"Hey James,
"I'm Gary, a university student who weighs about 145-150lbs and about 5"10 tall. I've been working out on and off for two years with out much results and decided to dedicate myself fully to the gym this time. I read your
ectomorph pyramid training guide on Bodybuilding.com and wonder if it would hurt to add in some upper back training exercises, deadlifts and military presses in the 3 day routine? 'Cause I want to get a wider back and larger shoulders."
Thanks,
Gary
My Answer:Substituting the military press for lateral raises and deadlift for the back squat would be fine.
Adding these exercises to the workout would not be good, because the length of the workout would be increased. The more volume you have, the more likely you are to overtrain.
Substitute the deadlift for the back squat just once a week. So that means two workouts with the back squat, one workout with the deadlift in between. The reason is the deadlift is quite traumatizing to the nervous system, so once a week with that exercise is best.
You'll need to lower the pyramid of repetions on the deadlift as well. I don't recommend doing high reps on the deadlift, because your form starts to break down as the reps go up. You don't want your form to break down on the deadlift, because then you risk injury to your lower back. So rather than follow the 10-8-6-15 pyramid for the deadlift, follow this pyramid of reps: 6-5-4-8.
"I'm Gary, a university student who weighs about 145-150lbs and about 5"10 tall. I've been working out on and off for two years with out much results and decided to dedicate myself fully to the gym this time. I read your ectomorph pyramid training guide on Bodybuilding.com and wonder if it would hurt to add in some upper back training exercises, deadlifts and military presses in the 3 day routine? 'Cause I want to get a wider back and larger shoulders."
Thanks,
Gary
My Answer:Substituting the military press for lateral raises and deadlift for the back squat would be fine. Adding these exercises to the workout would not be good, because the length of the workout would be increased. The more volume you have, the more likely you are to overtrain.
Substitute the deadlift for the back squat just once a week. So that means two workouts with the back squat, one workout with the deadlift in between. The reason is the deadlift is quite traumatizing to the nervous system, so once a week with that exercise is best.
You'll need to lower the pyramid of repetions on the deadlift as well. I don't recommend doing high reps on the deadlift, because your form starts to break down as the reps go up. You don't want your form to break down on the deadlift, because then you risk injury to your lower back. So rather than follow the 10-8-6-15 pyramid for the deadlift, follow this pyramid of reps: 6-5-4-8.