I wrote this a couple months ago for an other forum, but I suspect it wil be useful here.
It was during the second month of my bulk training (October 2003) that I first found "John's site" and it was very vindicating to see that he had come to many of the same conclusions that I had; right down to Max-OT and the type of diet and supliments, we had both independently found the same info from many of the same sources!
I gained extra confidence seeing that it was working for John as he was several months ahead of me.
I even had a brief email conversation with John back in the days when he was only getting 10-20 emails per day :P

Thanks for all your work and sharing of info John - You inspired me to write this!!

I hope this is a useful start to your forums
- enjoy
________________

I have seen the same sort of initial questions from beginners looking for info on getting started with a bulking program.


here is a compilation of my research that got me started bulking:
- it is a culmination of probably 40-50 hours of research over a couple months.

*disclaimer*

- By no means treat this as gospel; think of it as a starting point to direct your own research.
Everyone is different and will need a slightly different approach to suit their needs and goals.

Anyway, a bit about me:
I am a 29 year old male, ectomorph, 6 feet and 155 lbs
I have never really weight lifted seriously before.
(I was 150 two months ago when I started training!)

I have learned ALOT since I started (all natural) bulking 2 months ago.
Using the following info, I've seen great gains already! :flex:

To give you an idea, here are some of my size gains:

I've added an inch to each bicep,
an inch and a quarter to my chest,
and over an inch and a half to my shoulders!!

In terms of strength gains, I was able to add 5-10% more weight each week on most things, so I am now lifting double the weight I started at for some exercises!

(you can always expect to make some quick gains when you first start lifting, then your body starts to get used to the stress and doesn't change as quickly - so get started properly and take full advantage of your "newbie gains"!)

I owe a HUGE thanks to people on forums like this.
The least I can do is pass along what I have learned so far.
I still do about an hour of "body building" research per day if I can
- there is so much to know, and I am always trying to learn something!

OK - lets get down to it...



GETTING STARTED:

take a soft tape measure and record your "girth" in several places.
biceps, chest, quads, waist, shoulders, etc...

try and take a "before picture", and then try and take a "progress picture" at least once a week. (also keep track of your weekly average weight)
- use the SAME lighting and ideally the same camera lens at the same distance to avoid any optical anomalies between your photos; the only thing that you want changing in your photos should be YOUR BODY!

- it may sound cheesy to take pictures, but this combined with the numerical values of your measurements are great ways to track your gains, keep you motivated and see what is working for you.

You'll also want to keep a "work-out journal" to track specific info at each work-out, I'll get into that when we discuss the routine further down.


STRATEGY:

Plan to build your WHOLE body regardless of what "show muscles" you want to aim for...
training the whole body (including legs which most people find boring) is important as it promotes growth hormone release systemically, and that will enhance ALL areas of training and muscle development...

SET REALISTIC GOALS:

Be sure to understand that you will not get a "six pack" or much enhanced muscle definition while bulking.
You can work your abs all day, but the only way to reveal your six pack and other muscle definition, is to reduce the layer of fat hiding it.
That is a whole other part of body building called "cutting" where you reduce your body fat to 10% or less.
- it is near impossible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time - so don't try to.
You can do a "cutting" phase after you bulk, to show off your new body, and all of your hard work.

Don't blindly say something like "I wanna gain 25 pounds by new years", or "I wanna be benching 250 before the summer."
people post crap like that all the time - they have no idea what is or isn't possible, and set themselves up for disappointment or injuries when they push themselves too hard.

Look at your progress and be happy with small gains as they come.
As far as weight gain goes, I think 0.5 to 1 pound a week of lean muscle mass is a pretty great rate of growth.
I don't think it is possible to do much better then that with out "roids", so be happy if you can achieve that.



Your THREE main concerns are:


1) DIET

2) ROUTINE

3) Supplements


1) DIET:

If you don't already know your body type and "basal calorie burn" you need to determine that.
here are a couple links to help with that:

Body type (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/becker3.htm)

basal calculator (http://www.room42.com/nutrition/basal.shtml)

Generally for bulking, you want to try to get at least 18 calories/pound of lean body weight.

Try to get 1.5 or 2 grams of protein/pound of lean body weight.

- I am aiming for 30% protein, 50% carbs and 20% fat.
(some people suggest 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat)
but I can't eat that much protein to save my life, so for now, I am sticking with 30%

As for Carbs; try for complex carbs instead of simple sugars.
Have sweet potatos, brown rice, whole wheat bread, etc.

With fats, avoid saturated fats. Things to look for are Fish, natural peanut butter, olive oil and flax seed - they have the "good fats".

You also want to drink 4 to 6 liters of water a day!
(that's a gallon for you Americans)


Since I am an ectomorph and not worried much about fat gain, I rounded up and my target daily calorie total to 3000 (I am 155)
As long as the ratios are good, I would rather error on the side of too many calories.
If I notice obvious fat gains, I will scale it back, but so far no issues with that.

At first I couldn't imagine how I would eat that much.
My usual day before was probably 2 crappy meals, making up a total of aprox 1800 calories.
I always used to skip breakfast...

The way to do it is to plan to have 6 small meals a day (500 calories or so)
- it isn't very hard now that I am used to it and NO SKIPPING breakfast!
:eat:
Anyway - back to the ratio:

30% of 3000 = about 220 grams of protein.
Here is a good formula to know:
4 cals/gram of protein, 4 cals/gram of carbs and 9 cals/gram of fat.

Ideally, You'll want to track your diet; that can be a real chore, but unless you are actually getting your proper calories and correct amounts of protein, all your work is for nothing.
Even the best gym routine will have minimal gains if you don't feed your body well enough to gain lean muscle mass. The way the body looks at it, having extra muscle is a liability; it takes more calories to sustain additional muscle even at rest.
If memory serves, each additional pound of muscle burns 13-20 calories a day, AT REST!
So you really need to convince your body that you are going to feed it well enough that it can afford to use the extra resources and actually build muscle.

I thought that it would be impossible to accurately track my diet, who has time to do it having a busy life style?
But then I was introduced to an awesome site that makes it easy. check it out:
www.fitday.com

...(cont next post)

2) ROUTINE:

Train each muscle group hard ONCE per week, and try to keep gym time under an hour.
- don't do cardio within 8 hours of a workout.

I could go into detail about the reasons why, but thats a long story.
- it is mainly to do with mental intensity and biochemical factors; there is an optimal window of about 45-55 minutes for making gains, and then it fades into exhaustion and is counter productive to go any longer.
(look up "catabolic" for more info on why not to combine cardio and lifting, and why gym time should be relatively short.)

A lot of people say they are sore for a day or two, but then feel fine so they should be able to work those same muscles again 2-3 days later.
This is believed to be WRONG by the majority of the community.
Just because you aren't feeling "DOMS" (Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness) (http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1999/01_99/muscle.htm) doesn't mean you are "healed" and ready to train again.
I have read a lot about this lately, and from what I have found, the muscles only really begin to grow and heal AFTER the pain stops.

The idea is that YOU DON'T GROW AT THE GYM, so give your body time AWAY from the gym to grow and repair itself.

Most of what I have read says to work a muscle group ONCE per week. or even less
- some sources even say work a group once in 8-10 days!


With body building LESS is MORE
- I hear that a lot; don't try and rush it.
Eat properly and work hard on each workout then REST between them, and the gains WILL come.


You'll want to plan to take a FULL WEEK OFF from lifting about every eight weeks or so.
Take that time to let your body rest, and maybe tweak your gym routine and come back with some minor changes.
(examples of things to change: order of exercises, different exercises, numbers of sets/reps, etc...)
The idea with weight training is to keep your body guessing; as long as you are "shocking" your muscles, they WILL GROW!


This is my current split:
- it is pretty basic, but I have had good gains.


Day 1: Chest/Triceps

Day 2: Legs/calves

Day 3: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 4: Back/Biceps/forearms

Day 5: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 6: Shoulders/traps

Day 7: OFF or cardio/abs


Be sure to stretch the specific muscles during or after a workout for a few minutes. I used to think stretching before was ideal, but lately I have found many sources that say stretching before lifting may actually increase risk of injury. Warm-up sets (as described below) will prepare muscles for load bearing.

Take a full 90-120 second BREAK between sets! this may seem long, but it works.

