Help! Please critique my workout routine for my 1st cycle

[Suri]

Hi,

I'm 32, a 156 lbs with approx 15% body fat (estimated by my bodybuilder friend). I just started my first cycle of deca 300 mg / week a few days ago.

I've lifted from 14-17 and played numerous sports competitively then dropped it for a long time. Got into a really bad accident 4 years ago and have been in and out of surgery and recovering until last year. My entire body is full of burn scars and surgery marks, so before I start tattooing over all the burns I want to bulk up to an impressionable physique (worried that the tattoos will get all distorted if I bulk up later). As of this January I've started lifting again, seen little progress and am ready to get serious.

I'd be very grateful if the more experienced members could critique my work out plan. I do not plan on using more than 3 cycles (the faster the better) and would like to end up around 175 - 185 lbs. I don't mind following strict diet and hard workout plans, I'm used to pain, in fact I like it. Maybe I should change it up and hit each body part twice a week since I'm on the cycle? Please let me know!

D1 Chest + Biceps
DB Bench Press 5 5
DB Inc Bench Press 3 8
Flys 3 8
DB Curls 3 8
Hammer Curls 3 8


D2 Abs-(Circuit - 3 sets)
Weighted crunches Max 8
Weighted crunches 50% 8
Weighted bicycles 50% 8
Crunches Failure
Bicycles Failure


D3 Back + Triceps
DB Deadlifts 5 5
DB Bent Row 3 8
Pull up 3 Failure
Skull Crushers 3 8
Weighted Dips 3 8


D4 - Cardio


D5 Legs
Squats 5 5
Lunges 3 8
Hanging Leg Curls 3 8
Calf Raise 3 8


D6 Shoulder
DB Military Press 5 5
Side Raise 3 8
Back raise 3 8 (i dont know the name for it but it was given to me by my friend who says the back of my shoulders are wayundeveloped causing my shoulders to slouch forwards.. i've been training front raises and side raises for the last 6 months and didn't pay attention to the back of my shoulders)
Reverse Flys 3 8


D7 - Cardio

 

[ManiacMuscle]

Your routine looks fine to me hows your diet?

 

[Suri]

Your routine looks fine to me hows your diet?

Thanks MM for your feedback.

My current diet consists of 2500 calories, 210g protein with some supplements (creatine, multivitamins, whey).

Breakdown of my daily diet is
Protein 30-40%
Carb 25-35%
Fat 20-30%
Saturated fat is always than 10% (usually 5-8% of calories)

 

[mispronounced]

routine is gtg.

 

[Suri]

routine is gtg.

Thanks for your input. So you guys agree with the 1 day for abs? Or would it be better to spread it out more lightly? I also got some advice that I should drop the crunches and do knee raises instead.

By the way. I must give credit to stronglifts 5x5 program which is the base of my work out and I just added form there. The abs day I got from scooby.

 

[Live2Train]

Why did you start with Deca? Are you taking test as well? Man, you're asking for trouble if not. You should have researched a little before you jumped into AAS. Did your bodybuilder friend suggest Deca only to you?

 

[Live2Train]

I would do abs more than once a week and wouldn't dedicate a full day to them either. Also, do more reps than 8 for your abs. Hit closer to 15 for each set. The circuit is nice man, don't take a break between each one either, jump right from one to the other. Hit about 4 sets of each and you will feel it for sure.

 

[Suri]

Why did you start with Deca? Are you taking test as well? Man, you're asking for trouble if not. You should have researched a little before you jumped into AAS. Did your bodybuilder friend suggest Deca only to you?

Hi L2T,

Thanks for your input.

Yes, he recommended this to me coupled with sustanon. I actually was thinking of taking Teste for my first cycle after reading through this forum a bit but both he and my strength trainer friend (natural) said to go with deca. Since I'm the newbie in lifting and AAS in the group I decided to go with what they said.

What's wrong with starting with Deca 300 mg/week? Is it too much? I did mention to him that I want to do as few cycles as possible so I can start on my tattooing phase. Maybe that's why..

Anyways I look forward to your feedback.

