My Regimen and Photos(Help Wanted, from the experienced)

[Undecided09]

I've been lifting for about a year now, bulking mostly, high weight low rep. Over the Course of the year I have seen gains and put on some mass from when I started. As I learned more about lifting my routine changed and more supplements were added. Currently 5'9", 175 lbs, 19 years old:
1. I lift one muscle group a day,
Bis/tris- Monday
Back- Tuesday
Legs - Wednesday
Chest - Thursday
Shoulders- Friday
I start with power movements at the beginning of my lifts, keeping the load heavy, reps between 5 and 7, and then moving to iso moves and reps between 8 and 12.

2. I Take in 60 grams of protein every 3 hours until I hit 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. I also take a multivitamin, glutamine, Creatine (CE2) and Nitric Oxide (NO2 by MRI).

I have seen results, but I wanna get Huge and I wanna stay cut, I honestly would rather weigh only like 180 and look enourmous, than throw on a lot of weight and gain some size but not be as ripped up. Idealy I'd like to stay ripped and get huge but I don't know how to do that. Any help with any supplements I should add or work out changes would be great.

[bmg]

when i achieved my best results i split my protein meals up into six meals of between 30 and 50 grams/ meal. the reason why we eat so much protein is that we are hoping that the aminos will be in our blood stream when the body needs the aminos- which could be any time in a 24 hour period. thats why i did and would split the meals up a bit more and take casein (milk) protein before you sleep because casein protein digests the slowest.

.... additional note on the protein. i wouldnt have much more than 1/3 of my protein come from whey. it is my goal to take in at least four sources of protein a day. eat whole foods too... try to stay away from a liquid diet.

your workout strategy seems sound, but sometime higher reps can be really usefull. in the past six months i began increase the reps on the set performed during the last third on my workout. i started doing more supersets and 15- 20 straight set. this increased my pumps and added considerable size to my quads and arms.

heres a pic to give an idea of the results ive been able to come up with....

[IBdmfkr]

Keep it up, sorry to tell you this but the only way 180 will ever look enormous is if you are 5ft tall.

[bmg]

Keep it up, sorry to tell you this but the only way 180 will ever look enormous is if you are 5ft tall.

... what he means to say is.... be patient. the process does take alot of time.

[SS1476]

Next time, dont post open sources
that Sh!t has been deleted,besides..
you went to mexico anyway..

[IBdmfkr]

... what he means to say is.... be patient. the process does take alot of time.

No, actually it would take him a couple months to hit 180 with proper diet and training. These are two things I wish I could go back and learn at a earlier age. If you want to be enormous, I'd set my goals a bit higher than gaining 5lbs. (List your diet for critique, I'd bet you are taking in too many supplements during the day).

Btw, it seems you are overtraining.

[Undecided09]

Overtraining? How am I overtraining?
Yeah well my diet consists of three meals to gain 50-60 grams of protein, and three shakes to gain 50-60 grams. I can't afford to eat meals six times a day, thus the idea of supplementation. But What I was sayign about being 180 and enourmous, is the idea that I would love to be 185 or 190, the weight isnt what im emphasizing. What I'm emphasizing is whatever weight I am at, looking as big as I could possibly look, at that weight, thats what I was getting at.

[hardgainer12]

eat like a piggy! then cut down

[bmg]

No, actually it would take him a couple months to hit 180 with proper diet and training. These are two things I wish I could go back and learn at a earlier age. If you want to be enormous, I'd set my goals a bit higher than gaining 5lbs. (List your diet for critique, I'd bet you are taking in too many supplements during the day).

Btw, it seems you are overtraining.

i see what your sayin.

i didnt think he was serious about only gaining 5 lbs, i thought he was just trying to make the point that he wants to remain lean.

[IBdmfkr]

Overtraining? How am I overtraining?
Yeah well my diet consists of three meals to gain 50-60 grams of protein, and three shakes to gain 50-60 grams. I can't afford to eat meals six times a day, thus the idea of supplementation. But What I was sayign about being 180 and enourmous, is the idea that I would love to be 185 or 190, the weight isnt what im emphasizing. What I'm emphasizing is whatever weight I am at, looking as big as I could possibly look, at that weight, thats what I was getting at.

