My Mass Building Plan

I've spent the past several months really focusing on getting lean.  Through a round of P90x2 and then Asylum, I've gotten my weight down and body fat down to a level that I'm very comfortable with.  Now, I'd like to add a little size via muscle mass.  It's a vanity thing, but I'd like to have more of the V shape and bigger arms and legs.  I know that Tony Horton's programs are about functional fitness, but I also know that with the right mix of weights and reps, you can add bulk.  Muscle growth, or if you like scientific terms, hypertrophy, won't mean that I'm stronger, but hopefully I will look better.

Getting Started

I don't believe you should try to put on muscle until you have your weight and body fat under control.  For me, that means weighing alot less than I ever thought I would.  When I got started, I figured that at 5'9", I would be good at 180 lbs.  I think that is where I was is my early college years.  When all was said and done, it turns out that my body wanted to get down to 155 lbs. before my abs started coming in.  You need to eat to grow and growing while you're trying to shrink requires a very delicate balance that many people can't achieve.  You also have to be very fit.  I think you need to be able to get through P90x moving a fair amount of weight and doing all of the pull-ups, all of the cardio, and all of the Yoga.  You need to have a good foundation of fitness before you attempt a mass building routine.

Reps and Weights

To build mass, you need to move more iron than you were before.  Tony always says 8-10 for size, 12-15 for toning.  To trigger your muscles to grow, they need to be overloaded.  My target is to shoot for 6-10 reps and to fail at or before I get to 10 in every set.  Granted, that's not going to happen with pure body weight exercises push-ups or pull-ups  I plan to add my weighted vest to the equation though to up the resistance.  Other options might include a backpack with some weights in it or bands.  For cardio routines, I'll use wrist and ankle weights.  Everything should be harder and require more force than I'm used to.

Nutrition

Just like you need to run a caloric deficit to lose weight, to add mass, you need to consume more calories than you burn.  Like I mentioned, it's a tricky balance though.  You don't want to add fat, you want lean muscle.  My goal is to slightly reduce my body fat percentage to 8%-9% while adding 5-10 lbs of weight.  Some of that will be fat, but my overall look should be leaner and more muscular.  I've been maintaining my weight at 2400-2600 calories.  With this mass building round, I'm shooting for 2700-3000 calories per day and a 40%/40%/20% mix of carbs/protein/fats.

Recovery

Muscle grows when it has time to heal.  So, recovery is going to be a key part of my mass building plan.  My schedule is going to look more like the P90x2 plan of 3 lifting days, 1 cardio day, 1 yoga day, and 2 active rest days.  I'm also going to do abs on the non-lifting days. I want to be able to give everything I have to the lifting workouts and when I'm not lifting, I want my body to rest.

My Mass Building Schedule

So, now the moment you've been waiting for, the plan.
Block 1 - 3 Weeks
Monday: Chest, Shoulders, Tris
Tuesday: Light Cardio (e.g. Cardio X) and Ab Ripper X
Wednesday: Legs and Back
Thursday: P90x2 Recovery & Mobility and X2 Ab Ripper
Friday: Back and Biceps
Saturday: X2 Yoga
Sunday: Rest

Block 2 - 3 Weeks
Monday: Chest and Back
Tuesday: Light Cardio (e.g. Cardio X) and Ab Ripper X
Wednesday: Shoulders and Arms
Thursday: P90x2 Recovery & Mobility and X2 Ab Ripper
Friday: Legs and Back
Saturday: X2 Yoga
Sunday: Rest

Recovery - 1 Week
Monday: P90x2 Recovery & Mobility
Tuesday: X2 Yoga
Wednesday: Core Synergistics
Thursday: Kenpo X
Friday: One on One Fountain of Youth Yoga
Saturday: P90x2 Recovery & Mobility
Sunday: Rest

Block 3 - 2 Weeks
Repeat Block 1 with more weight and fewer reps

Block 4 - 2 Weeks
Repeat Block 2 with more weight and fewer reps

Block 5 - 1 Week
Repeat Block 1 with even more weight and even fewer reps

Block 6 - 1 Week
Repeat Block 2 with even more weight and even fewer reps

Recovery - 1 Week
Repeat the last recovery week

What about Cardio?

Intense cardio like Plyo X burn a ton of calories.  I'm trying to add calories and not punish my muscles.  There will only be one cardio day per week, and it won't be a killer, Asylum/Insanity type workout.  This will probably be my biggest challenge, but I want to grow.  So I want to life as much as I can and rest as much as possible in between.


I'm hoping to get alot out of this routine and I'll report my results back when I'm done.  Give it a shot if you want and let me know if it helps you to

BUILD MASS!!!