Advice for mass building program...

[Bar90]

Hi, I am new to the forum and mass building programs but was just wondering if this is a good program to add mass. I am 19, male, about 160 pounds, and hope to add around 20 pounds through mass building, am experienced enough for the exercises and am wondering if this is a good 10 week program to get started on...

Any advice would be appreciated


10 weeks - 4 days a week resting Wednesday and weekends



Monday - Chest and Triceps

Chest
Exercise...................Sets.......Reps
Barbell Bench Press.........4........10, 8, 8, 6
Incline Bench Press.........3.........8, 8, 6
Decline Bench Press........3.........8, 8, 6
Dumbbell Flys...............2.........10
Dumbbell Pullover..........2..........8

Triceps
Exercise.....................Sets..............Reps
Tricep Extension.............4.................10, 8, 8, 6 adding weight
Tricep Dip.....................3.................10
Tricep Bench Dip.............3..................8


Tuesday - Back and Biceps

Back
Exercise..............................Sets..............Reps
Chin Up.................................2.................8
One Arm Dumbbell Row...............3.................8
Seated Row.............................2.................8
Bent Over Barbell Row.................2.................8
Lat Pull Down...........................3.................10, 10, 8

Biceps
Exercise.................................Sets...............Reps
Standing Barbell Curl....................3....................8, 8, 6
Close Grip Preacher Curl................3....................8, 8, 6
Incline Dumbbell Curl....................2...................12-14
Concentration Curl.......................2.....................10



Thursday - Shoulders and Forearms

Shoulders
Exercise..............................Sets...............Reps
Machine Shoulder Press..............3..................10
Dumbbell Reverse Fly.................3...................8-10
Military Press..........................4..................10
Dumbbell Lateral Raise...............2..................10
Dumbbell Shrugs.......................2..................10
Upright Row............................2..................10

Forearms
Exercise.......................Sets.....................Reps
Standing Wrist Curl............4........................10
Barbell Wrist Curl...............4........................10

Friday - Legs

Upper legs
Exercise.................................Sets..............Reps
Squat......................................5.................10, 8, 8, 6, 4
Leg Extension............................3..................12
Leg Curl....................................3.................12

Calves
Exercise...............................Sets................Reps
Standing Calf Raise.....................4..................12
Seated calf Raise........................2..................12

(sorry about the messy dots but spaces wouldn't format)

[daveb]

you are really beating up your upper body working it the first three days of your four day routine. mass has alot to do with rest and diet. try splitting it up. upper monday, lower tuesday, upper thursday, lower friday, or, whole body 3 days a week. your sets and reps look okay but for mass you want to concentrate on big compound movements and stick closer to the 25 rep range per exercise 5x5, 3x8, 2x12. My arms have grown an inch in 6 weeks doing only weighted chinups and weighted dips. 5x5 on the large muscle groups, chest, back, legs. 3x8 on the smaller groups, bi's, tri's, shoulders. 2x12 for a end of workout set. your not going to gain 20 pounds of muscle in 10 weeks. A mans body can put on .25 to .5 lbs of lean muscle per week depending on the diet. a lot of my information comes from users in here but they are pretty educated and have helped me a great deal so far.

[Bar90]

Ok, thanks for the help and yeah I understand it's impossible to gain 20 pounds in 10 weeks, I was talking about to get me started on my way. Thanks for the tips!

[ultimatehlth]

I have to agree with both the posts before me. You are over training if you are not using steroids, the routines you see in the muscle mags are geared toward users. Also, if you are a beginner you will overwhelm your bodies ability to recuperate and therefore not get the results you are looking for. Why so many different movements per body part on the same workout, really 5 movements for delts.

I suggest doing your splits as a system meaning antagonistic muscle groups train on the same day, (chest/lats, bicep/triceps) you will get better muscle recruitment this way and better results. Even better do them as supersets, its what I have my clients do. (bench/pulldown, etc.) Pick 2 -3 movements per body part and do 3 -4 sets, I like 8-10, 6-8, 4-6, 20.

BTW throughout the leg extensions, this is an open chain exercise, not very effective and extremely detrimental to your knees. Stay with squats, step-ups, lunges, deadlifts, good mornings, and some jumping drills for your leg work. Train strength first (squats) and power second (bench jumps).

Good luck.

Personal Trainer Los Angeles - Hollywood

[Fygle]

@ultimatehlth, what's the purpose of the last 20 rep set?

[Fygle]

Anyone else happen to know? I'm doing it like that now, except I do the 3rd set on the 4th as well, I don't drop down to a 20 rep on 4th.

[swanso5]

it's just a back off set...i'd only back off to 10 reps though like this

3 x 3 warm up sets
3 x 4 - 6 working sets at he same wt
decrease wt 10 - 15% x 8 - 10

that's for your focus exercise for the day anyway, not all exercises