Workout Makeover

[Basch]

Alright guys I'm new here and in reading through here a bit I figure I'm in need of a big Workout makeover. A bit of information.
I'm 6', 145 lb. I play lacrosse and I'm trying to gain as much muscle mass I can right now.

I normally do a day of lower body, a day of upperbody, then a day of rest before starting over.

Lower Body Day:
12-10-8 Leg Press
Outside Calf Raises, Inside Calf Raises, Straight Calf Raises 100 each
12-10-8 Leg Curls
12-10-8 Leg Extension
2x10 Lunges
12-10-8 Abs
Upper Body Day:
2x10 Bench Press
2x10 Incline Press
2x10 Curls
2x10 Tricep Raises
12-10-8 Compound Row
2 sets chins up til failure
2 sets dips til failure
2x10 Wrist Curls
2x10 Reverse Wrist Curls
12-10-8 Abs

I take a mile run home and then have a protein shake of 22g protein. I generally try to get as much protein as I can but I'm not sure if I'm getting enough.
I've been told that I should be doing certain muscle groups each day instead of all upper body, and then my reps are too much for gaining mass. If I can get some advice, that would be great.

[shuttaLCD]

Hello! and Welcome, I hope that you find this forum to be very helpfull...It is filled with VERY VERY knowledgeable people...

I agree that you should do one/two muscle groups a day.. Then do other ones while that group rests..REST is key in building muscle..Its just as important as working out.. Your body will need time to recover and regrow the torn muscle fibers..

I do 5-7 reps for building muscle..Be sure to have enough weight on there..I like to get the weight to were i ALMOST need help on the last rep...
But that is only my opnion..I find that to work well for me...

Also. How is your diet? DIET is another key factor in gaining muscle..You will have to eat and eat! Eat healthy food..High in protein.You should be consuming 1.5-2X Grams of Protein per pound of body weight..(i.e. you weigh 145 consume atleast 217.5g of protein a day.. Also keep your calories up too..That also builds muscle and give you energy...

Go to the "open article" section of this forum and find the thread "Nutrtion Calculator" posted by Trans Isomer.....THat will help you on figureing your cals/protein/fat/carbs.

May i suggest a good Creatine and Multivitamin (if you need suggestions just ask) also you will ned your Omega's (EFA..=Essintial Fatty Acids) Fish oil or Flax seed oil...

You sound like you are very active so you will need alot of calories....

Overall the Most important things are:

1. sleep
2. Diet
3. Supps
4. HARD WORK/DEDICATION

6'0 you have alot of room to grow...Talk to ItallionStallionl on this forum...He was like you and he gained ALOT it was incredible....He will be able to help you out ALOT..

Also stretching after workouts wont hurt..Its good to stretch the muscle after that...

Well i hope i helped...Feel free to ask anything else!

-Shutta

[dinoiii]

I literally typed you a very long response and the damn hotel computer froze on me.

I will try and reiterate in rapid-fire response fashion:

The biggest changes you could make as a good "START UP" not all inclusive:

(1) Wrist curls of ANY sort have NO place in a non-anabolically enhanced MASS program! Get rid of 'em.

(2) I must challenge where the squat and deadlift variations are in your program?

(3) What the hell are "inside" and "outside" calf raises? 100 each means your "intensity" (in bb-terms this SHOULD ALWAYS be defined as increased stress through increased weight, not how "many") levels suffer. Increase the weight on ANY calf exercises and severely decrease the reps. You walk around each day offering a light stress load (up to approximately 200 + pounds, right?). Kinesiology dictates based on fiber type here. Increase the weight drastically!

(4) Drop Leg Extensions from leg routine! You do NOT need this isolation move when incorporating more compound lifts with the potential exception of a nice light warm-up.

(5) Drop the "til failure" mentality in your chins and dips and weight the suckers. A good starting point is an initial attachment of a hanging 25 pound weight off the waiste (NOT between the legs, this is too cumbersome for the weight and mass you desire as you will progress). If your gym does not have a belt with a chain attachment, you MUST invest in one of your own.

(6) You are allowed to abandon "AB" exercises as an "isolation" move. The moves classically defined as "ab-stimulating" are more likely than not "hip flexor" moves ANYWAY. Most people if doing "ab" moves correctly would NOT be able to get much further than 10 actual quality reps - yet I see programs that suggest 100s of reps. Your damn abdominal musculature looks as it should under the fat and does NOT need much direct stimulation. Contract your abdominal musculature on bigger comound lifts, you will notice more of a difference this way anyway!

