My workout how can i improve it?

[Luke12]

I have been working out for about 8 months. The first 4 months i saw significant muscle gain but these last 4 monhts my bench has not gone up a pound. My schedule for working out is
MON Chest/TRI 12 sets of about 8 reps each time
TUES Shoulders 12 sets 8 reps
WED Legs
Thurs Off
Fri Back/BI 12 sets 8 reps
Should i be doing more body parts and less sets for them each time i go? Any suggestions would be very helpful thanx.

[Roman_be]

Originally Posted by Luke12

I have been working out for about 8 months. The first 4 months i saw significant muscle gain but these last 4 monhts my bench has not gone up a pound. My schedule for working out is
MON Chest/TRI 12 sets of about 8 reps each time
TUES Shoulders 12 sets 8 reps
WED Legs
Thurs Off
Fri Back/BI 12 sets 8 reps
Should i be doing more body parts and less sets for them each time i go? Any suggestions would be very helpful thanx.

You need to be constantly changing things up. Changing the reps/sets. Changing the exercises. Increasing the intensity.
Here is a link for ways to increase intensity.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ice4.htm

[TellMeMore]

Of course you experienced gains in the beginning and then plateaued after a while. Going from nothing to training will create that sort of situation. There are so many things that I could suggest, it's ridiculous. No offense intended, you are doing an amazingly positive thing, it's just... you should read the "New Encyclopaedia of Modern Bodybuilding" by Arnie cover to cover or read "Flex" or "Musclemag" regularly.
How often do you change your routine?
How often do you change the amount of reps you aim for in each set?
(ie. 6-8, 10-12, 12-15)
Do you add a small amount of weight onto each exercise every time or every two times?
Are you gradually increasing the amount of food you eat each time you gain a bit of weight?
Do you experiment with different exercises?
(ie. barbell curl one week, change that to straight bar cable curl another week, preacher curl another week, ez bar curls the next week)
Have you tried any advanced intensity principles such as 21s, running the rack, rest/ pause, negatives, forced negatives, cheat principle, pyramid up or down, superset, tri set?
Why do you train for three days in a row when you train four times a week? Try - Mon, Tue, rest = Wed, Thu, Fri, rest = Sat and Sun. Remember that it is advised you have a rest day after legs and why would you train shoulders the day after chest when chest is obviously extremely taxing on the shoulders.
Just buy the Arnie book, everything is in there and it details every exercise in depth, what is best for which muscle group and how to perform them safely...That and Flex Magazine is the equivalent to the Bible in Christianity.

[The Legend]

how can we tell, what exercises are you doing?
I hope there are loads of squats, deadlifts, pullups and rows, in that routine
beware of the stuff arnold wrote, or anything in flex, what suits super genetically gifted guys on steriods, really isn't going to be very useful for a natural guy who trains 3x a week.

[TheOpenBoat]

Originally Posted by The Legend

beware of the stuff arnold wrote, or anything in flex, what suits super genetically gifted guys on steriods, really isn't going to be very useful for a natural guy who trains 3x a week.

I got on Arnold's routine in HS and gained 15 # during wrestling season when we are burning tons of calories.
If you have reached a plateau then yeah, do what two posters above me said. Incorporate Deadlifts, you will gain mass from these compound lifts
But if you watn to gain I'm not sure about 3x a week. I workout almost everyday.
EEZ

[Jarvaden]

Originally Posted by Luke12

I have been working out for about 8 months. The first 4 months i saw significant muscle gain but these last 4 monhts my bench has not gone up a pound. My schedule for working out is
MON Chest/TRI 12 sets of about 8 reps each time
TUES Shoulders 12 sets 8 reps
WED Legs
Thurs Off
Fri Back/BI 12 sets 8 reps
Should i be doing more body parts and less sets for them each time i go? Any suggestions would be very helpful thanx.

