the_wolf's Guide on How to Create Your Own Workout

Routine:

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Exercise choice
3. Sets, reps, rest and tempo
4. Splitting it up

1. Introduction

OK, despite the fancy name and a content table, this is going to be
a pretty clear and straight-forward guide on how to create your
own workout routine, or, at least, to check whether it's right or
not. We get this kind of question on the Bulking up board all the
time, be it users who have a routine that needs to be rated, or
they don't even know how to start putting a routine up. Having
viewed (and answered) lots of those questions, I came to observe
the fact that the problems we see in these routines are very
similar, or, to say it in a different way, that most of the people
make the same mistakes, which are pretty easy to correct, as they
aren't tightly related to a specific trainee. Let me say this once
again: just a few people on the forum are advanced enough to
make the advice offered in this post obsolete (and I expect those
people to already know something on how to create a routine );
for the rest (and I'm sorry if this is going to sound rude, but it is
true), 99% of advice given here will work. Bodybuilding is
extremely complex when we try to grasp everything known about
it, but, in its core, it is still very simple and easy to understand and
apply. Please take note of that. Squats work the legs, pullups work
the back, and although many subtle variations exist, these two
facts are, even when as stripped as I've written them here, true
and easy to implement to reap gains. Of course, if you have an
injury or a problem (a real one, not falsely perceived by yourself),
some exercises are not for you, and that's perfectly okay.

Another note is in order here: the forum audience consists of both

the people who work out at home gym, those who workout at
regular gyms, and those who are just starting at home with no
equipment. The last group has, at least in my opinion, its need
covered through Scooby's advice on bodyweight beginner routines,
as well as advice provided in the Bulking up section. So, this guide
assumes you to have some equipment available. It really doesn't
matter how much, as I'll try to offer alternatives to some exercises
and plans, but, ideally, your (home) gym should include: a
dumbbell set and a barbell with enough weight plates, and
adjustable bench, preferably with leg extensions/curl attachment,
a squat rack (or anything which can allow you to squat), a pullup
bar, somewhere to do dips on (Scooby has shown as that all you
need is a pair of chairs), and, if possible, a high-pulley cable setup.
I know this may seem like a lot, but after you've been into fitness
for several years (and plan on doing it for a long, long time ),
you'll probably acquire/make yourself all of the listed bodybuilding
tools.

Now, despite the fact some people have expected this subject to
arise later, in the "Splitting it up" section, I'm going to take the
time here and discuss what is, in my opinion, the most important
decision you have to make before designing a workout, and this is
the thing I ask our forum users first when they request a routine.
So, the majestic question is: How often do you plan to work
out?
Despite seeming simple and not to so important, the answer to
this question pulls along everything else we're going to discuss in
this Guide. But first things first, as giving an answer is not as easy
one might think. How often you're going to train is dependant on
many factors, most important of which are (in hierarchical order in
which they are listed):
1) How long have you been into fitness/bodybuilding (what's your
level of experience)?
2) How much time do your other duties/activities leave you with?
3) What are your specific goals?

Let's cover all of them:

1) Your level of experience is what should come first. Beginners

tend to recuperate faster than people who are longer into working
out, but they can also overtrain more easily. Someone who's been
working out longer might want to increase the frequency of
workouts, or cut it down. Well, to cut this short, I'll say my opinion
on the matter:

   a) If you're a beginner (and here I'm not applying Scooby's

definition as someone who's been lifting for less than 6 months -
beginner is anyone under 17, and anyone who has never been
lifting in his life, or hasn't been lifting for quite some time, up until
the point where they have a need to push themselves more than
Scooby's beginner plan offers) - stick to Scooby's beginner plan,
and bodyweight-train 3 times a week.
   b) Intermediate lifters (those who can't get a proper workout out
of bodyweight-only routines) - two options are available. First one
is working out 3 times a week (full body routines, but we'll get
there later), and the latter is 4 times a week (upper/lower splits).
   c) More advanced trainees know best what's for them, but I'll
outline some options: 4 or 5 DAW split routines, 3 or 4 DAW full
body routine, 3 on 1 off training.

2) What I've written above is just an idealization - most of the

time, people either have to work, or study, or have other, more
important things in life to take care for, and this makes a, for
example, 3-on-1-off routine somewhat difficult to practice. I'll just
state my opinion here: never allow bodybuilding to come before
your school, college, work, family, etc. As Scooby said it:
"Bodybuilding is the means, not the end."

3) Having specific goals is more likely to occur with more advanced

trainees, and this can affect your training frequency. For example,
let's say your arms are lagging. So instead of doing them with
other upper body muscles, you decide to give them a separate
day, which effectively increases your training frequency by on(c)e
(a week). A general rule also follows, and that is that weakpoints
dictate the whole routine. Now that some of you rejoiced, thinking
I just gave my blessing with working chest and biceps 4 times a
week, it's time to come back down to earth. Most people who give
their routines to be inspected do not have weak points, or at least,
no weakpoints which would require specific addressing. So, this
third point is off for most of the people on the forum. Again, this
may sound harsh, but if you have 12" arms, your bicep peak is the
last things you should be worrying about (and this, of course,
applies to many other cases). Trust me (and it can be seen on the
forum), most people who start off early on specific training (for
example, jump straight into the advanced routine) sooner or later
realize their mistake and experience the best gains after switching
to a routine more appropriate to them.