FORM is very important, heavy weight with bad form will only hinder your gains (or worse - you could get injured).
Do your homework, LEARN how to do each exercise properly.
This is a good place to start:

great info about exercises and muscles (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm)

Start each workout with compound movements, then move into the isolation work toward the end.
Let's use legs as an example :
"Squats" are a great compound leg exercise, and "seated calf raises" are isolation.

Use light weight and build up slowly for the first couple weeks while you get used to how everything feels, and what weight you can handle.
There is no shame in lifting light to learn form; but it is pretty embarrassing (or much worse) to drop a bar on your face trying to be a tough guy.
you could also end up pulling something or tearing a ligament, and that kind of injury can haunt you for years. So don't mess with weight you can't handle.


You may have heard of "pyramid sets", or "super sets" with short breaks between sets...
personally, I don't think these are very good, they can lead to exhaustion before you get a chance to really work the muscle.

The idea that I believe in is a basic version of the "MAX-OT" (http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/Max%2DOt_Complete_Routine/m_390/tm.htm) philosophy, based on warming up with light weight, building toward the heavy weight without exhaustion, then going heavy for 3 sets to failure.
(as a beginner, there is no point in trying something as advanced as MAX-OT, but later, look into it)

So for now, try something like this:

Warm-up on each muscle group as follows:
NOTE: if you are failing on these sets - you are lifting too heavy for warm-up

1 set at 50% for 10-12 reps,
1 set at 70% for 8 reps,
1 set at 90% for 3 reps,

Now go heavy (100%) for 3 sets aiming to fail between 6-8 reps.
if you can lift more then 8 reps it is not heavy enough.
(advanced body builders will aim for failure between 4-6 reps)

*NOTE: These warm-up sets are only for the first exercise in each muscle group...
example - if "Flat Bench press" is your first "chest day" exercise (as it should be since it is a great compound movement), then warm up on it, but don't warm up again for incline bench, since your chest is already good to go.
Triceps are a small muscle group often paired with "chest day".
Since your Tri's were used in all your "push movements" while working your chest, they are already more a less warmed up.
I wouldn't do the full 3 or 4 warm up sets for Tri's, maybe just do one warm-up set at 70% and then go to your heavy sets.

- you don't want to be exhausted, just warmed up.



TRACK YOUR PROGRESS !!!

Make a "work-out journal".
This is an important way to find out what is working, and notice plateaus.
Use your journal for each work-out and track what weight you lifted and how many reps you did for each exercise.
If you are doing things correctly, each progressive week you should be able to do more reps with the same weight, or add 5-10% more weight and do the same number of reps as the previous week.

A journal is a critical part of your plan to make gains, as it will help keep you on track.
It is also great for motivation to be able to look back a few weeks and see how much stronger you are now!

do 3-4 exercises per muscle group
- try and use free weights instead of machines.
When lifting heavy with intentions to go to failure, always try to work out with a spotter...
(use dumbbells as opposed to barbell for things like bench press if you don't have a spotter, so you can drop them to your side safely if you have trouble.)



3) Supplements:

You'll want to have a good multi-vitamin, and maybe additional vitamin C.
Also look into creatine, glutamine, and ZMA.

Of course "whey protein" is a must to meet your daily protein needs.
(but don't do more then 2 or 3 shakes a day - you want to get more then half of your protein from REAL food sources..

As most weight trainers put their joints and tendons through the ringer, it is a good idea to look into a "connective tissue maintenance" supplement as well.

most of my research points to these three elements:
Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and MSM
- you can buy them individually, but it makes more sense to look for a tablet that contains all three.



There is a start to get you on the road to natural, safe and healthy bulking!

good luck!

OK then... that was alot longer then I set out to make it - I edited the hell out of it and it is still pretty long...
I think it covers all the basics, I hope you enjoyed the read.

To make this article more complete, I've added the initial bulking gym routine I used for my first 12 weeks.

warm up as explained above - heavy sets are to failure.
(breaks between warm-up and heavy sets 90-120 seconds)

Day 1: Chest/Triceps

flat bench press
- warm up x 3-4 sets
3x6-8

Incline bench (30 degress)
3x6-8

weighted dips
- warm up (on "dip assist machine") 1 set
3x6-8

close grip bench press
3x6-8

cable tri extension
2x6-8

Day 2: Legs/calves

Squats
- warm up 3-4 sets
3x6-8

legg press
3x6-8

legg curls
warm up - 1 set
3x6-8

standing calf raises
3x6-8

Day 3: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 4: Back/Biceps/forearms

pull-ups
(warm-up with lat pull down) 3-4 sets
3x6-8

one arm dumb bell row
warm-up - 1 set
3x6-8

bent over BB row
3x6-8

standing bar bell curls (EZ bar)
3x6-8

standing reverse hammer curls (fore arm)
3x6-8

seated fore arm curls (forearm on leg)
3x6-8

close grip pull ups (chin-ups)
2x6-8

Day 5: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 6: Shoulders/traps

Military press
- warm up 3-4 sets
3x6-8

Side lateral raises
3x6-8

DB shrugs
3x6-8

Day 7: OFF or cardio/abs

Update as of week 17:

My gains have been consistant - I've gained almost 10 pounds now and my bicepts are 2 inches bigger then when I started 4 months ago!

I am redoing my routine abit this week - for variety, and also because my arms are stronger now, so I feel I can seperate the classic pairings of "back/bi" and "chest/tri".
(I was finding back day is taking too long (almost an hour and a half some days), so I wanted to get biceps onto a different day)

So for now I am going to do:

Day 1: Chest/Biceps/forearms

Day 2: Legs/calves

Day 3: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 4: Back

Day 5: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 6: Shoulders/Traps/Triceps

Day 7: OFF or cardio/abs

Awesome post, bro! You're right, everyone is different, but this is as close to gospel anyone is ever going to find. Thanks.

That bodybuilding.com link is fantastic. I have sporadic access to a gym, so being able to scan through a printed list of "dumbbell only" exercises is invaluable.

Anyone with a limited home gym, i.e. bench, dumbbells, and not much more, should check it out.

Great stuff SCHTEEVIE, I'm gonna sticky this.


- it may sound cheesy to take pictures,
Careful... ;)

hey Alright - John's first sticky! WOOT! :P

I just saw an other thread here that reminded me about something I have changed about my strategy since I wrote that article...

for those that have already read it, I have just edited my original article to make the following small change:

______

"Be sure to stretch the specific muscles before a work out"

was changed to:

Be sure to stretch the specific muscles during or after a workout for a few minutes. I used to think stretching before was ideal, but lately I have found many sources that say stretching before lifting may actually increase risk of injury. Warm-up sets (as described below) will prepare muscles for load bearing.
______


I have tried this change for the past 6 weeks, and have seen less DOMS pain - so who knows it seems to be a good idea...

From an athetics background, a lot of people are moving away from stretching to warm up and going for a light work out/warm up then doing some stretching.

The idea is basicly that stretching cold is like stretching a cold elasticband, it snaps, but if you can do something fairly non strenuous to warm it up, then stretch, then do your work out, you gently bring yourself to the boil :)

How much cardio are you doing? Your guide says either off or cardio. So how many days a week are you doing cardio?

How much cardio are you doing? Your guide says either off or cardio. So how many days a week are you doing cardio?

Since I am relatively active in my daily life, and I have almost no issues with fat gain, I am not very concerned with cardio while bulking.
(I am actually concerned with burning calories though - seeing the machine tell me I just burned 300 calories makes me feel like I need to eat them again :p My goal for bulking is to add lean muscle; so I am eating my but off to that end.

- I do a cardio session 2 times a week at the most.

My Bulking phase was planned for 6 months, so I am almost at that point now.
body fat hasn't incresed much if at all. :D

I'll be starting a cutting phase soon, so I intend to "ramp up" my cardio, and "ramp down" my diet over a 1-2 week period as I switch phases.
I think I'll need 4-6 weeks of cutting to get down to 10% BF


Anyway - all that said, do what you feel you need to - we are all different.
The main issue with cardio while bulking is burning calories that you want to be using for muscle building. So as long as you are eating enough, and space your cardio at least 8 hours away from lifting, it is all good. :tucool:

Dude I hope your cutting guide is as good as this one :)) Great work. Looking forward to the cutting guide, because I'm going to start my cutting phase in a few days and need the info ;)

Dude I hope your cutting guide is as good as this one :)) Great work. Looking forward to the cutting guide, because I'm going to start my cutting phase in a few days and need the info ;)

yeah, I'm still tryng to figure out what cutting is.

