question about bulking

TopShelf · Post by **TopShelf** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:38 am

i am currently in a bulking stage and have been doing full body, compound exercises such as presses, rows/pulldowns, and squats/lunges for 3 or 4 days a week. i have been doing this exercise routine for some while now and would like to change it to two or three day splits, separating push and pull movements. my question is, if i split up my workouts and lift 5 or 6 days a week, would i end up gaining or losing muscle mass?

Post by **Ironman** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 3:56 am

Unless your workouts are very short, 5 or 6 times is too much. You don't grow in the gym. Get in, do your thing and get out. How about push/pull, working everything twice a week. That gives you 4 days per week. At 4 days, keep it down to 45 minute sessions.

Ubulus Dorsimus · Post by **Ubulus Dorsimus** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:13 pm

Don't you hate this answer: it depends. The best gains I've ever made in 20+ years of lifting/bodybuilding I made working out 1.5-2 hours a day five days a week with extremely high volume. I was 21 years old, full of youthful energy and hormones, and eating about 6,000 calories a day. I also got kind of fat too. But bulk up and get "'swol" I did. I don't advocate "bulking up" and don't do it myself anymore, but that's another thread.

With the right genetics and the right diet, you can use some high volume and frequency.

Try a 4 day split: 2 on 2 off or even 2 on 2 off 2 on 3 off. Chest/biceps; Legs; Back; shoulders/triceps. I've made steller gains with that split and it allowed plenty of rest. Shoot for 12 total sets for chest, lats, and quads. 6-9 sets for everything else.

TopShelf · Post by **TopShelf** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:56 pm

if i separate my workouts into chest/tri, back/bi, and legs wont that be enough rest for each muscle group to lift 5-6 days a week?

Post by **Ironman** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 12:26 pm

It doesn't matter how you break it up. It matters how much you do. You could do upper/lower working the body 3 times a week over 6 days, with just 1 day off if you keep the workouts short. As in just a couple sets for each muscle group. Like maybe 2 sets of 2 exercises each for chest, back and legs. Then just 1 set total for any direct arm and shoulder work. Then maybe a set for inner thighs, 1 for abs, and 2 or 3 for calves. Stay 2 reps short of failure on everything but the isolation moves. So that way you do no more than 10 sets per day. That is how you you can work out 6 days a week. Your actual workout will be under 20 minutes. With warm ups and stretching, you should be out of the gym in a half hour tops.

Post by **Jungledoc** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:26 am

Why do you want to change? Have you stopped making progress with your present program?

TopShelf · Post by **TopShelf** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:44 pm

i want to change because ive been doing the same routine for a while and am getting bored with it. i also read that changing the routine "tricks" the muscles, resulting in better results/bigger muscles.

Post by **Jungledoc** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:34 pm

If you're still making progress with a linear progression-based program, there are other ways to introduce variety. You can do variants of your squats or DLs, add one or two assistance exercises, etc.

TopShelf · Post by **TopShelf** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:52 am

what are assistant exercises?

Post by **Jungledoc** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:20 am

Assistance (not "assistant") exercises work a single muscle, or movement at a single joint. They can be used to supplement the compound exercises. Body builders use them a lot to "bring up" a particular muscle that they want to make bigger in relation to the others.