Now that you have decided how often you're going to work out,
you should probably know that this affects pretty much everything
concerning your training. Again, I'll clarify this by example: If
you're doing a 4 DAW upper/lower split, you simply don't have
time to do 3 different exercises for your triceps, or to do 5 sets of
bench presses. Those 2 days of upper body training need to be
dense, and require cutting out all the additional exercises and
work which would probably be done on a classic, 5 DAW split
routine. Similarities, of course, extend to other splits, and I hope
that you'll, by the end of this article, be able to recognize and
apply them properly.
OK, with this settled, let's say something about exercise choice
and what to train.

Exercise choice .2

This part will be written in a somewhat different manner than expected, so

instead of simply listing best exercises for each bodypart, I'll put in some
important workout-related facts which most people don't seem to follow
:(and probably understand). So, here we go

You must work out your entire body )1

I cannot overemphasize this one. This is the first thing one must realize
before starting to work out. Everyone starts out with just ABCs (Abs,
Biceps, Chest) in mind, and don't realize soon enough that this approach
is wrong for two reasons: first, it results in an unbalanced, injury prone
physique that does more harm than good, both from a medical and
aesthetical perspective, and second, is hampers your gains - trust me,
.your chest can't grow out if your back isn't there to support it

You should focus your training on several major compound exercises )2

This one is also very important. Everybody likes curling and doing flys and
leg extensions, but also avoid rowing, chins, squatting, etc. The reason for
this is simple: compounds are hard, require near perfect form, and add
the mental toughness component into the training. People also wrongly
think that, exemplum gratia, pullups work the biceps a lot more
ineffectively than curls do, and as most beginners tend to think they know
what's best for their bicep, they sit and enjoy themselves curling a
dumbbell, without even sweating. The positive effect of compound are
hard to grasp in a few sentences, but I'll try to outline the most important
:ones

a) Compounds work multiple muscle groups, which include stabilizer    

muscles isolation exercises usually don't target. This means you work a
much larger portion of your body doing squats than leg extensions, which,
I hope it's clear, is definitely a good thing. Also, compounds make your
body act in a more natural way, so to speak, as they engage the muscle
groups which are naturally made to work together, resulting in a more
functional and less injury-prone physique. This forum isn't comprised of
pro bodybuilders who are only into adding muscle mass, sacrificing health
.and general good shape for the sake of it
b) Compounds allow much higher weights to be used, resulting in more    
muscle fiber stimulation. This one is somewhat clear, but I'll explain so no
misinterpretations arise. Of course you can move a lot more weight
deadlifting than leg curling - after all, it's your entire body that's lifting the
bar off the floor. But what I'm trying to tell here is that the weight load
applied to hamstrings alone is much greater in the DL than it is in the
.isolating leg curl (but we'll get to more detailed hamstring training later)
c) During the compound lifts, you burn A LOT more calories than when    
doing isolation exercises. Just look at the example I've show before, which
almost everyone can testify it's true: you'll sweat and huff and puff a lot
.more when doing pullups than curling (or, at least, it should be so)
d) Compounds allow your body to produce more hormones, which    
contribute to larger muscle growth. This topic is still controversial, so I
.won't sticky it out or explain it further
   
Now, does that mean isolation exercises are to be completely thrown out?
My stand here is no, and here's why: I am a bodybuilder. Not a
powerlifter, not a strongman, not an athlete looking for sport-specific
performance enhancements. My goal is to build muscle, and in that
process, isolation exercises sure do have their rightful place, so I do
include them into my workout routines (although they are stapled upon
.compounds)

Avoid machines whenever possible )3

The issue here is, in its essence, similar to the conflict between
compounds and isolation exercises. Using free weights is tougher, but
involves much more stabilizer muscles and allows you to follow natural
movement patterns. On the other hand, machines offer "safety" and feel
more comfortable working with. I won't go into much detail here as the
answer is simple: use free weights whenever possible, except for the
exercises which can't be done without a machine (such as leg extensions -
if you have a leg extension machine, don't bother trying a dumbbell to
your ankle ). Also, stay away from the dreaded Smith machine -
although allowing you to move lots of weight (but just virtually, as it is a
counterweight machine, which means you're moving just half the weight
most of the time), and allowing you to do some lifts without a spotter, in
the long run it ruins the joints and leads to severe muscle imbalances by
.completely excluding most small, assisting muscle groups

There's much more to working chest out than bench pressing )4

Much has been written on the forum about the bench press (I here mean
flat BB bench press), and how it doesn't do the best job when building the
chest. I'm not going to go into those kind of discussions here, but rather
add some tips about exercise choices for chest training. I'll sum this up
into a simple statement: to build chest, you need a main press, an incline
:press, and a fly. Now let's elaborate each
a) Main press - this exercise should be a staple of your chest routine,    
and if you had to do just one, this would be it. This exercise provides the
best overall chest development, as well as putting shoulders and triceps to
work. The best exercises for this are: pushups, flat presses (be it BB or
.DB), and chest dips
b) Incline press - for the sake of more aesthetically pleasing appearance,    
your chest needs to be "brought up". Hence, we do incline work, which
just consists of doing regular chest work at a low to medium incline bench
(15-65°). There's not much wisdom here - grab a barbell or dumbbells
.and press on this incline bench
c) Flys - Scooby swears by them, and most people around here know    
how great a pump and burning sensation this isolation exercise brings to
the chest. You can do both incline and flat flys, and I recommend
.alternating between those two each workout
   
Also, one note is at hand here: when performing chest exercises, try to
minimize your shoulder movement by keeping your shoulder blades tight
against each other. Otherwise, the force transmission between your arms
and chest is not effective and results in shoulders having to take up most
.of the pounding, which leaves chest worked minimally. Bear this in mind