Dude I hope your cutting guide is as good as this one :)) Great work. Looking forward to the cutting guide, because I'm going to start my cutting phase in a few days and need the info ;)

haha thnx...

I am going to start cutting for the first time 6 weeks from now...
So you can bet I've been doing my home work about it latety :tu:

I've almost got my "cutting plan" figured out.
I'll be sure to share my plans to get feed back and input from others as it evolves...

This forum is a great jumping off point for research!
:claplow: :bow: :tucool:

24 week (6 month) bulking update:

I am just about finished my third 8 week "phase" of bulking; I'll take a week off and then I will start my first "cutting phase"!

(I took a week off every 8 weeks, and reworked my routine and came back with minor changes and tweaks to what I was doing.)

I have gained ~12 lbs of lean mass; body fat remained about ~1% from where I started at about 16-17%
(I probably should have been eating a couple hundred more calories per day - "some" fat gain will insure that you are at a calorie surplus for optimal bulking results.)

Strength gains have been relatively consistent, although I have started to see a plateau over the past few weeks...
Size gains also slowed in the last month.
I think it is the perfect time for a major change of pace to move from bulking to cutting for a couple months.
Hopefully it will shock my system, break plateaus and then I can get back to bulking with a fresh start (and lower body fat) :tu:

I have started a thread in the “fat loss” forum asking for input and opinions about some cutting issues.
Come on over to that thread and add your two cents if you have ideas!


my "cutting questions" thread (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=2712)

Wow! Awesome guide, SCHTEEVIE.

I had been pyramiding, but I tried doing it this way instead. Judging by my extreme soreness, I would say that this is much better. :) The pyramiding was definitely exhausting my muscles before I really had the chance to work them. Thanks!

Wow! Awesome guide, SCHTEEVIE.

I had been pyramiding, but I tried doing it this way instead. Judging by my extreme soreness, I would say that this is much better. :) The pyramiding was definitely exhausting my muscles before I really had the chance to work them. Thanks!

Hey, Alright!
good to see a woman interested in "bulking".

So many of my friends that aren't into fitness say things like "why would you want to bulk and get huge?"

At this point, my response to that type of thing is:

"yeah, you have to be careful, it really creeps up on you - one day you wake up looking like arnold" :rolleyes:

Anyway, more girls should stop being afraid of weight training, and look at fitness this way to really shape thier body.
The fact is, "bulking" is the only way to put on muscle mass, and that is really the only way to "shape" your body.
I think one of the best female bodies out there right now is Jennifer Garner.
She is well proportioned and has a great shape with perfect size; look at her shoulders and triceps!

http://www.24fps.ca/maui/j-garner.jpg

She does her workouts in less then one hour and does alternating cardio and weight training days; one article I read talked about how she does sets of full body weight dips!
- so you know she is pushing good amounts of weight for other things too.
I saw a TV interview where she talked about how she eats a fair amount to maintain strength and energy - she eats clean high protein sources, and low fat carbs like oatmeal, but by no means does she starve herself.

bulking doesn't mean you have to get huge - just sculpted.
most girls want great legs and a great butt - well - without heavy squats and lunges, you'll have a hard time "shaping" those areas.

My ultimate long term goal is to be at 180 lbs and 8-10% BF.
As a six foot male, I think that would be the perfect size body.

I intend to do alternating phases of bulking and cutting for years to come! :tucool:

Schteevie, it would be of great benefit to see your photos from start to at the moment, could you do this please?

Schteevie, it would be of great benefit to see your photos from start to at the moment, could you do this please?

the irony is that this is the one part of my "guide" that I didn't follow very well... :p

here is my excuse: :o
I am a professional photographer/cinematographer, so I had planned to set up a really good lighting rig to use consistently to shoot weekly photos. Doing something quick and dirty wasn't going to be enough...
(I probably just should have done it quick and dirty)
when I joined the gym, a buddy joined with me and we were sort of planning to do this together, so I figured I would plan a time to shoot photos and I would do his as well. long story short, he wasn't as serious about the whole thing as I was, and in the beginning that caused some friction, so I never got around to getting a good before shot the first month, as I had a hard enough time re working my plan since I had to accept the fact that I was alone and wouldn't be able to count on a spotter/work-out buddy...

having said that, I have some informal "before shots" kicking around, and when I get to it, I intend to do some "after shots" with proper lighting to compare...
I'll be down to about 12% BF in the next couple weeks (after about 8 weeks of cutting) - so I'll do shots and post them in the media gallery at that point...

Having said all that, I do sort of regret never getting my butt in gear to do good photos; however, my motivation hasn’t waned in the 8 months or so since I started – mainly because I have seen results (both in the mirror, and on the scale/tape measure), and many of my friends have noticed the changes…
So, in my case photos weren’t really needed to stay motivated.

abit more about the whole "work out buddy" issue...

make sure you plan to do this for your self and only count on your self - it is rare that friends or partners will have the same levels of motivation at the same time, so be sure you don't set yourself up to be let down (or be the one to let your partner down)

Thanks for the log...I recently entered a bulking phase for the summer in an attempt to gain about 12-14 pounds of mass going into our fall baseball season. There's more pop in your bat if you weigh 180 as opposed to 166 :-)

I hadn't heard the cardio thing or the only 45-55 minutes in the weightroom and researched that further after reading your article.

I have seen quite a bit of success especially in certain muscles, others are progressing more slowly.

Anyhow, just a thanks.

Mouth

2) ROUTINE:

Train each muscle group hard ONCE per week, and try to keep gym time under an hour.
- don't do cardio within 8 hours of a workout.

I could go into detail about the reasons why, but thats a long story.
- it is mainly to do with mental intensity and biochemical factors; there is an optimal window of about 45-55 minutes for making gains, and then it fades into exhaustion and is counter productive to go any longer.
(look up "catabolic" for more info on why not to combine cardio and lifting, and why gym time should be relatively short.)

A lot of people say they are sore for a day or two, but then feel fine so they should be able to work those same muscles again 2-3 days later.
This is believed to be WRONG by the majority of the community.
Just because you aren't feeling "DOMS" (Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness) (http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1999/01_99/muscle.htm) doesn't mean you are "healed" and ready to train again.
I have read a lot about this lately, and from what I have found, the muscles only really begin to grow and heal AFTER the pain stops.

The idea is that YOU DON'T GROW AT THE GYM, so give your body time AWAY from the gym to grow and repair itself.

Most of what I have read says to work a muscle group ONCE per week. or even less
- some sources even say work a group once in 8-10 days!


With body building LESS is MORE
- I hear that a lot; don't try and rush it.
Eat properly and work hard on each workout then REST between them, and the gains WILL come.


You'll want to plan to take a FULL WEEK OFF from lifting about every eight weeks or so.
Take that time to let your body rest, and maybe tweak your gym routine and come back with some minor changes.
(examples of things to change: order of exercises, different exercises, numbers of sets/reps, etc...)
The idea with weight training is to keep your body guessing; as long as you are "shocking" your muscles, they WILL GROW!


This is my current split:
- it is pretty basic, but I have had good gains.


Day 1: Chest/Triceps

Day 2: Legs/calves

Day 3: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 4: Back/Biceps/forearms

Day 5: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 6: Shoulders/traps

Day 7: OFF or cardio/abs


Be sure to stretch the specific muscles during or after a workout for a few minutes. I used to think stretching before was ideal, but lately I have found many sources that say stretching before lifting may actually increase risk of injury. Warm-up sets (as described below) will prepare muscles for load bearing.

Take a full 90-120 second BREAK between sets! this may seem long, but it works.

FORM is very important, heavy weight with bad form will only hinder your gains (or worse - you could get injured).
Do your homework, LEARN how to do each exercise properly.
This is a good place to start:

great info about exercises and muscles (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm)

Start each workout with compound movements, then move into the isolation work toward the end.
Let's use legs as an example :
"Squats" are a great compound leg exercise, and "seated calf raises" are isolation.

Use light weight and build up slowly for the first couple weeks while you get used to how everything feels, and what weight you can handle.
There is no shame in lifting light to learn form; but it is pretty embarrassing (or much worse) to drop a bar on your face trying to be a tough guy.
you could also end up pulling something or tearing a ligament, and that kind of injury can haunt you for years. So don't mess with weight you can't handle.


You may have heard of "pyramid sets", or "super sets" with short breaks between sets...
personally, I don't think these are very good, they can lead to exhaustion before you get a chance to really work the muscle.

