Over work muscles?

[permanabol]

I keep doing research in order to find out best way to gain mass and i have read keeping it shorter is better. Currently I'm in the gym for around 2-2 1/2 hours. I'm somewhat young and have energy throughout the whole workout (with proper diet).

Currently my lifts are as follows (4 sets of everything):

Chest/Shoulder/Tri
BB bench
DB Incline press
Lying DB press
Cable Crossovers
Slight incline DB flys
DB Pullovers
Arnold's or seated DB Shoulder press
The shoulder excercise where arms are at 90 Degree angle and you lift them up (Don't know the name :nervous: )
DB front raises
Close Grip BP
Skullcrushers
Tri ext standing with rope
seated overhead tri extension (weight goes behind head)
Dips or seated tri extension (the machine where you just push down)

Back and Bi (few traps):

Row machine Parallel bar
Row machine wide grip
Inverted rows overhand grip
WG Pullups
Cable Pulldowns
Straight arm standing cable pulldown thing
low row
DB Row
Chin ups
Preacher EZ bar curl
reverse curls
1 Arm curl with incline bench set next to cable (best workout imo :01: )
rope curls on cable
sometimes hammer curls
forearm curls
BB Shrug
Rotating shrug 15 forward 15 back

I have a leg workout but it's pretty short I don't like legs :nervous:

So as you can see It's quite a load but it's obvious I am willing to work hard for gains. I also have a modified version if this is to long. Due to track i have been working 1 muscle group a day for an hour during week and those over weekend/friday. This has worked quite well for me over 4/5 months when I got back into it and have gone up around 15 pounds in muscle mass and dropped body fat. Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[suncloud]

jebus. i refuse to be in the gym for longer than an hour. good setup, too many exercises though, no deads on back day, and back day also should have 1-2 rear delt exercises given the split that you're doing.

 

[Raladoc]

Most im in the gym for is 90 mins and that the real max. How many days a week you training? Cos thats quite a load your doing there!! I only do 4 exercises and 1 calf exercise 3 days a week and im growing rather well.

 

[ElectricPulse]

That isn't too much, I think what you want to do is probably take less break time between workouts if you are there that long. You should do atleast 5 exercises per body part that you are working on in that day. I used to be in the gym for the same time as you but now that I just go into beast mode and don't even really take a break except to get water I cut the time to like 90mins. I'm in there 5 days a week and have great results just remember to not stay on the same workout plan too long and switch it up every month or so. Give your muscles a real challenge.

 

[Raladoc]

electricpulse You mean 5 exercises not workouts dont you?

 

[ElectricPulse]

electricpulse You mean 5 exercises not workouts dont you?

Yeah, my bad.

 

[gamer2be08]

2 hours is really pushing it in the gym, even on gear, 2.5 hours is overkill to say the least...

 

[permanabol]

Thanks for the posts! I could use some help on rear delt exercises like reverse flys and... what? I'm also going to cut my break time to a max of 90 seconds and cut out some of the exercises i feel don't work me to the extreme. Also i work out every day which probably isn't good... I love being at the gym so it's hard not to go...

 

[jminis]

Being in the gym that long can be counter productive but the big question and really the answer to your question is are you making consistent gains each week in terms of poundages in your lifts? Are you achieving the goals you have set forth in terms of physique? If it's yes to both then what your doing is working for you. If not then it's not. Believe it or not no one on this board can tell you whether something is too much or too little as everyones genetics are a bit different.

 

[gamer2be08]

^^^^^^ He is right, got an army buddy that lifts about 3 hours a day, everyday. He lifts with the worst form I have ever seen as well, yet he has gained about 6lbs of mass In a little over a month, and it aint fat... His philosophy is, if you cant lift with good form, put on some more heavy ass weight... Hell, it has worked for him, this guy is a beast....

