New Routine Needed! Please help

[RGS83]

Hey guys, I've posted for inquiry before, but i've had to take some time off lifting as I had Laser Eye surgury... I'm beginning again today.
I'm just gonna post up current info, goals, and my options... let me know what you guys think please.

21yr old, 5'11, 158lbs (not a BIG guy at all). 1 More year of University, then hopefully joining the Police. I'm already bigger than some on the force but i want to be a bit bigger/stronger. (Physical to be a cop isn't old school anymore where you have to bench your weight plus 50 or anything )
I've tried Body4Life prog, some 5x5, with nominal gains. (I was only benching 115-120 at home, w/o a spotter on the 5x5 before i had to stop... feelin that once every 7 days isn't enough though)

I generally dislike going to the gym, not convenient, overcrowded, and no partner... Take it for that please
I have a bench at home, bars and free weights...

So long as i do some cardio and keep working out, i'm sure my tiny gut will go.
I don't need or want to be HUGE, this is not my life, this is to better my life...
I would ideally like more strengh, and to pack on a bit of lean muscle mass (i don't know whats reasonable in what time?? )

I've heard alot of mixed things... w/o Cardio, workouts shouldn't have to take you much more than an hour... Some say 1 muscle group per week, others rotate so that you hit it twice a week... Not too sure... and not too sure about the Rep Set scheme either.

Given my goals, and that I workout at home without a spotter, can you please post suggestion routines that would work for me?

Thanks Guys!!
-Ryan

 

[Tom Treutlein]

I train at home without a spotter. I don't even have a damn squat rack. That's the one thing I'd say you should have if you're going for max effort attempts at any point, just in case. Other than that, you really don't need a spotter.

Try any routine found on this site. See what appeals to you. Anything will work, just many routines are suboptimal. I'd stick to madcow's 5x5 variation, HST or WSB.

 

[RGS83]

Ouu... I'd love a Smith... Saw a beautiful setup for home once... I digress

Tom, what does your routine look like might I ask? Seeing as how you workout at home, on a bench, without a spotter?


Can you guys suggest a routine what I can work each group twice a week or something (maybe every 3 weeks just by cycle, one of the groups is only done once..)
Where it's not so specific and put together like HIIT/HST, but not so spead out like 5x5... I'm just thinking, for where I want to be, not sure a 5x5 routine like that is for me... because i'm such not a big guy

 

[Chi town]

If u want to push yourself hard w/out a spotter, get some dumbells. On DB bench u can push yourself as hard as u want, and then drop em at your side. If u don't want to invest in a squat rack, u can do DB squats...OK for a guy in your situation, just trying to stay in shape. Or look for a shrug bar. It's shaped like a stop sign and u stand in the middle of it. It's made for shrugs, but I use it for a variation of the squat sometimes because the center of gravity takes all the pressure off your back. This form of squat tears up my legs more than a traditional squat!!

 

[RGS83]

humm i should look into a shrug bar...
now i just use a straight bar for shrugs - but might be good for legs...

I sometimes goto the gym jsut for my legs, and kill them once a week on them.
I don't care or need big legs, they're not fat, so anything is gravy (not going to comp right ) i figure i do a leg workout, then do some running, thats a 1/2 decent leg workout for a week...

I used to use DB, but when i switched to 5x5, I couldn't... because you go up 5lbs a week... on DB it's like 10lbs a week then...

But if i get a new routine going where i just go at it, and it's not some uber progressive thing, then DB shouldn't matter.
-Just gotta know when yo up the weight... say you're pressing 50lb DB's 6 times, then after couple weeks you're doing 8lbs.
when do you up it to 55lb DB??

 

[Chi town]

-Just gotta know when yo up the weight... say you're pressing 50lb DB's 6 times, then after couple weeks you're doing 8lbs.
when do you up it to 55lb DB??

It's all a matter of feel. Use whatever weight u need to stay in your rep range.

 

[RGS83]

I get ya... so then I find that 8 is getting easier, and that I can push out 9-10, i should up the weight a bit to put me in my place back at 6

Just for sake of comparison... what would be a normal or avg. period of increasing the weight?

I don't know what normal expectations are - I know everyone's different, and it's not an exact science, but avg. increase of strengh and avg. increase of lean muscle?
How long, roughtly, should it take to add 10 lbs of lean mass?

 

[Chi town]

I don't know what normal expectations are - I know everyone's different, and it's not an exact science, but avg. increase of strengh and avg. increase of lean muscle?
How long, roughtly, should it take to add 10 lbs of lean mass?

Well it's all gravy at first...increasing strength and bodyweight. Then u hit plateaus. When I first started people thought I was on gear because I grew so fast, but then u hit plateaus. I've been lifting for years and I don't do gear, so 1 lb here and there is much appreciated now...LOL

 

[Tom Treutlein]

I follow the 5x5 variation that madcow "devised" (I hate saying that every time, 'cause there are two 5x5 routines). Anyway, that's my routine. It's not that elaborate and I don't see how it's "spaced out" or whatever. If you want size, strength, or power, use it. HIIT is not difficult to understand - it'll take you about 10 minutes, max. HST is a bit complicated if you're trying to understand everything, including principles. Don't worry about that one, though.

