I am 5'7 currently weighing 146 Lbs. I wish to weigh about 170 by September, the reason is for football. I do not want to lose my speed as I am a running back, just gain size and strength. i can work out as frequently as needed. I just need a great plan. I am ready to stick to a good plan. Want solid strong muscle. Strong shoulders, triceps, chest, back, legs, core. Also while im at it want to work on explosiveness. I know it is a lot to work on. But I do have SIX months. thats half a year. Whatever I can get done. Please someone help me make up a really good plan for myself. or just great tips for how to attain my goal.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
20-25 Lbs in 6 Months??
- Thread starter lilrich3
- Start date
Eat loads (and clean as opposed to junk) and train hard. Check the stickies for good workouts. A full body workout plan is gonna be your best bet. Also for power, exercises like clap press ups, power presses and power cleans are pretty good.
If you haven't done any sports-specific resistance training as of yet, you'll need to do Anatomical Adaptation (AA) first. This will mean light weights (10-20 reps) as you learn to do the exercises you'll train more intensely at down to track. During an AA phase (which should last at least 6 weeks), you generally do many exercises each session for only a couple sets each, with a fast but stable concentric action. You may start out with slow movements to make sure you get the correct muscle activation and technique, but once you've got your technique, you should aim to have a 1sec concentric. You should also gradually shorten the eccentric contraction to 2 sec. This phase uses a lot of core/stability work as well as your primary lifts.
A suitable AA program might look something like this:
Sessions/Week: 3
Sets/Exercise: 2
Reps: 15
Rest: 1 min
Tempo: (week 1-2: 4:0:2) (week 3-4: 3:0:1) (week 5+: 2:0:1)
- Bulgarian Split Squat (superset each side)
- Fitball Chest Press
- One-legged Deadlift (superset each side)
- Arnold Press standing on Bosu
- Full Squat on Bosu
- One-arm DB Row (superset each side)
- Incline Bench Press superset with Bench Pull
- Deadlift
- Chin Ups
- Balance on Fitball
- Medicine Ball Twist
Once you've done at least 6 weeks of this style of training, it's time to move into Sports Specific Hypertrophy (SSH).
In SSH, there is still a focus on fast movement. Protocols will largely resemble max strength training (which, at your age, and with your limited experience, you should not be venturing into - Max Strength is for trainees who've been at it for over a year), however at a lighter load. You want to do 2-4 sets per exercise, on top of at least 1 warm up set. You want to do every rep hard and fast, remembering the 2:0:1 tempo you've built up to in AA. And you want to do each working set to fatigue, then rest 3 minutes and do it again. You'll need the 3 min rest to allow full recovery of both ATP (energy) and your neurons. This type of hypertrophy training focuses on fast-twitch muscle fibres, being activated in a fast way. You want to start out doing sets of 12 reps, then, over the weeks (or even months) build up intensity until you can only do 8 reps per set. An SSH program might look like this:
Sessions/Week: 3
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
Rest: 3 min
Tempo: 2:0:1
- Deadlifts
- Bench Press
- Squats
- Chin Ups
- Military Press
- Bent Over Row
Conversely, you may elect to do an A/B split, such as:
Day 1 (A):
- Squats
- Bench Press
- Bent Over Row
Day 2 (B):
- Deadlifts
- Military Press
- Chin Ups
I suggest that you do SSH for 6 weeks at 12 reps, then do 6 weeks at 10 reps. On the first of these second 6 weeks, stop 2 reps short of fatigue, and only do 2 sets/exercise. This becomes your deload week, which you'll need to help prevent overtraining. During this second SSH stage, do a fourth set of squats, taking away all weight but the bar itself, and perform jumping squats for this final set. This is a power set, and you are aiming to jump as high as possible with every rep. As soon as you lose height, finish the set. This set is not to the point of fatigue. Also during this time, do a fourth set of deadlifts, once again stripping the bar of all excess load, and perform a power shrug (that is, a high velocity deadlift with a shrug in the top position). Again, complete to speed fatigue, not to muscular fatigue.
Do one more 6 week period of SSH, this time doign 8 reps per set. Once again, deload in the first week. This time, instead of jumping squats and power shrugs, you'll do a power clean after every set of squats or deadlifts. And this final 6 week phase should bring you up to 6 months of training for strength and mass without substituting speed. Whether or not you'll gain the full 25 lb is dependent on many things (doing the exercises correctly, having a caloric surplus of 500kcal/day, consuming 1.2-2g protein per kg body weight/day, sleeping 8 hours a day, and the one uncontrollable factor: genetics). But it's a realistic goal that may be achievable, and meanwhile you'll be doing training that should benefit your running rather than hinder it.