 

[suncloud]

Thanks for the posts! I could use some help on rear delt exercises like reverse flys and... what? I'm also going to cut my break time to a max of 90 seconds and cut out some of the exercises i feel don't work me to the extreme. Also i work out every day which probably isn't good... I love being at the gym so it's hard not to go...

remember that you grow outside the gym. the gym is to tear down the muscles so you can grow, so off time is very important. face pulls are one of my favorite rear delt exercises, and are used in most powerlifting routines, so its a great addition to a workout. as stated above, if you're increasing reps or weight on an exercise, its working for you - the ones you're not increasing on, think about subbing it out for something else, or a slight variation - chins instead of pullups, pulldowns with a closer/wider/underhand grip, etc.

YouTube- Face Pull

 

[Jeremy Brown]

holy sh*t dude, could that guy jerk the cable any harder during those face pulls LOL!?!? it looked like the whole rack was going to come down any minute!

 

[suncloud]

yeah, i would have liked to see a bit more form there. i'm also thankful i don't work out at whatever gym allows people to not wear shirts... unless i can get into "Curves"....

 

[permanabol]

Looking jacked in that video . Is it better to do more reps or less to gain mass. I understand that some muscles it is better to do more than others. Also today i cut down my workout:
4 sets on all
DB Press
Inc DB Press
Cable Crossover
Inc Fly
Chest weighted dip
DB shoulder press
Lateral shoulder raises (3 sets)
Front shoulder raises (3 sets)
CG BP
Seated tri pushdown machine (with hands sideways)
Seated weighted dips (fingers pointing backwards)
Tri Pushdowns

Tried to hit all 3 parts of tricep but the seated dips i absolutely hated and hurt my wrist a bit any suggestions with what to replace that with?

 

[suncloud]

8-12 reps is the going rate for mass gains. with regards to triceps, seated dips are awesome. what's hurting you is your wrist position - you're bending your wrists, which makes serious weight uncomfortable. make a fist with your hand, and that is the position your wrists should be in - a parallel line from elbow to your first set of knuckles. when you bend your wrists, you place ungodly pressure on them.

 

[permanabol]

Ah gotcha gunna have to give that a shot. Still not quite sure about working the whole tricep. I read somewhere (I believe here) that there are 3 parts of the tricep and rotating your grip will hit all of them so that's what i was trying to do with the seated dips if you know anything about this then i would love to know.

 

[fritzer]

I have a leg workout but it's pretty short I don't like legs :nervous:

right. so you go to the gym one day to do chest/shoulders/triceps and another day for back/biceps, each time for over two hours, and decide to skip legs... and then even after typing all of that you think you need to ask for advice.

If i was doing it one day would be

flat bench 2 set
incline bench 1 set
dips 1 set
military press 2 set
side lateral 1 set
lying tricep extension 2 set
pushdown 1 set


next one

deadlift 2 sets
bent over row 2 sets
seated row 2 sets
lat pulldown 2 sets
straight bar curl 2 sets
hammer curl 1 set

next one

Squats 3 sets
Lunge 2 sets
Straight leg deadlift 2 sets
Hamstring curl 1 set
Seated Calves 2 sets
Standing Calves 1 set

1 hour max.

 

[SRS2000]

right. so you go to the gym one day to do chest/shoulders/triceps and another day for back/biceps, each time for over two hours, and decide to skip legs... and then even after typing all of that you think you need to ask for advice.

If i was doing it one day would be

flat bench 2 set
incline bench 1 set
dips 1 set
military press 2 set
side lateral 1 set
lying tricep extension 2 set
pushdown 1 set


next one

deadlift 2 sets
bent over row 2 sets
seated row 2 sets
lat pulldown 2 sets
straight bar curl 2 sets
hammer curl 1 set

next one

Squats 3 sets
Lunge 2 sets
Straight leg deadlift 2 sets
Hamstring curl 1 set
Seated Calves 2 sets
Standing Calves 1 set

1 hour max.

This looks about 100x better than the original routine. I think the OP needs to remember to train optimally not maximally. Just because you can do more volume doesn't mean you should.

