We do 2 full body workouts per week Mon & Fri. 2 one hour intense sessions of racquetball per week on Wed and Saturday. The 2 full body workouts are slightly different but have about 12 movements each and takes about an hour to do give or take. We're both 58, been lifting and active for decades. I'm 6'-1" and weigh 210 with only a tiny bit of stomach left to improve and wife is 5'-8" weighing 150 and no fat left to lose looks wonderful. Both of us have great energy, are rarely ever sick, eat clean and can out perform anyone we know. All our family are obese to include parents, siblings and some children. And can't hang when we go anywhere such as hiking or working outdoors.
What? Body building is strength training, literally by definition. Dividing into push, pull, and legs groups allows each group multiple days to rest before training again. What are you on about?
Workout A
Pull up variation
Dip variation
Alternating sets, 90" in between each set
KB overhead press
Goblet squat
Workout B
Bodyweight row variation
Push up variation
Alternating sets, 90" rest
Handstand pushup variation
Goblet squat
Alternate workouts, on M,W,F
Also, Turkish Get Ups on Tues & Thurs
Two full body kettlebell workouts a week, and two barbell-focused days a week (one day pull, one day legs). Try to get 10k steps a day, and usually do at least one day of cardio in the form of running or a group fitness class.
Monday- chest/biceps
Tuesday- back/triceps
Wednesday- shoulders/legs
Thursday- chest/bicep
Friday- back/triceps
Saturday- shoulders
Sunday- legs
With a 5k every other day. I’ll take a day off here and there when my body needs it but I plan to be there everyday
I recognize you from the 531 sub, can confirm this guy is jacked af.
For me, though, BBB wasn’t very effective. I don’t know if it’s because my absolute load was too low (my 5x10 sets on bench were like 115, for example, and I’d leave the gym feeling pretty un-fatigued until suddenly two months in I couldn’t handle the weight increase; deload, repeat), but I kept spinning my wheels until I went to a program that took every set 1-2 reps from failure. I’m still not benching 280, though.
(BTW, for anyone considering the program, it’s been used on a lot of high school kids who start with lighter weights than I did and wind up stronger than I am now. Might as well give it a shot. I just know it didn’t work for me.)
I often wonder how many people ate in enough of a surplus and pushed themselves properly when they say this. I did 531 BBB with plus sets and pushed those AMRAPS to 1 rep from failure. I also pushed accessories to failure as well.
Jim is decent at programming, but he’s a bit conservative on how hard people should push themselves. Understandably it’s supposed to be for athletes.
I’m also a strong believer that if you didn’t gain 1-2 pounds of body weight a week during the program then you didn’t really do the program lol
I do think that either way bigger loads have a better effect all around though. 5x10 with a 185 bench has a much better effect than 115, that’s for sure!
One question, at two months in you would have only added 10 pounds to the lifts. It went from too easy to not being able to handle the weights ten pounds heavier?
I oversimplified a little. I did 5s PRO with FSL weight, and after about 2 cycles, I wouldn’t be able to get 5 reps on my 1+ set. The BBB sets by that point were — not easy, but on the last set I still probably had 2+ RIR.
I stuck with it for six months (wanted to give it a fair shot, and my squats and deadlifts were responding well), and gained 6 pounds of body weight during that time. I wasn’t following Jim’s recommended diet, but I did eat at a (edit: ok, small) surplus.
I’m probably going to give it another shot in a a few months (I’ll probably finish my cut about mid-August, and give something else a solid two months), using AMRAP sets this time, because based on how effective it is for most people I do think there’s some kind of user error here.
ETA: I also plan to eat at a bigger surplus this time.
Ohhh FSL was the hardest programming I've ever followed. I could only do it for the six weeks and I barely survived.
I would literally cry between the 5x10 squat sets.
I just looked through my notes, and my memory was … not really accurate. What I did was a cycle of BBB at 50%, then at 60%, then 5x5 FSL, then two cycles of BBB FSL. And I didn’t have 2+ RIR lol, I was frequently missing reps and eventually just did 3x10 rather than 5x10.
Maybe the whole experience gave me brain damage or something, but I think I owe it to myself to do a cycle right.
What did you end up switching to? I've ran 5/3/1 very successfully in the past. After a 2 year hiatus, I am 2 months into running it again... Thinking about switching it up but I love the 3 day version and don't want to commit to 5 days in the gym unless the sessions are under 45 minutes.
I now do a modified version of the nsuns program from /r/fitness. That is essentially a heavily modified 531 program with loads of volume.
I had really good success running it while bulking. Now I'm trying to shift some belly fat I do a slightly modified version with less heavy sets.
