Newcomer needs lots of help

[Brian D]

Hey all. I wanted to start by saying how greatful I am to everyone for sharing his/her advise on these boards – it’s been a great help to someone like me who really doesn’t know what he’s doing and is pretty much stumbling along blind in terms of how to arrive at his goals.:head: That said, I’ll get on with it. I’m 23, 5’10”, 168 (not sure what bf is but I’m guessing around 15%). I have some pretty lousy genes (small hardgainer with big hips compared to the rest of me – 31 in- not huge but def. not a natural V-taper; small arms, chest, and not very strong in general). Anyway, I’ve been working out incorrectly for about 1 year (with probs ranging from not enough intensity, overtraining, poor form, etc.). My goal(and I’m not sure how realistic this is) is to gain between 10-20lbs of lean muscle in the next 6-12 months. I eat a ton of food, all clean, get so-so sleep (generally about 6.5 hrs a night) and don’t have a problem getting into the gym. Also, I’m learning, slowly, what some of my training mistakes are and would really like to correct them. I am willing to commit myself 100% to this end (I’m dying to!!), but am not sure how to go about this.. I’ve experimented with a few different split routines with little success (in part, mostly, to the fact that I was doing them wrong); this is what I’ve come up with and am planning to start this week. I would really appreciate any imput you guys might have.
Mon:
Back:
3 sets Deadlift
3 sets lat pulldown or 30 chins(usually takes 4 sets)
3 sets dumbbell rows or close grip seated cable row.
I was thinking about adding 2 biceps movements at the end too
Tues
Chest
3 sets Incline Press (Barbell or Dumbbell)
3 sets Flat Bench (Barbell or Dumbbell)
3 sets Decline Press (BB or DB)
2 sets dumbbell pullover
possibly add 2 triceps movements here
Wed
Legs
3 sets Squats
3 sets leg press
3 sets hack squat or duck squat
3 sets leg curl
3 sets romanian deadlift
3 sets each calves (toes pointing in, out, straight)
Thurs
Shoulders
3 sets overhead dumbbell press or barbell press or Bradford press
3 sets lat raise or upright row
3 sets front raise
3 sets rear delt raise or face pull
Traps
3 sets front shrugs or behind the back shrugs
3 sets side dumbbell shrugs
Fri
Arms (I’m really trying to put on some size here as mine are pretty puny)
3 sets barbell curl or db curl
3 sets hammer curls or preacher curls
3 sets reverse curl or body drag
3 sets skull crusher
3 sets close grip bench
3 sets dip or pushdown
For arms, I was thinking I would do 3 sets of a biceps move, then 3 sets of a triceps move, and so on.

Sat & Sun
Rest with some HIIT
Anyways, I was wondering if this split looked ok to everyone, or if they had some other suggestions.
Also, I figured I’d throw in abs 2-3 times a week, but leave 1 day for complete rest.

I don’t know much about supplements either, but right now I’m taking Animal Pak, NO Explode, Cell Mass, and just started taking Tribulus Terrestris and Ecdysterone. I was thinking about ditching the last two and starting a Jungle Warfare, Bad Ass Mass, and Restore Cycle.
Sorry this post is so long, and again I'd really appreciate any advice you might offer.

 

[CRUNCH]

It looks ok, a little high volume for me personally. It's a good place to start and see what happens.

I wouldn't do the biceps on your back day though, since you're doing them on Friday. Remember, more is not always better.

If you start hitting plateaus, drop at least one exercise per day and move your biceps over to back day, and triceps over to chest day and give yourself another day of rest. Your body needs to rest to grow.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Brian D]

Thanks for the advise man, I really appreciate it. I've actually been doing tris/chest on one day and back/bis on another for a little over two weeks now, but I thought I heard that giving arms their own day would be better for growth, since they'd be fresh. At the same time, I know some people advocate really finishing them off at the end of a routine where they've already been worked (tris after chest, etc). Anyways, again I appreciate you taking the time to help me out. I know there's no "perfect workout" but I'm psyched to finally start doing things the right way. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Chemist2234]

I agree with crunch, that is a lot of volume but if it works for you keep at it. Like crunch said, if you feel run down and your weights arent progressing i was suggest dropping some movements and giving yourself one or two more days to rest. Maybe cut it back to a Mon. Tues. Thurs. Fri. split. Just a suggestion.

 

[SMOKEPALADIN]

I think everybody responds differently to different routines, but i used to train 5 days a week then rest on sat and sunday and i always had poor results, if you stick with that split i would move whatever needs the most work to thur and friday before the rest days.
The best routine i have found for me is to use 5x5 routine(split= a,b,rest,a,b,rest,rest) for a few weeks to build up strength then go into a HST style routine for the duration of the bulk. For mass gains i have found HST to work the best for me i just respond better to higher frequency and low volume i guess.

get so-so sleep (generally about 6.5 hrs a night)

On a 5 day straight training schedule I would try to get at least 7.5 hours of sleep if not moore, sounds like you may be over training a bit with not enough repair time.
Good luck keep us posted on your progress.

 

[CRUNCH]

SMOKE makes a good point about sleep.

DO NOT underestimate the importance of a lot of quality sleep. It's just as important as the right routine, a perfect diet, or any supplement.

You'll do well Brian.