Progress Slowing

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

I have been training consistently for about 1 year. I had hernia surgery a while back and was out for about 6 weeks. The problem I am having now is that my gains have begun to plateau. I think it has more to do with my diet than it does with my workout. I’m a poor college kid and can’t afford tons of groceries, but I do eat pretty clean. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

My Diet and workout are as follows.

Meal 1
3 Omega-3 eggs
2 slices wheat toast
3 links turkey sausage

Meal 2
1 Cup Oatmeal w/Peanut butter

Meal 3
Turkey Lettuce and Cheese Flatout wrap
Yoplait Yogurt
String Cheese

Meal 4
Detour Bar

Meal 5
8 oz lean ground beef, or chicken breast
1/2 yellow pepper
6 oz pineapple
1 cup spinach

Workout
1 scoop Grow! before and after.

I also take 2 caps of Carbolin 19 a day.

Workout for the past 4 weeks

Monday
Bench Press ? 6 sets
Reps - 12, 10, 8, 6

Dumbbell Flies ? 4 sets
Reps ? 10 to 12

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press ? 5 sets
Reps ? 5

Deadlift ? 3 sets
Reps ? 6 to 8

Standing Curls w/EZ Bar ? 5 sets
Reps ? 5

Tuesday
Squats ? 6 sets
Reps ? 5, 4, 3, 5, 4, 3

Romanian Deadlift ? 6 Sets
Reps ? 8

Front Squats ? 5 Sets
Reps ? 5

Leg Curls ? 5 Sets
Reps ? 5

Wednesday ? OFF!!

Thursday
Bent over Lateral Raises ? 3 Sets
Reps ? 10 to 12

Decline Bench ? 6 Sets
Reps ? 5, 4, 3, 5, 4, 3

Chest Supported Rows ? 4 Sets
Reps ? 8

Dumbbell Arnold Press ? 4 Sets
Reps ? 8 to 10

Straight Arm Pulldowns ? 4 Sets
Reps ? 12 to 15

Friday
Barbell Curl ? 6 Sets
Reps ? 8, 8, 6, 6, 4, 4

Decline Skull Crushers ? 4 Sets
Reps ? 12, 12, 10, 10

Hammer Curls ? 4 Sets
Reps ? 12, 12, 10, 10

Reverse Curls ? 4 Sets
Reps ? 8 to 10

Rope Pressdowns ? 4 Sets
Reps ? 8 to 10

Close Grip Bench Press ? 6 Sets
Reps ? 8, 8, 6, 6, 4, 4

Saturday ? OFF!!

Sunday

Push-ups
Dips
Pull-ups

Do 1 set of 8 each and then repeat the circuit 3 to 5 times with good form.

Side planks 2 sets per side holding for 30 seconds

2

When was the hernia?

What program were you on before this?

You routine looks extremely odd to me. You are doing deadlifts on Monday, and then again on Tuesday? Pushups Sunday, chest exercises on Monday?

From my limited experience, I would suggest focusing on one body part per session, and then giving it a proper rest.

Unless you know something I dont?

3

This was my old routine. I had the hernia surgery in the middle of October. My previous workout(s) were done up by a friend of mine who is a personal trainer. He recently moved away, so this new workout I put together myself by mixing and matching previous workouts from him.

Day: Monday - Chest/Quads heavy

A1 Bench press ? Barbell 8,6,4,8,6,4
6 sets 120 sec rest alternate A1 and A2

A2 Front squat ? Barbell 8,6,4,8,6,4
6 sets 120 sec rest alternate A1 and A2

B1 Low-incline DB press ? Dumbbells ? Hammer grip 8,7,6,5,4
5 sets 90 sec rest alternate B1 and B2

B2 Back Squat ? medium stance 8,7,6,5,4
5 sets 90 sec rest alternate B1 and B2

C1 Decline barbell press 12,10,8,6
4 sets 75 sec rest alternate C1 and C2

C2 Leg extension ? Feet turned out 12,10,8,6
4 sets 75 sec rest alternate C1 and C2

Day: Wednesday AM - Back/Hams heavy

A1 Row - Seated - EZ Bar - Pronated (palms down) Grip 8,6,4,8,6,4
6 sets 120 sec rest alternate A1 and A2

A2 Deadlift - Floor - Barbell - Wide Grip 8,6,4,8,6,4
6 sets 120 sec rest alternate A1 and A2

