Steel Crew; Manual Labor - Lifting 3-Days/Week??

[WTDeBerry]

I have recently decided to get back into weight training. Functional strength is a plus, but I am mainly doing it for 'bodybuilding/aesthetic' purposes. I am out of town Monday - Thursday and work on a steel crew (doing an airplane hangar right now at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base.)

I understand my diet needs to be on point. I am wanting to bulk up from September 9 - March 9 and then cut through the Spring/Summer months.

I am considering using a Push/Pull/Legs routine. As in, when I get back into town on Thursday night, go to the gym Friday/Saturday/Sunday and then back to work Monday morning, get home Thursday evening, and repeat.

My intention is to keep my workouts between 1 - 1 1/2hr. If I were to follow this programming, yet hit it hard with a good amount of volume and make sure I eat every chance I get (homemade weight gainers, protein shakes, whole foods, high protein, high carbs, etc.) would this be doable? I know burning as many calories a day as I am, it will be a tall order and I am a 'hard gainer' anyways. I will only be supplementing with creatine, a multivitamin, fish oil, probably glucosamine for my joints, and protein shakes (either a blended protein or just use whey in the am and post-workout once I'm home and casein in the pm and before bed.) Have considered also possibly throwing in some liver tabs with every meal.

I am not a newby, necessarily, but other than working out in high school and then PT when I was in the Army, I have not worked out consistently, so any and all criticism and/or suggestions are more than welcome. I look forward to tapping into the knowledge of WillBrink and others on these forums who have experience in this particular area. I apologize for the lengthy post, but hope to get a good discussion started on the subject.

I am 29 and currently 5' 8" at 152lbs. and would estimate my BF at somewhere in the 9-12% range.

Thanks again, in advance, for any and all help and I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you.

[Mr. Goodtimes]

I'm a Firefighter, small business owner and Crossfit coach. The gym I coach at utilizes a traditional Crossfit/strength and conditioning program. Because of my jobs my schedule is all messed up but it ends up working out fine.

I workout three days a week with a day of rest in between. I rotate between tues/thurs/sat and mon/wed/fri.

Mon (or tues) I deadlift and bench press. On wed (or thurs) I squat and overhead press. On Friday I do what's called a "MAF" wod. It's like a long slow distance run with weights mixed in.

The MAF workout may not really apply to you as you're looking more for aesthetics so maybe you could replace it with some good sled work and kettle bell work one day a week.

I supplement all of my basic lifts with complex barbel movements and other multi joint movements (such as pull ups and chin ups).

I'm in and out of the gym in an hour. For my squats, deadlifts, bench and overhead I utilize a program called Wendler 531. It's an excellent program for putting on both size and strength, and it's quick. You're in and out.

Eat a **** load of good quality foods + complex barbell movements - machines + kettle bell and sled work = profit


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[freedomfirst]

How much bulk do you want to put on? I'm your height, approx 190 lbs (lean) +/- 5 lbs. The only supplements I use are multivitamin and protein powder.

What you have in mind is definitely do able. Here's what I do, keep in mind everyone is different/responds to different things - what works for me, may not work for you, but this works for me...
Day 1: Post breakfast workout (weights only, super sets, routines are changed every 3 months or so), 45 mins long. Have a shake immediately after, then a meal 45-60 mins after the shake. Then take a nap. Then eat again when you wake up and get ready for workout 2 (again, 45 mins long) of the day. Repeat post workout shake/meal.
Day 2: One 45 min long workout, same eating/shake routines as above.
Day 3: An exact repeat of Day 1, with the only differences being different workouts, obviously.

You will have to push yourself hard in the gym, a lot of people I know that want to gain NEVER push themselves hard enough. Stick with your goals, you won't gain overnight, it'll take time.

The hardest thing for you will be maintaining during work. You will need to keep eating and eating. I pack food and shakes for work everyday. It's pain in the ass, but it seems to be working.

Not sure what your living situation is when you're working, but you could always pack some dumb bells with you and do some simple arm workouts mid work week.

[mark5pt56]

From my personal past experiences when I lifted heavy was that sometimes less is more. Meaning the long grueling sessions where counter productive after a couple to three weeks. I was working to hard and was not healing. It took me some time to figure some things out and did a 7-8 week cycle, each lift done on separate days, M/W/F then cycle off on active rest for 2-3 weeks. My work outs where 45 minutes max. I'm at the same height, hover around 180, when I lifted, I was at 215-220, BF was less than 10. It was hard to get there and keep it there and decided it wasn't worth the toll to stay there. Just remember your body type may not allow you to gain much more and be healthy for your frame. Also ask yourself if it's in your best interest as a long term plan.
And yes, you have to eat, I mean eat constantly.

[Det-Sog]

I've been a gym-rat for over 30 years now. I learned a lot from making mistakes.

Work out smarter as opposed to harder. You can build mass better with less weight and proper form, as opposed to just slinging heavy weight. Keep your form, so you you reduce the risk of injury. Injuries SUCK, and will take away your gains. Be smart.

You should NEVER spend more than ONE HOUR in the gym. If you can't do everything that you need in 45-60 minutes, you are either flapping your gums too much, or over training.

Over training is worse than under training. You should be fine at three days. Do different body parts each time.

Stick with the basics. No need for fancy "fads". At your age, the basics will be all that you need starting out. Build a base and get experience knowing how your body reacts to the training. Once you build your base and get to know your body better, you can start getting into the "trend of the year".

Don't forget to do at least a little cardio... I know, cardio SUCKS. It will pay off when you are my age.

Diet is going to make or break your routine. If you can't control your pie-hole, you are going to make twice as much work for yourself.

Good luck!

[brickboy240]

Cardio sucks less on a bike. In fact, it is damn fun.

Think about adding cycling into the mix. It also keeps the waistline in check.

[dobe]

I've been a gym-rat for over 30 years now. I learned a lot from making mistakes.

Work out smarter as opposed to harder. You can build mass better with less weight and proper form, as opposed to just slinging heavy weight. Keep your form, so you you reduce the risk of injury. Injuries SUCK, and will take away your gains. Be smart.

You should NEVER spend more than ONE HOUR in the gym. If you can't do everything that you need in 45-60 minutes, you are either flapping your gums too much, or over training.

Over training is worse than under training. You should be fine at three days. Do different body parts each time.

Stick with the basics. No need for fancy "fads". At your age, the basics will be all that you need starting out. Build a base and get experience knowing how your body reacts to the training. Once you build your base and get to know your body better, you can start getting into the "trend of the year".

Don't forget to do at least a little cardio... I know, cardio SUCKS. It will pay off when you are my age.

Diet is going to make or break your routine. If you can't control your pie-hole, you are going to make twice as much work for yourself.

Good luck!

You're right about the diet. It's everything, and it's my weakness.
OP, you mentioned hard gainer. I had two areas of my body that were hard gainers, calves and forearms. The way I added mass to those two areas was to work those areas twice a week. I generally work out 4 days a week with weights. I break up leg workouts over two separate days. It hurts enough to do legs, I can't see putting all of that pain into one day.

As far a supplements, the only thing I would add would be a BCAA drink during or immediately after a workout.

Resistance training is great, and even heavy weight training can be done as we age.

Good luck.


“We used to carry knives,” he said. “Now we have to carry keys.” China Fences In Its Nomads, and an Ancient Life Withers; Andrew Jacobs; New York Times; July 12, 2015.