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[Help] Bodybuilding/Mass workout

C

Console

Survival of the Fittest
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Get Shredded!
I've trained for powerlifting/strength my entire fitness life. The past 3 years of natty lifting have scored me a 425x1 deadlift (a month ago, probably higher now), 415x2 squat and 215x3 bench (my chest has always been weak as shit). The only negative to this is that, outside of my massive quads/legs in general, I don't look like I lift very much. Hell, my forearms are almost the width of my bicep (I haven't done a curl in almost a year). With the addition of gear, I plan on shifting my training to be a little more aesthetic (especially considering that I don't plan on competing in powerlifting in the near future, or at least not seriously).

This is what I came up with, and I'm almost ashamed by the fact I can pick out the flaws in the day spacing. Just looking for a little guidance, since most guides on the internet don't take gear into effect.

Monday (Back/Biceps):
Deadlift 3x5 (Increasing weight)
Rows 3x8
Bicep Curls 3x10 (1 of each: Strict/Hammer/Mix or Zottman)
Straight Curls 3x8
Lat Pulldowns 3x8 heavy supersetted with 3x8 light


Tuesday (Shoulder/Tri):
Military Press 3x8
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3x8
Shrug 3x8
EZCurl skullcrushers 3x10


Wednesday Off


Thursday (Legs):
Squats 3x5, 2 warmup sets
Leg curls 3x8
Calf raise 3x10
Farmers walk


Friday (Chest):
Pec Deck warmup (light)
Incline Flies 1x10
Flat Bench 3x8
Flat Flies 2x10

Weekends will most likely be off, unless I feel I need to add more arm work.
Click to expand...

Please, correct and mold me. The thing I'm most concerned about is the chest, I'm lacking any serious size or definition (took the "blast/shock" approach to it, whatever that means).
 
Size n strength are two different things. I don't have a muscular chest but just bc I don't doesn't effect my strength. 215 is a weak bench. Especially if other lifts are that much higher..
 
Tris10 said:
Size n strength are two different things. I don't have a muscular chest but just bc I don't doesn't effect my strength. 215 is a weak bench. Especially if other lifts are that much higher..
Click to expand...
Hence why I called 215 a weak bench and the entire point of this topic was to shift away from strength and more towards mass. Sorry bro, but this was a decently unconstructive post.
 
for chest i'm thinking: add another set to ur flat benching ( try rotating in incline and decline every other month or so)
- add another set of flyes
- 3 x 8-10 db bench ( incline db's if your doing flat bb bench / flat db's if you're doing incline bb bench )

back/bicep day:
- biceps after ur back work is done & throw in 2-3 sets of hammer curls after bb curls

legs:
- is that 3 total sets including warm-ups? i'd like to see a 4th set to 8 reps with about 10-15% less weight than ur last set

shoulders:
- 3-4 sets of lateral raises after ur 1st exercise
- 3 sets 10-12 of tricep pushdowns as last tricep exercise
 
No I think you're full of shit about how much you can lift! You say you can squat and deadlift over 400 pounds yet you can only bench 215.. what I said was I don't have a very defined chest at all, but that doesn't stop your strength from increasing. 215 seems to me like you skip your upper body a lot if you're doing over 400 on your legs. It takes more than just your chest muscles to bench. Smartass!
 
Tris10 said:
No I think you're full of shit about how much you can lift! You say you can squat and deadlift over 400 pounds yet you can only bench 215.. what I said was I don't have a very defined chest at all, but that doesn't stop your strength from increasing. 215 seems to me like you skip your upper body a lot if you're doing over 400 on your legs. It takes more than just your chest muscles to bench. Smartass!
Click to expand...

There are several guys on my ski team that fit this bill.

