Rate my Routine for Adding Muscle

They would already be doing conventional deadlifts on back day, and doing both romanian or stiff leg deadlifts and conventional deadlifts in the same 4-5 day period is overkill and probably asking for problems.

Some people can handle it, most people probably wouldn’t like it. It’s an option.

And besides the fact that I never said there is a strict number of exercises I would have him do for a legs day, why wouldn’t it be enough? Going by what I laid out, a typical leg day would look something like this:

Back Squat 3xwarmup, 3x4-8
Leg Press 1xwarmup, 3x10
Lying Leg curl 1xwarmup, 3x8
Standing Calves 1xwarmup, 3x10
Seated Calves 3x10

If you need another exercise, you would add one. If you need less, you do less. What is the problem?

[quote]ois297 wrote:
hey guys, thanks for your replys. First off, I am not a beginner, I have been going from about january and gained roughly 7lbs of lean muscle. Therefore I would label myself in between beginner and intermediate.
[/quote]

You’re a beginner

[quote]ois297 wrote:
P.s. my primary goals are GROWTH, although I will try to push the numbers up every week
[/quote]

I was simply suggesting you switch up your priorities for the time being. As you admitted, you are small. The best way for virtually anyone but a veteran to get bigger is to get stronger.

Besides, you can use your strength that you gain to stimulate more hypertrophy down the road, since you’re capable of pushing more weight. So it’ll help you get big now, it will help you get bigger later on…that should be reason enough.

And best of all, you’ll have the strength to back up your looks.

[quote]mr popular wrote:
They would already be doing conventional deadlifts on back day, and doing both romanian or stiff leg deadlifts and conventional deadlifts in the same 4-5 day period is overkill and probably asking for problems.

Some people can handle it, most people probably wouldn’t like it. It’s an option.

And besides the fact that I never said there is a strict number of exercises I would have him do for a legs day, why wouldn’t it be enough? Going by what I laid out, a typical leg day would look something like this:

Back Squat 3xwarmup, 3x4-8
Leg Press 1xwarmup, 3x10
Lying Leg curl 1xwarmup, 3x8
Standing Calves 1xwarmup, 3x10
Seated Calves 3x10

If you need another exercise, you would add one. If you need less, you do less. What is the problem?[/quote]

You didn’t mention the rest of the exercise though, but the leg day looks pretty good. Sorry for any misunderstanding (but I still like RDLs better than leg curls, but that’s just me). And as calves are the high volume muscle I would think he should go up to 15-20 reps per set.

more candy bars.

[quote]ukrainian wrote:
You didn’t mention the rest of the exercise though, but the leg day looks pretty good. Sorry for any misunderstanding (but I still like RDLs better than leg curls, but that’s just me). And as calves are the high volume muscle I would think he should go up to 15-20 reps per set.[/quote]

That is why I simply said the workouts should be CENTERED around the basic mass-builders. How many exercises a person needs to do and what those exercises are beyond the basics is totally individual.

Romanian deadlifts are a great exercise, I hope you keep doing them since they obviously work for you.

I would also add that I think it’s a mistake for people to think of calves as being such a drastically different muscle group right off the bat.

There are always arguments about optimal stimulation… shoulders respond to heavy weight, calves respond to lots of reps, lats respond to deep stretching, etc.etc… you can argue all day about it, in the end it’s individual of course, but the one thing EVERY muscle group responds to is progressive overload. So I say make that the key guiding light in your mass-gaining training, not some arbitrary recommendation of “volume”.

[quote]mr popular wrote:
ukrainian wrote:
You didn’t mention the rest of the exercise though, but the leg day looks pretty good. Sorry for any misunderstanding (but I still like RDLs better than leg curls, but that’s just me). And as calves are the high volume muscle I would think he should go up to 15-20 reps per set.

That is why I simply said the workouts should be CENTERED around the basic mass-builders. How many exercises a person needs to do and what those exercises are beyond the basics is totally individual.

Romanian deadlifts are a great exercise, I hope you keep doing them since they obviously work for you.

