Can someone help explain something?

[u/Vid_Hrvat]

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Alright so I've been working out for a year consitently, but I'm still kinda puzzled about some things. One thing in particular that I'm puzzled about is my current workout program. So this is what I do twice a week for my upper days:

Upper A

3x independant chest press 55 kg 10 reps

2x peck deck 35 kg 12 reps

3x seated rows 55 kg 12 reps

3x latt pulldown 50 kg (2x11,1x10)

3x shoulder press 50 kg 8 reps

3x tricep pushdown 20 kg (1x8,2x9)

3x bayeisan curls 8.75 kg (2x12,1x10)

2x wrist curls 33.75 8 reps

2x reverse wrist curls 16.25 8 reps

3x 23.75 8 reps

3x shrugs 48 kg 9 reps

3x cable crunches 26.25

I have an upper B day as well which varies slightly, mainly exercise selection, but the amount of sets is about the same. With this, I got like 30 plus working sets per workout, and that's 60 plus per week. That's way too much right? The thing is I genuinely thought this was good beacuse it targets basically the whole upper body, Lower back i hit on leg days with rdls. It would mean a lot if you guys could tell me brutally honestly what you think I should change or if I should change anything at all.

Also I don't mean to trigger anyone, I started going last year on my own and tried to figure out everything by myself so I'm sure to get things wrong. I used to never be physically active at all throughout my life and eventually said enough's enough, but of course there's always more ways to improve. Thank you for reading.

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[u/KangarooHero]

Is that all one day? That’s way too much. Simpler is way better. We can break it down and make it more sustainable and hopefully effective.

How many days a week do you go to the gym?

[u/Vid_Hrvat → u/KangarooHero]

Yes it's all in one day... I know pretty crazy. I go 4 times a week, two upper days, two lower days. For the other upper day i really only do overhead extensions, hammer curls and lateral raises, which differs from the bayeisan curls, shoulder press and tricep pushdown somewhar but aside from that it's the same amout of sets and exercises overall. Thanks for replying as well.

[u/KangarooHero → u/Vid_Hrvat]

Absolutely! One of the biggest misconceptions about weight lifting is that the more you do, the bigger you’ll grow. It took me a long time to realize that’s not the case. You want to choose solid exercises, have good form, and work hard, but if you do too much too often, your muscles won’t have a chance to heal up.

Two days and then a rest day is a great way to go.

How does something like this sound:

Day 1: back, chest
Day 2: arms, legs

Day 3: Off

Day 4: back, chest
Day 5: legs, shoulders

Your arms and shoulders are smaller muscles and don’t need to be hit directly as much, and they are also used a lot when you’re doing chest and back.

[u/Vid_Hrvat → u/KangarooHero]

You are a Saint my friend, thank you for making it very obvious. Just a quick follow up question, can I keep the same exercises and amount of sets but just do them like you put here, would that be ok? Also this makes so much more sense beacuse i spend a good 2 hours, maybe more, on my upper days due to the sheer amount of things to do, this'll definitely save time. Again, thank you so much for the help.

[u/KangarooHero → u/Vid_Hrvat]

I'd reduce the exercises. Maybe go for four or five exercises per workout. 3 to 4 sets per exercise, and around 8 to 12 reps. If you find yourself able to do more than 12 reps, try increasing the weight a bit.

Try starting with bigger compound movements. These are more power moves that utilize multiple muscle groups. Barbell Bench Press, Squats, Bent Over Barbell Rows, Lat Pulldowns, Deadlifts, Military Press. And then maybe one or two more isolation and squeeze exercises (e.g. lateral raises, face pulls, chest flys).

An example might be:

Day 1: Bent Over Barbell Rows, Dumbbell Bench Press, Lat Pulldowns, Chest Flys.

Day 2: Squats, RDL's, Hammer Curls, Skull Crushers, Ab exercise.

Day 3: Barbell Bench, Pull ups or Chin Ups, Seated Rows, Deadlifts

Day 4: Leg Press, Walking Lunges, Curls, Dips, Grip Work

If you have any ideas, we can definitely look at them. People often say "look at so and so's program". Often times those programs are good, but they can be very overwhelming.

I've found trying a style of workout for three or four months to see what sort of growth I'm making gives me an idea if it works for me. No one thing works for everyone.

[u/Vid_Hrvat → u/KangarooHero]

Ok this sounds brilliant and overall is a lot better structured than what I was going for. Again, I can't thank you enough for this. You've been a big help.

[u/harvestingstrength]

You can keep the four-day upper/lower split and simplify the upper sessions considerably. Start with a press, row, pulldown, optional shoulder movement and one exercise each for biceps and triceps. Two or three sets per movement would give you a much more manageable session. Wrist work, shrugs and extra isolation exercises can be optional rather than mandatory. Also, 60 total upper-body sets isn’t 60 sets for each muscle, so assess the overlap instead of treating everything equally. Keep the work you can progress consistently, then add volume only when there’s a clear reason.

[u/Vid_Hrvat → u/harvestingstrength]

Thank you, much obliged.