"bodybuilding routines" are bullshit

[slaveboy1980]

the usual 4 or 5 splits are bullshit for natural athletes. they are a very inefficient way to train. drug users can get away with such routines where you hit every bodypart directly once a week. but a natural shouldnt use those routines. a natural should NEVER bodybuild. as a natural you should only do powerbuilding  routines that focus on a few key exercices and where the main focus is getting stronger in those basic exercises.

as a natural every body part should be hit directly 2 times per week (3 timer per week as a newbie or if your a HST sissy) or every fifth day.

upper/lower split 3-4 days a week is close to optimal for most people. and in reality you very rarely need more than 2 exercises for a bodypart in the same session. often one exercise per body part will do the job...except maybe for back were you need a rowing exercise combined with a chin or pulldown exercise. sets per body part should be 3-7 or so (in general). even less if you use extreme intensity techniques such as rest pause (DC training). 

[nzmusclemonster]

Before I believe you, I want to see some credentials 

[Boost]

Ive switched over to a "powerbuilding" routine and im seein pretty good gains. natural 2.
I was too busy chasing the burn and the pump. Never occured to me that strength increases
would result in size increases.

[columbusdude82]

Good point, Slaveboy. Tell us more!

[BroadStreetBruiser]

That's interesting.
When I first started I had the usual fast gains then if anything I plateaued.
I eventually settled on a routine where I would do 2 parts a day for 4 days then rest 2 days. No bodypart got more than 3 sets of only 6 reps, I would go as heavy as I could go. I grew like a weed, strength and size wise.

[body88]

I disagree. I have been working one major bodypart per week for years as a natural. I train three days on, one day off. I do 5 sets of ten for back, 5 sets of ten - for shoulders and traps, 7 sets of 10 - for quads + calves, and 8 sets of ten - for bi's, tris and forarms. I usually follow up every training session with 50 crunches, and some form of light oblique work. Due to an injury, I have been adding another set to my routine to make up for the missing abb work. I have always found that for me, variety is the key. I use core movements, but I make sure to switch up the supporting exercises every week. I rarely ever do the same exercise twice in a month - ( other than the core movements, bench, squat, pull up, deadlift).

Honestly, I dont try to overthink it. You could make an argument that you need to hit every bodypart twice per week, and I would counter that if you do it right the first time you will be sore until they day you hit it again.

I used to train heavy as hell and hit bodyparts multiple times per week. That style works, but it also led to a lot of injuries and nagging issues. With a very demanding job, I was not able to recoever, and I was always run down.

[body88]

Ive switched over to a "powerbuilding" routine and im seein pretty good gains. natural 2.
I was too busy chasing the burn and the pump. Never occured to me that strength increases
would result in size increases.

Thats true, but at a certain point you are going to hit a wall. Very heavy training all the time will take a toll on you. On the flipside, if you train heavy all the time, and you switch it up, and go for higher reps you will grow. To me it's all about shocking the muscles. A mix of EVERYTHING works best, IMO.

[kh300]

take your bench and increase it from 225 to 315. tell me your chest/shoulders/ and tri wont grow

go to the gym and pump your chest full of blood. when you jerk off or fuck your pumping your dick full of blood. if the 'pump' caused growth 90% of getbig would have 3 foot long dicks with a 20'' girth.

[slaveboy1980]

4 days a week sample routine: (some people may have to make some adjustments due to lower back fatigue)

mon: lower
squats 3x5-8 1x12-15
romanian deadlift 3x5-8 1x8-12
calf raise in legpress 3x5-8 1x12-15
cable crunches 3x8-15
go home

tue: upper
incline benchpress 3x5-8 1x10-12
chins 3x5-8
shoulder press 3x5-12
rows 3x5-12
skullcrushers 3x6-8
barbell curls 3x6-8

wed: rest

thur:
deadlifts 2-3x5
leg press 3x8-20
glute ham raise 2x5-15  (up to 15 because alot of people cant use weights on these)
split squats 2x8-12
calf raise 3x5-8 1x12-15
abs 3sets

fri:
incline db press 3x5-8 1x10-12
rows 3x5-8
shoulder press or high incline chest press 3x5-12
pulldowns 3x5-12
close grip bench press 3x5-8
db curls 3x6-8

[body88]

take your bench and increase it from 225 to 315. tell me your chest/shoulders/ and tri wont grow

go to the gym and pump your chest full of blood. when you jerk off or fuck your pumping your dick full of blood. if the 'pump' caused growth 90% of getbig would have 3 foot long dicks with a 20'' girth.

There's a point where you cant increase it anymore, if that was the case we would all bench 500 on this board. You cant grow your bones or tendons. You guys are right about the theory, but what am I supposed to just increase my bench from 325 - 400? Newbies can apply this type of training much better than a person who has been in the gym for a long period of time. It's not that simple, and at this point as I natural I know I am never going to bench 400 lbs for reps, my bones and tendons wouldent support it. Never going to happen, no matter how heavy I train.

I agree with what you are saying, but it does not apply after a certain point.

[flagadajones]

the only good routine is the "custom made" routine you create for yourself after years of lifting weights daily.

Same goes for the nutrition.

[body88]

the only good routine is the "custom made" routine you create for yourself after years of lifting weights daily.

Same goes for the nutrition.

True, no matter how much you told haney he needed to use big weight, he stuck with what he did and did well. On the Flipside, Ronnie did the same thing - but with heavy weight, and he did well.

I think a mix of heavy and "light" weight focusing on the muscle movement is the way to go. Best of everything.