A suitable AA program might look something like this:
Sessions/Week: 3
Sets/Exercise: 2
Reps: 15
Rest: 1 min
Tempo: (week 1-2: 4:0:2) (week 3-4: 3:0:1) (week 5+: 2:0:1)
- Bulgarian Split Squat (superset each side)
- Fitball Chest Press
- One-legged Deadlift (superset each side)
- Arnold Press standing on Bosu
- Full Squat on Bosu
- One-arm DB Row (superset each side)
- Incline Bench Press superset with Bench Pull
- Deadlift
- Chin Ups
- Balance on Fitball
- Medicine Ball Twist
Once you've done at least 6 weeks of this style of training, it's time to move into Sports Specific Hypertrophy (SSH).
In SSH, there is still a focus on fast movement. Protocols will largely resemble max strength training (which, at your age, and with your limited experience, you should not be venturing into - Max Strength is for trainees who've been at it for over a year), however at a lighter load. You want to do 2-4 sets per exercise, on top of at least 1 warm up set. You want to do every rep hard and fast, remembering the 2:0:1 tempo you've built up to in AA. And you want to do each working set to fatigue, then rest 3 minutes and do it again. You'll need the 3 min rest to allow full recovery of both ATP (energy) and your neurons. This type of hypertrophy training focuses on fast-twitch muscle fibres, being activated in a fast way. You want to start out doing sets of 12 reps, then, over the weeks (or even months) build up intensity until you can only do 8 reps per set. An SSH program might look like this:
Sessions/Week: 3
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
Rest: 3 min
Tempo: 2:0:1
- Deadlifts
- Bench Press
- Squats
- Chin Ups
- Military Press
- Bent Over Row
Conversely, you may elect to do an A/B split, such as:
Day 1 (A):
- Squats
- Bench Press
- Bent Over Row
Day 2 (B):
- Deadlifts
- Military Press
- Chin Ups
I suggest that you do SSH for 6 weeks at 12 reps, then do 6 weeks at 10 reps. On the first of these second 6 weeks, stop 2 reps short of fatigue, and only do 2 sets/exercise. This becomes your deload week, which you'll need to help prevent overtraining. During this second SSH stage, do a fourth set of squats, taking away all weight but the bar itself, and perform jumping squats for this final set. This is a power set, and you are aiming to jump as high as possible with every rep. As soon as you lose height, finish the set. This set is not to the point of fatigue. Also during this time, do a fourth set of deadlifts, once again stripping the bar of all excess load, and perform a power shrug (that is, a high velocity deadlift with a shrug in the top position). Again, complete to speed fatigue, not to muscular fatigue.
Do one more 6 week period of SSH, this time doign 8 reps per set. Once again, deload in the first week. This time, instead of jumping squats and power shrugs, you'll do a power clean after every set of squats or deadlifts. And this final 6 week phase should bring you up to 6 months of training for strength and mass without substituting speed. Whether or not you'll gain the full 25 lb is dependent on many things (doing the exercises correctly, having a caloric surplus of 500kcal/day, consuming 1.2-2g protein per kg body weight/day, sleeping 8 hours a day, and the one uncontrollable factor: genetics). But it's a realistic goal that may be achievable, and meanwhile you'll be doing training that should benefit your running rather than hinder it.
If you haven't done any sports-specific resistance training as of yet, you'll need to do Anatomical Adaptation (AA) first. This will mean light weights (10-20 reps) as you learn to do the exercises you'll train more intensely at down to track. During an AA phase (which should last at least 6 weeks), you generally do many exercises each session for only a couple sets each, with a fast but stable concentric action.
Hey goldfish, will I gain a significant size with this, as well as strength, as I am a runningback in football, need to be BIG, FAST, and EXPLOSIVE
Yes. You probably won't gain as much muscle and strength in the AA phase as in the SSH phase, but if you do it right you will make decent gains at this point, relative to your requirements. The weight is all in the hypertrophy zone, and the types of exercises are very neurologically demanding, which is where you make your real gains in strength. Exercises such as split squats and deadlifts are also very specific for the needs of a runner, and building up to a fast tempo (which you will maintain through SSH) will be important for maintaining running speed. It's vital that you go through this phase before the SSH phase, to prepare your connective tissues for what's ahead of you. If you don't do the AA phase, then you significantly increase the risk of injury. Once you progress into the SSH phase, you'll be lifting heavier, harder and faster, using very functional exercises. If you read all of my posts, there's the inclusion of power exercises in the last 3 months, which will be very important for your explosive performance on the field. At this time, you will also still be doing SSH, gaining muscle mass as you go.
okay sorry for the pain in the but questions. I was planning this program out with my phys ed teacher. He said that I should, for sure aim for less reps and go more weight, what do you think. And I do have some backround info on working out/ fitness and stuff. But i always like to discuss these things. 15 reps, isnt 15-20 reps for cutting? not sure lol. And Caloric intake and stuff, what should i maintain at.
