Cycle with workout program
Ok, so I have been planning out a safe cycle with a workout program. I have been lifting a while and on TRT @ 200mg every 12 days, but when I am ready, I want to make sure I have a good plan. I know dieting, adjusting to blood work, etc a lot more research will go with those. I have read my tail off and still reading and educating myself. However, I want to make sure the cycle and workout is on point while I am developing my plan. Thats kinda my focus right now and yes I realize a whole lot more goes into this, thats why I am carefully planning and reading and learning. I can handle the constructive criticism, so bring it. I will be working to hard in the gym not to get this right and have a plan that will maximize my growth during a basic and safe cycle. I'm a little worried as I am only hitting my muscle groups once a week and will make sure I am in the 65-85% of 1RPM range on weights to induce growth. Let me know if you see any adjustments to the cycle or weight lifting program you would make. I am more concerned with growth than strength or cardio and gaining lean muscle. But I will be adding cardio 2-3 days a week and probably do the wingate, but not so much where I am tearing the protein in the muscle back down I built, we will get there as the plan develops. I appreciate any and all the advise and help. Thanks.
CYCLE LOG
Test. C. Arimidex Anastrozole Nolvadex Clomid
Pre-Cycle Blood Test
Week 1 500mg
Week 2 500mg
Week 3 500mg .5mg
Week 4 500mg .5mg
Week 5 500mg .25mg Blood Test
Week 6 500mg .25mg
Week 7 500mg .25mg
Week 8 500mg .25mg
Week 9 500mg .25mg
Week 10 500mg .25mg
Week 11 500mg .25mg
Week 12 500mg .25mg
Week 13 .25mg
Week 14 .25mg
Week 15 40mg 100mg
Week 16 40mg 100mg
Week 17 20mg 50mg
Week 18 20mg 50mg Blood Test
DAY 1 CHEST & TRICEPS
CHEST
Exercise Sets Reps 1 Reps 2 Reps 3
Incline Dumbell Press 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Flat Bench Barbell Press 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Incline Cable Fly 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Weighted Dip 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
TRICEPS
Close Griip Bench Press 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Lying EZ Bar Triceps Extension 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Cable Pressdown 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
DAY 2 LEGS , CALVES, & CALF RAISE
LEGS
Exercise Sets R1 R2 R3
Barbell Squat 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Romanian Deadlift 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Leg Extension 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Lying Leg Curl 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
CALVES
Standing Claf Raise 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
ABS
Weighted Crunch 4 12 12 12
Hanging Leg Raise 4 To Failure To Failure To Failure
DAY 3 SHOUDLERS & TRAPS
SHOULDERS
Exercise Sets R1 R2 R3
Seated Barbell Press 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
EZ-Bar Upright Row 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Dumbell Lateral Raise 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Bent-Over Lateral Raise 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
TRAPS
Dumbell Shrug 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Smith Behind-The-Back Shrug 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
DAY 4 BACK, BICEPS, & ABS
BACK
Exercise Sets R1 R2 R3
Deadlift 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Bent-Over Barbell Row 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Seated Cable Row 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
T-Bar Row 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Decline Barbell Pullover 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
BICEPS
Standing Barbell Curl 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Incline Dumbell Curl 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
One arm Dumbell Curls 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Hammer Curl 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
ABS
Weighted Crunch 4 12 12 12
Hanging Leg Raise 4 To Failure To Failure To Failure
- Bookmark
- 0
- 0
Sparky, what is the 1 for in the exercises?....