I never made any progress with bbb, it was either too easy or far too hard.
I found doing the 6 back off sets in nsuns much more manageable to recover from while also making consistent strength gains because of the 2 amrep sets to really try hard on.
Gotta be prepared to eat a lot though. Great for winter bulking.
Absolutely. You gotta decide what to hit yourself. I normally superset legs/back stuff with biceps and chest shoulders with triceps.
I generally do the 2 main lofts then 3-4 accessories. I mix it up but I always do biceps/triceps twice a week.
Best routine right here:
Monday - Friday
Push - Incline Dumbbell press 3x14
Pull - Lat pull 3x14
Squat - 3x14 goblet squat or barbell squat
Lunge - 3x14
Hinge - deadlifts on even days. Kettlebell swings on odd days
Carry - single arm carry on odd days - sandbag carry on even days
In the coldest months I do nsuns 4 or 5 days.
In summer I do phul or a modified version of nsuns 4 day. Try get out on my bike for cardio more in summer/it it's warm.
I follow trainer Caroline Girvan's workouts. In general her programs follow:
Monday - Legs
Tuesday - Upper body
Wednesday - Glutes/hamstrings
Thursday - Active rest day (some other exercise like cardio on a bike, walking, or yoga)
Friday - Full body
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - HIIT
I'm a tired mom and sometimes switch my rest days around if I feel the need. Otherwise, loving this format!
This one I created for free for people to copy. Tailored for intermediate lifters
[3-Month 5 day/week program](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oZ7CF1pwbSkUMW8iCEHZYDbU_V8cHkhr48GrEONtF0Y/edit?usp=sharing) (combo of DUP and Juggernaut training model)
I focus my routine around movements that help with my daily life at work, at home as a father, and while hiking which is my main hobby. My goals are to minimize risk of injury and make my time in those activities more enjoyable.
Strength:
-barbell upright rows.
-barbell rack pulls.
-goblet squats.
-dumbbell box step-overs.
-farmers walk.
Cardio:
-45-180 mins uphill walking with a weighted backpack.
Schedule:
1. Cardio day.
2. Strength day.
3. Passive rest day.
4. Active rest day.
4 day split with 10-20 minutes of cardio followed by a day of yoga or core work
Day 1: 10 min elliptical, 10 mins row, glute focus
Day 2: 10 min elliptical, 10 min stepper, back and arm
Rest day
Day 3: 10 min elliptical, 10 min row, leg/Lower accessory
Day 4: 10 min elliptical, 10 min stepper, chest/shoulder/ab work
Day 5: usually 30 minute yoga and floor core work like planks, medicine ball twists etc
Rest
- Mon: Rest
- Tue: Legs (Compound Lifts)
- Wed: Push or Chest/Back alternating between weeks
- Thu: Pull or Shoulders/Arms alternating between weeks
- Fri: VO2 Max training (Running, Swim, Cycling, or Kettlebells)
- Sat: Legs (hypertrophic training) + Lower Plyometric
- Sun: Upper Weighted Calisthenics
I switch my split every 6-12 months and this is my current split, before was a 6 day on 1 day off PPL+Arnold Split. I find this current split is a good balance for strength (lean muscle mass) building, agility, mobility, and cardiovascular endurance.
I aim to hit every muscle group per session.
For instances:
Mon - squat, deads, lunges, hamstring curl, calfs (if i feel like it lol), abs
Tues - bench, t bar row, lat pull down, lateral raise, some bicep and tricep exercise
Thurs - leg press or hack squat, hip thrust, lunges, romanian deadlifts, calfs (if i feel like it), abs
Fri - incline bench, pull ups, cable row, machine shoulder press, chest fly, some type of bicep and tricep exercise
Takes about an hour to complete
Loving my current routine - granted my goals are overall fitness not just hypertrophy.
Mon - legs + z1
Tue - z2 + push
Wed - speed, vo2 max + yoga
Thu - z2 + pull
Fri - z2 + full
Sat - rest
Sun - fun
Cardio is a mix of street runs, trail runs, walks, rucks. stationary bike and mountain bike.
Strength workouts are in my back yard. In the morning sun with some dumbbells and kettle bells.
Trap bar deadlift. As heavy as possible. Once a week. Lots of food after lift. Two or three days of rest. Lighter optional workouts until next session.
1-3 fullbody sessions per week, aiming for 2. I do compound lifts like squats, bench and rowing then some isolation at the end. It’s hard to keep up with this and some weeks I end up doing 1. But slow progress is better than no progress.