No worries, I enjoy answering.
There is no rep range specific for cutting. Higher rep ranges are commonly used, but not mandatory. The functions of resistance training during a cut phase are to maintain current muscle by keeping the muscles stimulated, and to increase the metabolic demands of the body. Both these functions are achieved in training the exact same way that anabolic functions are achieved to promote muscular hypertrophy. The only difference is nutrition. I've known some people to lose weight while doing 8 reps, and others to bulk up doing 30+.
You asked in one of your other threads how much weight I expect you could gain over 6 months following my instructions. I don't like to state specifics or promise that you'll make certain progress, but if you're doing 3 sessions a week, completing the exercises properly, getting the nutrients in, recovering sufficiently and your genetics and hormones are all in synch, you should theoretically be able to gain 1-2kg muscle per month, averaging out to 6-12 kg over 6 months, which is about 13-26 lb. You may also gain weight in increased glucose and hydrogen storage, and it's you may gain some excess weight in fat as you bulk up (but for a football player, this isn't necessarily bad, as fat = cushioning).
For your nutrition, I'd aim for 2,500-3,000kcal a day as a guestimate. You need 500kcal more than what you're using up every day, if you figure out how much you'd need for maintenance, add 500kcal on top of this. Adding a serve of dehydrated fruit pieces, a glass of milk and an extra sandwich to your daily intake would probably achieve this.
EDIT: I forgot to address my concerns on how heavy you should be lifting. There's a lot of sports coaches who will say that you should just lift heavy for sports. This is ignoring a lot of biomechanical issues. As a matter of injury prevention, you should always start light and work your way up. If you look at what I've recommended, I've given 4 phases, each 6 weeks long. The first phase is 15 reps/set, the second 12, the third 10, and the last phase is 8 reps per set. It's gradual progressions getting heavier (speaking of which, you should be lifting a heavier weight for the same number of reps each week, if not each workout), and because of the intensity I'm recommending you work at, the final phase actually borders between sports-specific hypertrophy and maximum strength.
There is no rep range specific for cutting. Higher rep ranges are commonly used, but not mandatory. The functions of resistance training during a cut phase are to maintain current muscle by keeping the muscles stimulated, and to increase the metabolic demands of the body. Both these functions are achieved in training the exact same way that anabolic functions are achieved to promote muscular hypertrophy. The only difference is nutrition. I've known some people to lose weight while doing 8 reps, and others to bulk up doing 30+.
You asked in one of your other threads how much weight I expect you could gain over 6 months following my instructions. I don't like to state specifics or promise that you'll make certain progress, but if you're doing 3 sessions a week, completing the exercises properly, getting the nutrients in, recovering sufficiently and your genetics and hormones are all in synch, you should theoretically be able to gain 1-2kg muscle per month, averaging out to 6-12 kg over 6 months, which is about 13-26 lb. You may also gain weight in increased glucose and hydrogen storage, and it's you may gain some excess weight in fat as you bulk up (but for a football player, this isn't necessarily bad, as fat = cushioning).
For your nutrition, I'd aim for 2,500-3,000kcal a day as a guestimate. You need 500kcal more than what you're using up every day, if you figure out how much you'd need for maintenance, add 500kcal on top of this. Adding a serve of dehydrated fruit pieces, a glass of milk and an extra sandwich to your daily intake would probably achieve this.
EDIT: I forgot to address my concerns on how heavy you should be lifting. There's a lot of sports coaches who will say that you should just lift heavy for sports. This is ignoring a lot of biomechanical issues. As a matter of injury prevention, you should always start light and work your way up. If you look at what I've recommended, I've given 4 phases, each 6 weeks long. The first phase is 15 reps/set, the second 12, the third 10, and the last phase is 8 reps per set. It's gradual progressions getting heavier (speaking of which, you should be lifting a heavier weight for the same number of reps each week, if not each workout), and because of the intensity I'm recommending you work at, the final phase actually borders between sports-specific hypertrophy and maximum strength.
Last edited: