Will This Workout get me a Good Aesthetic Look?

kraftykuts007

New member
I'll start by saying I've always been skinny and so am definitely not looking to lose weight. I'm also not looking to become a bodybuilder or compete or anything, I'd just like to have a good aethetic body in order to be a bit more confident and attractive. Preiously my workout has involved once a workouts with high reps and relatively low weights. I've recently realised this builds muscle endurance rather than muscle strength so am looking to incorporate more muscle strength training. Please don't just refer me to a training problem or tell me my workout sucks or be a dick about it (I'm not posting this in r/fitness for that reason). I specifically built this program around myself because I like these exercises, do not wish to join a gym and currently only have dumbells as my equipment. I've had problems in the past sticking to such programs because I'm not convinced they will work/ are working. However, this program adds a lot more intensity and I'm not eating a lot more protein, which I'd neglected in the past. I'm just looking for assurance that if I manage to stick to this, it will get results and I'll look noticeably bigger. I'm aware that it will take consistency and time to get there but as long as I know it'll work eventually I might be able to stick to it.

This is the A/B workout I am considering:

Day A -

1) Bicep Curls - 3 sets; a) barbell curls - 1 high weight, reps starting at 5 and increasing by 1 every 10 days (5 workouts) until doing 20 reps, then increasing the weight

b) barbell curls - lower weight, higher reps to continue building musclular endurance

c) dumbells curls - working one arm at a time to ensure both arms build equally

Increasing the reps of the last 2 by 1 every 10 days

2) Press Ups - 3 sets: a) Standard press-ups

b) Diamond press-ups

c) Elevated Feet Press-ups

Increasing each by 1 reps every 10 days

3) Plank - 3 sets Increasing by 1 or 2 seconds every 10 days, final set to failure

4) Deadlifts - 3 sets - Increasing the reps and weight in line with the high weight, low rep bicep curls

Day B -

1) Tricep Press (essentially a Bench Press without the bench - not sure what the correct term is) 3 sets - mixed in the same way as the bicep curls ie 1 high weight, low reps, 1 lower weight, high reps and then focusing on each arm. Also increasing the reps and weight in the same way (can you tell I have OCD yet)

2) Squats - 3 sets - Increasing the reps and weight in line with the high weighted, low reps bicep curls.

3) Sit Ups - 3 sets - Increasing reps by 1 every 10 days

For reference the program I am doing now is the same exercises each day, however only one set of each. Where weights are involved the set I'm doing is the high rep, low weight ones and with press-ups it's only standard push-ups.

I have a few questions regarding the proposed workout:

1) Can I continue doing these exercises on alternative days as they target different muscles or will I need to take a complete rest day? If so, how often should the rest day be? (I feel as though this is something that will cause me not to continue the workout so I'm trying to avoid a rest day if possible and continue the consistency).

2) Am I missing any major muscle groups in this workout that will make me look silly or cause injury/ reduce gains etc.? (It already seems a lot to do to me so I'm hoping this covers most of the important muscles.)

3) Would Dumbells and Squats benefit from a differing sets similar to those proposes for Biceps and Triceps and also doing higher reps with lower weights or should I keep these at lower reps with higher weight?

4) As I mentioned this workout seems like it may be difficult for me to do consistenly so I was considering spreading it over 3 days instead of 2, how would this effect muscle development? Would this circumvent the need for a rest day if one was needed? And how best would you lay these 7 exercises over 3 days instead of 2?

5) Finally, and most importantly, will this program actually get me a good looking body so that I don't need to

I appreciate this is a very long read so thank you for anyone who takes the time to read it through. Any advice or critique of the proposed workout is welcome, however, please try to be specific and don't just say join a gym or folllow a program. Also please keep it simple, I'm not a 'gym lad' by any means and am not familiar with much of the terminology.
 
@kraftykuts007
I've had problems in the past sticking to such programs because I'm not convinced they will work/ are working.

Reflecting on this could be a salient point of improvement. Of course there are garbage programs out there, but popular ones recommended by knowledgeable people are designed by educated and trained professionals who know what they're talking about.

This is the A/B workout I am considering

You're way overemphasizing horizontal push and bicep curls. You're missing vertical pull, horizontal pull, and vertical push motions. That's 3/6 which means you're going to be majorly deficient in those muscle groups. If you didn't have deadlifts and squats this would be a useless program.

Replace all the bicep curling with chin-ups and underhand rows. Simplify all the press-up alternatives to good, clean push-ups and add in overhead shoulder press or pike push-ups.

1) Can I continue doing these exercises on alternative days as they target different muscles or will I need to take a complete rest day? If so, how often should the rest day be?

48 hours in between targeting a muscle group is appropriate recovery. If you alternate muscle groups properly (push, pull, legs, etc) then you can exercise every day while obliging a full active recovery day once a week or so. So because you have pushing in both Day A (press-ups) and Day B (tricep press), you would not have 48 hours in between those muscle groups.

2) Am I missing any major muscle groups in this workout that will make me look silly or cause injury/ reduce gains etc.?

Yes, half of full body coverage as mentioned above. You don't need to reinvent the wheel here, just use a peer-reviewed, evidence-based full body program.

Would Dumbells and Squats benefit from a differing sets similar to those proposes for Biceps and Triceps and also doing higher reps with lower weights or should I keep these at lower reps with higher weight?

Generally, aim for 3x8, 5x6, etc programming with the heaviest weight you can manage.

Worrying about specific volume per muscle group is an intermediate level concern. Further reading: https://renaissanceperiodization.com/hypertrophy-training-guide-central-hub/

As I mentioned this workout seems like it may be difficult for me to do consistenly so I was considering spreading it over 3 days instead of 2, how would this effect muscle development? Would this circumvent the need for a rest day if one was needed? And how best would you lay these 7 exercises over 3 days instead of 2?

PPL (push, pull, legs) programs are very ubiquitous. Volume is invariably going to affect muscle growth more than frequency, x2 a week is still perfectly fine to make gains. You'll still need an active recovery rest day once a week or so no matter what. Most are divided by; day 1: bench press/push-ups, overhead press/pike push-ups, day 2: pull-ups/chin-ups/lat pull-downs, rows, day 3: deadlifts, squats, (repeat), day 7: active recovery.

5) Finally, and most importantly, will this program actually get me a good looking body so that I don't need to

Aside from the constructive criticism mentioned above, no program will provide results if you're not consistent. Adherence is what brings results. Sufficient protein and sleep is just as important as a full body strength training program.
 
@jeffwilly001 Hey, thank you for this advice. I have a few more questions based on what you've advised if that's ok?

Firstly, failing the vertical pull exercise being a viable option, how important is it to have all 6? Would 5 be sufficient? Essentially would the impact be of having 5/6 but not incuding vertical pulls?

Secondly, if I were aiming for all 6, which vertical pull exercises would you recommend if working out at home with the only equipment being a few dumbells (with adjustable weights) or a barbell that I'm likely considering purchasing (to increase the weight of the tricep pulls and bicep curls - sorry I'm big on the biceps and enjoy that exercise the most. On researching I'm thinking either dumbell rows (using my bed or a chair in place of the bench) or the horizontal row using a table.

Finally, following your advice, I'm considering incorporating overhead shoulder presses, some form of rows for horizontal pulls and potentially an exercise for vertical pulls, while also keeping my current 7 exercises (bicep curls, press-ups, plank, deadlifts, tricep presses, squats, sit-ups). How woud you best spread these now 9 or 10 exercises out over a 3 day period? I ask this because previously I'd alternate between differing exercises for similar body parts (ie squats and deadlifts on different days and tricep presses and bicep curls on different days, as well as having press-ups and tricep presses on alternate days which you also didn't recommend doing?). I know you said some of these exercises could be replaced but they are the ones I chose because I enjoy doing them so I'm hoping to find a way to keep doing them as well as adding the others you recommended.

Again thank you, your advice so far has been very helpful and any further advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
@kraftykuts007
Firstly, failing the vertical pull exercise being a viable option, how important is it to have all 6? Would 5 be sufficient? Essentially would the impact be of having 5/6 but not incuding vertical pulls?

You'd be neglecting major muscle groups, which would lead to both visible and invisible muscle imbalance and possible risk of injury.

If you're going to cut out a major compound exercise, choose rows. Together, chin-ups and deadlifts can recruit most of the muscles involved. Further reading: https://outlift.com/the-5-big-compound-lifts/#7-the-fall-of-the-barbell-row

Secondly, if I were aiming for all 6, which vertical pull exercises would you recommend if working out at home

Any kind of pull-up. Chin-ups would probably suit you most as they target the biceps more.

Doorway pull-up bars are cheap and accessible: https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Gym-Total-Upper-Workout/dp/B001EJMS6K

How woud you best spread these now 9 or 10 exercises out over a 3 day period?

A PPL program as described above: day 1 (push): bench press/push-ups, overhead press/pike push-ups, day 2 (pull): pull-ups/chin-ups/lat pull-downs, rows, day 3 (legs): deadlifts, squats, (repeat), day 7: active recovery. Do any isolation exercises in the relevant day.
 
@jeffwilly001 Ok thank you again.

Just one follow up on the PPL program. Would this make sense - I want to ensure I'm not repeating my previous mistake of working similar areas on the same day

Push - Tricep Press, Push-ups, Overhead Shoulder Press

Pull - Horizontal Rows, Pull-ups, Bicep Curls

Legs (and Core) - Squats, Deadlifts, Sit-ups, Plank.

I could switch the Bicep Curls over into leg day (that sounds weird I know) and move the two core exercises up into Pull day but I feel like Bicep Curls with other arm exercises made more sense. Is this a good plan?
 
@kraftykuts007 You can do ab exercises every other day, or even every day. Planks are good. Don't do sit-ups as they are bad for your lower back and don't recruit the full muscle group, if you want an ab flexion exercise then do hanging leg raises, dragon flags, etc.
 
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