T Nation

Is this Routine Feasable?

Beginners
#1

I’m a newbie wanting to bulk. I’m 6"2 198Lbs and about 13%bf. I have a lot of free time.

Please critique the routine I’m thinking about starting and let me know if you think its feasable, or is it overtraining?

Monday: 08:30am Back Workout, 04:30pm Chest Workout

Tuesday: 08:30am Ab Workout + Sprints (interval training), 04:30pm Arms, Shoulders + Traps workout

Wednesday: 08:30am Legs + Abs Workout

Thursday: 08:30am Back Workout, 04:30pm Chest Workout

Friday: 08:30am Ab Workout + Sprints (interval training), 04:30pm Arms, Shoulders + Traps workout

Saturday: 08:30am Legs + Abs Workout

Sunday: Rest Day

Basically my plan is to do this every week and eat like a horse so I can continue to bulk, any thoughts/ ideas?

Thanks!

#2

It all depends on workout volume, intensity, and recovery (eat + sleep). As far as scheduling, no reason it shouldn’t work.

Maybe move the weights to morning, so you’re fresh. Sprints take a lot out of me, so that would be the last thing I do for the day.

Try it out, best way to know.

#3

[quote]talldude wrote:
It all depends on workout volume, intensity, and recovery (eat + sleep). As far as scheduling, no reason it shouldn’t work.

Maybe move the weights to morning, so you’re fresh. Sprints take a lot out of me, so that would be the last thing I do for the day.

Try it out, best way to know.[/quote]

Thanks for the tip man, however i’m much more of an afternoon/ evening person, so i have tried to place the muscle groups that i most want to prioritize during this period.

I’ve been trying to work out a nutrition plan, the one i came up with has over 6000 calories though so it needs some work.
On the other hand im thinking maybe its the best thing that ever happened because my body type is one that loses weight easily but finds it hard to gain. maybe the extra calories (combined with the 10 workouts a week detailed above) could help me make some real solid gains.

#4

It looks good

But my two a day training usually hits the same muscle. I do morning high reps and even low reps…

Your set up looks good though. If id change anything it would be doing the arms in the morning and hitting delts by themselves.

Can you give us the entire set up you have? Ie lifts and rep?

Some diet info…

#5

Not sure exactly the exercises ill be doing in each workout, im going to mix it up a lot but mainly focus on getting around 8 reps at everything i do.

Diet is typically something like this:

07:30am- tea with milk, 2 slices toast, 4 eggs (but only 1 yolk), 2 slices bacon
WORKOUT #1
09:30am- smoothie with: milk, almonds, weight gainer, bananas, oatmeal
11:30am- tea with milk, tin of tuna, tin of baked beans
01:30pm- noodles, snickers bar, tea
03:30pm- honey nut shredded wheat with milk, peanut butter sandwich, glass of water
WORKOUT #2
06:00pm- serving of weight gainer, multivitamin
07:00pm- half a pizza, 1/2 a chicken fillet
09:00pm- serving of weight gainer with milk
04:00am- peanut butter sandwich, pint of milk

I understand its lacking in veggies and some of the macro sources are not the leanest but its the best i have access to right now so im just working with what ive got. May make some ajustments here and there. Open to suggestions of course but try not to make them in an insulting way.

#6

Don’t be afraid of the egg yolk. There’s a shitload of bogus studies out there about dietary cholesterol being bad…it isn’t, especially for someone who’s active. In fact, you need it to build muscle (it’s the “mother” of a variety of hormones, like testosterone). The yolk is the part that has all the good nutrients in it.

Here’s a Harvard study for you: http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/egg-nutrition

As for the diet:

  • Cut the snickers bar. It’s crap. You can have one every now and then, but it should be a treat.
  • Every meal should have some protein
  • Sweet potatoes and rice are good carb sources. Ditch the pizza, go with sweet potato, veggies and chicken.
  • WATER - a lot of it. A gallon a day is a good benchmark. If you want higher cals and can stand it, a gallon of milk is a good option. I’m lactose intolerant, so that’s out for me.

Lastly - DO NOT WAKE UP JUST TO EAT. You’re doing yourself a disservice. Sleep is the time when the body heals itself. The better you sleep, the more energy you will have, the better your muscle recovery, and the better your progress is going to be. Aim for a solid 8+ hours.

#7

[quote]talldude wrote:
Don’t be afraid of the egg yolk. There’s a shitload of bogus studies out there about dietary cholesterol being bad…it isn’t, especially for someone who’s active. In fact, you need it to build muscle (it’s the “mother” of a variety of hormones, like testosterone). The yolk is the part that has all the good nutrients in it.