The idea that I believe in is a basic version of the "MAX-OT" (http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/Max%2DOt_Complete_Routine/m_390/tm.htm) philosophy, based on warming up with light weight, building toward the heavy weight without exhaustion, then going heavy for 3 sets to failure.
(as a beginner, there is no point in trying something as advanced as MAX-OT, but later, look into it)

So for now, try something like this:

Warm-up on each muscle group as follows:
NOTE: if you are failing on these sets - you are lifting too heavy for warm-up

1 set at 50% for 10-12 reps,
1 set at 70% for 8 reps,
1 set at 90% for 3 reps,

Now go heavy (100%) for 3 sets aiming to fail between 6-8 reps.
if you can lift more then 8 reps it is not heavy enough.
(advanced body builders will aim for failure between 4-6 reps)

*NOTE: These warm-up sets are only for the first exercise in each muscle group...
example - if "Flat Bench press" is your first "chest day" exercise (as it should be since it is a great compound movement), then warm up on it, but don't warm up again for incline bench, since your chest is already good to go.
Triceps are a small muscle group often paired with "chest day".
Since your Tri's were used in all your "push movements" while working your chest, they are already more a less warmed up.
I wouldn't do the full 3 or 4 warm up sets for Tri's, maybe just do one warm-up set at 70% and then go to your heavy sets.

- you don't want to be exhausted, just warmed up.



TRACK YOUR PROGRESS !!!

Make a "work-out journal".
This is an important way to find out what is working, and notice plateaus.
Use your journal for each work-out and track what weight you lifted and how many reps you did for each exercise.
If you are doing things correctly, each progressive week you should be able to do more reps with the same weight, or add 5-10% more weight and do the same number of reps as the previous week.

A journal is a critical part of your plan to make gains, as it will help keep you on track.
It is also great for motivation to be able to look back a few weeks and see how much stronger you are now!

do 3-4 exercises per muscle group
- try and use free weights instead of machines.
When lifting heavy with intentions to go to failure, always try to work out with a spotter...
(use dumbbells as opposed to barbell for things like bench press if you don't have a spotter, so you can drop them to your side safely if you have trouble.)



3) Supplements:

You'll want to have a good multi-vitamin, and maybe additional vitamin C.
Also look into creatine, glutamine, and ZMA.

Of course "whey protein" is a must to meet your daily protein needs.
(but don't do more then 2 or 3 shakes a day - you want to get more then half of your protein from REAL food sources..

As most weight trainers put their joints and tendons through the ringer, it is a good idea to look into a "connective tissue maintenance" supplement as well.

most of my research points to these three elements:
Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and MSM
- you can buy them individually, but it makes more sense to look for a tablet that contains all three.



There is a start to get you on the road to natural, safe and healthy bulking!

good luck!

OK then... that was alot longer then I set out to make it - I edited the hell out of it and it is still pretty long...
I think it covers all the basics, I hope you enjoyed the read.
I am just starting serious weight training. Before I just did toning. Your article is great and worth following. My hang up is diet. I eat too much junk. I'm 74" at 245# with 40" waist, 44"chest,15!/2" arms and 31% bf. So you see I got along way to go. Yours ,Tommy

Thank you for all of this great info, I am going to start this program tommorow, I will update you on how it works out. :claplow:

I am supposedly cutting at the moment, but your post was a great read which I think can be used in the weight training I do now anyway. Maybe the results won't be as great as when in a calorie surplus, but hey - it can't harm! :bb:

I dont understand something...

" it is near impossible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time - so don't try to."

Then why do people here tell me to lift weights while I am trying to lose fat? People have said they have gotten stronger while losing weight doing cardio and weight training.

Seems like a contradiction? I'm very confused! :confused:

I dont understand something...

" it is near impossible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time - so don't try to."

Then why do people here tell me to lift weights while I am trying to lose fat? People have said they have gotten stronger while losing weight doing cardio and weight training.

Seems like a contradiction? I'm very confused! :confused:

Think what he means is do them both but at seperate days. So you do 3 days of weight lifting and 2 days of cardio, monday to friday(This is what I do and take the weekend off).

Strength is not = muscle mass. You can get stronger without adding muscle mass.

If you don't lift weights while cutting you will loose more muscle than if you do lift weights. Look at it this way. Lifting weights causes your body to think muscle is more important than fat. So if you are loosing weight, lifting weights will cause your body to drop the fat and keep the muscle. If you are gaining weight and lifting, you body will be more likely to pack on muscle than fat. In some people(and most newbies) the shock of weightlifting will actually cause the body to drop fat and add muscle.

I think you are over thinking this too much. It seems that you are LOOKING for conflicting information. Eat better and lift weight and exercise. It is really simple. If you want to loose weight eat less or exercise more, To gain weight eat more. Eat for weight, exercise for bodyfat%.

"I think you are over thinking this too much. It seems that you are LOOKING for conflicting information. Eat better and lift weight and exercise. It is really simple. If you want to loose weight eat less or exercise more, To gain weight eat more. Eat for weight, exercise for bodyfat%."

I probably am thinking about it too much. I tend to over analyze things sometimes but I'm not looking for conflicting info, per se.

I dont understand something...

" it is near impossible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time - so don't try to."

Then why do people here tell me to lift weights while I am trying to lose fat? People have said they have gotten stronger while losing weight doing cardio and weight training.

Seems like a contradiction? I'm very confused! :confused:

My interpretation of this is that you can't do a 100% succesfull bulking (meaning eating a lots of cals combined with weight training and building muscles that way) with cutting as they have definite conflicting daily cal requirements, bulking requires more cals and cutting requires less cals.

But, if you are cutting and doing weight training at the same time, I think that it's most certainly possible to gain some muscle and lose fat at the same time. The muscle gains are probably much less impressive than what they could be if you would do a clean bulk and wouldn't have to worry about cutting at the same time.

At least I have lost fat and I see definite improvements e.g. in my triceps and biceps with my own eyes (my wife sees it too... :nod: ) and I'm definitely cutting and also doing weights at the same time. I'm definitely not losing muscle, that's for sure!

Nice. Thanks PetriJR.

By the way, I can't bend my arm backwards without it aching like a mother right now! I better gain some muscle for this soreness!

:)

I have been lifting for three and a half years now on and off, and i learned most of what i know in high school weight training. You write in your article that you were improving your lifts five percent a week, while only lifting them once a week? Thats almost what is was like for me when i started, except i was lifting three/four times a week. Did those rates of improvement maintain for you past the first three weeks?
Really i have just been looking for some direction, which your guide has really provided me. I find myself at the gym everyday with two or three lifts in mind, then poking around for half an hour getting not much done.
I go to the gym everyday and would just as soon cut out the days off, as i have been lifting pretty steady the past four or five months, though with little improvement. I know my DOMS will be gone 2 days after i lift, no matter what. For someone like me, do you still think not taking days off will hurt my bulking? When i start taking days off i lose momentum, this is what always leads to the one or two week laspes in lifting. Should i look for another guide?
Thanks so much for putting this thing together, it looks like it took a while, and has been really helpful.
The WickedO

I have been lifting for three and a half years now on and off, and i learned most of what i know in high school weight training. You write in your article that you were improving your lifts five percent a week, while only lifting them once a week? Thats almost what is was like for me when i started, except i was lifting three/four times a week. Did those rates of improvement maintain for you past the first three weeks?
Really i have just been looking for some direction, which your guide has really provided me. I find myself at the gym everyday with two or three lifts in mind, then poking around for half an hour getting not much done.
I go to the gym everyday and would just as soon cut out the days off, as i have been lifting pretty steady the past four or five months, though with little improvement. I know my DOMS will be gone 2 days after i lift, no matter what. For someone like me, do you still think not taking days off will hurt my bulking? When i start taking days off i lose momentum, this is what always leads to the one or two week laspes in lifting. Should i look for another guide?
Thanks so much for putting this thing together, it looks like it took a while, and has been really helpful.
The WickedO

glad to have been of any help to you.

to answer some of your questions...

I did manage to keep a pretty good strength gain curve for the first 6 months, and then definently noticed a plateau. I changed things up and started a cutting phase around that time, and when I went back to bulking I broke through and saw strength/muscle mass gains again.

Bottom line is, you need to find something that works for you and keeps you motivated. good luck! :tu:

I have been very busy with work lately and actually have taken a month off as my sleep/eating was suffering with all the working and related stress. No point going to the gym when sleeping and eating are not on track - I can't afford to get sick.
I am looking forward to getting back at it next month when things slow down again.

