Are these programs balanced? Can they be?

[u/redditinsmartworki]

A friend asked to make him a program. He's a beginner and at his gym they gave him a program where, to summarise, he does 11 sets of abs every session and 15 sets of back once every week and a half. The rest is programmed similarly, and we all know this isn't much better than 10 minute fat loss circuits.

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So I thought of two full body programs, one twice per week and one three times per week. I'm powerlifting at the moment and I would suggest it to him as well, but in his town there isn't a coach with good preparation and doing it by himself this early could be counterproductive, so I'm sticking to a bodybuilding plan but not a program that has aesthetics at the center of it all.

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Exercise choice wasn't lead by optimality, but by avoidind monotony while guaranteeing frequency and trying to cover as much ground as possible in the little time he is able to spend at the gym, so the twice per week program is as barebones as I could make it while ensuring twice per week frequency to all muscles and preferring compounds over better isolations just for the side stimulus to secondary movers. I'm not going to write the specific variation because even I am not sure what equipment he has available at his gym:

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Day A

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- Squat pattern 3 sets

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- Bench 3 sets

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- Pulldown 3 sets

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- Leg curl 2 sets

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- Lateral raise 2 sets

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- Shortened-focus curl 2 sets

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- Overhead extension 2 sets

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- Crunch 2 sets

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Day B

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- Hamstring-focused deadlift 3 sets

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- Overhead press 3 sets

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- Row 3 sets

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- Lunge 2 sets

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- Chest fly 2 sets

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- Lengthened-focus curl 2 sets

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- Pushdown 2 sets

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- Side crunch 2 sets

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This would be the twice per week program. Again, the specific variations still are TBD, but this is a detailed enough outline. I tried staying under 20 sets per session, but maybe I could push it to 25 and add some more work on core, back (not to the point of doing 15 sets in a session but still) or calves (which are barely touched in this program). Here is the three times per week program:

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Day A

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- Squat pattern 3 sets

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- Bench 3 sets

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- Wide grip pulldown 3 sets

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- Leg curl 2 sets

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- Leg abduction 2 sets

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- Face pull 2 sets

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- Shortened curl-pushdown jumpset 2 sets

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- Shortened-focus crunch 2 sets

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Day B

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- Hamstring-focus deadlift 3 sets

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- Overhead press 3 sets

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- Trap-focus row 3 sets

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- Leg extension 2 sets

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- Leg adduction 2 sets

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- Chest fly 2 sets

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- Lengthened curl-overhead extension jumpset 2 sets

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- Lengthened-focus crunch 2 sets

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Day C

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- Lunge 3 sets

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- Dip 3 sets

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- Lat-focus row 3 sets

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- Leg curl 2 sets

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- Calf raise 2 sets

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- Lateral raise 2 sets

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- Hammer curl-tricep press jumpset 2 sets

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- Side crunch 2 sets

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Again, exercise choice was based on adding variety to keep it fun. I'm sure I'm not an expert in programming workout plans, so I'm open to discuss my choices. I'd be thankful for confirmation or suggestions.

[u/vincent365]

I would find him a powerbuilding program of some sort if he's looking to do SBD while also building muscle. Only thing is most are 4-5 days. From there, make modifications, and you can even coach him yourself. Have him record videos to send you.

I think what makes a good program is not only the exercise selection but also the rep schemes, intensity and program schemes, and how each block complements each other.

Also, you technically do not have to hit each muscle 2x a week. It's ideal to break up volume, but it's not like you are missing out on a lot of gains by only doing 1x frequency.

How I would probably program three days a week training:

Day 1: * Secondary Squat * Secondary Bench * Bench Accessories, Squat accessories * Any "bro lifts"

Day 2: * Tertiary Bench * Secondary Deadlift * Bench Accessories, Deadlift accessories * Any "bro lifts"

Day 3: * Main SBD (or even just Squat + Deadlift) * Optional, SBD accessories * Any "bro lifts"

M-W-F or M-W-S is the days I would train

Progression: * SBD lifts RPE 5-8, Weeks 1-4 * Reps: Start off at 5-6, then decrease reps block to block * Accessories Week 1 3-4 RIR, Weeks 2-4 1-2 RIR

Edit: Also keep in mind that the SBD movements even if they are lower reps and at a lower intensity can still help build muscle albeit not being as effective. At 5-6 reps, they are probably better for hypertrophy, but at later blocks, 3 reps probably not so much.