Because I see this regularly in threads and PMs, I thought I'd create a thread.
I want to state, first, that there are dozens of great routines out there (Starting Strength; 5/3/1; Cube; any version of Westside; PHAT; etc.) that I generally advise over creating your own, made by people with tons of experience and knowledge, but if you simply HAVE to reinvent the wheel, here are my suggestions:
These are based on human kinesiology and common sense. I can't teach anyone a decade's worth of anatomy and kinesiology, but I can help point you in the right direction. As for the common sense, if you don't have that, blame your parents and the genetics they passed on to you. Nothing I can do there.
1. All body parts twice weekly. For natural athletes, we want to take advantage of muscle protein synthesis rates, which remain elevated 48-72 hours post-workout. Training everything around twice weekly is optimal.
2. 10-12 working sets per workout for larger muscle groups (chest, back, legs) is sufficient for growth. I know some people love to do high volume routines. Good for them. The average athlete doesn't need 20-25 sets for chest twice a week. That's nonsense. Smaller muscle groups can be trained with great results with 6-8 sets twice a week. Hammering your muscles into submission will not make them grow more. Once muscle protein synthesis is peaked, adding more reps or sets isn't going to create more growth. It may increase muscular endurance.
3. Train movements, not muscles. I guarantee you the guy that works up to a 500 pound squat or 350 pound bench press is going to have better CSA (cross-sectional area of a muscle) than the guy who toils away trying to work his inner-outer-upper-lower-medial-lateral insertional fucktoralis major muscle. Get better at movements, and you'll get stronger. Get stronger, and you'll build muscle if your nutrition is correct.
4. Ratios matter. No, not macro ratios, but push:pull and ham:quad. If you value your shoulder health, and understand anatomy, you already know why I advise twice as much pulling volume as pushing. You have only a few major "pushers" on the torso (pec major, anterior deltoid, serratus anterior, subscapularis), but you have a ton of "pullers" (lats, posterior delts, traps, rhomboids, and three of the four rotator cuff muscles). Training should be set up accordingly. For the knee flexors and extensors, I advise a 1:1 ratio for males and 3:2 ratio for females of hamstrings:quads. Deads alone don't count- they do not actively flex the knee joint and don't recruit the entire hamstring complex. The literature shows that the greatest modifiable factor to ACL injuries is poor a poor ham:quad strength ratio.
5. Biceps and triceps. I advise at least one "extension" type of movement for triceps each time you train them. The long head of the tris originates on the scapula and assists in shoulder extension. Movements such as French presses, rolling DB extensions, and rolling cable pressdowns are good choices. Likewise, each time you train biceps, I advise either an incline curl type of movement, or a movement that ends with 20-30 degrees of shoulder flexion, like this:
http://www.physiqueboss.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Barbell-curl-step-by-step.jpg
6. Core work. Twice a week, same as everything else. 3 sets of each of the following or something similar: Hyperextensions (or reverse hypers); planks (or body saws); oblique work (static or active); trunk flexion/weighted trunk flexion.
7. Mobility work. It's not difficult, and it's not time consuming. YouTUbe "Limber 11," and do it 3-4 times per week.
8.. Back to common sense. Squats deeper than 100 degree knee flexion are of no greater benefit to strength or hypertrophy. Seated leg extensions are pointless. Ditto any shoulder press or lat pull behind your head.
What's a good example of the above?
Day 1:
Pushing movement: 4 sets 3-6 reps
Different push: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Different push: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Vertical pull movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Horizontal pull movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Different pull movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Shoulder horizontal abduction or external rotation movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps (ie, face-pulls, band pull-aparts, DB or band external rotation movement)
Scapular retraction movement 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps (shrugs, Y or W raises, prone trap raises)
Biceps: 4-6 sets
Triceps: 4-6 sets
Day 2:
Compound lower body movement (squats/deads/leg press): 4 sets 3-6 reps
Second lower body movement, unilateral is my preference: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Hip extension movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Direct knee flexion movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Calf movement: 3 sets straight leg, 3 sets knee bent. 8-10 reps each.
Abs as above.
Repeat template for days 3 and 4 substituting exercises as needed.
I'm pretty sure, I'll add/amend as I go, since this was totally off the top of my head and typed with the baby and I playing with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy as I went. I'll adjust as needed.
