Intermediate/Advanced Routine

[Jooceman]

Training naturally at 5'6" you won't able to clear 75 kg without your BF% blowing out so I'd set 75 kg and lean as your final goal. If I were in your shoes I'd simply eat my way up to 75 kg (165 pounds) and then hold my weight steady, I'd keep training hard in the gym and slowly but surely my BF% would decrease as my muscle mass increases until finally I'd find myself sitting at a lean 75 kg.

Just bite the bullet and eat your way up to 75 kg, sure it'll suck carrying a bit of extra fat around for a while but you'll have the peace of mind of knowing that every day you inch closer and closer (little less fat, little more muscle) to your goal physique, before you know it you'll look in the mirror one day and be amazed at what you see.

This guy has the PERFECT physique. I noticed he uses really high volume in his workouts too. 10 sets of 10 on most exercises, the lowest he really goes is 4 sets and that's only for a few items.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/male...is_heitman.htm

But how did you come up with 75 kg as the limit at 5'6?

[Kelei]

But how did you come up with 75 kg as the limit at 5'6?

Well you can only get so big naturally (unless you let your BF% blow out), after seeing enough bodybuilders of various heights, weights and body fat percentages it's not all that difficult to figure out what the average natural limits are.

[TurboRyan]

I'm starting on cutting now. I'm 5' 10' 180lbs like 15% bf. wanting lose 15-20 lbs fat and maintain muscle mass quick as possible. What you recommend 500 or 1000 calorie deficit with this route. 1gram protein per lb enough?

[Kelei]

I'm starting on cutting now. I'm 5' 10' 180lbs like 15% bf. wanting lose 15-20 lbs fat and maintain muscle mass quick as possible. What you recommend 500 or 1000 calorie deficit with this route. 1gram protein per lb enough?

A 500 calorie deficit is the way to go unless you're very fat in which case a 1000 calorie deficit is warranted. 1 gram of protein per pound is plenty (assuming you don't lower your carb intake too low).

[etwake]

Fantastic piece of work, and I really appreciate all the effort you put into this thread Kelei! Gleaned some super-helpful information from this.

[TurboRyan]

55.5g of fat 318g of carbs 200g of protein look good?

[ThatOneLurker]

55.5g of fat 318g of carbs 200g of protein look good?

looks like far too much Protein


If I remember correctly, Kelei stated if your carb intake if sufficient enough your body only needs 0.68-0.75 grams of protein per pound

[Kelei]

55.5g of fat 318g of carbs 200g of protein look good?

It looks fine although 150 grams of protein would be more than enough, you might be able to save yourself some money by cutting back on some meat or protein shakes etc.

[ThatOneLurker]

Out of curiosity, since we discussed RDL to F.S. ratios


what should one's incline to flat bench ratio look like?

[Kelei]

Out of curiosity, since we discussed RDL to F.S. ratios


what should one's incline to flat bench ratio look like?

Post 1648.

[ThatOneLurker]

Post 1648.

ah thanks, missed that post.

[AD1984]

I went back to the original 3 day split from the full body one starting this week. I tried some recovery work for back with 50% of my regular work weight and it flared up again in the evening. Back to the drawing board. I'll add in some more ab work instead for D2.

I managed to keep the same weight I was using during the full body routine for 30 reps, I'm happy with that. I also tried the rope pushdowns like you said and they felt good, I'll keep them.

Soreness is slowly kicking in lol.

[Bustedchalk]

Just had a quick read of the first few pages, don't have time atm to read the entire thread.

Just a quick question, has any had success running the program working out every second day continuously?

IE
D1
off
D2
off
D3
off
D1
off
D2
off
D3


you are still working out each muscle twice a week per say (every 6 days)

[ShaneSwan]

Kelei, in theory could one run the program successfully and indefinitely without ever switching out any of the exercises one begins with? Or, do you think one will eventually need to change exercises for 'optimal' progress (ie hypertrophy, symmetry, balance, etc)?

[Kelei]

I went back to the original 3 day split from the full body one starting this week. I tried some recovery work for back with 50% of my regular work weight and it flared up again in the evening. Back to the drawing board. I'll add in some more ab work instead for D2.

I managed to keep the same weight I was using during the full body routine for 30 reps, I'm happy with that. I also tried the rope pushdowns like you said and they felt good, I'll keep them.

