Keith Wagner

Tweaking My Lifting Routine

January 28, 2021

Looking back at the last two months, I've noticed I've done a pretty good job of hitting the weights 5-6 days a week. Because of this, I decided I'd tweak my routine a little bit to help jumpstart some gains.

Since I built my home gym, I've been running a 4 day version of a 5/3/1 plan mixed with the PHUL plan. This has generally worked out well for me. I was able to regain a decent chunk of the strength I lost. Now that I'm lifting around 6 days a week, I figured I'd add 2 more days worth of lifting to my cycle to hopefully help make more gains easier.

I thought I'd share the routine I've built myself in hopes that maybe it'll help inspire you or give you ideas on how to improve or build yours.

Some Terminology and Background

I base the weights of the 4 big lifts (Overhead Press, Bench Press, Squat & Deadlift) off of what they call the "Training Max" or TM. This is basically 90% of your 1 rep max (1RM), which refers to the heaviest weight that you can do a single rep of the exercise. So when I say "5 @ 75%", that means I am doing 5 reps at 75% of my Training Max. So if my TM is 100 lbs., I'd be doing 5 reps at 75 lbs.

You'll also notice for Mondays through Thursdays, I start with the big lift 5 @ 75%, 3 @ 85%, & 1+ @ 95%. That final '1+' set is the key set. That's what determines when I increase my TM. If I can do at least 5 reps at 95% of my TM, then I bump up my TM by 5 lbs. Some people only use 3 as the cutoff, but I prefer 5...it's a personal choice.

The other notations should be self explanatory. "3 x 8-12" means 3 sets of 8-12 reps.

The Routine

Mondays - Overhead Press

  1. Overhead Press: 5 @ 75%, 3 @ 85%, 1+ @ 95%
  2. Bench Press: 5 x 10 @ 60%
  3. Barbell Row: 3 x 8-12
  4. Front Dumbbell Raise: 4 x 10-12
  5. Barbell Shrug: 3 x 8-12
  6. EZ Bar Curl: 4 x 8-12
  7. Skullcrusher: 4 x 8-12
  8. Twenty-Ones: 1 x Narrow Grip, 1 x Wide Grip, 1 x Reverse Grip

Tuesdays - Deadlift

  1. Deadlift: 5 @ 75%, 3 @ 85%, 1+ @ 95%
  2. Squat: 5 x 10 @ 60%
  3. Romanian Deadlift: 3 x 8-12
  4. Standing Calf Raise: 4 x 10-12
  5. Russian Twist: 4 x 15-20
  6. Ab Wheel: 4 x 10+

Wednesdays - Bench Press

  1. Bench Press: 5 @ 75%, 3 @ 85%, 1+ @ 95%
  2. Overhead Press: 5 x 10 @ 60%
  3. Dumbbell Row: 4 x 10-12
  4. Dumbbell Bench Press: 4 x 10-12
  5. Hammer Curl: 4 x 8-12
  6. Dumbbell Fly: 3 x 8-12
  7. Overhead Tricep EZ Bar Extension: 4 x 8-12
  8. Twenty-Ones: 1 x Narrow Grip, 1 x Wide Grip, 1 x Reverse Grip

Thursdays - Squat

  1. Squat: 5 @ 75%, 3 @ 85%, 1+ @ 95%
  2. Deadlift: 5 x 10 @ 60%
  3. Front Squat: 3 x 8-12
  4. Seated Calf Raise: 4 x 10-12
  5. Dumbbell Side Bends: 4 x 15-20
  6. Ab Wheel: 4 x 10+

Fridays - Upper Body

  1. Bench Press: 4 x 6 @ 75%
  2. Overhead Dumbbell Press: 4 x 8-12
  3. Close-Grip Bench Press: 3 x 8-12
  4. Upright Row: 3 x 8-12
  5. Zottman Curl: 4 x 8-12
  6. Dumbbell Tricep Extension: 4 x 8-12
  7. Timed Farmer Carries: 3x
  8. Twenty-Ones: 1 x Narrow Grip, 1 x Wide Grip, 1 x Reverse Grip

Saturdays - Lower Body

  1. Squat: 4 x 6 @ 75%
  2. Sumo Deadlift: 4 x 6 @ 75%
  3. Bulgarian Split Squat: 3 x 8-12
  4. Hip Thrust: 3 x 8-12
  5. Seated Calf Raise: 4 x 10-12
  6. Russian Twist: 4 x 15-20
  7. Ab Wheel: 4 x 10+

Edit (2/1/21 7:13pm): Typos

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