Please, do work out your back )5

Okay, unless you're a professional rower, your back isn't "already pretty
developed". Period. Most people start their beginner programs with
pushups, maybe dips, and similar pushing exercises. Pulls, such as rows
and pullups, are overlooked and usually completely forsaken. Also, most
people can't find joy in working the back out. I know this myself: nothing
feels better than watching my veins popping out when doing reverse
preacher curls. But when I go to rowing, I can't even see the muscles
working! Hopefully, many of you will, eventually, realize how much fun
can working out the back be, and how good this bodypart looks when it's
nicely developed. But even until then it's imperative to work your back out
for the sake of your joints and muscle balance. Again, I'll compress my
basic idea into one, short sentence: to build great back, all you need is a
vertical pull, a horizontal pull and a lower back exercise. And again, let's
:clarify it

a) Vertical pull - here I exclude vertical rows, which are a upper    
trap/bicep/medial delt exercise, and focus on one major lift - the chins. I
use this as a crown term form vertical pulls done with pronated grip
(pullups), supinated (chinups), and neutral grip (these don't have a
specific name). Nothing beats these exercises when it comes to widening
you back, putting mass to it and developing your other pulling muscles
(biceps, for example) alongside them. A must. Note here than chins
should always be placed before pulldowns, according to the "free weight
over machines" principle. Also, if you do chins, there's really no need for
.pulldowns
b) Horizontal pull - a.k.a. a row. I believe only one rowing exercise is    
necessary for great back thickness, but if someone wants to do two of
them, be my guest. Right now I can't think of a rowing exercise which I
would tell you to stay away from (except maybe Smith machine bent-over
rows). Bent-over BB rows, DB rows, seated rows, T-bar rows, you name
.it, all do a great job at developing the back
c) Lower back exercise - although hyperextensions and good morning    
(real ones, with the bar on your shoulders, not what Scooby shows) are
great for isolating the lower back, I won't recommend either of those to
be used as a primary lower back exercise. My view here is pretty clear:
deadlifts. Nothing beats the amount of work your body will have to exert
when this exercise is used. Lower back soreness is guaranteed, and it'll
surely add to your upper back thickness as well. One may now ask, why
not do the deadlift on the leg day? It is, after all, a primarily lower body
movement. As you'll see later in the guide, I always like to separate
squats from deadlifts, or, at least, no to do them on the same day, as I
find them too taxing and form-dependant to be done side by side. Hence,
I always recommend doing DLs on your back day, and squats on the leg
.day
   
Another exercise is worth mentioning here, and those are pullovers.
Although there doesn't seem a general consensus on what muscles does
this exercise primarily target, I can tell you it is a very natural movement,
which often occurs in the real life, and should be done for at least a set or
.two. The serratus anterior (intercostals) loves it as well

?What to do with shoulders )6

People, in my opinion, usually overwork their shoulders by adding lots of
unnecessary exercises and excessive number of sets to their routines. The
deltoids are small muscles which get their share of work with almost any
upper body movement imaginable, so if your delts aren't growing, it might
be because you're actually overtraining them. Yet again, a comprehension
is at hand: to build shoulders, you need an overhead press, a lateral raise
.and a rear delt exercise

a) Overhead press - this is the best compound exercise there is for    
shoulders, and does a great deal for the entire upper body, if done
properly. The press I recommend is the standing barbell overhead press,
a.k.a. the military press. Not only will this quickly pack mass on your
shoulders, but will also add great strength to your core needed to balance
the weight over your head. Seated presses are also okay, either done with
a barbell or dumbbells. Smith machine is not an option. If you were to do
.just one exercise for shoulders, presses would be it
b) Lateral raises - medial delts are the ones who mostly contribute to    
the "wide shoulders" appearance, and are usually found lacking with many
people. The exercise Scooby shows on his site is the L-lateral raise, which,
due to the advantageous leverage, allows for more weight to be used. The
straight arm lateral raises call for less weight to be used, but still make
the best work for medial deltoid development. Low-pulley cables also
.make great work here
c) Rear delts - developing the rear delts is a necessity is you are to keep    
your shoulders healthy and in balance. This part is often found most
lacking, compared to the front deltoids, which has much to do with the
fact I've talked before, and this is overdoing pressing movements at the
expense of doing less pulls. Good rear delts will also help your posture.
The single best exercise for these are the reverse flys, although rear delt
rows and facepulls do the job as well (and reverse peck deck, reverse
.cable crossovers and some other gym-specific exercises)
   
Some of you may now ask: "But where are the front deltoid exercises?" In
my experience, most people have their front deltoids way out of balance
with the rest of the shoulders which is, again, due to all the pressing they
do. Every pushup, dip, or bench press you do will contribute to the size of
your front delts, not to mention that these are the muscles which are
mostly engaged during overhead pressing as well. So, for the sake of
.balance, I usually don't put any front deltoid exercises in my programs

In this section I'll also include the advice on traps. I'm probably not the
best person to give trap workout advice, since I almost never work my
upper traps out. But I'll still give some general guidelines - shrugs and
upright rows are the sole exercises you need. Behind the back shrugs tend
to target the middle and lower traps more, and make the movement
harder to cheat. While performing upright rows, making the grip wider
takes away the stress from traps and puts it onto medial deltoids. My
.advice is to do traps with shoulders for a couple of sets

