Hey everyone, i just joined. im 16 years old, and i’ve been working out for a little over 6 months, and i just started weight training (until about a month ago i was just doing calisthenics). I want to get big and defined but i also want to make sure that whatever i do i as funtional a possible because i also do mixed martial arts. i want to gain about 15 to 20 pounds in the next month or two if possible. i weigh 159 as is and judging by my dad and older brother i would probably reach about 180 by the time im 18 if i didnt work out. this is my basic routine, any feedback, positive, or constructive would be appreciated.
i have three workouts which i do on different days.
workout 1 (weights)
squat
deadlift
dumbell bench press
barbell curl
russian ballet hip thrusts (dont judge them by the name)
full contact twist
Workout 2
squat
overhead press
power clean
russian ballet hip thrust
full contact twist
i do these workouts in two different orders
week 1
day 1-workout 1
day 2-workout 3
day 3-workout 2
day 4-workout 3
day 5-workout 1
day 6-workout 3
day 7-off
week 2
day 1-workout 2
day 2-workout 3
day 3-workout 1
day 4-workout 3
day 5-workout 2
day 6-workout 3
day 7-workout off
sometimes i add in ab wheel rollouts and hang w/ one arm from a bar for grip strength
im trying to build my abs up to doing dragon flags
i try to eat a lot. i eat alot of protein and drink alot of milk.
i have a large problem however which has limited me to working out only twice in the last two weeks. its really starting to stress me out. the thing is that i cant sleep. ive been sleeping for 3 sometimes 4 hours a night for over a week. as a result i cant recover on time and im too tired to work out.
Gaining 15-20lbs in two months is a very lofty goal. I don’t know what the standards are for beginners gaining weight, but I’m pretty certain that 10lbs a month is a lot if it’s not mostly fat.
The best thing I can say about your workouts is that they include lots of full-body lifts. It’s generally a struggle to get trainees your age away from doing 15 sets of curls, so a big congrats on that. You may want to consider the possibility of being able to improve on your form some. I “squatted” for a good year or so without really getting it right until I worked with a trainer that actually knew how to squat. Quite simply, there’s a heck of a difference between a poorly-executed and a well-executed squat. It may be worth your time and money to find a good trainer, if only to help you for a few months.
Now as for negatives, six full body training days seems like a hell of a lot for a beginner. You’re probably more knowledgeable than the average gym-goer, and with that extra knowledge, you probably feel like you want to do more and more. In your case, less is more. Unless you’re on drugs and eating a truckload of food every day, you’re almost certainly not ever fully recovering.
I know that it can suck to think that you’re doing too much and you have to deviate from your original plan to do less. I’ve been there, but when I finally stopped trying to train twice a day, five days a week, I actually started to get stronger, feel better, and turn my body composition in the direction I wanted.
Think about that. Do you frequently feel tired? Do you have trouble making yourself want to go to the gym? Are your joints always achey? It might be time for a deload and to do a less so you can grow more.
thanks alot for the feedback. and about the number of days that i train per week. on the days when i do mostly calisthenic (workout 3) those are mostly light days. i try to always do the pullups and at least a very light pushup workout. i have two upper body horizontal pushing goals. one is for raw strength, although i have no specific weight goal for it, and the other is for endurance, (100 chest to floor pushups). ive read in numerous places that “endurance increases as a function of strength” which i infer to mean that the stronger you are (i would suppose in terms of a 1RM), the more endurance you would have for that particular muscle or movement. but ive found that to be very untrue at least for myself which is why i do both pushups and db bench press. also i have read that it is possible as a beginner to gain 25 pound in 25 days if you are diligent in your lifts and have a proper diet. (which means in this particular case to drink a gallon of milk a day) to be honest though i cant see myself gaining more than ten pounds in the next month with my diet. i wanted to ask how to start keeping a food log because ive heard that this is supposed to help with maintaining a good diet.
thanks alot for the feedback. and about the number of days that i train per week. on the days when i do mostly calisthenic (workout 3) those are mostly light days. i try to always do the pullups and at least a very light pushup workout. i have two upper body horizontal pushing goals. one is for raw strength, although i have no specific weight goal for it, and the other is for endurance, (100 chest to floor pushups). ive read in numerous places that “endurance increases as a function of strength” which i infer to mean that the stronger you are (i would suppose in terms of a 1RM), the more endurance you would have for that particular muscle or movement. but ive found that to be very untrue at least for myself which is why i do both pushups and db bench press. also i have read that it is possible as a beginner to gain 25 pound in 25 days if you are diligent in your lifts and have a proper diet. (which means in this particular case to drink a gallon of milk a day) to be honest though i cant see myself gaining more than ten pounds in the next month with my diet. i wanted to ask how to start keeping a food log because ive heard that this is supposed to help with maintaining a good diet.
You seem like you know what you want out of your training, keep it up. It looks like a lot of volume but your body will get used to it.
Food logs are a great tool for bulking up, people simply do not get in enough food. Some days your not as hungry but still get full and feel like you ate alot from just 2000 calories the whole day. Too many variables…food logs are heaven sent for beginners.