Upper/Lower Split & Diet Advice

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Hi, I’m new to this site but I’ve been reading articles for the last month and was wondering if anyone could help with advice/criticism on my workout or diet. 8 weeks ago I started lifting 4 days a week after the summer off due to a sports-related injury and progress is starting to slow.

My goals are to add size and strength. I also train judo or bjj 4 days a week so I’m not sure if the problem is due to over-training but I get 7-8 hours of sleep every night and get a lot of calories (I need to start keeping track, I don’t really know how many I eat on a given day) I also should note that this year is the first time I am spending time on squats and deads every week.

My weight hangs around 185 and about once a month I cut down to 177 pounds for a tournament (I don’t think I lose much other than water weight). Diet on most days is something like this…

Breakfast-6 eggs, banana, oatmeal, milk. If I wake up late I’ll make a shake with milk, 2 scoops whey protein, blueberries and/or banana, peanut butter, 2-3 eggs.

Snack- Milk and peanut butter and honey sandwich on wheat

Lunch- Chicken or ground beef w/ broccoli or spinach. Most days I’ll have pasta

Snack- Almonds and milk

Dinner- Chicken/fish/ground beef and veggie, milk

My judo practices and workouts are at night, so when I get home i’ll have a shake with milk, whey protein, peanut butter, blueberries and banana

I also eat at other random times whenever I feel hungry. If I’m out at a bar and hunger hits I’ll order a burger or chicken. If I’m in my room I’ll make pb+honey sandwich. If I’m at the library I’ll get something quick like bar or shake.

My workouts are upper/lower split, upper on T, S and lower on Th Sun. (I have judo/bjj on M, W, F, and sometimes Sun.)
Upper
55 BB BP 195-205
55 BB BO Row or TBar Row 155
5*5 Standing MP or Clean and Jerks 115/135
5 sets to failure of weighted chins or pullups w/ 25-45 lbs.
5 sets to failure weighted dips w/ 25-45 lbs.

Lower -this is probably even worse than upper, as on most leg days I kind of go by how I feel and don’t have set structure with weight/reps
Last Lower Body workout
Stretch, warm up sets for squat @ 135.
6 sets @ 225 for 6-10 reps
2 sets @ 245 4 reps
1 set @ 265 2 reps

DL- 48 @ 225. 15 @ 245. 1*3 @ 265 (I alternate b/t DL, RDL, and SLDL on different days)

I usually do something else like BB lunges or jump squats after squats and dl but I felt like shit and packed it in.

I’ve been doing these basic workouts the last 8 weeks and trying to increase the weight. Any criticism would be greatly appreciated.

2

You will probably make more progress with less volume for a while. Cut the volume to about 50% for a week and then ramp it back up over the next several weeks. If you were able to keep up this volume for 8 weeks, you are handling it well. You just need a break now. Start looking at cycling within the week, i.e. Heavy, light, medium days, or just heavy, light with the upper/lower split.

You mentioned being out at the bars. Be careful with alcohol consumption. I’m not saying don’t drink, but as long as you know that the more you drink, the greater the negative impact on your training.

3

[quote]stuward wrote:
You will probably make more progress with less volume for a while. Cut the volume to about 50% for a week and then ramp it back up over the next several weeks. If you were able to keep up this volume for 8 weeks, you are handling it well. You just need a break now. Start looking at cycling within the week, i.e. Heavy, light, medium days, or just heavy, light with the upper/lower split.

You mentioned being out at the bars. Be careful with alcohol consumption. I’m not saying don’t drink, but as long as you know that the more you drink, the greater the negative impact on your training. [/quote]

Thanks for the response. As to cutting the volume, do you mean limit the exercises per workout or just adjust the weight and reps? I like the idea of doing heavy/medium/light days because some days I go in to the gym feeling worn out and have rather unproductive workouts. As to the bars, my friends and I watch football once a week at a local bar where my roommate works but I rarely have more than one or two beers. I more just go out for the social aspect since I’m at grappling/gym/library most of the time.

4

I know a lot of people that have success with heavy/light rotations.

For Example:

Upper Heavy 4-6 reps 4-6 sets
Lower Heavy 4-6 reps 4-6 sets
Upper light 8-15 reps 3-5 sets
Lower light 8-15 reps 3-5 sets

Repeat.

I think that you will benefit greatly from this. I think that doing a 5x5 for every movement each session is sure fire way to burnout especial if you are going to failure. Plus the light stuff will help you recover.

5

[quote]chitown34 wrote:
Thanks for the response. As to cutting the volume, do you mean limit the exercises per workout or just adjust the weight and reps? …[/quote]

Volume is weight x reps x sets x workouts. However you do it is up to you. The idea is to let your body recover so you can go into a new progressivly intensive cycle.