my new revised (sort of hardgainer) workout

[Babak]

i had been working out for a regular(bodybuilder magazine-type workout) for about a year and a half, you know 20-25 sets per bodypart, 8-12 reps hitting each part once a week in a 5 day split before i found this website and smartened up and cut down my volume to about 12-15 sets(i didnt go low enough since of course i was sceptical). This felt quite challenging at first dealing with the reduced volume left me feeling like i wasnt pushing my muscles to the limit and stimulating enough growth, but surprisingly after a few months of stagnation my poundages began increasing. After my summer vacation(a month off working out), i came back reenergized and cut the volume even more(9-12 sets per bodypart) but still did a regular 5 day split(chest,legs,arms,back,shoulders). Well, the poundages went up -again- and i cant help thinking that it is because of the reduced volume once again, so i recently read a great article about hardgainer type training(it was huge, like 70 pages ill dig up the link if anyone wants it) and decided to experiment with it. If anyone is experienced with this style of training any comments will be appreciated, also advice on rep ranges would be greatly appreciated, i was thinking about switching between 4-6 and 6-8 for upper body exercises(as suggested by numerous programs like max-ot and musclehead's bodybuilding made simple) and higher rep ranges for legs such as 15-20 (i dont feel the lactic acid buildup nearly as fast in my legs).

hows this look for a hardgainer type workout

mon(leg/shoulders/R.C)
Squats - 2 sets
Leg Press - 2 sets
S.L.D.L. - 2 sets
Calf - 2 sets
Push Press - 1 set
Cuban Rotations - 2 sets (light rotator cuff work)

wed(chest/tri)
BB Bench - 2 sets
DB Incline - 2 sets
Chest Dips - 2 sets
C.G. Bench - 1 set
Skull Crushers - 1 set

fri(back/bi)
Chins - 2 sets
Bent Over Row - 2 sets
Deadlift - 2 sets
Hyperextensions - 1 set
BB Curls - 1 set
DB Curls - 1 set

everything will be done to failure with 100% intensity(i dont buy into that 110% crap) with minimal spotter help (maybe like a little assistance of final rep of bench and skull crushers) and no forced reps.

also, im an 18 yr old male with a BW of around 145-150 and around 8-10% BF if that helps at all

[jhov]

Originally posted by Babak
i had been working out for a regular(bodybuilder magazine-type workout) for about a year and a half, you know 20-25 sets per bodypart, 8-12 reps hitting each part once a week in a 5 day split before i found this website and smartened up and cut down my volume to about 12-15 sets(i didnt go low enough since of course i was sceptical). This felt quite challenging at first dealing with the reduced volume left me feeling like i wasnt pushing my muscles to the limit and stimulating enough growth, but surprisingly after a few months of stagnation my poundages began increasing. After my summer vacation(a month off working out), i came back reenergized and cut the volume even more(9-12 sets per bodypart) but still did a regular 5 day split(chest,legs,arms,back,shoulders). Well, the poundages went up -again- and i cant help thinking that it is because of the reduced volume once again, so i recently read a great article about hardgainer type training(it was huge, like 70 pages ill dig up the link if anyone wants it) and decided to experiment with it. If anyone is experienced with this style of training any comments will be appreciated, also advice on rep ranges would be greatly appreciated, i was thinking about switching between 4-6 and 6-8 for upper body exercises(as suggested by numerous programs like max-ot and musclehead's bodybuilding made simple) and higher rep ranges for legs such as 15-20 (i dont feel the lactic acid buildup nearly as fast in my legs).

hows this look for a hardgainer type workout

mon(leg/shoulders/R.C)
Squats - 2 sets
Leg Press - 2 sets
S.L.D.L. - 2 sets
Calf - 2 sets
Push Press - 1 set
Cuban Rotations - 2 sets (light rotator cuff work)

wed(chest/tri)
BB Bench - 2 sets
DB Incline - 2 sets
Chest Dips - 2 sets
C.G. Bench - 1 set
Skull Crushers - 1 set

fri(back/bi)
Chins - 2 sets
Bent Over Row - 2 sets
Deadlift - 2 sets
Hyperextensions - 1 set
BB Curls - 1 set
DB Curls - 1 set

everything will be done to failure with 100% intensity(i dont buy into that 110% crap) with minimal spotter help (maybe like a little assistance of final rep of bench and skull crushers) and no forced reps.

also, im an 18 yr old male with a BW of around 145-150 and around 8-10% BF if that helps at all

i like the general idea, high intensity, low volume, heavy, full rom!!! sounds ok to me. as far as failure goes that is debatable (do a search) but as long as u train every bp only 1x per week i think u will be fine. good luck bro. keep us updated on ur progress
peace
j

[Overload]

I like it. It's basically what I'll be doing next. I don't do more than 2 or 3 sets for any 1 exercise. I do better on low volume. I only weigh 160 myself so low, intense workouts are better for me.

Looks good. I'd throw in some hammer curls after biceps.

I always recommend to start low and add if you feel the need. Better than starting with a lot, overtraining, and then realizing you need to cut back.

Good luck with it.

[Nick666]

I recommend that you get a book from Mike Mentzer. You're going to understand a lot of things about high intensity training. Everything will clarify and you will finaly understand why you do what you do.

As for your routine, well, as usual, I'll say that you don't need that much, and that doing too much is not only useless, but counter-productive.

Training to failure is maybe 3 times as stressful as training not to failure. So in fact, a leg training of your routine is equivalent to 6 sets of squat and 6 sets of leg press, and your chest w/o is equivalent to 6 sets of bench press, 6 sets of incline press, and 6 sets of dips. Note that you do even more sets for your chest than for your legs, which is not logical since legs are a much bigger muscle group.

When I began with HIT, it found it hard to accept that you could gain with so few sets, and I was reluctant to cut the number of sets to the strict minimum. It took me 6 months to realize that and to reduce to 1 set to failure.