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[Lavan Ruban]

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[saj_21]

Hey

I'm 171cm/65kg, and I've gained about 4kg in three months, and looking to gain another 4.

Right now I work chest, biceps and triceps, back and shoulders, and legs and abs on separate days, and do 12 sets of 8 for each muscle group at 70% of my 1RM, and aim to progressive overload the weights by 5% for main muscle groups (i.e. on the bench press, squats, bent over rows, etc).

One of my mates has started doing the following program.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=160554001

It looks good except I don't like how it works the upper body and lower body seperately, and each workout doesn't seem to fatigue a single muscle group enough. Wondering everyone's thoughts?

Cheers

I will be honest, i only skimmed over a few of the links. All i will say is why not keep doing what you are doing? You've put on 4kg now so keep going with, ive found in the past trying to do someone else's program you don't quite enjoy will lead to a loss in motivation. Consistency is key.

All i would say is keep doing what you are doing and progressively overload (add more weight) when you hit a flat spot or feel you need to back of look at a deload week. As for you split, personally id swap over shoulders and biceps so you split is the old school push (chest, tris and shoulders) pull (back, bis, traps) and legs.

 

[saj_21]

Thanks for the reply.

I only want to change because I've been told that hitting each muscle group only once per week is more for advanced lifters, while I've only been in the gym for four months.

I've realised I can't realistically do upper/lower as it won't allow enough time for my legs to recover for training!

Like the idea of the more conventional push/pull/legs, except that gym five times a week and training twice a week won't give me a rest day. To fit in a rest day, I'd have to resort to hitting a smaller muscle group only once a week, thinking triceps or shoulders, and allowing compound lifts (e.g. bench press, deadlifts) to hit the neglected muscle on other days.

Not quite true, that's more of an old school bodybuilder approach where guys would annihilate a muscle group with a 2-3 hour workout. Personally i prefer hitting each muscle group twice a week.

Do you still play footy? are these the other two sessions?

 

[cptkirk]

so you're playing footy too? i'd go with increasing volume now because you'll need more recovery come footy season time then right now and its harder to recover from volume then intensity

so with 4 weeks til round 1 (give or take) increase your volume 5% each week

 

[saj_21]

so you're playing footy too? i'd go with increasing volume now because you'll need more recovery come footy season time then right now and its harder to recover from volume then intensity

so with 4 weeks til round 1 (give or take) increase your volume 5% each week

Like we've mentioned before, the OP will have to choose a preference footy or lifting, they can be done in conjunction but not with one affecting the other.

 

[saj_21]

Ahhhh okay, nonetheless with what I'm doing now I only have the time to hit each muscle group once per week. I'd like to experiment with push/pull/legs.

And yep, still play footy.



I've found the progressive overload to come naturally over the past month for most muscle groups except legs. I'll definitely choose footy over lifting, which is why I've neglected legs since pre-season started.

Alright with footy being preference you have a couple of options. My personal preference is to do legs on Tuesday night inline with footy training, then you are disrupting the muscle fibres once and allows you to maximize rest from Saturdays game and in time again for Thursday's training. But if you will doing gym on nights you aren't at training;

Monday - legs
Wednesday - pull
Friday - push

Or

Monday - legs
Wednesday - chest/back
Friday - arms/shoulders

After a bit of trial and error you will find a sweet spot with sets and reps. You want to push yourself a bit, but not annihilate your muscles that you are sore and it affects your footy.

Secondly never skip leg day come pre-season later at end of the year, its very important to incorporate it into your training.

 

[cptkirk]

to fit for footy...

mon - upper pull (rows, chin/pull ups, mid back, bi's)
tue - lower (squats, single leg, deads)
thu - upper push (chest, shoulders, tri's)

or

mon - shoulders, tri,
tue - sl or squats, rows, chin/pull ups, mid back
thu - deads, bench, bi

 

[saj_21]

I would do my mate's program (below), which splits days into a horizontal push, horizontal pull, vertical push, and vertical pull. The only issue I have with it is that it does not isolate legs.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=160554001

It will be trial and error. Personally try both splits and see what you enjoy more and/or gives you more success. My number rule would be do what you enjoy, don't force yourself to do a program that doesn't motivate you.

The first split and program you posted looks good. I agree re the 15-20 incline its really the sweet spot for incline chest. For me personally i do lots of volume similar to the first program you posted but i will add in more exercises and reps for each muscle group, more so now that i am not playing footy so comparative to me you will be doing less volume. Consistency is key, honestly even a half arsed program will net you results but in turn you don't want to waste your efforts and not maximize your results.

 

[saj_21]

I began JTS v2.0 (mate's program) yesterday. He's been getting results and I like how it has more sets for important exercises, e.g. chest press, deadlift. I reckon I'll try "pump sets" for biceps and triceps on upper days because there's absolutely nothing on my arms.

Just remember you aren't your mate, what works for him might not work for you. But the only way to find that out is through trial and error to see what will work for you.

 

[cptkirk]

what were your starting numbers?