This is going to be so helpful thanks alot :tu:

thanks for the guide SCHTEEVIE..

a few questions, and some info about me.

I'm 20, male, 6'5" ~180lbs. My arms and legs are pretty thin, but still somewhat muscular looking, same with chest and abs.

I'm going to start working out in preperation for either being a firefighter or paramedic. (I'm taking an EMT-B class right now)

For the warmups, as I understand it, you warm up a muscle group once before you work out. Though when you say "1 set at 50% for 10-12 reps" 80%, etc. Does the percentage signify the overall effort you're putting into each rep? You go slower and take your time in the "warm up" reps? While in the 100% reps and your subsequent 3x6-8's you are going somewhat quick and exerting yourself fully?

I want to do cardio, but I don't want to limit my muscle gain. Will doing 2-3 days of cardio with abs severely limit weight or muscle gains?

How often should I switch up exercise types for a muscle? Is it done for variety, and mental benefit, or do you see more muscle gain when varying how you work them?

I'm sure these questions are covered somewhere else, but the amount of information available is almost too much for a beginner, and I'd really appreciate your input, thanks!

welcome "gradient", and good luck with your goals...

now, to attempt some of your answers:

the warm-up percentage indicates what percent of your MAX weight to use.
ie: if your heavy sets are 6x100 lbs then when you warm up for 12 reps with 60% it would be 12x60 lbs.

cardio is fine when bulking, just try to do it on seperate days from lifting, or at least 8 hours apart.

vary exercises as you wish; but keep in mind, it is tough to track progress if you change too many variables too often.

this whole thing is very personal - you have to do what works for you.
good luck and keep us informed.

Update as of week 17:

My gains have been consistant - I've gained almost 10 pounds now and my bicepts are 2 inches bigger then when I started 4 months ago!

I am redoing my routine abit this week - for variety, and also because my arms are stronger now, so I feel I can seperate the classic pairings of "back/bi" and "chest/tri".
(I was finding back day is taking too long (almost an hour and a half some days), so I wanted to get biceps onto a different day)

So for now I am going to do:

Day 1: Chest/Biceps/forearms

Day 2: Legs/calves

Day 3: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 4: Back

Day 5: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 6: Shoulders/Traps/Triceps

Day 7: OFF or cardio/abs
Hi, Im new to this forum but Ive been reading it for quite awhile.Ive come to the same conclusions concerning diet, weight training etc.For the first month I went from 150 to around 165. Now I realize not to expect that all the time but for the past few months Ive been getting stronger, but not gaining any muscle mass or weight. Im stuck at 165. Ive always had a fast metabolism, so I wonder if I need more than the 18 calories per pound of muscle? Ive tried changing my routine, Im always increasing weight ,etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way,this is a great site! My wife has been following the fat loss part, and has went from 28% bf to just under 20% and lost 26# in a little under 3 months. Great Site, Thanks, wknipe

Hi, Im new to this forum but Ive been reading it for quite awhile.Ive come to the same conclusions concerning diet, weight training etc.For the first month I went from 150 to around 165. Now I realize not to expect that all the time but for the past few months Ive been getting stronger, but not gaining any muscle mass or weight. Im stuck at 165. Ive always had a fast metabolism, so I wonder if I need more than the 18 calories per pound of muscle? Ive tried changing my routine, Im always increasing weight ,etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way,this is a great site! My wife has been following the fat loss part, and has went from 28% bf to just under 20% and lost 26# in a little under 3 months. Great Site, Thanks, wknipe
Well, I feel like an idiot.I havent been keeping up with my body fat%.I just checked it and Ive been losing body fat as I gain muscle.Its been over a long enough period of time that I didnt realize I was making any gains. Just goes to show you have to look at the overall picture,(weight, body fat%, measurements,and pictures) thanks, wknipe

Math problem:

1) If you get 2g of protein/lb of lean mass, and each g of protein has 4 kcal, you'll be getting 8 kcal from protein/lb of lean mass.

2) If you get 8 kcal from protein/lb of lean mass, and 18 kcal total/lb of lean mass. Your percent calories from protein is 8/18 or 44%.

1.5g of protein/lb of lean mass, and 18 total kcal/lb of lean mass would give you 33% calories from protein.

Dude, your routine that you posted here has kicked massive ass. I have been using it for 2 months now, not missing a single workout. 4 days a week. Seriously, I am seeing gains left and right. It has helped me notice improvements all over my body, especially my shoulders/traps and tri's/bi's. Good work dude. Seriously, I reccomend this routine to anyone who can get in a gym 4 days a week.

One thing I did was on the shoulder days, I added db military press right after the machine military. Mostly because my stabilizers were shit at the time, but now they can keep up. That really helpmed me see some nice gains. Thanks a lot, great article.

Any one know when it is

Any one know when it is

Not the right place for this. Make a new topic on the main page.

Hi everybody just something sort to let everybody know im here.
i found the site a month ago throught a link in one of Spain leading newspapers http://www.elmundo.es/especiales/gps/2005/04/freaks/03.html
i dont agree with the freak adjetive

About my workout i´ve just started bulking using the OT Max training program so i will let you know how is it going :db:

Hi SCHTEEVIE

i'm from malaysia ...i really want serious weight/strength training
the info given in first page give good base for start up ...

my age is 27 5 feet 10" weight approx 86 kg with my waist 34
i goal to lose fat and gaining strength... in past year i have develop my tummy it's bigger than my chest ...

can guide me how to reduse my tummmy and gain 6 packs

thank you..

can a woman use this same routine?

A woman sure can.

This plan is very similar to Men's Fitness "The Ultimate Program." My brother found The Ultimate Program and found it was the exact program he was looking for, a year long program for bulking. When I visited him recently, He got me a copy of the program and I have been doing it for three weeks.

The Ultimate Program is divided into four three month phases through the year, laying the foundation,getting big, getting shredded, and refining your body with different exercises in each phase. The different phases are a part of the "periodization-based approach" which basically means changing your work out to break through plateaus.

Since I've only been doing the program about three weeks, I haven't been looking at the specifics of phases 2-4, but I have noticed a striking similarity between Schteevie's program and what I am following. The weekly workout plan structure is the same, four days at the gym and days 3, 5, and 7 for cardio/rest. Day one is chest and Biceps. Day two is legs. Day four is shoulders and triceps, and Day 6 is back and calves. This setup is fairly similar to what Schteevie does. I've heard from a friend of mind who has been big on exercise and working out for several years that working out four days a week is actually better for bulking than everyday. He has done bulking periods. He used to be a swimmer and now hes training for a triatholon.

The Ultimate Program lays out the five or six exercises each day at the gym. I won't go into what those are. The major difference I see is the number of reps. For each exercise there is usually two sets maybe three and one for pull-up. The number or reps per day is the same but it changes over the weeks. For instance, phase one calls for 15 reps per set for the first three weeks, 12 reps per set for weeks 4-8, and 10 reps per set for weeks 9-12. The goal is to steadily increase poundage on the exercises especially during rep transitions. If you can do more than 15, 12 or 10 reps during those weeks you should be lifting more weight. In a week I will probably bump the weight up and move down to 12 reps.

The food regimine is also five or six smaller meals to maintain a high energy level with one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. The Ultimate Program recommends protein after working out and sources include, whey protein, cans of tuna/chicken, low fat yogurt, eggs...

There seems to be a general consensus about many of the best ways to bulk.

How long do you typically bulk for, like monthwise?

Hey thanks for the info. Im just starting out and I am 6ft2 160lbs your thread is just what i was looking for someone with a plan that is or was close to my size thanks again :D

Hi SCHTEEVIE

i'm from malaysia ...i really want serious weight/strength training
the info given in first page give good base for start up ...

my age is 27 5 feet 10" weight approx 86 kg with my waist 34
i goal to lose fat and gaining strength... in past year i have develop my tummy it's bigger than my chest ...

can guide me how to reduse my tummmy and gain 6 packs

thank you..

Step one: very carefully, follow the advice given at the start of this thread.

Step two: look at everything you eat, and take out as much of the "empty" calories - sugary drinks & cookies & stuff.

Step three: read more stuff on this forum.

Be sure to stretch the specific muscles during or after a workout for a few minutes. I used to think stretching before was ideal, but lately I have found many sources that say stretching before lifting may actually increase risk of injury. Warm-up sets (as described below) will prepare muscles for load bearing.