[CT_Muscle]

Ive switched over to a "powerbuilding" routine and im seein pretty good gains. natural 2.
I was too busy chasing the burn and the pump. Never occured to me that strength increases
would result in size increases.

  WTF were u thinking, appearantly NOTHING

[kh300]

There's a point where you cant increase it anymore, if that was the case we would all bench 500 on this board. You cant grow your bones or tendons. You guys are right about the theory, but what am I supposed to just increase my bench from 325 - 400? Newbies can apply this type of training much better than a person who has been in the gym for a long period of time.

Shit, at this rate I will be benching 600 a few years from now.

taking your bench from 315 to 405 will take a long ass time.you'll probably be out of bodybuilding before you can even imagine what 405 feels like on a bar.  when you hit 405 you wont jump up 10 pounds for the next workout. maybee just an increase in reps or a pound or two. just enough to force the muscle to grow.

in my experiance it doesnt matter what your routine is or the weights your using because its relative. only thing that matters is that your increasing in weight or reps from the previous workout.

[slaveboy1980]

the only good routine is the "custom made" routine you create for yourself after years of lifting weights daily.

Same goes for the nutrition.

partly yes. but there are some fundamental guidelines that apply to everyone. people are more alike than they are different.

everyone needs progressivey heavier weight to grow (unless you use drugs..)

protein synthesis isnt elevated 24/7 (unless you use drugs)   

etc.

[Boost]

Hey slaveboy1980,
Why do you reccomend incline bench instead of flat? i'm doing flat only at the mo, no incline. Should i change this?

[slaveboy1980]

I disagree. I have been working one major bodypart per week for years as a natural. I train three days on, one day off. I do 5 sets of ten for back, 5 sets of ten - for shoulders and traps, 7 sets of 10 - for quads + calves, and 8 sets of ten - for bi's, tris and forarms. I usually follow up every training session with 50 crunches, and some form of light oblique work. Due to an injury, I have been adding another set to my routine to make up for the missing abb work. I have always found that for me, variety is the key. I use core movements, but I make sure to switch up the supporting exercises every week. I rarely ever do the same exercise twice in a month - ( other than the core movements, bench, squat, pull up, deadlift).

Honestly, I dont try to overthink it. You could make an argument that you need to hit every bodypart twice per week, and I would counter that if you do it right the first time you will be sore until they day you hit it again.

I used to train heavy as hell and hit bodyparts multiple times per week. That style works, but it also led to a lot of injuries and nagging issues. With a very demanding job, I was not able to recoever, and I was always run down.

bullshit. your injuries doesnt invalidate what i wrote about. jeez. use your head. and trying to get stronger should be the main focus of every bodybuilder ..if you wanna grow, specially as a natural.

also you have periodize the training ,use good technique etc etc bla bla bla.(goes for every routine).

[slaveboy1980]

Hey slaveboy1980,
Why do you reccomend incline bench instead of flat? i'm doing flat only at the mo, no incline. Should i change this?

no. if you like flat press, keep doing it. maybe one day flat presses other day incline.

[slaveboy1980]

There's a point where you cant increase it anymore, if that was the case we would all bench 500 on this board. You cant grow your bones or tendons. You guys are right about the theory, but what am I supposed to just increase my bench from 325 - 400? Newbies can apply this type of training much better than a person who has been in the gym for a long period of time. It's not that simple, and at this point as I natural I know I am never going to bench 400 lbs for reps, my bones and tendons wouldent support it. Never going to happen, no matter how heavy I train.

I agree with what you are saying, but it does not apply after a certain point.

umm...trying to get stronger is better than endless pumping.  + rate of growth will decline the closer you get to your genetic maximum (thats normal)

and it DOES apply forever. progressively heavier tension is the main thing that triggers muscle growth.

[kh300]

since we're talking about drugs vs natural. it is very rare a true natural gets injured. drugs users are pushing weight that their body cannot handle. ive seen people get on a cycle, watch their bench go up 50 pounds in a week, and wonder why they have a pec tear.

[_bruce_]

Less is more.
Logbook + patience = progress.

[Bluto]

hit a bodypart once per day.

lots of machines.

lots of isolation movements.

thats the way to do it.

drink on saturdays.

rest on sundays.

repeat.

hope this helps.

[chainsaw]

That is bullshit if I've ever heard it.

Drug users can hit a bodypart 2x as hard and as
frequently as So called Naturals.

Extra testosterone means a more speedy efficient recovery.

[thelamefalsehood]

Getting stronger to get bigger does make the most sense and thats what I have always followed, but there comes a point of diminishing returns. Just ask my left bicep, tore it from ever increasing poundages on preacher curls. Stronger does usually equal bigger, but only to a certain degree.

[body88]

bullshit. your injuries doesnt invalidate what i wrote about. jeez. use your head. and trying to get stronger should be the main focus of every bodybuilder ..if you wanna grow, specially as a natural.

also you have periodize the training ,use good technique etc etc bla bla bla.(goes for every routine).

Sure it does, I got those injuries lifting heavy all the time. Your method works great - however, it is not feasible for a few reasons. Trust me, when I was in college I spent every second in the gym busting my ass trying to get stronger. But, there is a point when you hit a platue. You will hurt yourself at some point, and you will think differently about training. For me it was work, I work all the time, and it is tough to walk into the gym and lift heavy ALL the time. It is good to go heavy and push yourself, but it is also good to push yourself in different ways. More reps, supersets, negatives, whatever.

It's all about shocking yours muscles and forcing them to grow. Increasing weight is not the only way to do that.