Frankie NY's Mass Building Program

quote:

---

I have the perfect remedy. I lie face down on the floor and have my wife (or girlfriend) sit on my lower back and rock back and forth ever so slightly. It helps with soreness immensely

---

...i always suspected you were a kinky b@stard! [:p]

Jimbo

quote:

---

Originally posted by lil_jimmy

quote:

---

I have the perfect remedy. I lie face down on the floor and have my wife (or girlfriend) sit on my lower back and rock back and forth ever so slightly. It helps with soreness immensely

---

...i always suspected you were a kinky b@stard! [:p]

Jimbo

---

I tried it! It was great. I was so sore after doing deads that this really helped.

However, it did not help when she decided that it would help if she walked on my back and then stabbed me with her stilletos...

quote:

---

Originally posted by Frankie NY

Sets and reps? Like I said before, if you want to gain mass you need to stay around 5-6 reps. 4x6, 5x5, and even 5x3 for hardgainers are all good combinations.

---

I am a hard gainer, and I'm 41 years old. Will just 3 reps a set be enough? I know that's what you said, just want to be sure I'm better off doing 5x3 than 4x6 cos it doesn't sound enough.

Thanks again.

Hi Frankie,
I’m new here and I have a question about the routine you outlined on the first page.
How do think it would compare to this 2 day/week routine? Do you see any benefits of one over the other? Thanks

Day 1
Military Press 5x5
Squat 5x5
Chin 5x5

Day2
Deadlift 5x5
Dip 5x5
Row 5x5

Thanks again.

Frankie,

I have been training for a long while now and recently changed my routine as I had been doing the previous one for 12 weeks.

Anyway I changed to 5x5 exactly like the one you originally laid out in this post except on the pull day I used Barbel Curls instead of chins as Curls are my favourite exercise...

Anyway, I have been experiencing lower back probs with Deadlifts and this moved to an upper right back pain and is aggravated. I would describe it as a pain more than just a dull ache actually. I don't think it's normal...

I have booked into see my GP angling for a referral to a sports specialist. So I hope I can get this tomorrow.

The thing is I have Scoliosis (I sound like a broken record keep mentioning this in my posts) and think this is why I get pain which I hope a specialist can confirm.

I was wondering whether it is possible to adjust the Pull and Legs day so that I do a subsitute for Deadlifts and on Legs have a Substitute for Squats?

I know, it is not ideal and I am angry about having to ask because I consider these the 2 most important exercises but I need to work around this problem until I know whats what...

Thanks...

Hi Frankie,
I have decided to give your routine ago as I have been told that my previous routine was too much. Just one question regarding the wide grip overhand chins for pull day, I can do 3sets of 10reps quite easily, so how many reps do you reccomend, do I rep to failure or do I stick to 5x5 sets? If I should stick to 5x5 is there a way of adding extra weight?

Cheers

quote:

---

Originally posted by doe5501

Hi Frankie,
I have decided to give your routine ago as I have been told that my previous routine was too much. Just one question regarding the wide grip overhand chins for pull day, I can do 3sets of 10reps quite easily, so how many reps do you reccomend, do I rep to failure or do I stick to 5x5 sets? If I should stick to 5x5 is there a way of adding extra weight?

Cheers

---

Do 5x5. Get a length of chain and a clip and hang weights off your normal weightlifting belt. Or you can buy a dedicated dipping belt.

Frankie, I'm not a very heavy lifter but I'm getting there, thanks to this program. I'm making great gains with it. I've always avoided using a belt for lifts. even the squat and deadlift. I'm afraid that it would weaken my midsection. I feel a lot of pressure on my lower back doing the standing shoulder press and sometimes when doing B.B. Curl. I don't feel that I need a belt for squat and deadlift. Should I start using one for the standing shoulder press or am I relatively safe if my technique remains good??
Thanks for all the good advice!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ozman

I am a hard gainer, and I'm 41 years old. Will just 3 reps a set be enough? I know that's what you said, just want to be sure I'm better off doing 5x3 than 4x6 cos it doesn't sound enough.

---

I would recommend doing 5x5 or 4x6. You don't want to do 3 rep sets until you've done 5x5 for at least 6 months. Your body won't be ready for such low rep training.

quote:

---

Originally posted by pavilion

Hi Frankie,
I'm new here and I have a question about the routine you outlined on the first page. How do think it would compare to this 2 day/week routine? Do you see any benefits of one over the other?

---

2 day per week routines are fine. Some people find that they make good gains off only training two days a week. When I'm really busy at the gym, I frequently only workout 2 days.

That being said, I think a 3 days split is better for three reasons:

1. It's hard to work everything you want to work in just 2 days.

2. Legs really do deserve their own day. Squatting is so taxing that mixing it in with other major body parts means that you can't devote full effort to them.

