Had the roughest year lifting, need some help to get back into it.

[Calibucsfan]

Sup fellas, long time no post. Let me start off by saying I do not have more love for a group of strangers than the fellas at ology! You guys have been giving me A+ advice since I was 21(and potentially you guys saved my HPTA and liver).

So I am at an all time low depressed. See, this year my business took off back in February. I officially become a young business owner. Problem is it consumed my life. I would spend 7 days a week at my business for 14-16 hours a day and half the week would sleep there. Diet and lifting went out the window. I would go on an average 8 hours a day without eating anything, quit taking protein and supps and quit working with 3J. BTW I hired 3J to be my diet coach but I just stopped because I felt like I was wasting the mans time, he put in too much work on my plan for me to not follow it. And only meals I would eat would be Thai food because the neighbor business was a Thai restaurant and I always got dinner for free. So for 8 months I would eat 1 meal a day that would consist of greasy high carb low protein Thai food. TO make it even worse, I cycled this summer with test/mast/tren in a desperate attempt to salvage my body. But that turned out stupid seeing that I only lifted MAYBE 4-5 times all summer. Now, I do not even look like a shadow of my former self. I been fit my whole life(started lifting in HS football at age 14, now 23). But I do not even look remotely fit. I am hoping I look HALF of what I used to look like. In summer of 2013, I was 199lbs and 9.5% bf. I was a BEAST. Random girls at the beach would ALWAYS want to take pictures with me(ONE TIME TWO GIRLS ASKED ME TO GRAB THEIR ASS IN THE PICTURE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD). But now, I look like a fat out of shape blob. I am currently 194, 28% body fat.

So fast forward, now I have time and a normal schedule again. Only thing is I lost so much muscle mass that I can't even do a push up or a pull up(YES I AM THAT WEAK NOW). What I am asking for is for you guys to point me to a good workout routine. Even thought I have been lifting for 9 years, I still need a piece of paper in front of me to follow a workout plan. I am still not advanced enough to go into the gym and just create my own routine as a go.

Also I know diet is more important and I am getting back into that as well

What would you guys say is the best routine for me to follow for my situation? I need to put at least basic muscle mass back on. I would also prefer to do legs twice a week, I always seemed to grow faster when hitting them twice a week. Can you guys write me or point me to a good routine? I would GREATLY appreciate it. I go into the gym and do not know jack shit of what to do. My old routine I cannot follow because its too advanced and border line requires you to cycle.

I would greatly appreciate this, thank you.

 

[Sullerson]

This split should help you get your strength back up quickly, while adding some size back. Muscle memory for you should be quick. 4 days a week, Upper A, Lower A, Rest, Upper B, Lower B, Rest, Rest. I've used this after extended time off and it got me back up to speed quickly.

Upper A (heavy horizontal/lighter vertical):
Bench 5x5*
Row 5x5*
Press 3x10
Pullup 3x10
Barbell curls 2x8

Lower A (heavy squats/ham assistance and core):
Squats 5x5*
Leg curls 3x8
Back hypers 3x10
Weighted decline sit-ups 3x10

Upper B (heavy vertical/lighter horizontal):
Press 5x5*
Pullup 5x5*
Bench 3x10
Row 3x10
Weighted Dips 2x8

Lower B (heavy deadlift/lighter thigh and core):
Deadlift 5x5*
Leg press 4x10*
Leg extensions 3x10
Calf raises 3x8
Weighted decline sit-ups 3x10


NOTE: * denotes ramping sets to one heaviest set.
All other sets are work sets done after warm-ups and any needed acclimation sets.

Progression:
5x5 lifts
On the 5x5 ramping work, start out light so you KNOW for a fact you will get every rep for a least the first two or three weeks. Then much like in the Starr linear 5x5 add weight every week. I recommend ~5lb to each of the 5x5 sets each week. In order to increase workload, an addition does not have to always be on the top set. Sometime I would just increase the weight on the 4th or 3rd set ect... If you want to be very aggressive you could add 5lb to ALL the work sets on the 5x5 work each week.

3x10 lifts
Note that these are strait sets. This means after any light warm-up or acclimation sets, three work sets of ten reps each are to be performed with all three sets using the same weight. On the 3x10 work it is a bit more difficult to make a universal plan of progression because it is likely that even a 2.5 lb increase each session would be too aggressive for most intermediate trainees. Nonetheless, the goal is to add weight to the bar as often as possible. I strongly recommend fractional/mico-plates (1 lb and even smaller are avaliable) if you can not achieve a 2.5 lb increase every week. Also, you can increase intensity and other factors in addition to increasing weight.

Tempo:
5x5 lifts
On the 5x5 work, the goal is more strength oriented. The focus of this part is lifting HEAVY! I recommend you take the time you need in between sets to push as much weight as you have planned for that week. This may mean up to 5+ minute breaks in between sets.

3x10 lifts
On the 3x10 work it's the opposite. This work is there for a number of reasons; two of which are hypertrophy and muscular endurance. It is also a form of active recovery, but that is not the primary reason I added it. So you want to keep the intensity on this work higher. Try to keep rests short, maybe only a minute or so between sets. The weight used is not the focus; it's the perfect form, getting all the reps, and higher intensity. So any increase in overall intensity on the 3x10 work is as good as an increase in the weight on the bar. But as with any weight training you do want to keep adding weight if/when possible.


