Help with Push Pull Legs routine

[ammons]

I'm 20 and have been lifting for almost 2 years, done mainly the 3x5 thing but recently turned on to push/pull. Have lots of experience with the big lifts and tend to center my workouts around those.

With the push pull legs program what I'm looking for is a good 4-5-day split that will grow lean muscle. Basically here's the schedule I want: PUSH/PULL/OFF/LEGS/OFF/REPEAT.

At the risk of sounding cliche, I want to put more emphasis on biceps/tricep isolation since I feel like my chest is naturally inclined to take over more, and therefore perhaps overcompensate, leaving bis/tris not as strong as they should be.

So if you have time to critique this push pull legs split I'd really appreciate it.

Pull A
Warm up with 5 min run/ 10 warm up pull ups
(4x6-8) Wide Grip Pullups
(4x6-8) Close Grip Cable Row
(4x6-8) Lat Pulldowns
(3x12/10/8) DB Bicep Curl
(3x12/10/8) DB Concentration Curl
Weighted Leg Lifts - 3 x 10-15
Stretching

Push A
Warm up with 5 min run/ 1x15 bench low weight
(4x5) Bench
(4x5) Standing Military
(3x12/10/8) Sitting Dumbbell Tricep Extension SUPERSET WITH
(3x12/10/8) Dumbbell Lateral Raises
(3xfailure) Close Grip Pushups
Weighted decline Sit ups - 3 x 10-15
Stretching

Legs A
Warm up 5 min run/ 1x15 squats low weight
(4x5) Squats
(3x6-8) Straight-leg Deadlift
(3x6-8) BB Lunges
(3x8-10) Standing calf raises
Leg lifts or Sit ups
Stretching

[chevelle2291]

What was wrong with your original thread?

[ammons]

I changed it up slightly, realizing that I was lacking on some basic compound movements

[Wingman]

It looks pretty solid if you are looking for more from your biceps and triceps I would do barbell curls as well as hammer DB curls, and kind of switch it out once in awhile. Also noticing you only have one chest movement why not do incline Bench lets say and close grip bench press and dips for triceps? Also when you say 4x5 is that increaing weight each set or working sets?

[chris mason]

Why run for 5 minutes as a warm-up?

What exactly is your goal?

Do you take your listed working sets to failure, close to it, what?

[ammons]

No that's 4 working sets of 5. My logic here is that the really big compound lifts -- bench, dead, squat -- need to be done at around the 3-5 range. Would you suggest another rep range?

I definitely want to work dips in somewhere, but again I'm worried about my chest taking over and my tris not getting the work they need, hence the emphasis on isolation work.

[ammons]

My goal is to basically increase overall strength, with mass as a secondary goal. The running for 5 minutes is simply the fact that I tend to jog to the gym.

As for the working sets, they're all taken pretty much to failure. For the bench, for ex., it's four theoretical sets of 5, but usually it turns out to be like 5,4,3,3, for ex. When I can do the full 4x5 I'll amp the weight up. What do you think of the rep scheme for this workout?

[chevelle2291]

You already have plenty of work in there for everything. I don't see a reason to change anything up.

[chris mason]

Ok, and what is the the A designation? Is there a B?

[ammons]

yeah, there is a B workout. It's just a little different:

Pull B
1x15 rows light weight
(4x5) Bent-Over BB Row
(4x6-8) Chin Ups
(4x6-8) Lat Pulldowns (???!!!)
(3x12/10/8) DB Hammer Curl
(3x12/10/8) DB Preacher Curl
Weighted Leg Lifts - 3 x 10-15
Stretching

Push B
Bench warm up 15 reps
(4x5) Incline Bench
(4x5) Standing Military
(3x12/10/8) Skullcrushers SUPERSET WITH
(3x12/10/8) DB Lateral Raises
(3xfailure) Parallel Bar Dips
Weighted decline Sit ups - 3 x 10-15
Stretching

Legs B
Squat warm up 8-10 reps
(4x5) Squats
(3x6-8) Leg Curls
(3x6-8) BB Lunges
(3x8-10) Standing calf raises
Leg lifts or Sit ups
Stretching

[chevelle2291]

Too much work and redundancy.

Just do any of the myriad training programs that have been proven to work. HCT-12 is a good start.

[ammons]

Too much work and redundancy.

Just do any of the myriad training programs that have been proven to work. HCT-12 is a good start.

But how is this too much work? It's basically just 3 compound movements and 2 isolations per workout, which I think is pretty standard.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Here is a 3-day Push/Pull/Legs routine that I posted a couple of years ago, has worked well for a number of people:

Tom Mutaffis 3-Day Split:

Monday: Pulling (Back/Biceps/Deadlift)
- Deadlifts (3 sets)
- Chins (3 sets)
- One-Arm Dumbbell Rows (2 sets)
- Close Grip Pulldowns (2 sets)
- Barbell Curls (2 sets)
- Hammer Curls (1 set)

Wednesday: Pushing (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps)
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press (3 Sets)
- Incline Barbell Bench Press (2 sets)
- Dips (2 sets)
- Seated Dumbbell Military Press (3 sets)
- Overhead Dumbbell Extension (2 sets)
- Side Laterals (2 sets)
- Pushdowns (2 sets)
- Cable Crossover / Pec Deck (1 set)

Friday: Lower Body (Legs)
- Squats (4 sets)
- Strait Leg Deadlifts (2 sets)
- Walking Lunges (2 sets)
- Leg Curl / Feet High Leg Press Superset (2 sets)
- Calf Raises (3 sets)

Notes: For initial compound movement in each workout I generally work in the 3-5 rep range. For the next compound movement I typically go with 5-8 reps, and then I finish the rest of the workout (accessory/isolation movements) in the 8-12 rep range. On some of the smaller muscle groups (deltoids, biceps, triceps) I will generally perform drop sets.

[ammons]

Hey man thanks, this looks fantastic! Will likely just do this instead haha