Workout routines

[Jablesjables]

I plan on doing a test only cycle. Three months of 600mg ew of test E and 150mg of test prop eod for the first month. My goal is to build as much muscle and strength as possible. How should i work out? Whats the best way? Ive heard of ppl gaining 50 lbs on their main lifts in these three months. Ok, so i know that dead lifts, squats and bench press are the three main lifts to make sure i get done in a week. I will also b doing alot of others like, curls, presses, extentions, ect. This is actually a three part question.

1: should i do overload ( 3 sets of 6 ) for every excercise? I know ill need help to finish my last two sets.

2: is it still just 1 muscle group per week? Should i spend more time in the gym for each muscle group? And is it the best to do two muscle groups a day and in the gym 3 days a week?

3: will i see massive strength gains if i do not work out hard? As long as im working them out? Such as pushups and pull ups?

These are all things im not sure how the cycle will effect them. Idk what/how to change but my goals are most muscle and strength as possible. I have my diet down ( as discussed in another thread ). Please help with detailed answers. Thanks

 

[losieloos]

You don't know how to workout? Do you know how to eat? Where All different find what works for you

 

[Iron Giant]

^

 

[gadogs83]

this is one of those threads that will have about a million different opinions. you mentioned wanting to get stronger. what are your goals? if you wanna get your bench up in my opinion you have to be squatting heavy if you wanna bench big. as far as me and the guys i train with we bench then do all kinds of different assistance work. i'm talking for like 2 hours. db rows, skull crushers, wide grip pull ups, tricep extensions, db presses(flat and incline) narrow grip bench, T bar rows, bb curls etc. on our bench, squat and deadlift, we do sets of 5 on week one, sets of 3 on week two, and heavy singles on week three then deload on week 4 and do light weight high reps. and personally i usually do heavy sets of 8 on all my assistance work except for the deload week that is higher reps. same for squat and deadlift. this is on a 3 day a week workout schedule which works good for me. i'm sure all of the bro's on here have great workout routines that would work well for you. main thing, if you're running gear it doesn't do the work for you bro. you still have to bust your ass hard and eat right to get the gains you're looking for. hope this helps. good luck.

 

[gadogs83]

You don't know how to workout? Do you know how to eat? Where All different find what works for you

maybe he was just seeking advice from someone with more experience like yourself dude.

 

[Jablesjables]

Thanks gadods83. This is true. I am seeking advice. Ive been lifting for two yrs and i havent seen any results. Thats when i found out my test was that of a upper 50 yr old. Im 25. Im sure this had alot to do w it. I will eat verylean and i plan on 3500 - 5000 cals a day. I do have a gut id like to burn off, but ill deal with that when i c where this cycle takes me. Im 6 ft, 201 lbs and i only eat eggs, oatmeal, chicken, black beans, salads w light dressings, red potatoes and lots of fruits and veggies. Im not sure y i just cant lose the fat. Ive been told that i am a thyroidal body type. But your saying 8 sets are fine? And i cant overtrain? Im not exactly sure how to change my diet tho. Somethings just not working for me. And i feel that im just not working out well in the gym. I mean, im always sore for three days and i load on the protein w low calorie and hogh protein shakes. Ive tried creatine and mega men multi vits as well. Is all this accurate? Any more advice? Thanks for tour time and help

 

[Jablesjables]

O, and im 15 - 20 percent bf

 

[Iron Giant]

Do you drink alcohol? How much sleep do you get? Over-training is always a possibility, why do you think gadogs83 deloads every fourth week rather than just starting back at week 1? Have you been progressively increasing your overload in some way each time you lift? (i.e. more weight, more sets, shorter rests, different exercise, etc.).

 

[Jablesjables]

Hmmm. Maybe drink once a month. Bout 6 hrs of sleep and i havent overloaded due to nvr having a workout partner. I mean, ill do 3 sets of a certain weight and try for sets of 10. I usuall put it up 10, 8 then 6 times. But no one is there to help spot me to get it up. Ive just noticed that even in the next week, if i did the same weight, my result would b the same

 

[gadogs83]

as far as losing weight goes try throwing some cardio in there bud. and for your workouts you should look in to jim wendlers 5/3/1 program dude. get the book and read it and then try it out. might be a good way for you to make some progress.. its a pretty slow program IMO but it works. plus, its a good way to tell when you're getting stronger because you'll start beating your reps on your percentages that increase every month. i did it for like 6 months and got some good strength gains. we stuck with the 5/3/1 routine but we arent doing the percentages he suggests, we're lifting however much we feel like lifting now. someone like yourself sounds like you need a good program to follow. look into it if you want. other wise there are all kinds of body building websites that have workout routines you can follow.

 

[Jablesjables]

Thanks man. Ill give it a shot.

 

[Jablesjables]

Well, i usually do 4 - 5 excersizes for each muscle group. If i do those excersizes at 5,3,1, or even 6, 6, 6, will that b enough w out overtraining? I will eat 3500 - 5000 cals a day of a lean calorie intake. I just want to make sure i do this right. I could also do 8 sets from 10 down by 1, all the way to two. Would that overtrain with all 4 excersizes? If i overload, by the 2nd set ill already beed help. Isnt that the proper way?
Sry for all the questions. Not that my testosterone is back up, i dont want to waste any time getting my last two years back. Thanks

 

[Iron Giant]

I went to sleep last night and it hit me. Your diet is low on mono and poly unsaturated fats. Sure you have a lot of saturated fats from your lean meats and eggs (which also have some poly/mono), but you need some healthy fats! Fats are responsible for how your body regulates ALL it's hormones. Try adding some almonds, cashews, peanuts, natural peanut butter, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil (instead of light dressing, this is 1000x better), etc. into your diet. Fats should comprise 20-25% of your daily caloric intake each day!

