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Other/Mixed Four exercises three times a week - A man without timeP

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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chrisboffer

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I'm searching for a weight training program there will give my body big muscles, I have time for, 4 exercises 3 times a week

I have searched the internet, I did not find much, but it seems that these exercises is good to do I have listed below, can I do these three times a week or is there a better program, what is your guys opinion.

1. deadlift 5*4
2. Dips 5*4
3. Front Squats 5*4
4.Chin Ups 5*4

and then do it three times a week
 
Hello,

@chrisboffer
Here is a twice a program from Dan John:

Otherwise, Easy Strength may also be an option:

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Many many options with this my friend. Countless programs honored here at SF are built on the cornerstone of 3x a week training. Bill Starr’s 5 x 5 is a classic example. I think sticking to the compound moves format is the right way to go and your chosen exercises cover the body quite completely. Some questions for you.
1) What are your goals?
2) Is there a reason for the chosen exercises and do you wish to stick to them indefinitely?
3) do you have a dip belt to accommodate progression in the dip/chin?

I think your format here is strong. Consider alternating each upper lift with a lower lift. I.e front squats, rest, chins, rest, front squats. Doing such will save time, and alternating exercises with different agonist muscle groups helps aid recovery of each lift over straight sets. Pavel’s mentions this in fatigue cycling section of Beyond Bodybuilding, I’m which the program is actually eerily similar to yours (never lay down to train). If it were me, I’d alternate dips/deads and chins/FS as alternating sets. Cycling loads throughout the week and alternating days on which lifts you start with. Thus, all lifts get fresh days and others get lighter days. Solid plan though.
 
I'm searching for a weight training program there will give my body big muscles, I have time for, 4 exercises 3 times a week

I have searched the internet, I did not find much, but it seems that these exercises is good to do I have listed below, can I do these three times a week or is there a better program, what is your guys opinion.

1. deadlift 5*4
2. Dips 5*4
3. Front Squats 5*4
4.Chin Ups 5*4

and then do it three times a week
I would recommend picking another exercise from each and running them 3x week alternating A,B,A next week B,A,B. I think of it as

Hinge heavy/hinge accessory
push heavy/ push accessory
Squat heavy/ squat accessory
pull heavy/ pull accessory

And arrange in alternating fashion on subsequent days:
heavy/accessory
accessory/heavy
heavy/accessory
accessory/heavy

day 1:
Hinge heavy
push accessory
squat accessory
pull heavy

day 2:
Squat heavy
pull accessory
hinge accessory
push heavy

Your basic idea is sound depending on loading and pacing scheme. But, I find the same exercises over and over tend to lead to diminishing returns a lot faster than using the same strategy and overall training time with 2x the variety.
 
You could check out ReLoad from Pavel and Fabio: Shop Books & DVDs online, Reload—Digital Download Book or Kindle Edition | StrongFirst

Another option would be Pavel's 3-5 program from Beyond Bodybuilding.

-Pick 3-5 exercises, at least 3 of those exercises have to be big multi joint exercises like the 3 powerlifts squat, bench, deadlift
-do 3-5 reps
-for 3-5 sets
-with 3-5 minutes of rest between sets
-train each lift every 3-5 days
-after 3 weeks of progress do a 1 week deload by cutting your volume in half (either half the weight or half the reps)
 
Many many options with this my friend. Countless programs honored here at SF are built on the cornerstone of 3x a week training. Bill Starr’s 5 x 5 is a classic example. I think sticking to the compound moves format is the right way to go and your chosen exercises cover the body quite completely. Some questions for you.
1) What are your goals?
2) Is there a reason for the chosen exercises and do you wish to stick to them indefinitely?
3) do you have a dip belt to accommodate progression in the dip/chin?

I think your format here is strong. Consider alternating each upper lift with a lower lift. I.e front squats, rest, chins, rest, front squats. Doing such will save time, and alternating exercises with different agonist muscle groups helps aid recovery of each lift over straight sets. Pavel’s mentions this in fatigue cycling section of Beyond Bodybuilding, I’m which the program is actually eerily similar to yours (never lay down to train). If it were me, I’d alternate dips/deads and chins/FS as alternating sets. Cycling loads throughout the week and alternating days on which lifts you start with. Thus, all lifts get fresh days and others get lighter days. Solid plan though.
Thank you for all the answers Bill Starr’s 5 x 5 it looks interesting, my goal is should get as big muscles as it's possible with that time I have available, and because it's healthy I can really feel a difference in my energy, also want to put some cardio, but I am Limited because I have shin splints any will take maybe a year to get trained up, rowing machine seems to be the one I can do the most, should I do rowing the day I'm training muscles or the day off?

