transition to bodybuilding

**Succio** · 08-05-2007, 12:12 AM

im going to be bodybuilding for a while from now on instead of powerlifting. Im going to need help with a routine.

**romanaz** · 08-05-2007, 12:20 AM

why the switch if I may ask

**Ikaika** · 08-05-2007, 01:34 AM

Since you've been training with low reps for a while, I'd bump up your rep ranges to the 8-12 range. Switch over to DB bench, focus on your mind-muscle connection and don't worry about how much weight you're moving.

danman77220 · 08-05-2007, 02:14 AM

If you don't mind going to the gym more often (which I don't lol) you might be better off isolating muscle groups further. Here's my last BBing routine that I did and it worked alright:

Sunday: Off
Monday: Chest/Bis
Tuesday: Legs (quad dominant), calves
Wednesday: Back/Tris
Thursday: Off
Friday: Shoulders/Traps
Saturday: Legs (hamstring dominant), calves

It worked good for me. Go 3-4 sets per exercise, and a general rule of thumb is to shoot for around 8-10 sets per muscle. That being said, don't do 10 sets of DB bench and be done with it. Do for example 4 sets DB bench, 3 sets BB incline and/or 3 sets DB flies, then move on.

Like Ikaika said, bump your reps up a lot from what you've been doing, into the 8-12 rep range. However some of your muscle groups might work better with lower reps/heavier weight than others, even in terms of growth. Take my upper back for example. It's growing more in the 3-5 rep range than it did in the 8-10 range. Just experiment. I wouldn't say don't worry about the weight though. I say keep logging the amount of weight your doing each day and strive to beat it the next week.

A stronger muscle = a bigger muscle.

**Succio** · 08-05-2007, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by romanaz

why the switch if I may ask

i dont know, so i can REALLY eat and gain some weight. Im giong back to powerlifting dont worry lol

**DJSTARER** · 08-05-2007, 04:35 PM

there is not as much a difference between the two as most think. I gained more lean mass this year (15lbs) than I did on a BBing routine (9-11lbs). My arms and back grew more. Nuff said. The only thing i'd change is my ME day. I'd switch from 1-6 rep range to 4-8. All other work is accessory work in the 8-15 rep range anyway....

**builtbeast** · 08-06-2007, 11:11 PM

Try a Dual Factor protocol where you hit everything at least twice a week, something like

Sun - Upper A
Mon - Lower A
Wed - Upper B
Thu - Lower B

Vary the exercises on the A and B days. Generally reps are higher for each muscle group than what you were doing before, in the 5-8 range or 12+, depending on your ratio of fast/slow twitch fibers.

For each target group try doing an exercise in a lower rep range, and one in a higher rep range. So, for example for tris you could do something like -

Tricep A:
CGBP - 295 x 5,5,5
Overhead tricep extension - 200 x 15,15,15

Tricep B:
Weighted Dips - BW+115 x 5,5,5
Cable Pressdown - 200 x 20,20,20

Look at Spirit's, Pman's, and BigZeke's logs as well.

**DJSTARER** · 08-11-2007, 05:03 PM

^^

yah

BigZeke's routine is just about flawless when it comes to "powerbuilding." It contains a variety of 3 (BIG COMPOUND) and 2 (STANDARD COMPOUND) joint movements which yield both strength and size gains. I said it above, and I'll say it again... because I can't emphasize it enough: having a smart routine with all the basic good qualities a routine should have (periodization, exercise selection, sufficient rest and sufficient volume), and minding your nutrition to match your goals, will yield gains of all sorts. The best analogy I ever heard was in an EliteFTS article speaking of the basics. It compared the muscle to an empty cigarette box. The cigarettes themselves are the muscle fibers, and the tobacco is the various differen fluids and plasmas which are stored in the muscle (cigarette) when higher volume is used. With this said, you want the pack as filled with cigarettes as possible, and you want the cigarettes to be as filled with cancer causing tobacco as possible to created the heaviest, largest, fullest pack of cigarettes (your muscle). More cigarettes are made from heavy training, and more tobacco from hypertrophy in the 7-15 rep range.

nuff said?

