Turning a 6 Day Split to 3 Day Split

[ebracer05]

Guys, I just won't have the time for the next month or two to be in the gym 6 days a week so I need to consolidate my current routine and I'm looking for advice. This is where I'm at right now:

Mon - Chest (variation from dumbbell for 2 weeks then barbell for 2 weeks then machine for 2 weeks)

Flat bench press - 15, 5, 8, 8 all to failure
Incline Bench Press - Same as above
Flys - 15, 5, 5, 8

Tues - Back

Bent over single hand rows - 15, 8, 5, 8
Lat pull down - Same as above
Seated narrow rows - Same as above
Dead lifts - 12, 5, 8

Wed - Shoulders

Military press - 15, 8, 5, 8
Wings - 15, 8, 5, 8
Forward rope shoulder raises - 15, 8, 5, 8
Shrugs - 15, 12, 8, 8

Thursday - Legs

Squats - 12, 5, 8, 8
Hamstring curls - 12, 8, 5, 8
Calves - 15, 15, 8, 10
Quad Curls - 12, 8, 5, 8

Friday - Biceps/Triceps

Standing bent bar curls - 15, 8, 5, 8
Standing dumbbell hammer curls - 15, 8, 5, 8
Standing rope straight bar pyramid starting from max at 8

Overhead rope extensions - 15, 8, 5, 8
Straight rope pull downs - 15, 8, 5, 8
Standing rope pyramid

Saturday - Abs

Hanging leg raises - 15, 8, 5, 8
Weighted decline situps - 15, 8, 5, 8
Oblique crunches - 30, 30, 30, 30
Weighted side bends - 15, 8, 5, 8


This has been a great routine... after taking time off, killing myself for about 2 months studying for a grad school entrance exam and letting my diet go to h#ll and no lifting at all... I went from 182lbs to 158lbs. I was 158lbs on May 24th. This morning I was 185lbs and my body fat is lower than it was before I lost the weight. For reference, my straight bench on Jan 10th was 8x175lbs, 185lbs, 195lbs. In May I was doing well to get in 3x8 at 165-175lbs. Now it's 15x195, 8x220, 5x240, 8x230. All of my other lifts have increased comparably.

However, I'm back to being overloaded with school and have to consolidate this. The diet I am on alone is taking up more time than I'd like. A 3 day split would be optimal for my schedule. I had a legit trainer get me on the diet/routine but I can't afford the guy anymore and know you all give stellar advice. Optimally I'd like to cut 2 exercises from each day but I'd like some feedback on what to cut.

If you'd like to see the diet, I can post that also. Thank you in advance for the help

 

[Krueg]

I use to do a little bodybuilding before I turned to strength training. A 3-day split I used was...

Day 1: Chest/Back
Day 2: Shoulders/Arms
Day 3: Legs/Lower Back

 

[Buddha_Mind]

Guys, I just won't have the time for the next month or two to be in the gym 6 days a week so I need to consolidate my current routine and I'm looking for advice. This is where I'm at right now:

Mon - Chest (variation from dumbbell for 2 weeks then barbell for 2 weeks then machine for 2 weeks)

Flat bench press - 15, 5, 8, 8 all to failure
Incline Bench Press - Same as above
Flys - 15, 5, 5, 8

Tues - Back

Bent over single hand rows - 15, 8, 5, 8
Lat pull down - Same as above
Seated narrow rows - Same as above
Dead lifts - 12, 5, 8

Wed - Shoulders

Military press - 15, 8, 5, 8
Wings - 15, 8, 5, 8
Forward rope shoulder raises - 15, 8, 5, 8
Shrugs - 15, 12, 8, 8

Thursday - Legs

Squats - 12, 5, 8, 8
Hamstring curls - 12, 8, 5, 8
Calves - 15, 15, 8, 10
Quad Curls - 12, 8, 5, 8

Friday - Biceps/Triceps

Standing bent bar curls - 15, 8, 5, 8
Standing dumbbell hammer curls - 15, 8, 5, 8
Standing rope straight bar pyramid starting from max at 8

Overhead rope extensions - 15, 8, 5, 8
Straight rope pull downs - 15, 8, 5, 8
Standing rope pyramid

Saturday - Abs

Hanging leg raises - 15, 8, 5, 8
Weighted decline situps - 15, 8, 5, 8
Oblique crunches - 30, 30, 30, 30
Weighted side bends - 15, 8, 5, 8


This has been a great routine... after taking time off, killing myself for about 2 months studying for a grad school entrance exam and letting my diet go to h#ll and no lifting at all... I went from 182lbs to 158lbs. I was 158lbs on May 24th. This morning I was 185lbs and my body fat is lower than it was before I lost the weight. For reference, my straight bench on Jan 10th was 8x175lbs, 185lbs, 195lbs. In May I was doing well to get in 3x8 at 165-175lbs. Now it's 15x195, 8x220, 5x240, 8x230. All of my other lifts have increased comparably.

However, I'm back to being overloaded with school and have to consolidate this. The diet I am on alone is taking up more time than I'd like. A 3 day split would be optimal for my schedule. I had a legit trainer get me on the diet/routine but I can't afford the guy anymore and know you all give stellar advice. Optimally I'd like to cut 2 exercises from each day but I'd like some feedback on what to cut.

If you'd like to see the diet, I can post that also. Thank you in advance for the help

Hey man, this isn't a 3-day, but it's a 4-day, and each workout takes about 60-90 minutes depending how much your head is in the game.

Check it out, I just finished a 12-week cycle and made some decent gains all around.

The concept here is periodization, so reps cycle from 12-15, 9-11, 6-8, 3-5 in 4 week cycles.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/docs/2011/shortcut-to-size-e-book.pdf

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/shortcut-to-size-microcycles.html


I've been really trying to spread this around because of how effective I've found it.

Not a 3-day, but maybe it'll help or give you some more things to build from!