# What is a good routine for natural bodybuilders



## gymsteg (Mar 21, 2014)

Exactly as it says Really, see loads of advice all over the place on routines and bro splits but they all seem to be spread by/used by people using more chemicals than a north korean weapons test! (nothing against it, personal preference)

I was doing an upper lower split EOD but due to work commitments I've changed to a full body and aim at least 3 times a week. what are you natural boys doing? is what I'm doing enough?

i change my exercises up each time but typically a workout would be something like this;

Squat: 1 warm up set 10 - 15 reps , 3 working sets 6-8 reps.

Chest press: 1 warm up set 10 - 15 reps , 3 working sets 6-8 reps.

T bar Row: 1 warm up set 10 - 15 reps , 3 working sets 6-8 reps.

Inc fly superset with Rear delt raise: 1 warm up set 10 - 15 reps , 3 working sets 6-8 reps.

Lat pull dn superset with lat raise: 1 warm up set 10 - 15 reps , 3 working sets 6-8 reps.

Cable row: 1 warm up set 10 - 15 reps , 3 working sets 6-8 reps.

DB Lunges Superset with standing calf raise: 3 working sets 10 reps (lunges) 20 reps (Calf).

Finish with 4 sets of a superset of Bar bel Curls 8 reps, tricep pull down 8 reps, dips 8 reps.

Again this isn't strict and i sub different exercises each time ,so i may do DB rows, or clean and press on the next workout and leave something out but i would love to get some feedback/advice from some of you guys as i am pretty new to this game and I'm making it up as i go. my goal is to gain lean mass but I'm a strong believer that diet is the biggest factor in weather you gain or lose.

Thanks in advance


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## Jordan08 (Feb 17, 2014)

Frequency is King mate. Try to build up your routine the way so you can hit each muscle twice.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

That looks like far too much rather than not enough to me, although the ultimate decider is whether you make progress doing it.

Personally I'd go with something more like this:

https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/total-body-training


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## UlsterRugby (Nov 16, 2014)

Upper

lower

rest

upper

lower

rest

rest


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

gymsteg said:


> I was doing an upper lower split EOD but due to work commitments I've changed to a full body and aim at least 3 times a week. what are you natural boys doing? is what I'm doing enough?


 UltsterRugby's post made me look at this again. If you really were doing an upper/lower EOD then that was far from ideal and the split just posted with rest days would be much more sensible. You've also said you're looking at doing your full body routine at least 3 times per week so if you could do 4 days per week this may be an option as well. And you definitely don't want to be doing any full body routine more than EOD.

So things like upper/lower/rest or push/pull/legs/rest repeated can work as well. I did whole body every other day for a while, but with far few exercises per workout than in your example (4 or 5 in fact).

Ultimately training frequency and volume (sets x reps x weight) per workout are things you will need to experiment with and find what works best for you. There is no definitive evidence for something being universally optimal.


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## gymsteg (Mar 21, 2014)

Thank for the input gents, Maybe i'll look at dropping some exercises.

Just out of curiosity, whats your thoughts on weight? i have been pushing myself as hard as possible, going as heavy as i can and trying to improve my 1 rep max at least once a week (not always achieving it) but i have read that its not a good idea to do this more than once every 6 weeks or so to allow your central nervous system time to recover?

With all that in mind should i be looking at training with say 80% of my 1rm in the interim or simply going as heavy as i can?


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

If your goal is purely bodybuilding I would personally never go for a 1 RM. They are a good way to try and get injured. Training in the sort of rep ranges you had in your original post is sensible.

You might be interested in the following:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/reps-per-set-for-optimal-growth.html/


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## ausmaz (Jul 14, 2014)

gymsteg said:


> Thank for the input gents, Maybe i'll look at dropping some exercises.
> 
> Just out of curiosity, whats your thoughts on weight? i have been pushing myself as hard as possible, going as heavy as i can and trying to improve my 1 rep max at least once a week (not always achieving it) but i have read that its not a good idea to do this more than once every 6 weeks or so to allow your central nervous system time to recover?
> 
> With all that in mind should i be looking at training with say 80% of my 1rm in the interim or simply going as heavy as i can?


 Ultimately the bigger and stronger you get, the more demand you place on your bodys ability to recuperate..... meaning, if your max bench is 60kg.... go for your life, keep pushing for more weight session to session.... if its a 130kg, your gonna have to be a bit smarter about it and look into periodisation..... basically 'blocks' or periods of low-high intensity training.

Bearing in mind 1rm's do nothing for strength or development, they are purely a 'test' so use them sparingly.... maybe every 6 months+....

