Do you guys think I should be doing strength work(strength rep range) or just continu

[Twin]

I am doing 4-8 reps. I been lifting for a year and 1/2.


Do you think I should change my rep scheme to like 2-5 reps for strength only?

I want to bulk up and gain mass. But I realize in order to get mass, I need to have good strength first...


Here is my workout routine and current lifting stats.(taken from my workout progress log notebook )

CHEST***MONDAY***

Dumbbell Chest Press 55LB'S - 4 reps, 6 reps, 7 reps
Incline dumbbell press (40 lb's ) 8 reps, 8 reps,, 8 reps, and 6 reps
Incline flies 30 lb's ..4 reps... 5 reps... 6 reps..
Chest dips(body weight) 6 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps


**Also** I benched 2 weeks ago and I did 135 lb's for 8 reps, 7 reps and 6 reps (the barbell and two 45 lb plates)



---

LEGS*TUESDAY*
SQUATS - 165 LB'S...6 SETS... REPS WERE:: 4,5,5,5,5,6
Leg Extension - 70 lb's ... REPS::6..5..7
Leg curl 70 lb.. reps ,4, 5, 3.
Calf raises(smith machine) I dont keep track. I just go with what feels like.
Seated calf raises(i dont keep track. i just go with what feels like)

-------
--BICEP/TRICEP WEDNESDAY***

Seated Preacher Curl 50 Pounds + the ez bar...reps 6...6..6.
Dumbbell curl - 30 lb's.. - 4 reps, 3 reps, 5 reps.
Weight chinups (5 lb added to me) 6 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps and 6 reps...
^ I do this on the squat machine. no pull up bar at my gym.....


Tricep pull down... 65 lb's... 6 reps... 7 reps... 7reps...

tricep dips.. 70 lb plates... 5 reps.. 7 reps... 8reps..

skull crusher.. that ez bar + 15 lb's... reps: 7... 7.. 6..

------------


Shoulders...

shoulder dumbbell press 35 lb's... 3 sets.. 7 reps each time...
sider lateral raises on the machine.. 70 lb's...reps: 6...7...6
front raise dumbbells... 20 lb.. reps are 4,4, and 7.
Dumbbell reverse fly.. 15 lbs.. 4..5..5.. reps
upright rows 25 lb + ez bar... reps are 4,6,4,7..
dumbells shrugs 45 lb... 4... 5.. 6..



--------

Back day/lats.

T bar rows - 72.5 lb's.. 8... 8.. 8.. reps
Deadlift 140 lb's(im still getting form down) 8 reps and 8 reps and 8 reps...
Dumbbell row... 50 lb... 7 on each arm. for 3 sets...
pull up 15 lb added to me and 6 reps for 3 sets..


--

my height 5 foot 9 or 5 foot 10..

my weight : 150 lb's..

my age 19..

i been lifting for 1 1/2 years. but didnt get diet down till 6 months ago... (i was under eating.. i started at 115 lb's...)



MY GOAL: to gain mass. I want mass....

instead of doing 4-8 reps.. should i do 3-5 reps to improve my strength first?

because i never did a starting strength program before.. so yeah...

[terraj]

Have you been gaining?

Really, you are not lifting very much.

Are you training to failure? You can't be....

Get a log book, write each workout down and beat it next time you train.

[Twin]

Yes. I always do a rep more than last time and slowly up the weight. I started at 115 lbs... I'm 150 lbs now. When I first got started I was dumb bell pressing 20 lbs and I was eating 1k calories day.. Dint get diet right till July 2010....

[Twin]

And yes.. If obviously i train to failure.. I don't do drop sets.. But I do 4-8 reps. As much as i can.. Once I can do 8 reps 3 times . I up the weight. Tho I do look good surprisingly for my weak lifts

[terraj]

Sooo after 1.5 years you can only do body weight dips for 8 reps?

How many cals are you getting? You can't be getting enough.

Have you tried a full body workout before? Or a two day split?

You don't need a 5 day split at your level IMO.

[maxwkw]

How many cals are you getting? You can't be getting enough.

Have you tried a full body workout before? Or a two day split?

You don't need a 5 day split at your level IMO.

I totally agree. Go 3 days per week with compound movements i.e. squats, deadlifts, presses, rows and I'd stay in a 5-8 rep range with 2-3 sets. At your level you do need to get stronger, but that doesn't mean it has to be extremely low rep.

Just make sure you're beating your numbers from the last workout. Eat big, and sleep lots.

[Twin]

aasaasdasd

[Twin]

aassadasdasdsad

[terraj]

You have made great progress so far, well done man..

I would run the below program for a couple of months or longer in order to obtain a strength base.

"Workout A

•Barbell squat (full squat below parallel, shins perpendicular to the floor), 3 sets of 5 reps
•Barbell bench press, 3 sets of 5 reps
•Barbell bent over rows, 3 sets of 5 reps

Workout B

•Barbell squat (full squat below parallel, shins perpendicular to the floor), 3 sets of 5 reps
•Military press/push press, 3 sets of 5 reps
•Deadlift, 3 sets of 5 reps

Week 1
Monday: Workout A
Wednesday: Workout B
Friday: Workout A

Week 2
Monday: Workout B
Wednesday: Workout A
Friday: Workout B

You’ll need to start light. If you start heavy, you’re going to screw the program up and it isn’t going to work. Before you start this program, go to your gym and slowly work up to the heaviest five reps you can do on each exercise with good form. For example, on Wednesday, hit the exercises in workout A. On Friday, hit the exercises in workout B.

