Thread: Building my foundation..your input please

I'm finally listening to the guys who've advised in the past to really focus on building a solid foundation through a sound training and eating plan, when I was too engulfed in figuring out what supplements I "needed" to take.

I'm pretty much a novice bodybuilder...definitely not the total newbie--I have a fairly decent idea about what I'm doing, have read a lot of the material on these boards, words of Dante, Lyle, etc.

I'm currently training with this program:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/goulet17.htm

Following the "The New & Improved Complete Routine" portion of it.

Pretty much a football player's program..and so far it's working great for me because of the Mon Wed Fri schedule, and it makes sense to me that these compound exercises are going to help me build a solid base for me to continue on and work with.

What do you guys think about the shoulder work? I'm going to stick with barbell and dumbbell shoulder press (tried the machine and just didn't seem to hit it well for me). Is this the compound exercise for shoulders? I miss my upright row's..

My diet and supplement regime is almost exactly that of the XBC Diet:

http://challenge.bulknutrition.com/challenge_9.html

I'm taking my creatine, neurostim and ice.

I plan on following that training program for at least 2 months and re-evaluating at that point to either continue with variety, or to change up the program with a different split or schedule.

I'm tracking my gym progress and recording what I'm lifting, and am aiming to increase my weight every workout even if it's only a little, I want an increase.

I took Chizled this morning and plan on taking it prior to lunch as well..but I'm a bit unsure as to if I should take it now, or save it for a cutting cycle.

I've never done a bulk cycle and am currently thinking about it, but am discouraged when I look at myself to see that I've gained fat since the summer.

Would you guys advise that I throw in an extra chicken breast during lunch and extra meat at dinner to hit the 500 excess calories for the bulk?

I'm at a point where I just want to try what I think might work and figure it out on my own and just learn from my personal experiences. But it always helps to hear input from others and to follow a general guideline.

Haven't weighed myself in a while, a couple months back I was around 180 @ 17%bf
As I've said, i believe I've gained a little bit, so I just may be around 190, I will recheck this soon.

It's good to see you are well informed.

I'd advise keeping the 3 day a week routine, and keepng the volume low. Compound presses are key - military press, rows, deadlifts, squats, bench presses, and chin-ups. Dips too. Build your workout around those exercises.