[jbeard]

i am looking for a good workout routine... i have been working out for around 8 mnths every other day. i am trying to really bulk up my upper body.what is a good routine? all i have to work with is just a regular workout bench and dumbells

[koi1214]

Originally Posted by jbeard

i am looking for a good workout routine... i have been working out for around 8 mnths every other day. i am trying to really bulk up my upper body.what is a good routine? all i have to work with is just a regular workout bench and dumbells

You might want to post this in the training section here.Here are a couple programs that are excellent.
Try googling
Rippetoe's Starting Strength Program
or
Bill Starr's 5x5 routine

For both of these routines you only need barbells,dumbbells and a weight bench.Also try to focus on compound exercises
(squats,deadlifts,bech press,dips,miltary presses,etc.)

Also when you post a thread in the training section try to list as much info as possible like your daily diet(calories,carbs.and protein).
I hope this helps. Joe

[MPFit]

well man, if u look down in the bulking tips thread its suggested that you try GVT, or German Volume Training.

Its good cuz its really quick (workouts take like 45min.. and are Intense!)

Just take a muscle group, and do 10 sets of 10 reps and count out 60 seconds between sets (no more than 60 seconds unless you superset) If you superset, which is doing one workout immedietly followed by another workout with no rest, then take a 90 second break before you do your next workout.

My Upperbody routine:

Mon
Incline DB Press - 5set x 10 reps
-supersetted with-
DB Fly's - 5set x 10 reps
(I do 10 inclines followed immedietly by 10 db fly's with 90 second break in between)
90 second rest
Inverted Situps (hanging upside down) - 5set x 10 rep
supersetted with
"leg raised" full crunches - 5set x 20rep

Wed
DB Deadlift - 5set x 10 reps
supersetted with
DB supinating military row - 5set x 10rep
90second rest
DB Standing Bent Over Row - 5set x 10rep
supersetted with
db lateral raise - 5set x 10rep

Fri
Incline (seated) DB curls - 3set x 10 rep
supersetted with
DB Skullcrushers - 3set x 10 rep
90second rest
Seated Hammer Curls - 2set x 10rep
supersetted with
Dips (lean backwards) - 2set x 10 rep

Just make sure you choose a somewhat lighter weight on your workouts so you can finish the 10 reps, and make sure you count out your rests or have a stopwatch.. I gave you this because I recently quit my gym and have only an adjustable bench and dumbells (DB) -but I more commonly vary this routine week by week, I've been doing it for about three weeks now.. search for German Volume Training on google or something u can read the summary of how it works..
I get nice and sore and given the supplements i've been using, i've seen a nice 1-2lbs a week (almost 4lbs in 3 weeks) with this and a new diet
goodluck

[Flexo]

Sunday - Chest/Triceps
Barbell Bench Press 3 x 6
Incline DB Bench Press 3 x 6
Weighted Chest Dips 3 x 6
Lying Triceps Extensions 3 x 6
Overhead Cable Extensions 2 x 6

Monday - Legs
Squats 3 x 6
Leg Press 3 x 6
Stiff-leg Deadlifts 2 x 6
Leg Extensions 2 x 6
45 Degree Calve Raises 3 x 15-20
Standing Calve Raises 2 x 15-20

Wednesday - Back/Biceps
Deadlifts 3 x 6
Barbell Rows 2 x 6
Weighted Pull-ups 2 x 6
V-Bar Pulldowns 2 x 6
Seated Incline DB Curls 3 x 6
Standing Barbell Curls 2 x 6

Thursday - Shoulders/Traps
Military Press 2 x 6
Seated DB Press 2 x 6
Seated DB Lateral Raises 2 x 6
Rear DB Raises 2 x 6
Barbell Shrugs 3 x 8


This is what I'm doing right now and I like it alright. Not as many sets as a lot of workout routines, but you don't need too much to overload your muscles. It's more about how you diet. People who aren't seeing progress try to add more to their workouts when they should be concentrating on your diet.

I'd recommend changing the workout routine every 4-5 weeks or so, but you don't have to change much about it. Some people change it up every 2 weeks. I used to do this, but it doesn't allow you to gain much strength per lift. For instance, say you do bench press as your primary chest exercise for 2 weeks, then you switch it up to incline DB press. Well, your going to have to re-acclimate, which is the reason you switched it up in the first place, but your not going to be able to maximize your bench press strength gains as efficiently. That's just my take on it, and it's opinionated based on experience.

I usually follow the rep range of 5-8, usually staying closer to 6 as I've found it to be the magic number for me. It allows me to focus all of my intensity without getting bored during the set. When you're doing sets of 10, you're definitely not going to be able to achieve maximum intensity during the entire duration of the set. So I shoot for 6, but 5 is still a good rep range for strength/mass concentration, and if for some reason I've chosen a weight where I can pass 6, which usually doesn't happened unplanned due to me knowing about how much I can do every time, I'll go up to 8 reps on that set, but usually I stop around 7.

As far as how I progress, say the routine calls for 3 sets of deadlifts at 6 reps per set. And lets say I choose to make 350lbs my target weight for the set (after warm-up). So I'm set to go at 350lbs x 6, and I nail every rep, reaching positive failure on the 6th rep. Okay, well on the next set I decide to up it by 5lbs because I'm feeling pretty good, and I nail each of the 6 reps for that set as well. On the next set, if I can get at least 5 reps of that weight then the next week when I do deadlifts again I'll increase the weight by another 5lbs and shoot for 6. Now let's say I was shooting for 350lbs x 6, and got 6 reps on the first set, 5 reps on the second, and only 3 reps on the thrid, then I wouldn't increase my weight the following week, rather I would shoot for three "good" sets of 350lbs.

And as far as warm-ups go, I do it like this...

Pick a target weight for the lift you're going to do. Example: I want to bench 200lbs for my 6 reps. Okay...

Target heavy set weight = 200lbs
1st Warm-up set: 50% of 200 = 100lbs x 12
2nd Warm-up set: 50% of 200 = 100lbs x 10
3rd Warm-up set: 70% of 200lbs = 140lbs x 6
4rd Warm-up set: 80% of 200lbs = 160lbs x 3
5th Warm-up set: 90% of 200lbs = 180lbs x 1

The first two warm-up sets are designed to get the blood flowing to your target muscles while the last three are designed to acclimate you to the heavy weight. Also note that you should only warm-up once per each muscle group. For instance, if you warm-up on bench press, you don't have to warm-up for any other chest exercise, and the same goes for any other muscle group. And if you're doing chest and triceps on the same day, or something similar in nature, don't do a full warm-up for your triceps, rather just do one weight acclimation set, since you've already brought adequate blood flow to the triceps through your chest exercises.

And remember to follow a good diet because that's the most important aspect of bulking. Without an adequate diet, the best workout in the world isn't going to do much for you.

Hope that helps!