Bringing up a badypart ... what do you do?

[Massive-E]

Hi Guys,

I know this question has been asked a 100 times and i have read numerous articals, posts, and professional advice columns on this matter.

I have two body part areas im trying to bring up a lot for my next competition in mid 2012, and i could really do with some input on them as im struggling.

Quik stats are
Male, 31, 6ft 1" (184cm) 235lbs'ish, 12% BF

For my current Diet and Meds see my cycle log here

My current split is 4 days
Monday - Legs
Tuesday - Back, calfs
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Chest, Bi's
Friday - Shoulders, Tri's
Saturday - Off
Sunday - Off


Firstly Back ...

I have been trying for a long time to widen my back and draw the lats down more to a V-taper. Nothing i seem to do has that much effect on this area. The Thickness is good (although could always be better) but lat length and overall width disappoint me.

I have tried varying my protocols, routines etc etc and strangely aside from leg day, back is my favourite thing to train as it really pushes you to the boundary!

My current routine for back is ..

Pull-ups - 4 sets, 8-10reps .. 2 x body weight, 2 x increasing weight : 45sec rest
T-Bar Row - 4 sets, 8-10 reps : 45sec rest
Neutral grip pull downs - 4 sets, Progressive overload protocol (e.g. 1set = 80kgx10, 100kgx10, 80kgx10, 70kgx10)
Reverse grip pull down - 4 sets, PrgOvrld protocol
Close neutral grip row - 4 sets, PrgOvrld protocol

Now i know that this is a lot of sets, and it doesnt include the king which is Dead lifts. But i have tried dead's and never reaped the benefits so many swear by.

Any suggestions to protocol and exercises would be greatfully recieved.


Secondly Quads (outer Sweeps) ...

Since my first show i realised that being 6ft 1" tall would be a problem for quad width, but i'll be damned if this is to be my downfall.

When on gear and training hard my quads are a good size for my height, but as soon as the diet comes to the final 4 weeks the sweeps seem to disappear off the side and the width is all gone. Clearly i need to build this area up more whilst i have the chance and benefit of all the food and meds in me right now.

My current routine for leg day is ..

Free weight back squats - 5sets, 10+reps and around 60sec rest period
Leg press - 5set, 10+reps
Plate loading squat machine (Close Hack stance) - 5sets, 10+reps
Superset Leg extension / Lying Hamstring curl - 5sets, reps to failure
Standing Hamstring Curl - 5sets, reps to failure


Again, any suggestions to protocol and exercises would be greatfully recieved.


Overall i just dont get it, with the amount pumping in, the volume of work, clean diet for bulking neither bodypart wants to grow. So i turn to you guys, the forum floor ... help me out guys ...

 

[h8tr3d]

you could always try IGF if you havent already. And for the quad-sweep, i suggest pinning there.

 

[Massive-E]

you could always try IGF if you havent already. And for the quad-sweep, i suggest pinning there.

Am taking IGF at the moment and have just scored some MC immense Growth Factor too I'll be working with this to try and help it.

IYO would you shoot IM direct to the muscle or just whack it in SubQ as it goes systemic any way?

 

[big lifter]

with the igf mate, apply to the outer quad.

with your back, holy shit that is alot of sets.. if im reading correctly your doing 56 sets on your back?! i am actually a fan of high volume training but that is an insane amount..if you were going to pyramid the weight on the pulldown sets and the close grip row, you could easily just get away with 1 set of each excersise (which will still be 4 sets). have you been doing that routine for back for a long time? if so then i would probably change that first off, if you have just changed to it recently to try and get growth out of it then you might of went a bit overboard with the sets.

what i would advise mate, with back i think that your better off feeling the movement, take advantage of the excersise your doing, there is a HUGE range of motion in back excersises, eg. when your doing seated rows do them arnold style, let the weight pull you in and get the full stretch and when you contract pull the bar right back and squeeze.

you will really feel it if you take the time to put the effort into the form instead of all those extra sets which IMO will just exhaust you more than anything no matter the amount of meds your on.

goodluck mate.

 

[Shaptown]

Am taking IGF at the moment and have just scored some MC immense Growth Factor too I'll be working with this to try and help it.

IYO would you apply direct to the muscle or just whack it in SubQ as it goes systemic any way?

MC's Immense Growth factor is IGF-1 LR3....