The reason for the exercises I choose is from this video
I don't have a dip belt but I can buy one, but I'm still not sure if it is bench press or dips there's best what is your opinion about that?
 
Thank you for all the answers Bill Starr’s 5 x 5 it looks interesting, my goal is should get as big muscles as it's possible with that time I have available, and because it's healthy I can really feel a difference in my energy, also want to put some cardio, but I am Limited because I have shin splints any will take maybe a year to get trained up, rowing machine seems to be the one I can do the most, should I do rowing the day I'm training muscles or the day off?

The reason for the exercises I choose is from this video
I don't have a dip belt but I can buy one, but I'm still not sure if it is bench press or dips there's best what is your opinion about that?

Ok so size is your goal. If it’s that you’re after, it’s also help to know your training experience. Do you have a strong strength base to start off of?

As far as bench vs dips, they both have great merit as lifts. I feel the dips are better for hypertrophy as they allow a larger ROM and seem to hit the pecs a bit better. Plus, guys get a little more ‘ego driven’ with the bench, turning it into a circus act, bounce press, contortionist trick. A powerlifting style bench ie high arch, short ROM is hardly great for overall hypertrophy but it’s not supposed to be. A minor arch, controlled descent and pause will do much better for size and strength gains. Both should be used at some point.
 
I'm searching for a weight training program there will give my body big muscles, I have time for, 4 exercises 3 times a week

I have searched the internet, I did not find much, but it seems that these exercises is good to do I have listed below, can I do these three times a week or is there a better program, what is your guys opinion.

1. deadlift 5*4
2. Dips 5*4
3. Front Squats 5*4
4.Chin Ups 5*4

and then do it three times a week

Look up Russian Bear program.

3 days a week, 2/3 lifts.

If you execute it correctly you will get MUCH bigger.
 
I would recommend picking another exercise from each and running them 3x week alternating A,B,A next week B,A,B. I think of it as

Hinge heavy/hinge accessory
push heavy/ push accessory
Squat heavy/ squat accessory
pull heavy/ pull accessory

And arrange in alternating fashion on subsequent days:
heavy/accessory
accessory/heavy
heavy/accessory
accessory/heavy

day 1:
Hinge heavy
push accessory
squat accessory
pull heavy

day 2:
Squat heavy
pull accessory
hinge accessory
push heavy

Your basic idea is sound depending on loading and pacing scheme. But, I find the same exercises over and over tend to lead to diminishing returns a lot faster than using the same strategy and overall training time with 2x the variety.
And if your goal is muscle my advice is to keep the reps high (~10 per set) and do multiple sets close to failure. My go to program is five sets close to failure (weight doesn't matter so much) but I usually only do three exercises (push/pull/legs). Others like @North Coast Miller on here have got good results with DeLorme style programs with added work after the max set. Also The Bear. You can search the forum. Also eat more protein
 
You could check out ReLoad from Pavel and Fabio: Shop Books & DVDs online, Reload—Digital Download Book or Kindle Edition | StrongFirst

Another option would be Pavel's 3-5 program from Beyond Bodybuilding.

-Pick 3-5 exercises, at least 3 of those exercises have to be big multi joint exercises like the 3 powerlifts squat, bench, deadlift
-do 3-5 reps
-for 3-5 sets
-with 3-5 minutes of rest between sets
-train each lift every 3-5 days
-after 3 weeks of progress do a 1 week deload by cutting your volume in half (either half the weight or half the reps)
When my goal is muscle I follow Pavel's 3-5 program but with higher rep sets, usually ~10 but as high as 25 and each set is close to failure. I can get away with increasing the frequency by having only two rest days so it's three workouts in 9 days, but recovery is a problem for me due to chronic issues. You may be fine three workouts weekly
 
And if your goal is muscle my advice is to keep the reps high (~10 per set) and do multiple sets close to failure. My go to program is five sets close to failure (weight doesn't matter so much) but I usually only do three exercises (push/pull/legs). Others like @North Coast Miller on here have got good results with DeLorme style programs with added work after the max set. Also The Bear. You can search the forum. Also eat more protein

I normally do modified DeLorme with two lead in sets, one at 12-15 reps close to failure, one with heavier weight, my 6-10 rep max depending done with 1/2 my max reps. Then one all out set, sometimes using Rest/Pause, sometimes a drop set.
I'll monkey with those weights. If I want more strength all those reps will be halved with more weight. Then that last set becomes a cluster with about 5 repeats, none done to failure.
 