Hence, why i believe I had so much success with my conjugate hybrid this year: I trained my maind move (three joint) in the 1-6 rep range, and finished up each session with 2-4 (two or three joint) moves in the 7-15 rep range.

Hope that helps. D-factor is good. I also REALLY like what Davetown does. That's a sound routine which is well periodized.

**romanaz** · 08-11-2007, 05:16 PM

I like the idea behind the thing Davtown is on as well. Thats a good looking routine. Keeps ya sore =D

**haiz69** · 08-11-2007, 05:24 PM

My favorite setup:

Mon - Upper Body Strength: Few Compound movements. Reps from 1-5
Tues - Lower Body Strength
Wed - Off
Thurs - Chest/shoulders/Triceps Hypertrophy: 8-12 reps
Friday - Back/Biceps Hypertrophy
Sat - Legs Hypertrophy

This allows you to go for strength on two days and more size on the other 3.

**davtown** · 08-11-2007, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJSTARER

I also REALLY like what Davetown does. That's a sound routine which is well periodized.

Quote:

Originally Posted by romanaz

I like the idea behind the thing Davtown is on as well. Thats a good looking routine. Keeps ya sore =D

I'm not following that method at the moment, but I know it'll only be a matter of time before I'm back at it. Hey DJ, remember when you asked me to write an article on PRRS putting it into my own words? I think I just did

P/RR/S (power/rep-range/shock) - a long name for a simple yet very effective approach to training, devised by Eric Broser.

Each cycle is 9 weeks long, split into 3 distinct weeks. Recommended volume is 8-10 sets per bodypart.

Week 1 is power: reps in the 4-6 range, recommended 3-4 mins rest between working sets. Large compound movements should make up the bulk of the exercise selection. Be as explosive as you can on the positive, take 4 second back on the negative. I don't always do the 4 seconds, but I always aim to keep the weight in control. You need to use the weight, you can let the weight use you.

Week 2 is rep range: you work in 3 seperate rep ranges, 7-9, 10-12, and 13-15. You can either do each exercise in all rep ranges, or assign an exercise to a rep range for that workout. Recommended rest 2-3 mins between working sets. 2 second positive, 2 second negative. You can also hold for 1 second at the top of the movement for an added bonus.

Week 3 is shock: supersets and dropsets make up this week's workouts. Reps in the 8-10 range, rest is only long enough to catch your breath and focus your mind. Rep tempo is piston like, but don't be sloppy!! Be graceful, be in control, and get the job done.

A standard 9 week setup would look like this:
P / RR / S / P / RR / S / P / RR / S

If you wish to place some emphasis on strength, you could go:
P / RR / P / S / P / RR / P / S / P

After each 9 week cycle, you take 1 week off. I like to do very submaximal workouts for that week as opposed to sitting around doing nothing.

The goal is to get stronger throughout a variety of rep ranges. Pick out your exercise selection and focus on those movements throughout the 9 weeks. You don't have to use the same exercises for every single workout of every week, but if you do, switching around the exercise order might be a good idea. Do try to use the same exercises every power week, the same exercises every rep range week, and the same exercises every shock week. After the 9 weeks are up, you take your rest week and start another 9 weeks. Change up the exercise selection and make another run at it! Check any PRRS log and you'll see that strength and muscle gains are a regular occurence.

My favorite aspect of this approach is that it's not a program, it's a highly customizable template that you can alter to suit your goals. You can vary rest times, exercise selection, exercise order, volume, number of days a week in the gym, how many power weeks you do, etc. This also keeps it interesting because you can do whatever you want in the gym based on your goals, but you can still be confident that your approach to training will yield results.

-davtown

**BigZeke** · 08-12-2007, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJSTARER

BigZeke's routine is just about flawless when it comes to "powerbuilding." It contains a variety of 3 (BIG COMPOUND) and 2 (STANDARD COMPOUND) joint movements which yield both strength and size gains.

