Mass Building routine, Big guys this ?? is for you

**ripped525** · 06-19-2004, 02:24 PM

Im goin to start a mass building routine this week, Im currently 175 lbs with 8-9% bodyfat, working out for 1 yr 1/2 with the 5/2 split, wanna gain more mass.
day 1 - chest/back
day 2 - Legs/Tri's
day 3 - Delts, Traps, Bi's
Two days off then repeat, this will work out each part three times in 2 weeks, compared to what i have been doin 2 times in 2 weeks, im going heavy and with compound exercises. I plan on doin 3 exercises 3x each for a total of 9 sets per muscle group.
Question is, how heavy should i go 4 reps, 6 reps, or 8 reps
And is 9 sets enough? I know a lot of BBers and they all say less is best in terms of sets. what do u guys think?

**ripped525** · 06-19-2004, 02:38 PM

BuMp

**ripped525** · 06-19-2004, 03:49 PM

no cares to reply to my ??'s hmmmmm

**bad_man** · 06-19-2004, 03:52 PM

I hit each bodypart once every 5 days. 6 sets for smaller muscles, 9 sets for larger. I start with heavy weights of 4-6 reps, progressing to 10-12 reps with lighter weights. I've been steadily progressing for a couple of years. I pretty much just keep it simple.

How's your diet dude? Diet is of utmost important when bulking or cutting. If it's not in order then your workout and supplementation is irrelevant.

**Beernutz** · 06-19-2004, 04:21 PM

nice tatt on your arm bro i like it...

i always train 4 times a week. I hit each muscle once evey week except calves i do them 2 times per week. I train most muscles similar. I do 4 sets of 4-8 reps for each muscle with a superset on everyset(eg... 4sets of db chest press flat , with a incline fly superset) and i go to failure on every set. I get good pumps with this. I keep it short and intense. my workouts never last over 55mins. I give shoulders its own day and i do 3 sets of bb press and 3 sets of db press again goin to failure with no superset. I also throw in traps and rear delts too. For calves i pretty much do alot of reps. My sets can consist of 30 seated raise 30 standing raise and 30 of another type of raise all in one set. Then i stretch and do it again for a total of 4 monster sets that really burn. Hope this could help.

**jbigdog69** · 06-19-2004, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by ripped525

no cares to reply to my ??'s hmmmmm

www.animalpak.com

**ripped525** · 06-19-2004, 08:49 PM

nice tatt on your arm bro i like it...

Thanx bro, and to all who replied

**Hooligan** · 06-20-2004, 10:02 AM

ripped make sure you include deads / squats / cleans in a mass buildling program. cleans alone built me up like crazy (from the skinny guy).

**ripped525** · 06-20-2004, 01:12 PM

Yeah i planned on using all of those in my program, thanx for the advice, my real problem is goin to be in my diet, not that i dont know what to eat, i just dont have an appetite, it really really sux

**Buddha** · 06-20-2004, 01:18 PM

Well like the rest of us Guy,..you gotta force yourself to eat.

**Hooligan** · 06-20-2004, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by ripped525

Yeah i planned on using all of those in my program, thanx for the advice, my real problem is goin to be in my diet, not that i dont know what to eat, i just dont have an appetite, it really really sux

If your problem is throwing on calories then increase liquid cals. It is pretty easy to have a 1K calorie shake lol...Think blended egg whites / protein powder / milk / flax seed or olive oil.

**Beernutz** · 06-20-2004, 05:26 PM

as you keep eating youll find it easier to eat more. Its takes sometimes but eventually your appetite will go up.

**ripped525** · 06-20-2004, 07:29 PM

yeah im going to do it , im determined as hell

**AandF6969** · 06-20-2004, 07:54 PM

That seems like a lot of training if youre going to be lifting heavy and then doing the same exercise 4 days later... You might want to think about taking more time inbetween workouts for muscle recovery, especially if your primary concern is mass.

**Hooligan** · 06-20-2004, 08:24 PM

or as some would say there's no such thing as overtraining just undereating. keep workouts under an hour, get enough sleep and food and your catabolic hormones should be in check, along with your recovery.