Check out the 5x5 routine. Very simple. I use the barbell for all my lifts in my basement, no squat rack, no mats on the floor (I don't drop anything) - I just make sure I kick the shit out of those weights.

 

[RGS83]

Tom, i looked up Madcow's (remember, not critizing, just probing, as i don't know)... His 5x5 is less spread than the tradtional 5x5 (1 group per week).
But it just seems so simple and basic, with very little lifting.
Mon: 5 sets of squats, 1 Bench, 1 Row
Wed: Some squats, 5 deads, 5 Military, 5 pullup - this isn't bad
Fri: 1 Squat, 5 bench, 5 row
... 3 of 7 days... only 6 basic chest sets; back intense thats forsure... but theres little to the biceps and tricepts, and only a little bit to the shoulders...

To each there own - on face value, it looks like very little... (again i don't KNOW)

 

[Tom Treutlein]

You don't need any direct work for the biceps or triceps. The heavy compound movements that stimulate entire body growth are what you need. Benching, rowing, and squatting basically covers your chest, back and legs entirely. Give it a try while eating a lot. Worst case, you lose 8-9 weeks, and never try again. I bet you won't be disappointed, though. After one or two cycles through, you can always add in direct arm work to focus on weakpoints, if aeshtetics is your main concern.

Triceps will be used 3x a week, as will biceps.

 

[RGS83]

I just tried a Chest/Tri day, not like 5x5 - I'm such a weak, wimpy man!.... maybe the 5x5 i was doing was working!!! :s

...the chest was better than expected, but the tri's were just dangerous... maybe it's cuz i haven't worked out in over a month, maybe a bad combo :s.

What are the big differences between Madcows 5x5 and the traditional 5x5? - i think you got something here tom

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Well, it'd be easier for you to read the threads containing all the info.

This one is madcow's variation: http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=375215

This is the variation devised by Needsize: http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=281085

The key differences are the frequency, the training theory each is based on, and the exercise selections. Needsize's variation hits each bodypart once a week, following a "supercompensation" style theory of lifting (often called "single-factor theory") which says you lift, wait until you're "fully recovered", then train again, growing stronger each session.

Madcow's 5x5 (and the proper 5x5, as far as I'm concerned - Bill Starr came first) has you training the core lifts only. No isolation work. You do everything to develop an increbile base of strength and size through the best exercises. Athletes will sub out rows for high pulls, cleans for deadlifts and, I believe, another exercise was used. That's besides the point, though.

Read up on those threads. Both have given results, but I'd bet my money on the latter routine giving the greater results.

 

[ruggermu]

I don't know if this will work for ya or not with what you have but it's working well for me and bro. It seems versatile cause I'm using it to really gain all weight I can, where bro is using it for wrestling(maybe closer to what you are trying????), not bulking but lean and strong. I just eat more.

I like to hit things twice a week so I do

Day 1 - Chest and TRis
Day 2 - Shoulders and Abs
Day 3 - Back and Bi's
Day 4 - Legs
Repeat
don't plan days off, but take 'em when I need em.
Working really well for me, switch order of different moves occasionally but kept it for the most part the same for quite a while.

Don't know if this is what you want, it's pretty basic. If you like it and need specifics just PM me.

 

[Madcow2]

What are the big differences between Madcows 5x5 and the traditional 5x5? - i think you got something here tom

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=375215

You should really read through the thread particularly the links on the first page in the post detailing dual factor theory (it is absolutely critical to understand this - this is how the world has trained its elite athletes for decades. If someone doesn't know what it is, they don't know training - it's that simple and yes, there are that many people that don't have a clue about how training is conducted at the top levels in the real world). You may agree or disagree but to be ignorant of something that has been at universal worldwide acceptance levels for a long time now is really doing yourself a disservice.

As for it not being a lot of work, if you set the weights correctly you will be begging for deloading in week 5. Less experienced lifters ramp up from light weights in week 1 to near record and record weights in weeks 3/4 (or 5/6 if you choose to do a longer loading phase starting with lighter weights). Very experienced lifters will frequently set the weights quite high comparatively on week 1 which makes for a much harder loading phase. Either way, the final 2 weeks if done correctly will tax you to your limit by design.

This program is not something I devised, Bill Starr (one of the best strength coaches ever) created it in the 1970s for use in strengthening and bulking athletes. One of the better current strength coaches posted his alterations and dual factor applications at meso. This program has seen wide use and excellent results accross an unbelievable number of athletes over the years - likely many 10's of thousands in all its iterations. It is about as good as anything ever developed for adding lean body mass to an athlete. If it looks different from what you are used to seeing, that is because it actually works and was designed by people who know what they are doing. And no, I'm not exagerating either the effectiveness of this program nor the absolute level of training ignorance in typical BBing/gymrat programs. I'm simply making an effort to do something about it and save people a lot of time and hassle by making information which should be widely known accessible to people that can use it.