Looking for help on forming a bulking routine.

R

realworksuks

2
I think I am going to change from cutting to bulking.. the fat just isn't coming off fast enough, and i'm getting eager to get more muscle.

My routine right now some people on this forum helped me come up with.

It's a simple cutting workout just to keep my muscle.

Day 1
horizonal push and pull
squat

Day 2
vertical push and pull
deadlift

Nice and simple...

But I want to get a routine for bulking now and I know this won't cut it.

Can you guys help me out?
 
I would do either upper/lower body splits or full body workouts. Look at the sticky Weight Training 101. You are no working all of your muscles and if you still have fat on you you will not be able to appreciate the muscle as it will be mainly hidden. You can lift but I would advise doing cardioo e.g. running four or five times a week as well to help rid the flab while gaining muscle.
Not quite sure what you mean by the horizontal push and pull. I assume that this is bench press and row machines. You will really need to look around because you are not hitting all muscles at all.

But keep going and use this sites.
 
Why won't it cut it? Bulking is not about the weights; it's about the calories. You can cut and bulk on the same program--you just have to manipulate kcal intake for your goals.

That being said--
 
nothing wrong with that setup. Personally I like a little more. you could add in some assistance exercises for sticking points in your lifts. Like some GMs if you are weak off the floor in DL, etc, etc.
 
evolution said:
Why won't it cut it? Bulking is not about the weights; it's about the calories. You can cut and bulk on the same program--you just have to manipulate kcal intake for your goals.

That being said--
Click to expand...

Trust me, I have no problem gaining weight at all. I know how to eat.. haha.

I just don't think my current weight training program will build me a lot of muscle... it only takes me about 20-30 minutes to do that..

I am looking for some extra lifts that would make my routine more for bulking. More muscle tears etc.

I definitely prefer the full body workout routine three times per week.. I don't want to do an upper lower spilt.
 
runner2000 said:
I would do either upper/lower body splits or full body workouts. Look at the sticky Weight Training 101. You are no working all of your muscles and if you still have fat on you you will not be able to appreciate the muscle as it will be mainly hidden. You can lift but I would advise doing cardioo e.g. running four or five times a week as well to help rid the flab while gaining muscle.
Not quite sure what you mean by the horizontal push and pull. I assume that this is bench press and row machines. You will really need to look around because you are not hitting all muscles at all.

But keep going and use this sites.
Click to expand...

dude you need to read weight training 101.
and the HIIT thread.
 
What does he mean by horiziontal and vertical push and pull/ what kind of exercises are those?

And if it takes 20 minutes to do an exercise..thats not enough IMO. My FBW's usually last 45-55min's.
 
realworksuks said:
Trust me, I have no problem gaining weight at all. I know how to eat.. haha.

I just don't think my current weight training program will build me a lot of muscle... it only takes me about 20-30 minutes to do that..

I am looking for some extra lifts that would make my routine more for bulking. More muscle tears etc.

I definitely prefer the full body workout routine three times per week.. I don't want to do an upper lower spilt.
Click to expand...

You already have it split into vertical and horizonatal...just add more volume or extra movements. If you're doing 1 push and 1 pull movement in teh vertical plane, just add a second movement to each. Or add a few sets. You could easily bulk on a 5X5 bench, squat, row program (ala Bill Starr 5X5) as anything else by manipulating kcals.

By the way, how many kcals are you eating now and how many kcals do you require according to your BMR to gain muscle?
 
Phate89 said:
What does he mean by horiziontal and vertical push and pull/ what kind of exercises are those?

And if it takes 20 minutes to do an exercise..thats not enough IMO. My FBW's usually last 45-55min's.
Click to expand...

Think of the planes of movement-vertical and horizontal. Horizontal=rowing, vertical=pull ups.
 
evolution said:
You already have it split into vertical and horizonatal...just add more volume or extra movements. If you're doing 1 push and 1 pull movement in teh vertical plane, just add a second movement to each. Or add a few sets. You could easily bulk on a 5X5 bench, squat, row program (ala Bill Starr 5X5) as anything else by manipulating kcals.

