Routine advice for a 36 busy dad

[brithulhu]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice on a workout plan I put together to try and get back in shape as a 36 year old. I have a demanding work schedule and am a dad. "Free time"(lol) usually starts around 8:00-8:30 and bedtime around 930-10 (wake up at 5am).

I used to be in athletic shape before kids and career responsibilities increased. With motivation from different angles lifting me off, I've put together a 3 day split I was hoping for some advice on. I'll post it below and really appreciate any input.

My goals are 1-time and 2- hypertrophy. With muscle building contributing to fat loss. I'm currently 160 pounds and 5'6 with only a bowflex dumbell set (up to 55 lbs each) a bench, exercise bike and 6x8 space to work with.

Split layout: Two Non negotiable days -Tuesday & Thursday +1 flex day

Routine: 3 sets each workout using 3/7 strategy.

Day 1: Back-Biceps (Tuesday)
Warmups- 3 sets 20 jumping Jacks
Workout-
A: Dumbbell Deadlift
B: Dumbbell Rows
C: Dumbbell Curls

Day 2: Chest-Triceps (Thursday)
Warmups - 3 sets 10 pushups
Workout-
A- Dumbbell bench press
B- Dumbell Kickbacks
C -Dips (not sure how to do this with 3/7 over time) or dumbell skull crushers

Day 3: Shoulders-Legs (Flex day)
Warm ups - 10 minutes moderate exercise bike
A- Dumbell Squats
B- Standing Dumbell Military press
C- Dumbell Lateral raise

While I'm not expecting to look like Ryan Gosling as Ken(I wish!), but with limiting proceeded foods, I hope this can have some solid results in 6-12 months(hopefully)

Thanks all. I appreciate any input.

 

[dawn16]

@brithulhu Hi! I'm also a father with a toddler at home and not much free time. I am currently on a pretty substantial weight loss journey but I've had some experience as a gym rat in younger years. A few lessons learned:

1. Diet will be, by a massive margin, the main input to losing weight. Takes 0 minutes of your day to not eat 300-500 calories to maintain a deficit. It takes about 40-60 minutes of vigorous exercise to burn an equivalent amount of calories.
2. In the nicest possible way, that workout setup is not likely to lead to substantial gains for several reasons. There's not a lot of volume, which is fine, except for such low volume to stimulate muscle growth, you'd need to be lifting weights that are pushing your muscles to their absolute failure points (think powerlifters doing 1-3 rep max sets of major compound movements). Additionally, there doesn't seem to be a lot of room for progressive overload (making workouts more difficult over time) so you will probably adapt fairly quickly and then plateau.
3. I've struggled managing career and family and still getting to the gym consistently before, and one thing I found to be beneficial during my busier times was doing a full body workout several times per week. I'd focus on compound movements and calisthenics and push myself hard. That way if I had a week where I got busy and only worked out one or two days instead of my targeted 3-4 days, I'd still hit each major muscle group at least once that week.
4. You have a 6x8 space to exercise, which is the perfect amount of space for one of those pull up + dip towers. These are a great option for a home gym that takes up little space and can offer a lot in the way of training. Pull ups, dips, leg raises, dumbbell lunges, and bulgarian split squats will give you a hell of a workout and you can add weight to the pull ups and dips over time with an expensive dip belt and some weight plates.

 

[brithulhu]

@dawn16 Thank you for the feedback!

 

[bornagainkames]

@brithulhu Ditch tricep/bicep work. Do more compound work instead. Do lunges at a minimum every week for legs.

 

[brithulhu]

@bornagainkames Thanks. I will add lunges to day 3.

I was thinking 1 compound exercise per day + 2 isolations of key muscles for further growth, but 3 compound might be better to hit all muscle groups between rest day

 

[bornagainkames]

@brithulhu You really shouldn't be doing any isolation work if you want to maximize growth with your limited time. Your biceps will grow if you're doing a few pulling exercises. I'd superset some leg work into day two so you're hitting them more. Supersets will be your friend.

 

[brithulhu]

@bornagainkames Thanks for the ideas. I'm planning to rework the routine around now.

So, ideally, days 1-3 should incorporate 3 compound exercises hitting chest/back/legs. Each day has 3 different types or variations of compound movements?

Ex.
Day 1= incline bench press/rows/ Squats
Day 2 = bench press/ inverted rows/ sumo Squats

 

[bornagainkames]

@brithulhu Yes, I think that is much better. And ideally you can do the benching/rowing as supersets to save time. Overhead pressing and a chin up variation would be great to add as well.