I thank your document.
Whole document,I agree.

I do Max-Ot as Wt,HIIT as Cardio.Of course I do LISS.
I do Wt 6 a week HIIT 6 --short duration on Wt day, long(20min) on Cardio day -- Cardio as LISS 2or3 a week.Conpletely rest 1 day is my weekly routine.
I think Wt 4or 3 a week is best.Considering DOMS. :bb:

I have Question,"Before stretching" increase getting injured risk,you said
If you can show some articles,tell me the pointer.
I check www.physsportsmed.com site search-engine but it seems no good answer just look article title. :read:

thank you for your reading.

Since I am an ectomorph and not worried much about fat gain, I rounded up and my target daily calorie total to 3000 (I am 155)
As long as the ratios are good, I would rather error on the side of too many calories.
If I notice obvious fat gains, I will scale it back, but so far no issues with that.

At first I couldn't imagine how I would eat that much.
My usual day before was probably 2 crappy meals, making up a total of aprox 1800 calories.
I always used to skip breakfast...


Awesome advice in your post SCHTEEVIE. Any chance you could give us a sample day of what you eat?

Hey, newbie here. I found your guide really useful, but I have one question. I won't have access to a gym for a couple of months and I was wondering if there's anyway to use this guide without using machine exercises (all I have at home is dumbbells and a bench)? If so, what exercise sets do you recommend for each muscle group? Thanks in advance :) .

Hi,
Pablo here, 29 male, 5’7” 170lb 20% body fat. I am looking at bulking up soon and was wondering if I should loose all my fat first or start bulking and gradually loose the fat? My goal is to gain muscle mass but have major problems with my mid section. I am thinking of going down to about 10% body fat before I bulk. What is best?
Thanks!!!

Hi,
Pablo here, 29 male, 5’7” 170lb 20% body fat. I am looking at bulking up soon and was wondering if I should loose all my fat first or start bulking and gradually loose the fat? My goal is to gain muscle mass but have major problems with my mid section. I am thinking of going down to about 10% body fat before I bulk. What is best?
Thanks!!!

akapablo: at 20%BF, you'd definitely be better served with a cutting phase first. A more favorable muscle:fat mass ratio will mean more muscle mass gained when you finally do start bulking. At this point, you'd probably be dissatisfied with the additional fat gain.

nice info there

Hey, newbie here. I found your guide really useful, but I have one question. I won't have access to a gym for a couple of months and I was wondering if there's anyway to use this guide without using machine exercises (all I have at home is dumbbells and a bench)? If so, what exercise sets do you recommend for each muscle group? Thanks in advance :) .

I was in the same boat as you. I decided to get the Ironmaster bench with all of the attachments. That way, I only needed to switch a few excercises around. The only thing i have trouble with now is warm ups for the lats. in other words, I'd recomend looking into the bench if you can. If you can't, I'd suggest doing a search for DB workouts on this site and an excercise search at Bodybuilding.com. You should be able to come up with some replacement excercises.

Really brilliant site and incredibly helpful thread. Thanks!

I am 6ft and weight approx 160 pounds.

I apologise for my ignorance but I am new to this and am trying to get my plan together for when I start in a couple of weeks. I'm currently trying to do some light training (running, skipping etc) to improve my fitness until I fully start but I do have a few queries:

1) When you say "cardio/abs", what exactly do you mean?

2) What effects does alcohol have on the bulking process?

3) Does missing one or to gym sessions in a week seriously effect the routine? (I have a couple of weddings and birthdays through out my 8 week training period).

4) Is there any other exercises you could recommend to do before actually starting?

Any help would be very greatly appreciated......

1) When you say "cardio/abs", what exactly do you mean?
I assume he means he does cardio and abdominal training in the same session.
2) What effects does alcohol have on the bulking process?
It makes your bulk successful if you are trying to add fat. ;)

Seriously though, it depends on the person. I can't walk past beer without getting fatter.

3) Does missing one or to gym sessions in a week seriously effect the routine? (I have a couple of weddings and birthdays through out my 8 week training period).
No, you need time off anyway once in a while. I would plan your workouts for those weeks so that you are purposely not lifting on the days that weddings/birthdays come up. For example, let's say you normally work out Mon, Wed, and Fri. Now lets say you have a wedding to attend next Friday. Well then simply move Friday's workout to Saturday or Thursday. :)

I think off days are very important. When I need one, I take one. But I try to schedule them as much as possible and stay consistent with my plan. I figure that a day lost is a day lost forever. I try my best not to miss workouts.

4) Is there any other exercises you could recommend to do before actually starting?
Start now. :)

(Your question is kind of vague; need more info. Are you planning to start next month or something?)

Been saying I'm going to do it for about a year now but am actually planning on getting off my arse and start on Thursday 4th May. Alot more confident I can stick to it now because this site is so helpful and I'm starting to get a better idea of what it is I'm trying to achieve and how to go about it.

There are still large problem areas that I don't understand such as food because I'm not completely sure what to avoid plus I'm a really bad cook:) I know not to eat junk food and things like white bread but what else is an absolute no-no? And what times are good to eat? My workouts will be in the morning before work so do I eat directly after or wait an hour????

So many questions.......:)

Is it possible to 'bulk' without increasing b/f%?

Is it possible to 'bulk' without increasing b/f%?
Possible but not proable. You can do a slow bulk, increase calories by 200 each week. So lets say you start at 2200, after a 6 weeks you would be at 3400. During that time, you would watch waist measurement each week, if it increases over 1.25 in from the start cut back 200 calories.

If you don't use some control factor, you can easily take in more calories than you need and that can go to fat.

cardio is fine when bulking, just try to do it on seperate days from lifting, or at least 8 hours apart.

what kind of cardio do you do - HIIT/LISS ?

awsome guide !

just one question about the cardio.. how long ? 10 ? 20min ?

thank you for this awesome post...

however, i have a question to ask...

you mentioned in your post that every muscle should get worked ONLY once....otherwise, people would be training before the muscle has been FULLY recovered....
does this only apply to people who have trained "a lot" already?
or for beginners as well??

i had done some weight training for approximately a year or so 3 years ago, I havent done any since then, I have gotten back into it recently...

im wondering if I should bulk, training each muslce INTENSIVELY once a week. Or, I should adopt a upper/lower (which im doing currently) routine that trains the same muslce once every 3 days.

Can you clarify on this please? thank you!

I'm just curious on the rationale behind the "no cardio until 8 hours after lifting" rule. Is this for fear that you're simply burning what you'll need for muscle development through cardio?

If this is the case, I'd have to wonder how athletes bulk up so considerably given that they often go through a weightlifting routine and practice (far more than an average CV exercise)/conditioning in the same day.

Hi I need to consume about 155 g of protein to accomandate my body weight, however so far im only managing 120 or so and that is with shakes. I train heavy 3 times a week, what i want to know is, if i dont comsume 155g or more, will my muscles not grow and as a result be wasted time at the gym. Its a finance issue, my mum finds it very difficult to keep up with what i need to eat.

Hi I need to consume about 155 g of protein to accomandate my body weight, however so far im only managing 120 or so and that is with shakes. I train heavy 3 times a week, what i want to know is, if i dont comsume 155g or more, will my muscles not grow and as a result be wasted time at the gym. Its a finance issue, my mum finds it very difficult to keep up with what i need to eat.

Please guys this is a real problem for me,i need a way around it

Probably best to start a seperate thread but realize that as some people here say "muscles are made in the kitchen, not the gym." There isn't "a way around it." On the other hand 1 gram protein per lb. body weight is just a rule of thumb but getting enough protein is important.

I can't speak to your finances but with careful shopping you can hopefully find a cheap protein source. Cottage cheese, beans, tofu? Start a thread in the intro forum and people will probably be able to help you find an affordable diet with enough protein.

I've just done some of the chest/triceps exercises, but faded drastically over the course of the workout. I started out with the bench presses but by the time I got to the close hand bench presses I was only able to do about half of what I did before. There are 3 things that come to mind.

1. This is totally normal and because the exercises are slightly different, there is little to worry about.
2. This is normal but I should change the order around every time I go so that I'm getting maximum work on each group (ie, do Triceps first one time, chest first the next).
3. I'm either starting out too heavy or have poor form.

Any advice on this issue?

Awesome thanks for this. Ive been reading a lot of different and conflicting info on sites/forums and this has really cleared up a lot of my questions. Is this exactly the same as the Max-OT program or has it been tweaked??