Soreness is slowly kicking in lol.

You're going to have to find out which exercise is causing the problems and replace it with something else or at least alter your form.

[Kelei]

Kelei, in theory could one run the program successfully and indefinitely without ever switching out any of the exercises one begins with? Or, do you think one will eventually need to change exercises for 'optimal' progress (ie hypertrophy, symmetry, balance, etc)?

There's no reason (physiologically speaking) to ever change your exercises simply for the sake of change itself, the only times you'd want to change exercises would be to work around injuries or equipment availability issues.

You can add extra exercises in order to target lagging muscle groups (shrugs for traps, flyes/crossovers for chest etc) but only after you've been using the routine for at least 6 months.

Changing exercises without any real reason for doing so is an outdated concept.

[Kelei]

Just had a quick read of the first few pages, don't have time atm to read the entire thread.

Just a quick question, has any had success running the program working out every second day continuously?

IE
D1
off
D2
off
D3
off
D1
off
D2
off
D3


you are still working out each muscle twice a week per say (every 6 days)

You'll make progress with that setup although it'll be slower than the standard setup.

[Kelei]

Who was the person with cramp issues a while back? I think it might of been Chicago, did you try taking magnesium like I suggested? Did it help?

[ShaneSwan]

You can add extra exercises in order to target lagging muscle groups (shrugs for traps, flyes/crossovers for chest etc)

Ah, okay; so you wouldnt swap one exercise for another (keeping overall volume the same), but you would do an additional exercise (increasing overall volume)?

For example, lets say delts are lagging. You wouldnt swap incline bench for seated shoulder press, but you would add the latter to D1?

[Kelei]

Ah, okay; so you wouldnt swap one exercise for another (keeping overall volume the same), but you would do an additional exercise (increasing overall volume)?

For example, lets say delts are lagging. You wouldnt swap incline bench for seated shoulder press, but you would add the latter to D1?

Yeah, I'd add extra exercises instead of swapping exercises.

[LordZed]

I can't for the life of me do front squats - what's a good replacement?

Also, I have a hard time doing dumbell tricep extensions - replacement?

[Kelei]

I can't for the life of me do front squats - what's a good replacement?

Also, I have a hard time doing dumbell tricep extensions - replacement?

Leg press and overhead rope extensions.

[LordZed]

Thanks! Are you not a fan of regular squats?

[Kelei]

Thanks! Are you not a fan of regular squats?

Not for bodybuilding purposes.

[JayWDee]

Training naturally at 5'6" you won't able to clear 75 kg without your BF% blowing out so I'd set 75 kg and lean as your final goal. If I were in your shoes I'd simply eat my way up to 75 kg (165 pounds) and then hold my weight steady, I'd keep training hard in the gym and slowly but surely my BF% would decrease as my muscle mass increases until finally I'd find myself sitting at a lean 75 kg.

Here's what 75 kg (165 pounds) looks like at 5'6" when lean.

Kelei- What do you think a comparable weight would be for someone who's 5'9"? I've slowly bulked up from 140 to 163ish in the past two years, and am trying to decide how much further I want to go. I'm looking for about the level of muscularity in the picture you posted.

[Kelei]

Kelei- What do you think a comparable weight would be for someone who's 5'9"? I've slowly bulked up from 140 to 163ish in the past two years, and am trying to decide how much further I want to go. I'm looking for about the level of muscularity in the picture you posted.

185.

[jayrocs]

Kelei,

Would you suggest this routine for someone on a cut? If so, would you just decrease the volume by about 50%?

Thanks.

[berkeberke]

Not for bodybuilding purposes.

I tried doing leg press and wasn't really feeling them too much, so i switched to high bar back squats keeping my form really strict and I feel it in my quads a lot more than leg press

[lajoo]

Kelei,

Would you suggest this routine for someone on a cut? If so, would you just decrease the volume by about 50%?

Thanks.

As he said before, reduce the volume to 30 reps and you should be fine.

I tried doing leg press and wasn't really feeling them too much, so i switched to high bar back squats keeping my form really strict and I feel it in my quads a lot more than leg press

If its working for you,keep doing it.

[AD1984]

You're going to have to find out which exercise is causing the problems and replace it with something else or at least alter your form.

It was the DB rows, I pull towards my stomach. I won't be doing them anytime soon.

Can you think of any back exercises that hit the rhomboids the least?