@Tmcclone9119 That routine looks pretty good for an upper body workout. Yes you can do those drop sets on your last sets.

For your arm training, it depends. Some people can get away without doing much direct arm training at all and their arms still grow a lot. Other people don't see the same results and need more direct biceps and triceps training to really get them growing.

So if you're noticing growth, you can stick with what you're doing. If you're not really seeing growth, adding another exercise for your biceps and another for your triceps (and maybe shoulders) might be a good idea.

Yes you can have one day for strength and one for hypertrophy if you're working towards both of those goals.

There's no set number of exercises you need. You really only need 2 - 4 exercises max for a muscle group on a given day. If you're doing squats, pick an exercise for quads and one for hamstrings and that's more or less all you need for legs (along with calf raises or another calf movement).

I have some good routines on YouTube for upper abs, lower abs and obliques, like the one below.

Your hands probably need more time to toughen up, which will come as you train more. And if you're feeling fatigued, make sure you're drinking plenty of water while working out. Maybe have some coffee or pre-workout before you train if you think you need it.

I do drink plenty of water but it seems to bother me on my hypertrophy days but not so much on my strength days so idk if i should wait a little longer before i go to the gym and i do take pre workout 20 to 30 minutes prior. When it comes for your total volume for the week should i worry about how many sets i do or reps.

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/optimal-workout-volume/

@Tmcclone9119 If fatigue bothers you more on hypertrophy days than strength training days, it's probably just that your endurance levels aren't the best and the higher reps wear you down more. The more endurance training you do, the more that will improve and you won't feel as fatigued.

For volume, it's a mix of a number of things. Reps, sets, frequency. And it all depends on how you're training, because the volume is going to be different if you're training for hypertrophy one day and strength another. For example, on your hypertrophy day you might do 5 - 6 sets for your chest with 8 - 10 reps per set. So that might be 60 reps total. But on your strength day, you might do 6 - 8 sets for chest, but only 4 - 6 reps per set. So that might only be 48 reps total, even though you do more sets. But it's with heavier weight, so the total volume might be similar. Does that make sense?

Looks like what you linked to kind of goes over that a little bit.

Todays hypertrophy workout

Incline dumbell press 5x8 to 10 reps

Seated row cable machi e 5x8 reps on last supet set with close grip t bar row

Dumbell shoulder press 5x6 to 8 reps i know its a little bit on low rep side due to being heavier weight.

Assisted pull ups

5x8 to reps then last set drop the weight and burned out on pull ups

Pec fly machine 3x10 reps on last drop Weight 40 to 50 percent then proceed to failure super set with rear delt flys for 3x10 to 12 reps

Dumbell hammer curls

4x 8 to 10 reps

Tricep dip machine 4x12 reps last set drop the weight about 1/3 to 40 percent and rep to failure

Cable curls 3x8 to 10 reps

Let me know what your opinion is of this workout. I also have some follow up questions

When it comes to leg days should i do both squats and deadlifts on separate leg days working them once a week or should i do like heavy squats on tuesday then maybe some light squats on friday after heavy dead lifting followed by some leg presses than do some isolation exercises for the quads ham strings and calfs. How many ab exercises should i put into my lower body days.

How long does it take to rebuild muscle if you lose it. Im not trying to be a body builder or anything but i learned in these past 2 years of working out that it is alot of hard work and people dedicate their lives to the gym. Body builders power lifters people in movies etc etc. Im just someone who wants to look good and keep on getting stronger but i cant base my whole life around it forever. I been considering a career in the military but i hate to lose my muscle mass which i know is going to happen and it might be a very long time before i start working out in the gym again and i hate to revert to my skinny weak old self. I remember i could not ever workout on the bench press when i first started.

@Tmcclone9119 Looks like a pretty good upper body workout man! I like the drop sets, nice!