!More is not always better - stop overtraining your arms )7

I had to write this with the exclamation mark at the end, otherwise I feel
people wouldn't read it properly (and I'm still sure most people won't
listen to what I have to say in this section). Most of the routines I've seen
on the forum are arm based - arms are done a couple of times a week, or
only once with somewhere between 20 and 30 sets for biceps, and 5-10
for triceps, and most people are under the impression this will make their
arms get bigger. The first step to having big arms is doing the compound
exercises for the chest, back and shoulders. These alone should be
enough for an intermediate bodybuilder, as they'll provide adequate
stimulation. More advanced BBers may rely on isolation exercises more,
but the fact still stands: your arms are getting plenty of work during other
upper body lifts, so it's easy to overtrain them by doing excessive
sets/exercises on the arm day. Now we're at it, let's cover the "arm day"
question: "Do the arms need to have their separate day, or should they
be done with other major upper body muscle groups?" (This, of course,
applies to split routines only.) My advice would be: find out for yourself.
Doing arms together with chest or back has its benefits, but some people
simply can't make their arms grow that way and need to have a separate
day to give full attention to them. Again, do what you feel is best for you.
Another thing to mention is the amount of work to be done. I always
recommend doing the same amount of sets for both biceps and triceps
.(and sometimes even supersetting the exercises)
:OK, with this settled, let's go to the exercises

a) biceps - I think Scooby's site has this covered pretty well. The only    
note I'd take is to do your DB curls with a supination, i.e., start in the
neutral (hammer) position, and finish in the supinated one (ideally, you'd
start at the pronated position, but that can get hairy, so we'll skip it).
Remember, biceps is also the supinator of the forearm (not only it's
abductor), so both of these aspects need to be taken care of. Another
note would be to try to do curls on an incline bench - this really gets you a
good stretch, which is also beneficial for muscle growth. And remember:
just 2, maybe 3 curls are necessary (if you asked me, those would be DB
curls, incline hammer curls and concentration curls) - doing 10 exercises
!for the biceps won't make them grow any faster
b) triceps - Scooby's site also has some good advice here, but I'll add    
some. If you have a cable setup, do tricep pushdowns, be it with a
straight bar, a V-attachment or with a rope. Experiment with grips as well,
it's truly a terrific tricep exercise. Doing close-grip bench presses is also
.great for overloading the triceps in the low rep range (4-8)

?What about abs

I won't get into detail concerning the ab training, as I could write as long
an article as this one concerning the subject. I'd just list some of mine
favorite exercise: Swiss-ball crunches, hanging leg raises (bring your
.ankles to the bar), Russian twists and static hold hanging knee-ins

!Your legs constitute a half of your body - don't forsake them )9

This one is probably the most common error beginners make, once they
go past doing 200 rep curls three times a day. Most of the time they have
similar excuses as well: "I find my upper body more important right
now.", "I am a soccer/basketball/chess player, my legs are developed
enough.", "I do cardio everyday, it's enough for my legs", or this one,
which really makes me mad, "I go drinking on Friday so I don't get time
to do them." I hope it's clear that all of these are just excuses, and pretty
worthless and cheap ones. Take note of the title of the section: leg are
half your body, and if you don't train them, you're missing en enormous
boost of overall muscle mass (plus you're turning yourself into a chicken-
legged comic book character). So I hope this is clear: you must work
your legs out. I don't care how painful, exhausting or inconvenient it is -
you'll have to get used to it (I find it interesting that people like to
complain about the pain during squats, but never about pain during bench
.press or curls)

In this particular section, we'll focus on the thighs, i.e., the main
compound exercises that build quads, hamstring, glutes and hip muscles
up. Similarly to back training, the compound exercises priority principle is
accented here as well. Few are good leg exercises which are purely
isolation, and their usage is often limited to machines which can only be
found in gym. In my opinion, only the leg extensions and curls are worth
mentioning, as additional exercises to the main compound lifts. Another
note should be made, and this is that the separation between "quad" and
"hams" exercises is pretty vague. Squats and lunges work hamstring and
glutes besides quads, deadlift is not only a hamstring movement. Hence,
to say an exercise is for "quads" or "hamstring" has little meaning for
.these compound lifts
People often ask what would be the minimal leg routine, consisting of just
two or three exercises. The answer here is simple, as these exercises
:should be a staple of any leg routine

.IMPORTANT: Before you do squats at home, watch this video

a) Squats - if you still aren't aware of the importance of squats, just    
type it into Google and read several articles. This is truly not the place to
discuss it. Squats are to be done, period. From other variations, I'd say
you should definitely try front squats and hack squats (with or without a
machine). Now onto more important topic: how to do squats if you don't
have a way to get the bar up to your shoulders (and you can't execute a
proper power clean). It's perfectly okay to do squats with dumbbells,
although this will, eventually, limit the amount of weight you can move
(and with squats, this should be a serious number). If your dumbbells
don't satisfy you, try split squats or single-legged squats for more
resistance. Another commonly asked question is does the leg press
substitute the squat. The answer is no, for reasons similar to why
pulldowns are not pullups. However, leg press is still a great exercise, and
can be very well suited for taller trainees (as would front squats be),
compared to back squats. As for the question which I'm sure will
eventually arise, "How deep to go on my squats?", I do now have a
definite answer. I'm a proponent of using full range of motion on all
exercises, which means going past parallel on squats, but not all people
share my opinion so I won't dwelve into further discussions concerning
this one. For more information, check out my previous "lengthy post",
.called Full vs. Partial squats
b) Stiff-legged deadlifts - this is what Scooby calls "Good mornings" on    
his site, a deadlift variations which gives more emphasis one the glutes
and hamstrings. Of course, I still do imply you're doing regular deadlifts
somewhere else in the week - if not, as in, for example, a full body
routine, that do regular deadlifts instead of the stiff-legged variant.
Although some will disagree this to be a compound exercise (the
movement occurs only at hips), I still consider it as such because of the
several important muscle groups which work together in it. Again, a must
for good hamstring development. Try the Romanian deadlift variant as
.well
c) Lunges - Unlike squats, lunges are a unilateral movement with a more    
complex motion involved, which makes it unique and more difficult to
perform. The story here is similar to the one connected with squats -
although considered a primarily quad-targeting movement, the lunge
develops the entire thigh. Walking lunge variant is even more challenging,
.and should surely be tried (if space allows for it, of course )
   
