question about bulking
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question about bulking
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?
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- n00b
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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.
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.
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.