Serious Workout needed...

[SouthWind]

Hey all, I have wrestling on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, so I need a workout that I could cater around that schedule (no I'm not looking for a wrestling workout). I'm looking for something to gain mass with, and I really need to blast my arms (tris, bis, and forearms), and legs as well, I've been doing squats but they don't have near the same effect as hack squats or leg presses do on me for some reason. I'd also like some neck and traps thrown in.


Thanks....

[manif3st]

Originally Posted by SouthWind

I've been doing squats but they don't have near the same effect as hack squats or leg presses do on me for some reason.

then you're not doing your squats right. there's no leg exercise that compares to the free weight squat, period (if done properly). so, first would be to get your squat form down, then i would just base my workout on compound exercises like bench press, bent over barbell row, deadlifts, chin-ups, etc. and compliment that with a few arm exercises like straight barbell curls, skull crushers. check this place first to get your form down (especially for those squats) http://www.ast-ss.com/training/exercises/eow-intro.asp

EDIT: i didnt list an exact workout routine because its different for everyone, there's no "one size fits all" deal with weight training. just try some stuff out and if its not working for you, switch it up. make sure you do your research though, and dont overtrain :

[Cort]

Blasting your arms isn't that hard. For triceps you have skull crushers, close grip bench, tricep cable press-downs, diamond push-ups (weighted if necessary,) etc...

Biceps you can do with some wide grip curls with the straight bar or ez bar.

If you aren't doing deadlifts yet, start doing 'em. Great for your back, and also not bad for your biceps. Pull-ups are also a good back excercise that bring your biceps into it as well. Another back excercise I almost always do is bent over rows with either the ez bar, straight bar, or dumb bells.

For legs I only really do squats and lunges (db or bb) and use the leg-press machine for my calves. Can also hit your hams nicely with stiff leg dead lifts.

I'm going to go ahead and assume you wont need any cardio thanks to wrestling, so you could probably stick to a 3 day split doing legs/abs on day one, chest/tris or bis on day 2, and back/tris or bis on day 3, use one day of the week for a rest day.

For sets I usually alternate from going heavy for about 4-5 sets of 3-5 reps to 3-5 sets of 6-10 reps on my lighter days.

Just some examples you can work with, you can also try talking to the power-lifting coach at your school about a good routine.

[SouthWind]

Okay, how many exercises should do for each body part, and how should I work my workout around my wrestling since I do it on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays?

[manif3st]

different people will say different things but ive found that doing 6-7 total sets per major muscle group and 4-5 total sets per minor muscle group works best. you're going to have to figure out how to work it around your wrestling schedule though, just make sure you're not overtraining

[SouthWind]

Okay, tell me how this one checks out....


Day 1
Legs/Shoulders
Dumbell Lunges 3-8-8-8
Squats3-8-8-8
Leg Extensions2-10-10-10
Leg Curls3-10-10-10
Seated Calve Raises 3-6-6-6
Military Barbell Press3-8-8-8
Seated Dumbell Raises3-10-10-10

Day 2
Chest/Tris/Forearms
Bench Press3-6-6-6
Incline Dumbell Bench Press3-8-8-8
Dips3-10-10-10
Skull Crushers3-7-7-7
Flat Bench Dumbell Extensions3-10-10-10
Dumbell Wrist Curls3-6-6-6
Forearm Dumbell Curls3-8-8-8

Day 3
Back/Bis
Deadlifts3-6-6-6
Power Cleans3-5-5-5
Pull Ups3-10-10-10
Dumbell Shrugs3-8-8-8
Straight Bar Curls3-8-8-8
Incline Dumbell Curls3-8-8-8

[jimmyv]

Just a couple of really quick thoughts.

On leg day, I'd probably blow off the lunges, or at the very least, do squats before them.

On back/biceps day, why not throw in a row that has the same plane of motion as bench press. Some folks think it makes you better at the latter.

[SouthWind]

Should I add another day in?

[abarlament]

I think you should ditch the BB stuff, and train more like an athlete, if you eat enough the weight will come, even with a non BB routine.

[Klinger]

Don't become fixated on reps (8 of everything, for example). Some exercises you might want to go up the ladder. For example, I like to do crank up the weight and ratchet down the reps on some work, like BB bicep curls:

1x10 60#
1x8 65#
1x6 70#
1x4 75#

There are loads of options. Mix it up to maintain your interest and bust through plateaus.

Jason