As for the other thigh exercises, I'd mention just three of them: Leg
extensions are not, I repeat, are not a complete thigh building exercise
and do not replace nor squats nor lunges, but can be used as an auxiliary
quad exercise. On the other hand, I consider leg curls to be crucial for
complete hamstring development in conjunction with SLDLs, as those two
enable the hams to develop both of their primary functions (abduction of
the tibia and extension of the hips). The third exercise very worth
mentioning are the glute-ham raises, which require almost no equipment,
but can make your hamstring ache like they never have. It's definitely
worth trying, whether you have the equipment necessary for SLDLs and
.leg curls or not
.Yet again, before the end - do work out your legs. Enough said

Last but not least - the calves )10

Similarly to abs, the calves are followed by lots of confronted opinions,
which mainly don't agree on the frequency/volume relations in their
training, but we'll get to his aspect later in the guide. Right now, let's just
focus on calf exercises. For full calf development, both the gastroenciemus
and soleus part of the calf have to be trained, and as complex as it sounds
when written this way, it's really a simple thing to conduct:
gastroenciemus is trained when the knees are locked (tibia in line with
femurs), while the soleus is trained when there's an angle between those
:two bones (i.e., the knees are bent). So, two exercises are needed
a) standing calf raises - these are the ones Scooby describes in his calf    
video. You can do them unilateral or bilateral, depends on you. Some
elevation of the front of the foot is desired for the greater stretch at the
bottom position, but you don't need the accessory Scooby has (although
it's a very simple one to make) - you can just put a plate or two and stand
on them. The execution of this exercise is pretty straightforward, but
some issues may arise with trainees who work out at home, and these
issues concern using weights. The situation is simple at the gym - your
approach the calf raise machine, which has lots of weight added on it, put
the comfortable pads on your shoulders and just do the exercise.
However, we who train at home face a problem how to put the weight on.
Calves are VERY strong muscles, and the weight you can use on them
progresses rapidly, and soon exceeds the weight you use while squatting
or deadlifting (doing 1000 lbs on the calf machine is not such a big deal),
so a dumbbell or two method Scooby uses quickly becomes obsolete. In
my experience, you have two options: the first is to load the bar up on the
squat rack, and then do calf raises with the bar on your shoulders, and
while simple, this approach can be very painful for the shoulders,
especially if the weight used is much higher than those used at squats,
and at higher reps. Trust me, I speak from experience. The alternative
method is to have the bar on the floor, deadlift it and hold it in your hands
until the end of the set, then put it back down. I trust it's clear on how
this approach can be problematic, as each rep involves a heavy deadlift
followed by a not-so-easy forearm static hold. Again, I've tried both
methods, and ultimately, as the weights became higher and higher, ended
up with the first one. Right now I'm trying to come up with a padding of
some sort which would relieve the pain of having the bar on my shoulders.
of course, there is a way to (slightly) increase the weight you can use -
try a weight belt or, if you don't have one, puts some weight into a
.backpack (or anything similar)
b) seated calf raises - these ones are also simple - sit down, put your    
legs in such position that the angle at the knee is slightly greater than
90°, and than do calf raises. Nothing special about this one as well, and
the loading is much simpler than people think - just stack lots of plates on
your lower thighs (this does require some preparations, but it's surely
.conductible)
   
.Again, it's important to utilize both of these exercises into your routine
Another exercise I'll mention are the donkey calf raises. Again, if you're a
gym user, this one won't pose any problems to you, but at home we face
the problem of adding workload. Arnold's method of having multiple men
on your back isn't too practical nor safe for many of us, but so is holding a
barbell in your hands while at the bottom Good Morning position (or, even
worse, at your upper back). For these reasons I won't list donkey calf
.raises in my routines, but it's still a great exercise to perform

Sets, reps, rest and tempo .3

With the exercise choice covered as much as possible, it's time to pay a
little more attention to the second important aspect of workout design,
and that is creating set/rep schemes, which includes deciding upon
adequate rest times and tempo to be used while performing the exercises.
The problem I faced several times during the process of writing this guide
is becoming clearer and more overwhelming now. As you might have
guessed, this problem concerns the amount of simplifications I have to do
to make this topic as small as possible. All of those, sets, reps, rest and
tempo, have hundreds upon hundreds of pages written about them, and
these are all very complex and exhaustive topics which are hard to cover
in a simplistic manner I intended to follow in this Guide. So take note of
this: I'll try to present some basic, generally accepted ideas, and the
content outlined here doesn't nearly reflect all the knowledge that we
possess on the subject. But again, I feel that this level will be appropriate
for the audiences to which the Guide is aimed at. So, let's get down to
.business

Sets )1
As mentioned earlier, I'll try to keep the story as simple as possible. The
"How many sets" question is very important when designing a routine as
it basically defines the amount of work you have to do in a single workout.
I don't believe in extremes here, so I will discard both high-volume
routines (such as those which Arnold used, or which the pros supposedly
use, and this means 20+ sets per bodypart), and the low-volume routines
(such as HIT and DC training, which rely on a single working set (which is
extended, then turns into a dropset, a partial rep, a forced negative and
finally into a static hold - holy muscle trauma!)), and focus on medium-
volume, balanced routines which can, by my estimations, be carried out in
.45 min tops