Here’s a Harvard study for you: http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/egg-nutrition

As for the diet:

  • Cut the snickers bar. It’s crap. You can have one every now and then, but it should be a treat.
  • Every meal should have some protein
  • Sweet potatoes and rice are good carb sources. Ditch the pizza, go with sweet potato, veggies and chicken.
  • WATER - a lot of it. A gallon a day is a good benchmark. If you want higher cals and can stand it, a gallon of milk is a good option. I’m lactose intolerant, so that’s out for me.

Lastly - DO NOT WAKE UP JUST TO EAT. You’re doing yourself a disservice. Sleep is the time when the body heals itself. The better you sleep, the more energy you will have, the better your muscle recovery, and the better your progress is going to be. Aim for a solid 8+ hours.[/quote]

I appreciate the critique man, thanks! I’ll be sure to make some adjustments based on your recommendations.

I guess the basic question im asking here is:

Is it possible for the body to recover fast enough to justify my 10 workouts a week if i eat a shit ton of food (as shown above) and get enough sleep?

#8

[quote]IrishOak wrote:
Is it possible for the body to recover fast enough to justify my 10 workouts a week if i eat a shit ton of food (as shown above) and get enough sleep?

[/quote]

The only way of telling is by trying. Getting stronger? Good, it’s working. Muscles won’t get bigger if you don’t get stronger over the long term.

If, say a construction worker with a family, was to do something like that, they’d probably run themselves into the ground (get stronger the first 3-4 weeks, then decline in energy/drive/strength etc)…whereas someone with less stress, young, no hard job etc they can probably thrive on it (at least for some time before volume/frequency needed to be reduced).

Eat and train as much as you can get away with (stoke the anabolic engine). If gains slow down, 9 times out of 10 you’re simply not eating enough.

Drop the cardio though, ESPECIALLY high intensity cardio. Absolutely no need for it when lifting that often, it’ll just drain recovery and burn calories that should be going towards growth etc.

#9

[quote]its_just_me wrote:

[quote]IrishOak wrote:
Is it possible for the body to recover fast enough to justify my 10 workouts a week if i eat a shit ton of food (as shown above) and get enough sleep?

[/quote]Drop the cardio though, ESPECIALLY high intensity cardio. Absolutely no need for it when lifting that often, it’ll just drain recovery and burn calories that should be going towards growth etc.[/quote]

Well I figured with over 6000 calories a day i can afford to burn a few?

I’m currently on day 2 of my “eat like a horse” diet, its hard to keep all that food down but at least i know its going into my muscles. Legs are real sore from all those squats yesterday and worked out back this morning so its bound to be eating up those macronutrients as well :slight_smile:

#10

[quote]IrishOak wrote:

[quote]its_just_me wrote:

[quote]IrishOak wrote:
Is it possible for the body to recover fast enough to justify my 10 workouts a week if i eat a shit ton of food (as shown above) and get enough sleep?

[/quote]Drop the cardio though, ESPECIALLY high intensity cardio. Absolutely no need for it when lifting that often, it’ll just drain recovery and burn calories that should be going towards growth etc.[/quote]

Well I figured with over 6000 calories a day i can afford to burn a few?

I’m currently on day 2 of my “eat like a horse” diet, its hard to keep all that food down but at least i know its going into my muscles. Legs are real sore from all those squats yesterday and worked out back this morning so its bound to be eating up those macronutrients as well :)[/quote]

Why do you want to burn a few? It’s like trying to fill up a bucket with a hole in it lol It’s not just a case of calories in vs out either, you have to take into account the extra recovery resources that go into the extra exercise.

Why not reduce calories and burn less? You’re creating needlessly more work for yourself otherwise :slight_smile:

Unless you have a real hard time keeping fat off, or are preparing for a competition/sport or whatever, there’s no need to add in cardio when lifting 8x/week. Remember, weight lifting doesn’t just build muscle, you burn plenty calories from it too (not just during the lifting, but the “after-burn” aswell).

#11

Cardio is good with a long term picture in mind. There’s a lot of benefits from doing it - heart health and better work/recovery capacity being the main ones. But if the goal is to put on as much mass as possible, then it should be dropped in the short term.

I’m a fan of doing sprints a few times a week. You could keep the sprints, but make them short. Make the workout about explosiveness instead of cardio.

Actually, throwing in a plyo workout 2-3x a week would be a good idea. CT has a bunch of these labeled as “neural charge” workouts. Drop running, add plyo. I’d even go so far as adding the plyos on your “rest” day. It’ll actually enhance recovery.