**ripped525** · 06-20-2004, 08:27 PM

so then i should stick with this routine
mon chest
tues back
wed legs
thursday off
friday shoulders
sat arms
sun off

**palumbo** · 06-20-2004, 09:22 PM

that new workout sounds much better bro everything seperated properly enough rest in between work and and keep growing

**Kaleb** · 06-21-2004, 01:31 AM

Bro, I was always told I was over-training and I thought about changing up my routine. But then I asked my boss about training. Now he's never used gear or any other supplement in his life and he's 5'7'' 185lbs with 6% body fat. He now trains every muscle once a week because he's 33 now I believe. But he told me when he was in college, because he wrestled for the University of Minnesota that he was in the gym 6- sometimes 7 times a week for at least two hours. He said at that time he was 202lbs with about the same amount of bodyfat. He said that he doesn't believe in over-training at all.

**Warrior** · 06-21-2004, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by ripped525

Im goin to start a mass building routine this week, Im currently 175 lbs with 8-9% bodyfat, working out for 1 yr 1/2 with the 5/2 split, wanna gain more mass.
day 1 - chest/back
day 2 - Legs/Tri's
day 3 - Delts, Traps, Bi's
Two days off then repeat, this will work out each part three times in 2 weeks, compared to what i have been doin 2 times in 2 weeks, im going heavy and with compound exercises. I plan on doin 3 exercises 3x each for a total of 9 sets per muscle group.
Question is, how heavy should i go 4 reps, 6 reps, or 8 reps
And is 9 sets enough? I know a lot of BBers and they all say less is best in terms of sets. what do u guys think?

Considering your bodyweight and training experiece I would say you are on the right track with this split. Once you get more experienced and handling heavier loads than you should start using advanced principles (drop sets, super/giant sets, negatives, forced reps...) and allow for more rest days inbetween workouts. But one thing to always keep in mind, growth happens AFTER recovery... don't retrain a muscle group that is still sore.

A better split for you IMO:
Day 1 - Chest, Back, Abs
Day 2 - Quads, Hams, Calves
Day 3 - Delts, Triceps, Biceps, Abs
Day 4 - REST
Day 5 - REST

Add further rest days as needed. For example, if progress becomes negligable - take another day off for more sleep and food then jump back in... prior to redrawing a new routine.

Also, train progressively. Every time you go back you should improve in one of three areas: total load, reps and/or time taken to complete the session. If you bench press 225 last session... benching even 230 for the same reps in the same time is an improvement... albeit small, but the small ones add up - not making any progress certainly doesn't...

How many reps you should do for the most progress is something you will learn in time... as well as muscle group dependent. For example - quads should be hit with higher reps, while hams (more fast-twitch) should be nailed with more explosive lower reps. Keep a good training diary and you should be able to find the rep ranges that work best for you over time. With that said - doing infrequent 1RM tests will help ease you into greater loads... 225 feels much lighter after you have tried 275

Training specifically for hypertrophy (muscular growth) is more about total fatigue of the muscle group... burning all the ATP/CP stores to create a greater demand. Shorter rest intervals and greater intesity is the best route. But at your stage I would keep doing a strenght focused routine so you don't burn yourself out and put too much of a burden on your system then you need. Once you add another 15-20 pounds to your body - then this type of hypertrophy-focused training will be necessary...
EAT!!!!!! You can't build a house without bricks!

**ripped525** · 06-21-2004, 01:41 PM

Thanks bro for the advice, so im goin to try the 3/2 split for a while see how that goes, and i'll post more pics as i grow

**Quake** · 06-23-2004, 03:45 PM

When doing the 3/2 split, if not doing separate sessions through the day for each body part then get on a bike (this is the best) for a minimum of 5 minutes and a max of 10 mins. The reason for this being that once you have blasted one bodypart, you will have a gathering of blood in this muscle. Raising your heart rate for a few minutes before going on to the next muscle will help disperse your blood to be more even throughout your muscles (as it is before you start training) and will give you a better chance of blasting the next muscle group just as well as the first.

**Prime** · 06-23-2004, 06:05 PM

If you are planning on doing a heavy weight low rep style split for a while i reccomend that you still keep your shoulder work at ten reps and above. Shoulders are a notorious problem area for injuries. I recently got caught up in teh weight and dropped to doing 4-5 reps for shoulders and am now working round two shoulder injuries

. Dont make the same mistake i did.