Seeing Great strength gains but...

[gunslingerKA]

Hi folks,
I'm currently on the 2nd week of a cycle and new training routine. So far I'm seeing great progress on my major exercises (bench, pull ups, leg press) but I'm concerned that I'm not seeing a significant change in my body composition.

I'm currently doing a 4 day routine, EOD with a two day break after the 4th workout. My goals are to add some mass to my upper body since I've been focusing on front squats and DL's for the better part of the past year and have been experiencing some significant lower back pain, which explains why I don't have deadlifts included, nor squats.

The routine looks like this:

1: Flat BB Bench 4X8-10
Preacher Curls 3X8-10
Incline BB Bench 3X10
Reverse grip Preacher curls 3X10
DB Flat Bench 3X8-10
"Finisher" Pyramid Machine Flyes 10 reps, decrease weight 10 more reps, etc to near failure

2. Neutral grip Pull Downs 4X8-10
Cable Tri Extenstions 3X10
Wide grip Pull downs 3X10
Dips 4X6-10 (depends on whether BW or weighted)
Seated Cable Rows, overhand grip 3X10
Seated Tri Extensions
"Finisher" Close grip Chins to failure, rest 10 secs, repeat at least 3 times

3. Leg press 4X10
BB curls 3X10
Leg Extensions 3X10
Cable Tri Extensions 3X10
Cable rope curls 3X10
Close grip Chins 3X10
Calf Extensions 3X10

4. Behind neck BB shoulder Press 4X8-10
weighted crunches 3X12-15
Side DB raises 3X10
Arnold presses 3X10
Seated DB Presses 3X10
"Finisher" Alternating front and behind the neck BB Shoulder Presses to failure

I understand this looks like a lot of volume but I've been having a difficulty lowering the reps to accompany more weight, I can't seem to go all out on really heavy sets and end up failing after the 2nd rep. I'm planning on trying more 5X5 sets about midway through my cycle when my strength has improved.

Thoughts? Criticisms?

Thanks in advance guys.

[graeme87]

Try a body part split hitting each muscle once a week.
stick to compound lifts.
6-8 reps rather than 10 would be a nice change.

What are your stats?
What cycle are you on at the moment?

[gunslingerKA]

current stats: 23 yrs old 6'4" 205lbs been training past 5 years

Currently doing a Test Prop cycle 100mgs EOD weeks 1-10
Dbol 50mgs ED for weeks 1-4

Adex and Nolva on hand if needed.


Could you give an example of a bodypart split for a single training session?
I ask because I've tried focusing on one major muscle group each session and I've noticed I don't feel as satisfied that I've really worked that muscle as hard as possible.
An example would be a chest day, where I go heavy on flat bench 4X4-6 and then 3X10 for two other chest exercises(incline and DB flat bench). Afterwards, there's no pump or significant damage I feel in the muscle, which is why I then add a secondary muscle group into that session.

[wheelkicktotheface2]

remember when your on a cycle you should increase the weight you currently use even if it means a couple less reps per set. dont go bonkers and dump an extra 50lbs on the bar but an extra 5-10 lbs per exercise would greatly benefit. diet and protein intake are key for making good gains as well. iknow several guys who take a cycle and complain they make no good solid gains but only get more defined. they also only take in 1300 calories a day. most of them the wrong kind of calories as well. so eating right and other supplementation are key for proper gains. water intake ? atleast a gallon a day imo.

[wheelkicktotheface2]

this is my work out atm its got a few flaws for being perfectly rounded but should help you overall ... the weight listed is for my personal workout adjust to fit you. im 2 lazy to remove it. but ur sets should look very similiar to this. last 2 sets should be pretty much to fail on all these exercises. this is my back in the gym after 3 years workout. it will help gain strength and overall mass.

chest, day 1
flat bench 4 x 6-10 with 185-235lbs
incline db bench 4 x 8 with 55-75lbs
hammerstrength flys 4x10 120-150lbs
decline bench 4 x 8-12 225-250 lbs ( hit and miss) depends what i feel like.
db flat bench 4 x 8-10 75-100lbs

shoulders day 2
seated db shoulder press 4 x 8-10 50-70 lbs
standing db side delt raises 4 x 8-10 25 lbs
standing db front delt raises 4 x 8-10 25 lbs
i also throw in some reverse flys on hammerstrength for rear delts. 4x8 weight varries.

