Greetings T-Nation.
I’m looking for advice on how I should proceed from where I am now. First to share some info on myself, to put things into context I suppose.
I am a 17 year old Icelandic male.
I weight in at just shy of 200lbs(89kg). I am about 5’11(181cm). My bf% is circa 15. I have relatively short legs and a long torso.
My lifts:
Bench Press 230 pounds
Squat: 350 pounds
Deadlift: 440 pounds.
Can’t really think of any other pertinent information, so I’m just gonna forge on ahead.
I’ve been dieting for the past few months, down from about 237lbs(108kg). It’s gone pretty good so far and I’m pleased with the results. I’m still a little soft, but that’s okay. I’ll get it the next time around.
I still have two weeks left of planned dieting and what I want advice on is how to proceed from there.
I’m planning on starting to bulk and try to add some quality muscle mass to my frame. I’d want to bulk for about six months(before getting in shape for summer;) ). How much weight should I plan on adding in that time frame?
I’m obviously looking to add as much muscle here with as little fat gain as possible. I’m not a very carb tolerant person and am prone to gaining fat so tips on how to accomplish this would be greatly appreciated. So far, I’ve been planning on eating according to John Berardi’s Seven Habits and his Massive Eating dietary plan. Good idea? Bad idea?
As far as training goes, I’ve been lifting weights since about January this year. I quickly incorporated squats, deadlifts and other real exercises into my program so little time was wasted on a bench and curl routine.
My lifts stalled after I started dieting though and have remained pretty much where they were with slight increases. Pretty sure some of that was mindset though, so now I’m ready to start hitting the iron hard again and really ramp up the weight. I’ve designed a split which I think looks pretty good, but I am pretty new to this whole thing so I might well be sorely mistaken!
Day 1: Chest/Back
Day 2: Recovery (Some steady state Cardio)
Day 3: Biceps/Triceps
Day 4: Quads/Hamstrings
Day 5: Recovery (Some steady state Cardio)
Day 6: Anterior and lateral delts/Rear delts (Some steady state Cardio)
Day 7: Recovery
Session 1; Chest and Back:
A1:Bench Press
60 seconds of rest
A2: Chin ups, weighted
60 seconds of rest.
4 sets of 6-8 reps.
B1: Incline Dumbbell presses
45 secs rest
B2: One Arm Dumbbell rows
45 secs rest
4 sets of 12-15 reps.
C1: Pec deck flyes?
30 secs rest
C2: Bent over Rear delt raises
30 secs rest
3 sets of 16-20 reps.
Session 2; Biceps and Triceps:
A1:Standing Barbell Curls
60 secs rest
A2:Weighted dips.
60 secs rest.
4 sets of 6-8.
B1: Hammer Curl
45 secs rest
B2: Decline Barbell extensions
45 secs rest
4 sets of 12-15 reps.
C1: Constant Tension Alternate Curls
30 secs rest.
C2: Overhead Triceps Extension
30 secs rest
3 sets of 16-20 reps.
Looking for more variety here. Suggestions?
Session 3; Quads and Hamstrings.
Power Cleans, 5 Sets of 3 reps.
A1: Squats
75 secs rest
A2 Stiff legged deadlifts
75 secs rest.
4 sets of 6-8 reps.
B1: Lunges
45 secs rest
B2:Good Mornings
45 secs rest
3 sets of 12-15 reps.
C1: Leg extensions
30 secs rest
C2: Leg Curls?
30 secs rest.
3 sets of 16-20 reps.
Session 4: Shoulders:
Push Press, 4 Sets of 5 reps.
Alternating Dumbbell shoulder presses 4 sets of 12-15
Lateral Raises, 3 sets of 16-20 reps.
Weight and progression: I want to pyramid up to a heavy, all out, last set. Taking the Stiff Legged Deadlift as an example, the work sets might go something like this:
120kgx6,125kgx6,130kgx6,135kgx8. When I can get the last set for the maximum amount of prescribed reps, I up the weight. Depending on the excercise I’d up it 10 pounds(Squats, Deadlifts and such,), 5 pounds(Bench Press, Chin-ups) or 2 pounds(Curls and the like)
Does this look okay? Any glaring flaws you want to point out to me? Anything I’ve missed? Something I failed to consider?
Anyway, that’s all for now but I’m sure I’ll have more questions later. Thank you for your time.