Push/Pull/Legs. Advice.

[Boondoggleyou]

Hello,
I've been lifting for roughly 9 months, started with Starting Strength and made great gains. Anywho, I'm looking to change things up with the focus on mass as my primary goal.

20 years old
5'10
180lbs. Pretty lean, maybe 12% bf?
GOAL - 190lbs around 8% - 10% bf.
Would like to achieve this within 6 months.

Advice on my setup would be appreciated.

Push
BB Bench
BB M.Press
W.Dips
Tri's- CC bench, Bench Dips

Pull
Deads (should I stick to 1 set of 5, or increase the rep/set?)
W.Pullups
BB Rows
BB Shrugs
Bi's - Rev.Grip Rows, W.Chins

Legs
BB Squats
Leg Press
BB Standing Calve Raises
Abs- W.Decline situps, Hanging pike leg raises.

So this is what I have right now, roughly 5x exercises per day.
I'm going to keep the rep range between 8 - 12, pretty typical.

Push, Pull, Legs, Push, Pull, Legs, OFF, repeat.
Everything will be worked twice a week.

Thank you.

 

[ihateschoolmt]

That's a nice simple routine, pretty similar to mine actually. But I wouldn't work out 6 days a week, I hit it 4 times a week (5 at the most when I am feeling up to it) and find that pretty good for growth. I assume you are going pretty much til failure most sets using that amount of volume? How many sets are you doing? I find I get better growth for chest if I add a movement that stretches it like DB flies, but that's just my preference.

 

[Boondoggleyou]

How about six days on, two days off.
Would this still be too much?

I was considering 3 sets with a steady increase in weight each week.

That sounds like a good idea, I'll probably add a good set or two of fly stretches at the end of the workout. I have a hard time making my chest grow in comparison to everything else.

Thank you.

 

[ihateschoolmt]

If you really feel like you can recover that fast try 3 on 1 off. That way you aren't going 6 days in a row lifting. Google DC stretching or loaded passive stretching. Loaded passive stretching really helped me fill out my chest. You can try it.

 

[jumpshot903]

My advice if you are doing 6 days a week the second time around switch up the exercises a bit nothing drastic maybe change from DB bench to BB or vice versa, something i did over last summer when i did this was do squats early in the week for first leg day then did lunges on second leg day and it worked very well.

Im going to be doing a Push/Pull/Legs routine this summer im working on it right now so once i have it done i'll post it here.

 

[SweetLou321]

Id do a 3 on 1 off or 2 on 1 off rotation for a split like this. Its not you muscle recovery im worried about, its you cns system. Or you can add deloads to keep it fresh.
One thing i noticed is you lack of hamstring work. Id add some on your leg days for sure. Glute ham raises would be perfect. Also what is your volume scheme? If you want to do 6 on 1 off, the last three days cant be to failure at all, all sets 1-2 reps short, your cns needs rest more then your muscles do.

 

[Torobestia]

Depending on how strong you are, you might consider doing BB rows before deadlifts as deadlifts can tax your lower back to the point of making BB rows anything from pretty hard to impossible to do at an optimum weight. I also love the idea of adding in weighted/extreme stretching after performing the lifts. Otherwise, looks good. And I think at 20 you can handle the abuse of lifting 6 times a week. I wouldn't worry about it being too much unless you plateau early/start losing strength.

 

[SweetLou321]

Let not be counterproductive here, rest is more important then training. I dont care if he is 20 years old, train, eat, rest, repeat. Rest is apart of that for a reason.

 

[Boondoggleyou]

Ok, so a 3 on 1 off seems to be the mutual suggestion.
Push/Pull/Legs/OFF (short cardio- 2mile for time), repeat. Correct?

Is 1x5 deadlifts good enough to build up mass? This is what I did on starting strength, I'm also considering 3x5 for just the squats. With everything else being 3 x 8 - 12. Suggestions?

I do Deadlifts before rows as I feel they are the more "complete" exercise, as in use the most muscles. It's the same reason I Squat before doing calve raises, etc.

Do squats and deads not work the hamstrings enough? If not then I see no problem in adding an extra exercise.

Thank you.

 

[ihateschoolmt]

I do good mornings after my deadlifts, most people tend to be quad dominant so I would throw in 1 thing that's just for hams. I only do one set of deadlifts a week but I go to failure so I can't do another set with the same weight ever lol. If I could I would. Same with squats for me.

 

[SweetLou321]

Ok, so a 3 on 1 off seems to be the mutual suggestion.
Push/Pull/Legs/OFF (short cardio- 2mile for time), repeat. Correct?

Is 1x5 deadlifts good enough to build up mass? This is what I did on starting strength, I'm also considering 3x5 for just the squats. With everything else being 3 x 8 - 12. Suggestions?I do Deadlifts before rows as I feel they are the more "complete" exercise, as in use the most muscles. It's the same reason I Squat before doing calve raises, etc.

Do squats and deads not work the hamstrings enough? If not then I see no problem in adding an extra exercise.

Thank you.

1) you have enough training, take your rest days to rest only. do conditioning at other times
2)idk if its enough for you, i like to ramp up my sets and do a top set. so do 2 other sets, not to failure or too heavy. but quality work. same with squats
3) ppl are not quad dominate, they are hamstring weak. Have a hamsting lift for every quad lift you have. Also deads arnt really a back move. Idk how your gonna deadlift heavy one day then squat heavy the next. your lower back will hate you. May want to do Push/Pull (upper back only)/Legs (heavy squats)/off/push/pull (deads)/legs (leg press)/ off repeat. Im a fan of the 2 on 1 off more. but try it out anyways.