Hypertrophy/Bodybuilding Routine

[DamonX]

Thanks guys.
Guess I had it backwards all along, so US description is chin ups (palms facing you), pull ups (palms facing away.)

[MaNIaXC]

Thinking of starting this program from coming week.
Goals are hypertrophy.
Been lifting for 2 years.Have decent mass but lifts are novice.

After reading first post i have made foll. conclusions:
1.Set a rep target for each exercise and do as many sets to achieve it(Rest pause or straight sets doesnt matter)
2.Progress according to reps achieved in 1st set of each exercise.

Coming out of a cut ill start with low volume and adjust it later

D1: push
Flat BB 30 reps
Incline 30 reps
Crossovers 30 reps
Tri pushdowns 30 reps
Side laterals 30 reps

D2: pull
pendlay Rows 30 reps
pull ups 30 reps
facepulls 20 reps
rear delt 20 reps
shrugs 30 reps
bi curls 30 reps

D3: legs
FS 30 reps
rdl 30reps
leg ext 30 reps
leg curl 30 reps
calves 40 reps
abs 50 reps

Had foll. questions:
1. is pendlay row gud choice than seated? and will one horizontal rowing balance pushing? maybe ill do more reps of rows
2. Side laterals / abs/ calves :can they be trained everyday really?? (ill try for every other day)
3. Should i focus on increasing weight first or get the volume rightly adjusted then go for weight increments??
4. How abt adding some hyperextensions on leg day ? Or the rdl will suffice for lower back ?
5. 75% intensity means exactly how intense?

[Damaito]

How big of a difference is the biceps activation if we compare pronated wide grip with supinated closer grip? A lot? Slightly more?

I switched from a wide grip to a roughly shoulder width grip and felt my biceps activate a lot more compared to the wider grip.

It'll just feel normal after a couple times. Personally.

[atgbrahsrs]

Thanks guys.
Guess I had it backwards all along, so US description is chin ups (palms facing you), pull ups (palms facing away.)

Essentially, something like this right ?

[TEAMKELEIBRAH]

Halfway through my workout today my legs started shaking during exercises LOL. Don't know why........Abs are the worst. You have to do tons of reps to feel anything.

[TEAMKELEIBRAH]

Has anybody here followed Kelei's advice to the word regarding training side deltoids, calves and abs everyday?

I know builders who do calves and abs everyday and have amazing aesthetics in those regions but never came across a guy who did side deltoids every day.

[TEAMKELEIBRAH]

One more question, and this is targeted at Kelei.
What if I add one rep per session until I deload to increase volume over time rather than jump to a higher number after certain number of weeks?

[nathangreen]

Has anybody here followed Kelei's advice to the word regarding training side deltoids, calves and abs everyday?

I know builders who do calves and abs everyday and have amazing aesthetics in those regions but never came across a guy who did side deltoids every day.

Yes to all 3. Seen results in all 3 as well, which is awesome for how long I've been training

[TEAMKELEIBRAH]

Thinking of starting this program from coming week.
Goals are hypertrophy.
Been lifting for 2 years.Have decent mass but lifts are novice.

After reading first post i have made foll. conclusions:
1.Set a rep target for each exercise and do as many sets to achieve it(Rest pause or straight sets doesnt matter)
2.Progress according to reps achieved in 1st set of each exercise.

Coming out of a cut ill start with low volume and adjust it later

D1: push
Flat BB 30 reps
Incline 30 reps
Crossovers 30 reps
Tri pushdowns 30 reps
Side laterals 30 reps

D2: pull
pendlay Rows 30 reps
pull ups 30 reps
facepulls 20 reps
rear delt 20 reps
shrugs 30 reps
bi curls 30 reps

D3: legs
FS 30 reps
rdl 30reps
leg ext 30 reps
leg curl 30 reps
calves 40 reps
abs 50 reps

Had foll. questions:
1. is pendlay row gud choice than seated? and will one horizontal rowing balance pushing? maybe ill do more reps of rows
2. Side laterals / abs/ calves :can they be trained everyday really?? (ill try for every other day)
3. Should i focus on increasing weight first or get the volume rightly adjusted then go for weight increments??
4. How abt adding some hyperextensions on leg day ? Or the rdl will suffice for lower back ?
5. 75% intensity means exactly how intense?

I've asked quite a few people at my gym and in social settings who have great abs and calves who train them everyday!
But I'm yet to find someone who trains side delts every day. Kelei says he has been training this way so I'll take his word for it.