Firstly, just know that everyone is different. No one program will work for everybody the same. Because of this, experience is going to be your best source as time goes on. So, if something works, do it. If punching yourself in the nuts makes your bench go up or puts 15 pounds of mass on you, then do it. Who cares if some study says thats wrong, they didnt do the study on YOU.
Now, like the last guy said, compound lifts like deadlifts, squats, bench, and pullups/rows are going to be your money lifts. You will get much stronger using these lifts and you hit more muscle groups at once. This is more efficient as you save time and possibly induce more growth hormone production.
Also, EAT like you've never eaten before. If you eat like a 170 pounder, you are going to stay 170 pounds. You have to eat like a 190 pounder to become 190 pounds. Most people who are simply training "hard" in the basics will gain mass if they are truly eating a caloric surplus.

[The Legend]

you need an extra 3500 k calories over a week to add 1 pound of body mass, however don't think by adding 7000 you'll grow super fast as all you'll do is get fat
add 200 cals a day and measure yourselves, if you aren't gaining eat more, if your waist is growing much faster than anything else eat a little less.
so eat more protien and add healthy fats,
and EEzerik Arnolds routines will lead to overtraining quite quickly, it's great that it worked for you, but for most people who are beginners anything will work.
For a long term training life i'd advise full body workouts at least 3x a week incorporating all the compound exercises. You'll need a lot more recovery time from doing squats compared to arm curls. However squats and deads etc will make you bigger and stronger than just about anything else
get yourselves over to www.t-nation.com and start reading.

[Romeo88]

12 sets? that hardly sounds productive. Do 2-5 sets where every set is within a few reps of failure. Cycle your intensity, for example cut back to about 80% of what you can lift for the desired reps then add the weight every workout til u plateau again and repeat, when it gets hard only add on 1kg or 2kg per workout. You MUST be doing
Bench press variation or dips
Rows variation or chin ups
Shoulder press
Squats
Deadlift
While your a beginner you need NOTHING else. You can add some accessory exercises but please dont go over board and just concentrate on the main lifts for now. Train full body 2-3 times a week if you can handle it, if not do a
MON: Chest, shoulders, tris
Tues: Back legs biceps
Wed rest
Thurs same as monday
Fri same as tuesday
you get the idea, just try to focus on the big lifts. Eat loads of good foods.
[Edit] the legend, noone will make a full body workout more than 3 times a week productive. Period. It places alot of stress on the CNS system and we only grow when we are resting. I would recommend full body twice a week to ensure complete recovery. Only the genetic elite and/or steroid abusers would recover well from 3 or more times a week full body and still be able to gain

[The Legend]

Romeo88 read this Great minds discuss this very topic part one
part 2
now the collected wisdom of those guys is far beyond any of us.
i do full body, but cycle deads, back squats and front squats. really depends on your rep ranges etc,
and bench will be dumbells one time, and barbell the next time etc.
so if you imagine one session you use a maximum effort approach with sub 5 rep sets with serious weight, then the following session go more for speed and higher reps
this is the late steriod free vince gironda, he advises full body workouts, and this is in the days before whey protein or even test as a supplement

[TellMeMore]

Good point on the overtraining aspect of Arnie's beginner routine. However, when you begin, you will not be training at maximum intensity because you will be perfecting the technique, figuring out what weight to lift and be experimenting with different combinations of exercises. So, working out more frequently to begin with and then cutting back after a while may be an option.
Some of the criticisms I have with the above advice is that how can you train legs after back and then another muscle afterwards and expect to make gains? You can only train for an hour because your body goes into a catabolic state so that would mean training each of these muscles for twenty minutes. However, most people agree that legs and back require a workout of their own to hit them with any sort of gain-inducing intensity. Also, who feels like training legs after beasting the back? Deadlifts are taxing on the legs so doing squats after daedlifts is ridiculous!
Also, hamstrings are fifty percent of the upper legs so why is there recommendations to train quads with squats but no hamstring exercises like leg curls or stiff-leg deadlifts?
You should train all of the body. Calves should be trained with as much intensity as biceps. Most people have good front delts but under-developed rear delts. Abs have the quickest recovery time so can be trained more frequently.
I hope this helps. Just eat and train and when you reach plateaus, get advice about the specific problem. If you eat enough and the right things and train enough, you are on your way.