Exercise Routine

I am a 19 yr old male trying to bulk. 149 lbs at the moment. Is this a good routine for me? My trainer says it is because I can build strength, muscle, while also learning good form.

I go to the gym 3-4x a week:

Day 1:

Squat: 5x10
DB Shoulder Press: 5x10
Assisted Pull-Ups: 5x10

Day 2:
Sumo Deadlift: 5x10
DB Bench Press: 5x10
Seated Row: 5x10

This is like the main "core" of my routine. After the three exercises, I'll toss in some ab and accessory work.

Replies

  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    BUMP
  • bv109
    bv109 Posts: 83
    just do deadlifts, squats, ohp and bench. do that for at least half a year. when you actually look like you lift, change it
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    that's pretty much what I do, except instead of ohp, I do DB shoulder press
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    so my exercise routine is good?
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
    just do deadlifts, squats, ohp and bench. do that for at least half a year. when you actually look like you lift, change it

    No pulling? Sounds like a recipe for shoulder problems.
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    give me some examples of some pulling exercises, i'll add them to the end of my workouts
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    So someone just told me that because I'm trying to gain mass, I shouldn't be doing full-body workouts. I should do more isolation. Is this true?
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    So someone just told me that because I'm trying to gain mass, I shouldn't be doing full-body workouts. I should do more isolation. Is this true?

    No
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    give me some examples of some pulling exercises, i'll add them to the end of my workouts

    You're already doing them with the seated rows and pull-ups.

    Your routine looks fine for bulking. It basically looks like StrongLifts, but with 5x10, instead of 5x5.

    You're progressing on your lifts, right?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    just do deadlifts, squats, ohp and bench. do that for at least half a year. when you actually look like you lift, change it

    No pulling? Sounds like a recipe for shoulder problems.

    Seated Row and pull-ups are both pulls
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    So someone just told me that because I'm trying to gain mass, I shouldn't be doing full-body workouts. I should do more isolation. Is this true?

    Are you also eating at a surplus? If you are new to lifting you will also gain size on a 3x5 or 5x5 routine, but your strength would increase much quicker. Once you have a solid base you could change to the 8-12 rep range to continue gaining size.
  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
    Just do StrongLifts 5x5. Seriously, cannot recommend this enough. The program is free, on the net, easy to find, easy to do (barbell row for pull, with the deadlift, plenty of trap/back work).

    And @erickirb is correct - do 5-rep until you build a good strength foundation, then you can shake things up with workouts that go 8-12 reps.

    The 5-rep range, lifting as heavy as you can for 5 sets, will build your strength. 8-12 rep range for building size; recruiting extra muscles. But that recruitment is almost null/void if you aren't building a strength base first.

    And eat at a surplus. Otherwise you won't see the results. Lifting heavy to gain strength requires fuel.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    Looking at your age and I'm guessing your training age is 0 (based on profile pic, not meant to be an insult) I would say you'll benefit from doing a good Full Body template. Checkout StrongLifts 5x5 or Starting Strength. It's very simple, especially if you're new.

    You definitely need to eat in a surplus to put on some mass. Your goal should be approximately 44 kilocalories per kilogram of bodyweight and roughly 2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. Fat is approximately 25% of your total calories and the rest comes from Carbs. You don't need to shoot for the full 44 kilo-cal's right off the bat, and you can definitely ease into it. So...

    You didn't indicate your height but I'm guessing you're around 5'10" (approx), so based on your weight and training 3-times per week your maintenance calories are approx 2,344. Start off by eating that with the percentages I mentioned above at your maintenance calories. Basically, Protein = 135gm's, Fat = 65gm's, Carbs = 304gm's. As you progress in your training add calories to your diet as you feel you need it. To improve hypertrophy at a bodyweight of 67.7kg's is approx 2977 calories (44kcal's * kg's BW).
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    Thanks for your input everyone! Greatly appreciated! I totally agree: you need strength as a starting foundation before you can start doing higher reps. Squatting 5 reps of 95 lbs is more beneficial than squatting 10 reps of 80 lbs! I've been doing the 5x10 workout as stated above, but it is true that I am finding it hard be progressively loading the weight. This is because 10 reps is a lot more strenuous to achieve than 5 reps... even with lighter weights.

    Thus, I changed my workout into something even more StrongLifts like:

    Squat: 5x5
    DB bench press: 7x5
    Seated Row: 5x5

    Squat: 5x5
    Deadlift: 1x5
    Chin-ups: 5x5

    Because dumbbells only go up in increments of 5, I am going to do 7 reps before moving on.
    10% deload if I can't achieve 5x5 on an exercise three times in a row.

    And regarding macros, they are pretty much set to the percentages that SamIAm suggested, just a bit higher. Good guess... I am actually 5'9.