3. Inevitably, you end up working biceps and triceps twice one week, which is not best for their growth. Just look at the sample routine you posted as an example. Once a week is enough.

quote:

---

Originally posted by DaveH

I was wondering whether it is possible to adjust the Pull and Legs day so that I do a subsitute for Deadlifts and on Legs have a Substitute for Squats?

---

Until you know what the problem is, I wouldn't deadlift, squat, or do any exercise that involves the back, possibility including overhead presses. There's no point in risking a career ending injury.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lars

I feel a lot of pressure on my lower back doing the standing shoulder press and sometimes when doing B.B. Curl. I don't feel that I need a belt for squat and deadlift. Should I start using one for the standing shoulder press or am I relatively safe if my technique remains good??

---

My pleasure Lars. You shouldn't feel more than a little "pressure" in your lower back when doing barbell curls. Sometimes your lower back is tight after having done deadlifts. If it's more than a little, you might be cheating - using body swap and momentum to hoist the barbell. To really hit the biceps, focus on keeping a relative erect torso and squeezing the biceps to lift the weight.

As long as your technique is good, overhead presses shouldn't create any problems for your lower back. To keep the pressure off your lower back be sure to:

- position feet slightly wider than shoulder width
- don't lock your knees, allow them to flex slightly
- don't use any body movement up and down to press the weight

Frankie I need to know what approach is best please. I'm in my 5th week of 5x5 (gaining well), but I read it's better doing progressively heavier warm ups, then one heavy set with your top weight. I've been doing 5 reps 5 sets with full weights.

Is the warm ups a good idea?

I want to check the logic behind it all before I work out tonight, unless you can dismiss it I think it's worth a try anyway?

PauliE:

One work set is not enough volume to make consistent strength and size gains for most people.

Warmup sets are supposed to be just that warmup sets. You want to do enough warm up sets that you are ready to handle your working weight for that workout but not so many warmup sets that you waste energy unnecessarily. 2 warmup sets should be plenty until you start lifting really, really heavy weights, when you'll probably need 3 warmup sets.

The idea of doing 4 warmup sets and only 1 work set is not good unless you are a competitive powerlifter lifting truly monster weights. People that are not in this category and want to do 4 warmup sets and only 1 work set usually chose this path because it's much easier and a lot less work than doing 5 work sets. Stay the course, and you'll reap the rewards.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Frankie NY

quote:

---

Originally posted by DaveH

I was wondering whether it is possible to adjust the Pull and Legs day so that I do a subsitute for Deadlifts and on Legs have a Substitute for Squats?

---

Until you know what the problem is, I wouldn't deadlift, squat, or do any exercise that involves the back, possibility including overhead presses. There's no point in risking a career ending injury.

---

Right you are... Thanks I'll do that I was expecting this answer deep down I just needed it to hear it from somewhere else...

Andyman:

So that your posterior chain has a chance to recover, you always want to put PUSH day in the middle of PULL and LEGS. You can do M:Pull, W:Push, F:Legs OR M:Legs, W:Push, F:Pull. If you have PULL and LEGS one right after the other, then you're working your lower back after only 48 hours rest, not enough time.

There's nothing wrong with intense cardio. In general, I think we vastly exaggerate the effects of cardio on muscle gains. I've seen many a football player make great mass gains while still undertaking an intense cardio program. The key is to make sure that you are getting enough calories and carbs when taking into account higher levels of cardio activity. Guys that don't get good muscle gains while doing cardio are those that aren't eating enough or are undertaking extreme levels of endurance cardio.

I see no problem with your cardio program. The only caveat is that I wouldn't do intense cardio the day of or the day after LEGS day. In your case, I would move LEGS to Friday, since you don't do cardio on Friday or Saturday. Your chest and shoulder growth will not be hindered by training on Wednesday at all.

Frankie:

I've read through this post and others relating to it a few times, and I'm still a bit confused about 5x5. How hard should the first two or 3 sets be. Should they be challenging, or should only the last 1 or 2 be challenging? For instance, if I bench 60kg for 8 reps x 2 sets, what weight would I use for 5x5?

Thanks

ap:

All 5 sets should require a fair amount of effort. They should not be easy. In particular, the last 2 sets should require close to your maximum effort when you first begin 5x5. As you increase poundages, the last 2 sets will require your maximum effort, but you will get stronger each week.

If you bench 60kg for 8 reps x 2 sets and those 2 sets require almost all your effort, then you could start at 70 kg. That being said, you may need to raise or lower the weight. The most important thing is not to start to heavy. It's better to go too light for 2-3 weeks than to go too heavy and immediately plateau.

Thanks, much appreciated.

It's a great routine frankie thanks alot I've just started lifting again and i'm using youre 5x5 style powerlifting. I'm not on full force yet because I'm afraid of injures cause of my poor exepiernce with deadlifts etc. You can see my gains in my journal.

Thanks, Steven