Flowsybaby

I know. I know. You guys don't know what will exactly will work for me but I would still like some responses. I have been lifting for around 1 and a half years. Of course the first 6 months are those wasted months I got newbie gains and my lack of diet hindered my gains for a long time. My diet is in check for the most part and I am ready to commit to a good spilt. A friend of mine and myself are having an end of the school year physique challenge and I want to get a good jump on him. Thanks a lot guys.

ZackMurphy

How many days per week do you want to work out? And how much time do you like to spend on the gym floor? And do you do cardio at the same time, or at other times? Or not at all?

You're right that there's no single answer, and not even a RIGHT answer, but you have to start at the big picture, and THEN drill down to the split that works for you.

Flowsybaby

4 to 5 day split. 1 hr or so. I will do little cardio now. But just for health not cutting needs.

ZackMurphy

a nice 5-dayer I've done and enjoyed:

1: back/ light bis
2: chest / light tris
3: hams / calves
4: (optional day) heavier bis / tris
5: delts / quads

rest whenever you feel like it

Flowsybaby

Sounds good. What lifts and reps ranges should I use on these days? Thanks for your help ZackMurphy.

BobThePotato

Low. I prefer 1-6.

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ZackMurphy

For size gains, if that is in fact your #1 goal (thereby meaning other goals are NOT your top priority), then I would aim for between 8-12 reps for most sets. At least 5, no more than 13-14. Try to make sure your final set or two with each exercise is close to (but not AT) failure. Just get a nice batch of sets in, and go home to eat and rest.

1-6 reps is fine, but your strength will gain more from that range than your size, so just pick a goal. Of course, no rep range is exclusive to one goal, but you can shift things into your favor with the right rep ranges. 2-4 sets per exercise, 2-4 exercises per part, and keep the intensity up. Get in, get pumped up, get tired, get out, eat.

A.FreeRadical

Good advice Zack.

I would add:

Get 6 clean nutritious meals per day.
Get plenty of sleep.
Take off for one week every 8-10 weeks for recuperation.
Change up your exercises every few weeks to keep the adaptation going.
Change out the muscle building rep ranges periodically (when you are not making muscle gains) to improve strength (3-5 reps) or endurance (10-20 reps).
Take time to train your "core".
Always train safe. It only takes a second to injure yourself, but days or weeks to heal.
Don't overlook warmups and some flexibility training.

Most of the above is common sense. Remember common sense is not all that common.

*

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A.FreeRadical ...the Epicurean bodybuilder

Height: 5'9", Age: 62,
My last high on 2/1/2006 was 196 lbs.
My last low on 8/08/2006 was 167.5 lbs.

Cutting until I am lean
Starting weight: 190 lbs. bodyfat: 19.7%
November 27th: 183 lbs. bodyfat: 18.3% bodyfat
Goal Weight: 176 lbs with no more than 10% bodyfat

My recipe collection

Grunt76

The main reason why a certain number of reps is quoted as being better for size is actuatlly TUT. Time Under Tension is the amount of time your muscle spends being contracted during a set. If you do your reps at a certain speed, the higher the number of reps will mean the higher TUT.

Of course, doing 6 SLOW reps and doing 10 FAST reps doesn't compare, it would be like comparing apples and oranges. So the number of reps, while being indicative of TUT, may be very misleading, as a heavier weight might slow down your reps and a lighter weight might let you quicker reps, and this changes everything.

It is commonly acknoledged that 40-70 seconds of TUT is optimal for size. If for example you do a TRUE 5-second rep, 4 seconds down and 1 second up, choosing a weight that you can do 10 reps would be what you need. This means 10 REAL 5-second reps. You don't see people doing 4-second negatives in most gyms and you see them using weights that are too heavy for them to be doing that. So don't surprise yourself if you begin doing this and find that you are using "pussy" weights.

It's not the size of the dumbell that matters, it's how you use it.

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Flowsybaby

Thanks guys. I'll try this stuff out on Monday.