The word "balanced" here is related with two things: the first is balance
between the amount of work given to certain bodyparts, i.e., that the
chest should always do more than biceps (which people often forget). The
second balance is between opposing muscle groups, which means, e.g.,
that chest and triceps combined will do roughly the same amount of work
as back and biceps. There is a third kind of balance here as well, the
balance between the amount of work done on certain days, but it can vary
.a lot more so I won't get further into explaining it

I hope it's clear that there exists a difference between splitting sets up in
full body routines, upper/lower split and real split routines. In a split
routine, for example, you might have a chest day in which you do 12 sets
for chest, while when performing an upper/lower split, you just have two
upper body days, and in each one just enough time to do 3, maybe 4 sets
of chest exercises (we'll get to this problem in the "Splitting it up"
section). The table outlined below shows the relations between the
amount of work given to certain muscle groups as I view (and often
apply) it. Let's repeat it: the numbers in this table show how much sets
.you should do for a certain muscle group in relation to other muscles

Muscle      Sets
----      ------
Chest         12
Back         12-14
Shoulders   6-8
Traps         2-4
Triceps      6-8
Biceps      6-8
Forearms      0-2
Abs         4-6
Thighs      12-18
Calves      6-12

A couple of notes are in order here. First, the number of sets done for the
chest and back is far greater than for any other upper body muscle group
because compound exercises used to train them involve these other
muscles to a great extent. Second, I don't believe in the necessity of
working the forearms out. I include reverse curls and hammer curls into
my routines, but believe that the bulk of forearm development comes
from all the heavy compounds that you do, and that forearms, due to this,
work almost every day and don't need additional stimulation. Third, I
haven't separated quads from hams for the reasons I already spoke
about, and that is the fact that it's often hard (and sometimes impossible)
to separate whether a particular exercise works just one or the other.
However, the biggest explanation concerns calves. As I've mentioned
earlier, people have very different views on how to train your calves.
Some believe in high-volume, while the others (myself included), who are
blessed with good calf genetics, rely on a smaller amount of work to
stimulate them. Which approach works for you is, of course, something
.you'll have to find out by yourself
Now onto something more practical. A rule of the thumb I'll be using, and
which I advise you to do as well is: do around 3 working sets per exercise,
and pick the number of exercises accordingly to the table shown above (in
relative terms, of course). This is a very crude approach, but it works.
Also, do note the "working set" part - I always recommend a major
compound exercise, or any exercise done first in the workout (which will,
most of the time, be a major compound), to be preceded by an adequate
.amount of warmup sets (1-4)

Reps )2
The general rule of this section will be expressed negatively: if doing a
weighted exercise, do not, except in some very special cases, do less than
4 reps, and more than 20 reps. Anything between those two values works
(things work outside those boundaries, but should be left for special
training, such as powerlifting and endurance training). I've noticed that
people usually don't realize this, and consider that doing 100 reps is
better than doing 10 reps, and it builds more muscle. This is an utter
misconception which simply doesn't work, and I hope everyone realized
this very early into their training. If doing more reps meant doing better
work, nobody would need to invest into weight plates - we'd just take a
.bottle of water and do a couple of hundred reps. Again, this view is false

The amount of reps to do is closely related to the weight used. My view is

that you should always aim to use the maximum weight you can for the
given amount of reps. For example, if you know you can do 12 reps with
50 kg, why bother using 40 kg for that same number of reps, as it will
surely provide less stimulation to the muscle. So, in my opinion at least,
always aim do to your best, and to, hence, make your progress more
rapid and evident. Deloading phases, in which you deliberately use less
than maximum weights, are necessary and have their purposes, but
normal training calls for a more efficient approach, which comes from
.giving your best all the time

You should also note another thing: the amount of reps done (or, if we are
to look from the other corner, the percentage of 1 RM used) has some
other effects as well. For example, using more weight requires for a
different type of "triggering" of the central nervous system, and is more
tiring to it, while doing 20 reps calls for quite a mental endurance and
strength needed to push through all the reps with perfect focus. To make
:it a bit simpler, let's look at the following rep range division

a) 4-7 reps - low to moderate rep range, means using weights from 80-    
90% of your estimated 1 RM. As all heavy lifting, it's taxing on the joints
and CNS. Greatly develops strength alongside mass, but usually suffers
from a lack of pump, i.e., the low number of reps often fails to usher lots
.of blood into the muscle and provide burning sensation as well
b) 8-12 reps - moderate rep range, 70-80% of 1 RM. This is called the    
"ideal hypertrophy" rep range, as it, supposedly, provides maximum
.muscle growth
c) 13-20 reps - moderate to high rep range, 50-70% 1 RM. Although still    
being good for hypertrophy (especially when in need for a "lighter"
training), this rep range leans towards muscle endurance rather than
strength development. Offers great pump, as is suitable for warming up
.and cooling down sets
   
Most of the time, I tend to use moderate rep range for hypertrophy, but    
I also like doing low rep range for heavy compounds (deadlifts especially),
.and high rep range for some finalizing isolation exercise

Rest )3
The question we're asking ourselves here is: "How long should I rest
between sets?" Although this does depend on one's training level (being
accommodated to using weights, cardiovascular endurance, CNS recovery
capabilities), a general rule does exist, and it says that the amount of
time you need to rest is directly proportional to the intensity of the set. By
intensity, I don't directly mean the percentage of the 1 RM used, but by
how taxing a set was to your body (and brain ). For example, you
should rest more after a 10 rep set of squats than you should after a 10
rep set of DB curls. Also, you should rest more after a superheavy set of
squats than after a moderate one (unless you've been doing 20 rep death
squats, you rest for days after that one ). I think you're getting the
.picture now, but we still have to determine some real numbers to use