Try not to make so many excuses for why you aren't willing to eat right. I say this in a helping way. When I was 19 I did the same thing, taking in just as many calories in supplements as I did food calories. You will continue to spin your wheels and it will take much more time to meet your goals with this approach. Food is no more expensive than supps if you know what to buy. Rice, potatoes, chicken, turkey, tuna, wheat bread, fruit etc etc... Set goals and make excuses to meet them, not the other way around.

The overtraining part is a whole other story, I'll try and keep it simple for now.
(The two major things that stuck out on your training schedule were Mon-Tues back/bi's conflicting and Thurs-Fri Chest/shoulders). Both of these are bad ideas. I train EOD with great results.

[bmg]

Overtraining? How am I overtraining?
Yeah well my diet consists of three meals to gain 50-60 grams of protein, and three shakes to gain 50-60 grams. I can't afford to eat meals six times a day, thus the idea of supplementation. But What I was sayign about being 180 and enourmous, is the idea that I would love to be 185 or 190, the weight isnt what im emphasizing. What I'm emphasizing is whatever weight I am at, looking as big as I could possibly look, at that weight, thats what I was getting at.

no more than half your intake calories may be from supplements.... thats my rule and i strongly believe in it. dont buy into the hype behind the sup companies. eat your food with a fork.

[Undecided09]

Yeah I am saying that I want to remain Lean, but I am also sayin that at 175, I feel I could look a ton bigger. Problem is I dont really feel like there is much on me to cut up. I mean last time I had my BF tested I was at like 8, so its pretty good. However going from 8 to 6 would probably significantly change the way I look, even that small two percent. Probably even more so because at this low of a level that two percent is alot. So what areas do I need to work on? how can I stay lean, and put on some mass? Also, I do zero cardio, could that be the reason I am having trouble, "looking big" at my weight?

[IBdmfkr]

I'm not quite sure I can explain to you why your way of thinking is so wrong with just a few posts. With the way you diet/train you would deff lose a lot of muscle mass while attempting to lose that 2% BF. Also, it is near impossible to put on mass and not gain additional bodyfat, if you aren't willing to accept that, then accept being a skinny dude because you're affraid to lose your sixpack for a few months out of the year.

[bmg]

i recognize the situation now... what you want is to get leaner while at the same time your adding a ton of dense mass in short period of time.

reality check

getting leaner and getting dense to an extreme degree are conflicting interests. the first thing you need to do is to pick your priority and solely focus on that SPECIFIC goal.

[Undecided09]

Dude I'm not afraid of anything, don't take what I am saying like that. What I am afraid of, is mistraining? Whats wrong with that? thats why I am being so specific about what I want and so meticulous with what I am trying to say. I am attempting to gain information on how to get huge and cut up from people who know what they are doing. At this point I am knowledgeable as far as the everyday person goes, but I am at the point where I need outside help, thats what I am looking for. Thus my post.

[IBdmfkr]

Places to start your journey of knowledge:

Diet forum, BULKING STICKIE. You are too skinny, time to bulk up. Worry about thinning out later when you have a foundation built.

Training logs, Nark has a good one going as well as others. Post up your routines and diet in separate threads in detail so we can tell you what needs to be changed.

Impressed with your will to learn, hope you're ready for what we're about to teach you. lol

Almost forgot, you are far from being 8% BF. Try 12-15.

[Undecided09]

Firstly I really appreciate your help. If there is anything that I have done well since I've started lifting, it's been absorbing information from people who know what they are doing and asking questions from whoever "knows" what they are talking about. Honeslty a year ago this time I couldn't have told you what protein did. Now im pretty capable of having a sophisticated conversation about bodybuilding. I am Definately committed to learning (in case you cant tell, haha) and more importantly, sticking to a solid regimen. That is what I need.

P.S. my body fat was taken by my trainer back home, who writes for mens fitness, has a book out called lose fat forever, is a bodybuilder as his hobby, training his profession, and learned how to take body fat measurements from the guy, who learned from the people who invented it. That was in August.

[hardgainer12]

Firstly I really appreciate your help. If there is anything that I have done well since I've started lifting, it's been absorbing information from people who know what they are doing and asking questions from whoever "knows" what they are talking about. Honeslty a year ago this time I couldn't have told you what protein did. Now im pretty capable of having a sophisticated conversation about bodybuilding. I am Definately committed to learning (in case you cant tell, haha) and more importantly, sticking to a solid regimen. That is what I need.