Console - If that is your workout routine, then my only advice is "eat more".
 
olz said:
for chest i'm thinking: add another set to ur flat benching ( try rotating in incline and decline every other month or so)
- add another set of flyes
- 3 x 8-10 db bench ( incline db's if your doing flat bb bench / flat db's if you're doing incline bb bench )

back/bicep day:
- biceps after ur back work is done & throw in 2-3 sets of hammer curls after bb curls

legs:
- is that 3 total sets including warm-ups? i'd like to see a 4th set to 8 reps with about 10-15% less weight than ur last set

shoulders:
- 3-4 sets of lateral raises after ur 1st exercise
- 3 sets 10-12 of tricep pushdowns as last tricep exercise
Click to expand...
As far as rotating between incline/decline, I've read a few studies that decline doesn't target anything harder than the flat bench (And even incline is only slightly better at hitting your pec's). Definitely will be adding more sets to chest/back/biceps though, sounds solid. Also, with legs, the 3 sets doesn't include warmups (that would be a weak ass leg workout lol). I'll also look into the shoulder/tricep additions, but I was mainly trying to use the skullcrushers as a finisher since they seem to hit my triceps the hardest. Still gonna give it a shot.

Tris10 said:
No I think you're full of shit about how much you can lift! You say you can squat and deadlift over 400 pounds yet you can only bench 215.. what I said was I don't have a very defined chest at all, but that doesn't stop your strength from increasing. 215 seems to me like you skip your upper body a lot if you're doing over 400 on your legs. It takes more than just your chest muscles to bench. Smartass!
Click to expand...
Well, for one, this is the internet, so I'm afraid I don't actually care what you have to say about my numbers. I started a thread to ask for advice in training for aestheticism/mass, not a burn thread or an argument thread or a numbers comparison thread. Your comment was not only completely unneeded, but you probably completely misread my post because I never linked my undefined chest to a weak bench, nor did I even say my chest was undefined in specific or that I was trying to get stronger. My entire body is undefined and I'm looking to change that, that's why I made this topic. I really don't want to start beef with people, so please understand why I'm going to ignore any further remarks.

Also, lol @ you giving me negative reputation. Just a reminder that I made this thread asking for help, and you did the opposite and even got upset because of it.

GSRacer said:
Console - If that is your workout routine, then my only advice is "eat more".
Click to expand...
Definitely. Hitting around ~3200-3400+ calories a day when I start injecting. I've been mostly on maintenance lately.
 
Last edited:
I didn't come in being a dick.. and I think its funny that you think im mad lol once again, read my original comment. All I said was that it doesn't matter if you're a hard gainer in a certain spot. That factor will not dictate your strength. I have areas, such as my chest, that's really difficult to get any results at all. My strength is consistent with the other areas of my body tho. ALSO, there are other muscles that assist in a lift like bench, like tricepts!!


Now, don't be a smartass or pissy at me when YOUR OP didn't make sense. Nothing about it sounds right! You've been training for years and you're a "POWER LIFTER" yet you only bench 215. Its not my fault that you're making yourself look ignorant. I simply made a statement in my original post. Nothing else!

And don't cry when you get neggged! Read through every post or thread I've ever made on here or IMF. I NEVER say anything to be an ass or disrespectful. YOU made an ass hole comment to me, so you were negged.

Good luck with your bench :)
 
Tris10 said:
I didn't come in being a dick.. and I think its funny that you think im mad lol once again, read my original comment. All I said was that it doesn't matter if you're a hard gainer in a certain spot. That factor will not dictate your strength. I have areas, such as my chest, that's really difficult to get any results at all. My strength is consistent with the other areas of my body tho. ALSO, there are other muscles that assist in a lift like bench, like tricepts!!


Now, don't be a smartass or pissy at me when YOUR OP didn't make sense. Nothing about it sounds right! You've been training for years and you're a "POWER LIFTER" yet you only bench 215. Its not my fault that you're making yourself look ignorant. I simply made a statement in my original post. Nothing else!

And don't cry when you get neggged! Read through every post or thread I've ever made on here or IMF. I NEVER say anything to be an ass or disrespectful. YOU made an ass hole comment to me, so you were negged.

Good luck with your bench :)
Click to expand...
Oh lord...you still don't get that I'm not saying my bench is weak because I'm unaesthetic...and you actually said I called myself a powerlifter (training like someone and being someone are two different things, I even said I don't compete)...just stop please...I really do think you're completely misreading everything in this topic or at least completely missed the point of my first post, and you're definitely coming off like an ass in these posts.
 
take note of ur overall caloric intake of the day - prob start logging it on sumthing like myfitnesspal - try increasing daily cal's by like 500 at least
 
IML Gear Cream!
olz said:
take note of ur overall caloric intake of the day - prob start logging it on sumthing like myfitnesspal - try increasing daily cal's by like 500 at least
Click to expand...
I do when I'm putting on weight (which I plan on doing very soon), calories isn't the main issue right now. Just looking to transition routines from SL5x5's and 5/3/1's (Only routines I've really used besides a shitty ABxABx split I used to do) to something more aesthetic/bodybuilding oriented.
 
