Getting It Right

[ws2006]

I have read quite a bit on here about ways to gain muscle and what the proper amount of reps are etc. There always seems to be some disparity and it boils down to what works best for the individual.

I have recently started to lift again - was on and off for several years and want to get it right so thought I would post a typical week for me and see what input the vets can give so I can adjust accordingly. I have been eating well and am on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) at 200mg test cyp per week.

40 years old, 240 lbs, 20-25% body fat (guesstimate), in good health, martial arts 5 days weekly @ 6-7 hours total in addition to any time with the weights - struggling with recovery as well which is part of the reason for starting testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Goal is to preserve the muscle I have, gain more lean muscle mass if possible and drop body fat.

Day 1 - Arms

Bench press (4-5 sets, reps 10, 10, 8, 6, 6)
Military press (3 sets, reps 10, 8, 6-7)
Triceps push down with cable (3 sets, reps 10, 10, 8)
One arm curls (3 sets, 10, 10, 8, 2-4 negatives to exhaustion - have also used 7,7,7 with some success)
Tow are curls (3 sets, 10, 10, 8)
Lat pull down (3 sets, 10, 10, 8)

Day 2 - Legs

Squats (4-5 sets, reps 10, 10, 8, 6, 6)
Calves (4-5 sets, 10-15 reps)
Leg extensions (3 sets 10, 10, 6-8)
Leg curls (3 sets 10, 10, 6-8)
Stomach Rotations on machine (3-4 sets, 10 reps)

Day 3 - Off

Day 4 - Arms

Repeat as M above
Staight arm shoulder raises
Shoulder shrugs

Day 5 - Legs

Same as above
Back lifts (reverse sit ups)

Day 6/7 - Off

Any thoughts or observations would be great - thanks in advance!

 

[donjob]

ok, i'm not gonna get into what's wrong with your routine, but just go ahead and drop it now. you're at a good weight, pretty big guy, but your boy fat is 25%. is this a guestimation or did you actually have your self calipered? either way, you need to focus on dropping that fat and getting conditioned. i'd bet you probably have a good amount of muscle, i'd focus on getting your technique right on the lifts and improving strength while droping fat. once this is accomplished you can worry about putting on some lean weight. i'd recommend barbell complexes, for the simple fact they are great for fat burn and conditioning, as well as building/maintaining muscle and practicing the lifts. get way from the isolation exercises such as curls and tricep pushdowns, or leg extensions. they ain't doin shit for strength, size or fat loss. here's a good barbell complex to hit your whole body and work on your main lifts.

your weakest lift in this complex will most likely be the overhead press, so pick a weight you can do in the overhead press for 5 reps and use 90% of that weight. nowthat the bar is loaded up, it's time to get to work. (make sure you warm up properly first! just like with any other routine.)
with the barbell on the floor step up to it and set up for a deadlift. dead lift it for 5 reps, using proper form and resetting between each rep, but don't take forever. this is afte all probably about 30-40% of your deadlift 1rm.
now after the last rep you stay in the up position, 5 hang cleans. after the last rep keep the bar racked on your shoulders, now you can either do 5 front squats then your push presses or go straight into push presses and after your presses rack the bar on your back and do back squats. with this light weight i would prefer you did front squats because you will get more out of them than doing backsquats with this light weight as well as front squats are easier to do properly if you are a beginner and with no one watching to let you know if you are fucking up. now after you are done with this you will either drop the bar down from the front squats into bent over rows, or if backsquatting, jerk it, then lower it and get into the bent over row position. now 5 reps of bent over rows, upper body parallel to the floor, orwithin 10 degrees, back neutral, slight bend in the knees, feet shoulder width apart, hand placement same as you bench. after all this, this is one set. do as many sets as you can with 1 minute rest between each one. once you can do 5 sets easily it is time to add weight, bu not so much that you are sacrificing form on any lifts or can't do atleast 3 reps per exercise per set. if you want to do abs as well, after the complexes i would do barbell rollouts, and maybe 1 set of max crunches, even if it is only 15. i would continue with calve raises and curls for aesthetic purposes, but DO NOT over do it. only do them if you have the energy left after the complexes. i'd rather do calves and biceps with less volume twice a week then go too hard once a week. these aren't really functional lifts after all, just doing them for hypertrophy. stay light on the curls and focus on form and the stretch, make sure you are using the biceps and not your shoulders or any momentum. very easy to do. elbows in front (such as preacher curls, or just standing hammer curls) hit the short head of the bicep. elbows behind (seated incline curls really the only way to hit this) hits your long head, which is crucial for size. i like to hit the long head on back days, and the short head when i hit arms again on leg day. hopefully this helps, i'd be happy to help if you have any other questions.

 

[donjob]

oh and by the way just start off doing this complex three times a week, preferably monday wednesday and friday. after a couple weeks when your work capacity increases i would add one day or sled pulling/prowler pushing. nothing too crazy. after that, and we're talking a few months down the road add a fourth day of complexes and do your sled pulling/sprinting/prowler pushing as a warmup/cooldown on one of these complex days. no need to hit it more than 4 days a week. by this time you should be in the best shape of your life, moving a good amount of weight, down to 15% bf or lower, muscular endurance and cardiovascular endurance through the roof. at this point i would start planning out your routine for the next year based on short term goals (new pr's every 3 months) and a long term goal of what you want accomplished at the end o that year. this will give you something to work for as well as help you plan out your routine accordingly. nothing wrong with keeping one day of complexes in there for conditioning though. complexes are the shit.