Periodization - Fullbody 5x a week

[ShortMonster]

I want to try something I have never done before. I have been training on and off for 10 years. A lot more training in those 10 years then not. My normal go to split routine is Chest,Back,Sho,Legs,Arms..All separate days. Very high volume, usually 4 sets, 6-8 exercises for each day. Non stop, finished the workouts in 30-60 min depending on energy levels and how much weight i use. I "blow up" on that routine. but.. I tend to burn out after 2,3 months or so. Like im sure everyone else here knows. Consistency is king.
With this routine i created im doing a lot less, split up thought the week. Nothing is really "overdone" - I have heavybag training in their 3x a week. Its not a major concern, if i dont feel like doing it, i dont. But i love it for my cardio. As you can see, the first two days are low sets, low weight, second two is a "medium day" the 5th day is heavy. For the rings im only using bodyweight, 2 reps before failure is usually my go to. Yes i know. I only have squats and deadlifts for legs. Two exercises like everything this per bodypart(Minus the indirect training) My legs dont need much training at all to grow. Im more concerned of the sets and rep format for training full body 5x a week. I can always change exercises around if anything.


What do you guys think?



Fullbody - Weights - Rings - Boxing

Tues - Sat

Bench Press (Weights)
Push Ups (Rings)
Deadlift (Weights)
Pull Ups (Rings)
Squat (Weights)
Shoulder Press (Weights)
Iron Cross (Rings)
Barbell Curls (Weights)
Chins (Rings)
Scullcrushers (Weights)
Dips (Rings)


Tues - 1x12 set weights, 1 set rings - Boxing
Wed - 1x10 set weights, 1 set rings
Thurs - 2x10 sets weights, 1 set rings - Boxing
Friday - 2x7 sets weights, 1 set rings
Sat - 3x5 sets weights, 2 set rings - Boxing

[Yev33]

I think you are going to run into recovery issues. On paper it looks like the same volume spread out over more days but in reality it ends up being more taxing.

I ran into a similar issue when I went from 4 days a week split routine to three days a week full body type routine.  I am making much better progress now but it took some trial and error (okay, lots of trial and error) to get the volume and intesity just right. And this is three days a week, I couldn't imagine training the whole body five days a week.

I know the Bulgarian and Chinese olympic lifters train even more than what you described and I don't know how they do it. I guess if your full time job is to train and recover, the amount of training you can tolerate is quite a bit higher.  I just know that as a natural trainer working 50+ hours a week, I don't think I can handle more than 3 full body sessions per week.

[ShortMonster]

I did it 3 days in a row now. This is with taking a 3 month lay off. Only issue was chest was sore when training. Starting again Tuesday. But..I was thinking the same as you with recovery issues. Only thing that keeps me wanting to go with it is the low set days. Im used to 25+ sets a bodypart on one day, heavy on the compounds everyday. My routine has always been 5x a week, that really isnt my issue, i know i can handle that. Im doing less then i ever did you put it on paper. Im trying more of the "stimulate" dont obliterate type of routine. Of course everyone has their strong a weak points. Its funny though, i dont feel fully stimulated on every bodypart.

Worst that happens, i go back to my normal routine

[Yev33]

I think the concept of training each body part more frequently is very good. I was stuck on training each body part once a week years ago, and my progress was stuck as well. I started experimenting with hitting each body part more frequently (once every 5 days, once every 4 days, twice a week)
until I ended up with three times a week. However it's not the traditional three times a week full body program where you do the same workout with the same exercises three times a week.

What I found is that soreness can be an issue mainly with the lower back and shoulders. This is not something that your body will necessarily  adapt to, quite the opposite actually. I found that the accumulated soreness gets worse as the weeks go on. BUT.... if you are smart about the volume, intensity, and exercise selection this can completely avoided. This is where using careful planning and logic beats the hell out of "keep it simple and just lift weights" line of thinking.

I truly believe that the mathematical relationship between volume and intensity is very important and it is very often ignored,  as well as maintaining variety between the different planes of movements. I know that this will most likely go over a lot of people's heads but it is essential for making continued progress after a decade of consistent training. Things don't happen by accident in training, you use your body to perform mechanical work and give it time to recover. It's not some mystic art that a lot of people want to believe.  Countries like the former Soviet Union and China dedicated teams of researchers to further their knowledge in the area of athletic performance, but you inevitably will have some jack ass saying "keep it simple stupid" and "it's not rocket science"  that thinks he knows more.

I applaud you for thinking outside the box and trying something different. And if it doesn't work, you can tweak it and modify it until it does. This is how we all learn and move forward.  

[ShortMonster]

I think the concept of training each body part more frequently is very good. I was stuck on training each body part once a week years ago, and my progress was stuck as well. I started experimenting with hitting each body part more frequently (once every 5 days, once every 4 days, twice a week)
until I ended up with three times a week. However it's not the traditional three times a week full body program where you do the same workout with the same exercises three times a week.

What I found is that soreness can be an issue mainly with the lower back and shoulders. This is not something that your body will necessarily  adapt to, quite the opposite actually. I found that the accumulated soreness gets worse as the weeks go on. BUT.... if you are smart about the volume, intensity, and exercise selection this can completely avoided. This is where using careful planning and logic beats the hell out of "keep it simple and just lift weights" line of thinking.

I truly believe that the mathematical relationship between volume and intensity is very important and it is very often ignored,  as well as maintaining variety between the different planes of movements. I know that this will most likely go over a lot of people's heads but it is essential for making continued progress after a decade of consistent training. Things don't happen by accident in training, you use your body to perform mechanical work and give it time to recover. It's not some mystic art that a lot of people want to believe.  Countries like the former Soviet Union and China dedicated teams of researchers to further their knowledge in the area of athletic performance, but you inevitably will have some jack ass saying "keep it simple stupid" and "it's not rocket science"  that thinks he knows more.