I would also add that I think it’s a mistake for people to think of calves as being such a drastically different muscle group right off the bat.

There are always arguments about optimal stimulation… shoulders respond to heavy weight, calves respond to lots of reps, lats respond to deep stretching, etc.etc… you can argue all day about it, in the end it’s individual of course, but the one thing EVERY muscle group responds to is progressive overload.

So I say make that the key guiding light in your mass-gaining training, not some arbitrary recommendation of “volume”.[/quote]

True, very true.

… and not a word from the OP. haha

Maybe I offended him?

ha…no you didn’t offend me. I am not a woman.

I have taken your info into consideration and will use some of it. So thanks for that. I have been reading around and the main thing about bulking seems to be about upping the numbers in the core lifts and eating like a motherfucker.

Also, I have been talking to Iron addict over private mail and he reccommends that with my stats I should use his ‘simple based Power rountine’ and eat about 1.5kg of protein a day with a bit of morning cardio and see how that goes for a while.

www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8050

[quote]ois297 wrote:
ha…no you didn’t offend me. I am not a woman.[/quote]

Good to know.

Exactly.

Although I would add that when your goal is to get as big as possible and you want even development, the 3 powerlifts are the “most important” lifts to focus on so to speak, but exercises like barbell curls and calf raises are still “core” lifts in bodybuilding.

[quote]Also, I have been talking to Iron addict over private mail and he reccommends that with my stats I should use his ‘simple based Power rountine’ and eat about 1.5kg of protein a day with a bit of morning cardio and see how that goes for a while.

www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8050[/quote]

Sounds like an excellent plan. Have fun with it.

All lifts you do must go up in reps or weight every time you train them, not just the three powerlifts.[quote]

Also, I have been talking to Iron addict over private mail and he reccommends that with my stats I should use his ‘simple based Power rountine’ and eat about 1.5kg of protein a day with a bit of morning cardio and see how that goes for a while.
[/quote]
I guess it’s a mistype, but damn, 1.5 kilos a day? :wink:
go for about 2grams per lb of bodyweight…

Yes, it was a mistype :slight_smile:
2lbs of protein sounds a bit much but I will try my best to get that.

Also, yeah I will try up my lifts on everything as well as the core lifts!

I just hope I don’t get too fat in all this, as any time I gain weight that isn’t muscle it seems to sit on my midsection! :frowning:

If you see that you are getting fat, you either cut back on some kind of sugar or carb source you’re getting, or you up your cardio.

Now this doesn’t mean freak out and change your whole diet if you gain a couple inches on your waist or you lose sight of your lower abs.

Look at it this way: If you are gaining weight, and getting stronger on everything, then gaining a little bit of fat from month to month just means you know your muscles are growing at the fastest possible rate.

It’s a good thing, and the extra leverage and tissue you’re sporting is actually considered a safety tip in some bodybuilding circles.

Lots of protein + incremental gains in bodyweight + progressively heavier weights repped to failure = one huge guy in the making.

It is retarded to devote as much training time to your chest as to your whole lower body.

[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
Why would you give a beginner the advice of adding power cleans to his program for adding muscle?

The reality is that he won’t be able to use much weight, he probably won’t know how to do them properly, and he won’t have access to someone to teach him.

If he wants something for back or legs, he should stick with rows, chins, squats, deadlifts, etc.

Power cleans, snatches, etc., won’t do much for a weak beginner who hasn’t already packed on a good amount of size and strength.[/quote]

Wow I doubt you really read and understood what I wrote? To quote:

“- Power Clean from pins or blocks (this is easy to learn even for a newb)”

This is the simplest way of incorporating a power clean into a workout specifically for someone who is new to the exercise, and it will add impressive gains in traps, upper and middle back and to some extent even lower back muscle - you don’t know this?

There are plenty of great sites which show you how to perform this simple lift T-Nation happens to be one of them.

To the OP you should try these and incorporate them into your workout, as I said preforming them from pins or blocks (generally I set this so that the bar is just below my knees) really simplifies the movement making it easy to learn. It will yield significant strength and muscle gains and has the added advantage of also working your grip and forearms - try it.