Standard Weightlifting Routine

by Patrick Carey
(Houston, Texas)

Three day split routine

I do the following routine once a week. It consists of 3 days of actual lifting. Everything is done 3 sets of 6-8.

Chest/ Triceps Exercises
dumbbell bench press
dumbbell incline bench press
weighted dip
tricep pushdowns

Legs/ Shoulders Exercises
squat
dumbbell shoulder press

Back/ Biceps Exercises
deadlift
weighted pullups
cable curls

Gain strength over time

I've done this routine for about 2 years. I make slight modifications but never stray away from the core of it. I have gotten significantly stronger using this routine. I went from first deadlifting 135 7 times to 385 1 time.

The strength and size gains are very nice from this general routine. An additional component is sprint training. Sprinting for 30 seconds then jogging for 2 minutes is a good workout. You do roughly 5 cycles of that and you're dead tired.

Stimulus for muscle growth

I "made" this routine by learning about the growth/healing cycles of the human muscles. Using this routine a beginner is given plenty of time to heal the fibers as they are torn regularly in this routine.

Past that, this routine gives the muscle fibers time to grow. If they are not allowed to grow after they are healed, there is no progress.

I had no coach involved or anything.

Increasing intensity

This workout is made difficult because once you achieve 8 reps, you increase the weight. It's really simple to keep on increasing weight.

A normal male would be able to use this routine until a dead lift of 500 is achieved. Past that, specialized training needs to be introduced to keep on achieving the strength goals of the athlete.

Avoiding injury

I have been very sore after these work outs. I have also gotten injured. It was due to improper form and my ego getting in the way of the weight I was using.

I was too proud to start with a light weight and work my way up. I did not severely hurt myself, but it put me out of commission for 3 weeks. After that I made a promise to myself to never let my own ego get in the way of my body's well being.

I keep on doing this routine without any plans of stopping.

Major gains from basic movements

The importance of focusing on the squat/dead lift/bench press movements is where all the gains a bodybuilder or power lifter would enjoy. Even the recreational athlete would be inclined to be bigger and stronger.

I would recommend this routine to anyone that is not able to already dead lift 500. Especially to beginners. A note to beginners - if you want to make gains, it's going to be hard. Start light, don't worry about what everyone else in the gym is doing.