pretty much what I do with every exercise (although the number of sets/reps may be different). I'm mentioning that so I don't have to repeat this over and over again for each exercise.

From there I move on to 3 sets of incline dumbbell presses. For my chest workout, I like to do something flat, something inclined, and something that isn't a press. For incline dumbbell presses, I personally prefer using a lower incline than is typically used. Since the first time I did them, I always found the typical incline bench setting to be too high. My shoulders always felt like they were brought into the exercise a little too much. Because of this, I usually use the bench setting one notch below that. Again, this is just a personal preference.

I'll usually try for reps of 10 8 6. Now would probably also be a good time to mention the recurrence of the numbers 10, 8 and 6. You'll notice me using those specific numbers when talking about reps for basically every exercise. And it's not just me either, you'll see these same 3 numbers show up in other workout routines as well. The reason is not because they are magical weight training program numbers. It's just that a person looking to increase muscle would ideally want to stay within the 6-10 rep range most of the time. Most people, including myself, prefer aiming for the even numbers, which would of course be 10, 8 and 6. Is that any better than making your goal to reach reps of 11, 9, and 7? Or 9, 7, and 5? No, it's not.

Remember, the key here is progression. Whether your goal is to get reps of 10, 8, 6 or get reps of 11, 9, 7 or get reps of 11, 8, 5... it really doesn't matter. What does matter is progression. That should be the main goal of your weight training program. Yes, staying around the 6-10 rep range (or even 4-12) is a good idea, but progression is the key.

My chest workout ends with 2 sets of dumbbell flyes. Not much else to say about that.

Questions, comments or feedback? Feel free to e-mail me at:
IntenseWorkout@gmail.com

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