Everybody wanna be a bodybuilder, but don’t nobody wanna train like one
The following is a repost of cavefish’s bodybuilding routine posted on the Something Awful Forums. I have modified it slightly with more advice and links to the exercises on ExRx.
Introduction
Alright, its pretty obvious that the standard routine around is the 5×5. That’s fine, its a good routine for building a base level of strength and learning the compound lifts that build strength and size. All fine and good. However Bill Starr created that routine for football players, not bodybuilders. So if you want to be built like a fridge (a very strong fridge), thats cool.
But if you lift for aesthetics like most people, you’ll probably want to switch things up every so often and target certain muscle groups for growth. This is where the traditional 5×5 seems to fall short. Sure you can modify it yourself and add a few things, but that hardly makes it ideal for “bodybuilding.” For maximum hypertrophy you need a different style of training. Plus it never hurts to change things up, say 12 weeks of 5×5 and 12 weeks of volume work. Then you can go back to the 5×5 or a powerlifting style routine and build your strength and be able to use heavier weights for higher reps when you return to the volume.
This is not my original routine, it was written by a friend of mine who is an NPC bodybuilder for another forum I moderate so I’m re-posting it here. It may seem like a lot but its not that extreme, its basic entry level stuff even for natural bodybuilders. It’s not easy but certainly not impossible to finish and your body will adapt after a few weeks. Another important thing to remember is that nothing is set in stone here so you don’t have to follow it to the letter, its just a base/template for you to go off of. As you become more experienced and learn to listen to your body you can play with the exercise selection and change things around and add things like drop sets.
Base Level of Strength
Before you start this program it’s good to have a base level of strength. This is not a beginners routine. This is a hard workout. When you finish, you will be cursing anyone involved in the writing of this routine. Some beginners will be able to do this, but they are the exceptions to the rule. A good strength standard is the 1x/1.5x/1.5x rule. This means you should be able to bench your bodyweight for reps and squat and deadlift 1.5x your bodyweight for reps. Strength isn’t the only measure, either. Even if you already meet the strength standards you might want to make sure you’ve been doing a dedicated program for about a year so you can get used to lifting and learn the exercises with correct form.
Warmups and Increasing Weight
Whether you want to steadily increase weight as you move through your sets is up to you. However, keeping the weights the same as you go through is going to be hard unless you have found a weight that you can do for 3-4 sets without it being too easy or so hard that your form suffers as a result. It is much easier to start your first set light and work up from there, with your heaviest set being your last set.
MONDAY - Legs
4 sets Leg Extension - 10-15 reps (keep it light, this is just to get blood in the legs)
4 sets Squat - 6-10 reps (Week A) / 3 sets Deadlift - 6-10 reps (Week B)
3 sets Leg press - 10-12 reps
4 sets Leg curl - 12 reps
3 sets Stiff legged deadlift - 10-12 reps (Week A) / 3 sets Walking lunges (hamstring or quad) - 10-12 reps (Week B)
TUESDAY - Chest
4 sets Incline dumbbell or Barbell bench press – 8-12 reps
3 sets Flat dumbbell or Barbell bench press – 8-12 reps
2 sets Dumbbell fly or Machine fly (pec deck) – 12-15 reps, focus on squeezing at the top
3 sets Weighted dips – 12 reps
WEDNESDAY - Off
THURSDAY - Back
4 sets Pull-ups – up to 15 reps (if 4×15 is too easy, add weight)
4 sets Barbell or Dumbbell bent over row – 8-12 reps
3 sets Front pulldown (Week A - narrow grip, Week B – wide grip) – 8-10 reps
3 sets Cable row – 6-10 reps
2 sets Rear pulldowns – 15 reps (note: potentially dangerous and may be ineffective, remove if you wish)
FRIDAY – Shoulders/Arms
3 sets Shoulder press – 8-10 reps
3 sets Dumbbell lateral raise – 10-12 reps
3 sets Behind the back shrugs – 8 reps (It is easier to do these using a Smith Machine rather than a rack)
3 sets Front shrugs – 8 reps
3 sets Rope pushdown (palms away) – 10-15 reps
3 sets Reverse pushdown (palms facing) – 10-15 reps
3 sets Skull crushers – 6-10 reps
3 sets E-Z curls – 8-12 reps
3 sets Preacher curls – 8-12 reps
2 sets Dumbbell hammer curls – 10-15 reps
2 sets Wrist curls – 13-20 reps
Notes
- Do abs on Monday and Thursday
- Do calves Tuesday and Friday.
