16 yr old: 4 Day Split or Full Body Routine?

Training
21

[quote]YoungsterSAS wrote:

[quote]jeverett1995 wrote:
I’m 16 and I do a 5 day split,
mon - chest and tris
wed- back and biceps
thurs- legs (squats)
fri- shoulds and abs and neck
sun- legs (deadlifts)

Works good for me, but make sure you really push yourself. Definitely if you’re a beginner. I’m usually sore for about 3-4 days after a workout and you should be too. It’s all about intensity, because you’re only training a specific body part once a week. Aim for 12-15 sets for the chest and back, 9 for tris and biceps, 9-12 for legs, and about 7-9 for shoulds abs and neck. I started 2 months ago as a raw beginner so I’m not that experienced, but I can honestly say I’ve gone from 178 pounds to 195 pounds with no body fat gain. Most of the mass i’ve gained is definitely in the legs so really focus in on them. Especially if you’re training for football. Strong legs will make you faster, jump higher, and hit harder. Hope this helps man.[/quote]

its a good help, but i believe at our level we should start with a overall building structure and build out from there, example when people start bridges they build the big massive foundation pillars(main muscle groups) and make them bulky enough to withstand the pressure, they then build out the rest of the bridge
u need to lay a good foundation before pushing into seperate aspects
so my personal opinion is my idea of a 4 day split should be used after i have gotten a good lift average on my main lifts
this would allow for my muscles to tone out better and help stimulate growth through change of program

to be honest i gained around 22lbs of my 33lbs within the first 2-4 months
raw beginners will get massive gains in a short period
im hoping to get big gains in the time i do this program (9 weeks or so)
[/quote]

Doing a split routine doesnt necessarily mean you have to leave out the main lifts, it just means you give more time to recover from them. Thats why triceps and chest are on the same day. That is benchpress day. Shoulders day is military press. I do agree though, however, in saying that we need a foundation. As long as you stay devoted to the schedule and train all muscle groups equally and with the same intensity, you should build a good foundation

22

agreed, u can not leave something out just because u find it easier to work other muscles and need a good balance of all, but some have a greater preference depending on your situation.

i will probally use your split as a guideline for my next split after this current workout and tell u how i go after i get results from this workout

i tried Bill Star’s 5x5 today
im still feelin tired from it, but feel alot better then what i did after my workouts before

pretty sure i was due for a change in workouts

23

already second week and ive strained my upper trap and erector spinae region
i was ment to do the friday workout today but instead i intend on re doing this week completely

football and this are working well together
i think its the less rest im getting through starting school up for another term
either way
my back is feelin fucked

24

very good workout routine
im onto the 5th week
added 10 lbs to both my squat and deadlift
my bench is still around same
and my shoulder press(military lift) is getting minor gains
i did have a set back with a upper trap strain preventing me from doing military press and pendally rows
last week
but im keen to get back into them this week

my legs are starting to get bulkier but there hasn’t been a huge weight gain, i seem too look alil leaner but still have alil mass to back me up now
im going to go through to the full 12 weeks if not more, if u have any ideas on what i should do after the 12 weeks or if i should stick with this
let me know

i was planning on going for about 20 weeks all up, bringin my stats higher before branching out but if u guys have better suggestions im all for it, thanks

25

[quote]YoungsterSAS wrote:
very good workout routine
im onto the 5th week
added 10 lbs to both my squat and deadlift
my bench is still around same
and my shoulder press(military lift) is getting minor gains
i did have a set back with a upper trap strain preventing me from doing military press and pendally rows
last week
but im keen to get back into them this week
my legs are starting to get bulkier but there hasn’t been a huge weight gain, i seem too look alil leaner but still have alil mass to back me up now
im going to go through to the full 12 weeks if not more, if u have any ideas on what i should do after the 12 weeks or if i should stick with this
let me know
i was planning on going for about 20 weeks all up, bringin my stats higher before branching out but if u guys have better suggestions im all for it, thanks[/quote]

see how you go with this program - if it aint broke dont fix it comes to mind
if your getting good gains from this then no point in switching. Can i ask how many calories are you consuming per day and what % is protein?

26

[quote]YoungsterSAS wrote:
very good workout routine
im onto the 5th week
added 10 lbs to both my squat and deadlift
my bench is still around same
and my shoulder press(military lift) is getting minor gains
i did have a set back with a upper trap strain preventing me from doing military press and pendally rows
last week
but im keen to get back into them this week
my legs are starting to get bulkier but there hasn’t been a huge weight gain, i seem too look alil leaner but still have alil mass to back me up now
im going to go through to the full 12 weeks if not more, if u have any ideas on what i should do after the 12 weeks or if i should stick with this
let me know
i was planning on going for about 20 weeks all up, bringin my stats higher before branching out but if u guys have better suggestions im all for it, thanks[/quote]

You should have gained 5-10lbs in those 5 weeks if you’re eating well. Also, how come you are not progressing in weight on everything? That’s THE key to making any strength program work. You HAVE to progress in weight, otherwise you’re wasting your time.

Stay on the program if it works. Nothing else matters. There isn’t some magical amount of time that you should do a program before switching.

27

[quote]dre1986 wrote:
see how you go with this program - if it aint broke dont fix it comes to mind
if your getting good gains from this then no point in switching. Can i ask how many calories are you consuming per day and what % is protein?
[/quote]

i aim for 3000 calories, usually hit around 2800 to 3000, get around 180 grams of protein
trying to change the diet to add more protein

28

[quote]talldude wrote:
You should have gained 5-10lbs in those 5 weeks if you’re eating well. Also, how come you are not progressing in weight on everything? That’s THE key to making any strength program work. You HAVE to progress in weight, otherwise you’re wasting your time.