Console said:
Hitting around ~3200-3400+ calories a day when I start injecting. I've been mostly on maintenance lately.
Click to expand...

Do you mean that 3200-3400 is your maintenance, or that's what you take for bulking after beginning your cycle? Just curious, what's your height/bf and how did you calculate the calorie target?
 
chocolatemalt said:
Do you mean that 3200-3400 is your maintenance, or that's what you take for bulking after beginning your cycle? Just curious, what's your height/bf and how did you calculate the calorie target?
Click to expand...
That's on bulk. 6'2, ~24% BF, and my maintenance should be around 2700-2800 from what I've been told and what various calorie calcs say.

I wish people would critique the plan rather than my diet....
 
I'll start off by wishing you good luck on your journey. I have been a BBer for some years although I started out training with mainly powerlifters. Very different training. To be very general for most body parts 3 or 4 movements done for 8-10 reps. For your program specifically take the shoulder/tri workout. The presses are great. drop the second press with dumbells , it's redundant. Follow presses with dumbell laterals to the sides, then to the front, and a rear delt movement like bent over dumbell raises. All for 3 to 4 working sets 8-10 reps. for triceps you only have 1 exersize. Choose 2 or 3 like skull crushers, then tricep pressdowns and say dips last. Remember you are now trying to train the muscle and cause it to grow in size and it requires much more volume . The amount of weight is irrevelant except it is a means to an end not the end in itself. You need to bring alot of intensity to really squeeze and contract the muscles hard flushing as much blood into the muscle as possible. keep rest to about 1 min. keep pushing the blood into the muscle, especially on gear it will feel like the skin is about to explode and the pain is searing, that's what you want. You mentioned chest. Your plan has a total of 6 sets, NG. Start with incline presses. 3 working sets. The last set of each you should reach momentary muscular falure on the last rep. Then flat benches, again 3 or 4 sets 8 reps min. Lastly a fly movement like dumbell flys or a pec dec. Are your delts alot bigger than your pecs ? If so it's your form on bench press and you will have to re -learn how to bench to make your pecs work harder. Doesn't look like much on paper these workouts but it's the fire in your heart and the raw desire that you bring to the gym that will make you succeed. Leave the iphone in the car, don't socialize during training. And of course diet, about 60 % of it. To grow 1.25 to 1.5 g of protein per pound of lean body mass. Lots of clean carbs to fuel this training. We could write about this for days this is just some thoughts to guide you and I wish you luck !
 
Console said:
That's on bulk. 6'2, ~24% BF, and my maintenance should be around 2700-2800 from what I've been told and what various calorie calcs say.

I wish people would critique the plan rather than my diet....
Click to expand...

I'm almost exactly the same stats as you, and 216 lbs as of today. A few different metabolism calcs have told me that my base is 3100, and closer to 3500 on days in the gym or cardio which is most days. So my target is 4000 calories for bulking. Anyway that's why I was asking, since the numbers seemed weird. In spite of the 4000 cals/day I'm having a hard time putting on any weight.
 
Tris10 Looking at your avi I don't think you should be giving advice to anyone bro! Your don't even look like you workout never mind juice! Lol I love the Internet!
 
chocolatemalt said:
I'm almost exactly the same stats as you, and 216 lbs as of today. A few different metabolism calcs have told me that my base is 3100, and closer to 3500 on days in the gym or cardio which is most days. So my target is 4000 calories for bulking. Anyway that's why I was asking, since the numbers seemed weird. In spite of the 4000 cals/day I'm having a hard time putting on any weight.
Click to expand...
Well, when I'm on cycle, the plan is to eat every opportunity given. I'm blessed with a black hole for a stomach, so I figure I'd rather put on a little flab and burn it later than not build muscle to my full potential.

