Time To BULK

pachey100

Ok lads I have made the decision to start a new bulk have been messing around a bit for a few months not really trying to bulk or cut just training with no real goal but I have decided its time to bulk again.

I am going to be doing this 4 day split

Monday.
back/traps
Tuesday
legs/abs
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
chest/triceps
Friday
shoulders/biceps
Saturday
abs

As for reps/sets was going to use 4 sets of 5-8 reps for week one then 4 sets of 10-12 reps in week 2 and 3 then 4 sets of 15-20 reps in week 4 then repeat.

I am also going to slip in 2 dead lifting sessions somewhere in there as well.

I was looking at this guide on simplyshredded.com

Breakfast
1 cup of oatmeal
4 whole eggs
2-3 slices of low-fat breakfast meat
1 piece of fruit

Midmorning
2 ounces of nuts (your choice)
1 ounce of dried fruit

Lunch
6 ounces of chicken breast
2 slices of whole-grain bread
Vegetable side dish (low-fat coleslaw, salad or steamed vegetable)

Preworkout
25 g of whey protein shake
50 g of simple carbs

Postworkout
25 g of whey protein shake
50 g of simple carbs

Dinner
8 ounces of lean steak
Small baked potato or small portion of steamed rice (white or brown)
Salad with olive oil and avocado
Bedtime
25 g of casein protein shake


Week One
Eat at least six meals per day
Include a protein shake (25 g of whey and 50 g of simple carbs) before and after your workouts
Drink a 25 g casein protein shake before bedtime
Drink a gallon of water throughout the day
Take a multivitamin/multimineral pack with breakfast
Week Two

Continue to eat at least six meals a day
Include a protein shake (25 g of whey and 50 g of simple carbs) before and after your workouts
Drink a 25 g casein protein shake before bedtime
Drink a gallon of water throughout the day
Take a multivitamin/multimineral pack twice daily

Week Three
Make adjustments in your carbohydrate consumption if necessary (see experiment #4)
Eat at least six meals per day
Include a protein shake (25 g of whey and 50 g of simple carbs) before and after your workouts
Drink a 25 g casein protein shake before bedtime
Take a multivitamin/multimineral pack or pill twice daily
Drink a gallon of water throughout the day
Take a 3-5 g dose of creatine before your workouts

Week Four
Consume the same amount of carbohydrates as in week three
Eat at least six meals per day
Include a protein shake (25 g of whey and 50 g of simple carbs) before and after your workouts
Drink a 25 g casein protein shake before bedtime
Take a multivitamin/multimineral pack or pill twice daily
Drink a gallon of water throughout the day
Take a 3-5 g dose of creatine before and after your workouts

Week Five
Make adjustments in carbohydrate consumption if necessary
Eat at least six meals per day
Include a protein shake (25 g of whey and 50 g of simple carbs) before and after your workouts
Drink a 25 g casein protein shake before bedtime
Take a multivitamin/multimineral pack or pill twice daily
Drink a gallon of water throughout the day
Take a 3-5 g dose of creatine before and after your workouts
Take one or two doses (3-5 g each) of arginine daily
Take up to three doses (5-10 g each) of glutamine daily

Week Six
Consume the same amount of carbohydrates as in week five
Eat at least six meals per day
Include a protein shake (25 g of whey and 50 g of simple carbs) before and after your workouts
Drink a 25 g casein protein shake before bedtime
Take a multivitamin/multimineral pack or pill twice daily
Drink a gallon of water throughout the day
Take a 3-5 g dose of creatine before and after your workouts
Take up to three doses (3-5 g each) of arginine daily
Take up to four doses (5-10 g each) of glutamine daily

Weeks Seven and Eight
Consume the same amount of carbohydrates as in week five
Eat at least six meals per day
Include a protein shake (25 g of whey and 50 g of simple carbs) before and after your workouts
Drink a 25 g casein protein shake before bedtime
Take a multivitamin/multimineral pack or pill twice daily
Drink a gallon of water throughout the day
Take a 3-5 g dose of creatine before and after your workouts
Take up to three doses (3-5 g each) of arginine daily
Take up to four doses (5-10 g each) of glutamine daily
Take three doses (5-10 g each) of BCAAs daily

I am using this as a rough guide and would appreciate any help or guidance you have to offer.