Thanks, that's my goal. I like it because it leaves a lot of room for variation, (conjugation if you will) when exercises get stale, it's fairly simple and it keeps me breaking PRs almost every workout. I've gained more size and strength on this split than any other one.

For example:

On a chest/shoulder/tricep day your layout would be as follows:
-Pressing Movement A (Either a chest or shoulder press)
-Pressing Movement B (If Chest was A make shoulders B)
-Shoulder Iso
-Tricep Press or Extention A
-Tricep Press or Extention B
-Chest Iso

Then you can add in other things if you want, like sometimes I'll do db front raises at the end of the workout, or you could do another chest iso. Then you can select other exercises for the second chest/shoulder/tricep day.

Back days are slightly more complicated as I don't really have a layout like on chest. You could split them up into horizontal and vertical pulling days and throw deadlifts on the horizontal pulling day.

I've split legs into Quads and Hams days, which works pretty well but it makes your week full.

Vario · 08-12-2007, 05:10 AM

ive gotten good results doing this, typically 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps each.
Monday: Chest
dumbbell bench
incline dumbbell bench
flys
bodyweight dips burnout
Tuesday: Legs
leg extension
squat
leg press
leg curl/ghr
Thursday: Back
Pullups
Dumbbell Row
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
Cable Row
Lat Pulldown behind neck (light weight, two sets 15)
Friday: Arms, Shoulders
Close grip bench
bradford press
db side laterals
db rear laterals
tricep cable pushdown
tricep reverse grip cable pushdown
barbell curl
preacher db curl
hammer curls.

do calves and abs every workout as needed.

TheRock · 08-12-2007, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRock

Try a Dual Factor protocol where you hit everything at least twice a week, something like

Sun - Upper A
Mon - Lower A
Wed - Upper B
Thu - Lower B

Vary the exercises on the A and B days. Generally reps are higher for each muscle group than what you were doing before, in the 5-8 range or 12+, depending on your ratio of fast/slow twitch fibers.

For each target group try doing an exercise in a lower rep range, and one in a higher rep range. So, for example for tris you could do something like -

Tricep A:
CGBP - 295 x 5,5,5
Overhead tricep extension - 200 x 15,15,15

Tricep B:
Weighted Dips - BW+115 x 5,5,5
Cable Pressdown - 200 x 20,20,20

Look at Spirit's, Pman's, and BigZeke's logs as well.

XiLe Ultra · 08-12-2007, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davtown

I'm not following that method at the moment, but I know it'll only be a matter of time before I'm back at it. Hey DJ, remember when you asked me to write an article on PRRS putting it into my own words? I think I just did

P/RR/S (power/rep-range/shock) - a long name for a simple yet very effective approach to training, devised by Eric Broser.

Each cycle is 9 weeks long, split into 3 distinct weeks. Recommended volume is 8-10 sets per bodypart.

Week 1 is power: reps in the 4-6 range, recommended 3-4 mins rest between working sets. Large compound movements should make up the bulk of the exercise selection. Be as explosive as you can on the positive, take 4 second back on the negative. I don't always do the 4 seconds, but I always aim to keep the weight in control. You need to use the weight, you can let the weight use you.

Week 2 is rep range: you work in 3 seperate rep ranges, 7-9, 10-12, and 13-15. You can either do each exercise in all rep ranges, or assign an exercise to a rep range for that workout. Recommended rest 2-3 mins between working sets. 2 second positive, 2 second negative. You can also hold for 1 second at the top of the movement for an added bonus.

Week 3 is shock: supersets and dropsets make up this week's workouts. Reps in the 8-10 range, rest is only long enough to catch your breath and focus your mind. Rep tempo is piston like, but don't be sloppy!! Be graceful, be in control, and get the job done.

A standard 9 week setup would look like this:
P / RR / S / P / RR / S / P / RR / S

If you wish to place some emphasis on strength, you could go:
P / RR / P / S / P / RR / P / S / P

After each 9 week cycle, you take 1 week off. I like to do very submaximal workouts for that week as opposed to sitting around doing nothing.