[TEAMKELEIBRAH]

Yes to all 3. Seen results in all 3 as well, which is awesome for how long I've been training

What is your preferred exercise for side delts, lateral raises?
Or do you do other too?

[nathangreen]

What is your preferred exercise for side delts, lateral raises?
Or do you do other too?

Just good old seated side laterals with strict form. Side delt machine on rare occasion. Delts are one of my best body parts now

[DamonX]

Essentially, something like this right ?

Yes, was just confused for the longest about the excercise names. People would interchange chins/pullups

[glossin]

Quick question. I'm going to be super busy in the Fall with school, and it's pretty hard for me to get to our rec center, not to mention the fact that it's super packed. I'm not sure if the 6 days/ week PPL is going to be feasible. Will there be any significant disadvantages from going to an upper/ lower split preformed 4 days per week, besides lower frequency on calves, abs and side delts?

[xxx_jfb_xxx]

This is what I've been battling with too. Are your subsequent sets after the first short of failure too, or is it just the first set that's short, then the others to failure? The switch to 15rm training has helped my aches and pains no end but, like you, I want to be able to keep lifting for a long time, and want to avoid injuries (especially tendonitis which takes ages to heal) before suffering them then having to take time off to heal them.

My subsequent sets are definitely more intense. They're more like Kelei's program. Just that first set seems to really zap my CNS and causes a lot of nerve pain the next day. I think using the lighter load and making it feel more difficult has helped as silly as that sounds.

[SXElifter]

Quick question. I'm going to be super busy in the Fall with school, and it's pretty hard for me to get to our rec center, not to mention the fact that it's super packed. I'm not sure if the 6 days/ week PPL is going to be feasible. Will there be any significant disadvantages from going to an upper/ lower split preformed 4 days per week, besides lower frequency on calves, abs and side delts?

The fact that you're switching to an upper/lower rather than continuing PPL with only 4 days a week certainly eliminates any significant disadvantages. If you're in 4 days a week with upper/lower, you're still hitting each muscle group twice per week. The only slight disadvantage would be if your volume per muscle group is a tad lower. But, even then you could eliminate that by performing equal volume (to the volume you're performing now).

Other than that there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

[glossin]

The fact that you're switching to an upper/lower rather than continuing PPL with only 4 days a week certainly eliminates any significant disadvantages. If you're in 4 days a week with upper/lower, you're still hitting each muscle group twice per week. The only slight disadvantage would be if your volume per muscle group is a tad lower. But, even then you could eliminate that by performing equal volume (to the volume you're performing now).

Other than that there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Cool, thank you. I hate to deviate from the original routine, but I don't think my schedule will allow PPL.

I laid it out, and there's obviously a lot more exercises during the upper day compared to the lower. I'm thinking of eliminating chest flyes and maybe even rear delt flyes, and just focusing on compounds. Do you think this is OK?

[SXElifter]

Cool, thank you. I hate to deviate from the original routine, but I don't think my schedule will allow PPL.

I laid it out, and there's obviously a lot more exercises during the upper day compared to the lower. I'm thinking of eliminating chest flyes and maybe even rear delt flyes, and just focusing on compounds. Do you think this is OK?

That's not a big deal. You'd be better off performing more volume per exercise rather than excessively spreading out your volume.

[xxx_jfb_xxx]

That's not a big deal. You'd be better off performing more volume per exercise rather than excessively spreading out your volume.

I agree. Once I started doing that, I started making some pretty big gains.

[SXElifter]

I agree. Once I started doing that, I started making some pretty big gains.

It also helps you master particular movements and learn how to feel them correctly. It makes you quite comfortable with the exercise. Not to mention the rapid strength increases (and of course superior hypertrophy gains, which is the point).

Ever since Kelei made that mention about performing 10-20 sets of a single exercise, I took that and ran with it. Boy does it work.

[Jasonk282]

I'll take my chances with 2 reps short going 10-12 reps with a 15 rep max. My pain level is so low. That makes it a worthwhile trade off for me. With what you're promoting after 1 year of doing your program, I feel like I'll be lucky to make it lifting weights at 35. That's not a stretch of the imagination, that's fact. Maybe my body just isn't made for this. I'd rather be exercising than not exercising and crippled on my couch praying for death.

FWIW...I've been training 1-2 reps short of failure for the past 3 years, permitted me to stay injury free and able to lift with only family trips as time away from the gym.

[xxx_jfb_xxx]

FWIW...I've been training 1-2 reps short of failure for the past 3 years, permitted me to stay injury free and able to lift with only family trips as time away from the gym.