Pachey

wersal gummage

why so much abs work ?? why any abs work really if you're bulking ??

could you do legs more than once a week ??

why reps of 15-20 ??

pachey100

wersal gummage wrote: »

why so much abs work ?? why any abs work really if you're bulking ??

could you do legs more than once a week ??

why reps of 15-20 ??

I do kickboxing so core work is fairly important I am giving it a rest for a while though but dont want to let the core go to much.

I was thinking with the deadlifting my legs would be getting a bit of extra work anyway.

The reps are really just to change things around a bit and create some more muscular endurance and I have herd its good for Sarcoplasmic hypertophy so no harm in trying.

grimloch

Back on Monday with legs the next day is going to suck pretty hard if you're deadlifting and squatting.

Destroying your front delts on chest session with all the pressing movemements might make training shoulders the next day fairly unpleasant aswell.

squod

Could probably bundle Saturday into Thursday's workout. More rest days together in a row = more time to grow. Where abouts do you train in West Cork? Looking for a gym when I stay down there. Usually end up training in Skib.

Mellor

pachey100 wrote: »

I do kickboxing so core work is fairly important I am giving it a rest for a while though but dont want to let the core go to much.

The reps are really just to change things around a bit and create some more muscular endurance and I have herd its good for Sarcoplasmic hypertophy so no harm in trying.

Would myofibrillar hypertrophy not be prefered over sarcoplasmic when you are competing in kickboxing?

pachey100

grimloch wrote: »

Back on Monday with legs the next day is going to suck pretty hard if you're deadlifting and squatting.

Destroying your front delts on chest session with all the pressing movemements might make training shoulders the next day fairly unpleasant aswell.

Monday.
back/traps/deadlifting
Tuesday
Chest/triceps/abs
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
legs/abs/deadlifting
Friday
shoulders/biceps



Ye just looked at it again there and rearranged things.

Mellor the main reason I am going for higher reps is for muscular endurance not hypertrophy but it might be a added advantage

Zamboni

pachey100 wrote: »

Mellor the main reason I am going for higher reps is for muscular endurance not hypertrophy but it might be a added advantage

Why did you call the thread Time to BULK then

pachey100

Zamboni wrote: »

Why did you call the thread Time to BULK then

Because I am bulking :rolleyes: I want to keep my my muscular endurance up as I wont be doing my normal kickboxing routines and hit cardio. I dont know if it will help but there's no harm in trying.

Satanta

pachey100 wrote: »

Because I am bulking :rolleyes:

Mellor the main reason I am going for higher reps is for muscular endurance not hypertrophy

TBH I dont think your routine is the most efficient way to bulk. If you really want to bulk, you need to work in the rep range that you'll get the maximum hypertrophy. Also, include plenty of compound movements to get the best hormone stimulation. Go intense... keep rest between sets to 60 seconds.
Cut the number of workouts you are doing. Possibly do a 3 day split. Get plenty of recovery time and allow your muscles to grow (bulk).

If you say your goal is to bulk, AND do something else (muscular endurance) that's your call. In my opinion if you want to bulk... just stick to bulking up for a bit. If you are already fit you'll be able to get your endurance back easily enough.

drdeadlift

Satanta wrote: »

TBH I dont think your routine is the most efficient way to bulk. If you really want to bulk, you need to work in the rep range that you'll get the maximum hypertrophy. Also, include plenty of compound movements to get the best hormone stimulation. Go intense... keep rest between sets to 60 seconds.
Cut the number of workouts you are doing. Possibly do a 3 day split. Get plenty of recovery time and allow your muscles to grow (bulk).

If you say your goal is to bulk, AND do something else (muscular endurance) that's your call. In my opinion if you want to bulk... just stick to bulking up for a bit. If you are already fit you'll be able to get your endurance back easily enough.

I never took the hormone stimulation seriously.

pachey100

squod wrote: »

Could probably bundle Saturday into Thursday's workout. More rest days together in a row = more time to grow. Where abouts do you train in West Cork? Looking for a gym when I stay down there. Usually end up training in Skib.

I have never been to Skib gym is it any good? I train quite a bit in Killarney gym or my local GAA gym that is a real dive old co op turned gym.

pachey100

Satanta wrote: »

TBH I dont think your routine is the most efficient way to bulk. If you really want to bulk, you need to work in the rep range that you'll get the maximum hypertrophy. Also, include plenty of compound movements to get the best hormone stimulation. Go intense... keep rest between sets to 60 seconds.
Cut the number of workouts you are doing. Possibly do a 3 day split. Get plenty of recovery time and allow your muscles to grow (bulk).

