Bulk, cut, 4 days, 3 days?? page

[UTfootball747]

I'm hoping someone here might be willing to offer me a little advice.

I have been attempting to increase strength and put on a little muscle for a couple of years now. I feel like I have not been successful (at least to the extent I'm looking for) because I don't commit completely to a plan, or stick with it long enough, or eat correctly, or a combination.

Long story short: After being pretty conscientious about my workouts and eating for many months, I sort of fell off the wagon last fall due to a confluence of factors going on in my life. I was eating poorly, drinking too much, and not exercising. Come January, I had put on about 10-15 extra pounds.

So since that point, I've been doing light cardio, watching my calories and doing about 80/20 primal eating, and attempting to get that weight back off. Still have the spare tire that I'd like to be rid of, but making progress. I have not been lifting during this time.

So...would there be any benefit to continue on this 'cutting' path until my waist is closer to what I'm looking for? I realize that I will need to eat more to add muscle, so some of it would come back. Just not sure if I should keep this up, or jump back into lifting.

Moreover--any advice for a good lifting routine for someone who has some experience with free weights and pretty much knows proper form, but really hasn't put on much in the way of muscle? Has anyone had success with Mark's program?

I was, for quite awhile, attempting to follow this '4 day split routine' (it was either this exact plan or something very similar). Dougs 4 Day Split Workout | Muscle & Strength

Whether I was not pushing myself enough, not eating enough, or attempting to move up in weight too quickly, I did not feel like I was making a whole lot of progress, even after several months.

Thoughts? I would appreciate any advice offered. Thanks.

[Marinas Florin]

Looking at the program, it's certainly not optimal for gaining size. From what you tell us, if you seek a good mass building workout program, starting with an upper/lower split routine would be the best.
I also wrote a piece on upper lower split routines for mass.

Also don't forget to check your calories and track them daily, keeping a surplus if you want to gain muscle.

[Greenbeast]

You can put on muscle and lose fat, i'm doing that right now.

I lift once per month, the body uses that rest period for pretty cool gains (given the effort)

if you lift to failure over a short rep range you are pushing your body to adapt, give it a break (weeks) to do that and you will be pleasantly surprised

[not on the rug]

while it is possible to add muscle and lose fat at the same time, its not optimal. you have to determine what your goals are for right now, for a year from now, for 5 years from now, etc and then go in that direction. if you want to make any sort of real muscle gains, you need a caloric surplus. you can fine tune that surplus all you want, but typically the side effect will still be some fat gain. if you want to lose fat, you need a caloric defecit.

your exercise plan may vary. some people lift heavy all the time. some people only do bodyweight work. some people use more of a bodybuilding styled workout plan. again, what are your goals?

personally, i like to add muscle over the winter time. i'm hidden under long sleeved shirts and sweaters for months at a time. so i do most of my heavy lifting in the fall and winter. i eat in a caloric surplus. i add a few lbs of muscle and a few lbs of fat. for the spring and summer, i want to lose fat, so i shift the focus of my workouts, and clean up the excess calories. the extra few lbs of fat come off and i look good on the beach.

[Greenbeast]

To be fair i dropped 28lb of fat before i started lifting again, so the bulk of my excess fat had already dropped before i tried putting muscle on.

[UTfootball747]

your exercise plan may vary. some people lift heavy all the time. some people only do bodyweight work. some people use more of a bodybuilding styled workout plan. again, what are your goals?

Mostly, I want (to borrow an acronym from Mark's book) to 'LGN.' More definition, flatter stomach, etc. Not concerned with being huge.

[Greenbeast]

To be honest, i would only ever lift heavy, i would do it once a month until i'd hit my size targets and then i would do it less often, just a few times a year probably, to maintain.

lifting light is just asking to spend more time in the gym, which i see as an unnecessary waste of time. if you love being in the gym, have at it!

[UTfootball747]

It's difficult for me to imagine how one would make any significant gains lifting "once a month," even when lifting "heavy."

[Richard Seekins]

It's difficult for me to imagine how one would make any significant gains lifting "once a month," even when lifting "heavy."

+1 on this one

[Greenbeast]

on the 7th of Feb i squat 140kg, on the 7th of march i squat 150kg, i will squat 160kg on the 7th april. so on and so forth, until i max the machine out at 220kg (i know because i've done it before)

i don't ache for the first 48 hours and then it stays for 2-4 days, how can anyone be giving the body enough rest by training 2, 3, 4, 5 times a week??