- Keep the rest intervals short. 30-60 seconds between sets, no more. This is very important as it will fatigue the hell out of your muscles AND improve your conditioning.
- Do your cardio normally and adjust depending on whether you’re bulking or cutting.
- If you want to do this in a 3 day split, you can go chest/back, legs, shoulders/arms.
One nice thing is this allows for variation in the number of reps you do. If you want to go heavy one week you can do sets of 6 reps, if you want to lighten it up and go for a better pump you can do 12-15 reps. The most important thing for growth is forcing as much as blood as possible into the muscle. Just don’t go under 6 reps. Even though this is not designed for strength or athletic purposes, you will still build plenty of strength.
6 commentsFish oil, flax oil, and more: the case for Essential Fatty Acids
In recent times, you’ve probably heard the terms “fish oil”, “Essential Fatty Acids” (EFAs) and “Omega-3”. As with many buzzwords, it is easy to dismiss these as marketing gimmicks with no hard science behind them. However, it would be wrong to do so. EFAs are completely backed by numerous studies and, in my opinion, represent the greatest nutritional deficit facing mankind today.
A good way to understand how fatty acids are beneficial for the human body is to look at the way they interact. The Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids form different “signaling paths” that control a staggering amount of bodily functions, especially ones involving inflammation and the central nervous system. There is essentially a perfect ratio between the Omega-3 and Omega-6 acids in a human body, allowing for the greatest “communication” on the signaling paths. This ratio is 3 units of Omega-6 for every 1 unit of Omega-3 (although this is still hotly debated, even getting close to this ratio will provide a world of difference1. This is all well and good, except that scientists have begun to understand that the average human has far less Omega-3 acids in their body than what would constitute a perfect system, and often humans consume more Omega-6 than they should. In fact, the average Western diets provide ratios of 10:1 to 30:1! This makes sense, as Omega-6 acids mostly come from animal fats and vegetable oils (Western diet staples). Omega-3 acids come from foods less common in Western diets, such as fish, flax oil, kiwis, hemp, and lingonberries.
The skewing of this ratio has been partially responsible, scientists think, for the advent of “lifestyle diseases” (and most coincidentally relate to inflammation)! Strokes, depression, obesity, heart disease, and Type 2 Diabetes are examples of lifestyle diseases. Can more EFAs help prevent most or all of these diseases? If you are deficient, very much so.
Still not convinced? Here’s some interesting studies that have been performed recently (verbatim from T-Nation and Wikipedia):
- “The Nutritional Physiology Research Group in
- Researchers in
- Taking a daily fatty acid supplement may boost the effectiveness (or even replace) antidepressants in some people. Depressed people who added omega-3s to their treatment showed less anxiety, fewer sleeping problems, less overall sadness, and fewer sexual problems.
- In a six-month study involving people with schizophrenia and Huntington’s disease who were treated with EPA or a placebo, the placebo group had clearly lost cerebral tissue, while the patients given the supplements had a significant increase of grey and white matter.3
- Some studies were conducted on prisoners in
- According to a study from
How does one get more Omega-3s, then? One easy thing to do is to eat more fish. However, since mercury pollution has risen so quickly, eating seafood is not as recommended as it once was. The best way to increase your concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids, in my opinion, is fish oil capsules. You can find these in the pharmacy section of any supermarket. Take anywhere from 1-10 capsules a day with water as a dietary supplement. Another easy way to add Omega-3 to your diet is to eat cage-free eggs or buy meat that comes from grain-fed animals. Smart Balance even makes a tasty spread fortified with Omega-3s.
EFA research continues to this day, and more and more people are discovering the many benefits of supplementation. The change in your diet is not something you will effectively feel, but you will thank yourself later in life for getting more Omega-3s.
- Simopoulos AP, Leaf A, Salem Jr N. Statement on the essentiality of and recommended dietary intakes for omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 2000;63:119-121. [↩]
- T-Nation Article [↩]
- International Review of Psychiatry, vol 18, p 149 [↩]
- New York Times Article [↩]
- Walter J. Lukiw (2005-06-28). “A role for docosahexaenoic acid–derived neuroprotectin D1 in neural cell survival and Alzheimer disease“. J. Clin. Invest 115: 2774-2783. DOI:10.1172/JCI25420. Retrieved on 2007-02-09. [↩]