Thread: Bulking routine needed!

just do your basic movements but go 6-8 reps per excersise. 3-4 excersises per bodypart. 3 for small bp and 4-5 bigger bp. and eat quality meals and do calves, abs everyday. do a 4 on 1 off 3 on 2 off routine. but i dont no how many yrs consecitively u been lifting. if its 2-4 yrs follow this under 2 yrs consistently do mon, tues, wed off, thurs, fri, off sat , sun. but u be better off googling or doing your own research on bulk routines. or just let people contribute on this thread and choose the one that fits u and your needs. this is just wat i do.

yh im hoping some people who know what they are talking about will help me on this thread, i have designed programs in the past for myself but have not had much success with them, my diet is fine etc so i was thinking of maybe trying one of the more known routines that are designed, the famous ones i suppose that work extremely well, or even a routine that will work well?

actually having searched this forum, the net and bodybuilding.com before most people seem to have success with the 5x5 program

But i have a few questions

i always thought lower reps was for strenght rather then size?

is it okay to squat 3 times a week?

i was reading up on the page i got this table from and im a little confused, like on the monday session i have to do 5 reps of 5 sets, but i think it said i need to increase the weight by 10% or so on each set, is this true or can i just use drop sets each set to reach my target of 5 reps?

Finally is there a better bulking routine out there that packs on more muscle then this program?

i have read good things on this program though and it seems to be recomended by a few peolple on this forum on peoples threads

Are you sure your diet is fine? If you're not gaining weight its your diet thats to blame whatever your program is.

^^^sure u can squat 3 times a week but it might be a little to much to recover from, i would go 2 times wk. fuck that 5x5 shit. if u do low reps your going to get more muscle cells working, in turn more size. how long excactly have u been lifting without a break in training, meaning no days missed, like me i missed the last time in 1999. tell me that, give some stats as i dont no wat to tell u with no info.

I know i have a good diet i have put in plenty of effort and research to make it good, its not rather my programs are bad its just that i have seemed to plateau.

welll i was on holiday for 3 weeks and got back a few days ago, been researching quite a bit on routines and 5x5 routine seems to be sucessfull especially is you have been plateauing, so you would not recomend 5x5 unclem?

im 22 been training a couple months away from 2 years
6ft
body fat percentage of 15%
and i weigh 197 pounds

Exercise

Sets x Reps

Details

Monday

Squat

5x5

Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday's heavy triple)
Bench

5x5

Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday's heavy triple)
Barbell Row

5x5

Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday's heavy triple)
Assistance: 2 sets of weighted hypers and 4 sets of weighted sit-ups

Wednesday

Squat

4x5

First 3 sets are the same as Monday, the 4th set is repeating the 3rd set again
Incline or Military

4x5

Ramping weight to top set of 5
Deadlift

4x5

Ramping weight to top set of 5
Assistance: 3 sets of sit-ups

Friday

Squat

4x5, 1x3, 1x8

First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Bench

4x5, 1x3, 1x8

First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Barbell Row

4x5, 1x3, 1x8

First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Assistance: 3 sets of weighted dips (5-8 reps), 3 sets of barbell curls and 3 sets of triceps extensions (8 reps)

thats the table i had got and on the website i got it from, but i do not understand if i have to keep the same weight say throughout the program for the 5 sets for 5 reps or if i can use drop sets, but i think it said that if i use the same weight i will burn out and wont last long on the program, so thats the part i do not understand?

what can i substitute the squat on a wednesday with?

or do i have to keep increasing the weights on each set so the first set of 5 is the lightest and gradullay get heavier in each of the 5 sets of 5 reps

iv been researching more and the correct term is ramping up the weight or using straight sets for the monday set of 5x5 etc? Thats what i meant to say.....

actually scrap that have been researching more and its best to ramp up i have sorted that issue out.

but what about squating 3 times a week?

Bro you need to look up GVT or H.I.T, super squats.......and eat like a monster! serious if you do one of those programs and eat like a monster you will grow trust me!

Eat lots of rice, beef, chicken fish, greens, throw in a gainer shake, and some milk and banana's some eggs.

do that for 4 to 6 weeks and you will be happy.

Training routines very by person. Not every exercise effects all people the same. The exercises recommended are a baseline for you to tweak a program of your own based on how the exercises feel.
Remember that your time in the kitchen is as important as your time in the gym. You need to try to eat every 3 hours or so to ensure that your body is getting the proper nutrients to recover and grow.

What's your background i.e years in & past routines. The westside routine (IMO one of the best PLing routines out there) is probably not the best for someone who is just starting out. Wendler's 5/3/1 is another one you should consider.

Originally Posted by mofo

I know i have a good diet i have put in plenty of effort and research to make it good, its not rather my programs are bad its just that i have seemed to plateau.

Your size/weight gains have plateaued or your strength gains have plateaued?

size gains

You need to eat more. It's obvious.

i naturally have a slow motabilism, and i eat way over my caloire limiit i eat 21 times my weight in pounds into calories, i have pretty much made the optimum diet, infact its so suffieciant i do stay the same weight the next day, if i eat any more i will put on fat and i used to be a big boy 16 and a half stone of fat when i was 14 som i no about my body, diet is not the issue

i have taken a three week brake off, went on holiday and have come back looking to start a fresh routine, one that i have not made myself but a proven one, have heard good things about wendlers and 5x5 routine, which one would be recomended, if theres better routines out there even better?

