Size and Strength Suggestions

Once I get my 5 rep max bench up to 225 (215 max now)I am going to switch reoutines.

I am currently on Bill Starrs intermediate 5x5, I am ganining every week, but I’ve been on it for a couple months now so Im looking for somehting else.

I am limited to what i have in my basement which is a adj. bench, power rack, roman chair 350 oly pounds, and
some other odd and ends.

What do you suggest i do next, looking for size and strength.

[quote]DF85 wrote:

What do you suggest i do next, looking for size and strength.

[/quote]

Lift weights and eat?

I’ve been having a little luck with that. I know its not a lot but I went from 163 to 180 in about a month with out gaining much fat.

I eat pretty good, I an hooked on egg whites haha.

Anyone know any good push- pull routines? I rember seeing one where you bench like 2-4 times a week?

edit

the routine I’m trying to find was something like bench-rows so it was push-pull-push pull. It was not for ex Monday-push Wed-pull

I know I’m hard to follow

[quote]DF85 wrote:
Once I get my 5 rep max bench up to 225 (215 max now)I am going to switch reoutines.

I am currently on Bill Starrs intermediate 5x5, I am ganining every week, but I’ve been on it for a couple months now so Im looking for somehting else.

I am limited to what i have in my basement which is a adj. bench, power rack, roman chair 350 oly pounds, and
some other odd and ends.

What do you suggest i do next, looking for size and strength.

[/quote]
Why dont you try a reverse pyramid scheme? Do 2 warmup sets with 10 reps each for upper body. Then do 6 - 8 reps for first set. Then strip the weight down 5 or 10 pounds, and do as many as you can, then strip more weight off, and do as many as you can again. If you want add another set. For legs do 2 warmup sets with 20 reps. Then do 10 - 12 reps, then strip it down. Etc… I like to do up to 20 reps for my legs.

For the upper body I have recently started leaving only 1 minute in-between sets. For lower body my heart beats way to fast after doing squats and what not for such a short break. :slight_smile:

[quote]DF85 wrote:
Once I get my 5 rep max bench up to 225 (215 max now)I am going to switch reoutines.

I am currently on Bill Starrs intermediate 5x5, I am ganining every week, but I’ve been on it for a couple months now so Im looking for somehting else.

I am limited to what i have in my basement which is a adj. bench, power rack, roman chair 350 oly pounds, and
some other odd and ends.

What do you suggest i do next, looking for size and strength.

[/quote]

I would suggest trying Joe DeFranco’s WS4B, it is a westside-ish template that is very good IMO.

Leads to great gains and well as large strength increases. Do a search on this site or go and visit his site for the article.

[quote]Brett Tucek wrote:
Squats and Milk.

Not only will you gain size (all over) and strength, but you’ll become a man.[/quote]

Hell yeah! I can vouch for that, I do squats and leg presses every other day and try to drink a gallon of milk every day.

bumpity

The routine I am think of was from massmonsters.com if anyone was a member there.

[quote]DF85 wrote:
Once I get my 5 rep max bench up to 225 (215 max now)I am going to switch reoutines.

I am currently on Bill Starrs intermediate 5x5, I am ganining every week, but I’ve been on it for a couple months now so Im looking for somehting else.

I am limited to what i have in my basement which is a adj. bench, power rack, roman chair 350 oly pounds, and
some other odd and ends.

What do you suggest i do next, looking for size and strength.

[/quote]

How long have you been lifting? You don’t need to get too crazy if you are relitively new. Do a search and find a program you will stick with. Get away from the 5x5 for a while, but if it worked for you, then you can always come back to it.

You need to decide how many days/week you want to work out. Whether you want to do splits or full body, etc. Is your nutrition in check?

As far as exercises, you have everything you need. You can do squats, deadlifts, lunges, stepups, bulgarian split squats, stiff leg deadlifts, good mornings, all of your olympic movements and variations, military press, incline/flat/decline press, bent over rows, pullups, chinups, hypers, curls, nosebreakers, calf raises, probably many more, get creative.

Ive been lifting seriously for about 4 months now, My diet is much better than it ever was, but can get alot better.

I like doing bill starrs 5x5, I want to train for more size after i get my strength up more so im not sure what to do next.

