Hi all,

I happened across this forum about a week ago, and have been avidly reading through a bunch of the old threads. Lots of very good information, lots of good details, lots of inspiration to be had.

Given how friendly and knowledgeable the community here seems, I figured I'll see if I can get some help with my workout program. I'm not sure what kind of information would be useful, so I'll just throw out stuff and answer anything else needed, as needed.

Age: 25
Height: 5'10 (178cm)
Weight: 150-155lbs (~70kg)
BF%: I'm not quite sure. I'm estimating around 15-20%, but lacking calipers or those nifty scales, I can't tell for sure.

Workout routine:
Day 1: (Chest and Shoulders)
Pullups, 3 sets of 10-12, to exhaustion
Flat Bench Press, warmup sets x 2, 3 x 6-8 reps of max weight
Pec Flys, 3 x 8
Standing Military Press, warmup sets x 2, 3 x 8 reps of max weight
Shoulder Press with dumbbells, 3 x 8
Side Dumbbell Raise, 3 x 8

Day 2 and 3: rest

Day 4: (Chest again, Back)
Pullups, 3 sets of 10-12
Flat Bench, 3 x 6-8
Cable Row, 3 x 6-8
One armed dumbbell lift, 3 x 6-8
Leg Press, 3 x 6-8

Day 5, 6, 7: rest

For rest days, I do abs about twice a week, and sports (run, swim, kick things etc) twice a week at least.


I started taking supplements about 2 months back. I did one month of Whey Gainer, then one month of Whey Protein, with creatine. I put on about 8lbs in those two months, but weight and strenght gains hve been tapering off a little. I just finished the Protein and got myself another tub of Mass Gainer, we'll see how that goes.


So, my plan is to bulk to about 160-165lbs, then cut for 2 months to about 150lbs. I guess I just want you guys' opinions on whether this is viable, what I should change, what else I need to do, etc. Any help will be very much appreciated.

Your missing deadlifts, squats and bentover rows dude. What are your goals i don't see a lot of bicep, lower back, leg work and traps work there either.

There are lots of exercises out there, I suggest buying a book for info on which muscles are trained in each exercise. Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier is great because of the illustrations that show exactly which muscles are involved. I suggest at least 3 days of weight lifting. For my 3 day split which has given me results I did the following shedule. All exercises are performed with 3 sets and at 6-12 reps. Each set lasts at least 30 secs and no more than 60 secs. I take about a 1-3 minute break between sets. Try and not spend more than 60 minutes working out.

Monday: Chest/Biceps
1)DB bench press
2)Incline DB bench press
3) Dips
4)Preacher bicep curl
5)Twist bicep curls
6)Shrugs (Back day is very tiring for my grip so I moved this exercise to chest day)

Wednesday: Back/Triceps
1)Wide grip lat pull up
2)Seated row
3)Underhand pull ups
4)T-bar row
5)Bench dips
6)DB tricep extensions

Friday: Legs/Shoulders
1)Squats
2)Leg press
3)Hamstring curls
4)Calves
5)DB shoulder press
6)Side lateral raises or bent over side lateral raises
7)Wide grip upright rows


The most important factor is your diet.You should eat 6 times a day. I recommend LOTS of protein, 1g per lb of bodyweight. Chicken, Turkey, beef, pork, fish, shrimps etc. Get your healthy fats i.e. olive oil and your carbs too.All this mass gainer, creatine and protein powder stuff however is all processed stuff. I would only recommend meal replacement shakes during the day if you really really don't have the time to eat properly, which in actual fact is quite rare as I take about 10 minutes to eat one of my packed meals. The only time that myself and others on this board have a protein/meal replacement shake is post-workout (i.e. right after a workout). As for cardio, I see you are quite active as such but cardio exercise actually reduces muscle growth. People usually on a clean bulk program avoid anything but weight training.

Thanks for the help guys.

I never really wrote down my training program, so it's funny how it becomes clear even to me what's missing from it once I write it down. If you don't mind, Demon Knight, I'll work off your program and see how that works out. I've been trying to avoid most isolation exercises, hoping to rely on compound stuff to build up. Does that work at all? I'm pretty much a serious ectomorph (if you buy into the somatype stuff), so I get the feeling doing isolation exercises will just deplete my energy stores.

I do eat a good deal, always have, but weight gain has never been easy for me. I eat about 3.5k calories per day, with about 1.2k of that from the weight gainer. It's not about not having time to eat, it's not having time to prepare and pack the 6 meals every day hehe.

Compound is the way to go. Good luck.