Sounds promising Jason! I've taken a lot of your advice. I'm sure our programs don't look too different right now.

[Kelei]

It also helps you master particular movements and learn how to feel them correctly. It makes you quite comfortable with the exercise. Not to mention the rapid strength increases (and of course superior hypertrophy gains, which is the point).

Ever since Kelei made that mention about performing 10-20 sets of a single exercise, I took that and ran with it. Boy does it work.

Some people do really well with an extremely limited exercise selection but with a lot of volume per lift. I once helped a guy who was into minimalist training and he wanted to perform no more than 3 exercises for his entire body, he never really explained why........

What I recommended was:

Bench press
Seated rows
Trap bar deadlifts

He wanted to train 3 days per week so we settled with a full body (M-W-F), he trained 120 minutes each day and divided his workout time so that he devoted 40 minutes to each exercise, he performed as many sets as he could fit into 40 minutes.

Well long story short he progressed so fast that I seriously started to wonder if he was taking steroids without telling me, it really was that dramatic.

I don't know if anyone here is interested in trying something like this but I should probably state that it can scaled down if spending 120 minutes in the gym isn't going to work, for example 90 total minutes (30 minutes each exercise) or 60 total minutes (20 minutes each exercise) etc, the same principle applies, perform fewer exercises so that you can devote more time to each exercise.

It'd be pretty cool if someone was willing to start a log so that others could follow their progress.

[SXElifter]

Some people do really well with an extremely limited exercise selection but with a lot of volume per lift. I once helped a guy who was into minimalist training and he wanted to perform no more than 3 exercises for his entire body, he never really explained why........

What I recommended was:

Bench press
Seated rows
Trap bar deadlifts

He wanted to train 3 days per week so we settled with a full body (M-W-F), he trained 120 minutes each day and divided his workout time so that he devoted 40 minutes to each exercise, he performed as many sets as he could fit into 40 minutes.

Well long story short he progressed so fast that I seriously started to wonder if he was taking steroids without telling me, it really was that dramatic.

I don't know if anyone here is interested in trying something like this but I should probably state that it can scaled down if spending 120 minutes in the gym isn't going to work, for example 90 total minutes (30 minutes each exercise) or 60 total minutes (20 minutes each exercise) etc, the same principle applies, perform fewer exercises so that you can devote more time to each exercise.

It'd be pretty cool if someone was willing to start a log so that others could follow their progress.

Reading this, I'm pondering the idea of that concept but with a 3 day split run twice per week instead (like the current PPL 2x a week set up), but performing a single exercise per workout. So for example, D1-Bench Press, D2-Seated Rows, D3-Leg Press, repeat. Dedicating perhaps 90 minutes each workout to one exercise. Sounds ridiculous/insane, but just a thought.

[VO2Maxima]

So I've been doing this program since early May...mostly followed the PPL split laid out in the first post for the majority of it (50 rep goal), and ran a brief U/L overreaching segment for about two weeks (hitting everything 3x/week). I know this program prioritizes hypertrophy over strength (and hypertrophy is my primary goal), but following my last deload, I just tested my deadlift 1RM out of curiosity...it's gone up 20lbs versus where it was at this point last bulk (which probably doesn't sound like much for guys who are pulling 700+ lbs, but 255 -> 275 is a decent percentage of that weight). Bench has also gone from a 1RM of 125lbs (same bodyweight last bulk) to being able to rep 7x135. So thanks for laying the program out, Kelei...hoping the aesthetic changes over time will make me as happy as the strength gains.

[Damaito]

Some people do really well with an extremely limited exercise selection but with a lot of volume per lift. I once helped a guy who was into minimalist training and he wanted to perform no more than 3 exercises for his entire body, he never really explained why........

What I recommended was:

Bench press
Seated rows
Trap bar deadlifts

He wanted to train 3 days per week so we settled with a full body (M-W-F), he trained 120 minutes each day and divided his workout time so that he devoted 40 minutes to each exercise, he performed as many sets as he could fit into 40 minutes.

Well long story short he progressed so fast that I seriously started to wonder if he was taking steroids without telling me, it really was that dramatic.

I don't know if anyone here is interested in trying something like this but I should probably state that it can scaled down if spending 120 minutes in the gym isn't going to work, for example 90 total minutes (30 minutes each exercise) or 60 total minutes (20 minutes each exercise) etc, the same principle applies, perform fewer exercises so that you can devote more time to each exercise.

It'd be pretty cool if someone was willing to start a log so that others could follow their progress.

I can be a test subject if you like...

