Bulking gurus, help me overhaul my routine!!

[DanielBishop]

Hey guys, I've been dieting pretty consistently since May 2002.... and I'm almost at a level of leanness that I'm happy with. However, in the process I lost quite a bit of muscle (not that I was HUGE to begin with or anything) and I'd like to bulk up.

HOWEVER.... I'm really not interested in the Lee Priest "eat everything in sight while bulking and become a lardass" philosophy. I want to eat as cleanly as I possibly can during this bulking phase, and keep fat gain at an absolute minimum. I understand that this might slow my muscle gains down somewhat, but I'm okay with that. I just want to gain bulk, as fast or slowly as it takes, while not gaining too much excess fat.

I've also pretty much done the same old boring gym routine for the last few years. I don't really even know if it's effective or not. I've never been consistent or disciplined enough with my dieting to really "notice" gains. But I plan to change that.

Here's some details about myself, to give you an idea:

21 years old
6'1"
172lbs (quite lean at the moment, probably 7-9%)

I generally train in the afternoons, beginning my workout between 4:30-6pm.
I can train Monday-Friday, but not Saturday (I drive a truck all day Saturday) and on Sunday, my gym is only open from 10am-noon.... 2 hours should be plenty of time, but can make things awkward. So if possible I would prefer to keep my workouts to the weekdays.

I've ALWAYS neglected my legs. I went for a couple of years without training them at all. But now they're disproportionate and I want to start doing leg training again, also for the benefit of other muscle groups. I also sustained a knee injury around June 2002, which prevented me from deadlifting or doing any leg exercises at all until now. But I think it's pretty much healed up.... so I'll start very light and slow, but start doing these exercises again. I also have spina bifida, so I have to be careful with my back.... this, as well as my knee injury, is the other reason I didn't deadlift for a long time. I didn't do barbell rows either. But I'm feeling more confident now, and provided I take it easy and build up slowly I should be okay.

Here is what I generally do (note, I used to alternate the main exercises between dumbbells and barbells each week)

Monday- Chest and triceps
Flat Bench/Dumbbell Press: 4 sets, 6-10 reps
Incline Bench/Dumbbell Press: 3 sets, 6-10 reps
(sometimes) Decline Bench/Dumbbell Press: 3 sets, 6-10 reps
Dumbbell Flyes/Cable Crossovers: 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
Parallel bar dips: 4 sets, as many as possible (~10,8,7,5 etc)
EZ bar skull crushers/Overhead Dumbbell Extensions (both hands): 3 sets, 6-10 reps
Triceps Pushdowns/One-arm Overhead Dumbbell Extensions: 3 sets, 8-12 reps

Tuesday- Back and biceps
Overhand chins (just past shoulder-width): 4 sets, as many as possible (~9,7,5,4 etc)
Close-grip pulldowns (on lat pulldown machine, palms facing together)/Bent-over Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets, 8-12 reps
Close/wide grip cable rows: 3 sets, 8-12 sets
EZ Barbell Curls/Alternate Standing Dumbbell Curls: 4 sets, 8-12 reps
Preacher Curls/Incline Dumbbell Curls (together): 3 sets, 8-12 reps
Reverse EZ Barbell Curls/Hammer Curls: 3 sets, 8-12 reps

Wednesday- Off

Thursday- Shoulders, traps and abs
Military Press/Seated Dumbbell Press: 4 sets, 6-10 reps
Lateral Raises: 3 sets, 6-12 reps
Front Dumbbell Raises/Bent-over Laterals: 2-3 sets/8-12 reps
Barbell/Dumbbell Shrugs: 4 sets, 6-12 reps
Hanging knee raises (modified version): 4 sets, 10-20 reps (supersetted with) Hyperextensions: 4 sets, 10-15 reps
Decline knee raises: 3 sets, 15-20 reps
Twisting sit-ups/Oblique crunches: 3 sets, 10-20 reps
Standard crunches: 3 sets, 20-30 reps



You'll notice no legs. As I've explained, that was due to my injury.... and also me being a bit of a dumbass in thinking leg training was a waste of time. I've since seen the error of my ways, and I'm ready to start building my legs again.

Things I wouldn't mind changing about the routine, if you think it's a good idea:
I wouldn't mind sticking to ONE of the exercises, week in and week out.... rather than alternating from week to week between barbells and dumbbells. Then after 6 weeks or whatever, I could change it around.