Originally Posted by mofo

diet is not the issue

Yes it is.

Enter your diet into fitday.com and report back to us with the foods, portion sizes, and grams/calories from protein, carbs, and fat. We'll tell you if your diet is good.

Allow me to say it again:

IF YOU'RE NOT GAINING WEIGHT, YOU'RE NOT EATING ENOUGH!!!!

i can tell u how much i eat i count calories grams of protein ect

4000 calories someites a tad less
300 grams of protein
450 grams of carbs
150 of fat

shake with eggs and oatmeal
brown pasta with smoked makeral filltes
pre shake
post shake with a sugary fruit
salmon or tuna with sweet tates/ brown rice and vegetables
steak with white tates and vegetables
almonds and walnuts with tiger prawns/ smoked salmon
cottage cheese and peanut butter

i do eat alot you have to understand i have a slow motabilism and to eat that much and stay the same weight the next day is good, im on a lean bulk i do not want to put on a ton of fat as well, if anything the amount of protein and carbs and fats are more important then calories, yes they help but i know a ton of people who do not go to body building extremes eat all the caloires they can, and are big

im not a hardgainer at all i was putting on muscle fine before but im been finding it difficult the last few months eating that much worked before, i just have seemed to stall which is why i want to change my routine and try something new and radical that my body has not experienced before

I don't really understand the problem then.

You came to us saying you had plateaued in terms of gaining size. Now you are saying that it is good that you weigh the same each day.

Which is it?

haha what i mean was before the weight went up naturally i progressed as i put on muscle, i put on all my muscle without adding fat, the only time i added on fat was on my cheat day.

But now im stalling iv followed the same rule of eating 21 times your bodyweight in pounds to eating that amount in caloires, i dont think anyone here can tell me that that is not enough, if i eat more i put on fat the next day and so on,

if I eat exactly the right amount i put on no fat but muscle. I have not put on any muscle size of late just fat when i uped my calolries slightly to see if that would work, i put on half a stone without any noticeabal difference in muscle size just waist geting a bit larger so i think i need a good solid routine, not of the traditionaly bodybuilding type I think my body is used to that kind of training, when you only train once mucle group per week etc, so i think i need a new routine,

been looking up and 5x5 looks good wendlers seems interesting so i would proably like to do one of those, gains seem to be very good on 5x5 thou from what i have read

It does not matter what you say is enough. If your goal is to add muscle (i.e. weight) and you are not gaining weight then....wait for it....

YOU'RE NOT EATING ENOUGH!!!

Apparently, you are burning exactly the same amount of calories as you're eating and you don't have the extra "muscle building" caloriess that a bulk requires. Therefore, eat more. The best program in the world is not going to give you any gains if you are not eating enough for your body to produce them.

But, I am with gtbmed. WTF is the problem?

Originally Posted by mofo

i naturally have a slow motabilism, and i eat way over my caloire limiit i eat 21 times my weight in pounds into calories, i have pretty much made the optimum diet, infact its so suffieciant i do stay the same weight the next day, if i eat any more i will put on fat and i used to be a big boy 16 and a half stone of fat when i was 14 som i no about my body, diet is not the issue

i have taken a three week brake off, went on holiday and have come back looking to start a fresh routine, one that i have not made myself but a proven one, have heard good things about wendlers and 5x5 routine, which one would be recomended, if theres better routines out there even better?

Unless you plan on "supplementing" with the magical muscle drugs, you should just forget the dream of gaining loads of muscle without fat gains. The burden of natural muscle building is that you're going to gain fat. It sucks, but it's how it goes. The sooner you accept that, and adjust your diet accordingly, the sooner you'll start seeing muscle gains again.

You can bulk on a fairly aggressive surplus, with minimal fat gain, though. The catch is you have to keep a very close eye on your diet, and if you can handle it eat the same things every day, or close to. Consistency in diet helps you see what works and what doesn't. Even the slightest adjustments like an extra tablespoon of flax oil versus olive oil can make a difference in the long run.

Don't forget about burning calories from exercise and daily activities, which will bring down your net surplus for muscle building. My maintenance is about 3,000-3,200. I bulk at about 3,700 to 4,200 depending on the day. That's a lot of calories right? Well, when you factor in calories burned from my training, cardio, and general day to day walking and whatnot I end up with a smaller number. Even if I net 300 calories it will take about 12 days to gain 1 lb of fat. Also, the better the calories you take in the more efficient your body will use those calories to contribute to muscle building and energy production.

Everyone says it's all about calories. While you do need a surplus, people too often neglect to address calorie quality. A good muscle building diet isn't 3 cans of tuna, 4 protein shakes, and some pizza and mr.noodles. You need to be very diligant if you want your body to build muscle. Your body doesn't want muscle; it's metabolically expensive and thus counterproductive to your survival. This is why you have to provide the absolute best dietary resources to put your body in the ideal anabolic state to facilitate tissue growth.

