I need advice for starting out a weightlifting program for mass gain

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porkchopexpress

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I'm a 5'10, 161 lbs. male, good shape, a little bit of fat around my abs when I sit down, pretty decent muscle tone, and I have been lifting for about two years. I never actually had much of a plan before, I mostly did about 4 sets of 10 reps for every muscle I worked. Now, however, I want to start a program for mass gains (I want to bulk up because next year I want to join the rugby team at my school). Heres what I worked out as of yet:


MF:
Bench Press
Military Press
Shoulder Shrugs
Bicep Curls

W Su:
Squats
Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts
Calf Raises
(any suggestions, please step in)

My main concern, however, is that I'm not really sure how many sets and reps I should do. I found this one guide that said something along these lines:

(For example, for Bench Press)
5 Warm up sets:
1st- 20 Reps of 20% of what I plan on lifting
2nd - 10-12 Reps of 30%
3rd - 6-8 Reps of 60%
4th - 3-5 reps of 80%
5th - 1 Rep of 90-95%
2-3 Work Sets:
1st - 5-6 Reps of the amount I plan on lifting (120 lbs)
2nd - Same
3rd - Same

I use that for Bench Press, Dead Lifts, Squats, and Military. For bicep, tricep, shrugs, and calf-raises, I do your normal 3-4 sets of 10-12.

I believe this is a good program, however, I figured that it would be best to get another's opinion concerning mass gaining workouts. If anyone has any suggestion for anything, please, I'm all ears.

Thank you
 
don't forget about your diet. Your nutrition is AT LEAST as important as your workouts. For building mass, you really need to be stacking up on proteins as your body needs those to build muscle.
 
One of my all time favorite programs is OVT over on the t-mag.com site. Go check it out. It’s just about perfect for putting on muscle, and dropping fat at the same time. And yes nutrition is very important, nutrition can either enhance or undo what you do in the gym.
 
porkchopexpress,

I would say that 5 warm up sets is unnecessary. To build mass you need to work the muscle as intensly as possible.. this means maximum weight in minimum time.

Rather than gradually increasing the weight, and trying to lift more and more heavy when you are getting more and more tired, I would reverse this and start out with your heaviest weight.

EG. bench press - one warm up set 12 reps at about 40% maximum weight.

working set 1 = maximum possible weght, 4-8 reps
repeat for sets 2 and 3.

if you get tired and have to reduce the weight in order to make the 4-8 reps, do so.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to try and review and reconfigure my workout.
 
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