#12

[quote]talldude wrote:
Cardio is good with a long term picture in mind. There’s a lot of benefits from doing it - heart health and better work/recovery capacity being the main ones. But if the goal is to put on as much mass as possible, then it should be dropped in the short term.

I’m a fan of doing sprints a few times a week. You could keep the sprints, but make them short. Make the workout about explosiveness instead of cardio.

Actually, throwing in a plyo workout 2-3x a week would be a good idea. CT has a bunch of these labeled as “neural charge” workouts. Drop running, add plyo. I’d even go so far as adding the plyos on your “rest” day. It’ll actually enhance recovery.[/quote]
whats a plyo? i’m a noob brah

#13

plyometrics. Low weight, explosive movements. Box jumps, depth jumps, broad jumps, med ball throws etc.

check out the “neural charge” under articles -> programs on this site.

#14

Whoop Whoop!

Day 4 of my calorie dense diet and i’m really packing on the pounds!

I was 180Lbs in december 2010 and i’ve just broken 200 now. I got to 194 easy enough but then i hit a brick wall, my weight stalled and i kept working out but i had lost a lot of my motivation.

I was always confused about my body: on the face of things i thought i was a mesomorph: i had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, thick joints, big bones and never packed too much fat etc… But due to my inability to add muscle i just got demotivated and branded myself an ectomorph/ hardgainer.

Now i see what i was lacking all this time ----> CALORIES!

My body was trying to grow but couldn’t! I wasn’t adding enough wood to the fire.

Now i guess the key is consistency, keep eating, sleeping and training and i’ll hopefully make 210 in no time!

The point of this post? I honestly don’t really know, i just felt happy that i’ve finally worked out the solution to my problems.

Yes, i know, im an idiot lol

That is all :slight_smile:

#15

[quote]IrishOak wrote:
Whoop Whoop!

Day 4 of my calorie dense diet and i’m really packing on the pounds!

I was 180Lbs in december 2010 and i’ve just broken 200 now. I got to 194 easy enough but then i hit a brick wall, my weight stalled and i kept working out but i had lost a lot of my motivation.

I was always confused about my body: on the face of things i thought i was a mesomorph: i had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, thick joints, big bones and never packed too much fat etc… But due to my inability to add muscle i just got demotivated and branded myself an ectomorph/ hardgainer.

Now i see what i was lacking all this time ----> CALORIES!

My body was trying to grow but couldn’t! I wasn’t adding enough wood to the fire.

Now i guess the key is consistency, keep eating, sleeping and training and i’ll hopefully make 210 in no time!

The point of this post? I honestly don’t really know, i just felt happy that i’ve finally worked out the solution to my problems.

Yes, i know, im an idiot lol

That is all :)[/quote]

So now you’re eating 7000 calorie right? lol

It always makes me smile the amount people THINK they are eating each day

#16

[quote]its_just_me wrote:

[quote]IrishOak wrote:
Whoop Whoop!

Day 4 of my calorie dense diet and i’m really packing on the pounds!

I was 180Lbs in december 2010 and i’ve just broken 200 now. I got to 194 easy enough but then i hit a brick wall, my weight stalled and i kept working out but i had lost a lot of my motivation.

I was always confused about my body: on the face of things i thought i was a mesomorph: i had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, thick joints, big bones and never packed too much fat etc… But due to my inability to add muscle i just got demotivated and branded myself an ectomorph/ hardgainer.

Now i see what i was lacking all this time ----> CALORIES!

My body was trying to grow but couldn’t! I wasn’t adding enough wood to the fire.

Now i guess the key is consistency, keep eating, sleeping and training and i’ll hopefully make 210 in no time!

The point of this post? I honestly don’t really know, i just felt happy that i’ve finally worked out the solution to my problems.

Yes, i know, im an idiot lol

That is all :)[/quote]

So now you’re eating 7000 calorie right? lol

It always makes me smile the amount people THINK they are eating each day[/quote]

nah brah i couldnt quite fit 7000 in lol. ive reworked it and taken out the 4am meal. im eating about 5000, and so far so good

#17

[quote]IrishOak wrote:
Whoop Whoop!

Day 4 of my calorie dense diet and i’m really packing on the pounds!

I was 180Lbs in december 2010 and i’ve just broken 200 now. I got to 194 easy enough but then i hit a brick wall, my weight stalled and i kept working out but i had lost a lot of my motivation.

