Timbo, Nate Dogg has some sound advice for you. I agree with him for the most part. However, I think your program is fine if done for only a few weeks. It could use some tweakage though on second glance. I whipped up some changes you could consider, if you want: D1 - Chest&Tris - no changes D2 - Hams&Shoulders - DLs 4x5-7,Leg Curls 4x5-7,Behind Neck Presses 4x5-7,Alternate DB Press 4x5-7,Shrugs 2x10-12. D4 - Back&Bis - Pullups 4x5-7,Rows 4x5-7, (empty slot) 2x10-12, BB Curls 4x5-7, EZ Bar Conc Curls 2x10-12. D5 - Quads&Calves - Squats 4x5-7,Leg Press 4x5-7,Leg Press Toe raise 2x10-15,Seated calf raise 2x15-20. I totally agree with Nate about doing traps on deadlift day. My traps are on fire after doing only a few sets of shrugs. I’ve also been finishing my trap workout with the Ian King barbell tri-set. It really kicks ass. You said you’re bulking until July, right? If so, you could probably do this kind of routine until then, and then switch to a more basic program such as that outlined by Nate Dogg while you look pretty for the summer. Gotta chow.
Timbo, even if you are doing more volume for hammies than quads, look at the types of exercises you are doing. You have a variety of compound lifts for quads, yet single-joint exercises for hamstrings. So a higher volume won’t make enough of a difference to make up for that. As for deadlifts, yes, they involve some back, but they are a leg exercise and should be done that way. If you are using them as a pulling exercise, then your form may be off. You don’t need to combine DL’s and squats on the same day (that is hella tough), but consider splitting your leg days up. Do one day for quads and calves and another for hamstrings and something else (traps and/or shoulders).
And I wasn’t trying to put you down about not having anything to shape. But it really seems like you still want to stick to too many traditional bodybuilding exercises. Do you feel that you’re not working enough if you don’t do them? How many Olympic athletes do bodybuilding exercises? Not too many. How many of them are strong and muscular? Many of them. They use basic compound and total body exercises. I know that you are putting in some hard and heavy work on the basics, and that’s good. But don’t go overboard with the assistance exercises. Pick one or two to go with your basic strength and power exercises. And you can always change the line up. Do back&biceps on day one, hams and shoulders on day two, off on day three, chest&tris on day four, quads and calves on day five. Any order will work, just be sure to keep the balance in bodyparts.
Hoser made some good suggestions in his program outline that is more similar to what you have planned. But I still see a problem. There is no reason to do two pushing movements for shoulders. One pushing and one lateral is all you really need (I would use standing overhead to the front instead of military). And if you want to keep healthy shoulders, avoid front raises and upright rows. Those two exercises tend to be shoulder wreckers, not builders. And there is no reason to do three exercises for quads and only two for hamstrings. Keep the balance. I hope that helps.
Hoser, thanks for helpin’ a fellow SB do some tweakage, my man! I appreciate the feedback and think you give some sound advice there, bro. Actually, some of the points you mention there are right along the lines of how I was planning doin’ things up, after further review. I’m fixin’ to drop Nate an email bomb right now too. I like the rows before the pulls and the empty slot you have there, I would throw in one-arm rows. One thing I was thinking of doing differently than what you posted was Back and Bis on Day 1 and Pecs and Tris on Day 4. That gives the Tris a little rest and prioritizes Back. Other than that, that’s what I’m thinking of doing for the time being. Thanks, bro, keep the feedbag on!
Timbo, I’ve got a few suggestions. You’ve been struggling to put on mass, right? Consider dropping to ~12 sets/training session. I’m not sure exercises like Kneeling Cable Crossovers, Overhead Rope Ext and EZ Bar Concentration Curls are really essential at this point. You said you just did 1 week of reduced volume training…how about trying 6 weeks and see what happens? Also, make day 7 another rest day…and I mean rest…not morning high-intensity cardio ;). I’ll leave you with a quote I often think of when planning new routines: “Do what you always do, and you’ll get what you always get.” Good luck.
creamdream…I’m big on quotes, buddy, how’d you know? Thanks for your advice and input. I’m finally starting to get the idea of what you’re saying there…I mean, Nate and Whopper have been spitting it at me for a while, and it’s getting past that blood-brain barrier:-) It’s hard to change, but that’s what makes the difference. The 16 or less sets that I have planned (w/o dropsets, rest-pauses, forced, or negatives this time around) is a pretty decent drop for me, and when volume–in terms of reps x sets–is concerned, are both much lower for me. I will definitely tune into my body to see if such assistance/pump exercises are necessary. And I think it’s no secret that this SB has had his fair share of struggles:-)Thanks for the advice on the extra rest day minus cardio…I’ll consider it, but I enjoy starting the day off like that, getting the metabolism fired up and just compensating for those calories throughout the day.