It's your choice really. If you want to lift both as heavy as possibly, then probably pick one day to deadlift heavy / squat lighter and one day to squat heavy and deadlift lighter. You don't need too many ab exercises, maybe 3 - 4 to make sure you're hitting a bit of the upper abs, lower abs an obliques if you're going to train everything at once.

If you can do some kind of training, even bodyweight stuff or a couple of gym sessions a week, that will help you minimize muscle loss, along with still eating a high protein diet and at a maintenance level of calories. But if you stop training altogether, yes you will lose size and strength and the amount of time it will take you to gain them back depends on your muscle memory. People who have been training for years and years will be able to gain back lost muscle and strength probably within months if they get back to it consistently with a good diet.

In the military you will probably still be quite active so you could probably maintain a good amount of muscle. But the key thing would be to not lose sight of the gym entirely.

So i go back tomorrow to the gym for another upper body workout. I been doing this for 6 to 8 weeks and i am not seeing much results maybe a little bit of growth in my arms but my chest and shoulders are still the same and its frustrating. Scott how did you pack on such mass so quickly from your full body workouts. You only what go throuh one exercise for your chest back shoulders biceps triceps abs legs etc. What would you recommend on structuring a work out for an upper lower split and maximize strength and muscle gains and to get in an out of the gym. Should i lift real heavy on all my exercises on strength day or just certain ones and do all the rest of my exercises for hypertrophy. Pretty much which style of training is whats going to make me look good. but i also like building strength and getting stronger. When it comes to upper body days should i stick with 1 compound exercise for chest such as bench press and then an isolation exercise with cable flys. For back do one back width and then another for thickness. For shoulders should i do and overhead press than one for isolation and just have one for biceps and triceps. But my thing is is that enough volume to get muscle gains in with out spending 2 hours in the gym. Ive spent up to 90 minutes in the gym for upper body days and to me that is still a little too long. Also scott id like to know what you eat usually on a day to day basis.

@Tmcclone9119 I might do an Upper / Lower program as one of the next programs I do to put on the site. That will give you some ideas.

Honestly from what you've been posting, your workouts don't look terrible. At the end of the day, if you're not growing, it's probably down to one of two things (or a combination of both)...

1. You're not eating enough

2. You're not implementing progressive overload

Make sure you're doing both of those things. If you are, you should be noticing positive changes in strength and size. If you are progressively overloading and getting stronger but not growing and not gaining weight, that suggests you need to eat more food. I actually have a full day of eating video here: https://muscularstrength.com/exclusive/nutrition-supplements/full-day-of-eating-macro-breakdown

As for which style of training is going to make you look good, there's no one answer. If there was one answer for everybody, we would all be reading from just one book about building muscle or losing fat. But everyone is different. If you focus on the principles of more volume and frequency for hypertrophy and more weight for strength, that will put you on the right track.

If you want, we can go over your goals a bit more personally with a 1-on-1 consultation?

Todays workout

Barbell bench press at 175 for 4x 5 to 6 reps

Chest supported row 4x8to10 reps after last set burn out with seated cable row machine

Dumbell shoulder press 5x8to 10 reps

Chinups 4x8to10 reps

Cable crossovers 4x10 reps

Shoulder flys 3x10 reps

Tricep push down with vbar 4x8 reps with a 5th set to 12 reps

One set of push ups til failure.

Just a few questions. For each muscle group should i focus one big exercise per week to overload on for example

Chest: barbell bench and incline bench

Back: barbell row

Shoulders: overhead press

Triceps: weighted dips

Biceps: barbel curls

Legs: squats and dead lifts.

Should i focus on those exercises weekly to lift heavy on them on my strength days. How long should i go on til i switch up my exercises on certain days.

@Tmcclone9119 Yes focusing on one big compound movement for each muscle group to overload on each week is a great idea! Compound movements should always be a staple in your training!

Basically you can change them if you're no longer seeing progress. If you can't add weight, can't do more reps etc. I would say 4 - 6 weeks minimum, but remember if you are training everything twice per week with an upper / lower type split, you can focus on a different compound during that second training day. For example...

