All These Articles, Which Ones to Take to the Gym?

Hey, I am having a hard time choosing which articles to incorporate into my training. I want a routine to gain mass. I have been in the gym for about a year and a half. Only in the past maybe…7 months i have taken it seriously and dedicated most of my time to getting bigger. I am 5,10. 173 pounds. I have learned a lot of info on training and everything and would like to think that i know what im doing.

BUT…I am still not happy with the results I am seeing and to be honest its really affecting me on the inside. Because working out is one of the only things in this world that i give 110% in. And I put a lot of time in, but don’t see results. I eat right, I workout hard and would like to think my routine is atleast decent. I change up my routine, i dont overtrain, i do my deadlifts and squats. I do almost everything the way i should. Anyways I wanna know what to do.

What can I do, what articles do I follow. All I want to know is what to do to get good results. I see all these fucking kids in the gym who work chest and bi’s every day and i sit and laugh but also say why the fuck arent i getting bigger like them?

My routine:
Monday - Back
I am doing the routine stated in the article " Big Lats "

Tuesday - Legs
Squats - heavy squats 3x1-8
seated calve raise 3x12-15
Trap bar deadlift 2x6-10

Wednesday - Chest
bench 3x8-12
Incline Bench 3x8-12
Cable Fly’s 2x10-15

Thursday - Shoulders
Behind the neck press 3x8-12
front raise 3x8-12
rear delt fly 3x8-12

Friday - Arms
close grip bench 3x8-12
barbell curl 3x8-12
skull crushers 3x8-12
Hammer curls 3x4-8

Saturday - Deadlift/Squat
On saturdays i usully go to the gym and do a few sets of heavy deads or squats ontop of some plyo stuff for hockey.

Two articles that have really helped me:

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/concurrent_strategies3.htm

Personally i think with only a year and a half in the gym you should be training each body part more than once a week though.

That’s alot of days in the gym. I’d combine some of those days together. I think some of the target rep ranges are too high.

Is this a typo?
Squats - heavy squats 3x1-8

Also you want to gain mass, what about nutrition? If you don’t give your body enough nutrients you won’t grow.

[quote]aloaff wrote:
My routine:
Monday - Back
I am doing the routine stated in the article " Big Lats "

Tuesday - Legs
Squats - heavy squats 3x1-8
seated calve raise 3x12-15
Trap bar deadlift 2x6-10

Wednesday - Chest
bench 3x8-12
Incline Bench 3x8-12
Cable Fly’s 2x10-15

Thursday - Shoulders
Behind the neck press 3x8-12
front raise 3x8-12
rear delt fly 3x8-12

Friday - Arms
close grip bench 3x8-12
barbell curl 3x8-12
skull crushers 3x8-12
Hammer curls 3x4-8

Saturday - Deadlift/Squat
On saturdays i usully go to the gym and do a few sets of heavy deads or squats ontop of some plyo stuff for hockey.[/quote]

I’m not familiar with the Big Lats routine so I will leave that alone.
How bout something like this:

Monday - Back
" Big Lats "

Wed - Legs/Shoulders
A1) Squats - heavy squats 3x4-6
A2) DB or Barbell Shoulder Press 3x4-6

B1) Trap bar deadlift 2x6-8
B2) front raise 3x8-10

C1) seated calve raise 3x12-15
C2) rear delt fly 3x8-10

Fri - Chest/Arms
A1) bench 3x4-6
A2) barbell curl 3x4-6

B1) Incline Bench 3x6-8
B2) Hammer curls 3x6-8

C1) Cable Fly’s 3x8-10
C2) skull crushers 3x8-10

Saturday
plyo stuff

Everything is setup as supersets. Do a set of A1 rest 60-90 seconds do a set of A2 rest 60-90 seconds back to A1.

Thibs got some good ones. Keep in mind a program is nothing more than a random collection of exercises. After a year of training you should have some idea of what exercises work for you. Also, if you keep doing the same thing you’ll get less and less from it. That is, your body adapts to it and the adaptations become smaller and smaller.