 

[suncloud]

Ah gotcha gunna have to give that a shot. Still not quite sure about working the whole tricep. I read somewhere (I believe here) that there are 3 parts of the tricep and rotating your grip will hit all of them so that's what i was trying to do with the seated dips if you know anything about this then i would love to know.

sounds like something i would say overhand, underhand and parallel grip hit all 3 tricep heads. i can safely say this is the best way to do so. and underhand tricep seated dips are incredible for rear tricep mass. this is another pic of my tricep (besides my avatar).

 

[fritzer]

all i do for triceps is lying extension (skull crusher), pushdown, and one hand overhead extension. thats it since i started 5 years ago and all heads are fine

i always say 100%, keep it simple. your triceps dont have six different tendons reaching every section of every one of the three heads, the body keeps it simple so should you.

arty:arty:

 

[permanabol]

fritzer just destroyed me but I beleive I said I don't like legs I still do them though! That workout seems so short and with so few sets but I guess your right I'll try cutting everything down and see how it goes!

 

[fritzer]

in the end though you have to do wht works for you. you say that you gained 15lbs in four months, thats awesome. for me personally, i would never make it through one of those workouts. would be bored out of my mind. i like to go in max intensity, max weight.

i suggest you try it, you can always go back to what you are doing now if you prefer higher volume

 

[permanabol]

I did a bit of what you said today
Deads
Bent over rows
Tbar row machine parallel grip
Facepulls (the weight kept pulling me forward so might drop them unless doing wrong)
the thing where you bend over and have 2 db and just pull back i guess don't know the name
reverse grip BB curl
1 armed cable preacher curl
hammers
shrugs
was in gym for ~1hr
felt good and was sweating my balls off with reduced rest and increased reps also got a crazy pump!
might switch out deads for rack pulls... suggestions?

 

[Raladoc]

Deads are more for all over strength while rack pulls are more for all over back work

 

[fritzer]

i wouldnt switch deads for rack pulls. i know deadlifts can feel terrible, tire you out, etc but even doing them as heavy as you can (even if that is not that much) is a great overall mass and strength builder.

i would loose face pulls.

 

[permanabol]

yeah I'm deciding to keep deads and possibly switch to rack pulls later. Dropping the face pulls and keeping the exercise i don't know the name for Oh and is it better on deads to do them sumo style or reg (i prefer sumo but I did regular today)

 

[CCV3]

Ya that's a long time. I might push 2 hours if I'm cardio happy, but I really can't lift for more than 75 minutes. Go heavier...

 

[fritzer]

do whatever you can lift the most weight on with deads comfortably whether that be sumo or regular

 

[DR.D]

I did a bit of what you said today
Deads
Bent over rows
Tbar row machine parallel grip
Facepulls (the weight kept pulling me forward so might drop them unless doing wrong)
the thing where you bend over and have 2 db and just pull back i guess don't know the name
reverse grip BB curl
1 armed cable preacher curl
hammers
shrugs
was in gym for ~1hr
felt good and was sweating my balls off with reduced rest and increased reps also got a crazy pump!
might switch out deads for rack pulls... suggestions?

Here's a dude that combines deads with facepulls, well sort of...

YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.


Poor guy! I almost passed out like that after a set of squats one time.

 

[John Smeton]

Being in the gym that long can be counter productive but the big question and really the answer to your question is are you making consistent gains each week in terms of poundages in your lifts? Are you achieving the goals you have set forth in terms of physique? If it's yes to both then what your doing is working for you. If not then it's not. Believe it or not no one on this board can tell you whether something is too much or too little as everyones genetics are a bit different.

This is exactly right. we all have different testosterone levels, cortisol levels recovery abilities. some one on gear obviously can recover faster than some one not on gear which will lead to faster and stronger gains.

some guys naturally have high testosterone levels and they recover faster some people have medium test levels and some low. usually when people mention genetic freaks these guys have natural high testosterone levels(and testosterone is not the only thing there cortisol, gh, and many more) I just mention testosterone because that is the king determining how much muscle a person can build.