Some general formulae for:

Protein: 1-1.5g per pound of lean body mass (LBM) -- keep this number consistent, always...when bulking you have more leeway with the extra calories from fat and carbs, but when cutting things change...if you bulk on the lower end of this formula then move up to the higher end when cutting...I always use the higher end (1.5g per lb)

Fat: 0.5-0.75g per pound LBM -- this is a suggested minimum. Increase if you like. Just note that fat doesn't cause fat gain. Excess calories cause fat gains, regardless of the calories' nutrient origins.

Carbs: There are so many formulae for bulking carbs. I'd say something like 1.5-3g per pound LBM, but really it doesn't matter.

A general rule of thumb I follow: figure out your protein, then your fat. Once you have those numbers at your assumed ideal, fill in the rest with carbs. Carbs are expendable -- protein and fats (trans excluded) are not.

-don't avoid saturated, as it's necessary for testosterone production

-eat the egg yolks: they contain not only half the egg's protein but the majority of the vitamins/minerals; also, don't worry about the cholesterol -- dietary cholesterol has no proven link to blood cholesterol (that would be trans and to a lesser degree saturated fat, but most of all if you're genetically predisposed to suffer heart conditions)

-good "clean" fat sources: eggs, olive oil, flax seed oil, seeds, nuts, avocado, mayo, most fish, natural peanut butter

-good "complex" carb sources (i.e. slow burning): whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bagels, whole wheat bread/wraps, potatoes, sweet potatoes, oats (avoid pre-packaged flavoured oatmeal, as it's loaded with sucrose), rice, quinoa, fibrous green vegetables

-good protein sources: eggs (100% bioavailability: your body absorbs all of the protein), whey isolates, chicken, fish (salmon, tuna (yellowfin has virtually no mercury -- albacore does), tilapia, etc), beef (ground beef is considerably cheaper than most steak cuts), pork, turkey, milk, cottage cheese.

-digital food scales are a wise investment for weighing/portioning your food

-your body prefers whole foods (non-processed); avoid bars, cereals, shakes, etc, when possible

-general rule of thumb: no more than 1/5 daily protein from supplements

-the smaller meals through the day theory was debunked a while back; arrange your meals not by advice from mainstream bodybuilding sites but by comfort. I eat 5 meals a day, not because I think it's necessary to progress, but because I feel more comfortable feeding steadily throughout the day

-again, don't worry about mainstream egg myths like "only twice a week". I've been eating 4 a day in the 2 years I've been bodybuilding/powerlifting. In that time, my weight has increased from 140-145lbs at 10% bf to 192-195 lbs at 10% BF. My waist has remained a 32. I can deadlift 300 lbs, yet also run a half marathon in a respectable time. I'm even considering up'ing to 6 eggs a day. Don't buy into egg myths. Eggs are too useful to people like us.

-drink plenty of water (I drink about 8L a day...up to 12 in the summer)

-consider the calories/nutrients from often overlooked sources like condoments...1 cup of a typical pasta sauce will have 150 calories and up to 25g sugar...while it may taste good, there usually is little to no healthy fats, quality protein, etc....no the most useful food source...nothing wrong with eating foods that aren't the most efficient, but consider portion control...limit yourself to 1/2 cup sauce (80 cals, 1.5g fat, 11g sugar, 2g protein = not very useful) to a 170g (600 cals, 120g carbs, 24 protein = very productive) serving of whole wheat spaghetti. Ensure the pros far outweigh the cons and you're fine. I call this the calories to useful nutrients ratio. I make salmon sandwiches and wraps pretty much every day. It's common to use tartar sauce as a condoment in fish sandwiches. Instead, I use avocado, which is not only lower in calories by weight but also provides much more nutrient-dense, productive calories. No fluff.

Originally Posted by mofo

But now im stalling iv followed the same rule of eating 21 times your bodyweight in pounds to eating that amount in caloires, i dont think anyone here can tell me that that is not enough, if i eat more i put on fat the next day and so on,

Holy shit! If eat eat exactly 21cals X my BW then I am ONLY going to put on muscle and no fat even if I burn 30cals X my BW.

i know about what to eat nutrionally thats not a problem, i eat all the egg yolks, drink 5 litres of water a day etc
i eat a shit ton of food and i forgot to say i only work saturdays and sundays and do no cardio so my calorie expense is fine, and as i said before i uped my calories gained half a stone put on no noticeable muscle but got a larger gut so that tells me i need a change in style of training

im asking for some help and advice on a training routine, thanks for helping me with the diet issue but i know thats not the probelm overwise some of that half a stone i put on would of been muscle not all fat

so can u please point me in a direction of a training routine thats been proven to work!

Originally Posted by mofo

i forgot to say i only work saturdays and sundays and do no cardio

so can u please point me in a direction of a training routine thats been proven to work!

Ahh there is the problem right there. Only working out 2 days a week is not going to cut it. You need at least a 3rd day for sure otherwise you are just trying to cram way too much into 2 days.

I would suggest this

Day 1
Chest / Triceps

Day 2
Back / Biceps

Day 3
Shoulders / Legs