How about putting deadlifts on your back day? The problem with deads and squats on the same day is that one or the other will always suffer (or both) if done on the same day. Put together a program based on your needs and goals. If it’s not working or stops working…change it! If you’re not gaining strength or size then something isn’t working.

How much are you eating? 20 calories per pound of weight minimum…so 3400 for you. If thats not working go for 4000. How about pre and post workout nutrition? That’s likely more important than any other part of your nutrition. How long are your workouts? It doesn’t matter if you’re in the gym for two hours a day you likely won’t be able to consume enough calories to support that…unless of course you bomb a 500 calorie cocktail of whey and sugar mid-workout!..:slight_smile: How much protein are you eating? 1g/lb? If that’s not working go for 1.5g/lb.

Your workout days are bit off. You’re doing chest, shoulders, arms on back to back to back days. Your triceps will be toast. So you chest day will negatively effect your shoulder day and both will negatively effect your tris on arm day.

How about something like this:

Monday: Back
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Off (EAT and GROW)
Thursday: Chest/Shoulders
Friday: Plyo
Saturday: Arms
Sunday: Off

or…

Monday: Chest/Shoulders
Tuesday: Quad dominant
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Back
Friday: Hammie dominant
Saturday: Arms
Sunday: Off

or…

Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Back
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Shoulders
Friday: Off
Saturday: Arms

Keep in mind:

  1. The Bench is dominated by the anterior deltoid in many lifters and contributes a lot to the lift in all lifters.
  2. Any pressing movement involves the tricep and shoulder girdle (chest/shoulders)
  3. Any pulling movement involves the bicep, lats, and traps…this is why deads are usually put on back day for bbers.

Your volume seems kind of low…why only 3 exercises? How long are you resting? Keep your rest around 90s and you should be able to get 4-5 exercsies per body part and get in and out in about an hour.

I’ve gone from 145lbs 8.9% bf in September to 164lb 9.5% bf so far and I keep going up (7site caliper, same tester, same circumstances). Of course I’ve had road blocks. You see if something works. If it doesn’t you get rid of it.

This program has worked for me so far gaining 4 pounds of lean mass in less than a month (about 3 weeks):

After warmup:
1 light set of 10 reps…say like 80% of your 10RM
2 work sets of 10 reps
1 heavier set
Do that for an “A” and “B” pairing.
For a 5th “C” exercise do some sort of mechanicl drop set or a regular drop set. Rest. Repeat for 3 sets.

The two work sets should bring you to absolutely failure. In fact if you are able to reach 10 reps both times with perfect form and tempo then the weight is too light. The last set just throw on another 20-40 pounds or more and just go for it. 4, 5, 6 rep…whatever. Each lift is a controlled eccentric. Not counting per se…CP ain’t here with a stop watch…just control it, not letting gravity take it down…then a powerful concentric (doesn’t have to be “explosive” but the force you actually put into the lift is what is important).

The last exercise is simply to get the blood pumping so the nutrients you are about to ingest get flowing to your muscles.

Monday: Chest/Shoulders
A1) Flat Bench
A2) Seated Bent Arm Lateral Raise *bent arms gives you the ability to lift more weight

B1) Incline DB Press ‘4 Bells’ *bells start pronated and as you lift them you turn them inward so they finish with a neutral grip…all 4 bells touch
B2) Seated Cable Flye Squeeze *a shallow flye in which you bring the arms together in an X at the finish and squeeze for a second

C1) 3 Angle Press *mechanical drop set…thanks CT…whatever you can do 5 reps seated shoulder press, then drop the bench to an incline, continue to failure, drop the bench to flat, continue to failure

Tuesday: Quads
A1) Squats (below parallel)
A2) Leg Extensions…oh a fun pairing…:slight_smile:

B1-2) Split Squat…just one exercises because you have two legs to do. Little rest between the right and left leg.
C1) 3 Position Leg Press *low and close, then normal, then high and wide…5-10 breaths between positions…3 sets…killer

Thursday: Back
A1) Rack Pull
A2) Incline Spider Pulldown *again thanks CT…set up an incline bench between two mid=high cables…pull so that the elbows touch the side of the rib cage…say hello to your lats

B1) Motorcycle Row *yeah I get a lot of random exercises from CT’s threads…basically a seated row in which you set up so that you are leaned forward. Pull toward you navel. I think this is best performed on a cable instead of the seated row. Set up a low bench so that you can sit down with your feet against somthing (plates?) and your trunk is leaning forward.
B2) Stability Ball Cable Pullover *Get something to anchor your feet too or you won’t be able to lift much weight. Set up LOW on the stability ball. IE: seated much more away from the cable so the s.ball is more on your back than anything else.

