Lifting For Size Consensus

UnbreakableFrame · 2019-12-11T16:23:38+00:00

Lift your spoon to your face for 5 sets of 12 reps.

SaLted_peanUTs · 2019-12-11T16:32:10+00:00

Eat and add Wendler's Boring But Big to your current 5/3/1 programming. I would look at doing the Boring But Big 3 month challenge. Its detailed here:

https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/boring-but-big-3-month-challenge

RP_PO · 2019-12-11T16:17:33+00:00

Just eat more, honestly. It’s bulking season, and you are on TRT anyhow, so I wouldnt worry much about losing abs....you likely wont.

I switch things up every 6-8 months or so. I go between reps of 3-6 for 6 or so months, then hit more volume of 8-12 reps for 4 or so months. Gain more size in that hypertrophy rep range though. I can gain strength without adding much size on 5/3/1, but when I crank up the calories I can.

red-sfpplus · 2019-12-11T18:49:08+00:00

If you are not big I don't care about your opinion.

Well fuck I am out then.

HeckleandChide · 2019-12-11T19:25:52+00:00

Eat.

Sleep.

Lift.

Stretch.

Hormones.

Eat

You need to overeat your TDEE. Start at 500+ and adjust from there. If you are serious about this (aka you will make the time / find the $$$), do not drop the calories if you add too much fat. Instead, focus on quality of calories and additional LISS cardio. Most pro card guys do a shit ton of incline treadmill work at low speeds.

One more point of emphasis. Quantity is more important than quality but quality still matters. If you get your quantity from McDonalds, you will look like a powerlifter. Focus on non-processed foods as much as possible. Avoid sugary drinks and desserts. Carbs will ideally be complex & organic. Rinse and repeat.

Sleep

8+ hours per night, every night, for optimal growth. Research sleep hygiene. Get checked for sleep apnea if you even think you might have it (even lean guys who lift can get it due to thickening neck muscles from squats / deadlifts). Get a white noise maker. Get a sleep mask. Go to bed at the same time every night and avoid more than 1 serving of alcohol ahead of bed because alcohol fucks up REM / stage 3 of sleep. Tart cherry juice for the win.

Lift

Volume. Blood flow constriction. Drop sets. Go to failure. Mix it up. Stay medium to high on the rep range. And probably the most important for hypertrophy, focus on your mind-muscle connection. Feel the muscle grow. CT Fletcher "I command you to grow!!" that shit. If you are 100% focused on hypertrophy, ditch 531, even BBB. 531 is awesome for power lifters and good for power builders but it is just not optimal for pure hypertrophy. Look up Renaissance Periodization or someone like that.

Stretch

Foam roll. Lacrosse ball. Myofascial release for additional room for hypertrophy. Injury prevention. You get the point.

Hormones

Don't be afraid to let the E2 get a little higher than optimal-for-mood as higher E2 has been shown to improve hypertrophy in some individuals. If you are 100% serious about this though, you know there are better options than test. Enough said on that.

JoeBuckYourslf · 2019-12-11T16:16:31+00:00

You need a surplus of calories. You’re small. Eat. I’d say start with 250-400 extra calories a week and reassess.

Don’t get caught up in which routine is best.

Edit: I too am on TRT. I normally run 1-2 cycles a year and then drop down to TRT and run a couple marathons and a few half’s and do a bunch of endurance shit like swim and mountain bike. When I do this I weigh around 210. My last cycle I was 245. It was test, deca, anadrol for 20 weeks. Used moderate doses and just stayed consistent. I got very large. I’d switch up reps every 4 weeks and basically rotated this...

4x12-15 (volume) reps for one month

4x6-8 (strength) reps for one month

Repeat two more months.

Anyway, hope this helps.

Eat mother fucker.

RedPillGlasses · 2019-12-11T16:59:22+00:00

You’re going to get A LOT of different opinions on this. Here’s mine.

531 is too low volume to create hypertrophy.

I do “bro splits”, they work for me. MWF, chest/back, arms, shoulders/core/legs.

As long as vary reps between 6-12, and change exercises every couple months, I continue to grow.

coachdad8 · 2019-12-11T17:41:36+00:00

Gaining mass forum on Reddit is very good but let me summarize and save you the effort:

Eat 5,000-10,000 calories a day. As a Hard Gainer myself, I eat between 3,000-4,000 calories a day EVERYDAY just to maintain my weight and muscle mass. If I want to bulk up I have to lift heavy, limit conditioning workouts and EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT until I'm sick.

hack3ge · 2019-12-12T13:01:54+00:00

Your lifts are decent but you are definitely small. I was you about a year and a half ago - same height and weight (I was closer to 150-155 but was 9% BF) I now weigh 190lbs with visible abs (not as lean as I was before though) - deadlift over 500lbs, squat over 400, bench over 300.

The good news is you are on TRT so cutting is like a cheat code you lose no muscle and bulking is ridiculous because you barely gain fat.

The bad news is there is no way to get the physique you want without blasting and cruising and adding other shit. I put on a good 15 lbs on TRT at the beginning and still felt small as fuck. My 12 week blast I put on almost 20lbs and have kept pretty much all of it. Im guessing I need to be about 215 before I cut to feel huge - that shit is gonna take a couple of years because I got 6 month doctor bloods to deal with too.

I still fucking feel small so figure that out.

BobbyPeru · 2019-12-11T19:54:28+00:00

Even on a “normal” TRT dose, you should have much better gains than without it. But , like everyone is saying, it’s simple ... eat more, preferably clean, and workout hard

screechhater · 2019-12-13T04:45:16+00:00

Gonna have to eat and crush the water.

5x day. 7 hours sleep minimum. I use a nasal strip to get into deep sleep.

Not on gear, but god man, bulking is fucking work with or work out it. Gonna have to get in the mindset regardless and tune the distractions out

I would simply state bulking is hitting the macros. I ended up with pb in some shakes as my appetite severely gets cut on 2x day workouts.

gameoflibidos · 2019-12-11T21:07:38+00:00

Calorie surplus with high levels of protein and the basic rule is;

High reps/ lower weight is better at training hypertrophy or muscle growth.

Low reps / higher weight is better at training for pure strength.

It's best to rotate between the 2 every few weeks keep the muscles confused. Change program fairly often.

TheGoldenShroom · 2019-12-17T21:13:34+00:00

Look into the Super Squat program if you want to pack on some mass. It is basically a group of accessory lifts that are built around a single set of 20 squats that increases in weight every workout.

Be sure to bring your big boy pants to the gym. If you aren’t having your ass handed to you by the program you aren’t doing it correctly.

lolomotif12 · 2019-12-11T22:42:41+00:00

Just be patient, keep lifting and eat right. There is no secret formula you just have to be consistent.