Outdoor gym=pull ups and dips.
At home=push ups, rows, squats, supermans, and side raises.
I would work my legs more, but they get enough with my lifestyle and cardio. I work out a lot, but only do a couple sets and listen to my body for when I need rest days.
- Back
- Chest & Triceps
- Quads & Cardio
- [A] Forearms / [B] Biceps
- Shoulders & Traps (Superset)
- Calves & Core
- Neck & Traps (Superset)
- Yoga & Cardio
+
- Dynamic Stretch
- Walking warmup
- Core Supplemental
- Walking cooldown
- Static Stretch
- Foam Roll
I place no emphasis on doing only push or only pull, I just target muscle groups.
I place no emphasis on using a specific weight type (eg. kettlebell, barbell, dumbbell), I just do the most effective S/A tier exercises.
I don't try to confine my split into 7 days, I just go through it in order.
---
I'm loving this style, having many more days/muscle groups to work on.
Having a lot of warmup and cooldown also helps me stay in the gym longer, but I can drop some stuff like static cooldown and foam roll or reduce walking to save time.
- variety of days is fun, it's keeping things interesting.
- allowing for better muscle recovery
- awakening body parts that were neglected before, dedicating some time to core is very nice, and I'm especially seeing noobie gains on neck and traps.
We do 2 full body workouts per week Mon & Fri. 2 one hour intense sessions of racquetball per week on Wed and Saturday. The 2 full body workouts are slightly different but have about 12 movements each and takes about an hour to do give or take. We're both 58, been lifting and active for decades. I'm 6'-1" and weigh 210 with only a tiny bit of stomach left to improve and wife is 5'-8" weighing 150 and no fat left to lose looks wonderful. Both of us have great energy, are rarely ever sick, eat clean and can out perform anyone we know. All our family are obese to include parents, siblings and some children. And can't hang when we go anywhere such as hiking or working outdoors.
PPL split
Was considering this but dk if my body could recover from 6x a week
Doesn't necessarily have to be like that. It could be push pull rest leg rest push rest pull leg push etc
What would you do for a five day split?
I'd do push pull cardio (HIIT) rest Leg repeat.
You could combine the push and pull and just do 4x per week alternating upper body / lower body.
Isn’t ppl bodybuilding type split? Do you still train strength in the days but with accessories
What? Body building is strength training, literally by definition. Dividing into push, pull, and legs groups allows each group multiple days to rest before training again. What are you on about?
Workout A Pull up variation Dip variation Alternating sets, 90" in between each set KB overhead press Goblet squat Workout B Bodyweight row variation Push up variation Alternating sets, 90" rest Handstand pushup variation Goblet squat Alternate workouts, on M,W,F Also, Turkish Get Ups on Tues & Thurs
Heavy PPL for the aesthetics then a couple chill “functional” days for cardio/real fitness.
Two full body kettlebell workouts a week, and two barbell-focused days a week (one day pull, one day legs). Try to get 10k steps a day, and usually do at least one day of cardio in the form of running or a group fitness class.
Monday- chest/biceps Tuesday- back/triceps Wednesday- shoulders/legs Thursday- chest/bicep Friday- back/triceps Saturday- shoulders Sunday- legs With a 5k every other day. I’ll take a day off here and there when my body needs it but I plan to be there everyday
5/3/1 + BBB
This is the most boring program I've done. And I didn't even get big just bored.
It was pretty boring. It took me from a 280 bench to a 280 x 14 bench in a year though! And I gained 30 pounds.
I recognize you from the 531 sub, can confirm this guy is jacked af. For me, though, BBB wasn’t very effective. I don’t know if it’s because my absolute load was too low (my 5x10 sets on bench were like 115, for example, and I’d leave the gym feeling pretty un-fatigued until suddenly two months in I couldn’t handle the weight increase; deload, repeat), but I kept spinning my wheels until I went to a program that took every set 1-2 reps from failure. I’m still not benching 280, though. (BTW, for anyone considering the program, it’s been used on a lot of high school kids who start with lighter weights than I did and wind up stronger than I am now. Might as well give it a shot. I just know it didn’t work for me.)
I often wonder how many people ate in enough of a surplus and pushed themselves properly when they say this. I did 531 BBB with plus sets and pushed those AMRAPS to 1 rep from failure. I also pushed accessories to failure as well. Jim is decent at programming, but he’s a bit conservative on how hard people should push themselves. Understandably it’s supposed to be for athletes. I’m also a strong believer that if you didn’t gain 1-2 pounds of body weight a week during the program then you didn’t really do the program lol I do think that either way bigger loads have a better effect all around though. 5x10 with a 185 bench has a much better effect than 115, that’s for sure! One question, at two months in you would have only added 10 pounds to the lifts. It went from too easy to not being able to handle the weights ten pounds heavier?