 

[Suri]

I would do abs more than once a week and wouldn't dedicate a full day to them either. Also, do more reps than 8 for your abs. Hit closer to 15 for each set. The circuit is nice man, don't take a break between each one either, jump right from one to the other. Hit about 4 sets of each and you will feel it for sure.

Hi again,

So I think I'll drop the abs day altogether then and put it with my cardio days. so I'll be going:
2 on - weights
1 cardio+abs
2 onweights
1 cardio+abs
1 off

or maybe..

1 - weights
1 - cardio + abs
(repeat)

What do you think?

 

[mispronounced]

2 on - weights
1 cardio+abs
2 onweights
1 cardio+abs
1 off


that looks better to me imo

 

[Suri]

Thanks everyone for your input! I've finalized my workout routine with the 2on1cardio2on1cardio1off routine now. I'll let you know how it goes! I really appreciate all of your support. Cheers!

 

[donjob]

sustanon is test. lose the skull crushers, place leg day in between chest and back day. drop the leg curls in favor of glute ham raises if you can. i would do your cardio on days that you lift, you need days off doing absoloutely nothing.

 

[Suri]

sustanon is test. lose the skull crushers, place leg day in between chest and back day. drop the leg curls in favor of glute ham raises if you can. i would do your cardio on days that you lift, you need days off doing absoloutely nothing.

Thanks for your comment. So I'll be doing 2 on 1 off.

D1 - Chest, Biceps, Abs
D2 - Legs, Abs

Off

D3 - Back, Abs
D4 - Shoudlers, Abs

Off

Or should I only do 2 days of abs and 2 days of cardio?
Would doing abs and cardio after all my workouts be an overkill?

 

[donjob]

Thanks for your comment. So I'll be doing 2 on 1 off.

D1 - Chest, Biceps, Abs
D2 - Legs, Abs

Off

D3 - Back, Abs
D4 - Shoudlers, Abs

Off

Or should I only do 2 days of abs and 2 days of cardio?
Would doing abs and cardio after all my workouts be an overkill?

depends on your goals and body type, how your body responds to different stimulus. 4 days of cardio a week would be way overkill for me, some people it would be just right. also depends on the length of your cardio sesions and intensity. as far as abs go, i only work them about twice a week, some people say more, some say less. like i said you need to get in tune with your body and figure out what works best for you.

 

[supersetter]

Everyones body reacts differant to other things. You just have to adjust to what works best for you

 

[barrysanders]

Everyones body reacts differant to other things. You just have to adjust to what works best for you

Wow, nice contribution Super-

Alright, first sorry for the scars and burns that you suffered through..thats horrible. Good idea with the tats thought. Now to business! For us to be able to tell you exactly what direction to go WE need to know exactly what your goals are. Now, not to be a DICK but I think you need a reality check bro..this is why.

You said that "I want to bulk up to an impressionable physique" but DO NOT want to do "more than 3 cycles". Before you getting started in this "gear" game I want you to make sure that you have realistic expectations about what kind of progress you can make. 3 cycels IS NOT going to make you big in the eyes of others according to your stats...I said in the eyes of others. If 170-180 is big in your eyes that doble and you can expect that from 3 cycles.

Think of it this way bro YOU ONLY ACTUALLY GAIN 1-3 LBS OF ACTUAL MUSCLE PER YEAR WHILE ON ROIDS. Surprising huh. Now, you always hear about people gaining 10-20lbs while on cycle right..well thats true. but people always tell you the good news and not the bad. BAD is that you lose almost all that weight due to water retention and post cycle therapy (pct) protocol. post cycle therapy (pct) is the hardest part of the game (meaning keeping the gains).

My advice for you is be sure that gear is the right way for you to go. To most gear is for a long long time..if not for life in most cases in some way shape or form. By you saying just three cycles and quit..makes me think you'd be better off going naturally and killing it with Supps and diet.

I spit out a lot of info so if you want to go further in depth about ANYTHING just PM me.

Hope this helps a little

 

[donjob]

Wow, nice contribution Super-

Alright, first sorry for the scars and burns that you suffered through..thats horrible. Good idea with the tats thought. Now to business! For us to be able to tell you exactly what direction to go WE need to know exactly what your goals are. Now, not to be a DICK but I think you need a reality check bro..this is why.

