training for 8 months.re-evaluation, need advice

[C00L]

Months 1-3 trained at home, full body for first 6 weeks, then basic 3 day split the last 6 weeks.

Months 4-6

Continued 3 day split, continued to gain strength, lose fat, and gain muscle


Months 7-8 (now)

- experimented with new programs..tried 5 day split for the last 6 weeks.
- began suffering from overtraining, diet was decent but was only getting 6 hours of sleep (tried making it up in naps) but i was burned out on lifting.
- was doing roughly 18-20 sets for each body part.

*Current situation*

i took this last week off and now im back. My goal now is to gain 30 lbs in the next 12 months. I can do this. However i am going to need to start off on the right foot with a proper diet plan and exercise regimen. i am going for mass, if i gain some fat then so be it, however i do not want to go about 12-13% BF

I am opting for a 4 day split for now but i am open to any suggestions.however im not sure how i should do it.

I was thinking

Mon - chest
Tues - back/shoulders
wed - off
thursday - Arms
friday - legs

i will do abs/forearms as i feel. training each probably 2x a week.

here is an example of a day at the gym...

chest
- incline db press 2 warmup, 3 working
- flat db press 4 sets
- flat db flys 4 sets
-chest press 4 sets
-cable cross over 3 sets

That would be a typical chest day...too much volume?


So basically yeah thats it. I supplement with ON whey and muscle milk (for night) and thats it.

So any advice or suggestion on where i should take this from here? I deadlift 185 lbs (with straps), so for my size i dunno how good that is.

I was thinking of buying the anthony ellis guide because i dont feel like diesels bulking guide is specific enough.

 

[manuva]

Thats 18 working sets plus 2 warm up sets.... insane.

All you need to do to stimulate muscle growth is lift heavy enough to cause micro-tears in the muscle. As the body repairs the tears over the next few days, the muscle increases in size to better handle a heavy load.

IF YOU ARE LIFTING PROPERLY, IT DOES NOT TAKE 18 WORKING SETS TO CAUSE MICRO-TEARS.

Personally I achieve the same effect with 2 exercises per muscle group, 2 working sets per exercise.

I have no idea how long it takes to complete 20 sets in the gym, because I've never done it, but I'd suggest at least 2 hours if done 'properly'.

There are very few people out there how can put in 2 hours per night in the gym, 4 or 5 nights a week. After a few weeks of that, not only will they be grossly over-trained, but they're commitment and enthusiasm will be lacking, causing their attendance to drop off.

You're better off sticking with something shorter, more enjoyable and thus easier to commit to for the long term. It will be equally effective if not moreso, as it will reduce the chance of over-training.

 

[Hoppy]

Mon - chest
Tues - back/shoulders
wed - off
thursday - Arms
friday - legs

You may want to split arm up into triceps and bicepts and work them into your other days.

Put triceps in with chest and biceps in with back.

Aslo move your shoulder exercise farther away from your chest. Alot of chest exercises also effect that muscle group.