Hey TNATION. One quick question. What program should i do to build mass as fast as possible. Right now i am training for lacrosse season doing WSB4SB3. I understand this is more of a strength and athlete program so after the season and during the summer i want to do a bodybuilding program.
I understand a split would be the best but which one? Well i am 5 ft 8 150 pounds. Any help would be appreciated.
thanks
Lemme tell you the secret…
Eat.
Try CT’s HP Mass Program.
chest
back
0ff
shoulders
arms
legs
off
repeat
3-5 exercises per body part, always trying to progress by either doing more weight or more reps on your movements. Rep range should be whatever suits you, I would do some lower and some higher rep schemes but it’s up to the individual.
EAT ALL THE TIME and make sure you are always having protein in every meal. Buy a good protein powder and drink at least 2 scoops per day unless you have a big appetite then you can do the shakes whenever you feel it is needed.
Multi-joint movements (repeat when stronger/recovered…e.g. every 5 days)
Some isolation (e.g. hamstrings/delts/arms…whatever didn’t get worked well from above ^)
Get strong, very strong
Eat enough to make the scale go up (including ~200g of protein/day)
Really appreciate the responses guys. I like that split alot but i dont like that i would walk into the weight room and pick my own lifts. Is there any splits that have the lifts down specifically in there program.
Eat, eat and then eat some more.
As for the program, keep it simple. Focus on the 4 big lifts and have a day for each, then do assistance work around them. So would be something like squat day, deadlift day, bench day and overhead press day, and then add in maybe 2-3 assistance exercises for each. Ie. Deadlift day do 5 sets of deadlifts, then pull ups, bent over rows and barbell curls. Follow a similar pattern for the other days too.
Obviously this is just an example, as long as you´re doing lots of big compound lifts and eating a shit load the rest wont make too much of a difference over such a short space of time.
Good luck!
Thanks dre, that is what i am thinking of doing. The thing i am looking for is a set in stone program because i don’t feel comfortable at this point to make my own routine. I do understand assistance work and all but i want to do the most effective ones for gaining mass because over this 5 month time period that is my goal.
I cant help you with specific weights or even reps cause i´ve never seen you train but here´s an example of what you could do…this is a sample program that you´re welcome to play around with but should give you the basics. If not there´s loads of programs out there like Thibs HP mass, or 5/3/1 Dave Tate´s periodization model etc…I also don’t know your level of experience so what i´ve written below is really for someone at an intermediate level, nothing fancy but pretty challenging none the less.
Day 1 - Squat day, do as many warm up sets as you need. Then do 4 ramping work sets ranging from 70% 1 rep`max up to 85%. Stop 1 or 2 reps short of failure on each set and go all out on the last one. (follow this principle with all your work sets)
3 sets split squats
4 sets straight leg dead lifts
3 sets lying leg curl
5 sets calf raise variation
Day 2 - bench day, warm up, 4 sets flat bench
4 sets slight incline DB press
3 sets cable flys
4 sets skull crushers
Day 3 - Deadlift day, warm up, 4 sets dead lift
4 sets pull ups
4 sets bent over rows
3 sets goodmornings
4 sets barbell bicep curls
Day 4 - Overhead press - warm up, 4 sets barbell standing strict press
3 sets DB press
3 sets upright row
3 sets bent over lat raise
3 sets shrugs (barbell or dumbell)
The 4 workout days should fall over an entire week so you could do say day 1 and 2, then rest, then day 3 and 4 and then rest 2 days or something like that. Its really up to you to see what fits into your schedule and how quickly you can recover. Basically you´ll be working each muscle group once every 7 days which should allow enough time for growth and recovery as long as you eat properly and don’t let your ego get the better of you when choosing weights. Like i said this is just a sample, i´m sure others will have completely different ideas but you´re welcome to play around with it. Rest times are really up to you, see how you get on but i like to work between the 1-2 minute range, others prefer a bit longer. And make sure to keep an eye on tempo as well, dont go throwing the weights around but don’t feel like every eccentric needs to be a brain numbing 5 second decent. Just keep a good steady pace. Let me know what you think or feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
5 whole months? This is a game measured in years. I would suggest at starting (lots of them, just look) program, lots of food and sleep.
Oh yeah, lift with intensity.
If you want a program that does everything do you except lift. Spend $20 for 5/3/1 or get Stronglift 5x5.
5 months? Sheesh. It’s a lifetime.
If you would read the posts above i am an athlete. 2/3 of the year i am training for strength and athleticism even though i have put on some good size with wsb4sb3. After my lacrosse season i would like to change gears and try to put on as much size as possible. Is it a good idea to switch goals like that in the middle of the year or will that just get in the way of my progress?
dre- isn’t 5/3/1 a strength program?
It’s the economy (err food) , stupid.
[quote]jtownlax wrote:
If you would read the posts above i am an athlete. 2/3 of the year i am training for strength and athleticism even though i have put on some good size with wsb4sb3. After my lacrosse season i would like to change gears and try to put on as much size as possible. Is it a good idea to switch goals like that in the middle of the year or will that just get in the way of my progress?
dre- isn’t 5/3/1 a strength program?[/quote]
essentially yes
but Dave Tate´s periodization model is hypertrophy based on all the assistance work. It gives you a bit of both worlds.
Alright, I didn’t wanna say anything, but if you’re serious about being an athlete, don’t train like a bodybuilder, train like an athlete.
If you eat, you will gain plenty of quality mass on WS4SB or 5/3/1.
You are not eating enough to gain weight.
/thread
after looking at my goals long term i decided just to stay on wsb4sb3. Thanks for the help guys.
You don’t gain weight from programs. You gain weight from eating more than you are now. And if you’re using even a halfway decent program, because of eating more, you’ll get substantially stronger if you push yourself.
[quote]jtownlax wrote:
isn’t 5/3/1 a strength program?[/quote]
Actually the original is more like HIT (one all out set) than any typical powerlifting template.
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
You don’t gain weight from programs. You gain weight from eating more than you are now. And if you’re using even a halfway decent program, because of eating more, you’ll get substantially stronger if you push yourself. [/quote]
^ solid advice right here OP
Thanks guys. I assume wsb4sb3 is a good program for my goals so ill stick with it. I have been honest with myself about my eating and its not very good. I ALWAYS eat clean but with school it is impossible for me to get in all my cals. On the weekends i have no problem getting them in. Any suggestions on things i could bring to school and keep in my locker to eat between classes to help get them in? i usually have some almonds and every now and then a protein shake but i only have 5 minutes in between classes. THAnks.
boil a shitload of potatoes and cook a few pounds of eye round or flank steak and put it in tupperware. Bring a couple tupperware containers in a cooler with you every day.