alright, im looking for advice here. i cant decide if i should work on hard strength training or work on a good cut routine. trying to get cut. im a pretty big guy, 6' 275 lbs 25% body fat. but when i lift weights, i cant refrain from doing heavy weight. i love powerlifting. but aside from that, i want to look good. im sick of just being another fat kid. so in my hopes of continueing heavy lifting, and starting to tone out and trying to get cut, i have devised a workout routine. monday, wednesday, and friday i work on the "big 3". heavy weights squatting, benching, and deadlifts, in sets of 10, 8, 5, 5, 3, 3, 1 reps. increasing weight with every set. but then on top of that, for assisstance as my toning routine, monday - friday, everyday i will choose an upper body part and a lower body part. i will center on those parts, and do various workouts for them with 5 or 6 sets of 15 - 20 reps with medium weight. now my question is to anyone knowledgable with powerlifting and bodybuilding. does this seem like a concrete routine that will help attain both my goals of getting cut, and continuing heavy lifting? and if not, what can i do to attain both goals at the same time? i know i wont be able to do powerlifting or anything like this, but at the time being, i dont wanna give up heavy lifting, but i also wanna start looking good.
check out some of the stuff on joe defrancos website: http://www.defrancostraining.com/ you might to add some conditioning work into your program while still lifting heavy - stuff like strongman training, or circut training, intervals, etc. i don't don't how heavy your 1 rep is when you've worked from 10-8-5-3-3-1, that seems like a lot on paper to me...maybe working to a 5x5 or a 8x3, where you'll still get volume, but still be able to lift heavier than sets of 10 to sets of 8, all the way down to 1.
First, I'd like to commend you on including squats in your routine... many bench monkeys go strictly for the pecs, biceps, and abs and neglect their chicken legs. When you work a particular muscle group hard, it's good to give it a few days rest to recover and build- otherwise you risk overtraining and injury. I generally do three workouts per week starting with legs and lower back.... then chest and triceps.... then upper back and biceps... sometimes shoulders. I vary my routine some from week to week. I'd work in a fourth day if time permitted. Two components that are key are diet and rest. You literally are what you eat... without a balanced nutrient dense diet that is high in protein, your body won't be properly fueled to add the muscle you're working so hard for- forget three big meals.. go with five or six small ones... and without a decent night's rest, you won't heal- it's during your night's rest where the actual muscle building generally takes place. The single most important advice anyone can give you is to find a routine you can stick with for the long haul... any pro can detail the finest exercise and food regimen but if you're not going to be able to stick with it it won't be worth the paper it's written on.
sweetness. thanks guys. i did a lil more research and found out that if i do the "big 3" 3 times a week im probably gunna be putting tooo much stress on my body and will either really kill my central nervous system, or have a breakdown. i have figured it out how i should do it now. the "big 3" squats, deads, and bench need to be broken up throughout the week. upper body being split by lower. so im going to do monday is working my back (it needs the most improvement over my chest, and mondays ill have the most energy). back being the deadlift day. wednesday is my leg day, which involves the squats, and everything else in the gym that i can muster up to workout my legs. and finally, friday is bench. i leave that to the last day because everyone, and i mean EVERYONE in the gym i go to, all i see them doing is working their chest, and their biceps. which my buddies and i get annoyed with that one. "hey, look at me, im so pumped, but i only work my chest and biceps. blah blah blah" so back to my routine. on the "big 3" these are gunna be heavy weights, repping 10, 8, 5, 5, 3, 1. everything else i do on my body is going to be low weights, but many reps, and many sets, it hopes of toning out. and my major assistance with this whole thing is tuesdays and thursdays, and probably fridays cause i dont work on fridays, im going to swim laps. and lots of them. and aside from that, im going to start working on my diet. that is my main problem right now. i did a food log for the last week and i definately take in a lot of protein (i take protein suppliments). but my weakness is that i take in wayyyy too many carbs, and bad calories. so im gunna work on that. oh, and thanks again for the help and advice.
No problem and best of luck with your program. Your diet can be easy to maintain if you use some logic in choosing what you put in your body. Overly processed, colored, flavored, and preserved foods deliver substances to your body that have negative nutritional value. Learning to cook (if you don't already know how to) will be a valuable skill in conjunction with your fitness program. Never, ever skip breakfast... Careful with the number of reps on your heavy lifts. I'd be inclined to go lower... especially with heavy squats. Everyone is a little different and you may do quite well with what you've set out for yourself so this is taken less as criticism and more as just a thought. ALSO- vary your routine every few weeks. Research different exercises, forms, and rep schemes and throw your muscles curves every couple months as your body acclimates to a routine and the effect of the lifts diminishes.
