- Monday: Upper body (bicep focus)
- Tuesday: Lower body (quad focus)
- Wednesday: OFF
- Thursday: Upper body (bicep focus)
- Friday: OFF
- Saturday: Lower body (quad focus)
- Sunday: OFF
The key here is that the two focal points of this routine (biceps and quads) are hit with both intensity and volume over the duration of the split (I plan on using this for about 5 weeks). All other body parts are essentially being trained only for maintenance. The focus body parts are trained using a 5 x 5 technique with relatively heavy weight, followed by 3 sets of a different exercise with higher volume. Finally, all other upper (or lower) body parts are trained for 2-3 sets each with only moderate volume. So for example, my workouts for this past week went like this:
- Monday:
- Standing bicep barbell curl (5 sets of 5 reps)
- Alternating dumbbell curls (3 sets of 10 - 12 reps)
- Tricep extension (2 sets of 10 reps)
- Lateral raises (2 sets of 10 reps)
- Incline chest press (2 sets of 10 reps)
- Lat pulldowns (2 sets of 10 reps)
- Tuesday:
- Front squats (5 sets of 5 reps)
- Leg press (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Hamstring curls (4 sets of 10 reps)
- Calf raises (4 sets of 10 reps)
- Thursday:
- Alternating dumbell curls (5 sets of 5 reps)
- Preacher curls (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Tricep extension (2 sets of 10 reps)
- Lateral raises (2 sets of 10 reps)
- Incline chest press (2 sets of 10 reps)
- Lat pulldowns (2 sets of 10 reps)
- Saturday
- Squats (5 sets of 5 reps)
- Front squats (3 sets of 10 reps)
- Hamstring curls (4 sets of 10 reps)
- Calf raises (4 sets of 10 reps)
The hardest part for me is not training to all-out failure on the non-focal point muscles (triceps, chest, back, hams). It's going to be tough not doing deadlifts for more than a month! But so far, after a week of this, I think my quads and biceps are responding well to the extra work they're being given. I'll probably use this on some other body parts that I want to focus on in the coming months, but I think it's best used interspersed with more traditional training splits.
Back in the real world, I successfully made it through the review process and am now a tenured associate professor at Oklahoma State. I set this as a goal for myself even before starting the job back in 2006. Here is an updated vitae if you are interested, which includes links to most of the journal articles that I have published. I'm proud of accomplishing such a long-term goal - hopefully I can accomplish a few more as my career progresses. And who knows, maybe I'll even be a decent bodybuilder at some point in my bodybuilding career!