The goal is to get stronger throughout a variety of rep ranges. Pick out your exercise selection and focus on those movements throughout the 9 weeks. You don't have to use the same exercises for every single workout of every week, but if you do, switching around the exercise order might be a good idea. Do try to use the same exercises every power week, the same exercises every rep range week, and the same exercises every shock week. After the 9 weeks are up, you take your rest week and start another 9 weeks. Change up the exercise selection and make another run at it! Check any PRRS log and you'll see that strength and muscle gains are a regular occurence.

My favorite aspect of this approach is that it's not a program, it's a highly customizable template that you can alter to suit your goals. You can vary rest times, exercise selection, exercise order, volume, number of days a week in the gym, how many power weeks you do, etc. This also keeps it interesting because you can do whatever you want in the gym based on your goals, but you can still be confident that your approach to training will yield results.

-davtown

I will have to do this sometime during a bulk, that sounds great!

08-05-2007, 12:12 AM	#1
Succio IronMass Sponsor Join Date: May 2006 Location: beastville Posts: 1,938 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 95	transition to bodybuilding im going to be bodybuilding for a while from now on instead of powerlifting. Im going to need help with a routine. __________________ SUPPLEMENTS.NET REP

08-05-2007, 01:34 AM	#3
Ikaika resident degen Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,795 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 214	Re: transition to bodybuilding Since you've been training with low reps for a while, I'd bump up your rep ranges to the 8-12 range. Switch over to DB bench, focus on your mind-muscle connection and don't worry about how much weight you're moving. __________________ No supplement can make up for the lack of a strong work ethic.

08-05-2007, 02:14 AM	#4
danman77220 Pro Stature Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 1,018 Recipes: 1 Rep Power: 50	Re: transition to bodybuilding If you don't mind going to the gym more often (which I don't lol) you might be better off isolating muscle groups further. Here's my last BBing routine that I did and it worked alright: Sunday: Off Monday: Chest/Bis Tuesday: Legs (quad dominant), calves Wednesday: Back/Tris Thursday: Off Friday: Shoulders/Traps Saturday: Legs (hamstring dominant), calves It worked good for me. Go 3-4 sets per exercise, and a general rule of thumb is to shoot for around 8-10 sets per muscle. That being said, don't do 10 sets of DB bench and be done with it. Do for example 4 sets DB bench, 3 sets BB incline and/or 3 sets DB flies, then move on. Like Ikaika said, bump your reps up a lot from what you've been doing, into the 8-12 rep range. However some of your muscle groups might work better with lower reps/heavier weight than others, even in terms of growth. Take my upper back for example. It's growing more in the 3-5 rep range than it did in the 8-10 range. Just experiment. I wouldn't say don't worry about the weight though. I say keep logging the amount of weight your doing each day and strive to beat it the next week. A stronger muscle = a bigger muscle. __________________ Accomplishment tastes better than cheesecake. Stats(/goals): Age: 18 Weight: 193 BF%: 19%/8% Max Lifts B: Poop S: Pee D: Status: Gaining back strength and size after tonsillectomy My Training Log

08-05-2007, 04:35 PM	#6
DJSTARER eating more folate... Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: State College, PA Posts: 3,979 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 113	Re: transition to bodybuilding there is not as much a difference between the two as most think. I gained more lean mass this year (15lbs) than I did on a BBing routine (9-11lbs). My arms and back grew more. Nuff said. The only thing i'd change is my ME day. I'd switch from 1-6 rep range to 4-8. All other work is accessory work in the 8-15 rep range anyway.... __________________ My philosophies on training: "Extreme training yields extreme results" "Just because you can, does not mean you should" "The best program is the one you are not doing" Penn State Powerlifting-181 lb weightclass PGA Professional of America Current Stats: 474 Squat 601 Deadlift 320 Bench Goals for next training cycle: 500lbs squat and a total over 1400 in competition