C1) Wide to Narrow Pullup/Chin. Try 5 wide, 5 normal, 5 narrow…or more if you can. Proper form though. None of this kipping shit. All the way day to full stretch and all the way up until you shoulders touch the damn ceiling.

Friday: Hammies
A1) RDL *prefer with balls of your feet on two plates to stretch out the calf and activate the hammies more
A2) Natural Glute Ham Raise. Best way I’ve been able to do this is with your legs under the seat of the Leg press machine.

B1) Cable Pull Thru…slow this exercise down and get a damn good stretch to make it effective
B2) 2-1 Leg Curl *Curl with two legs…eccentric with on leg…nice

C1) Walking Toe Lunge…Grab some dumbells and take DEEP walking lunge on your toes. Say hello to your calves. Lunge has to be long and deep to really hit the hammies

Saturday: Arms
A1) Neutral Grip Chin
A2) Weighted Dips

B1) Seated DB Concentration Hammer Curl *Sit on bench with legs out wide lean forward with elbows on knees.
B2) Incline DB French Press Hammer grip

C1) Run the rack bicep curl
C2) Run the rack tricep extension
*just start somewhere in the 8-10rm range and keep dropping down the rack as you fatigue.

Again, these exercises work for me because I’ve switched up my exercises every 6-8 weeks or so trying to get a different adaptation. Do what works for you.

Ok, I’m done. Going to bed.

Send me 299.99 and I’ll design you a protocol that will put 30lbs on your frame in 11 weeks. I accept paypal

Bodybuilding isn’t wizardry…

You don’t just do the “right” things in the “right” order at the “right” times and muscles magically start growing. The fact that you do 3 sets of whatever, and follow a program, and eat “clean” means absolutely NOTHING towards your results.

You FORCE your living body to have to make physical changes to itself because of the sheer stress and danger you put it through 4-5 times a week.

So how about instead of taking an article to the gym, you take a badass mentality and actually train with enough intensity to force an adaptation… quit being afraid of “overtraining”, and quit “changing up your routine” like some twinky french sausage that wants to keep his body “guessing” which program to NOT be threatened by at all… and then take it home too and put that badass mentality in your fridge and bust it out 6 times a day for a big protein meal.

Then you’ll be creating some real progress for yourself instead of pretending like you’re doing everything correctly, and then complaining when it doesn’t “work”.

[quote]mr popular wrote:
Bodybuilding isn’t wizardry…

You don’t just do the “right” things in the “right” order at the “right” times and muscles magically start growing. The fact that you do 3 sets of whatever, and follow a program, and eat “clean” means absolutely NOTHING towards your results.

You FORCE your living body to have to make physical changes to itself because of the sheer stress and danger you put it through 4-5 times a week.

So how about instead of taking an article to the gym, you take a badass mentality and actually train with enough intensity to force an adaptation… quit being afraid of “overtraining”, and quit “changing up your routine” like some twinky french sausage that wants to keep his body “guessing” which program to NOT be threatened by at all… and then take it home too and put that badass mentality in your fridge and bust it out 6 times a day for a big protein meal.

Then you’ll be creating some real progress for yourself instead of pretending like you’re doing everything correctly, and then complaining when it doesn’t “work”.[/quote]

What he said.

[quote]Growing_Boy wrote:
Send me 299.99 and I’ll design you a protocol that will put 30lbs on your frame in 11 weeks. I accept paypal[/quote]

I only charge 262.05, and the 30 lbs. MY program gives you will be FUNCTIONAL.