By the way, how many kcals are you eating now and how many kcals do you require according to your BMR to gain muscle?
Click to expand...

What about isolation exercises? Should I add some of those in there?

I am not sure what other types of horizontal push/pulls and vertical push/pulls I can add... Should I get more lower body work in?

I always do bench press and some form of rowing for horizonal push and pull..

and then pullups and dips for vertical. I can't think of any other vertical or horizontal exercises...

I could add in the shoulder press for one of the days.... but that's really all I can think of. Oh, and core work.

I'll tell you all about the calorie part of this once I get my routine all figured out.. I haven't started my bulk yet by the way, I am going to wait until monday after my body fat test.
 
realworksuks said:
What about isolation exercises? Should I add some of those in there?

I am not sure what other types of horizontal push/pulls and vertical push/pulls I can add... Should I get more lower body work in?

I always do bench press and some form of rowing for horizonal push and pull..

and then pullups and dips for vertical. I can't think of any other vertical or horizontal exercises...

I could add in the shoulder press for one of the days.... but that's really all I can think of. Oh, and core work.

I'll tell you all about the calorie part of this once I get my routine all figured out.. I haven't started my bulk yet by the way, I am going to wait until monday after my body fat test.
Click to expand...

Add in all the isolation you want. Just make sure you're hitting your compounds a lot. Have you been to ExRx (Exercise Prescription) on the Net ? It has a plethora of lifts in different planes that you can check out.

I really think you should go with a premade template that will guide you until you get a bit of program savviness into you.

Check out Charles Staley's EDT programs.
Bill Starr has a great program called 5X5
Joe Defranco has an awesome program called Westside for Skinny Bastards

I'd pick each day to have 1 pressing movement-pin presses, bench press, push press, military press, etc Compound it with 1 main pulling movement-chins, rows, etc

Then throw in 1 supplemental db or flying movement with 1 supplemental pulling movement

Then alternate between squat, front squat, deadlift, rack pull, clean, hang snatch, etc

Throw in a couple movements with mid-high reps of back extensions, RDLs, cable pullthroughs, biceps, triceps, rotator cuffs, etc

I hope this helps.
 
I'm confused about why you're switching. Have your goals really changed or are you just frustrated with the lack of progress from cutting either because you aren't doing it correctly for results or you're doing it right and not being patient about it?

If your goals have changed, then bulk. If it's really just that frustration, I would recommend that you figure out what the problem with cutting has been. It's fine to bulk for now, but if you envision cutting afterwards, it's not going to get easier if you wait. It's just delaying the inevitable struggle.

Also, remember that you CAN build significant strength while cutting - whether or not you are gaining muscle size...
 
sig said:
I'm confused about why you're switching. Have your goals really changed or are you just frustrated with the lack of progress from cutting either because you aren't doing it correctly for results or you're doing it right and not being patient about it?

If your goals have changed, then bulk. If it's really just that frustration, I would recommend that you figure out what the problem with cutting has been. It's fine to bulk for now, but if you envision cutting afterwards, it's not going to get easier if you wait. It's just delaying the inevitable struggle.

Also, remember that you CAN build significant strength while cutting - whether or not you are gaining muscle size...
Click to expand...

My plan was to get down to 6% body fat by thanksgiving. Unfortunately I didn't make it. I am at 8.8% body fat right now and look pretty lean as it is. I made a topic asking if anybody could recommend me ways to speed up my cutting but got no replies. The fat has been coming off at a rate of about .4 pounds of fat every two weeks. It's just so painfully slow... and after I reached my 6% body fat goal I planned bo bulk after that anyway. I think i'll be doing cutting and bulking phases for a very long time...


evolution said:
Add in all the isolation you want. Just make sure you're hitting your compounds a lot. Have you been to ExRx (Exercise Prescription) on the Net ? It has a plethora of lifts in different planes that you can check out.