08-06-2007, 11:11 PM	#7
builtbeast Großer Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Location: In a very red state Posts: 1,828 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 98	Re: transition to bodybuilding Try a Dual Factor protocol where you hit everything at least twice a week, something like Sun - Upper A Mon - Lower A Wed - Upper B Thu - Lower B Vary the exercises on the A and B days. Generally reps are higher for each muscle group than what you were doing before, in the 5-8 range or 12+, depending on your ratio of fast/slow twitch fibers. For each target group try doing an exercise in a lower rep range, and one in a higher rep range. So, for example for tris you could do something like - Tricep A: CGBP - 295 x 5,5,5 Overhead tricep extension - 200 x 15,15,15 Tricep B: Weighted Dips - BW+115 x 5,5,5 Cable Pressdown - 200 x 20,20,20 Look at Spirit's, Pman's, and BigZeke's logs as well. __________________ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arjjb1u64Kc ********.com

08-11-2007, 05:03 PM	#8
DJSTARER eating more folate... Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: State College, PA Posts: 3,979 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 113	Re: transition to bodybuilding ^^ yah BigZeke's routine is just about flawless when it comes to "powerbuilding." It contains a variety of 3 (BIG COMPOUND) and 2 (STANDARD COMPOUND) joint movements which yield both strength and size gains. I said it above, and I'll say it again... because I can't emphasize it enough: having a smart routine with all the basic good qualities a routine should have (periodization, exercise selection, sufficient rest and sufficient volume), and minding your nutrition to match your goals, will yield gains of all sorts. The best analogy I ever heard was in an EliteFTS article speaking of the basics. It compared the muscle to an empty cigarette box. The cigarettes themselves are the muscle fibers, and the tobacco is the various differen fluids and plasmas which are stored in the muscle (cigarette) when higher volume is used. With this said, you want the pack as filled with cigarettes as possible, and you want the cigarettes to be as filled with cancer causing tobacco as possible to created the heaviest, largest, fullest pack of cigarettes (your muscle). More cigarettes are made from heavy training, and more tobacco from hypertrophy in the 7-15 rep range. nuff said? Hence, why i believe I had so much success with my conjugate hybrid this year: I trained my maind move (three joint) in the 1-6 rep range, and finished up each session with 2-4 (two or three joint) moves in the 7-15 rep range. Hope that helps. D-factor is good. I also REALLY like what Davetown does. That's a sound routine which is well periodized. __________________ My philosophies on training: "Extreme training yields extreme results" "Just because you can, does not mean you should" "The best program is the one you are not doing" Penn State Powerlifting-181 lb weightclass PGA Professional of America Current Stats: 474 Squat 601 Deadlift 320 Bench Goals for next training cycle: 500lbs squat and a total over 1400 in competition

08-11-2007, 05:24 PM	#10
haiz69 Iron Mass Sponsor Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 388 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 25	Re: transition to bodybuilding My favorite setup: Mon - Upper Body Strength: Few Compound movements. Reps from 1-5 Tues - Lower Body Strength Wed - Off Thurs - Chest/shoulders/Triceps Hypertrophy: 8-12 reps Friday - Back/Biceps Hypertrophy Sat - Legs Hypertrophy This allows you to go for strength on two days and more size on the other 3. __________________ Supplements.net - Quality Supplements, Great Prices, Awesome Service

08-12-2007, 05:10 AM	#13
Vario Pro Stature Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 286 Recipes: 1 Rep Power: 12	Re: transition to bodybuilding ive gotten good results doing this, typically 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps each. Monday: Chest dumbbell bench incline dumbbell bench flys bodyweight dips burnout Tuesday: Legs leg extension squat leg press leg curl/ghr Thursday: Back Pullups Dumbbell Row Wide Grip Lat Pulldown Cable Row Lat Pulldown behind neck (light weight, two sets 15) Friday: Arms, Shoulders Close grip bench bradford press db side laterals db rear laterals tricep cable pushdown tricep reverse grip cable pushdown barbell curl preacher db curl hammer curls. do calves and abs every workout as needed. __________________ 165-181 Class Current - (Season Goal) Bench: 235(275), Squat: 385+(405), Deadlift: 420(500), Standing Press: 165 (185)