You also need more sleep. 6hrs is not nearly enough. It should be 8hrs (7 as an absolute, ABSOLUTE, minimum). The once a month drinking isn't frequent enough to halt gains like you've mentioned.

As far as overloading goes, I work out solo all the time - I go to failure on my last set only. As an example, if I'm benching for 3-5 reps I'll warmup with roughly 6 sets to get up to my working weight then do a set with weight aiming for 4 reps and push for 5 if I have it in me, rest 3min then do a second final working set where I bump the weight by 5Lbs or so and go to failure (always occurs in my 3-5 range). On that last rep where I'm going to failure, if I can't get it up, I just cheat it up a little. Its my last set and I'm gassed, so if I have to lift my ass off the bench slightly for that last rep, I will.

My personal recommendation for a program is Joe DeFranco's Westside for Skinny Bastards Part I (WS4SB3). Lots of variety, info and structure. Available online (just google it). Simply vary it to your needs - Joe is known for training athletes, if you have no interest in increasing your vertical jump, don't train for vertical jump. I run my own variant based on Joe's template after every cutting season for 3-4 months to get strength and size back up to par and nobody has called me a "skinny bastard" in years

 

[Jablesjables]

Lol. Thanks man. Ill check it out. About 4 months ago, i ate three natural almond butter sandwhiches, thinking it would change my test, but it did nothing. I bet i was at 60 fat grams a day. Is that enough or is it to late for me and im stuck with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT)? Thanks again for the help. It means alot that ppl are trying so hard to get me back to par. Ill add in more poly and mono fats and c if it helps. Especially when im on my 3500 - 5000 calorie diet starting in 3 weeks. And ill do more sets than 3 per excersize and try the heavy weight to falure technique

 

[ardbeg]

I'll probably catch shit for this, but have you considered a crossfit workout maybe once a week? A lot of people see quick gains from that style of workout (in < 1 month maybe). If you're just trying to get rid of some nagging fat, some high-intensity, mostly-bodyweight, short-to-mid-duration workouts (stuff like "cindy" comes to mind) would likely work. The other thing is, yeah, ditch those carbs, and up the fats. I know we were all taught how healthy that stuff you're eating is, but get some avocados, macadamia nuts, almonds, or olive oil in. Don't cook the olive oil. Eat it cold -- like on a salad, as said earlier.

Now, I won't recommend crossfit for someone's entire workout regimen (that's kind of silly). But I see no real problem incorporating it if you're looking to burn fat. For strength, I'm probably (also) alone in doing strongman stuff. Atlas stones, tire flips, farmer carries, log/axel press/clean, mix in your average powerlifting stuff, etc. I also train olympic lifts -- mostly because I like them, but also because they do an awesome job of making me stronger.

For the soreness you're having, get a good fish oil product. I use the green pastures cold fermented cod liver oil. It tastes like it sounds (gross), but I don't get muscle soreness (much) anymore. After a serious workout I put back 1-2 tsp and then another 1-2 tsp the next day. My "maintenance" dose for fish oil is 1/4 tsp. I had some success with the pills, but never anything close to the success I have had with the actual oil.

And like it was said earlier, everyone's going to have a different opinion on what to add to your workout here.

 

[ardbeg]

I should say that what I mean by "quick gains" from crossfit-style workouts is they meet their short-term weight loss/recomp goals. Not that they become Froning overnight.

 

[SquadLeader]

Your training is going to depend on your goals somewhat. If you have a consistent complete routine and a healthy anabolic type diet there is no reason why you shouldn't gain muscle and lose bodyfat.

 

[gadogs83]

and stables - when i said 5/3/1 i didn't mean do 5-3-1 on all are your reps bro lol. i took thats what you thought i meant in a post where you were talking about doing 6-6-6 on your reps or something. that means on your CORE lifts (bench, squat, deadlift) week one do sets of 5, week two, do sets of 3 with a little heavier weight, week 3 do heavy singles, then deload on week 4 to keep from over training. when you get into your assistance work you can do as many reps as you feel like. i usually do 8-10 myself. the book explains everything if that's what you go with.

 

[crazyfmike]

As long as you go into The Zone and beyond, that's what counts.

You can attack muscle fibers on rep 15 or rep one (both are opposite training methods) and both work.

Diet is KING.
Lifestyle is Queen

Gear and training are really the no brainers for a gym rat, comp BB's is another story but not rocket science. Most of what we all want is dependent on FOOD.

 

[Jablesjables]

Thanks guys. And i c what y mean now by 5 - 3 - 1. Hahaha. My bad. But i will follow your advice. Ill throw in more fats as well. Ive heard your only supposed to do 45 mins or less of working out per day and no
More than 5 excersizes per muscle group. Is this true as well?what about on a test only cycle? Does it change the game a little? How many fat grams shoul i eat a day?