Over the past summer, I have gained roughly 25 pounds of muscle (6’3 19yo, from 160 12% to 185 7.5%) on a TBT program, consisting of one upper body push and pull, and one lower body quad and hip dominant exercise, plus to single joint vanity exercises. Using a modified rest pause idea I made lot of good progress.
So here’s the situation: I have a problem with training ADD, as every shiny new program or article I read convinces me I need to be doing something fancy and new or I will become weak and small. Essentially, I decided to say fuck it, and train with a traditional bodybuilding split, as that is what it seems like the truly big guys do.
My specific training goals are purely body building related. I have no desire to powerlift, and dont worry too much about the amount of weight I can move, though strength gains are always fun. Mainly, I want to hit the big 200 by Christmas at the same bf % I currently am. My bulk starts tomorrow, with the general idea that being a college student will make my access to the food I need whenever I need it lol. And RTD 51’s multiple times a day
The program I have settled on is a simple four day split:
mon Chest/Abs
tues Backthickness/Shoulders
wed Legs/Calves
thurs Backwidth/Traps
Fri Bi’s/Tri’s/Forearms
with exercise selection following a simple idea:
3 Movements done in a 3x8-12 fashion followed by a fourth isolation FST-7 style pump set per bodypart.
My question is this: Is this what I should be doing, training wise? I keep getting distracted by flashy programs. Lately WS4SB has been peaking my interest (read: I just watched Strong, the movie).
If you’ve gained a lean 25lbs, why are you changing your variables? Stay with what has been working for you until it doesn’t work anymore. Just keep it as is and eat more food since your caloric requirements have altered due to your weight gain. Don’t fix what isn’t broken. Switch out the lifts and mix the grips until you’ve exhausted the program.
Right, your programs fine. Although I would stay away from working your shoulders so close to your chest. Might strain the joints. And you say your more into aesthetics then powerlifting- but your going to get really big when you get stronger. Consider introducing sets of 5 into your program.
Above all, eat. And it does not have to be the cleanest- get in as many carbs as you can, and if you want to stay lean, have a cut-off time during the night
Thanks guys! To Trenchant, I just have never really tried doing a full on split as I outlined above, as I have a background as an athlete. Granted, my TBT program worked wonders this summer, but I just really need to try something new.
DropShot, thanks for the advice. I was using heavy sets of 5 in my TBT program that allowed me to make so much progress, so I was thinking of maybe doing the same thing again with a certain rep goal, say 40 or so, in mind. Also, as I am new to the concept of carb cutoffs in that I have never used them before, would i want to stop eating carbs after 7pm or something of the sort?
Lastly just an open question: cardio during a bulk, none or a ton (ala Dante Trudel)?
I too have and always will suffer from “training ADD” I hate having a completely set program, its just boring, and leaves nothing to the imagination. Its like if you and your gf did the same exact positions with the same number of thrusts eveery night.
There are a few options, but I think one of the easiest ones is to have a set program, but with something like 20-30 minuts of “free time” at the end. So one workout might be deadlift, then bench, and then 20 minutes of whatever (tricep ext., incline db press, face pulls, stepups, whatever)
The other option, which I naturally gravitated to over time was WS4SB or westside in general. Read up on it a bit, but basically it encourages workout ADD. There are a few considerations, like you have to plan out your heavy training sessions and you DE training sessions, and that all of your accessory work should have a purpose, but other than that you can pretty much do what you want.
If you see a cool new tricep exercise posted on T-Nation, or something posted for traps that looks cool, substitute it for some of your other accessory work and give it a try. You’ll know if its working based on your “main lifts” and then YOU can decide what works for you.
[quote]dankid wrote:
I too have and always will suffer from “training ADD” I hate having a completely set program, its just boring, and leaves nothing to the imagination. Its like if you and your gf did the same exact positions with the same number of thrusts eveery night.
There are a few options, but I think one of the easiest ones is to have a set program, but with something like 20-30 minuts of “free time” at the end. So one workout might be deadlift, then bench, and then 20 minutes of whatever (tricep ext., incline db press, face pulls, stepups, whatever)
The other option, which I naturally gravitated to over time was WS4SB or westside in general. Read up on it a bit, but basically it encourages workout ADD. There are a few considerations, like you have to plan out your heavy training sessions and you DE training sessions, and that all of your accessory work should have a purpose, but other than that you can pretty much do what you want.
If you see a cool new tricep exercise posted on T-Nation, or something posted for traps that looks cool, substitute it for some of your other accessory work and give it a try. You’ll know if its working based on your “main lifts” and then YOU can decide what works for you.[/quote]
Thanks for the response. The way you described the 20 to 30 minutes of free time at the end of your workouts is essentially what I did in my TBT split when I got to the single joint movements at the end of the workouts. It seemed to help keep me focused and keep me from ditching the routine, but I felt too scattered at times.
WS4SB really has piqued my interests! But i cannot decide if it will promote complete and total muscular growth in the sense I am looking for or if it will be more of a strength training template with direct size results.
[quote]jrl41090 wrote:
DropShot, thanks for the advice. I was using heavy sets of 5 in my TBT program that allowed me to make so much progress, so I was thinking of maybe doing the same thing again with a certain rep goal, say 40 or so, in mind. Also, as I am new to the concept of carb cutoffs in that I have never used them before, would i want to stop eating carbs after 7pm or something of the sort?
Lastly just an open question: cardio during a bulk, none or a ton (ala Dante Trudel)?[/quote]
I always figured that if you want volume, keep it to lighter or moderate weight. If you want to train for strength, as is what the five rep scheme would be leading you to, keep it short and sweet.
As for the carb cut-off, I’d say a good 4 or 5 hours before you go to sleep is a safe bet.
To each his own with the cardio. I run 2 miles 2-3 times a week, but I’m also only 170lbs at 5’5, so maybe I’m not the best person to answer.