I oversimplified a little. I did 5s PRO with FSL weight, and after about 2 cycles, I wouldn’t be able to get 5 reps on my 1+ set. The BBB sets by that point were — not easy, but on the last set I still probably had 2+ RIR. I stuck with it for six months (wanted to give it a fair shot, and my squats and deadlifts were responding well), and gained 6 pounds of body weight during that time. I wasn’t following Jim’s recommended diet, but I did eat at a (edit: ok, small) surplus. I’m probably going to give it another shot in a a few months (I’ll probably finish my cut about mid-August, and give something else a solid two months), using AMRAP sets this time, because based on how effective it is for most people I do think there’s some kind of user error here. ETA: I also plan to eat at a bigger surplus this time.
Ohhh FSL was the hardest programming I've ever followed. I could only do it for the six weeks and I barely survived. I would literally cry between the 5x10 squat sets.
I just looked through my notes, and my memory was … not really accurate. What I did was a cycle of BBB at 50%, then at 60%, then 5x5 FSL, then two cycles of BBB FSL. And I didn’t have 2+ RIR lol, I was frequently missing reps and eventually just did 3x10 rather than 5x10. Maybe the whole experience gave me brain damage or something, but I think I owe it to myself to do a cycle right.
What did you end up switching to? I've ran 5/3/1 very successfully in the past. After a 2 year hiatus, I am 2 months into running it again... Thinking about switching it up but I love the 3 day version and don't want to commit to 5 days in the gym unless the sessions are under 45 minutes.
I now do a modified version of the nsuns program from /r/fitness. That is essentially a heavily modified 531 program with loads of volume. I had really good success running it while bulking. Now I'm trying to shift some belly fat I do a slightly modified version with less heavy sets.
Whats the program?
Just search reddit for "nsuns 531" or visit /r/newsuns for info.
Do you think its much better than 531 bbb?
I never made any progress with bbb, it was either too easy or far too hard. I found doing the 6 back off sets in nsuns much more manageable to recover from while also making consistent strength gains because of the 2 amrep sets to really try hard on. Gotta be prepared to eat a lot though. Great for winter bulking.
After the 2 basics, we can add some accesories? (Biceps, triceps, shoulder etc)
Absolutely. You gotta decide what to hit yourself. I normally superset legs/back stuff with biceps and chest shoulders with triceps. I generally do the 2 main lofts then 3-4 accessories. I mix it up but I always do biceps/triceps twice a week.
PPL split right now but a day between each gym day and I lift until exhaustion, so about an hour and a half when I’m there.
Bulgarian split squats, Pullups, shoulder press sometimes.
Best routine right here: Monday - Friday Push - Incline Dumbbell press 3x14 Pull - Lat pull 3x14 Squat - 3x14 goblet squat or barbell squat Lunge - 3x14 Hinge - deadlifts on even days. Kettlebell swings on odd days Carry - single arm carry on odd days - sandbag carry on even days
In the coldest months I do nsuns 4 or 5 days. In summer I do phul or a modified version of nsuns 4 day. Try get out on my bike for cardio more in summer/it it's warm.
Intense, brief, frequent, consistent.
I follow trainer Caroline Girvan's workouts. In general her programs follow: Monday - Legs Tuesday - Upper body Wednesday - Glutes/hamstrings Thursday - Active rest day (some other exercise like cardio on a bike, walking, or yoga) Friday - Full body Saturday - Rest day Sunday - HIIT I'm a tired mom and sometimes switch my rest days around if I feel the need. Otherwise, loving this format!
This one I created for free for people to copy. Tailored for intermediate lifters [3-Month 5 day/week program](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oZ7CF1pwbSkUMW8iCEHZYDbU_V8cHkhr48GrEONtF0Y/edit?usp=sharing) (combo of DUP and Juggernaut training model)
This is great! Do you have anything for beginners?
Full body 3x-week is what 99% of beginners should do. Get technique and tempo down
So same spreadsheet you shared but 3x per week instead of 5x?
PPL with cardio and mobility worked in.
I focus my routine around movements that help with my daily life at work, at home as a father, and while hiking which is my main hobby. My goals are to minimize risk of injury and make my time in those activities more enjoyable. Strength: -barbell upright rows. -barbell rack pulls. -goblet squats. -dumbbell box step-overs. -farmers walk. Cardio: -45-180 mins uphill walking with a weighted backpack. Schedule: 1. Cardio day. 2. Strength day. 3. Passive rest day. 4. Active rest day.
