Training and Recovery while "on".

[Izzman]

I am approaching my second week of my Test 500mg/week cycle and was curious about my rate of recovery.....it still seems the same before I went on. Isn't recovery suppossed to be enhanced while on cycle? I still get very sore in my legs, back, chest and each take a minimum of three (sometimes two for chest) days to recover, so is anything going on here?

Now on to my second point.

Ive read all around that it is recommended to up the volume when "on" to take advantage of the gear. Now what my issue is, MY F*CKING ARMS WON'T GROW (Bear with me, Im a little frustrated here). My training split looks like this:

S: Legs & Abs
M: Back & Shoulders
T: Off
W: Chest & Forearms
Th: Arms
Fri: Off:
S: Chest (I hit it twice, very lacking)

Now my issue is, Ive already gained 11 pounds, strength is up for my chest even though I work it 2X a week (10-12 sets each workout) and my chest and back definitely look alot thicker/bigger and overall I look bigger.
Though my arms won't grow! Im guessing the culprit is ovetraining here! I usually do 10-15 sets for my tris and bis on arm day, but I am thinking of moving my bis with my back day, so that they only get hit once a week in the same day and lowering the volume to 6-8 sets for tris (since I do so much pressing movements) and bis. I need help bros, this is really getting at me. I thought this wouldn't be an issue since I was on but I was wrong. Karma for help.

 

[thx9000]

The 10lbs is probably water at this point. Recovery rate will improve but not in the first two weeks, at least not on Enan.

By doing chest on Wednesday and "arms" on Thursday you are basically doing tris two days in a row. Then you take a one day break and do more tri's (with chest). You are doing 10-15 sets of bi's and tris combined on "arm day"?

You are also training your three largest muscle groups back-to-back (Chest, Legs, Back), that may not be the best approach even on-cycle and definitely not off-cycle.

 

[gilly6993]

looks like your overtraining your chest bro.....the answer to a lagging bodypart is not always training it more.....I train the exact same on or off cycle.....the only diff is the weights I use

 

[Izzman]

The 10lbs is probably water at this point. Recovery rate will improve but not in the first two weeks, at least not on Enan.

By doing chest on Wednesday and "arms" on Thursday you are basically doing tris two days in a row. Then you take a one day break and do more tri's (with chest). You are doing 10-15 sets of bi's and tris combined on "arm day"?

You are also training your three largest muscle groups back-to-back (Chest, Legs, Back), that may not be the best approach even on-cycle and definitely not off-cycle.

Bump, yeah, thats 10-15 EACH....(I know Im asking for it...lol)

Okay I see what my problem is now, what kind of training split would you bros recommend? I really like the Legs, Back and Chest days though. How can I break it up so that its effective? Maybe I should stop working my bis and tris?

 

[thx9000]

Bump, yeah, thats 10-15 EACH....(I know Im asking for it...lol)

Okay I see what my problem is now, what kind of training split would you bros recommend? I really like the Legs, Back and Chest days though. How can I break it up so that its effective? Maybe I should stop working my bis and tris?

Damn, how many sets of legs do you do, 30? 15 sets of Bi's or tri's isn't going to get your anywhere. Try for more like 8 sets of each.

Maybe a split like

M: chest
tues: back/shoulders
wed: off
Thurs: bis/tris
Fri: legs.

Throw abs in where ever you choose.

 

[Izzman]

Haha, funny thing is, I do less for my legs! Lol.
Damn my problem is, I cant workout T and F due to school. But I am def going to lower the load all around! Heres the split I was thinking THX and let me know what you think bro:

S:Legs & Abs
M: Pull (10-12 for Back, 3-6 for Biceps)
T:Off
W: Push (8-10 for Chest, 3-6 for Triceps)
Th: Shoulders & Traps & Foreams (6-8 sets)
F: Off
Sat: Off/Cardio/If I feel fine will do 3-6 Sets for Chest

What do you think bro, or anyone else?

 

[thx9000]

I like my split more. Back work involves your bi's and assuming you do back first on back/bi day you will find that you can't then give bi's the right amount of effort. I don't like doing large muscle groups in sequence (ie: chest on Sunday followed by back on Monday). Again this would make me not like the idea of chest on Saturday as you would basically cover all the large groups right in a row.

 

[Awes0me]

Sounds to me like your overtraining chest and your arms are also getting a battering. Rest is very important for the growth of muscles. Personally i believe you should only train one large muscle group per week. Maybe you should look at your plan and alter it slightly.