Ok so size is your goal. If it’s that you’re after, it’s also help to know your training experience. Do you have a strong strength base to start off of?

As far as bench vs dips, they both have great merit as lifts. I feel the dips are better for hypertrophy as they allow a larger ROM and seem to hit the pecs a bit better. Plus, guys get a little more ‘ego driven’ with the bench, turning it into a circus act, bounce press, contortionist trick. A powerlifting style bench ie high arch, short ROM is hardly great for overall hypertrophy but it’s not supposed to be. A minor arch, controlled descent and pause will do much better for size and strength gains. Both should be used at some point.
I have training for 3-months full body three times a week but I have shin splints so I'm not able to do a Squat or deadlift but in the future I will but he might take 4 months rehabilitation but my upper body I can go to my maximum

thanks for the opinion about dips end bench I think I will go for dibs then:)


Look up Russian Bear program.

3 days a week, 2/3 lifts.

If you execute it correctly you will get MUCH bigger.

It looks very interesting I might try that thanks



And if your goal is muscle my advice is to keep the reps high (~10 per set) and do multiple sets close to failure. My go to program is five sets close to failure (weight doesn't matter so much) but I usually only do three exercises (push/pull/legs). Others like @North Coast Miller on here have got good results with DeLorme style programs with added work after the max set. Also The Bear. You can search the forum. Also eat more protein

thanks for the advised

I normally do modified DeLorme with two lead in sets, one at 12-15 reps close to failure, one with heavier weight, my 6-10 rep max depending done with 1/2 my max reps. Then one all out set, sometimes using Rest/Pause, sometimes a drop set.
I'll monkey with those weights. If I want more strength all those reps will be halved with more weight. Then that last set becomes a cluster with about 5 repeats, none done to failure.
thanks for the advised
 
Do you rotate exercises when you have the same exercises every time do you mix them up like this example

deadlift 5*4
Dips 5*4
Front Squats 5*4
Chin Ups 5*4

Front Squats 5*4
Dips 5*4
Chin Ups 5*4
deadlift 5*4

Dips 5*4
Chin Ups 5*4
deadlift 5*4
Front Squats 5*4
 
Do you rotate exercises when you have the same exercises every time do you mix them up like this example

deadlift 5*4
Dips 5*4
Front Squats 5*4
Chin Ups 5*4

Front Squats 5*4
Dips 5*4
Chin Ups 5*4
deadlift 5*4

Dips 5*4
Chin Ups 5*4
deadlift 5*4
Front Squats 5*4
I remember an article from long ago about fatigue cycling. It's basically what you suggested. You have the most energy at the start of the work out so, by rotating the order of the exercises, each one gets some time being worked while you're fresh.
 
I have training for 3-months full body three times a week but I have shin splints so I'm not able to do a Squat or deadlift but in the future I will but he might take 4 months rehabilitation but my upper body I can go to my maximum

thanks for the opinion about dips end bench I think I will go for dibs then:)




It looks very interesting I might try that thanks





thanks for the advised


thanks for the advised

I would. In addition because you are using 5 reps for all your sets, you are developing a lot of strength.
 
Do you rotate exercises when you have the same exercises every time do you mix them up like this example

deadlift 5*4
Dips 5*4
Front Squats 5*4
Chin Ups 5*4

Front Squats 5*4
Dips 5*4
Chin Ups 5*4
deadlift 5*4

Dips 5*4
Chin Ups 5*4
deadlift 5*4
Front Squats 5*4

Nope. I create the order based on priority. So lets say for example mass is my priority. Just sheer bulk. Then I would put Squats or deadlifts at the beginning. So they can be worked when I have the most energy to dedicate to them.
 
Thanks for the answers
I think I will go and try Bill Starr 5x5 Routine and maybe put some more exercises these days I have more time
appreciate all the help thanks :)
 
Funny, I've relied on mini programmes like this in the past to ensure I'm at least keeping strong if not truly "fit".
Now I think differently. I think I can get a lot more out of just 1 handed kettlebell swings and in less time than out of a lot of these kind of things. I'd say doing some of these slow, heavy exercises is great as a kind of part of it, and they certainly do what they are supposed to do(!) but one still needs the more hyper-active type of exercise, and kettlebell swings or snatches, or if you like, skipping or running, or at least walking should be happening too.
I never "just" lifted weights. I always at least went for several long walks in a week. I guess this is traditionally called a "cardio" component, but I think calling it that can obscure other benefits to these longer, more movement-based exercises.

I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents here just as a different look at things. I'm just an amateur, please keep in mind.
 
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