So I guess the workout seems solid outside of the extra chest/arm reps that need to be added?
 
why not fix your routine...honestly, when i bulk, im 5'7 usually hitting 204lb last time round and 13%bf and i was eating 4800cals a day. SOMETHING in your diet must be off...that, and just mess around with your training. change your split, work around the chest if thats your focus. like for instance. you do tri's before chest during your week, flip it around and do chest before tri's. like chest on a monday, tri's on a thursday. what this does, is puts less strain on your tricep when doing bench and allows more weight to be moved and gives you three days until you do chest after tri's from thursday to monday instead of two days from tuesday to friday.

ever work out chest while the tricep is still store? shit sucks. also incorporate more volume. i see a 1x10? especially on flys which is where a big part of your chest will grow from because of the stretch of the tissue, why not hit 3 to 4 sets of 12-10-8 or something of that sort? also, work more towards dumbells instead of barbell, the free weights can do wonders, as they have for me.

mass is a total different aspect from strength, im not the biggest baddest s.o.b. in the gym movin big ass weight, but a lot of people stare because i do have some mass for my frame. but a lot of times, all it takes is some tweaking.
 
l69lou said:
I'll start off by wishing you good luck on your journey. I have been a BBer for some years although I started out training with mainly powerlifters. Very different training. To be very general for most body parts 3 or 4 movements done for 8-10 reps. For your program specifically take the shoulder/tri workout. The presses are great. drop the second press with dumbells , it's redundant. Follow presses with dumbell laterals to the sides, then to the front, and a rear delt movement like bent over dumbell raises. All for 3 to 4 working sets 8-10 reps. for triceps you only have 1 exersize. Choose 2 or 3 like skull crushers, then tricep pressdowns and say dips last. Remember you are now trying to train the muscle and cause it to grow in size and it requires much more volume . The amount of weight is irrevelant except it is a means to an end not the end in itself. You need to bring alot of intensity to really squeeze and contract the muscles hard flushing as much blood into the muscle as possible. keep rest to about 1 min. keep pushing the blood into the muscle, especially on gear it will feel like the skin is about to explode and the pain is searing, that's what you want. You mentioned chest. Your plan has a total of 6 sets, NG. Start with incline presses. 3 working sets. The last set of each you should reach momentary muscular falure on the last rep. Then flat benches, again 3 or 4 sets 8 reps min. Lastly a fly movement like dumbell flys or a pec dec. Are your delts alot bigger than your pecs ? If so it's your form on bench press and you will have to re -learn how to bench to make your pecs work harder. Doesn't look like much on paper these workouts but it's the fire in your heart and the raw desire that you bring to the gym that will make you succeed. Leave the iphone in the car, don't socialize during training. And of course diet, about 60 % of it. To grow 1.25 to 1.5 g of protein per pound of lean body mass. Lots of clean carbs to fuel this training. We could write about this for days this is just some thoughts to guide you and I wish you luck !
Click to expand...
Follow l69lou's suggestions, by far the most relative response to this thread yet. get into the, gym hit it hard. stay focused, train to failure,get out. Your stats? 6'2" 24% BF, I hope you clean up your diet. you'll never look like anything with BF numbers in that range.
 
Hey Tri's man your the spitting image of one of my buddies at the gym. Every time I see your profile pic I have to wonder if its you lol. Not hating on you like everyone else is (Just saying).....
 
Get Shredded!
flex365 said:
Follow l69lou's suggestions, by far the most relative response to this thread yet. get into the, gym hit it hard. stay focused, train to failure,get out. Your stats? 6'2" 24% BF, I hope you clean up your diet. you'll never look like anything with BF numbers in that range.
Click to expand...
Haha that's for sure. I don't plan on dipping lower than ~15-20% after the bulk, just trying to get the mass. A little bit of BF doesn't look terrible if you're muscular enough to balance it out.

wrekem said:
why not fix your routine...honestly, when i bulk, im 5'7 usually hitting 204lb last time round and 13%bf and i was eating 4800cals a day. SOMETHING in your diet must be off...that, and just mess around with your training. change your split, work around the chest if thats your focus. like for instance. you do tri's before chest during your week, flip it around and do chest before tri's. like chest on a monday, tri's on a thursday. what this does, is puts less strain on your tricep when doing bench and allows more weight to be moved and gives you three days until you do chest after tri's from thursday to monday instead of two days from tuesday to friday.
Click to expand...
wrekem said:
ever work out chest while the tricep is still store? shit sucks. also incorporate more volume. i see a 1x10? especially on flys which is where a big part of your chest will grow from because of the stretch of the tissue, why not hit 3 to 4 sets of 12-10-8 or something of that sort? also, work more towards dumbells instead of barbell, the free weights can do wonders, as they have for me.