Oh…My…God…I just finished a most excruciating yet satisfying leg day. I felt like I was going to puke on the 5th set of 10 rep squats. THEN I went to leg extensions and could barely handle 90 pounds for 2 sets! Whew. All this work better freaking pay off with some mass. I got my meal here now : ham sandwich, carrots, a small block of cheese, applesauce, cherry tomatoes, milk and a protien shake. It’s my 5th meal like this today, you guys think of these types of meals plus two additional cans of tuna per day will actually work? Aight, thats it, just wanted to let y’all know I’m still alive (despite my leg workout) considering ya havent heard from me in a while. And I’m still in the game and I’ll be damned to hell if I don’t get big. End of story…
Oh yeah, almost forgot, I don’t actually eat the same thing like that every meal…geez, I’m not like, weird or something. I eat eggs for breakfast and stuff. We bought the George Forman Grill yesterday and since we ordered like, 300 dollars worth of meat (Don’t ask why, just be jealous) I’m just goin to town on that bad boy. I highly reccommend the Forman Grill, its actually as good as they advertise it to be.
Timbo, Ive recovered sufficiently to limp into the workout analysis (sans paralisis) … I really like the structure of the initial program although I would stay under 12 sets and go for strength (low reps multiple sets, 2 main exercises) for a few weeks and then hypertrophy (2-3x 8-12 for 3-4 exercises) and then hypertrophy with reduced volume (6-8 sets total). Ive gone through some growth spurts and attribute them all to the higher rep range whereas strength spurts (other than newbie) have come from focused strength programs. Having said that, I think your initial program was the best in terms of split as all others involve either back the day after deads and shoulders right after tris which isnt doing the second workout justice and I think this should be the key factor in formulating splits. I also liked the 2 a week chins 3 days apart if lats were lagging. As for moving deads from back day - you would need to keep it at least 2 (and preferably 5) days from back day to not short change yourself substantially and ditto traps and delts. I also find better results if I keep shoulders away from chest if on different days (I dont need front delt doms at the start of a shoulder workout). Re exercise choice: Im the first to alternate squat and dead weeks when I get tired (because injuries and flus from overtraining will cost you precious weeks) and and to drop high risk exercises (upright rows are the worse - seated behind necks are a risk but pushing straight up/forward and staying tight make a difference and the mass gains are awesome). Some other big ticket items to get right are stretching between sets, using failure/negatives sparingly, and getting more reps or pounds each time even if you have to microload.
PROGRESS REPORT 5-21-01: Due to excessive soreness in my legs, I decided to move deadlifts to Wednesday. I moved overhead presses to today. I did seated rows (150x5,5,5,5,5), Standing overhead presses (110x4,4,4,4,3 and then 115x1,1,1,1) and finished with close-grip benches (160x4,4,4). I only did three sets because my tris were worn down from presses and I was running out of time. It was a good workout, and I’m making progress. I’ll tear up the deadlifts, shrugs and chins on Wed. I’ll be doing some sprinting Tues and mountain biking Thurs. Checked my weight and holding steady at 150lbs. Although, after trimming my chest/stomach and getting some sun this weekend, I can see my upper ab! Woo Hoo! Maybe I’ll get leaner and keep my bodyweight. That works for me.
I could see that progress coming a few weeks ago - and just from reading your recent workouts I knew youd get body comp changes before you mentioned the ab development. My man 
- Im sure the bodycomp changes will continue as long as the intensity and increased resistance does. Timbo - you must be Even Stephen cause Ive had maybe 4 coconut ice creams in the last 4 days.
Dre, baby, thanks for taking a TO and contributing to the sound advice column…hope that lil’ abby thang isn’t giving you too much grief, but I can’t imagine the ice cream’s helping that out:-) LOL! While we’re on the junk food page, I went a little out of my way last week and really screwed things up. I’m actually going to take a few days (up to a week) rest, to get refocused, energized and substrates restored…feel like I’m running low in the gas tank lately. My man Nate Dogg’s been really helpful in getting things sorted out and making sense for me, Dre. The current split and exercise selection differs somewhat from the original posted. I’m not ready to post what I’ve got because it’s not set in stone, but I know you’re interested so I’ll give you an idea: D1>Back and Bis; D2>Hams and Shoulders; D3>Off; D4>Chest and Tris; D5>Quads and Calves; DLs will be on D2, even though you don’t like the idea of having them so close to Back day, I think it makes more sense that way and allows for heavy rows on back day. I was also leary of having Shoulders so close to Tris, this way there’s two days between and should be adequate. After further eval of my physique, or lackthereof:-), I don’t think eliminating the extra chins will really hurt…all my parts are lagging, not just lats. We need overall mass. Dre, you know I’m the king of stretching, flexing and posing between sets! And there’ll be no forced or rest-pause reps initially, and I never go into a workout without the mindset of using a heavier load or getting more reps! Thanks again, bro, and I’ll keep you posted.