P.S. my body fat was taken by my trainer back home, who writes for mens fitness, has a book out called lose fat forever, is a bodybuilder as his hobby, training his profession, and learned how to take body fat measurements from the guy, who learned from the people who invented it. That was in August.

wow he sounds reliable. mine is supposed to be 8% but i dont believe it. im tryin to get a camera to post pics so i can get a second opinion

[IBdmfkr]

I'm coming in around 10-12 and I am vascular throughout my forearms, delts, quads, hams etc... Not saying you can't be 8%, just saying it's highly doubtful. Either way, glad you're hear to learn. Like I said before, post up your diet in the "diet forum" and training in the appropriate forum for specific critiquing. It would be too hard and confusing to cram everything into this one thread. Best of luck.

BD

[Undecided09]

thanks so much, I really appreciate all your help. Ill post my workout regimen more thoroughly in the appopriate area and my diet as well. If you could take a look at those when I put em up that would be awsome. Thanks a bunch.

The Newbie

[IBdmfkr]

I'll keep an eye out. You have a long road ahead of you, but it's worth every second.

[Growingpains]

1. I lift one muscle group a day,
Bis/tris- Monday
Back- Tuesday
Legs - Wednesday
Chest - Thursday
Shoulders- Friday

Why would you lift bis/tris monday so that you are tired already for back? I would change your split to
Chest - mon
Back - tues
arms - wed
Legs - thursday
Shoulders - friday
what do you think my brotha?????? This way you use the prioritization principle to get the bigger parts first. Don't you hate it when you are working on chest and your tris are still sore. This cycle I think avoids this problem for the most part.

Good luck,

GP

Also, stay patient, don't believe what Flex has to say.

[IBdmfkr]

I'd take Wed off to be rested for leg-day, kinda pointless to hit arms after a hardcore chest/back workout the day before. I give arms their own day once a month with great results. Time spent outside the gym is where you will grow, 5days=overtraining in most individuals.

Growingpains, Who are you referring to when you say "flex"?

[Undecided09]

That split sounds pretty good, I knew previously about not trying to work secondary muscles on consecutive days, but that split before was my best effort at minimizing it. So that new one sounds pretty good to me. I think Having that rest in the middle of the week sounds like a good idea too. I dont do cardio at all though, and i was thinking that maybe thats why I am not seeing my definition, I mean I would say I am more cut than bulky by leaps and bounds, but I could be more defined the the stomach for sure.

[Jimmya73]

i assume the magazine

[Growingpains]

Ya sorry, I meant FLEX magazine. I personally read Muscle Development Like its my bible.

[IBdmfkr]

That split sounds pretty good, I knew previously about not trying to work secondary muscles on consecutive days, but that split before was my best effort at minimizing it. So that new one sounds pretty good to me. I think Having that rest in the middle of the week sounds like a good idea too. I dont do cardio at all though, and i was thinking that maybe thats why I am not seeing my definition, I mean I would say I am more cut than bulky by leaps and bounds, but I could be more defined the the stomach for sure.

I'd say your body composition has more to do with your diet, not your lack of cardio. I only incorporate cardio when dieting. Otherwise I may superset time to time to get my heartrate up. Try this routine:
Mon: Back, bi's
Tues: OFF
Wed: Legs
Thurs: OFF
Fri: Chest, calves
Sat: OFF
Sun: REPEAT
(If this routine is halfassed you will not see very good results, it's setup for recovery due to the high intensity of each workout).

I've seen my best gains with this routine, compound movements only, no iso movements.
Idea is to lift heavy with high intensity every workout, get ready to grow.

[Undecided09]

I agree that dieting is definately the determinate as to how you look, but what about tri's? I didnt see any tri's? Also, two muscle groups a day? How do you do compound movements with calves? Also, I am looking for a cutting cycle I decided, for the summer, so with that in mind...

[IBdmfkr]

Tri's are worked with Chest/shoulders on chest day, I only isolate tri's once/month with great results. At your stage you need to try many different well-develeped routines for 8-12wks and see which is best for you. I was just giving you a very simplified example.
As far as a cutting cycle, I don't feel like you're anywhere near ready for anabolics, if that is what you were implying.