Let me update the workout. I am actually trying to get 40 reps per set - 4 sets @ - 12-10-10-8. My understanding that is what gets you to maximum results
DAY 1 CHEST & TRICEPS
CHEST
Exercise Sets Reps 1 Reps 2 Reps 3 Reps 4
Incline Dumbell Press 4 12 10 10 8
Flat Bench Barbell Press 4 12 10 10 8
Incline Cable Fly 4 12 10 10 8
Weighted Dip 4 12 10 10 8
TRICEPS
Barbell Overhead Extensions 4 12 10 10 8
Lying EZ Bar Triceps Extension 4 12 10 10 8
Cable Pressdown 4 12 10 10 8
DAY 2 LEGS , CALVES, & CALF RAISE
LEGS
Exercise Sets Reps 1 Reps 2 Reps 3 Reps 4
Barbell Squat 4 12 10 10 8
Romanian Deadlift 4 12 10 10 8
lunge/split squat or reverse lunge 4 12 10 10 8
Lying Leg Curl 4 12 10 10 8
CALVES
Standing Claf Raise 4 12 10 10 8
ABS
Weighted Crunch 4 12 12 12 12
Hanging Leg Raise 4 To Failure To Failure To Failure To Failure
DAY 3 SHOUDLERS & TRAPS
SHOULDERS
Exercise Sets Reps 1 Reps 2 Reps 3 Reps 4
Standing Barbell Press 4 12 10 10 8
Snatch grip high pulls 4 12 10 10 8
Dumbell Lateral Raise 4 12 10 10 8
Bent-Over Lateral Raise 4 12 10 10 8
TRAPS
Incline Dumbell Shrug 4 12 10 10 8
Barbell Shrug 4 12 10 10 8
DAY 4 BACK, BICEPS, & ABS
BACK
Exercise Sets Reps 1 Reps 2 Reps 3 Reps 4
Deadlift 4 12 10 10 8
Bent-Over Barbell Row 4 12 10 10 8
Seated Cable Row 4 12 10 10 8
T-Bar Row 4 12 10 10 8
Decline Barbell Pullover 4 12 10 10 8
BICEPS
Standing Barbell Curl 4 12 10 10 8
Seated 45 Incline Dumbell Curl 4 12 10 10 8
One Arm Preacher Curls R/L 4 12 10 10 8
Hammer Curl 4 12 10 10 8
ABS
Weighted Crunch 4 12 12 12 12
Hanging Leg Raise 4 To Failure To Failure To Failure To Failure
1 set the other are reps. a total of 3 sets 1set at 12-10-8 1 set at 10-10-10- and 1 set at 8-10-12
Sorry to ask again... i still dont get it
So....
3 sets total... thrn what is 12-10-8 in set 1?
Drop set?
I actually typed in in that way to give myself options. I may do a drop set at 12-10-8 or 3 sets of 10 or an 8-10-12. Ill actually only being doing 3 sets at one of those reps. Still researching the best place for growth, which should be between 6-12 reps and keep the resistance where I have no injury. I have it in an excel chart.
Got ya.
Well as per Makwa below. Most people focus on rep numbers. Get a stopwatch out. Min absolute min of 30 seconds per set 50 is better. 40-60 seconds rest
If only doing 3 sets
Time under tension is what you need to keep in mind for growth, not necessarily the reps you do. Maximum hypertrophy occurs with a TUT between 40-80 seconds. So for instance, a rep range of 8 with a 4-0-1-0 tempo will put you at the 40 second mark. To many people do 8-10 reps which would put you in the hypertrophy range with the proper tempo but they bang them out so fast that they aren't anywhere near the 40 sec threshold where hypertrophy really begins to occur.
This x 2
Had this cinvo with a mate last week. He was shocked when i pointed out his sets were lasting 15 seconds and rest time was ~2 mins!
Inspect what ya expect as they say
Do you guys think it would be too much to add days 1-3 and 2-4 together in one training session and do this twice a week for more growth. Maybe monday do 1-3 tuesday 2-4 and rest one or two days and repeat on thursday/friday or friday/saturday or is that too much stress?
Kind of strange exercise selection. Flat BP and CGPB? It's the same exercise with a narrower grip. It's a myth that the CGPB is a triceps dominant movement. Your chest and front delts are still the primary movers. The reason guys can't close grip as much as they bench wider out isn't because it's "more tricep dominant," it's because it's a farther range of motion. Great chest builder though. Probably be better off with overhead extensions with a barbell to really hammer that often neglected long head that pressing movements don't hit as effectively as the lateral and medial heads.
A pullover for biceps? That's a new one.
Standing barbell press blows seated away in every aspect. More athletic. Better mass builder. Great for core strength and training stabilizers. Why purposefully make an exercise less athletic and work less muscles? Does that make logical sense if your goal is building muscle?
EZ curl bar upright rows. Ask any physical therapist how he or she feels about that exercise. It is physically impossible to perform the movement without putting pressure on your glenoid. You may as well do lateral raises with your pinky turned up. Time tested shoulder wrecker. Snatch grip high pulls are more athletic, much safer, and a better mass builder that works the same muscles more effectively.