Also, I've been worrying for a while that there is too much volume. Perhaps I'm doing too many exercises or sets for certain bodyparts?

I've never really known how frequently to train each bodypart, and I always seem to fall into the once-a-week routine. But that means I'm only training 3 days a week (which will become 4 as soon as I start doing legs again).... is that okay? Or should I begin some sort of cycle, regardless of the days of the week? Like:
Day 1- Chest and triceps
Day 2- Back and biceps
Day 3- Off
Day 4- Shoulders, traps and abs
Day 5- Legs
Day 6-Off
Cycle repeats

Would that be a good idea? Well.... I guess that's more or less the same as doing it once a week, except with one extra day off. Okay, nevermind.... bad idea.

Still, I'd appreciate your imput about how often I should be training each bodypart. Generally my muscles stay sore for a while.... a few days at least, so I couldn't train them twice a week. Either once a week, or some sort of cycle which disregards the week.

Also, should I be training my abs more than once a week? Perhaps I could train them on Mondays and Thursdays? Is it necessary? Is it beneficial? Will it hinder my progress?

What are your feelings on cardio while bulking? As I've explained, I would like to gain as little fat as possible while bulking. And so I've been entertaining the idea of doing some low-moderate cardio in the early mornings. Would this hinder my gains? If so, how much? Remember that I'm willing to sacrifice SOME gains if it will prevent me from gaining too much fat. But obviously not all gains.... I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't want to bulk up. Same question, re post-workout cardio.

As I said, I'll be incorporating deadlifts and barbell rows back into my back routine.

Also, here is what I had in mind for legs:
Squats: 4 sets, 6-12 reps
45 Leg Press (or Leg Extensions, haven't decided yet): 3 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg Curls: 3 sets, 8-12 reps
Calf Raises: 4 sets, 6-10 reps

*Stiff-legged exercises, like stiff-legged deadlifts and good mornings are a no-no for me (because of my spinal condition).