[glossin]

Some people do really well with an extremely limited exercise selection but with a lot of volume per lift. I once helped a guy who was into minimalist training and he wanted to perform no more than 3 exercises for his entire body, he never really explained why........

What I recommended was:

Bench press
Seated rows
Trap bar deadlifts

He wanted to train 3 days per week so we settled with a full body (M-W-F), he trained 120 minutes each day and divided his workout time so that he devoted 40 minutes to each exercise, he performed as many sets as he could fit into 40 minutes.

Well long story short he progressed so fast that I seriously started to wonder if he was taking steroids without telling me, it really was that dramatic.

I don't know if anyone here is interested in trying something like this but I should probably state that it can scaled down if spending 120 minutes in the gym isn't going to work, for example 90 total minutes (30 minutes each exercise) or 60 total minutes (20 minutes each exercise) etc, the same principle applies, perform fewer exercises so that you can devote more time to each exercise.

It'd be pretty cool if someone was willing to start a log so that others could follow their progress.

This is interesting. Similar to the concept of how Olympic weightlifters have great physiques yet only do a few movements?

[Corpsez]

Does anyone know Kelei's recommendations when it comes to sodium and potassium? Should they be close to each other like a 1:1 ratio or should it be higher potassium than sodium 2:1? I have actively added more potassium in my diet and some days I look more full and vascular due to my electrolytes. Was just wondering what the best ratio would be for performance/aesthetics.

[kush007bond]

Some people do really well with an extremely limited exercise selection but with a lot of volume per lift. I once helped a guy who was into minimalist training and he wanted to perform no more than 3 exercises for his entire body, he never really explained why........

What I recommended was:

Bench press
Seated rows
Trap bar deadlifts

He wanted to train 3 days per week so we settled with a full body (M-W-F), he trained 120 minutes each day and divided his workout time so that he devoted 40 minutes to each exercise, he performed as many sets as he could fit into 40 minutes.

Well long story short he progressed so fast that I seriously started to wonder if he was taking steroids without telling me, it really was that dramatic.

I don't know if anyone here is interested in trying something like this but I should probably state that it can scaled down if spending 120 minutes in the gym isn't going to work, for example 90 total minutes (30 minutes each exercise) or 60 total minutes (20 minutes each exercise) etc, the same principle applies, perform fewer exercises so that you can devote more time to each exercise.

It'd be pretty cool if someone was willing to start a log so that others could follow their progress.

Interesting stuff. What was the age of guy? Was training the only change he did? On a similar principle what would you suggest if one can train for 6 times per week with 90 min each.

[TEAMKELEIBRAH]

Interesting stuff. What was the age of guy? Was training the only change he did? On a similar principle what would you suggest if one can train for 6 times per week with 90 min each.

If he is training 120 minutes 3 times a week, that would make it 60 minutes a day. How the hell he managed to bench press for 40 minutes a day is beyond me. I would just die right there.

I will be running a time based session today and see if I get more reps than I did before.

[GeraltOfRivia5]

Some people do really well with an extremely limited exercise selection but with a lot of volume per lift. I once helped a guy who was into minimalist training and he wanted to perform no more than 3 exercises for his entire body, he never really explained why........

What I recommended was:

Bench press
Seated rows
Trap bar deadlifts

He wanted to train 3 days per week so we settled with a full body (M-W-F), he trained 120 minutes each day and divided his workout time so that he devoted 40 minutes to each exercise, he performed as many sets as he could fit into 40 minutes.

Well long story short he progressed so fast that I seriously started to wonder if he was taking steroids without telling me, it really was that dramatic.

I don't know if anyone here is interested in trying something like this but I should probably state that it can scaled down if spending 120 minutes in the gym isn't going to work, for example 90 total minutes (30 minutes each exercise) or 60 total minutes (20 minutes each exercise) etc, the same principle applies, perform fewer exercises so that you can devote more time to each exercise.

It'd be pretty cool if someone was willing to start a log so that others could follow their progress.

Sounds very interesting. I am curious, did some bodypart not progress as well as other (obviously) like side delts, did they grow much at all for him? What about arms? Lots of people seem to complain about lagging arms on routines like SS and 5x5 routines (no or low amount of arm isolation).

I guess if you wrote a new minimalist routine you would probably tweak it a bit? As a leg curl seems pretty needed in the long run (injury prevention, trap bar deadlifts doesn't fully work the hamstrings), for example. Maybe something like 5-6 exercises in total would work very well and could cover the entire body well. All that would "need" to be added is probably leg curl and maybe side laterals + calves.

Maybe the next routine you write could be something like that.