Dumbbell shrugs and BTB shrugs are redundant. The traps are not a complex muscle. They don't need several variations within the same session, especially when there's already deadlifts and rows. And your gym must have some heavy ass dumbbells to be able to properly challenge your traps.
And leg extensions… that fucking machine ought to be illegal. That's a soccer mom machine; soccer moms and cardio bunnies aren't strong enough to get hurt on it. Lockouts with added velocity under loads that a strong man is capable of extending is a great way to make sure you'll never be able to squat without wrapping up like a mummy ever again. It's a good mass builder, but it's even better for wrecking your knees.
CGBP is wrongly named and taught. It should be called close elbow bench press. When done correctly its a primary triceps movement with limited delts and pec activation
Re: leg extension... try a finishser with low weight high rep and blood flow restriction (if interested in hypertrophy)... it will make you cry like a soccer mom but grow like a beast
Kinda forgot to address this. Sure, but anyone can cry like a soccer mom. How about curled up like a newborn fetus shivering under the squat rack? Three words: Widow. Maker. Squats.
If you're referring to what's called a JM press, I agree. It's kind of a hybrid between an extension and a press.
Im not but youre firmly on the right train of thought. To oicture it, JM press is to skullcrusher what close elbow (my own term) is to bench press... JM being marginally closer to the head whereas close elbow being marginally closer to the sternum
JM is 100% another great example of an alternative to the wrongly performed close grip
If the bar hits above the sternum with a close grip, yes, the hands are behind the elbows and this puts much more stress on the triceps. This is correct. To hit the chest and delts better with a close grip bench press the bar will hit well below the sternum. What you're describing is purposefully changing the movement pattern to put yourself in a mechanically disadvantageous position. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Plenty of great exercises involve less than ideal moment arms and inefficient lines of pushing or pulling.
100% correct and exactly what people do not understand a lot of the time. One of the core differences between, lets say, powerlifting or crossfit and bodybuilding is efficiency versus inefficiency. For bodybuilding we need to make a given move as inefficient as possible at any given position of a rep range (including the topmost point of a bench press or squat etc... à la bands or chains etc etc.). The 2nd most important difference that people miss out on is the point of focus whether external with PL or CFit (hit bottom range pause hit top... or #'s of plates etc.) or internally on the muscle contraction or stretch... mind muscle or whatever you would like to call it.
When a BBer nails the distinctions they will not list a workout program like OP, it will instead be designed to cover diffetent points of ranges of movement not movements and will be designed to use the many tools to induce cell swelling, hypertrophy, hyperplasia, nutrient pooling, strength, and of course rest or deload. Although OPs question about splitting workouts and doing 2x per week show he is starting to go down that rabbit hole which is great
My take on it is I would rather see guys doing lots of big barbell compounds through their full ranges of motion and keeping the fluff and assistance work to a minimum. I see the heavy compounds as the cake and the extra stuff as the icing. Performance should always be in mind for anyone who trains regardless of his or her goals, meaning there needs to be progression. The outcome insofar as physique comes down more to what's being put into the body, including both food and drugs.
And a lot of guys won't want to hear this, but once the dosages get past a certain point, how you train really isn't as important as just giving your body the nutrients it needs to grow. You'd think this would be common sense, but gettting training advice from Ronnie Coleman or Dorian Yates or Phil Health has to be taken with a grain of salt, because those guys are using so much shit that any sort of training regimen would make them grow. Anyone who disputes that is extremely naive.
In otherwords, it all works!
Yes I hear you. They arethe same folks that will wear your ears out talking about genetics, as ifnthere was never a skinny whippet-like Phil Heath and also as if every single thing we do isnt fighting against genetics!
I agree.
And, the same folks who honestly don't realize that literally every single guy on stage at the O has at least some degree of site enhancement these days.
Absolutely!
I agree.
I agree with everything except the upright rows. If you just pull them to your upper chest there gtg and hit the trap shoulder tie ins and front delts great. I do 3 sets every shoulder workout for years... + for the other info.
It still internally rotates your shoulder, unfortunately. Some people can do it no problem, others can't. I've personally never had a problem going heavy with BTN presses, ever, but I stopped doing them anyway because I cannot argue human anatomy. Whether I feel any pain or whether or not I'm actually damaging anything, the movement puts my shoulders at risk no matter how I look at it, so I checked my ego and dropped the movement for good. And even assuming upright rows are perfectly safe, high pulls are still a far better, more athletic movement IMO.