Now take the maximum weight of your five rep bench and subtract 40 pounds. Do the same for your rows and the military press. Subtract 80 pounds from the weight you pulled on the deadlift and do the same with your squat. Those are your starting points. Add 5-10 pounds depending on excersie each workout.

For example:

Bench: 5 rep max = 200 – 40 = 160 lbs
Squat: 5 rep max = 300 – 80 = 220 lbs
Deadlift: 5 rep max = 400 – 80 = 320 lbs
Bent over row: 5 rep max = 140 – 40 = 100 lbs
Military press: 5 rep max = 120 – 40 = 80 lbs"



Get your cals up, get lots of rest.....following the above peroid I would move to something like a 3 day Push/Legs/Pull...once again keep focused on the compounds, not a lot of machine work. Try 2 compounds per muscle group. Using something like a 3 day split the best way I have found to make gains is progressive overload, this is a simple concept, which means that with each successive workout you increase the demands placed on the muscles. You do this by increasing the amount of weight lifted or by increasing the number of reps in the set, use a log book.

[Twin]

Excellent info. Going to start this program next week.

Thanks .

One thing though. I get really bad quad doms. If I'm sore is it still ok to squat Like if I'm doing them on Monday and Friday?




I sometimes am still sore after 4 days of squatting. Like I'll squat on Tuesdays and sometimes still feel a little soreness on Saturday. When I walk.

Only for my legs I get like this

[terraj]

Training with DOMS is up to the serverity on DOMS. Normal stiffness from a normal workout is fine, and training through it will probably help more than anything. If you're sore to the point of still limping from the squat workout, then you're likely better skipping the squat session, though doing light recovery and restoration work could be a good idea. I don't know how bad your DOMS are after 4 days as we all differ, but for me if I have DOMS when my next session comes around I will train though it.

Light cardio and message have been shown to reduce DOMS, message by up to 30%- see link

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16284637

[dec11]

dont be afraid to put a bit of weight on that dlift, form comes easier with a bit more weight to pull, to give you idea, i was pulling 220lbs for 5reps on my first month of training aged 17 @ 150lbs

[FireGuy]

Looks like you are making great progress. You are an ectomorph and adding muscle is going to always be a bit more challenging for you than others. On the bright side staying lean will be a bit easier. I think you are on track by adding in more calories as that is more than likely what has caused to stall in progress. Remember everyone hits plateaus, you just have to work through them. Keep up the impressive work!

[Twin]

thanks again. Also I re-reading a post of mine in this thread, I forgot to include, I did not join a gym till this past summer.

I plan on doing this routine for 4-6 months. day 1 starts on monday.

I plan on uping the weight by 5 pounds (one 2, 1/2 plate on each side) each workout session. Or maybe every other workout session if I notice I cant do 5 reps for 3 sets...

[Twin]

just to make an update. I havent really had any leg soreness at all since i been on this program. but anyways, i failed for the first time in my bench.I was doing 145 lb bench. i did 5 reps for 1 set.. then 5 reps for 2nd set.. then 4 reps on the 3rd set... and on the 5rep.. i went half way and it came crashing down. i failed...Do I a subtract 5 lb's? whats the rule on this, if i fail? or try again since it was only on the last set on the 5th rep...

and my squat has been going up and so are my other exercises...

this is my current stats for the program(started off light, and only failed on bench press so far, but i also kept the same weight for bench press for like 2 workouts b4 i upped it by 5 lb's..)


•Barbell squat (full squat below parallel, shins perpendicular to the floor), 3 sets of 5 reps-175 LBs
•Barbell bench press, 3 sets of 5 reps - 145LBs - BUT I FAILED ON LAST REP ON LAST SET. what now??
•Barbell bent over rows, 3 sets of 5 reps= 120LBs

Workout B

•Barbell squat (full squat below parallel, shins perpendicular to the floor), 3 sets of 5 reps175 LBs
•Military press/push press, 3 sets of 5 reps (SEATED) = 90 LBS
•Deadlift, 3 sets of 5 reps=195 LBs


Also I gained 5 lb's since January 11th... I increased my calories to 3,500-3,700.... I am now at 152-153 lb's.

[maxwkw]

For the bench press just stay at 145 for a little while longer and see what happens. Congratulations on your progress.

[KeyMastur]

i haven't even read through all these posts except the first one (sort of just skimmed it anyways). i definitely recommend changing your routine up. try sets of 25 or so even if it's with lighter weight, especially if you've been doing sets of 4-8 reps for a year and a half straight. try it for a couple of weeks and then hit your strength workout again with the heavier weights.

try doing one exercise for your calves right after your first press (whether it be squats, leg press, hack) then hit up the extension / curl (i usually superset these) and then back to the other calf exercise.