Well after coming to the conclusion that I have been overtraining for the past several months, I changed my workout routine. Thanks to some people on this board (Timmy mainly) I have created a push/pull routine that I have been doing for about two weeks.

Day 1 - Push
Bench Press (10, 8, 6, 4, 2 - increase weight 10 pounds each time)
Squats (5 x 5)
Shoulder Press (5 x 5)
Dips (5 x 5 w/ a 10 lb. plate)

Day 2 - Pull
Romanian Deadlift (5 x 5)
Pullups (5 x 5) or chinups (5 x 5)
Bentover rows (5 x 5)

I do this four times a week (i.e. Mon - day 1, Tues - day 2, Thurs - day 1, Fri - day 2).

Is this a good routine if I want to increase my overall upper body strength, mainly bench press? The original routine called for 5 sets of 5 reps on the bench, but is a pyramid better to do? Any suggestions?

ALSO, this could probably be a separate thread, but I just started taking whey protein. How much growth should I expect from 80 or so grams of protein a day from whey in addition to my regular meals?

As far as your routine goes...I'd say you need more pulling exercises. Remember, for every muscle you have, there is one that counters it. I would add Straight Leg Deadlifts. Also, don't worry so much about your chest. Build your body on this routine for a while, and watch how it grows first. If your chest needs help later, then add more intensity to it. Stick with your 5x5 on the bench press too. Also, when your shoulders broaden and your back grows, it will make your chest look bigger too.

About the protein. How much do you take in on a normal day total.

Uhm yea you mgiht want to add some more exercises because that is just plain too short of a routine. It also ignores some of the muscle groups such as calves, hams, abs, lateral deltoid... etc.

Why does everyone think that shoulder presses workout your entire shoudler? More than less, it works out your triceps than your shoulders, plus the fact that it only works out the ANTERIOR deltoid, which is a tiny part of the shoulder muscle group. Lateral deltoid makes up for the majority, and no one seems to be doing upright rows.

Good call Dragon....if you are doing shoulder press, then you should do some upright rows as well. I totally missed that. Again, for every motion or muscle, there is an oppostie which needs to be worked too.

Use 5x5 on bench, do dips to failure not 5. You can do RDL's but also incorporate goodmornings. And I don't think you need upright rows, just a lateral raise (push).

You don't need to directly work calves if they're big/strong enough from squatting.

Thanks guys. I was under the impression that straight leg deadlifts were the same as Romanian deadlifts. And what are good mornings? I have seen a site posted here that has a long list of excercises w/ videos and descriptions. Anyone know it offhand?

And as far as the whey protein goes, I just started taking it recently (like a few days ago). I take two two-scoop mixes per day (20g protein per scoop, so about 80g per day from the whey). So total, I would guess i take in about 125g protein per day.

I am 6-4, 175 lbs.

Are RDL's the same as SL DL's? I thought they were different.

And I meant what's the total grams of protein you take in a day shakes + food?

probably about 125g, i don't write it down, but I'm pretty conscious of the foods I eat.

Remove the dips, for now.

The bench press and dips both work the pecs and anterior deltoid.

Add ab work to your pull day.

I'm assuming you're doing each two times a week...make one day 3x10 or 8x3.

Else, it's good. It looks like mine:

http://forums.jpfitness.com/showthread.php?t=14967

SLDLs allow the back to round, so it's definately a low weight deadlift.

If you want to lift the most, it's best to stick to the meat and potatos of lifting. There are powerlifters with huge calves that have never done calf raises. I also disagree with lateral deltoid paranoia. If you want to take a bodybuilder mentality, that's your perogative, but I don't see the point. Also, Romanian Deadlifts slam your hamstrings. And if you're using compound movements, you don't need direct abwork. (Though, I actually like calf raises.) You can toss in accessory exercises at the end, maybe rotating calf raises and abwork.

Ditch the dips for now. You could rotate them with bench press, for variety.

5x5 for all will be effective. It's deceptively simple to some, but there's beauty in simplicity.

Don't think too much about exercises for now. The outline is simple:

Push:
Quad-dominant
Horz push
Vert push

Pull:
Glute-dominant
Horz pull
Vert pull

Rotate exercises every four to six weeks (or try something else), as well as your set/rep, and you're good to go.

Thanks man. This routine is working muscles that I haven't messed with in years. Appreciate the help.