Lifting 3 days a week is easiest with my work schedule. Not sure if i want to do a split or full body routine next.

[quote]DF85 wrote:
Ive been lifting seriously for about 4 months now, My diet is much better than it ever was, but can get alot better.

I like doing bill starrs 5x5, I want to train for more size after i get my strength up more so im not sure what to do next.

Lifting 3 days a week is easiest with my work schedule. Not sure if i want to do a split or full body routine next.[/quote]

I would recommend changing to more of a Westside program of DE Bench followed by ME Squat/deadlift the day after. Take a day off and do the same thing except reverse the ME and DE. You don’t have to go 4x a week: you can stick to the 3x a week but follow the schedule. It will keep things fresh at the gym and every monday will be a different workout instead of saying, “Okay, monday…time to bench again…” Do yourself a favor and get a set of Powerbands for your dynamic days: they will get your bench up in a hurry.

Also, eat and eat often. I would recommend forget about your 6-pack abs for a few weeks and eat at McDonalds a few hours before your workout. The extra calories will help quite a bit. There will be plenty of time to slim back down once you’ve reached your strength goals.

I weigh 164 and have a 405 bench, 405 DL and 455 squat so this stuff works!

[quote]DF85 wrote:
Ive been lifting seriously for about 4 months now, My diet is much better than it ever was, but can get alot better.

I like doing bill starrs 5x5, I want to train for more size after i get my strength up more so im not sure what to do next.

Lifting 3 days a week is easiest with my work schedule. Not sure if i want to do a split or full body routine next.[/quote]

If 3 days a week works out well, then do a 3 days a week full-body routine. Your a beginner-keep it simple. TBT or WS4SB are great starts.

[quote]shieldss wrote:
DF85 wrote:
Ive been lifting seriously for about 4 months now, My diet is much better than it ever was, but can get alot better.

I like doing bill starrs 5x5, I want to train for more size after i get my strength up more so im not sure what to do next.

Lifting 3 days a week is easiest with my work schedule. Not sure if i want to do a split or full body routine next.

I would recommend changing to more of a Westside program of DE Bench followed by ME Squat/deadlift the day after. Take a day off and do the same thing except reverse the ME and DE. You don’t have to go 4x a week: you can stick to the 3x a week but follow the schedule. It will keep things fresh at the gym and every monday will be a different workout instead of saying, “Okay, monday…time to bench again…” Do yourself a favor and get a set of Powerbands for your dynamic days: they will get your bench up in a hurry.

Also, eat and eat often. I would recommend forget about your 6-pack abs for a few weeks and eat at McDonalds a few hours before your workout. The extra calories will help quite a bit. There will be plenty of time to slim back down once you’ve reached your strength goals.

I weigh 164 and have a 405 bench, 405 DL and 455 squat so this stuff works!

[/quote]
Why is everyone so quick to recommend a “Westside” program? Beginners like this kid are not ready for powerlifting programs like that, nor the bands that go with that. But the modified WS4SB would work well because of the RE day instead of your precious DE day. Don’t brag about your numbers and suggest that he should train like you.

I wasn’t trying to brag about numbers, I was just telling him that I have a similar body size/weight and this is what works for me. As for my “precious” DE day: it works and alleviates the boredom of constant repetition. If anything, use it as a day to work on technique with lighter weights to prepare yourself for lifting heavy later down the road.

That said, I agree with you that the modified WS4SB is a good alternative, too. With the equipment and goals listed, these seem like two strong options for getting started.

Anyone try “training for maximal size”?

Did you see results in size? Also what would be a good diet to follow doing such a routine? I am on no set diet now, just trying to eat 4-6 times a day all good food.

[quote]DF85 wrote:
Anyone try “training for maximal size”?

Did you see results in size? Also what would be a good diet to follow doing such a routine? I am on no set diet now, just trying to eat 4-6 times a day all good food.[/quote]

Read Berardi’s Massive Eating

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459429

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459431

I’m going to have to second the WS4SB suggestion… it’s an excellent program that will hit every muscle in your body hard. It’s quite a change from Bill Starr’s 5x5… I’ve done both and they are equally excellent for different reasons.