Stay on the program if it works. Nothing else matters. There isn’t some magical amount of time that you should do a program before switching.[/quote]

the program made me lift less then max 5 rep weight for the first few weeks
im lifting my max for bench now and 10lbs more on my maxs for deadlifts and squats
5lbs extra on my shoulder press

i started with alil fat and em starting to seem alil cut
with more food i will get bigger, its hard with footy season takin over alot of rest time meaning i need to consume even more

so i em gettin progress, the next few weeks will tell me if its working, im at about the same body weight, but i do believe thats because of me lifting only to max now aswell as losing some fat

29

[quote]YoungsterSAS wrote:

[quote]talldude wrote:
You should have gained 5-10lbs in those 5 weeks if you’re eating well. Also, how come you are not progressing in weight on everything? That’s THE key to making any strength program work. You HAVE to progress in weight, otherwise you’re wasting your time.

Stay on the program if it works. Nothing else matters. There isn’t some magical amount of time that you should do a program before switching.[/quote]

the program made me lift less then max 5 rep weight for the first few weeks
im lifting my max for bench now and 10lbs more on my maxs for deadlifts and squats
5lbs extra on my shoulder press

i started with alil fat and em starting to seem alil cut
with more food i will get bigger, its hard with footy season takin over alot of rest time meaning i need to consume even more

so i em gettin progress, the next few weeks will tell me if its working, im at about the same body weight, but i do believe thats because of me lifting only to max now aswell as losing some fat[/quote]

yea the first few weeks are there to work you into the program, from here on out youll be adding weight each week. this is a very good thing that you are sticking to the program, Keep pushing. Ive been in your situation before, and putting on weight while lifting and training for a sport is hard, but you can do it. Try adding a couple of big calorie protein shakes each day if you dont already, that always helped me, something like:

2-3 cups of milk
1-2 scoops of protein
huge scoop of peanut butter
maybe some ice cream when times got real hard

30

[quote]Chris87 wrote:

[quote]YoungsterSAS wrote:

[quote]talldude wrote:
You should have gained 5-10lbs in those 5 weeks if you’re eating well. Also, how come you are not progressing in weight on everything? That’s THE key to making any strength program work. You HAVE to progress in weight, otherwise you’re wasting your time.

Stay on the program if it works. Nothing else matters. There isn’t some magical amount of time that you should do a program before switching.[/quote]

the program made me lift less then max 5 rep weight for the first few weeks
im lifting my max for bench now and 10lbs more on my maxs for deadlifts and squats
5lbs extra on my shoulder press

i started with alil fat and em starting to seem alil cut
with more food i will get bigger, its hard with footy season takin over alot of rest time meaning i need to consume even more

so i em gettin progress, the next few weeks will tell me if its working, im at about the same body weight, but i do believe thats because of me lifting only to max now aswell as losing some fat[/quote]

yea the first few weeks are there to work you into the program, from here on out youll be adding weight each week. this is a very good thing that you are sticking to the program, Keep pushing. Ive been in your situation before, and putting on weight while lifting and training for a sport is hard, but you can do it. Try adding a couple of big calorie protein shakes each day if you dont already, that always helped me, something like:

2-3 cups of milk
1-2 scoops of protein
huge scoop of peanut butter
maybe some ice cream when times got real hard
[/quote]

haha its funny because ive been using high protein shakes and eating alot of peanut butter sandwichs
im getting another 5kg of whey protein supplement with a high amount of calories today too
been drinking alot of milk (around 3L per day, still isn’t a gallon but my family isn’t made of money) and making sure to eat alot of meat
most of my snacks are milk/peanut butter sandwichs
i don’t think i have one meal without protein in it or a high number of calories haha

i torn my calf muscle during footy and have been plagued by several strains in the last couple weeks, so i em stalled at week 5 at the moment
was still able to do bench today but couldn’t get my leg going enough to be able to squat or even row
should i aim to push anything i can forward while injured like do bench but lay off deadlifts and squats till im fully healed, would it be a issue if i was at week 6 bench/should press but everything else week 5?
probally a stupid question but i may aswell ask it

31

[quote]YoungsterSAS wrote:

[quote]dre1986 wrote:
see how you go with this program - if it aint broke dont fix it comes to mind
if your getting good gains from this then no point in switching. Can i ask how many calories are you consuming per day and what % is protein?
[/quote]

i aim for 3000 calories, usually hit around 2800 to 3000, get around 180 grams of protein
trying to change the diet to add more protein[/quote]

protein intake seems fine. I’d say for a guy of your weight you should proably be aiming for more calories though. Your BMR (basal metabolic rate)is probably around 3000 anyway, thats what you need to consume to break even so to speak. To actually start gaining weight you probably need to aim for closer to 3500.

32

my squats have gone up 22 lbs, deadlifts 22 lbs, bench 11 lbs, shoulder press 11 lbs, row not too sure haha
program is going well, gained a lil fat though
also lost a lil fitness
i think ive gained about 4.4lbs so far

33

i did the workout in the end, work heaps well
but i ended up with a flu that stopped me doing much for 2 weeks and my lifts went from a 20kg gain to a 10kg gain

so i spent weeks on 5 day splits building back up and now im going back on bill starrs 5x5 to hit 100kg bench 120kg squat, 140kg deadlift, 55kg shoulder press and 95kg rows

34

Great to hear that you followed through with some of the advice, man.

How’d you do with the bodyweight gain?

[quote]YoungsterSAS wrote:
im going back on bill starrs 5x5 to hit 100kg bench 120kg squat, 140kg deadlift, 55kg shoulder press and 95kg rows[/quote]
What are you right now with these lifts?