You said that "I want to bulk up to an impressionable physique" but DO NOT want to do "more than 3 cycles". Before you getting started in this "gear" game I want you to make sure that you have realistic expectations about what kind of progress you can make. 3 cycels IS NOT going to make you big in the eyes of others according to your stats...I said in the eyes of others. If 170-180 is big in your eyes that doble and you can expect that from 3 cycles.

Think of it this way bro YOU ONLY ACTUALLY GAIN 1-3 LBS OF ACTUAL MUSCLE PER YEAR WHILE ON ROIDS. Surprising huh. Now, you always hear about people gaining 10-20lbs while on cycle right..well thats true. but people always tell you the good news and not the bad. BAD is that you lose almost all that weight due to water retention and post cycle therapy (pct) protocol. post cycle therapy (pct) is the hardest part of the game (meaning keeping the gains).

My advice for you is be sure that gear is the right way for you to go. To most gear is for a long long time..if not for life in most cases in some way shape or form. By you saying just three cycles and quit..makes me think you'd be better off going naturally and killing it with Supps and diet.

I spit out a lot of info so if you want to go further in depth about ANYTHING just PM me.

Hope this helps a little

1-3 pounds of actual muscle per year? i hope you meant 10-30. yes granted after newbie gains and after you've been in the game doing all the right things for a long time, you will reach your genetic limits and yes 1-3 pounds NATURALLY sounds about right. bro, you can easily gain 5-10 pounds in a year naturally of actual muscle even after your newbie gains. where did you get this info?

 

[fame2002]

Bro u should be doing test with that deca. IMO anyone that would tell u to do a deca only cycle is outta their mind and doesn't know wtf they're doing.

 

[fame2002]

Wow, nice contribution Super-

Alright, first sorry for the scars and burns that you suffered through..thats horrible. Good idea with the tats thought. Now to business! For us to be able to tell you exactly what direction to go WE need to know exactly what your goals are. Now, not to be a DICK but I think you need a reality check bro..this is why.

You said that "I want to bulk up to an impressionable physique" but DO NOT want to do "more than 3 cycles". Before you getting started in this "gear" game I want you to make sure that you have realistic expectations about what kind of progress you can make. 3 cycels IS NOT going to make you big in the eyes of others according to your stats...I said in the eyes of others. If 170-180 is big in your eyes that doble and you can expect that from 3 cycles.

Think of it this way bro YOU ONLY ACTUALLY GAIN 1-3 LBS OF ACTUAL MUSCLE PER YEAR WHILE ON ROIDS. Surprising huh. Now, you always hear about people gaining 10-20lbs while on cycle right..well thats true. but people always tell you the good news and not the bad. BAD is that you lose almost all that weight due to water retention and post cycle therapy (pct) protocol. post cycle therapy (pct) is the hardest part of the game (meaning keeping the gains).

My advice for you is be sure that gear is the right way for you to go. To most gear is for a long long time..if not for life in most cases in some way shape or form. By you saying just three cycles and quit..makes me think you'd be better off going naturally and killing it with Supps and diet.

I spit out a lot of info so if you want to go further in depth about ANYTHING just PM me.

Hope this helps a little

I don't understand how people have this mentality. You are not supposed to lose all of or even the majority of your gains from a cycle. I've met so many people that think this. If you cycle properly and do a proper post cycle therapy (pct) you should retain a minimum of 50% of your gains. Why would you pay all that $ and all that extra hard work just to look good for 16 weeks? If anyone that cycles is doing this you are doing it wrong.

 

[barrysanders]

1-3 pounds of actual muscle per year? i hope you meant 10-30. yes granted after newbie gains and after you've been in the game doing all the right things for a long time, you will reach your genetic limits and yes 1-3 pounds NATURALLY sounds about right. bro, you can easily gain 5-10 pounds in a year naturally of actual muscle even after your newbie gains. where did you get this info?

There was a good thread on this a few years back but I couldnt find it. I will try and find a reliable source and post it- The numbers are all across the board; some say 3-6 others say 10-30lbs. Give me some time and I will find something trustworthy