I want to state, first, that there are dozens of great routines out there (Starting Strength; 5/3/1; Cube; any version of Westside; PHAT; etc.) that I generally advise over creating your own, made by people with tons of experience and knowledge, but if you simply HAVE to reinvent the wheel, here are my suggestions:
These are based on human kinesiology and common sense. I can't teach anyone a decade's worth of anatomy and kinesiology, but I can help point you in the right direction. As for the common sense, if you don't have that, blame your parents and the genetics they passed on to you. Nothing I can do there.
1. All body parts twice weekly. For natural athletes, we want to take advantage of muscle protein synthesis rates, which remain elevated 48-72 hours post-workout. Training everything around twice weekly is optimal.
2. 10-12 working sets per workout for larger muscle groups (chest, back, legs) is sufficient for growth. I know some people love to do high volume routines. Good for them. The average athlete doesn't need 20-25 sets for chest twice a week. That's nonsense. Smaller muscle groups can be trained with great results with 6-8 sets twice a week. Hammering your muscles into submission will not make them grow more. Once muscle protein synthesis is peaked, adding more reps or sets isn't going to create more growth. It may increase muscular endurance.
3. Train movements, not muscles. I guarantee you the guy that works up to a 500 pound squat or 350 pound bench press is going to have better CSA (cross-sectional area of a muscle) than the guy who toils away trying to work his inner-outer-upper-lower-medial-lateral insertional fucktoralis major muscle. Get better at movements, and you'll get stronger. Get stronger, and you'll build muscle if your nutrition is correct.
4. Ratios matter. No, not macro ratios, but push:pull and ham:quad. If you value your shoulder health, and understand anatomy, you already know why I advise twice as much pulling volume as pushing. You have only a few major "pushers" on the torso (pec major, anterior deltoid, serratus anterior, subscapularis), but you have a ton of "pullers" (lats, posterior delts, traps, rhomboids, and three of the four rotator cuff muscles). Training should be set up accordingly. For the knee flexors and extensors, I advise a 1:1 ratio for males and 3:2 ratio for females of hamstrings:quads. Deads alone don't count- they do not actively flex the knee joint and don't recruit the entire hamstring complex. The literature shows that the greatest modifiable factor to ACL injuries is poor a poor ham:quad strength ratio.
5. Biceps and triceps. I advise at least one "extension" type of movement for triceps each time you train them. The long head of the tris originates on the scapula and assists in shoulder extension. Movements such as French presses, rolling DB extensions, and rolling cable pressdowns are good choices. Likewise, each time you train biceps, I advise either an incline curl type of movement, or a movement that ends with 20-30 degrees of shoulder flexion, like this:
http://www.physiqueboss.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Barbell-curl-step-by-step.jpg
6. Core work. Twice a week, same as everything else. 3 sets of each of the following or something similar: Hyperextensions (or reverse hypers); planks (or body saws); oblique work (static or active); trunk flexion/weighted trunk flexion.
7. Mobility work. It's not difficult, and it's not time consuming. YouTUbe "Limber 11," and do it 3-4 times per week.
8.. Back to common sense. Squats deeper than 100 degree knee flexion are of no greater benefit to strength or hypertrophy. Seated leg extensions are pointless. Ditto any shoulder press or lat pull behind your head.
What's a good example of the above?
Day 1:
Pushing movement: 4 sets 3-6 reps
Different push: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Different push: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Vertical pull movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Horizontal pull movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Different pull movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Shoulder horizontal abduction or external rotation movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps (ie, face-pulls, band pull-aparts, DB or band external rotation movement)
Scapular retraction movement 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps (shrugs, Y or W raises, prone trap raises)
Biceps: 4-6 sets
Triceps: 4-6 sets
Day 2:
Compound lower body movement (squats/deads/leg press): 4 sets 3-6 reps
Second lower body movement, unilateral is my preference: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Hip extension movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Direct knee flexion movement: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Calf movement: 3 sets straight leg, 3 sets knee bent. 8-10 reps each.
Abs as above.
Repeat template for days 3 and 4 substituting exercises as needed.
I'm pretty sure, I'll add/amend as I go, since this was totally off the top of my head and typed with the baby and I playing with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy as I went. I'll adjust as needed.