How does this routine sound?

Monday:

• Chin Ups – 3x8
• Bent Over Row – 3x8
• Military Press – 3x8
• Bench Press – 3x8
• Incline Bench - 3x8
• Incline Hammer Curl – 3x8
• Decline Extension
• Tricep Kickbacks – 3x8

Tuesday:

• H.I.T.T. – 30 minutes
• Burpees
• Heavy Bag

Wednesday:

• Squats – 5x5
• Deadlifts – 5x5
• Calf Raises – 3x8
• Leg Extensions – 3x8
• Leg Curls – 3x8
• Weighted Crunches

Thursday:

• Chin Ups – 3x8
• Bent Over Row – 3x8
• Military Press – 3x8
• Bench Press – 3x8
• Incline Press - 3x8
• Concentration Curls – 3x8
• Decline Extension
• Tricep Kickbacks – 3x8

Friday:

• H.I.T.T. – 30 minutes
• Burpees
• Heavy Bag

Saturday:
• Squats – 5x5
• Deadlifts – 5x5
• Calf Raises – 3x8
• Leg Extensions – 3x8
• Leg Curls – 3x8
• Weighted Crunches

A lot of good stuff here Eric ... a lot of intensity with some big lifts. How much time does each take you ... and if you haven't started yet ... how long do you expect each to last? Just remember, balance having a life as well otherwise you'll get burned out or will end up over training.

I think each to their own but I am partial to doing my chest work before my shoulders or back work. The reason I do this is probably because I still have that mentality of body builders, ego and such, and having a big lift on the chest for me is more important then my lifts on my shoulders or back. Nothing wrong with warming those muscles up but I've found for myself when lifting heavy on the shoulders and back I can lift less on my bench. In this particular case I would have in the order of chest, shoulders, back, biceps and triceps. If this is not an issue then don't worry about it, again this is just my preference.

Legs are definitely important and you have gone right out and made them intense ... very intense. You may find that this may be too much so don't get down if you find it difficult to finish. You may even wish to eliminate the Leg Extensions and Leg Curls as with the Squats and Deadlifts, you are already getting a good workout. My fear with this much intensity that slowly but surely you will be so sapped of energy for the next day that you will find that your results will not be up to par as your energy levels will be down and this may eat at you. Toning it back a bit isn't so bad and if you find you still have plenty of gas the next day and want to add "a bit" more in then do so.

Let us know how things go Eric. If you can do all of this then you are the man. Just remember to write down everything so you know if you are getting the results you want. And then you can look back and see what worked and what didn't work.

Well actually I've done this routine for the last week. On lifting days workouts are usually 40 minutes, cardio is an hour. I do shoulders first because they're my weakest point right now, and something I definetly want to improve. The leg work outs are definetly hard, and I myself have the same fear as you, that the intensity may be too high. Last thing I want is for my muscles to not be able to fully recover and to see my gains squashed.
I'm trying to stop that from happening though, I'm making sure I get plenty of sleep, and eat as healthy as possible. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how things go too see if it's too much.

By HITT do you mean HIIT? If so, 30 mins is waay too long. 10-15 mins should be all you can manage, if you're sprinting all out.

I can make 30 minutes before I can't go on anymore.

Then you need to up the intensity of the sprinting. 30 secs jog, 10 secs sprint. Rinse repeat. This really isn't an issue of cardio-vascular fitness, the best athletes in the world aren't going to last more than 15-20 minutes on the outside, it's just the way that HIIT is designed.

It seems that everybody building and strengthening website I've asked about this routine on says I will see no gains with it. So I'm not so sure....

What were their reasoning? Did they think you were overtraining? Don't tell me they didn't think you were doing enough? Or are they the type that think that you need Vitamin "S" to make any gains?

Too much work in one day and not enough rest during the week was the majority of the reasoning. Although I did get a couple you need to be taking this and that, and one said it wasn't enough.
However, the few who seemed to know what they were talking about said to try this:

Monday:

Bench Press 3x8
Incline Bench 3x8
Close Grip Bench 3x8
Tricep Kickbacks 3x8

Tuesday:
Squats 5x5
Deadlifts 5x5
Leg Extensions 3x8
Leg Curls 3x8
Calf Raises 3x8

Wednesday:
Off


Thursday:
Military Press 3x8
Lateral Raise 3x8
Shrugs 3x8

Friday:
Off

Saturday:
Weighted Chin Ups 3x8
Bent Over Rows 3x8
Weighted Crunches 3x8
Incline Hammer Curls 3x8
Concentration Curls 3x8

I prefer the original workout at the top of the thread, but with a slight change in volume, and a big change in frequency. Try the following.

Upper body.
Bench or incline bench 5x8
Chins 5x8 or Bent over rows 5x8
Military Press 5x8
Standing curls 4x8
Tricep extensions 4x8

Legs/abs
Squat or deadlift 5x5
Leg extension 3x8
leg curl 3x8
calve raise 4x8
Weighted Crunches 5x10

Now the trick is to alternate focus over a 3 day split week.

week 1. Mon: Upper body. Wed: Legs. Fri: Upper body
Week 2. Mon: Legs. Wed: Upper body. Fri: Legs
Weeks 3,5,7,9,11: as week 1
Weeks 4,6,8,10,12: as week 2.

fit your HIIT and MA training around this as best you can, ideally on inbetween days, and ensure you have at least 1 whole days rest per week.

Simple and effective.

Ah, thank you Cord, I like the looks of that one.
Now, will this help me put on a good amount of mass?

I looked this over twice and to be honest, this looks good. I like that you are working the upper twice in one week with one lower workout and then reverse it for the next week. I like that you are "not" over doing a particular muscle group like suggested by who knows who!!!! I like that you are allowing Eric to still work with 8 reps giving some mass building and not just the standard 5x5 for strength, though strength will always be a factor. Good re-organization.

cheers Dereck, glad I didnt miss anything. It can be difficult sometimes to cut a straight path that brings you out at your precise desired destination, but I think this should do the trick.

Eric, yes this will help you build mass. The alternate upper/lower body intensity weeks is a split taken straight from the lips of Dorian Yates (multi Mr Olympia), who was, incredibly, an ectomorphic hardgainer, and this structure was his way to train frequently and intensely, whilst still getting lots of growth producing rest. Give it 12 weeks and you should see some growth