If you say your goal is to bulk, AND do something else (muscular endurance) that's your call. In my opinion if you want to bulk... just stick to bulking up for a bit. If you are already fit you'll be able to get your endurance back easily enough.

Ok maybe I will just go for a all out bulk have you got any good 3 day splits you could direct me to? Or I might go back to doing 3 full body's a week it worked on my last bulk.

Satanta

Last year I did something like
Mon:
Chest & Tricep
Bench, incline, dips, skullcrushers, rope pull downs
Wed:
Back & Bicep
Pull ups or pull downs, Deadlift, rows, barbell curls and hammer curls
Fri:
Shoulders & Legs
Press (standing barbell or seated dumbell - week about), Flys, Rear delt's flys, Squat, Leg press. I didnt do hamstring curls but they are an option.

I changed things here and there over the course of the winter. It worked well.

Parsley

IMO you should hit everything twice a week if you want to see real gains. training everything only once a week is sub-optimal i think.

Michael 09

I don't know what a hypertrophy is.

squod

pachey100 wrote: »

I have nehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Sportys-Gym-Killarney/106503052718128?sk=wallver been to Skib gym is it any good? I train quite a bit in Killarney gym or my local GAA gym that is a real dive old co op turned gym.

The one in Skibb isn't much. They've told me there's an oly bar somewhere in a locked room. Place is clean and the staff are friendly. Sporty's in Killarney is way ahead of the place.


http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106186472742872

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sportys-Gym-Killarney/106503052718128?sk=wall

Satanta

Parsley wrote: »

IMO you should hit everything twice a week if you want to see real gains. training everything only once a week is sub-optimal i think.

Maybe it depends on the individual? And your goals too. I know from experience that doesnt work for me if my goal is to add mass. I should clarify also that I am a bit older (35) so maybe that's a factor. I trained 5 days a week during the summer with no weight gains. But that wasn't my goal then.

Scuba Ste

Michael 09 wrote: »

I don't know what a hypertrophy is.

It's an apostrophe on a bulk.

OP I'd go for training everything twice a week too for what it's worth.

Parsley

Satanta wrote: »

Maybe it depends on the individual? And your goals too. I know from experience that doesnt work for me if my goal is to add mass. I should clarify also that I am a bit older (35) so maybe that's a factor. I trained 5 days a week during the summer with no weight gains. But that wasn't my goal then.

that's probably why you didn't see weight gains then...

Satanta

Yep. Wasn't my point. I'm knocking about a gym for a good few years now. What I described works very well for me. I'm not under the illusion that I am unique and would presume it would work for others. What I did find was that when trying to add weight, training the muscle groups more often did not mean faster weight gain, and therefore not the best way to 'bulk'. I found it quite frustrating in fact and it took a bit of willpower not to train as often as id have liked. That feeling that if you are not on the gym then you won't progress. like I said though. Hit it intense enough on a 3 day split and give your body adequate time, fuel and rest and you should make muscle gains effectively enough.

jive

I'd agree with hitting everything twice a week or at least most weeks. 2 days on 1 day off works pretty well for me anyway, better than hitting everything once a week imo.

Chest/Tri, Back/Bi, Legs/Shoulders split is what I use, usually do cardio 1 or 2 days a week to keep the fitness up!

Brian?

Parsley wrote: »

IMO you should hit everything twice a week if you want to see real gains. training everything only once a week is sub-optimal i think.

This. I wouldn't do a split at all if I were you OP. 3 full body sessions a week built on compound lifts.

Satanta

Some of you guys want to suggest a detailed workout plan to the OP then?

pachey100

I was doing something like this on my last bulk.

Monday.

Squat
Bench press
Pull ups (variations)
Military press
Barbell curls
Tricep pushdowns
Deadlift

Wednesday.
Leg press
Incline press
Pull up (variations)
Lateral raise
Hammer curls
Scull crusher
Shrugs

Friday.
Squat
Weighted dips
Pull ups (weighted)
Deadlift
One arm row
Over head tricep extension
Concentration curl

4 sets of 8-12 reps for all the compound exercises and 3 sets of 8-12 for the isolation exercises. I was taking the two last sets to failure on all exercises.
And was working abs on Tuesday and Saturday.