Two weeks ago I started a new weightlifting routine:

day 1 - light

1. squat 3 sets x 15 reps
2. power shrug (pull) 3 x 5 using light weight
3. shoulder press (push) 3 x 15
4. calf raise 3 x 15
5. ab crunches or swissball crunches 3 x 20

day 2 - heavy

1. squat 3 x 5
2. bench press (push) 3 x 5
3. Pullups (assisted if necessary) or lat pulldowns (pull) 3 x 5

day 3 - medium

1. squat 3 x 8
2. One-arm dumbbell row OR Seated cable row (pull) 3 x 8
3. Dips or Incline bench press (push) 3 x 8
4. Back hyperextensions (good mornings) 3 x 8

This is much different than the one I’ve been doing for a couple years (on and off). The old one was adapted from various routines I read about on MFW. It was informal, I did what exercises I wanted to at the time. And tried to mix in some HIIT in between. It was a very inconsistent effort, but combined with an unrestrictive yet portion-controlled diet, I lost 40 pounds over two years and changed my body composition quite a bit, just not to the extent that I am after.

One thing that always plagued me on the old routine was DOMs. Typically, if I squatted, I would be in pain for 5-7 days and would be walking around like I was saddle sore. Same thing for bench presses. I was making gains, but sometimes the DOMS was bad enough that I had to pop a couple ibuprofen and it’s not really easy to get excited about going through that all over again when you’re deciding which exercises to do. I was also a bit of a glutton for punishment–when I did weight exercises, they would be heavy enough to cause failure roughly 90% of the way through the sets. Probably another mistake.

Contrast that with how the new routine is gone. The first time I did it, I did a Light day and probably went too heavy on the weight. The weight was quite a bit lower than what I usually do, but the reps were 15 instead of my typical < 10. I was hit with DOMS that didn’t fully clear up until a week later, mostly from squats. But, I was determined to make this work, so as soon as I could, I got back at it. I scaled the weight back again. The DOMs were minimal. Over the course of last week, I’ve progressively increased the weight up to my old numbers and beyond. There are some exercises that I haven’t had increases in for months that I’m now doing 20 or 30 pound over. And the best part, I’m not getting hardly any DOMs. Squatting three times a week is no problem. Sweet!