# Routines I Like



## basskiller (Feb 10, 2013)

I structure routines for trainees a variety of ways, dependent on the trainee's goals, recovery ability, and to a lesser degree psychological makeup and lifestyle/work schedule. I am frequently asked what kind of routines I do, and what types of routines I put my trainees on, and as you will see below there is no pat answer because they really do vary a lot. I have other routines posted on my website Iron Addicts if you care to look. Now on to a brief view of some favorites:

Here is a two day a week routine that I have absolute confidence in for myself, and many hardgainers and easy-gainers alike that want to devote time to “bread and butter training. If you have never done a two day a week routine you have no idea how much better you fill “fire” due to the time between workouts and the CNS recovery it allows.

Day One:

Bench Press, or Dumbbell Bench Press

Dips

Military Press, or Dumbbell Press

Heavy Abs

Day Two:

Wide Grip Chins

Barbell Curl

Trap Bar Deadlift Or Conventional Deadlift

Calf Raise

If using a Trap Bar I don't do any other leg-work. When using a strait bar, I will do, or have trainees do leg presses also. Sets can be anywhere from one to ten sets a lift, but are usually closer to 1-3 per lift.

A solid 3-day a week routine format I use a lot is.

Day One:

Dips or Bench Press

Incline Press, or incline Fly

Military Press, Or Hammer Shoulder Press

Day Two:

Hammer Pull-Down or Pull-Up

Hammer Iso-Row, or Barbell Row

EZ-Bar Or Dumbell Curl

Heavy Abs

Day Three:

Squats

Deadlifts, or Stiff-Legged Deadlift

Calf Raise

Sets can again be anywhere from one to ten sets a lift, but are usually closer to 1-3 per lift. This is done Mon/Wed/Fri, or Tues/Thur/Sat. It also works well doing a 3 in 9 day rotation with 2 days rest between workouts.

I also like DC style routines, but I structure the bodypart/days differently than Dogg. To see Dogg does his magic see the “cycles on pennies” thread on “the realm of Doggcrap and Iron Addict” on: http://www.animalkits.be/

For people that “recruit” fairly well, people with slightly above average genetics, or those that want to shift the focus slightly to more size as opposed to strength gains (strength gains are almost always the first priority and size follows) I use a lot of double rotation routines. This is a fancy term for saying the workout changes every other week such as:

Day One:

Bench Press

Incline Press

Military Press

Skull Crushers

Day Two:

Wide grip Pull-Up

Barbell Row

Dumbell Curl

Heavy Abs

Day Three:

Squats

Stiff-Legged Deadlift

Calf Raise

Day One, Week Two

Incline Dumbell Press

Dips

Hammer Shoulder Press

Tricep Push-Downs

Day Two, Week Two

Supinated Grip Pull-Up/Down

Hammer ISO-Row

E-Z Bar Curl

Hanging Leg Raises

Day Three, Week Two

Deadlifts

Leg Press

Leg Press Calf Raise

And yet again, sets can be anywhere from one to ten sets a lift, but are usually closer to 1-3 per lift.

Here is my favorite way to do “volume” work for those that are suited to it. I will list the sets here because it is what defines it as volume.

Day One, Week One

Dumbell Bench Press, 8 sets

Hammer Incline Press 4 Sets

Skull Crushers 5 sets

Lateral Raise 6 sets

Day Two, Week One

Wide Grip Pulldown 8 sets

Chest Supported Row 4 Sets

EZ-Bar Curl 5 sets

Heavy Abs

Day Three, Week One

Squat 8 sets

Stiff legged Deadlift 5 sets

Calf Raises 8 sets

Day One, Week Two

Dips 8 Sets

Fly 5 sets

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 8 sets

Tricep Push-Down 6 sets

Day Two, Week Two

Hammer Row 8 Sets

Supinated Grip Pull-Up/Down 5 sets

Dumbbell Curl 3 sets

Reverse Grip Curl 3 sets

Day Three, Week Two

Deadlift 5 sets

Leg Press 8 sets

Leg Press Calf Raise 6 sets

Hanging Leg Raises 3 sets

All sets are done with a constant weight, and only the last set is to failure.

My Modified Westside Barbell approach is a favorite of mine when all-out strength is the goal. Please note this is NOT how Louis sets up his Westside Routines, but my modification of it for less than gifted lifters. Louis setup works like magic for lifters who recover well though. The max effort lift CHANGES EVERY 2 weeks.

Bench Day:
3 board press. Work up to a max single.
speed bench using 60% of shirtless max 9 sets of 3
tricep pushdown 4 x 10
lateral raise 4 x 10

Squat/Deadlift Day:
good mornings work up to a max single (Louis recommends doing some form of good mornings 60-70% of the time for max effort work. Many variations are done.
Speed squat 9 sets of 2
Glute ham raise 4 x 10
reverse hyper 3 x 10

Upper Back/Assistance Day:

Wide Grip Pull-Up/Down 4 x 10

Barbell Curl 3 x 10

Heavy Abs 2 x 8

Grip Work

OK, there are some of my favorites of mine. Which one is right for you? And in what set/rep structure? Hard to say without knowing a lot about you. But I can say this in full confidence, showing this to 10 lifters, 8 out of ten of them will not pick either of the first two listed, and 8 out of 10 would probably do best doing the first two, or a modified to fit DC style routine. Which do I use? All of them at times. What am I doing at this moment? One similar to the first one…….But that will change soon too.

Iron Addict


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