The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

BARTOLO COLONNNNNN!!!!

 

Plenty of people bulk up on hitting each muscle group only once per week...I've done it. I prefer upper/lower splits like you were talking about. Both have advantages and disadvantages:

Each muscle once per week, you really get to break down the muscle with 4-5 good workouts, which is good. However, when it's repaired in 2-3 days, it's ready to go again and you've got to wait a week to do it again

Upper/lower, you only do 2-3 exercises per workout, but you're doing it twice per week. So, although you don't get the 'all-at-once' huge breakdown you get from hitting each muscle once per week, you still break it down good and it repairs in a few days and you get to repeat the process.

To me, it makes more sense to hit everything twice per week because those muscles are just sitting there ready to be broken down again and you're not doing it on a one group per day split. Upper/lower is my preferred way to go.

However, change is always good in working out b/c your muscles will get used to what you're doing, so you can do it his way for a couple months and then go to an upper lower split. I do an upper/lower split for 4 weeks and every 5th week, I do a one group per day split.

 

C'mon....

 

165x2

 

Used to be able to 185x3 about 2 years ago

 

what about squat and deadlift?

 

Squats: I'm going to test my new max on Friday night but I think it's somewhere around 225 for 2 or 3
Deads: 315 x 2

 

Okay cool. I'm going to go with his program and when the plateau hits then we can switch it up. He keeps saying to just trust him and I'm going to. It just goes against everything I've ever known hahaha. But I know we are hitting specific groups harder than I have before just like what you said with 2 to 3 work outs vs 4 to 5 so I guess that's good. It just feels so odd to have one part of my body so sore but the rest of my body is ready to blast away.

 

Incline bench helped my flat. Try starting your workouts with incline then maybe some flat dumbells. Also try incorporating some close grip bench. Basically getting all the other secondary muscles stronger to get your bench up.

 

Also I'm dreading an intense leg day. I'd prefer multiple leg days that are not as gnarly but no pain no gainz

 

Most people where I workout think upper/lower is dumb, but I'm bigger and stronger than about 80% of the people in the gym, so I really don't care what they think lol.

The main reason I switched to upper/lower is the same reason you want to: legs. My legs and arms grow much slower than my core, so they look so small sitting under my broad shoulders...it also doesn't help that I'm tall because that makes my arms and legs look even smaller.

The biggest and really the only argument your friend may have is that, his way, you break the muscle down more. His way, you're going from 100% to 0%. Our way, you go from 100% to about 40-50%, but you do it twice per week. The logic there is that, his way, 30 mins into the workout, your chest is fried and you're lifting much less weight than when you started. By the end of his workout, you're lifting baby weight because your chest is completely fried. Conversely, our way, since you're only doing 2-3 workouts for chest both upper days, every set you do that week is much more weight than you'd be doing on your 3rd or 4th exercise on his plan. At the end of the week, you both do the same amount of exercises, but yours were all for more weight than his. That seems like the better plan to me.

Although again, switching things up is necessary, so his way does have its merits, too.

 

Yeah I know what you mean by fried haha yesterday I was struggling to curl 10 lbs dumbbells by the end of the day. I felt like such a bitch but I used to blast out reps with 55lb bells so I know it's just because I haven't lifted in so long. Super stoked to see how much changes in a month or two months and so on.

 

Let the Newbie Gainz begin!

(even though you're not a newbie persay, but you're body will be telling you otherwise for the first few weeks)

 

Just did the handheld bodyfat test and it was 15.6% It was about what I expected because that's usually where I end up on a bulk...It's sad to remember I was just 11% in Sept though

According to bb.com's lbm calculator, right now at 205 and 15.6% bf, my lbm is 174.3 and in Sept at 178 and 11% it was 158.4, which means I've put in 15.9 lbs of muscle in 4 months (4 lbs/mo)...I'll take it. I know I lose a good bit of muscle each time I cut. I'm glad my body puts it back on easily. Thank God for muscle memory

 

I tried the hand held BF test at the gym. It said I was 4%. Then it read an error. Then it said I was 3%.

The BB.com calculator has me at 141 lbs LBM

 

I always do it 2-3 times and average it out and 15.6 is what I got. I also do the caliper one every now and then and it's supposed to be a little more accurate. I haven't done it since I started my bulk...now I'm not sure if I want to lol

 

Im not checking my Bf right now..... I don't want to see that number over 14% @ my rather small 240LBS frame lol

 

I have never checked

 

You can even do it with a partner