[quote]Itchy wrote:
Growing_Boy wrote:
Send me 299.99 and I’ll design you a protocol that will put 30lbs on your frame in 11 weeks. I accept paypal

I only charge 262.05, and the 30 lbs. MY program gives you will be FUNCTIONAL.[/quote]

For only two easy payments of 139.99 Ill put 33.2lbs on your frame, lower your BF percentage to single digits, and be beyond functional. I’ll help you reach LaBuff status

[quote]Growing_Boy wrote:
Itchy wrote:
Growing_Boy wrote:
Send me 299.99 and I’ll design you a protocol that will put 30lbs on your frame in 11 weeks. I accept paypal

I only charge 262.05, and the 30 lbs. MY program gives you will be FUNCTIONAL.

I’ll help you reach LaBuff status[/quote]

LOL now you’ve gone too far.

[quote]mr popular wrote:
Bodybuilding isn’t wizardry…

You don’t just do the “right” things in the “right” order at the “right” times and muscles magically start growing. The fact that you do 3 sets of whatever, and follow a program, and eat “clean” means absolutely NOTHING towards your results.

You FORCE your living body to have to make physical changes to itself because of the sheer stress and danger you put it through 4-5 times a week.

So how about instead of taking an article to the gym, you take a badass mentality and actually train with enough intensity to force an adaptation… quit being afraid of “overtraining”, and quit “changing up your routine” like some twinky french sausage that wants to keep his body “guessing” which program to NOT be threatened by at all… and then take it home too and put that badass mentality in your fridge and bust it out 6 times a day for a big protein meal.

Then you’ll be creating some real progress for yourself instead of pretending like you’re doing everything correctly, and then complaining when it doesn’t “work”.[/quote]

I guess i have just never looked at it that way. I guess I am just being pressured to do thinsg " the right way " as you said with all that shit. Anyways thanks.

[quote]TNUT wrote:
Two articles that have really helped me:

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/concurrent_strategies3.htm

Personally i think with only a year and a half in the gym you should be training each body part more than once a week though.[/quote]

I really, really like that elitefts link. Thanks.

[quote]aloaff wrote:
mr popular wrote:
Bodybuilding isn’t wizardry…

You don’t just do the “right” things in the “right” order at the “right” times and muscles magically start growing. The fact that you do 3 sets of whatever, and follow a program, and eat “clean” means absolutely NOTHING towards your results.

You FORCE your living body to have to make physical changes to itself because of the sheer stress and danger you put it through 4-5 times a week.

So how about instead of taking an article to the gym, you take a badass mentality and actually train with enough intensity to force an adaptation… quit being afraid of “overtraining”, and quit “changing up your routine” like some twinky french sausage that wants to keep his body “guessing” which program to NOT be threatened by at all… and then take it home too and put that badass mentality in your fridge and bust it out 6 times a day for a big protein meal.

Then you’ll be creating some real progress for yourself instead of pretending like you’re doing everything correctly, and then complaining when it doesn’t “work”.

I guess i have just never looked at it that way. I guess I am just being pressured to do thinsg " the right way " as you said with all that shit. Anyways thanks.

[/quote]

There is only one “right” way to do things in bodybuilding, and that is whatever produces results for you, and you alone.

The basics are really simple man…

DIET
Eat enough calories to gain weight, 1g/lb BW in protein daily.

TRAINING ROUTINE
In the gym minimum 4 days a week, 2 muscle groups a day, 3-4 basic exercises per muscle group. Pyramid up to one heavy work set for each exercise and get either more reps or more weight than you did last week.

REST
Don’t do drugs. Get laid often. Don’t stay up too late playing video games.

TRAINING INTENSITY (AKA what you should actually be taking to the gym every time)
If you were really giving 110%, your body would show it. All the guys that are passing you and everyone else up in the gym don’t have muscles made of different stuff from yours, their genetics aren’t godly, and their diet/routines are probably far from perfect… they just don’t have to be told what it means to really dig down deep.
When other people end a set when their muscles burn, and their bodies and minds are aching, that is when the beasts keep going until they’ve dominated the weight. Real muscle isn’t built until you cross over into that “point of no return”. Then all you need to do is make sure the food is there to support the transformation.

