Training plan

steve edwards

Hey everyone.
I'm steve and next week i plan to start a completely new weight gain and muscle growth plan. So far i have only posted on the supplements forum. There i also posted my diet plan. You see the problem is i just need to come up with a good training plan and i feel i'm almost ready to go. I'm 18, 6foot 2.3 and weigh 11 stone 3. I've been told just to train 3 times a week and not to overdo it but also not to underdo it. Does the following seem ok?
Day 1: Chest. biceps
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Legs and shoulders
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Back, triceps
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest

If there is something missing or something doesn't seem right please say. Could someone also please say what the best excersises are for each body part to grow serious muscle as this is my objective. Thanks everyone.

Xris

Hi Steve,

Well done for starting mate. May I recommend a good way of getting going? Apparently most of the greatest bodybuilders, as well as nobodies like me, started off with a full body routine. Kinda says it all really.

In your routine you have the big exercises, not lots of curls, tricep extensions, pec-dec work or other stuff. Those are for advanced bodybuilders just needing to balance out already massive physiques. Do not think in terms of muscle groups or body parts, just think of getting the most bang for the sweat buck in your (short) routine. Balance is for later.

To start with you want:
deadlifts and/or squats
bench presses or dips (if you can do bodyweight dips)
pulldowns or rows (or chinups if you can do them)
overhead presses (standing, seated, dumbbells ...)

Deadlifts and squats fire up the bodybuilding hormones throughout your body. You must do these in order to really grow. Do not dodge them as so many do. Once you've learned to do them properly (wayyyy important!) go for maybe a single set of 10-12 or break that into 2 sets.

The others. In your early days, just about any arrangement will work. but go for maybe 2 sets of 6-8. And learn proper form.

Make all reps in good form, finish all sets with a bit of a struggle but in good form. Adjust the weight upwards in tiny increments (really. As embarrassingly tiny as you can arrange) every session or so.

Eat like a pig. Sleep plenty. And the muscle will just grow.

After three to six months of all this you'll probably be ready to move on. In that time you'll probably have put on quite a bit of muscle, and if you're smart you've been reading something like Rippetoe's Starting Strength or McRoberts' Beyond Brawn to help you understand what you're doing and where you're going next. Anyway, when you've got there and full-body routines three times a week are beginning to wear you down physically, time for stage two. You will no longer be a beginner.

There ya go. Not complicated. Yet. Read the books, do the work. Temptations will arise to chop and change once you've settled your routine. Stick with it at all costs mate. It's tried and tested many times over. You do not know better. Yet.

Best of luck to you.

steve edwards

Thanks for this mate. I really appreciate it. So shall i do this routine 3 times a week for 3-6 months?

deadlifts and/or squats
bench presses or dips (if you can do bodyweight dips)
pulldowns or rows (or chinups if you can do them)
overhead presses (standing, seated, dumbbells ...)


Thanks

Rickeh

Hi Steve

Good advice from Xris. I currently train 3 days a week excatly the way you descride in your initial post which works well. I have been training fro 15 years and competed but in the beginning all i did was basic full routines at 2 days a week raisng to three after two months with deadlifts, squat, overhead shoulder press, bench press, calve raise, curls and close grip bench press.
In that time i concentrated on good form and on increasing my weights on every workout.
Eat lots of good food, drink plenty of water and take a good multivitamin supplement.
You will grow like a horse and after a few months your growth will slow down and then its time to change.
Good luck.

Beef it!

steve edwards

Thanks Rickeh. Could you tell me a good 'multivitamin supplement'. I'v got about a months supply of maximuscle's promax and progain. I could also get Protrient for multivitamins http://www.maximuscle.com/protrient or zma http://www.maximuscle.com/Content.asp?ProdCatID=153
After this runs out though i'm getting extreme's creatine and Build & Recover as i have been advised not to get maximuscles. Does this sound ok?

Xris

Hi Steve,

Pleasure if I can help. Notice that you had put up a routine more suited to someone like Rickeh, who's been doing this for years. You don't need to go there just yet, but Rickeh's told you what to look for to tell you when it's time to change.

Yes, you could treat this as a sample routine, or you could do something like this:

DAY ONE

squat
bench press
pulldown (palms facing you -- better than curls)
overhead press

DAY TWO

deadlift
dip
row
overhead press

DAY THREE

as day one

The press -- ie standing, raise weight above head -- is a great overall exercise and teaches you to generate force from the ground up, so if you can possibly use it, do.

With these exercises you will lay a foundation of solid strength and muscle. Tweaking the routine can come later. There's no rush. Rush->corner-cutting->injury->delay

I've less to say about supplements, except to agree with Rickeh. remember that supplements are just that. They are supplements, not substitutes, and eating lots, resting lots and working really hard in the gym are what count. One multivitamin for now is good. Soon you'll need to investigate protein shakes etc, but for goodness' sake don't get bogged down in chemistry lessons from those who only make it more complicated than it is.

Go for it mate.

crazycal1

Pm me if you want a free Ebook of beyond brawn

einsteins mind was the key to all things...to understand more than to know.

www.extremenutrition.co.uk

steve edwards

Thanks xris so does this weekly plan look good for a few months?
mon squat, bench press, pulldown, overhead press
tue rest
wed deadlift, dip, row, overhead press
thurs rest
fri squat, bench press, pulldown, overhead press
sat rest
sun rest

You say row for day 2 to row. Is this just on a standard rowing machine as seen in gyms and how long should i do? I thought this stops you putting weight on and should just be used as a warmup? Also should i be doing 3 sets of around 10 reps to failure for all these?

Xris

Rows. Ah, no. Let me clarify. The row is a compound upper back exercise targeting mostly the latissimus dorsi and the trapezius muscles, with some involvement of lower back, biceps, deltoids and lower arm muscles. It's the weight training exercise I mean, not the aerobic exercise. Consult a weights instructor to show you the sort of thing and get a book like DeLavier's Strength Training Anatomy, which shows you loads of exercises with detailed pictures of whichever muscles are involved. Major recommend.

You quite rightly see the rowing machines that you mentioned as good for warmups but not for resistance training. And of course you weren't going to do cardio work right next to your weight training, were you mate?

Some people do recommend three sets of 8-10 for rows/chins/pullups/pulldowns, rather than the two I suggested. Try it. At your early stage it will do you no harm at all, and it will certainly give you a big thick V-shaped back.

Take Cal up on his offer of the e-book. There's some good stuff there for later on.

And your weekly plan looks good. That will last you for months. When you've got so much weight on the exercises you can't seem to get any more on many of them, you'll be ready to change and you'll be seeing some remarkable growth in your physique.

steve edwards

I seem to be fine with everything except dip and row. I can't workout what these are? Could you show some pictures of these to help me. I searched for them on www.bodybuilding.com but loads came up.
thanks