 

[h8tr3d]

Am taking IGF at the moment and have just scored some MC immense Growth Factor too I'll be working with this to try and help it.

IYO would you shoot IM direct to the muscle or just whack it in SubQ as it goes systemic any way?

I apply to the muscle im working that day because of the nice pump you get. I have not been using IGF for the pump due to this crazy drol im using

 

[saudades]

From what I see as far as your workout routine goes, it would seem you are in the same rut that I was in. None of that volume will do much for you at all if you really aren't hitting the muscle you're trying to stimulate to grow.

For the lats, more than likely you need to retrain the way you perform those exercises. There's a great article that was posted about working the lats (so search for it), and it mentions using a light weight with the wide lat bar. You first take your position and instead of coming all the way down, flex just the lats down (I'm probably not describing it correctly) so your shoulders come down (they'll only come down a bit), but not your arms. Concentrate on flexing that part, and when you're comfortable with it, you continue the movement down making sure to keep the lats contracted, and your arms go down in a straight line. None of the yanking the weight, bouncing back and forth with heavy weight here. The article describes it much better. I followed it, and now I can go heavier, and I feel the lats contracting and pulling. I've been seeing my lats widen out pretty quickly since then.

For squats, you may want to use a Smith machine or some other squat machine, use a light weight, and perform squats very deep--ass touching the bottom or almost touching. Feet should be a little further out from you about shoulder width, pointed straight ahead. Keep the back straight during the movement, and try to crank out 30 reps continuously, no locking out the knees or pausing too long at the top, ass almost touches the bottom or does touch the bottom. Do that for 3 sets if you can. Your legs will be on fire. With the legs positioned more forward and you going down much further, this activates your quads, hams, and glutes. A trainer showed me this one (he's a good one--competes regularly, too--has awesome legs). After doing this for a couple of weeks, I've already gained 1/2" on my legs, and I sure hope it continues!

 

[Massive-E]

From what I see as far as your workout routine goes, it would seem you are in the same rut that I was in. None of that volume will do much for you at all if you really aren't hitting the muscle you're trying to stimulate to grow.

For the lats, more than likely you need to retrain the way you perform those exercises. There's a great article that was posted about working the lats (so search for it), and it mentions using a light weight with the wide lat bar. You first take your position and instead of coming all the way down, flex just the lats down (I'm probably not describing it correctly) so your shoulders come down (they'll only come down a bit), but not your arms. Concentrate on flexing that part, and when you're comfortable with it, you continue the movement down making sure to keep the lats contracted, and your arms go down in a straight line. None of the yanking the weight, bouncing back and forth with heavy weight here. The article describes it much better. I followed it, and now I can go heavier, and I feel the lats contracting and pulling. I've been seeing my lats widen out pretty quickly since then.

For squats, you may want to use a Smith machine or some other squat machine, use a light weight, and perform squats very deep--ass touching the bottom or almost touching. Feet should be a little further out from you about shoulder width, pointed straight ahead. Keep the back straight during the movement, and try to crank out 30 reps continuously, no locking out the knees or pausing too long at the top, ass almost touches the bottom or does touch the bottom. Do that for 3 sets if you can. Your legs will be on fire. With the legs positioned more forward and you going down much further, this activates your quads, hams, and glutes. A trainer showed me this one (he's a good one--competes regularly, too--has awesome legs). After doing this for a couple of weeks, I've already gained 1/2" on my legs, and I sure hope it continues!

with the igf mate, apply to the outer quad.

with your back, holy shit that is alot of sets.. if im reading correctly your doing 56 sets on your back?! i am actually a fan of high volume training but that is an insane amount..if you were going to pyramid the weight on the pulldown sets and the close grip row, you could easily just get away with 1 set of each excersise (which will still be 4 sets). have you been doing that routine for back for a long time? if so then i would probably change that first off, if you have just changed to it recently to try and get growth out of it then you might of went a bit overboard with the sets.

what i would advise mate, with back i think that your better off feeling the movement, take advantage of the excersise your doing, there is a HUGE range of motion in back excersises, eg. when your doing seated rows do them arnold style, let the weight pull you in and get the full stretch and when you contract pull the bar right back and squeeze.

you will really feel it if you take the time to put the effort into the form instead of all those extra sets which IMO will just exhaust you more than anything no matter the amount of meds your on.

goodluck mate.

Wicked information i'm gonna give it all a go, thanks so much for all the help so far ... will post how i get along!