Nate Dogg, good progress report, bro. I like the flexibility of not forcing the issue of the DLs and moving things around. I also like the switcheroo there on the overhead press, getting in some 1x1s. Good stuff. And the enthusiasm--those other abs'll be poppin' like Pillsbury Dough Buns--is killa! Keep bustin' ass, bro:-)
Keep it up puppy - mr whopper will be most pleased with your efforts :). You and I would be line ball height at the same weight today so this could get interesting in weeks to come. Thats some impressive eating though dawg, Ill also be damned if you dont get big.
I was reluctant to post when I first started reading the SBSG, however I thought I could suck down the pride and maybe help myself out a bit. I have a problem. Decreased appetite. I have even forced food down until I have actually vomited. I have gone to extremes for the fear of looking like a skinny bastard the rest of my life. The problem is I want to minimize fat accumalation on my bulking phase. Who wants to be a lard ass? Wouldn’t 900 calorie meals be a bit hard on the fat to muscle gain ratio? Whopper, my man, I would just chill with the 250. Jealousy is the root of all evil. I also suffer from SAOOPTC syndrome. For you that are not familiar with the latest medical conditions this is “Skinny Arms Out Of Proportion To Core” syndrome. I am currently training bi’s with back, giving them five sets per week…back gets 6. (Bi’s are one set less because I factored in the amount they are being used with my back work.) If anyone has any suggestions on how to make them visible, I am all ears. Peace Out.
Timbo, I think you should heed Nate’s advice and move the DL further away from your back days. I’m not sure how others’ experiences have been, but I can’t put DL and chins/rows closer than 3 days apart without significant compromise. My only other suggestion would be to combine back and DL and drop the bi’s. All I know is that following a shoulder and DL day, I’m ready for a week off
Sounds like everyone’s doing quite well…just wondering if you all are going to be in LV to show off your new physiques at the next seminar? And yes, I’ll be there.
Whaz up Nate, Dre, whopper and the others just baught the new muscle media (no don’t laugh)and the only reason i have started buying it again is that amoungst all the shit if u look hard enough u can now as of two issues now find something usefull. I thought that u would appreciate this as there pavel ab routine is a great one and my abs are coming out really quickly with it so i am just recommending it.Oh also i have been toying with the flexing really hard throughout the day thing and it has brought out some nice new definition
Been meaning to ask could one of you give me a run down of what goes on at these seminars as in about two years i am hoping to visit the states for maybe a couple of months and would like to get in a seminar or four and meet some of my bro’s and rip it up in the gym wit them.
Pads in in his pink bathrobe and fuzzy slippers…hey this Mr. Mom deal aint a bad gig!! Got the house cleaned, laundry done, and even went to my martial arts school this morning…I could get used to this!! Anyway, here is an interesting one for all of you…when I started my bulking phaze, I quit my martial arts for about 3 weeks…and didn’t see much growth…some, not much. Now as I posted last week, I was told that the Governers cup is in 6 weeks, and Whopper wants another shiny gold medal in his underwear drawer. (I have the vixen use them to “award” me lover of the year after a really good session…it is a wonderful thing…we put on Shaggys Mr. Lover, and I dance into the room, where she puts the medal on my…er…never mind!) Anyway, I started back last week, and have been hitting it 4 times per week…even with everything going on…and suddenly, I am growing and getting stronger…honestly, have about 1/8 inch bigger arms since I started up my martial arts again, and my GVT bench went up by like 2-3 reps on every set…now…what is up with THAT??? I am so friggin confused!! Any ideas guys?
Whopper..thinking its gonna be a damn long 4 months, and that he is gonna have forearms like popeye!!
FFB, the seminars contain training and nutrition info and freebies too. They will most likely all be a little different and focus on different things so that you won’t have the same info given to you each time you go. The Orlando seminar was cool and was worth every penny. If you’re in the states and have a chance to go to one, check it out. TeddyKGB, I won’t be at the Vegas seminar, but hope to attend another one next year. Whopper my main man, don’t worry about the next four months increasing your forearm size. As I jack off damn near everyday, and those suckers still haven’t grown! Maybe I need a different technique! LOL! I don’t know what’s up with your new training progress, but there is something that could be said. You’ve been under a lot of stress lately. Maybe a little rest and knowing that the Vixen is now in recovery has enabled you to get on track and make gains. That’s a possibility. The other thing could be the fact that your body needs that intense training to grow! You never know bro! But keep tearing it up Whopper style!
Timbo I see when you rearranged your split you put back and biceps on the first day of the week and moved chest and triceps back…One thing I thought of is if you’re anything like a lot of ectomorphs then you’re back and bicep dominant and your original split would probably be better in this regard by balancing out the naturally stronger back and biceps(working chest, and triceps first in the week)…long limbs make better pullers. So to determine this all you have to figure out is if you’re a better puller or pusher?