Workout for mass or to cut??

[amizzi25]

Hello everyone
My question is , should I bulk or should I cut???
I am 20 yrs old 5'9 and 185lbs. My goal is put on a lot more muscle mass and do it naturally. I have been eating clean for 4 months now and have been working out off and on for 3 years and now have been steady for 4 months. For the last 2 months I have done workouts strickly for mass building and eating accordingly to what my body needs for mass building. Now I have noticed some pretty good results with strength already but because of my existing body fat I look fatter. Some of my friends say cut and others say bulk...
what should I do????I was told to bulk now I will gain the mass and then burn the fat off after , and also told its better to cut first then bulk .
I have gone though other threads with similiar questions but see the same thing over and over again one person says bulk the other cut . With the info I gave weight hight and age what would you guys recomend for me .
thanx for you help
Adrian

[Ejuicer]

If you get too far out of shape then it will be harder to maintain muscle mass when the time comes to finally diet... it all depends just how out of shape you are right now. What is you bodyfat % ?

[Hypertrophy]

Bulk until middle of Jan or Feb, then start dieting to pull wool during the summer!!

[amizzi25]

How many times a week do you guys usually work out each muscle for bulking? with the routine I have now I am working each muscle 1 time per week and it looks like this - bicep/chest
- legs
- off
- triceps/shoulders
- off
- back
- off
I do three sets for each muscle the first being the warmup with 10 reps and then 2 other sets going heavy and then really heavy keeping reps between
6-8.
On the days off I try to do 30-40 min cadio and I also include some abdominal workouts,and I am hoping to make time after work to find out my body fat % by the way so I will let you know.
How does this look? is there anything else you guys could suggest for me or for bulking in general?

[Ejuicer]

Once a week is good for bulking if you're lifting heavy which i hope you are.

Reduce cardio to 20 min for bulking

You do 3 sets per muscle or 3 sets for each exercise per muscle?

List your exercises and rep range...

[amizzi25]

Yes I do 3 sets for each exercise per muscle.
chest/bicep :flat bench press 10-8-6to8
:incline db flys 10-8-6to8
:decline db presses 10-8-6to8
:two hand cable curl 10-8-6to8
:concentration curls 10-8-6to8
reacher curls 10-8-6to8

back :lat pulldowsn 10-8-6to8
:t-bar rows 10-8-6to8
ne arm db rows 10-8-6to8
:seated cable rows

shoulers/tris: mill press 10-8-6to8
:front db rises 10-8-6to8
:barbell shrugs 10-8-6to8
:upright rows 10-8-6to8
:cable pressdowns 10-8-6to8
:dips 10-10-10 (adding plates to lap)
:2 hand tricep exten 10-8-6to8
:wrist curls 10-8-6to8
:reverse wrist curls 10-8-6to8

legs :hack squat 10-8-6to8
:leg extensions 10-8-6to8
:leg curl 10-8-6to8
:standing calf raises 10-8-6to8
:seated calf raises 10-8-6to8
What do you guys think? please be gentle

[Ejuicer]

Your training program is still dependent on whether you are bulking or cutting, but without a bf % can't really give advise for sure on that one...
If cutting i would stick to the same rep range and increase the number of sets. If bulking however i would reduce and lift heavier and aim for the 4-6 rep range.

Chest: Unless your lower chest is lacking, which most people dont usually have a problem with, then i would replace decline dumbell press with incline dumbell press since flat exercises work mostly the lower pecs anyways. I would also increase the number of sets to 4 per exercise for chest in a bulking situation

Bi's: I guess your exercises would be alright in a cutting cycle but i defiinitly wouldnt use them for a bulker. I would drop the cables and concentration and replace them with heavy barbell curls and dumbell curls.

Back: You're not doing any lower back to begin with... a solid foundation for any back program regardless of whether cutting or bulking is deadlifts. They are a must have if trying to put on some serious mass. I would also replace or at least alternate one arm rows with some pulldowns or chins every other week. Again I would increase the number of sets on back unless you do decide to add some deadlifts.

Shoulders: Drop the front raises since military's give the front delts the majority of work to begin with. Add some bent over laterals or reverse pec deck for some kind of rear delt work which you arent doing and some laterals to work your medial delts which you arent hitting enough either.

Tri's: You're only doing 6 working sets of them... I would add another exercise to that program like a close grip bench. They're quite good for packing on mass.

Forearms: I would add them to another day since you're already doing 2 bodyparts on that day.

Legs: I would definitly add some squats to that program. I would also increase the number of leg curls or add another exercise since your hams arent getting that much work either.

[Hypertrophy]

On chest day, put your pressing movements before your flyes. I recommend flat, incline, decline, then finish with flyes, x-overs, etc.
On back day, start with deads/bent rows/t-bar. Then move onto the cable rows, and pulldowns.
On shoulders, you are destroying your anterior delts. Put lateral raises in place of front raises.
On tricpes, it sounds like you are dong bench dips. I would recommend regular dips.
Legs, barbell back squats cannont be beat.
Your split that you mentioned above looks good.

[Monkeytown]

I agree with these guys. Only thing I would say is to add bent over lateral raises. Even if only 2-3 sets. This will help to build the posterior deltoid and avoid injury.

JMHO
MT