What Routine, P/P/L or Upper/Lower

Hi guys,

I’ve been lifting for around 8 months now.
Stats: 5,8"
145 lbs
3100 cals

Bench 150
Squat 200
Deadlift 220

I want to try a new split now (my stats aren’t tremendous) but i’ve been searching and found two routines:

a PPL on 8 days rest PPL rest PPL

DAY 1
Bench Press, 4 sets x 6-8 reps
DB Bench Press, 3 sets x 6-8 reps
Barbell Military Press, 3 sets x 6-8 reps
Close Grip Bench Press, 3 sets x 6-8 reps

DAY 2
Deadlift, 4 sets x 5-8 reps
Pulldowns, 3 sets x 6-8 reps
DB Curls, 3 sets x 6-12 reps
Ab work, 2 sets, 10-25 reps

DAY 3
Squat, 4 sets x 5-8 reps
Front Squats, 2 sets x 5-8 reps
Romanian Deadlifts, 3 sets x 6-10 reps
Calf Exercise, 3 sets x 8-20 reps

DAY 4: OFF DAY

DAY 5
Bench Press, 4 sets x 6-8 reps
Incline Bench Press, 3 sets x 6-8 reps
Dumbbell Military Press, 3 sets x 6-8 reps
Seated Overhead DB Triceps Extensions, 3 sets x 6-8 reps

DAY 6
Pendlay BB Rows, 3 sets x 5-8 reps
T-bar Rows/Low Pulley Rows, 3 sets x 6-8 reps
DB Curls, 2 sets x 6-12 reps
Power Shrugs, 2 sets x 6-10 reps
Ab work, 2 sets, 10-25 reps

DAY 7
Squat, 4 sets x 5-8 reps
Front Squats, 2 sets x 5-8 reps
Stiff Leg Deadlifts, 3 sets x 6-10 reps
Calf Exercise, 3 sets x 8-20 reps

And a upper lower Upper (Light)

Incline DB 4-6 x 6-10
Horizontal Row 2-3 x 6-10
OHP 2-3 x 6-10
Horizontal Row 2-3 x 12-15
Flies 2-3 x1 2-15
Tricep Extension 2-3 x 12-15
Bicep Curl 2-3 x 12-15

Lower (Heavy)

Squat 3-5 x 3-5
Deadlift 3-5 x 3-5
Leg Curl 2-3 x 6-10
Calf Raise 4-6 x 6-10

Upper (Heavy)

Bench Press 3-5 x 3-5
Horizontal Row 3-5 x 3-5
Chest Press 2-3 x 6-8
Vertical Row 3-3 x 8-12
Lateral Raises 2-3 x 8-12

Lower (Light)

Squat 4- x 8-12
Lunges 3 x 6-10
Calf Raise 4 x 6-10
Hack squat 3 x 8-10
Leg Curl 3 x 12-15

Upper (Light) - Weak body part training day example

Skullcrusher 3x6-8
Triceps extension 2x10-12
Vertical row 2 x 10-12

For you what seems the best routine ? My primary goal is muscle gain.

Or what do you suggest me if the 2 routines above aren’t good for you ?

Thanks in advance guys

I’ve always preferred upper/lower to push/pull and full body to both but it’s a question of preference more than anything. I think at the minute, the results you get will be down to how well you execute the plan, rather than the plan itself. That includes how well you work in the gym, but more importantly, how you work outside. How much weight have you gained on 3100 kcal?

Hi,

Thanks for the tips, i started at a very low weight this
past summer (125 lbs) due to average calories (1900-2600) my knowledge was really poor, i was running 2-3 Times a week for 45 minutes, usually coing to the gym 3 Times per week (basically i just wanted to lose weight and get a low bf).So i gained 22 pounds but my calories were messy until january (i was like 135-140 in january) i tried a lot of trainings, It sucks ahah. And i went from like 8-9% bf to 11-13% today :). So i gained like 2-3 kilos on 3100 calories ATM and i’m slowly gaining weight

I was also thinking about “mixing” the two routines to make a ppl with power and hypertrophy days (with some different exercices on the strenght and hypertrophy days)

[quote]Carayz wrote:
So i gained like 2-3 kilos on 3100 calories ATM and i’m slowly gaining weight[/quote]

If I’m reading this right, you’ve gained about 2-3 kgs in 2-3 months? So far, so good. Have you noticeably gained strength?

In my opinion the 3 most important things you need to meet your goals are:

  1. Lift Heavy Shit. You’re doing this, any of the options you’ve given will do a perfectly good job of this element. The finer points are not that important, pick one you’re happy with and do it.

  2. Eat plenty of food. Your rate of scale growth tells me you have this pretty much down, kudos.

Which leaves us with:
3) Eat (mostly) quality food. I’ve always gone by the rule of thumb that quantity of calories determine size and quality determines “softness”. Sooooooo, what exactly did you eat yesterday?

[quote]dagill2 wrote:
I think at the minute, the results you get will be down to how well you execute the plan, rather than the plan itself. That includes how well you work in the gym, but more importantly, how you work outside. How much weight have you gained on 3100 kcal?[/quote]

+1

Yes dude, approximatly, that’s right. Yes especially on squats and dl.

i’m a “flexible dieter” so usually i use a 70/30 or 80/20 ratio It depends but no problem. Yes i understand that, thanks for the advice, so i have to choose between the 2 routines ahah

[quote]Carayz wrote:
Yes dude, approximatly, that’s right. Yes especially on squats and dl.[/quote]
Good stuff. Even when your goal is to build size, strength gains are pretty crucial to making sure you’re actually building muscle. A problem some guys fall into is eating a ton of calories and gaining bodyweight, but since they don’t really push themselves in the gym, it ends up being mostly bodyfat.

As far as the particular programs, either on is fine in general, but I don’t care for the redundant exercise choices you have laid out in that specific push/pull plan.
I’d consider a pre-designed routine like this one (an upper/lower split):

Or pretty much anything from Chad Waterbury.

[quote]Carayz wrote:
Yes dude, approximatly, that’s right. Yes especially on squats and dl.

i’m a “flexible dieter” so usually i use a 70/30 or 80/20 ratio It depends but no problem. Yes i understand that, thanks for the advice, so i have to choose between the 2 routines ahah [/quote]

Good stuff.

70/30 ratio of what to what? I’m confused by this.

Thanks dude i’ll give a look.

Anyone else ?

For the 70/30 i mean 70% “clean foods” and 30% processed foods like fries or biscuits, cake, icecream things like that. But everything fits my macro

I

[quote]Carayz wrote:
For the 70/30 i mean 70% “clean foods” and 30% processed foods like fries or biscuits, cake, icecream things like that. But everything fits my macro
I[/quote]

Gotcha.

My opinions on this are that we all know that if we eat 100% clean 100% of the time, we’ll get better results. Most of us also realise that this will drive us insane in a very short space of time. It’s up to you to find the balance that works for you.

Just a random note, but Hong Kong has the longest living people in the world (there might have been some later studies, but this goes back to 2012ish). That’s with all the pollution and all the effects that has on the food supply, and Hong Kong’s food isn’t known as the “cleanest” when it comes to Chinese regional styles. Most of the Chinese food outside of China, the heavily sauced, sweetened stuff, are based in the Cantonese cooking of areas like Hong Kong.

For a long time, the very clean eating rural Japanese people had the title of longest living people in the world, but I think it’s interesting to note that Hong Kong has overtaken them. I think we often make the mistake of glorifying/romanticizing the poor simple rural lifestyle.

That said, neither are consuming donuts and soft drinks like they’re going out of style.