mass is a total different aspect from strength, im not the biggest baddest s.o.b. in the gym movin big ass weight, but a lot of people stare because i do have some mass for my frame. but a lot of times, all it takes is some tweaking.
Click to expand...
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]The thing about this routine is I've never tried it (Which is gonna change next week). Also, my current stats are after a 6 month cut and 2 month (sloppy) maintenance. Gained a bit of BF, figure it's a good time to start my bulk. As far as dumbbell over barbell goes, I planned on looking into it after the first week, just wanted to see how the arm inclusion would affect the 'stabilizing muscles'. And I definitely like that last line in the post because I'm the opposite. I'm broad-shouldered, but I don't look 'huge' since I wear XXL shirts in the gym and have tiny ass arms - but then I start picking shit up and putting it down.[/FONT]
 
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Console said:
Haha that's for sure. I don't plan on dipping lower than ~15-20% after the bulk, just trying to get the mass. A little bit of BF doesn't look terrible if you're muscular enough to balance it out.


The thing about this routine is I've never tried it (Which is gonna change next week). Also, my current stats are after a 6 month cut and 2 month (sloppy) maintenance. Gained a bit of BF, figure it's a good time to start my bulk. As far as dumbbell over barbell goes, I planned on looking into it after the first week, just wanted to see how the arm inclusion would affect the 'stabilizing muscles'. And I definitely like that last line in the post because I'm the opposite. I'm broad-shouldered, but I don't look 'huge' since I wear XXL shirts in the gym and have tiny ass arms - but then I start picking shit up and putting it down.
Click to expand...

ya honestly the arm inclusion isnt there for me like barbells. i think because of my frame, i come in closer on barbells when gripping that it acts more on the triceps. when going to a dumbell it allow way more freedom to feel out the movement. thats why im a fan of it, takes pressure off other muscles.
 
wrekem said:
ya honestly the arm inclusion isnt there for me like barbells. i think because of my frame, i come in closer on barbells when gripping that it acts more on the triceps. when going to a dumbell it allow way more freedom to feel out the movement. thats why im a fan of it, takes pressure off other muscles.
Click to expand...
100% agreed for biceps, I plan on hitting them hard with the dumbbell isolation and then as they fatigue switch into straight bar. The only thing about triceps for me is that I feel like I'm hitting them harder with the ezcurl rather than the individual dumbbells because I don't have to focus as much on the movement, especially if I do skullcrushers/use 2 dumbbells at the same time.
 
I would humbly point out that for mass especially in the beginning stick to the basic barbell movements. I.E. barbell curls, bent over rows, close grip bench, squat,deadlift and so on. Dumbells are fine but for my first movements I would hit the muscles with those basic compound movements then come in with the isolation exersizes as a rule. You can always change things around but getting stronger and using more and more weight for reps on those basic movements is what will build that mass. In the gym I see so many new guys over on the cables doing shaping and isolation work when they haven't even built the foundation of any mass to start with. And I would try to keep below 15% bf for the most part. Just eat clean as a rule and do cardio a few times a week it'll happen !
 
l69lou said:
I would humbly point out that for mass especially in the beginning stick to the basic barbell movements. I.E. barbell curls, bent over rows, close grip bench, squat,deadlift and so on. Dumbells are fine but for my first movements I would hit the muscles with those basic compound movements then come in with the isolation exersizes as a rule. You can always change things around but getting stronger and using more and more weight for reps on those basic movements is what will build that mass. In the gym I see so many new guys over on the cables doing shaping and isolation work when they haven't even built the foundation of any mass to start with. And I would try to keep below 15% bf for the most part. Just eat clean as a rule and do cardio a few times a week it'll happen !
Click to expand...
I'm not ditching compound for isolation by any means (I've been doing compound lifts for almost 3 years). What I'm looking to do is isolate the parts of my body that are struggling and veer away from the basic routines that are geared towards non-"pharmaceutically" assisted people. While I'm sure sticking to 5/3/1 or SSTM would be great at building mass on a stack, it doesn't use the time to the best of its ability (as far as I've read) because it doesn't take juice into account.
 
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