Other things to note: I broke my right forearm once, and so it causes pain to do curling/extension exercises with a straight bar. This is why I use the EZ bar for barbell curls, and skullcrushers.
Upright rows shear my shoulders, big time. So they're out for me.
Also hack-squats are a bad idea for me. My knees don't like it one bit.


~~~~~~~~~~~~

So there we have it. I apologise for the ultra-long post, but I wanted to get all of my info down so you know exactly what we're dealing with.

If you think it would be best, feel free to completely disregard my old workout and prescribe something totally different for me.

Any criticisms or advice would be greatly appreciated, especially if you could explain WHY and suggest an alternative (and why the alternative is better).

Thanks for your attention, and thanks in advance for your imput.

 

[supersizeme]

lol 38 view and no replies. i think your post was probably overkill...there were about 40 questions in there along with a ton of stuff to read. but hey, a lot of info is better than not enough.
here's my opinion. i don't really believe in a "bulking routine" as you are referring to it as far as weight lifting goes. i also don't believe in a "cutting routine." the whole point of lifting weights is to build muscle and strength. bulking and cutting refers more to diet and then of course cardio. i think your routine looks fine as it is. the purpose of it is to build muscle, which it will(provided you get that leg routine in there). i don't think you have too much volume in there.
cardio while bulking...this one's pretty simple. most people don't put on size with cardio. cardio hinders bulking. if you want to put on some size, and you're not taking anabolics, you're going to have to gain some fat. it's a fact of life for most people. so make a choice...if you want to bulk up, cut out the cardio and accept that you're going to put on some fat. if you want to stay lean and not make much progress as far as size goes, keep running on the treadmill.
training abs i don't think is going to make much of a difference in the grand scheme of bulking. once a week, twice a week, do what you want. i've always viewed training abs as more of a cardio oriented exercise, seeing as people typically keep sets of abs well over 10 reps.
training 4 days a week is fine, you're bulking up and going heavy in the gym and your body will enjoy three days off from the gym to rebuild. i go 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off, repeat.
your question about wanting to stop switching up barbells and dbs every week...that's fine if you want to stick with one of them for 6 weeks. for most people, 6 weeks is not too long that their bodies will adjust to those exercises and stop growing. just make sure you switch it up after the 6 weeks are over with.

good luck

 

[vinylgroover]

All looks pretty solid, good selection of free weight exercises in there.....maybe a touch on the heavy side in terms of volume but not fatally so. Lot's of ab work in there.....not sure if you really need that much, particularly at your current level of BF.

Must train legs....makes up more than half of your body and squats are vital to putting on overall body mass.

You may also think about doing regular deadlifts which are a brilliant exercise for packing on mass all over.

I agree with SMME on the cardio, you don't need it other than for health maintenance and that can be achieved just by walking three times a week just to keep your heart fitness up.

Stick to reps in the 5-8 range for your working sets and take minimum 90 seconds rest between sets

 

[DanielBishop]

Finally, some replies!!

Yeah, perhaps I overdid it. People would've clicked on my post and thought "Fuck!! I'm not reading all that!!"

Anyway, I appreciate your responses.

I don't really believe in a bulking/cutting routine either. It generally stayed the same, except I reduced my rest between sets to 60 seconds and added cardio. Except recently when I've been on a strict CKD diet, and I'm only doing two exercises per bodypart.... but that's okay, since you can't build muscle on a CKD diet so there's no point trying, really.

Good to hear that it looks reasonably solid. I'll just make up my mind about which exercises I want to do, and stick to them for 6 weeks and then after that time I'll change it around.

I'll definitely be adding deadlifts to my back routine. I'm not sure if I'll do those every week or every other week (remember my spine is fragile) but I'll try it out and see how I feel....

Squats will be a mainstay from now on, providing my knees are kind to me.

I do understand that I will gain some fat while bulking. You can't avoid it completely, but I wanted to minimise it. However.... if cardio will hinder my gains, then I guess I'll have to kiss it goodbye. But what about very low-intensity cardio.... for example, walking for 30 minutes.... once or twice a week....? Is that still bad? I would do it on my non-training days.

Excellent!! Well, as long as I'm on the right fundamental track, that's all I need to know. I've still got a few weeks of dieting left,
but when it gets closer to the beginning of my bulking phase, I'll polish up my routine and let you know what the final product looks like.

I sincerely appreciate your replies.

 

[Debaser]

You're doing WAY too much volume man.

I'm trying to figure out what it will take to finally get most of the guys on this board to see the light, because their training still looks straight out of bodybuilding mags (the absolute most worthless source of training information).

Not many of them seem to be happy with their physique and gains, yet they keep doing the same volume routine or even ADDING volume. No one seems to know the concept of recovery. And that doesn't just mean enough rest days after a body part, but also not overworking a bodypart (for example doing 10+ sets for chest).

Members of the board, let me know if you bench over 300, squat over 400, and DL over 500. And if you got there naturally, and let's see if you DIDN'T make good gains.

 

[PolishHammer1977]

Members of the board, let me know if you bench over 300, squat over 400, and DL over 500. And if you got there naturally, and let's see if you DIDN'T make good gains.

Debaser,
To answer;
I do 300 for reps on flat bench.
I squat 405 for reps.
I do not dead lift bc of a major back injury in 98'.
I am natural and have above average genetics.

 

[Debaser]

See, most of the training community (that includes this board) have average or below average genetics. And they wonder why they're not huge, when they bench 150-200 week after week.

Your goal should always be to add weight to the bar consistantly, while eating enough to promote growth.

 

[PolishHammer1977]

bump for debaser

 

[Lord_Suston]

Daniel,
try this routine (and yes I know your back is fragile)
I really suggest that you drop the volume of sets and up the weight if you have a spotter

incline bench 4 sets 12, 10, 6, 6reps
Flat bench 3 sets 8, 6, 6reps
Flyes 3 sets 12, 8, 8reps
Shrugs 4 sets 15, 12, 10, 10reps

Chins 3 sets max effort on each set
pulldowns palms toward you 3 sets 8, 8, 6reps
Deadlifts 3 sets 18, 15, 15reps
Pullovers 2 sets 10, 10 reps
military press 3 sets 12, 8, 8reps
lateral raises 3 sets all set doen to failure

rest

Close-grip bench 3 sets 12, 10, 8
Barbell curl 3sets 8,6,6
push-downs 3 sets 12, 8 ,6
dumbell curl 3 set 8,8,8

legs

Squat 4 sets 18, 15, 15, 12
Leg ext 3 set 12,10,8
SLDL 3 set 12, 12, 12
calf raises 12, 12, 10, 10