I really think you should go with a premade template that will guide you until you get a bit of program savviness into you.

Check out Charles Staley's EDT programs.
Bill Starr has a great program called 5X5
Joe Defranco has an awesome program called Westside for Skinny Bastards

I'd pick each day to have 1 pressing movement-pin presses, bench press, push press, military press, etc Compound it with 1 main pulling movement-chins, rows, etc

Then throw in 1 supplemental db or flying movement with 1 supplemental pulling movement

Then alternate between squat, front squat, deadlift, rack pull, clean, hang snatch, etc

Throw in a couple movements with mid-high reps of back extensions, RDLs, cable pullthroughs, biceps, triceps, rotator cuffs, etc

I hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! Rep Given. Yeah that helps a lot. I will go on that site and see which one of those plans will work out for me... and experiment with some.

I'll post my routine once I come up with one.

As far as the calorie part of this goes...

Last time I was on a bulk I just ate whenever I wanted, all clean food, ate about every two hours, and I ate a lot! (just by nature i've always been a big eater) I bulked for approximately 4 months and gained 9 pounds, 7 was lean body mass and 2 pounds were fat.

I think I was pretty successful just eating whatever I wanted.. but if I were to pay attention to my calorie intake this time around i'd probably eat 2800-3300 calories per day.

I am 5 feet 8 1/2 inches tall and 152 pounds. 8.8% body fat.

What do you think?
 
Gotcha. That does make a lot of sense. Thanks for explaining. If I didn't know what you had been doing before with the cutting and just saw your stats, I'd have recommended a bulk. Hehe.

Oh, and you're right about a future looking ahead to bulking and cutting and bulking and cutting. Hee.

6% is pretty lean to shoot for. Some people look and feel better at 7-9%, and the body can be slow to get below that. I mean, it's doable, but not necessarily without some real strength or energy sacrifice for some people.

It sounds like you've gotten some great advice on how to put together the bulk routine! Good luck with it! I'm sure you'll rock that.
 
I think i'll be doing cutting and bulking phases for a very long time...
Click to expand...

What is your ultimate goal??? Depending on what it is you may go a different route than bulking and cutting and bulking and cutting.
 
goergen1 said:
What is your ultimate goal??? Depending on what it is you may go a different route than bulking and cutting and bulking and cutting.
Click to expand...

I have a picture in my mind about how I want to look. I want to be very lean with a pretty good amount of muscle. I don't want to be really huge though.. quick and agile has always been my style.

anyway, I started my bulk today. Here is what I did

Bench 3X10
Squats 3X8
Deadlift 3X8
Rowing 3X10
Tricep Dips 3X12
Pullups 1X7
lat pulldown 1X10
shoulder press 2X10
crunches 2X20
bicycle kick ab exercise 2X20

It took me exactly 1 hour.

I am wondering if I should just do this exact routine 3 times a week or if I should alternate kind of how I was before.

Comments?
 
I meant, if you are 152lbs now, where do your need to be to hit your goal. Since you are bulking.

I am wondering if I should just do this exact routine 3 times a week or if I should alternate kind of how I was before.

Comments?
Click to expand...

Change the routine day to day. Doesn't have to be a big change.

Inc. bench, DB bench.
Front Squats, single leg squats.
RDL, Good mornings.

Rotating exercises is always a good idea.
 
evolution said:
By the way, how many kcals are you eating now and how many kcals do you require according to your BMR to gain muscle?
Click to expand...

Hey Evolution. My BMR is 1700 calories and my activity level is sedentary, so 2100 calories per day is maintance. On training days my maintance is probably more like 2300-2400.

How much would you recommend I eat for bulking? I want to get the optimal amount of calories while minimizing fat gains..

I would appreciate comments from anybody that has an answer! Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top