B1 Pulldown - Parallel Bar (Triangle) - Close Grip 8,7,6,5,4
5 sets 90 sec rest alternate B1 and B2

B2 Deadlift ? Starting at knees (in power rack)- Barbell ? medium grip 8,7,6,5,4
5 sets 90 sec rest alternate B1 and B2

C1 Pulldown - Straight Bar ? Supinated (palms to you) Grip 12,10,8,6
4 sets 75 sec rest alternate C1 and C2

C2 Leg Curl - Lying - Machine - Toes Neutral 12,10,8,6
4 sets 75 sec rest alternate C1 and C2

Day: Wednesday PM - Back/hams density

A1 Row - Bentover - Barbell - Medium Pronated Grip
4 sets 8-10 10 sec rest A1 and A2 are a superset

A2 Bentover lateral raise (rear delts)- DB ? Palms down
4 sets 12-15 60 sec rest A1 and A2 are a superset

B1 Deadlift (Romanian) - DB
4 sets 8-10 10 sec rest B1 and B2 are a superset

B2 Leg Curl - Lying - Machine - Toes Neutral
4 sets 12-15 60 sec rest B1 and B2 are a superset

C1 Pulldown - Straight Bar - Pronated (palms away from you) Grip
4 sets 8-10 10 sec of rest C1 and Cs are a superset

C2 Straight-arms pulldown
4 sets 12-15 60 sec of rest C1 and Cs are a superset

Day: Thursday - Shoulders/quads density

A1 Shoulder press ? Seated ? Palms forward grip
4 sets 8-10 10 sec rest A1 and A2 are a superset

A2 Lateral raise ? Seated
4 sets 12-15 60 sec rest A1 and A2 are a superset

B1 Hack squat machine
4 sets 8-10 10 sec rest B1 and B2 are a superset

B2 Leg extension ? Feet neutral
4 sets 12-15 60 sec rest B1 and B2 are a superset

C1 Arnold press
4 sets 8-10 10 sec of rest C1 and Cs are a superset

C2 Front raise ? Barbell
4 sets 12-15 60 sec of rest C1 and Cs are a superset

Day: Friday - Biceps

A1 Preacher curl ? Wide grip ? Elbows in
4 sets 8-10 10 sec rest A1 and A2 are a superset

A2 Dumbbell curl ? Seated ? Rotate on the way up
4 sets 12-15 60 sec rest A1 and A2 are a superset

B1 Standing barbell curl ? Close-grip
4 sets 8-10 10 sec rest B1 and B2 are a superset

B2 Standing Cable curl ? Close-grip
4 sets 12-15 60 sec rest B1 and B2 are a superset

C1 Dumbbell hammer curl
4 sets 8-10 10 sec of rest C1 and Cs are a superset

C2 Preacher reverse curl
4 sets 12-15 60 sec of rest C1 and Cs are a superset

Day: Saturday AM - Triceps

A1 Close-grip bench press
4 sets 8-10 10 sec rest A1 and A2 are a superset

A2 Cable triceps pressdown ? V-bar
4 sets 12-15 60 sec rest A1 and A2 are a superset

B1 Reverse-grip bench press ? medium grip
4 sets 8-10 10 sec rest B1 and B2 are a superset

B2 Cable triceps pressdown ? Straight bar ? Reverse grip
4 sets 12-15 60 sec rest B1 and B2 are a superset

C1 Decline dumbbell triceps extension
4 sets 8-10 10 sec of rest C1 and Cs are a superset

C2 Cable triceps pressdown ? Rope
4 sets 12-15 60 sec of rest C1 and Cs are a superset

Saturday PM is called Beach Work day. Any exercises you want to work on you can do for 30-45 min.

Do abs everyday a different exercise everyday for 4 sets of 8-20 reps.

4

Yeah, my first guess was to giggle. The first one is all over the place. The second one has an entire day to biceps and triceps each, and a day split between chest and quads (although quads get hit later on in the week).

I dunno man. Not really sure what to tell you. 20 Sets per bodypart should be plenty to get you to grow, and not enough (yet) to stop you from doing so. You’re working in entirely different rep ranges (which doesn’t make sense to me, but that’s likely because I like to completely exhaust one and then adjust it across the board).

It probably is nutrition. You probably need more food. Money is a decent excuse, but it’s still an excuse. There’s often free pizza goin on at college, hit up buffet’s at lunch-time, oatmeal and Olive oil are your friends.

Good luck.

5

Too much volume, not enough food.