Structured strength training

I've experimented a lot with various workout plans, and over the past year have finally found what I consider to be a nearly perfect routine for myself. The workouts each consist of 3 supersets (2 exercises done back-to-back, resting in between rounds) The workout is as follows. **Workout A** | Superset | Exercise | Sets x Reps | | -------- | -------------- | ----------- | | 1 | Overhead Press | 4 × 8-10 | | 1 | Lat Pulldown | 4 × 8-12 | | 2 | Leg Press | 3 × 10-12 | | 2 | Lying Leg Curl | 3 × 10-15 | | 3 | Chest Dip | 3 × 8-12 | | 3 | Pull Up | 3 × 6-10 | **Workout B** | Superset | Exercise | Sets x Reps | | -------- | ------------------------------- | ----------- | | 1 | Hack Squat | 3 × 8-10 | | 1 | Lying Leg Curl | 3 × 10-15 | | 2 | Incline Bench Press | 3 × 8-12 | | 2 | Bent Over One Arm Row | 3 × 8-12 | | 3 | Bicep Curl | 3 × 10-15 | | 3 | Triceps Pushdown (Straight Bar) | 3 × 10-15 | There is a deep structure here. On the workout level: Workout A is *Upper, Lower, Upper*. Workout B is *Lower, Upper + Arms* On the superset level, each superset targets opposite muscle groups. **For workout A:** Overhead Press & Lat Pulldown:Straight Up, Straight Down Leg Press and Leg Curl: Front of the leg, back of the leg Chest Dip & Pull Up: Chest and tricep, Back and bicep **For workout B:** Hack Squat & Lying Leg Curl: Front of the leg, back of the leg Incline Bench Press & Dumbbell Row: Upper Chest, Mid Back Bicep Curl & Triceps Pushdown: Front of the arm, back of the arm At the end of a workout, I'll typically do lateral raises and face pulls (with the rope attachment) to failure for 2-3 sets, depending on how I'm feeling on the day. It's been an interesting experiment over the past year getting to this point. Working out in a way that's enjoyable for you is the most important thing, and I found that designing my own program and making small changes to it each week was in many ways just as appealing as the workout itself. If you are looking to get into strength training and a deep structure is something that appeals to you, I can fully recommend this. A well-structured routine fosters consistency in a way that more random workouts simply can't. When you walk into a gym fully knowing what to expect, and you understand the purpose behind each exercise, it becomes so much easier to follow. In terms of recovery, I've found that despite being quite high volume, this routine is much easier to recover from, because you are distributing your training load across the session and across workouts in a highly balanced way. If you go in and say "Okay, today is my leg day", and you destroy your legs, not only is it legitimately unhelpful but once the weight starts to climb up you will begin to fear your workouts. This is what happened to me once I hit 330 lbs in deadlift. The amount of recovery time you need to set aside after that completely disrupts your cadence. If you end up working late the following night, it's unlikely you'll even be able to train the morning after. Or you will train but you will be off-target in most of your other lifts and feel very tired. It then becomes a kind of endless cycle of stepping up and stepping down around the same target. This will kill your motivation. It's often said that the most important thing in training is consistency. But what consistency really means is designing your workouts in a way that helps you avoid cycles of _inconsistency_. Any sudden spikes in your training load can throw off your recovery, leading to setbacks. To maintain a smooth and steady progression, it's crucial that everything—your exercises, weights, and intensity—progress at a similar rate. Your body only has so much available in it's recovery battery, once it runs out, you will have to program in a de-load and everything gets more complicated. Or run a very high calorie surplus and cycle between cutting and bulking. The mental overhead for all of this is simply too much, and it will consume your life in a way that really isn't necessary. Two workouts that you alternate between, working out every **other** day. Simple. ---- For general reference, I include my current and goal weights (at 6ft, 180 lbs) | Exercise | Current Weight (kg/lbs) | Goal Weight (kg/lbs) | | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | --------------------------- | | **Overhead Press** | 45 kg / 99 lbs | 55 kg / 121 lbs | | **Lat Pulldown** | 65 kg / 143 lbs | 80 kg / 176 lbs | | **Leg Press** | 130 kg / 287 lbs | 160 kg / 353 lbs | | **Lying Leg Curl** | 40 kg / 88 lbs | 60 kg / 132 lbs | | **Chest Dip** | Bodyweight + 17.5 kg / 39 lbs | Bodyweight + 25 kg / 55 lbs | | **Pull Up** | Bodyweight + 10 kg / 22 lbs | Bodyweight + 15 kg / 33 lbs | | **Hack Squat** | 90 kg / 198 lbs | 120 kg / 265 lbs | | **Incline Bench Press** | 32 kg / 70 lbs per dumbbell | 40 kg / 88 lbs per dumbbell | | **Bent Over One Arm Row** | 34 kg / 75 lbs | 45 kg / 99 lbs | | **Bicep Curl (Cable)** | 30 kg / 66 lbs | 40 kg / 88 lbs | | **Triceps Pushdown (Straight Bar)** | 35 kg / 77 lbs | 50 kg / 110 lbs |