StrongLifts 5x5
Nmn
4 day split with 10-20 minutes of cardio followed by a day of yoga or core work Day 1: 10 min elliptical, 10 mins row, glute focus Day 2: 10 min elliptical, 10 min stepper, back and arm Rest day Day 3: 10 min elliptical, 10 min row, leg/Lower accessory Day 4: 10 min elliptical, 10 min stepper, chest/shoulder/ab work Day 5: usually 30 minute yoga and floor core work like planks, medicine ball twists etc Rest
- Mon: Rest - Tue: Legs (Compound Lifts) - Wed: Push or Chest/Back alternating between weeks - Thu: Pull or Shoulders/Arms alternating between weeks - Fri: VO2 Max training (Running, Swim, Cycling, or Kettlebells) - Sat: Legs (hypertrophic training) + Lower Plyometric - Sun: Upper Weighted Calisthenics I switch my split every 6-12 months and this is my current split, before was a 6 day on 1 day off PPL+Arnold Split. I find this current split is a good balance for strength (lean muscle mass) building, agility, mobility, and cardiovascular endurance.
Monday - shoulders/abs, Tuesday - Back, Wednesday - Chest, Thursday - Legs, Friday - Bi's/tri's, Saturday - Back, Sunday- Legs
Mon - Lower heavy Tues - Upper heavy Weds - Off Thurs - Lower hypertrophy Fri - Upper hypertrophy Sat/Sun - Off
What muscle groups are you hitting each workout? Are you doing a focused compound lift each day?
I aim to hit every muscle group per session. For instances: Mon - squat, deads, lunges, hamstring curl, calfs (if i feel like it lol), abs Tues - bench, t bar row, lat pull down, lateral raise, some bicep and tricep exercise Thurs - leg press or hack squat, hip thrust, lunges, romanian deadlifts, calfs (if i feel like it), abs Fri - incline bench, pull ups, cable row, machine shoulder press, chest fly, some type of bicep and tricep exercise Takes about an hour to complete
5x5 Stronglift
Full body 4-5x per week.
Loving my current routine - granted my goals are overall fitness not just hypertrophy. Mon - legs + z1 Tue - z2 + push Wed - speed, vo2 max + yoga Thu - z2 + pull Fri - z2 + full Sat - rest Sun - fun Cardio is a mix of street runs, trail runs, walks, rucks. stationary bike and mountain bike. Strength workouts are in my back yard. In the morning sun with some dumbbells and kettle bells.
Trap bar deadlift. As heavy as possible. Once a week. Lots of food after lift. Two or three days of rest. Lighter optional workouts until next session.
Day 1: push day Day 2: pull day Day 3: lower body Day 4: rest Day 5: upper body Day 6: lower body Day 7: rest Cardio workouts to finish each session
1-3 fullbody sessions per week, aiming for 2. I do compound lifts like squats, bench and rowing then some isolation at the end. It’s hard to keep up with this and some weeks I end up doing 1. But slow progress is better than no progress.
Full body workout every other day ,about four a week.Usually takes me a couple hours. I have removed a couple exercises ,it just became to hard .
Outdoor gym=pull ups and dips. At home=push ups, rows, squats, supermans, and side raises. I would work my legs more, but they get enough with my lifestyle and cardio. I work out a lot, but only do a couple sets and listen to my body for when I need rest days.
Bulgarian Squats, Gulag Crunches and Russian Roulette. The Eastern European workout as it’s called in the trade.
- Back - Chest & Triceps - Quads & Cardio - [A] Forearms / [B] Biceps - Shoulders & Traps (Superset) - Calves & Core - Neck & Traps (Superset) - Yoga & Cardio + - Dynamic Stretch - Walking warmup - Core Supplemental - Walking cooldown - Static Stretch - Foam Roll I place no emphasis on doing only push or only pull, I just target muscle groups. I place no emphasis on using a specific weight type (eg. kettlebell, barbell, dumbbell), I just do the most effective S/A tier exercises. I don't try to confine my split into 7 days, I just go through it in order. --- I'm loving this style, having many more days/muscle groups to work on. Having a lot of warmup and cooldown also helps me stay in the gym longer, but I can drop some stuff like static cooldown and foam roll or reduce walking to save time. - variety of days is fun, it's keeping things interesting. - allowing for better muscle recovery - awakening body parts that were neglected before, dedicating some time to core is very nice, and I'm especially seeing noobie gains on neck and traps.
Being stronger next time.
Not a routine but close!