Upper 1: Flat Barbell Bench Press + Barbell Bent-Over-Row

Upper 2: Incline Barbell Bench Press + T-Bar Row

So ive been thinking on doing a full body program cause going to the gym 4 days a week is too much for me cause i have other stuff to do. So i thought to do a 3 day a week full body workout but will full body workout increase my muscle mass and strength due to training for 2 years i feel like i wont be able to fit in enough volume i need with full body but i cant do a 4 day upper lower split anymore cause it interferes with my life a little too much and i have a difficult time increasing my weight with going to the gym one extra day. How did your full body workouts ho. Did you see alot of gains.

@Tmcclone9119 You can definitely still make gains with full body training man. I noticed I got a lot thicker when I started full body training. And you don't necessarily need to match the total volume you've been doing. Definitely try your best to get your total volume (sets) around the same as what you've been doing lately, but the main thing with full body training is the frequency. You're making the most of the anabolic window more often throughout the week and that (along with obviously still being in a calorie surplus) is what helps you to see growth.

So how long does a full body workout last from my 1st exercise to my final set. For the 3 days a week of working out how should i structure the workout

Monday

Chest incline bench and cable cross overs

Legs dead lifts

Back barbell rows

Shoulders dumbell shoulder press

Triceps weighted dips

Biceps dumbell curl

Abs sit ups or something

Wednesday

Chest weighted chest dip

Legs leg presses and or walking lunges

Back t bar row

Shoulders. Shoulder flies and rear delt flies

Triceps. Tricep push down

Biceps cable curl

Abs leg raises

Friday

Chest barbell bench press

Legs back squats

Back one arm dumbell row and pull ups

Shoulders overhead press

Triceps skull crusher

Biceps barbell curl

Abs oblique twist

What would be the ideal sets and rep ranges with a full body workout. Since my biggest lift to progress on barbell bench on flat bench is it ok to to workout on that once a week and would i still increase my strength and so on it. Am i still able to lift with low reps with it on full body program. If i do weighted dips tricep variation on Monday will i be able to recover enough to do weighted dips chest variation by wednesday. Is it ok to do dead lifts at the beginning of the week or by the end of the week.i structured some days to hit a muscle more than once just so i could hit potentiality every angle of the muscle but with hitting every muscle every workout i dont want to be in the gym for 2 hours. Is it still ok to super set on full body like dead lifts with bench rows with cable cross overs shoulders with biceps etc.

@Tmcclone9119 This doesn't look too bad! Hard to say how long it will take - my routines in the Full Body Evolution program take around 90 - 105 minutes to complete. So it depends how many sets and reps you are doing and how long your rest periods are for how long it will take.

You can still mix your rep ranges with a full body program. Take a look at my program for an example, or just follow the program itself and take all the guesswork out of the equation 😊 

If you're trying to improve your flat bench press though, it might be a good idea to be benching on a flat bench twice per week. You should have recovered to do dips twice per week and yes you can do deadlifts at the start of the week.

And you can still do supersets with full body training, for sure!

So you think i should skip incline bench pressing. I thought it was probably most important to hit your upper chest when it comes to developing a good chest. And if i do these workouts consistently how long should it be before i switch up my exercises.

@Tmcclone9119 You can still incline press too. But instead of doing an incline press and flys, maybe do an incline press and a flat press. If your goal is to get it your flat bench stronger then doing it more often is going to help with that.

It's good to switch things up every 8 - 12 weeks, but it doesn't have to be everything. It can be a few exercises, maybe changing the order of exercises too. And if you are still seeing progress after 8 - 12 weeks and still enjoying the workouts, you don't NEED to change then. You would just change when you stopped seeing progress.

So has the full body workouts been the best split you ever done. When are you going to start an upper lower split. I feel like thats one of the best splits im curious to see what u think of it.