Ive just finished the John Berardi Scrawny to Brawny program and had good success but unsure where to go next. Ive gained about 10 lbs in 4-5 months (1st time ever putting on weight), a good strength increase but still not as much as I'd like. So basically Im thinkin of trying this routine, has anyone else tried it that can give some feedback?

To make this article more complete, I've added the initial bulking gym routine I used for my first 12 weeks.

warm up as explained above - heavy sets are to failure.
(breaks between warm-up and heavy sets 90-120 seconds)

Day 1: Chest/Triceps

flat bench press
- warm up x 3-4 sets
3x6-8

Incline bench (30 degress)
3x6-8

weighted dips
- warm up (on "dip assist machine") 1 set
3x6-8

close grip bench press
3x6-8

cable tri extension
2x6-8

Day 2: Legs/calves

Squats
- warm up 3-4 sets
3x6-8

legg press
3x6-8

legg curls
warm up - 1 set
3x6-8

standing calf raises
3x6-8

Day 3: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 4: Back/Biceps/forearms

pull-ups
(warm-up with lat pull down) 3-4 sets
3x6-8

one arm dumb bell row
warm-up - 1 set
3x6-8

bent over BB row
3x6-8

standing bar bell curls (EZ bar)
3x6-8

standing reverse hammer curls (fore arm)
3x6-8

seated fore arm curls (forearm on leg)
3x6-8

close grip pull ups (chin-ups)
2x6-8

Day 5: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 6: Shoulders/traps

Military press
- warm up 3-4 sets
3x6-8

Side lateral raises
3x6-8

DB shrugs
3x6-8

Day 7: OFF or cardio/abs

Hey guys, was wondering if is not good to throw in some dead lifts into this routine, possibly on the shoulder day. From what I have heard they are important to build substantial mass and also work directly on your traps.

2) ROUTINE:

Train each muscle group hard ONCE per week, and try to keep gym time under an hour.
- don't do cardio within 8 hours of a workout.

.

hi SCHTEEVIE ..hey guys....

is it ok if I do cardio after my workout routine...maybe 15-20 min....?

thanks....

What is the recommended lifting cadence 1010? 2020?

Nope, very counter productive to do cardio right after lifting..

Nope, very counter productive to do cardio right after lifting..

:confused:

I mostly understand the idea of the workout to use for bulking, but the diet not so much. All of the % kinda confused me. Could somebody try explaining it a little simplier or give me an example of a good diet that might have worked for you?

I mostly understand the idea of the workout to use for bulking, but the diet not so much. All of the % kinda confused me. Could somebody try explaining it a little simplier or give me an example of a good diet that might have worked for you?
Take your BMR and multiply that by the activity factor (using the Harris Benedict Formula). Then add on 500.

Multiply that number by 0.4 to get your protein calories
Multiply that number by 0.4 to get your carbs calories
Multiply that number by 0.2 to get your fats calories

Then, start making a diet. You would want to choose foods, such as:

Protein - lean red meat, chicken, eggs, turkey, tuna, other fish, protein powder

Carbs - sweet potato, brown rice, oats, broccoli, green beans

Fats - olive oil, flaxseed oil, natural peanut butter, egg yolks

Sort that out, post it up and get some critique on it. :) Then, do the same for a weight training plan. I advise you to pick an "out of the box" one, or if you want to be creative, then go ahead.

That will get you started.

Good luck! :)

SCHTEEVIE. I have redesigned my routine using your methods. Holy cow I am noticing a huge difference in how I feel and look. Thanks a lot, sir!

I am new to this so doing my research at the moment. I am 44, 5'7" and 126 pounds and want to bulk up a bit (not get huge muscles etc). For past 2 months I have been doing cardio to get rid of the excess stomach fat and have lost half a stone so feel better.
Anyway I have been reading this forum and the one at bodybuilding.com and the advice for beginners seem to be conflicting.
This entry says do each muscle group once a week with 3 sets per exercise and only do one muscle group per day. whereas the equivalent entry at bodybuilding says do only 1 set per muscle group and do all the muscle groups on the same day then take a day off and repeat. Their entry is called '3 day workout for quick mass'
http://bodybuilding.com/fun/hitworkout.htm

Any advice on which would suit me best - as i said i'm not wanting to be a bodybuilder just bulk up a bit as am current stick thin all round

I am new to this so doing my research at the moment. I am 44, 5'7" and 126 pounds and want to bulk up a bit (not get huge muscles etc). For past 2 months I have been doing cardio to get rid of the excess stomach fat and have lost half a stone so feel better.
Anyway I have been reading this forum and the one at bodybuilding.com and the advice for beginners seem to be conflicting.
This entry says do each muscle group once a week with 3 sets per exercise and only do one muscle group per day. whereas the equivalent entry at bodybuilding says do only 1 set per muscle group and do all the muscle groups on the same day then take a day off and repeat. Their entry is called '3 day workout for quick mass'
http://bodybuilding.com/fun/hitworkout.htm

Any advice on which would suit me best - as i said i'm not wanting to be a bodybuilder just bulk up a bit as am current stick thin all round

That's a classic "split" vs fullbody workout. It is not a confliction, just more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak. Both work fine.

Thanks Foley, I will start with the full body workout on alternate days and see how it goes.

As I am at home, my workout is pretty much all based around dumbbells. I have about 15 exercises that cover all muscle groups and do 1 set of 12-15 reps every alternate day 3 times per week. The actual exercise are the normal lot from various websites :
hammer curls, bench press, flys, shoulder press, lunges, bench rows, stiff leg lifts, situps, pressups, lateral raise, pullover, calf raise, etc

In between I try and do 30-40 min crosstrainer at around 70% Max HR. I am keen to minimise any increase in bodyfat (as its just taken me 2 months to get it off).
As I said, I am not looking for bulging biceps or a 6 pack but just want to bulk up a little all round so maybe gain about a stone (currently just under 9 stones).
I'm also unsure of how much protein i should have in my diet (about 2000 calories currently) and am currently going for 80g inc 1 protein drink per day. I have very little dairy or red meat as thats how i got fat in the frist place :-)

great guide man, i cant wait to try it out starting on monday, i just have one problem...



Anyway - back to the ratio:

30% of 3000 = about 220 grams of protein.
Here is a good formula to know:
4 cals/gram of protein, 4 cals/gram of carbs and 9 cals/gram of fat.


30% of 3000 = 900 cal
900cal/(9cal/gram) = 100grams, not 220
so, is there another multiplier in there or something i'm just not seeing?

thanks in advance for the clarification

PS i love the fact that you mentioned fitday, the website for those of us who have a little too muc OCD :P

30% of 3000 = 900 cal
900cal/(9cal/gram) = 100grams, not 220
so, is there another multiplier in there or something i'm just not seeing?


You're dividing protein calories as if they were fat (ie. 9 cal/g instead of the correct 4cal/g).

haha, oops... that was a bonehead move. alright, thanks

my question is concerning cardio.

aften I run as fast and as far as possible, this sends my HR right up but according to some this elevated HR is detrimental to building muscle.

So should I limit my HR to the "fat burning" zone i.e. 75% of max hr or doesn`t it matter as I am not doing cardio on lifting days?

Thank you

very good info bro!many thanks.:tu:

my question is concerning cardio.

aften I run as fast and as far as possible, this sends my HR right up but according to some this elevated HR is detrimental to building muscle.

So should I limit my HR to the "fat burning" zone i.e. 75% of max hr or doesn`t it matter as I am not doing cardio on lifting days?

Thank you

Why are you doing cardio, if you are trying to bulk. Cardio builds little if any muscle at all. You are eating more calories to build muscle, why are you trying to burn more calories for non-muscle producing exercise. I just don't understand. Do you have lung or heart problems that you think cardio will help.:confused:

Why are you doing cardio, if you are trying to bulk. Cardio builds little if any muscle at all. You are eating more calories to build muscle, why are you trying to burn more calories for non-muscle producing exercise. I just don't understand. Do you have lung or heart problems that you think cardio will help.:confused:



Cardio is an excellent form of exercising and I believe should never be neglected. The question is concerning intensity. Some people tell me to cardio everyday others just on non-lifting days.

Cardio is an excellent form of exercising and I believe should never be neglected. The question is concerning intensity. Some people tell me to cardio everyday others just on non-lifting days.
If you, for whatever reason, have to do cardio during your bulking program, I would leave it to non-weightlifting days only. I would also make it a short, high intensity session; forget about this "fat burning zone" thing.

