Congratulations on completing your first month of training. You should be seeing quite incredible results from the correct cadence usage as well as engaging your body as a whole. In order to progress adequately and to experience something new and exciting while still maintaining the basics: we will be moving onto the split routine.
The split routine really is a favourite among avid physique builders as it not only allows for some diversity and experimentation but it also allows for greater focus on specific muscle groups. Let me just quickly add that even though there are many routines out there that claim to be split body part training please assess them the following way: If they claim that a split workout is merely upper body one day and then lower body the next then clearly much thought has not gone into the routine.
A typical split routine, and the one that I will be suggesting, will take all of the training that has been done thus far and then build on it. So in essence we'll be training three body parts per day that we train. And to keep a consistent rhythm, going albeit a varied programme, we will be training on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and taking the weekend off for recovery as before.
Mondays: Legs, chest and biceps
Wednesdays: Back, shoulders and triceps
Fridays: Legs, chest and biceps
Monday following: Back, shoulders and triceps
This will ensure that all major muscles groups are engaged for testosterone production to induce muscle growth but also to ensure that every muscle group gets about 2 days off on a cyclical basis. You will quickly find with the workouts that some muscle groups will be enjoying a little more than the average amount of time off. That is the intention as now that you can apply more focus to the training you can drill deeper into the muscle and as such this facilitates a greater period of rest.
Routine One: Legs, chest and biceps
1) Squats (you should be familiar with these by now so do two warm ups and two working sets. N.B working set are always taken to a point of failure, the point where you cannot do another positive rep)
2) Bench Press ( 2 warm up and 1-2 working sets)
3) Dumbbell Flyes ( 2 hard sets - really accentuate the stretch and let the muscles work on the way back up)
4) Barbell curls ( 1 warm up and 1-2 working sets. If these are done properly, you should be feeling pretty sore with the warm up. These really work great for toning up my wife's arms - a hint for the ladies there)
5) Alternate dumbell curls ( 1 set of all you've got. Really squeeze these at the top of the movement.)
6) Crunches ( choose whichever machine your gym has but keep to the cadence rules for a truly blasting ab workout. Have someone close by to pull you off the machine for this one.)
A quick note: I haven't really been too strict on rep amounts here so use the previous month as a guideline. Try to learn and get a feel for the intensity at which your body responds the best.
Routine Two: Back, shoulders and triceps
1) Stiff legged deadlifts ( 2 sets of 12-15 reps. This is really going to get your body primed for building muscle)
2) Shrugs ( on this one you can use the barbell or a pair of dumbbells. Just remember to stick to the training principles and the results will come. 2 sets will suffice here as well.)
3) Bent over rows ( 1 brief warm up and two working sets of 12 reps each. Remember the biceps took a beating in the previous routine and so we don't want to interfere with any recuperating they might still be getting.)
4) Lat pull downs ( stick with the close grip type from month one. Do two working sets of 10-12)
5) French Presses ( also known as lying triceps extensions. Really stick to the cadence on these and feel your triceps burn like never before. Do one warm up to get the technique right and then 2 working sets of 12 each)
6) Calf raises ( standing or seated, depending on your preference. Really kill these. Do 2 working sets of 20)
Remember the training rules. If you step into the gym without a plan and with incorrect knowledge, you will be wasting your time. Very important to remember to take the required amount of time off before transitioning to this routine and once again after you have completed it. This advice is free but it will change the way you train your body and more importantly it will change the way your body responds to training and the results will speak for themselves.
If you have not seen the first month routine go here.