[Undecided09]

Yeah, well from my experience so far I like the one body part a day focus because like u said, all ur size come from when ur out of the gym. SO if you can beat the shit outta just one muscle group in a day, u give urself a whole week to repair and rebuild, and thats ur size, or definition depending on ur type of lift.

And no i didnt mean anabolic , i agree im not ready for that, i dont think anyone should do it until they are ATLEAST 21, 22, or 23. I meant cutting like shredding up rountine....

[IBdmfkr]

I'd personally put on more quality mass before trying to cut, many ppl go about it the wrong way or their diet is off and end up losing LBM in the process. At this stage you have little to spare, stick to bulking with the right foods IMO.

Keep in mind a few things with the routine I posted.
First, on back days I am doing Deadlifts which works the entire body.
Leg days usually has either heavy squats or another power/mass builder.
Chest days include shoulders etc... So it is focused on maximizing your core and major muscle groups. I feel once an athlete is more conditioned and has the foundation they are happy with then isolated movements can then be added. Hope this makes sense.

BD

[Undecided09]

No i see what you are getting at for sure. Two things I am getting from what your saying, You need to build a solid foundation before you can even think about shredding. And secondly, strengthen your core/big muscle groups first, before you attempt to sculpt your smaller more defined areas....Also, I am cutting right now, I wanna give that a shot, I've been bulking for too long, i mean I need to shock my body a little bit...I am sticking pretty strictly to that cutting diet that is given in the diet section, so I think my cutting diet isnt off....Thanks for All your input...MD

[IBdmfkr]

Goodluck to you, seem like you have a good head on your shoulders and will do well.
When you say you've been bulking for too long, approx how many calories etc.. were you taking in. I've met many ppl who claim/think they are bulking, when in reality they are just barely over their maintainance calories.

[*Narkissos*]

I've been bulking for too long

I disagree... highly

You've been lifting what? A year?

You're lean granted, 8% is believable... It's notable that 8% on someone denser would be more impressive. No flame, just facts. You need to continue to eat. Increased density requires calories. Cutting at this point would make zero sense. After just one year of training.. what would you be cutting down to?

Get back on the bulking diet.. if the fat creeps up and that bugs you cycle your calories (1 week maintenance+ 300-500 calories; followed by one week @ maintenance, or 1 week at sub-maintenance calories)

My 2 cents

~Narkissos

[IBdmfkr]

Agree with Nark. DO IT, DO IT! lol

[Undecided09]

Yeah but what I am saying is that I feel like my bulking has kinda plateued so I thought it would be a good idea to try and shock my body a little bit...I think I have been taking in the proper amount to bulk, I mean I have 50-60 grams of protein every three hours until I reach about 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight, and I eat complex carbs and veggies with every real meal....I don't realy count calories as much as I watch my grams intake...I mean i agree that U need something to cut up, but I gotta listen to my body and in my opinion I kinda plateued in my bulking routine, but maybe not cause I was seeing gains as far as my load went......I moved up to like 190 on the bench, 290 on squats, 275 on deadlift...So ive been moving up, I just don't feel like ive changed my look, so I wanna give that a shot
....

[IBdmfkr]

In post #7 you talked about your current bulking diet and we came to the conclusion it was not sufficient in real-food or calories. That could deff be a reason you feel as if you're plateauing. Just a thought.

If you feel the need to change things up, then drop the shakes for a month and replace them with foods and see how things go. You aren't eating enough, plain and simple. Otherwise you'd be growing.

Don't mean to keep harping on the same thing and drawing this thread out, just wanna see you hit your goals.

[Undecided09]

No no I definately appreciate the input, even if I am kinda hard to get the point across to, which I am, I guess what I am saying is that I want to look a lot more cut and still put on some size at the same time, How do I do it???

[IBdmfkr]

It takes Time. You must go through different transitions and sculpt your body. Virtually impossible to do both at the same time, you have to make a choice. Best of luck.

BD

[Undecided09]

I know, I'm not looking for an easy way out, don't take what I am saying that way...But what I am saying is that even at my stage right now, it has to be possible that I could throw in cardio twice a week, change my diet, and continue on my bulking routine, and see some noticable changes in my appearance right?