Elevated heart rate is not detrimental to building muscle. Just eat properly and you'll be fine.

This probably has nothing to do with what is being discussed but it may be relavent in some uncertain terms when it comes to bulking unrelated to taking it to the extreme "all-or-nothing" equivalent, ie- competitive bodybuilding. People can take from it what they deem interesting, and apply it in their own quest for fitness. strength, and staying in shape.



Bulking up, say 10% or more of contest weight is a good way to stretch the frame and add size over the first few years of competition. As you get closer to your size limit and need refinement over bulk its best to stay in the 5-8% over contest range. I like 3-4% for myself as that allows me good calories and food and some joint cushion without killing myself on the diet and losing more muscle on the way down then I put on in the off season. Ladies I have used the same figures with success for women too, and have had some awsome results with my female clients. Now the other thing is you must be comfortable with, is your off season size as well, its a mental thing. Its of no benefit to add 35# and loath yourself for it. Your better served by adding 10# training hard and having the proper mental outlook. There is no reason to add excessive bulk if it makes you uncomfortable. Now as far as the fat=size thing... thats bull. The joints do not need that much cushion, and you actually lose leverage when you add too much fat. Look at it this way, if I go to 220# and do squats, my form, leverage and style will be totally opposite then at 160#. Now the change in stance, counterbalancing my fat gut and other weight related porblems will not allow me to target my quads as well, thus limiting the effectiveness of the movements. Are curls more effective when you have a fat gut stopping full range of movement? How effective are bench presses when the chest is so rotund you only do a 4" movement? Now the extra fat will strech the dimensions of the frame, I agree, but when is the effect lost? Over 25 years I have see many bb's bulk up and diet down. The first two times its effective, and after that all they do is get fat, have a hard time getting hard and end up with nothing more then lose skin and stubborn fatty deposits. For naturals that's bad. Add some fat, the above mentioned guidelines should help, stay in the comfort zone and eat intellegently not excessively. Rememebr the formula 100 calories over BMR is all you need to build muscle. The rest is overkill.

my question is concerning cardio.

aften I run as fast and as far as possible, this sends my HR right up but according to some this elevated HR is detrimental to building muscle.

So should I limit my HR to the "fat burning" zone i.e. 75% of max hr or doesn`t it matter as I am not doing cardio on lifting days?

Thank you

Personally, I never have done cardio....

Even if I did, I would not do it during a bulk...:nope:

hello, great thread!

I was looking for a new training routine and want to try this one. I don´t understand the names of most of this exercises:

Day 4: Back/Biceps/forearms
pull-ups
(warm-up with lat pull down) 3-4 sets
3x6-8
one arm dumb bell row
warm-up - 1 set
3x6-8
bent over BB row
3x6-8
standing bar bell curls (EZ bar)
3x6-8
standing reverse hammer curls (fore arm)
3x6-8
seated fore arm curls (forearm on leg)
3x6-8
close grip pull ups (chin-ups)
2x6-8

is the a web page that shows pictures or videos of this exercises. I bet have already done most of them but my english isn´t just good enough for that words ;)

cheers, Marcus

ok, I found that link on johns page:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm :tucool:

Happy Birthday, SCHTEEVIE. :claphigh:

I see a lot of split routines on here - If I do mainly compound exercises, ie - deads/squats/Rows/Press/Bench + 2 Iso's - will I see the same benefits as doing splits.

Many thanks.

When I workout my main days: chest/tri, shoulders/bi/upper back, legs/lower back, i always do 10 minutes of cardio right after, as well some ab work, some with weights some without.


does that 10 minutes of cardio prove to be counterproductive to my goal of gaining 10-20 pounds?

I'm really out of shape running wise, and I have noticed just these 10 minutes of cardio, keep me ahead of the game when I play pickup football or basketball games with my friends.

does that 10 minutes of cardio prove to be counterproductive to my goal of gaining 10-20 pounds?

Only if you are not eating enough to compensate for the extra activity. :)

PS: You might want to rearrange your split so that you aren't hitting shoulders right after chest/triceps. There's a lot of overlap between these muscle groups, IMO.

So should i do chest/tri then lower back/legs then biceps/shoulders/upper back ?

So should i do chest/tri then lower back/legs then biceps/shoulders/upper back ?

That might work better. If you feel like your shoulders aren't recovered enough by your second lifting day you might want to give it a try.

I don't notice because that is the order I always do them in, my actual gym schedule fluctuates to any time I can actually get to the gym (of course not on back to back days though)

I never really feel my shoulders getting worked in my chest/tri day anyways though.

This beginner's guide is wonderful! :tu:

I had a question in terms of the work outs involved in your plan. Because I've worked out before, but I am still totally a newb at the gym, I don't know many work outs by their names. Do you have any wonderful site that shows you what each work out is, or could you possibly throw me any advice when it comes to finding out good core work outs for each muscle group?

Thanks!

Day 1: Chest/Triceps

Day 2: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 3: Back/Biceps/forearms

Day 4: OFF or cardio/abs

Day 5: Shoulders/traps

Day 6: Legs/calves

Day 7: OFF or cardio/abs

Is this a good split?

This beginner's guide is wonderful! :tu:

I had a question in terms of the work outs involved in your plan. Because I've worked out before, but I am still totally a newb at the gym, I don't know many work outs by their names. Do you have any wonderful site that shows you what each work out is, or could you possibly throw me any advice when it comes to finding out good core work outs for each muscle group?

Thanks!

http://www.exrx.net can show you lots of exes and the muscles they work.

There are a ton of exes to do, but look up these:
-Squats
-Dead lift
-Presses (overhead and bench)
-Rows
-Pullups/chinups

You can google these, use exrx.net, or find youtube videos on how to do these exes.

These are just a few that should definitely be included in your routine. There are a ton of others out there you might try, but these all work large portions of the body in one motion rather than isolating a single muscle. More bang for the buck you might say. Good luck :tu:

First thing i would like to do is to thank Schteevie for this wonderful guide. I guess that everybody here have been neewbies some time ago, and having a guide like this one make things much easier.

I would like to ask you something: When you say "Cardio/Abs", How much time would you spend doing cardio per session? And how fast? And what about abs? And my last question would be: how many sessions per week would you do (Cardio/Abs) if you look like sid (from ice Age)?

Thanks in advance :tu:

Hi there,I started two days ago (sunday) with this training.But I am doing it from home because I dont have time to go to the gym.My equipment is dumbells and a stationary bike.

Monday: Weight training: back & biceps; Stationary bike or Stair climber, 12 minutes (HIIT)
Tuesday: Stationary bike or Stair climber, 23 mins (HIIT); Abs
Wednesday: Weight training: quads, calves(gemelos), hamstrings(detras del cuadricep); Stationary
Thursday: Stationary bike or Stair climber, 23 mins (HIIT)
Friday: Weight training: pecs, delts(hombros), triceps; Stationary bike or Stair climber, 12 minutes (HIIT)
Saturday Stationary bike or Stair climber, 23 mins (HIIT); Abs
Sunday: Stationary bike or Stair climber, 23 mins (HIIT)

Its basically its jone stone weekend work out,but I have changed the days.
What I wanted to know what is the best exercises for these parts:?
Biceps: I do curls(dumbells)
Pecs: push ups
Delts: Front Raise(dumbells)
Triceps:Weighted bench dip(dumbells)
back:I have a bar in between 2 door and I can push up to exercise my back.
Thank you.

Ps:for my first photo I took it from the front and from the side,but I did it in a relax pose,am I doing it correctly or should I put on muscle for the cam?

About the warm up part:
it sais
1 set at 50% for 10-12 reps,
1 set at 70% for 8 reps,
1 set at 90% for 3 reps,

Are there other ways to warm up?,for example if I am training my biceps at home and I have a set of dumbells,do I have to take the weigth of them to do the first set,then add more weigth for the next,etc....its a bit boring i know but If I do it like that I might abandon it.

Cant I do for example, if I normally do 1 x 12,the first one to warm up 1 x 6?

Great post man, just started the other night. Had a couple questions though. Through out these workouts I'm finding that I'm not working with enough sets you've provided. I'm getting my 3 sets 6-8 reps (usually on the 6 rep side) and find that I should be doing more sets than the given 13+4 warm up sets. Any suggestions? I'm 24, 6'4 185 trying to get to 210 by December. Thanks:tu:.