Also you DO NOT have to train at a high % of your 1rm to improve strength, you can make just as much improvement with say 55-70%.... progression is the name of the game and how you achieve that is completely down to how complicated you want to make things for yourself..... me? I just go with:

Weeks 1-2 3 x @ 65%

Weeks 3-4 3 x 70%

Weeks 5-6 3 x 75%

Weeks 7-8 3 x 80%

Weeks 9-10 go to triples if your feeling strong, maybe test a 1rm.... and then a weeks deload. Simple

This is just one basic example, there are MANY more! Good luck man


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## Jonnyred85 (Apr 16, 2016)

Stick to the same exercises each week hit a muscle hard rest and hit again 2-3 days later exact same exercise exact same spot, only way the muscle will grow and grow is to repeatedly damage the brand new muscle fibres each time you Workout. Forget the numbers game ie chasing a big 1RM.

I train full body 3 times per week 2 sets each muscle to failure between 8-12 reps. Anything above 12-13 reps imo is more arobic than strength.

Send the right signals to your brain stay below 12reps to recruit the right muscle fibres. Train to failure give your muscles a reason to grow.

It needs to be repetitive so your body has no choice but to build muscle.

Do same exercises and rep range for 12 weeks then change rep range to 6-8 reps.

Good luck ☺


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## Bataz (Jan 21, 2014)

I've recently switched from strength to hyper trophy and I do the following:

Day 1 - 5x5

Day 2 - 5x8

Day 3 - 4x12

I do one exercise for each muscle group every day so that way almost every muscle gets hit 3 times a week over 3 different rep ranges.


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

Bataz said:


> I've recently switched from strength to hyper trophy and I do the following:
> 
> Day 1 - 5x5
> 
> ...


 I have never seen this laid out before. Seems a smart way of doing things. Might simply do this with my bench until my piriformis has healed nicely. Are you running this as part of a block?


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

Jonnyred85 said:


> Stick to the same exercises each week hit a muscle hard rest and hit again 2-3 days later exact same exercise exact same spot, only way the muscle will grow and grow is to repeatedly damage the brand new muscle fibres each time you Workout. Forget the numbers game ie chasing a big 1RM.
> 
> I train full body 3 times per week 2 sets each muscle to failure between 8-12 reps. Anything above 12-13 reps imo is more arobic than strength.
> 
> ...


 It depends, high reps and inducing metabolic stress can still be beneficial for un-assisted lifters after the main compounds with small muscle groups such as rear delts. due to the nature of the exercises you use it can be hard to maintain enough TUT to actually be of any benefit. It is also harder to feel the muscle with heavier weight. 20-25 reps is good with these IMO.


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## Bataz (Jan 21, 2014)

Quackerz said:


> I have never seen this laid out before. Seems a smart way of doing things. Might simply do this with my bench until my piriformis has healed nicely. Are you running this as part of a block?


 I'll run it until I stop making gains then I'll rotate the exercises around so they all get a chance at all the rep ranges.

For example my 3 squat variations are: squat, front squat and split squat. Currently I back squat on 5x5 day, when I rotate I'll move all the exercises I do on 5x5 day to 5x8 day and the 5x8 exercises to 4x12 day and so on.


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

Bataz said:


> I'll run it until I stop making gains then I'll rotate the exercises around so they all get a chance at all the rep ranges.
> 
> For example my 3 squat variations are: squat, front squat and split squat. Currently I back squat on 5x5 day, when I rotate I'll move all the exercises I do on 5x5 day to 5x8 day and the 5x8 exercises to 4x12 day and so on.


 Perfect, cheers mate, will give this a go for a month, all I can do is supported rows and feet elevated benching ATM so this approach should be quite beneficial for me, also giving me some structure.


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## Bataz (Jan 21, 2014)

Quackerz said:


> Perfect, cheers mate, will give this a go for a month, all I can do is supported rows and feet elevated benching ATM so this approach should be quite beneficial for me, also giving me some structure.


 Cool, i knew nothing of this style of training till earlier in the week when my gym owner suggested it so thought why not. Try build some decent muscle during the off season.


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## Quackerz (Dec 19, 2015)

Bataz said:


> Cool, i knew nothing of this style
> 
> of training till earlier in the week when my gym owner suggested it so thought why not. Try build some decent muscle during the off season.


 The idea makes sense, how often would you rotate the exercises?


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## Bataz (Jan 21, 2014)

Quackerz said:


> The idea makes sense, how often would you rotate the exercises?


 I'm thinking maybe after 4 weeks roughly. That way I've got a full 12 weeks of training laid out ahead of me.


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