Thanks for all the valuable information, I have researched all your points and you are exactly right on all the exercise changes you recommended. I made the following adjustments based on those recommendations.
Changed:
CGPB for overhead barbell raises
seated to standing overhead press
corrected pullover for biceps
changed ez curl for snatch grip high pulls
changed both dumbbell shrugs
leg extensions for lunch or split squats
Below is the revised program
DAY 1 CHEST & TRICEPS
CHEST
Exercise Sets Reps 1 Reps 2 Reps 3
Incline Dumbell Press 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Flat Bench Barbell Press 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Incline Cable Fly 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Weighted Dip 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
TRICEPS
Barbell Overhead Extensions 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Lying EZ Bar Triceps Extension 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Cable Pressdown 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
DAY 2 LEGS , CALVES, & CALF RAISE
LEGS
Exercise Sets Reps 1 Reps 2 Reps 3
Barbell Squat 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Romanian Deadlift 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Lunge or Split Squat 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Lying Leg Curl 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
CALVES
Standing Claf Raise 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
ABS
Weighted Crunch 4 12 12 12
Hanging Leg Raise 4 To Failure To Failure To Failure
DAY 3 SHOUDLERS & TRAPS
SHOULDERS
Exercise Sets Reps 1 Reps 2 Reps 3
Standing Barbell Press 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Snatch grip high pulls 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Dumbell Lateral Raise 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Bent-Over Lateral Raise 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
TRAPS
Incline Dumbell Shrug 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Barbell Shrug 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
DAY 4 BACK, BICEPS, & ABS
BACK
Exercise Sets Reps 1 Reps 2 Reps 3
Deadlift 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Bent-Over Barbell Row 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Seated Cable Row 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
T-Bar Row 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Decline Barbell Pullover 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
BICEPS
Standing Barbell Curl 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Seated 45 Incline Dumbell Curl 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
One Arm Preacher Curls 1 12 10 8
Each arm 1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Hammer Curl 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
ABS
Weighted Crunch 4 12 12 12
Hanging Leg Raise 4 To Failure To Failure To Failure
I appreciate you taking me seriously. It sounds pathetic put like that, but I am aware I'm a young guy and sometimes people older than me don't appreciate being given information by younguns like me. Although it's not my career and I don't want it to be, exercise science is my passion and I'm constantly learning and trying to pass on knowledge as I attain it to help my brothers and sisters in the iron game stay safe, mobile, and injury free while packing on the most size and strength possible.
The standing press is such a great exercise. Maybe my favorite of all time. In my experience, when done from chest to lockout strict with pauses on the bottom, it's a better upper chest builder than the incline press.
High pulls are amazing, but they take some practice if you've never done them. It's an explosive movement that requires some work to get the movement pattern and neural adaptations locked in before it can really be progressed on. They can be swapped for dumbbell high rows if need be.
I like reverse lunges a lot. Doing them loaded with a barbell in a clean grip position like a front squat is a fantastic way to train the thoracic electors along with the legs and glutes. Most guys hold the barbell in a high bar back squat position, which never made much sense to me.
Enjoy your journey
Thanks. I'm 45, young or not every point you made was right on. Your educational knowledge about weights is great. Your chronological age has nothing to do with actual knowledge, for some reason society judges our knowledge based on our age rather than our educational knowledge. I researched every single point you made, especially the two moves that creates injuries in my workout, which will save me from being injured. I don't just read posts, but I research them after I read them to ensure the information given is sound. Boy, did you not disappoint, you was right on with every single point of the advice given. Definitely will try the reverse lunges with the bar. Thanks for sharing!!!
I gave you and Brooklyn a +1 for those posts thats how it should be. Helping each other no matter what
the pullover for biceps was a typo....Fixed it. I will make some adjustments based off your comments. You have a lot of great information in your post....
Tron+2 for taking on the task of reading this entire forum and actually paying attention to the details.
Thanks, trying to do it the right way and safe way on both the cycle and a workout that will keep me injury free. "helloBrooklyn" gave me some good information and all the points made was correct based on my research. Thanks for all the help in getting this right.