 

[Izzman]

I like my split more. Back work involves your bi's and assuming you do back first on back/bi day you will find that you can't then give bi's the right amount of effort. I don't like doing large muscle groups in sequence (ie: chest on Sunday followed by back on Monday). Again this would make me not like the idea of chest on Saturday as you would basically cover all the large groups right in a row.

I thought it was common among BB'ers to start the week off with legs and to work the largest groups earlier in the week to release the most testosterone when sleeping? Whats your take?

Funny thing is, my chest has actually gotten bigger! Went from 40" to 41" in the last month!

 

[thx9000]

Why dont you go:

Su: Legs
M: Tris/Bi's
T: off
W: chest
TH: Back/Shoulders

I just like to go with something less intense the day after legs. Maybe it is just me.

 

[ThirdEye]

I don't agree with going to less volume. My arms were stuck at 16.5in until I did Arnold's routine. I'm talking 20+ sets. That's what I'm doing now and still growing. I pick 4 or 5 different excersizes for biceps then 4 or 5 for tris every 5-7 days. Every other workout I use a shock technique like supersets or drop-sets(my favorite.)

I use a 4-day split: Chest/shoulders, off, arms, legs, back, off, chest/shoulders, arms, legs, off, back, chest/shoulders, etc.
I basically take a day off whenever the gym doesn't fit into my schedule or I feel that I need an extra day to recover.

 

[Moderate_THIS]

If one is one gear, is overtraining an issue? I would think that the only problem with training so much is the high calorie expenditure, which may be hard to overcome in building mass without stuffing yourself sick.

 

[Creepusmaximus]

I would do a different split.
1 Chest,tri's
2 back,bi's
3 legs, shoulders
Shoulder's new a day before and after to recover at least for me. Other wise fit a day off in between work outs. Or back to back with 2 days off before shoulders, legs.

 

[slobberknocker]

Some of you guys should check out the "Active Recovery" sticky in the training board. I never get sore anymore.

But I guess some people won't believe in anything unless it comes in a bottle, lol.

 

[silver_shadow]

this is my workout style- basically a 5x5...
i work out 4 days a wk- mon, wed, fri and sat. i have chosen for 5x5: flat bench, military press, close grip bench, SLDLs, barbell curls, squats. i do 5x5 of these with the same weight increasing slightly on the subsequent workout. in addition i do another exercise 2x8-10. i rotate these exercises. so one wk it may be incline bench and the next decline bench and so on.

day1: chest, shoulders, tri's
day2: DLs, bi's, forearms
day3: legs, pull downs/chinups, abs.
day4: repeat from day 1.

i have only been doing this for about a mth and i have already gained around 2lbs and a reasonable amount of strength. and bear in mind i am off at the moment. this is basically my version of needsizes 5x5. i really like this- no overtraining and no undertraining either.

 

[silver_shadow]

legs also includes an additional exercise for calves BTW.

 

[tapoutm]

I am going to just give you some training splits to look at and see what you think....

Day One : Legs
Day Two : Chest & Bicepts
Day Three : Back & Tricepts
Day Four : Shoulders
Day Five : OFF, repeat

"every two weeks, leg day is only for quads and hams are paired with back. Every third week, arms are done on a seperate day rather than with chest or back.

#2:
Monday: Chest and Biceps
Tuesday: Legs
Wendesday: OFF
Thursday: Shoulders and Triceps
Friday: Back and Calves
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF

#3:
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Back
Wednesday: Triceps
Thursday: Biceps
Friday: Thighs
Saturday: Shoulders
Sunday: OFF

#4:
Monday: Quads- Heavy Workout
Tuesday: AM: Back width / PM: Shoulders
Wednesday: Hams
Thursday: AM: Quads- light workout / PM: Back thickness
Friday: Arms
Saturday: AM: Hams / PM: Chest
Sunday: OFF

#5:
Monday: pecs, delts, and triceps
tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: Quads, Calves, and Hams
Thursday: OFF
Friday: Back, Traps, and Biceps
Weekend: OFF and EAT

I saw this thread and I was looking at training splits today and so I thought I would share these hope someone can use them!

 

[MrRTTB]

Day 1: quads
Day 2: Biceps, abs, calfs
Day 3: rest
Day 4: chest, shoulders(front and sides)
Day 5: back, back shoulders, abs
Day 6: rest
Day 7: hams, calfs
Day 8: triceps, trapz
Day 9: rest
day 10: start over

Eat, rest and eat more. Eat every 2-2½ hours