(7) Get in at least DOUBLE the amount of protein you suggest in your post-workout shake. Nutritional goals are likely another thread. Do not fall victim to the eat like a mutha to gain mass mantra that many people use as the easy answer to this. I do gather that you may be "starving" away MASS but don't fall victim nonetheless to the simply "EAT" and you will get larger misconception. It may not be the "larger" you desire.

(8) You can ELIMINATE LUNGES. They sacrifice contractile force of "better" compound moves in lieu of hip flexor/extensor stimulation.

(9) If I were to arrange a "most important" list like shutta (while I do NOT knock his), I would certianly place DIET before sleep. Many sleep-deprived individuals (myself included while in the hospital) still find non-exogenous hormonal stimulating ways to make yourself grow and reap reward from this lifestyle.
My top 5 would be:
a. DIET
b. TRAINING
c. LIFESTYLE CHOICES (i.e. - sleep patterning, drugs, alcohol consumption, et al.)
d. SUPPLEMENTATION
e. ANABOLICS (optional, not necessity to succeed)

* HARD WORK / DEDICATION encompasses a-e!!!

(10) Muscle Group Specialization:
try muscle antagonist exercise physiology principles in addition to new loading parameters (increasing stress)

an easy example:

Day 1: Chest / Back

Day 2: Off

Day 3: Quads / Hams

Day 4: Off

Day 5: Bis/Tris

Day 6 &/or 7: OFF
* If you need the program to fit into an easy 7 day work week etc... it is easy to take both days 6 and 7 off, however, you can begin day 1 on day 7 again.

** Calves can be worked up to three times in this kind of set up, you may however benefit from experimenting to see if more than one day is "really" needed to stimulate growth. I am willing to be AGAINST that!

*** COMPOUND LIFTS RULE! In a true non-anabolic mass phase, you will likely benefit through pure ELIMINATION OF ALL ISOLATION LIFTS aside potential light warm-ups.

[dinoiii]

You're now truly living the "lifestyle!"

[Basch]

By outside and inside calf raises, I just mean doing calf raises with my feet angled outward or inward. Sorry for the confusion.

[Wes Carnegie]

Once again a brillant post by Dino. Make sure that you are taking in the whole piece about SQUAT and DEADLIFT. They are the greatest lifts you can do for size and strength. I was the biggest and strongest in my life when I was eating constantly and doing lots of heavy Squats and Deads. Also, I don't know how old you are or what your lifestyle is like... But party habbits tend to really slow gains and effect you mentally. Good luck and keep us posted.

Wes

[Wes Carnegie]

Oh yeah... By "eating constantly" I do mean loads of lean proteins, red meats, complex carbs, and water. Screw the simple sugars and simple carbs.

Wes

[Basch]

Thanks for the help guys. The workout that I posted is what I do in my free time. I should add that I also workout in my weightlifting class and get my squat and deadlifts done in there, but that is only 2-3 days a week. Outside of school, I workout at my country club's gym and they don't have a squat rack or any kind of hexbar. Generally it is hard to bench as well because I usually end up going by myself and without a spotter.
Update:
I've recently started a 3-day cycle, with a Legs/Abs day, Bicep/Back/Forearms day, Tricep/Chest/Shoulders day.

So you're aware, I'm a freshman in highschool and I'm usually pretty anti-party, I don't drink or smoke so I'm alright in that aspect. I recently spoke with my lacrosse coach and he informed me that in order for a freshman to make the Varsity Lacrosse team (my goal), that he must be able to bench his bodyweight more than once (among other things). I currently weigh 145, and I can max out at around 120. I plan to continue gaining weight until December, which is when we'll have our physical tests. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a workout tailored to increasing my bench press, while still working on gaining weight.

Again, thanks for the help guys.

[garb]

the best way to icrease you bench.......is to bench!!

i noticed in your original post, that you only did 2 sets of 10 for flat bench press. straight up, thats not gona cut it at all. your gona want to thorw more sets in there. i like to start my chest day like this....

3 warm up sets..rep 10,6,3
**increasing the weight each set, but dont go to failure as there are only your warm up sets

3-4 sets 6 reps
**choose a weight that alows you to complete the set number of reps. if you can do mroe than 6 reps, then increase the weight on the next set


get the flat bench press outa the way early then move on to your incline, decline, ect.
***AND ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A SPOTTER*** you dont wana take the chance of gettin hurt, plus this alows you to bang out a few more forced reps with his help

hope this helps...good luck with the weight and makein the team