I am, personally, a fan of shorter rest between sets, and I believe this to
:be a better approach for several reasons
a) Shorter rest improve your muscle endurance, and your cardiovascular    
endurance as well (try doing several high-rep sets of squats with short
.rest in between - rest assured, you won't need cardio after that)
b) The pump is usually better, as well as the focus on the exercise    
.(thoughts tend to slip away when resting for a few minutes between sets)
.c) The entire workout is much shorter in duration    
For a normal, non-superheavy and not-too-taxing set, I rest 1 min. For a
something a bit more, between 70 and 90 sec. I only rest for 2 full
minutes after superheavy deadlifts and squats (volume squat routine also
requires for such a longer rest for time to time). On the other hand, easier
exercises, such as leg extensions and curls, require from 30 to 45 seconds
of rest. I am also a great fan of supersets, trisets, giant sets, etc., and
employ them on a regular basis (for example, my entire calf routine is
.done with no rest between sets)

The last thing I'll mention here is a mistake I often witness with people
when it comes to unilateral training. For example, someone does a set of
concentration curls with the left arm, switches to the right arm, and then
starts his rest timer, which is set for, let's say, 1 min. And for how long do
his arms rest? Longer than 1 min, that's for sure (most likely 80-100 sec).
I hope you see my point. When performing unilateral exercises, start
counting your rest time after you're done with the first limb. This is the
.accurate method for measuring rest time in such cases
One last note: as you get more experienced with training, the rest you
.have to do will probably decrease (if you, of course, allow it to )

Tempo )4
The topics of tempo is probably the only one in the Guide who's title left
you confused and not knowing what to expect. This is a very common
reaction when this kind of discussion arises for the simple reason of tempo
being one of the most neglected aspect of training which, by its
importance, doesn't fall behind sets, reps and rest at all. As I assume
most of the forum audience to be unfamiliar with the concept of tempo,
I'll keep the story as short and simple as possible, and limit my ideas on
.several easy-to-understand advices

So, what actually is tempo? Simply speaking, tempo is the speed at which
you perform your reps, and is defined by four numbers (and is usually
written in such a manner): the duration of the negative part of the lift,
pause at the bottom, the duration of the positive part of the lift, and
(sometimes) the pause at the top. For example, when someone writes
41X3, for squats, e.g., it means you should descend for 4 seconds, remain
down for 1 second, then come up as fast as possible and rest 3 seconds at
.the top

The next question which probably arises is: "Why do I need any of it? 2 s
up, 2 s down works fine for me." Tempo is just another training
parameters, and this means another way of adjusting your workouts.
Making changes in performance tempo can be used for busting plateaus,
increased muscle growth and targeting muscles in a different way. So I
strongly encourage you to give it a try and drop your usual training
cadences for new, more variant tempos. Here are some notes which may
:help you

a) slowing down the negative can make the positive stronger (the idea    
behind forced negatives)
b) making a pause at the bottom of the lift makes the so-called "stretch    
reflex" to disappear, making it harder to lift the weight again (of course,
this should only last for a second or two, you shouldn't rest in that period)
c) making a faster concentric can have positive effect on developing    
explosive strength
d) holding at the top of the lift ("squeezing" and static holds) also have    
their benefits
e) always control the descent of the lift (the negative part)    
f) changing tempo greatly affects the time under tension - take note of    
that
Splitting it up .4

So, here we are, at the very summit of our journey. I hope you learned
something in the previous sections, and that you'll be able to use it
.adequately in constructing your own routines
This last section will cover 4 types of routine splits, and offer a sample
routine alongside it (I just hope most of you won't simply copy these
routines without applying the previously gathered knowledge ). Just a
note: I don't include ab work into my routines as I see it to be too trainee-
specific, and consider it should be done on off (non-training or cardio)
:days. Here we go

Full body routine )1

I'll note this in the very beginning: for a more exhaustive description of
full body routines, and the principles which apply in them, read this
excellent article by dodothebird, named Full Body Workouts for the
Advanced. The full body routine I'll describe here is suited for novices to
weightlifting (after they've passed the "beginner phase"), and
intermediate trainees who want to try something new. More Advanced
trainees (and everyone else interested in the subject) will find out
.everything they need in dodo's article
The full body routine I offer here is a 3 DAW non-consecutive split, done
either Mon-Wed-Fri or Tue-Thu-Sat (or Wed-Fri-Sun, but I don't think this
to be convenient for anyone). We have the A and B workout, which differ
slightly among each other, and you should alternate between those two:
A-B-A-B-A... Each workout consists of 6 exercises, 4 of which are major
compound exercises, and two are auxiliary, isolation ones. So, here's the
:plan

THE_WOLF'S 3 DAY FULL-BODY ROUTINE

WORKOUT A
squat - 2-4 warmup sets, then 3-4x5-8   
incline BB bench press - 3x8-12   
pullups - 3x8-12 )weighted(   
military press - 3x8-12   
cable pushdowns (or french press) - 2x8-12    
standing/seated calf raises - 3-5x8-12    
   
WORKOUT B
deadlift - 2-4 warmup sets, then 3-4x5-8    
bent-over BB rows - 3x8-12   
dips - 3x8-12 )weighted(   
upright rows - 3x8-12   
DB curls - 2x8-12   
reverse fly (or a rotator cuff stabilizing exercise, such as the Cuban    
press) - 3-5x8-12

Upper-lower split )2
These kinds of splits are very effective for intermediate and advanced
trainees alike, as they allow you to stimulate each muscle groups twice a
week, and out much more emphasis on the lower body than other
routines (which is, as I hope you've understood, a good thing). The
routine outlined below is a 4 day routine, in which you alternate upper and
lower workouts. Upper workouts differ among each other by the exercise
choice and emphasis on the pushing and pulling motions, while the lower
body days are separated between quad- and hamstring-dominant ones.
:Let's have a look at it