Get your head out of articles and theory and faceless gurus, and start creating results for yourself through sheer effort and consistency.

[quote]mr popular wrote:
The basics are really simple man…

DIET
Eat enough calories to gain weight, 1g/lb BW in protein daily.

TRAINING ROUTINE
In the gym minimum 4 days a week, 2 muscle groups a day, 3-4 basic exercises per muscle group. Pyramid up to one heavy work set for each exercise and get either more reps or more weight than you did last week.

REST
Don’t do drugs. Get laid often. Don’t stay up too late playing video games.

TRAINING INTENSITY (AKA what you should actually be taking to the gym every time)
If you were really giving 110%, your body would show it. All the guys that are passing you and everyone else up in the gym don’t have muscles made of different stuff from yours, their genetics aren’t godly, and their diet/routines are probably far from perfect… they just don’t have to be told what it means to really dig down deep.
When other people end a set when their muscles burn, and their bodies and minds are aching, that is when the beasts keep going until they’ve dominated the weight. Real muscle isn’t built until you cross over into that “point of no return”. Then all you need to do is make sure the food is there to support the transformation.

Get your head out of articles and theory and faceless gurus, and start creating results for yourself through sheer effort and consistency.[/quote]

Nicely said.

A wise man once said…

“If people aren’t looking and making comments about your intensity in the gym you aren’t training hard enough”

It’s not being loud for the sake of being loud. It’s shear unapolegetic focus on the task at hand. If you’re shooting the shit with your friends taking 5 minutes between sets staring at the fine pieces of ass doing tricep pushdowns…you aren’t working out hard enough.

You should fear for your life…especially when doing legs and chest when gravity might just very well kill you. Don’t just lift the weight, don’t just shoot for a number of reps because that’s what’s on your “program”…FEEL the weight…FEEL your muscles working…KNOW they are working.

You have one goal in the gym: Total domination of your body. There are many ways to do this. No one article will lead you there. There are of course stupid things you shouldn’t do.

To the person who trains Chest on Monday, Arms on Tuesday then repeats the idiocy with Shoulders on Friday and Arms on Saturday…why do you hate your triceps? Do you not wish them to get strong and grow?

To the person who always does half reps and puts “english” into everything they do…are you Chad Waterbury? Why must you act like you’re doing a total body workout everyday?

Look, I have no where near the experience of many of the guys on here. I’m learning everyday just like everyone else, but I’ve had some success with getting stronger and larger in the short time I’ve been lifting seriously. I’ve also had some success with making people bigger and stronger and/or leaner.

Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting a different result.

Eat Food.
Train with INTENSITY.

That’s it.

I was doing a lot of drops sets and eating a shit ton of food. Did that for a month. Wasn’t working. Changed to what I’m doing above. Now it’s working. Find what works and do it. If it doesn’t work…don’t do it…doesn’t matter what “Official T-Nation Biotest Author” program you follow or if you follow your own program.

[quote]aloaff wrote:
Hey, I am having a hard time choosing which articles to incorporate into my training.[/quote]

Here is my advice on picking which articles… Before reading an article, scroll down to the bottom. Look at the picture of the author, and read the “about the author”. If he doesn’t look like you want to look or hasn’t accomplished what you want to accomplish, move on to the next one.

Okay Ive got it now. Thanks guys. Went to the gym today with a totally new attitude and I must say…I definitely felt a difference. Im feeling fucking great and excited to see whats gonna come with this.

Oh and i really suggest watching thhhat movie " Strong: The Movie "
Its fucking great, now only if I could find a gym like that.

This I like. Effort and consistency are the true pillars of results, and this applies equally to diet. I would guess that for 90% of “non-gainers” the problem is too few calories and not enough protein. Hell, I know that most of the time I don’t get enough calories/protein to gain and that’s why I still look more or less like a stick figure (relatively speaking).

Nobody who only has 18 months of training under their belt and clocks in at 5’10" and 173lbs needs a shoulder day. Period. (And in my opinion nobody who does any kind of horizontal pressing needs a front raise. Ever.) At 18 months you probably don’t even need a split routine. All you need are the basics, the really tough stuff, for heavy sets 3-4 times a week.