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I call this routine “The Less is More” routine. I got it from Stuart McRobert’s book, Beyond Brawn and you know what, I love it. If you have just ended a training cycle or about to end one, then I suggest you try this routine out for a while, you won’t be sorry. Some of you may look at this and say, "Wow, can you really gain anything from this routine?" And I'd say, "Yes you can." How? It's a routine which focuses on the most basic of exercises. Squats, benches, overhead presses, bent over rows, and a variation of the deadlift, with the accessory day thrown in to work the places you may have missed with the other exercises. It will give you ample rest between workouts, without any real overlap between exercises. It will allow you to lift heavier weight since you don't have worry about and/or waste your energy on all of those pointless isolation exercises, such as flies, cable crossovers, leg extensions, leg curls, among others. Remember, we're building strength here. Also make sure to progressively add weight to the bar each week, even if it is a pound or two. On the other hand, don’t add too much weight. That will no doubt cause you to regress rather than progress. Just remember the old story of the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady wins the race. About the sets and reps, I’ve found that the 5X5 scheme (for the compound movements and excludes accessory movements) is most effective when lifting heavy weights, any more just feels like too much, perhaps even too little. Although you might take a look at squats and notice that I have 20 reps listed for the work set. If you think these are too intense (I like them a lot), just change that to the 5X5 scheme I mentioned earlier. Last, but not least, accessory day. A lot of people ignore this kind of stuff such as, neck work, grip work, rotator cuff work, etc. Don’t. This will build a solid foundation to which you will run into injuries less often, become more stable when lifting heavier weights, and even improve some of your bigger lifts. This day is very easy, so don’t worry about overtraining.
Note: Warm up sets stay constant (the same from day one) throughout entire training cycle. Use the same weight during work sets.
Monday
General Warm Up
Squats
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 5-8 reps
Warm Up Set- 90% of work set, 5-8 reps
Work Set- 20 reps
Superset with Pullovers- 20 reps
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
Warm Up Set- 50% of work set, 5 reps
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 5 reps
Warm Up Set- 90% of work set, 5 reps
Work Set- 5 reps
Work Set- 5 reps
Bent Over Rows
Warm Up Set- 50% of work set, 5 reps
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 5 reps
Warm Up Set- 90% of work set, 5 reps
Work Set- 5 reps
Work Set- 5 reps
Cool Down
Wednesday (“accessory” day)
General Warm Up
Calf Raises
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 8-12 reps
Work Set- 8-12 reps
Work Set- 8-12 reps
Crunches
Warm Up Set- No weight, 15-20 reps
Work Set- 15-20 reps
Work Set- 15-20 reps
Grip Work (such as farmer’s walk)
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 60 seconds
Work Set- 60 seconds
Work Set- 60 seconds
Side Bends
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 15-20 reps
Work Set- 15-20 reps
Work Set- 15-20 reps
Curls (such as barbell or preacher curls)
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 5-8 reps
Work Set- 5-8 reps
Work Set- 5-8 reps
Neck Work
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 5-8 reps
Work Set- 5-8 reps
Work Set- 5-8 reps
L-Fly
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 5-8 reps
Work Set- 5-8 reps
Work Set- 5-8 reps
Cool Down
Friday
General Warm Up
Bench Press
Warm Up Set- 50% of work set, 5 reps
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 5 reps
Warm Up Set- 90% of work set, 5 reps
Work Set- 5 reps
Work Set- 5 reps
Overhead Press
Warm Up Set- 50% of work set, 5 reps
Warm Up Set- 70% of work set, 5 reps
Warm Up Set- 90% of work set, 5 reps
Work Set- 5 reps
Work Set- 5 reps
Cool Down