Thread: too much? too little? help me out

Looks like you have a decent routine. Maybe you just need to eat more. How much protein are you taking in? Some people just have a hard time gaining due to genetics. How old are you? I didn't start gaining weight until my late 20's.

I think you're doing a bit too much, but that's just me. I would suggest cutting back on your volume and days at the gym - too many days and days in a row IMO.

Try doing 2-3 exercises for large body parts and 1-2 for small body parts.

Sets for large can be 3-4 and 2-3 for small.

8-10 reps for upper body and 12-15 reps for legs. Abs can be as high as 15-25.

Also, increase your warm-up reps to 15-20.

Stick to the basics…

And your days at the gym, maybe a day off in between each training session, and then repeat your cycle?

Or group some body parts together like (back and chest) (legs) (delts, tri, bis). Or (one of my favorites): back, chest, and delts one day, then a day off, then legs and arms and then two days off. Then repeat.

I started to make great gains – in size and strength - when I increased the intensity, dropped the volume, and took more time to rest and recuperate in between training sessions.

Less is more.


Anyway, here’s my slant:

Day 1 Back, Traps

Bentover BB Rows
3 x 8-10
Wide Grip Chins (weighted)
3 x 8-10
(Seated pulley rows?)
2-3 x 8-10
DB Shrugs
2 x 8-10

Day 2 Shoulders, Biceps

Seated Military Press
1 warmup 12-15
3 x 8-10
(upright rows?)
2 x 8-10
DB Side Lat raises
2 x 8-10
BB Preacher Curls (standing)
(or Barbell curls here instead?)
3 x 8-10
DB Hammer Curls
2 x 8-10


Day 3 Cardio 30min jog followed by various abs

Day 4 Chest, Triceps

Flat BB Press
1 warmup 12-15
3 x 8-10
Incline DB Press
2 x 8-10
Flat DB Flyes
2 x 8-10
Skull Crushers BB
3 x 8-10
Cable Pressdowns
2 x 8-10



Day 5 LEGS!

Squats
1 warmup 12-15
4 x 12-15
Leg Extensions
3 x 12-15
Stiff Leg Deadlift
3 x 10-12
lying leg curls
2 x 12-15
Standing Calf Raises
2 x 12-15
seated calf raises?
2 x 12-15

Day 6 OFF

Day 7 Cardio 30min jog followed by various abs

Day 8 Repeat...

Eat more...far more. You should be eating at least every 3 hours. Base each meal around 30-40g of protein and good sources of carbs and fats. If you truly want to bulk, you need to cut out the cardio. Those calories that you are burning off with cardio need to stay in your body to fuel muscle growth.

hey man
im a former super skinny guy, i know for a fact i did not start growing until i turned eating into a job. it sucks actually. but you gotta do it. eat all the frigging time. just ate? make a protein shake. take a protein shake before your workout and immediatly after your workout, without fail. month in and month out. i would be getting home from the gym finishing my protein shake and immediatly start making my tuna sandwich (cause tuna is the miracle food). i have a small stomach too, i cant eat as much at one time as any of my freinds. i have learned to work with it.
any appetite stimulant you might find can be invaluable.

the good news is, if your an ectomorph similar to me, when you start eating enough, you can do these higher volume workouts and see results quite rapidly, as your body heals a bit faster than average.

I think my diet is up to par, but not sure... here it is.

Meal 1
1/2 cup (raw) steel cut oats
1/2 cup blueberries or strawberries
1/2 oz walnuts or almonds
8 egg whites
Meal 2
2 slices ezekiel bread
1 can tuna or 4 oz (raw) turkey/chicken breast
spinach/tomato
3 fish oil pills
Meal 3
1/2 cup brown rice or barley
1 cup veggies (broccoli/spinach/mixed etc)
5 oz (raw) turkey/chicken breast
1 tsp olive oil
Meal 4
1/2 cup (raw) rolled oats
1 cup skim milk
1/2 scoop whey
1 apple (small-medium)
Meal 5 (Pwo)
3/4 cup oats
1 medium banana
1 cup skim milk
1 scoop whey
Meal 6
5-6 oz sweet potato
1 cup veggies (broccoli/spinach/mixed etc)
5oz (raw) turkey/chicken breast
3 fish oil pills
Meal 7
1 cup cottage cheese
1 tbsp almond butter

comes out to around 2850, 340c, 250p, 60f

I could eat more, I guess, but alot of these meals are at work, and its hard to shove in more carbs without upping the protein too much.

Ive actually been training solid for about a year and a half, maybe two, just not really gaining too much. I am however, bigger than my avatar now.

Eat more. You could easily add in some more fat or carbs, but you have more than enough protein. There is nothing wrong with relatively high fat diets.

Oh yeah, and doing 9 sets for your biceps and like 12 sets for your triceps is a waste of time.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

Oh yeah, and doing 9 sets for your biceps and like 12 sets for your triceps is a waste of time.

as in too much? or too little?

Originally Posted by thajeepster

as in too much? or too little?

Way to much.

Originally Posted by thajeepster

as in too much? or too little?

Too much, by far. I don't even really do direct arm work. If you do your compound push/pull movements, then very little supplementary arm work is necessary.

yeah, thats the idea im getting... i think ive been a victim of classic overtraining. Ive worked out for years, but seen very little gains in weight (both physically and in the gym). Im thinking of switch over to the "hardgainer" style of push/pull 2-3 workouts per week training. Do you have any recommendations?

Like everyone already said eat and when you feel like you cant eat anymore force down some more food/shakes.

Well i got in 3000 cals, 375c, 220p, 68f today... so im feeling good. I did alot of research on hardgaining on the internet and i think it pertains to me, so i came up with a different, lower volume, compound movement routine. What do you think. Alot more emphasis is being placed on rest this time around also :

1 Pull

Deadlifts 2 x 12-15, 3 x 6-8
Chins (weighted) 3 x 6-8
Bent Over Row 3 x 6-8
Barbell Curls 3 x 6-8
Weighted Crunches 3 x failure

2,3 OFF

4 Push

Bench Press 2 x 12-15, 3 x 6-8
Dips (weighted) 3 x 6-8
Military Press 3 x 6-8
Close Grip Press 3 x 6-8
Hanging Leg Raises 3 x failure

5,6 Off

Day 7 Legs

Squats 2 x 15-20, 3 x 10-15
SLDL 3 x 10-15
DB Lunges 3 x 10-15
Calf Raises 3 x 10-15
Cable Crunches 3 x failure

8,9 Off

10 Repeat

??? Seems like not much to me, but im up for anything. Ive been training like this for years now and getting nowhere. Im going back to the basics.