Lifts other than 5x5 or 3x10:
A few of the lifts are neither 5x5 nor 3x10. Leg press, for instance, is a ramping up to a top set of 10. So for leg press you would do sets of ten reps and increase the weight each set until the last set is done at the heaviest weight. In all other lifts not described specifically as a 5x5 ramp do the target rep range listed with the progression plan and tempo of the 3x10 work.

 

[kaname]

Sorry Sullerson, but that really isn't a true basic routine. If he is being honest when he says he can't do one push up then he won't be able to complete that style routine effectively. Pull ups for example would be out of the question. Honestly after hearing his situation I would say hiring a coach (hate to default to this) would be one of the most effective ways. Since he has a bit of uncertainty in himself in terms of his lifting program it would be very beneficial to have a coach slowly bringing his workout routine along week by week, as well as fixing his diet (hes close to 30% bf) for him.

.....of course we know who to recommend in terms of coaching

edit: Just to explain. When I hear basic routine I imagine what it was like to lift my first weight. I train as if it's my very first time in the gym and I don't even know what a deadlift is let a lone one with an accent (lol...did anyone get that? please say yes it made me laugh ). Point is I believe in moving very slow in this situation. Don't want to see an injury due to unused muscles (in that fashion) then you're out of gym that much longer.

 

[Calibucsfan]

Sorry Sullerson, but that really isn't a true basic routine. If he is being honest when he says he can't do one push up then he won't be able to complete that style routine effectively. Pull ups for example would be out of the question. Honestly after hearing his situation I would say hiring a coach (hate to default to this) would be one of the most effective ways. Since he has a bit of uncertainty in himself in terms of his lifting program it would be very beneficial to have a coach slowly bringing his workout routine along week by week, as well as fixing his diet (hes close to 30% bf) for him.

.....of course we know who to recommend in terms of coaching

edit: Just to explain. When I hear basic routine I imagine what it was like to lift my first weight. I train as if it's my very first time in the gym and I don't even know what a deadlift is let a lone one with an accent (lol...did anyone get that? please say yes it made me laugh ). Point is I believe in moving very slow in this situation. Don't want to see an injury due to unused muscles (in that fashion) then you're out of gym that much longer.

Well the pushups I was hard on myself, I could do 19 and 2 pull-ups. I say I cant do jack shit because I used to be able to do 120 push ups and 25 pull ups...

Quick question about the routine:
So is it like this
Mon-Upper A
Tue-Lower B
Wed-Rest
Thu-Lower A
Fri-Lower B
Sat/Sun-Rest

And for Upper A, what does press mean? I am assuming its not bench press since that is listed in there as well.

Also what is the maximum amount of time I should stay on this?

And how many days a week to do cardio? I remember reading that doing cardio daily will make muscle progression slower. So what is the most cardio you can do without it affecting mass development.

 

[kaname]

Well the pushups I was hard on myself, I could do 19 and 2 pull-ups. I say I cant do jack shit because I used to be able to do 120 push ups and 25 pull ups...

Ok, I get you now. I thought you were completely back to day 1 status when I read "can't do one push up."

 

[Sullerson]

Well the pushups I was hard on myself, I could do 19 and 2 pull-ups. I say I cant do jack shit because I used to be able to do 120 push ups and 25 pull ups...

Quick question about the routine:
So is it like this
Mon-Upper A
Tue-Lower B
Wed-Rest
Thu-Lower A
Fri-Lower B
Sat/Sun-Rest

And for Upper A, what does press mean? I am assuming its not bench press since that is listed in there as well.

Also what is the maximum amount of time I should stay on this?

And how many days a week to do cardio? I remember reading that doing cardio daily will make muscle progression slower. So what is the most cardio you can do without it affecting mass development.

Yes, the rotation is correct (or make it work for you). Make sure you get your rest in though.

Press means shoulder press. Barbell standing is preferred as it works your core as well, but work with whats comfortable to you at first (seated, dumbbell, etc).

If you cant do pullups, do lat pull downs or assisted pullups.

Stay on this until you feel you've reached your limits and you cant progress with the suggested progression. I would say 3-6 months maybe. From there, I would get a coach and work on getting you back into your old shape.

Cardio I would do on off days, but don't over do it. 30-45mins max at a moderate heart level. You want to make sure your not burning yourself out and hindering your lifting progression.

Also, most importantly is get back with 3J and get that diet in check. otherwise you will be spinning your wheels.

Good luck bro!

 

[Calibucsfan]

Thank you very much

 

[RR88]

Cali 3js bit looks great. Most important just start slow and be patient. If you stick with it for a few months (especially if u cycle) you will be ripped and big. Just put ur nose to the grindstone. Good luck

 

[3J]

Lol that wasn't 3j..im 3j..

Cali email me.. 3jdiet@gmail.com.. Why let that coaching go to waste? Now that you are back on track let's use it.. I wouldn't have let it go to waste brother!