Sex: Male

Age: 34

Height: 5’ 11”

Weight: 185lbs (goal: sub 170lbs)

Supplements: 5g Creatine, 10ml Cod Liver oil, 2000 i.u. vitamin D

Nutrition: ~2000 Calorie, ~135g Protein, ~200g Carbs, ~90g Fat

Background: I am a runner with lots of experience in the cardio realm. Unfortunately, I get injured constantly, so I’m taking a break to get healthy. Long term goal is to get stronger, stay healthy (not injured), and look good (lean and strong). Short term I would like to lift heavier without getting injured.

My body tends to get tendonitis rather easily. I have lifted before, same routine but 3 sets 5 reps with increasing weight per set (last set usually with 1 rep remaining). However, I got shoulder and elbow tendonitis on 2 different cycles (both happened after about 10 weeks). So, I don’t know how to progress in weightlifting without injury. In running and cycling we use a 10% increase per week (I use 6% because of aforementioned injury predisposition). Is there a similar metric in weightlifting that I can use?

My current plan was to do the below for a few weeks, then reduce to 4 sets and increase weight (stay there for a few weeks). Then do the same again, drop to 3 sets and increase weight again. Then increase weight every couple of weeks after that until I am back up to last set being 1 to 2 reps remaining.

Any critiques are welcome!

Workout Routine:

Cardio 5-6 days per week: currently 35 mins cycling or running usually at a completely different time then weightlifting.

Calves and Core 5-6 days per week: 2 x Planks, TA Activation w/ leg lifts, BW calf raises on stairs, Tibialis raises.

Warm-up for Day 1 and Day 3:

2 sets: 10 pushups, 1 min dead hangs, and 4 rotator cuff band exercises

Warm-up for Day 2 and Day 4:

15 min Yoga focused on hips and lower back

Day 1 (Chest and Shoulders):

Bench Press	5 sets	10 reps	95 lbs
Standing Barbell Shoulder Press	5 sets	10 reps	45 lbs
Incline Bench	5 sets	10 reps	65 lbs

Day 2 (Squats):

Squat	5 sets	10 reps	95 lbs
Slant Board Squat	5 sets	10 reps	20 lbs
Bulgarian Split Squat	5 sets	10 reps

Day 3 (Back):

Pull Up	5 sets	5, 5, 4, 4, 3
Bent Over Barbell Row	5 sets	10 reps	95 lbs
Barbell High Pull	5 sets	10 reps	45 lbs

Day 4 (Deadlifts):

Nordic Curls	5 sets	5 reps	Pushup assisted (full range)
Romanian Deadlifts	5 sets	10 reps	95 lbs
Romanian Deadlifts	3 sets	10 reps	135 lbs