I applaud you for thinking outside the box and trying something different. And if it doesn't work, you can tweak it and modify it until it does. This is how we all learn and move forward.  

So far its not working out so bad man. At first it was my chest that was really sore. As there about an equal amount of push and pull/chest/back - My chest has always been a weakpoint, upper chest mainly. Especially with my shoulders overtaking my chest. - Overall i know its to soon to tell fully. Its been going good. The Set X Rep scheme I set up is working out well. my normal two days in a row of recovery helped since i was sore yesterday a bit. I woke up today (First day -Tues - 1x12 set weights, 1 set rings - Boxing) Feeling refreshed and ready to train. - Im went SLIGHTLY lighter weight today since my chest was a bit sore, but pushed a rep before failure to not over do it.

We will see how it works out in the weeks to come

[Rammstein]

However it's not the traditional three times a week full body program where you do the same workout with the same exercises three times a week.  

Can you expand on this?

[Yev33]

Can you expand on this?

Sure. IMO The traditional full body routines tend to repeat the same exercises for every workout of the week. For a beginner it's great because it helps practice form on heavy compound movements. But for someone more advanced it can be too much to recover from, plus the more advanced trainee will benefit from more variety (bring up weak points).

So here is how I classify exercises in three main groups:
Back: vertical pulling or rowing
Press: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
Lower: Squat variation (squat, front squat, hack squat, leg press), Single leg squat variation (lunges, step ups, rear foot elevated split squats etc.) deadlift variation (Deadlifts, good mornings, still leg deadlifts etc..)

Each of the three workouts contain one exercise from each of the three groups. Each workout focuses on an exercise from each group which is placed first in the workout. So for example:

Workout A
1.Barbell Rows
2.Db Shoulder press
3.Reverse Lunges
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout B
1.Bench Press
2.weighted neutral grip pull ups
3.Romanian Deadlifts
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout C
1.Front squats
2.Close grip incline press
3.One arm rows
4.isolation work
5.isolation work
or

Workout A
1.Weighted pull ups
2.Incline Db press
3.Walking Lunges
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout B
1.Seated Barbell Press
2.T-bar rows
3.Leg press
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout C
1.Deadlifts
2.Close Grip Bench
3.Close grip chin ups
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Every workout has two isolation exercises of whatever I feel needs extra work.

I purposely left out the sets/reps but I can post it up if you are interested.

[Rammstein]

Sure. IMO The traditional full body routines tend to repeat the same exercises for every workout of the week. For a beginner it's great because it helps practice form on heavy compound movements. But for someone more advanced it can be too much to recover from, plus the more advanced trainee will benefit from more variety (bring up weak points).

So here is how I classify exercises in three main groups:
Back: vertical pulling or rowing
Press: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
Lower: Squat variation (squat, front squat, hack squat, leg press), Single leg squat variation (lunges, step ups, rear foot elevated split squats etc.) deadlift variation (Deadlifts, good mornings, still leg deadlifts etc..)

Each of the three workouts contain one exercise from each of the three groups. Each workout focuses on an exercise from each group which is placed first in the workout. So for example:

Workout A
1.Barbell Rows
2.Db Shoulder press
3.Reverse Lunges
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout B
1.Bench Press
2.weighted neutral grip pull ups
3.Romanian Deadlifts
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout C
1.Front squats
2.Close grip incline press
3.One arm rows
4.isolation work
5.isolation work
or

Workout A
1.Weighted pull ups
2.Incline Db press
3.Walking Lunges
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout B
1.Seated Barbell Press
2.T-bar rows
3.Leg press
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout C
1.Deadlifts
2.Close Grip Bench
3.Close grip chin ups
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Every workout has two isolation exercises of whatever I feel needs extra work.

I purposely left out the sets/reps but I can post it up if you are interested.

Thanks.

[Donny]

Sure. IMO The traditional full body routines tend to repeat the same exercises for every workout of the week. For a beginner it's great because it helps practice form on heavy compound movements. But for someone more advanced it can be too much to recover from, plus the more advanced trainee will benefit from more variety (bring up weak points).

So here is how I classify exercises in three main groups:
Back: vertical pulling or rowing
Press: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
Lower: Squat variation (squat, front squat, hack squat, leg press), Single leg squat variation (lunges, step ups, rear foot elevated split squats etc.) deadlift variation (Deadlifts, good mornings, still leg deadlifts etc..)

Each of the three workouts contain one exercise from each of the three groups. Each workout focuses on an exercise from each group which is placed first in the workout. So for example:

Workout A
1.Barbell Rows
2.Db Shoulder press
3.Reverse Lunges
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout B
1.Bench Press
2.weighted neutral grip pull ups
3.Romanian Deadlifts
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout C
1.Front squats
2.Close grip incline press
3.One arm rows
4.isolation work
5.isolation work
or

Workout A
1.Weighted pull ups
2.Incline Db press
3.Walking Lunges
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout B
1.Seated Barbell Press
2.T-bar rows
3.Leg press
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Workout C
1.Deadlifts
2.Close Grip Bench
3.Close grip chin ups
4.isolation work
5.isolation work

Every workout has two isolation exercises of whatever I feel needs extra work.

I purposely left out the sets/reps but I can post it up if you are interested.

Yev gives solid advice. One of the Best posters in the Training section.

[Yev33]

Thanks.

No problem

Yev gives solid advice. One of the Best posters in the Training section.

Thank you

[ritch]

Seeing gains?