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I have started Olympic lifting recently and have been looking around the internet for a good accessory routine that makes up for the muscle groups missed, but to no avail.

My goals in order are:

  1. I want to do the lifts that I enjoy, i.e. Olympic lifting, deadlifts, rows
  2. but I also want to concentrate on Aesthetics, hence my question
  3. I have Strength goals I want to attain

About me:

  • I have been doing Stronglifts 5x5 for the last year.
  • I will be lifting 3/4 times a week.
  • Male, 26 y/o, 6ft, 87 kg, 13% body-fat, no injuries.

I think I need to mostly add in chest and biceps, and hence I put together a program because I couldn't find a suitable one (I can't really program the Olympic part currently because I am just getting used the the movements):

The program is 3/4 days a week, alternating Workouts A and B.

Workout A:

  • Olympic training
  • Bench 5x5
  • Row 5x5
  • Incline Bench 3x10
  • Dips 3x10

Workout B:

  • Olympic training
  • Overhead press 5x5
  • Deadlifts 1x5
  • Pull ups / chins 3x10
  • Curls 3x10

Progression: If I manage all the sets for an exercise, increase weight by 2.5 kg (5 lbs) next workout.

I am looking for advice, recommendations for a suitable routine or criticisms of the one I have suggested.

Thank!

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I'd recommend that you pick the muscles you think are lacking and work those.

Small Biceps? 4x10-15 (4 sets of 10-15 reps) of Hammer/Barbell Curls.

Tiny shoulders? 4x10-15 of Strict Press/Face Pulls/Lat Raises

Flat Chest? 4x10-15 of Cable fly/Incline Bench.

You get the idea, just pick an exercise (ExRx has good resource on which exercises work which muscles) and work in the 'bodybuilder' rep ranges (10-15 reps).


Personally, I would save myself and do accessories to help practice and develop my Olympic lifts which will develop my physique and help improve my form and maximal lift strength: Hang Cleans, Power Clean/Snatch, Deficit snatch, Front Squat, Overhead squat, Snatch Balance, etc.

Provided you are supplementing with some cardiovascular work to assist your conditioning you are doing a lot of the movements that most crossfit people do (oly lifts and conditioning). IF you do that 4 times a week and make sure your diet supports muscle growth, it won't be too long before you notice change in your physique.

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  • Hey, thanks for the answer. Are you sure rep ranges matter? See here: strengtheory.com/hypertrophy-range-fact-fiction
    – Serac
    Dec 7, 2016 at 12:12
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    I'm aware of that great article. In the macro, not really. The main factor here is fatigue. Accessories should be just that, they shouldn't really affect your ability to do your main lefts over the week. Because of this, the moderate-light intensity cited in that article would help OP more as it would impact less on their CNS fatigue level.
    – John
    Dec 7, 2016 at 12:20

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