triceps day 2
standing tricep extensions (machine) 4 x 8-12 100-120 lbs
single db tricep extension 4 x 12 30 lbs
close grip bench press 4 x 8-10 185-225
single handed machine reverse tricep extension 4 x 10 weight varies

back and biceps day
back

dead lifts 4 x 8-10 225-315
bent rows 4 x 8-10 185-225lbs
lat pull downs 4 x 8-10 140-200 lbs
hammer strength low rows 4 x 8-10 180 lbs
ill swap out high rows and isolated bent db rows

biceps

incline curls db 4 x 8-10 30 lbs
hammer curls db 4 x 8-10 40 lbs
curl bar curls 4 x 8-10 75 lbs - 120 lbs
cable curls 4 x 8-10 weight varies 2 much.

Leg day. i know many of you forget that you have to work them but you do. 24" arms and 18" quads are not cool. Get the free test flowing from hitting the legs and have fun.

Squats 4 x 8-10 225-315 lbs
leg xtensions 4 x 8-10 100-180 lbs
hamstring curls 4 x 8-10 100-160 lbs or straight leg dead lifts.
standing calf raises 4 x 15 180 lbs
if i still feel gtg ill throw in some 500-600 lbs leg presses 3-4 x 8

the above work out is not a recommendation or any attempt to educate anyone. it is for entertainment purposes only.

[gunslingerKA]

THanks for the advice, I'm going to tweak my program a little bit by changing up the sets/reps and see how I react to it for two weeks- maybe reorder the secondary muscle workouts and add in an extra chest exercise.

Diet could definitely be worked on. I can get plenty of good carbs (rice, noodles) but quality protein is a little harder to come by here in Bangkok. I try to have at least 2 scoops of protein powder on non training days and 3-4 on training days. I rely mostly on hardboiled eggs, chicken, whole milk and pork for my protein needs.

btw I drink an average 1.5 gallons of water each day(and very little bloat, weird huh?)

any other examples welcomed. I want to make sure I'm maximizing my first cycle's results!

[graeme87]

You need 300g of protein each day minimum!

[RoadToRecovery]

You need 300g of protein each day minimum!

Why do you need 300g of protein? You dont even know what the OPs body composition to give advice like that.

[scotimus]

You need 300g of protein each day minimum!

thats a pretty general statement but id say thats a close number. 250-300 with an equal amount or a bit higher amount of carbs and around 100g of fat. like road to recovery says...need to know more about the OP but his stats are similar to mine when i was natural and thats what i was eating

[RoadToRecovery]

thats a pretty general statement but id say thats a close number. 250-300 with an equal amount or a bit higher amount of carbs and around 100g of fat. like road to recovery says...need to know more about the OP but his stats are similar to mine when i was natural and thats what i was eating

Depending on your goal, lets say for arguments sake - He weighs 205lbs @ 15% bf... 190g a day is more like it depending on his goals.

[gunslingerKA]

300grams seems a little excessive but it wouldn't hurt for me to increase my protein intake and see what happens.

I estimate my BF to be around 18%. This is based off of being able to see slight definition in my upper abs and deltoids from the arms.
I've been aiming for at least 1g of protein per pound, but i know it would be better to get around 250grams per day.

Previous diet was very low carb except on training days and the body seems to be reacting pretty well to the increase in carbs. I haven't noticed any bloat and in fact I've seen the fat around the obliques diminish. I keep carb intake on non training days to around 250-300, most of which is from rice and noodles.
I also make it a point to drink a lot of whole milk, especially on training days. I also use cod liver oil as a fat supplement but I doubt how legit they are since I bought them at a pharmacy in bangkok.

Goals are to increase my bench and military press maxes. While fat loss is not a priority, I would like to see some of my gut burn off. I try to jump rope for at least 15 minutes 2X a week.

[scotimus]

190 grams is less than 800 cals. how much carbs and fats would he have to be taking in to make his TDEE?

[RoadToRecovery]

15% fat and the rest carbohydrates.

[RoadToRecovery]

Edited