THE_WOLF'S 4 DAY UPPER-LOWER ROUTINE

MON - Upper body A

flat BB bench press - 1-2 warmup sets, then 3x5-8   
pullup - 3x8-12 )weighted(   
millitary press - 3x5-8   
weighted dip - 3x5-8   
BB curl - 3x8-12   
reverse fly - 3x10   

TUE - Lower body hip dominant

deadlift - warmup, then 5x5   
leg curls - 3x5-8   
split squats (or leg press) - 4x8-12   
standing calf raises - 5x8-12   

WED - cardio & abs

THU - Upper body B

bent-over BB row - 1-2 warmup sets, then 3x5-8    
incline db bench press - 3x8-12   
chinups - 3x8-12   
lateral raise - 3x8-12   
french press (or cable pushdowns) - 3x8-12    
hammer curl - 3x8-12   

FRI - Lower body knee dominant

squat - warmup, then 5x5   
leg extension - 3x8-12   
walking lunge - 4x8-12   
seated calf raises - 5x15-20   
   
SAT - cardio & abs

SUN - off

Split routine )3
These kind of routines are by far the most favored ones among trainees,
and everyone seems eager to hop into this training regime which has a
chest day, a back day, an arms day, and a leg day (or two! ), of course.
I tried lots of slit routines, from those split over 6 days a week, via my
last routine, done 5 DAW, to my current routine, done 4 days a week. I
consider 4 DAW approach to be the best, as it gives you much more time
to recover, and working out for not more than 2 consecutive days gives
your joints and CNS a bigger opportunity to fully recover as well. I haven't
tried the routine described below (my training system is a bit more
complex to be explained here), but if I were to fully simplify my training,
this would be THE routine (with slight modifications, of course, there
:would be less straight sets than here, and more weakness-specific work)

THE_WOLF'S 4 DAY SPLIT ROUTINE

MON - Chest/shoulders
warmup with 2 sets of pushups   
flat BB bench press - 3x5-8   
incline DB bench press - 3x8-12   
weighted dips - 2x5-8   
DB flys - 2x8-12 )incline(   
military press - 3x5-8   
lateral raises - 3x8-12   

TUE - Back
deadlifts - warm up with 2-4 sets, then 3x5    
bent-over BB rows - 4x5-8   
weighted pullups - 4x8-12   
reverse flys - 3x8-12   

WED - Cardio & abs

THU - Legs
squats - warmup with 2-4 sets, then 3x5-20 )front(   
walking lunges - 3x8-12   
leg extensions - 3x8-12   
unilateral leg curls - 3x5-8   
SLDL - 3x8-12   
standing calf raises - 4x8-12   
seated calf raises - 2x12-25   

FRI - Arms
weighted dips - 3x8-12   
close-grip bench press - 3x5-8   
cable pushdowns (or french press or overhead tricep extensions) - 2x8-    
12
DB curls - 3x8-12   
incline hammer curls - 3x8-12   
concentration curls - 2x8-12   

WEEKEND - Cardio & abs

on-1-off routine-3 )4
A 3 day on 1 day off routines are, in my opinion, adequate only for
advanced trainees, because they combine the specific targeting of a split
routine with the frequency of a upper-lower one. Also, when it comes to
3-on-1-off, I like to mix in the push/pull/legs division of the exercises.
Here, I offer two alternative types of push, pull and leg workouts, which
are to be carried in this order: push A - legs A - pull A - off - push B - legs
B - pull B - off - pull A -... I'll leave it to you to figure out the best set/rep
. schemes

THE_WOLF'S 3-ON-1-OFF ROUTINE

PUSH A
flat BB bench press   
low-incline DB bench press   
incline DB fly   
military press   
lateral raises   
rope pushdowns   
DB overhead extensions   

PUSH B
mid-incline BB bench press   
flat DB flys   
weighted chest dips   
DB seated press   
L-lateral raises   
french press   
DB kickbacks   

PULL A
weighted pullups   
bent-over BB rows   
upright rows   
pullovers   
DB curls   
hammer curls   
reverse flys   

PULL B
T-bar rows   
chinups   
high-pulley rows   
rear-delt rows   
BB shrugs behind the back   
BB curls   
reverse curls   

LEGS A
squats   
lunges   
leg extensions   
leg curls   
SLDL   
standing calf raises   
seated calf raises   

LEGS B
deadlifts   
front-squats   
split squats   
leg curls   
leg extensions   
one-legged standing calf raises   
donkey calf raises   

!BONUS: A bodyweight-only routine

This routine is for trainees who have limited or no equipment, or just want
to perform some training after their cardio (you run, and then stop in a
park or a children's playground). Again, this is something I'd follow if I
weren't into bodybuilding so much, but just trying to keep myself in
.shape
This routine would be done 3-4 days a week, depending on the soreness,
and it wouldn't last more than 15-20 mins. The exercises would be done
in a circuit, which would be repeated 3-5 times. If you prefer floor ab
work, you can do it at home (don't forget to throw in some
.hyperextensions there)
THE_WOLF'S BODYWEIGHT-ONLY ROUTINE

a pullup variant - chinups, pullups, mixing grips, adding static holds at the
end
dips
bodyweight rows or inverted rows
a pushup variant - Scooby shows a whole lot of them
single-legged squats or split-squats
glute-ham raises
a bar ab exercise - hanging leg raises, hanging knee ins, lever twists,
...wipers