I was always confused about my body: on the face of things i thought i was a mesomorph: i had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, thick joints, big bones and never packed too much fat etc… But due to my inability to add muscle i just got demotivated and branded myself an ectomorph/ hardgainer.

Now i see what i was lacking all this time ----> CALORIES!

My body was trying to grow but couldn’t! I wasn’t adding enough wood to the fire.

Now i guess the key is consistency, keep eating, sleeping and training and i’ll hopefully make 210 in no time!

The point of this post? I honestly don’t really know, i just felt happy that i’ve finally worked out the solution to my problems.

Yes, i know, im an idiot lol

That is all :)[/quote]

You DON’T want to gain more than 10lbs a month, unless you’re some genetic freak. Basically anything over that is going the be just fat. First couple of weeks you might gain a lot of weight quickly (more food in you, more water, fuller muscles etc), but if it doesn’t level off to a couple pounds per week then consider cutting back your diet a little.

#18

[quote]talldude wrote:

[quote]IrishOak wrote:
Whoop Whoop!

Day 4 of my calorie dense diet and i’m really packing on the pounds!

I was 180Lbs in december 2010 and i’ve just broken 200 now. I got to 194 easy enough but then i hit a brick wall, my weight stalled and i kept working out but i had lost a lot of my motivation.

I was always confused about my body: on the face of things i thought i was a mesomorph: i had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, thick joints, big bones and never packed too much fat etc… But due to my inability to add muscle i just got demotivated and branded myself an ectomorph/ hardgainer.

Now i see what i was lacking all this time ----> CALORIES!

My body was trying to grow but couldn’t! I wasn’t adding enough wood to the fire.

Now i guess the key is consistency, keep eating, sleeping and training and i’ll hopefully make 210 in no time!

The point of this post? I honestly don’t really know, i just felt happy that i’ve finally worked out the solution to my problems.

Yes, i know, im an idiot lol

That is all :)[/quote]

You DON’T want to gain more than 10lbs a month, unless you’re some genetic freak. Basically anything over that is going the be just fat. First couple of weeks you might gain a lot of weight quickly (more food in you, more water, fuller muscles etc), but if it doesn’t level off to a couple pounds per week then consider cutting back your diet a little. [/quote]
will do, thanks for the tip!

#19

Give me your stomach…I wish I could manage to handle that much food ha! and just as I was looking at what you eat may I ask WTF are you doing up at 4am? ( or do I want to know?) and yeah I’m also a noob aswell but another factor would be intensity of the workouts, I personally wouldn’t be able to handle to leg workouts a week, but than again I’m a bitch :slight_smile:

#20

[quote]IrishOak wrote:
Not sure exactly the exercises ill be doing in each workout, im going to mix it up a lot but mainly focus on getting around 8 reps at everything i do.

Diet is typically something like this:

07:30am- tea with milk, 2 slices toast, 4 eggs (but only 1 yolk), 2 slices bacon
WORKOUT #1
09:30am- smoothie with: milk, almonds, weight gainer, bananas, oatmeal
11:30am- tea with milk, tin of tuna, tin of baked beans
01:30pm- noodles, snickers bar, tea
03:30pm- honey nut shredded wheat with milk, peanut butter sandwich, glass of water
WORKOUT #2
06:00pm- serving of weight gainer, multivitamin
07:00pm- half a pizza, 1/2 a chicken fillet
09:00pm- serving of weight gainer with milk
04:00am- peanut butter sandwich, pint of milk

I understand its lacking in veggies and some of the macro sources are not the leanest but its the best i have access to right now so im just working with what ive got. May make some ajustments here and there. Open to suggestions of course but try not to make them in an insulting way.[/quote]

Breakfast: eat the whole egg. Yolks are good for you. More total carbs – I’d add in 1/2 - 1 cup of rolled or steel-cut oats, though you’re getting that later. If you can get some real meat (steak, pork), do. Tuna’s a cheap protein source.

What’s your weight gainer? That’s likely expensive crab carbs and middlin’ protein. I’m more a fan of whey for post-workout (and maybe mixed with breakfast oats), otherwise whole-food sources.

Regarding your workout: given your height/weight, I’m going to assume you’re pretty new to lifting. I’m NOT a fan of splits for novices. Check out a good 5x5 program (Rippetoe’s Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 at http://www.stronglifts.com/). You’ll find Rippetoe’s “Who Wants to be a Novice” article here at T-Nation which describes results he’s seen.

Squats + a gallon of milk a day will give you a lot of gains. Probably 15-20# in 3-6 months. About 2/3 of that should be lean mass, though you’ll gain some fat too. Cut that later.