Will DC work for me?

[Marine]

I have a gym at my work where I workout a few days a week but no spotters are really around, nothing to heavy, but just to build up a little. I am a small guy 27 years old, and I weigh right around 150.I lifted in the Marines on and off for 4 years(depending on availability since I served 3 tours and wasnt able to then), and honestly I was up at 162 at one point, but wasnt dieting correctly and lost it all, and now I am starting over.

I plan on Starting next month, my wife and I will be joining our Local YMCA (honestly the only local gym we have)

I want to pack on Muscle and Mass, I heard from a few that DC training will work well, especially since with my work shedule and family, I am only able to workout 3-4 days, and possibly a 5th day every once in awhile.

Could you guys recommend a supplement stack also to help me? I have high metabolism, and I eat alot, and I am currently starting to eat 5-6 meals a day to get calories and protien, but still not gaining any weight..

Thanks

[Michael Travis]

I dont think DC is the right program for you honestly, but I know nothing about you other than this post. It seems you still have alot of room for growth if you are only 150ish. How tall are you? Have you looked into something like 5/3/1? I think you could use other methods for a while seeing great gains before starting something like DC..

just my $.02

good luck with whatever you decide and welcome to IM. There is tons of great info to be soaked up in the pound puppy forum. Just start at sticky #1 and go from there.

[Marine]

Yeah I am new to body building but not weight lifting...

However I am not going to do a strength program

[Adam2433]

Yeah I am new to body building but not weight lifting...

However I am not going to do a strength program

Why not? And why ask for advice if you're not going to listen to it anyway?

[Michael Travis]

Yeah I am new to body building but not weight lifting...

However I am not going to do a strength program

well like I said, good luck.. post up the rest of your stats and you might get more feedback... Again, I think most here will tell you that you're not quite ready for DC based on your weight (wich isn't a knock against you) but people are going to do what they're going to do...

[Carlito Gambino]

Here's my advice:

1. Do a proper upper/lower, horizontal/vertical*, push/pull, whatever...consider doing 5/3/1 as well, it's a solid routine for sure. The reason these are good is because they will work with your schedule and have an optimal frequency for mass gains.
2. You say you eat a lot...I'm almost a 100% sure you don't. Post up what you eat on an average day and we'll judge whether you're getting enough calories in.
3. Focus on strength progression and a surplus in calories. You say you don't wanna do a strength program but guess what? The best gains in muscle mass come from getting stronger...hell this is the cornerstone of DC.
4. DC is a great program...when you're advanced. True DC is hard, very hard. Experiment with rest pause a bit on your assistance work and then imagine doing that (and doing them to true failure) on almost every exercise you do, as well as making massive weight jumps. You'll grow, yeah, but I'm pretty sure a more traditional focus on linear progress will do a whole lot more for you. DC is made for guys who are already big and wanna get bigger.

*Here's what a sample horizontal/vertical would look like (this is actually a routine I used when I became intermediate and it worked very well and is very flexible, I later on started using a lot more rest pause but just start with some straight sets first and use RP on your assistance work):

A

Push press 3x5/15 rep rest pause (alternatives: DB push press, DB press, regular Press, machine press, etc.)
Romanian deadlift 1x5-10 (alternatives: rack deads, regular deadlift, high pulls, power cleans, etc.)
Weighted chin ups 3x6/15-20 rep rest pause (alternatives: lat pulldown, Hammer Strength pulldown, weighted pull ups, rack chins)
Floor skullcrusher 2x10/20-30 rep rest pause (alternatives: pushdowns, PJR pullover, reverse grip bench, other skullcrush variations, etc.)
Ab work (your choice, I like weighted planks and Pallof presses)

B

Squat 3x5 (alternatives: leg press, hack squat, front squat, split leg squat)
HS chest press 3x6/15-20 rep rest pause (alternatives: bench press, incline bench, decline bench, various other chest press machines, smythe variations, etc.)
Yates row 3x6 (alternatives: DB row, machine rows, regular BB row, etc.)
DB curls 2x10/20-30 rep rest pause (alternatives: BB curls, preacher curl, machine curls, cable curls, etc.)
Hammer curl 1x10-20 (alternatives: pinwheel curls, reverse grip cable, reverse grip BB, rope hammer, etc.)

IMO, a routine like this (whether you organize it along push/pull, torso/limbs, whatever the fuck, doesn't matter) will get you so much more growth. I fucked around with DC once too, when I was around 170lbs (I'm 6', so I was pretty damn skinny), and it just didn't work that well. The key to a routine like this is constant progression, which you will get at your level. It may not be from session to session, but it will be from week to week. Focus on beating the logbook (got 3x5 or 15 rep RP for your push press? GOOD, ADD 2.5lbs NEXT TIME), getting in enough calories for growth (start with 500 above your maintenance and see where that takes you, not growing? ADD MORE) and enough rest/recovery. Deload when you start stalling everywhere. Swap exercises when you stall on one more than twice. This will get you to a very good level. If you get yourself to 220+ and a look you like, and you feel that a routine like this isn't working anymore THEN, and only THEN, consider DC.

[Sammich]

Will DC work for me?

No.

[DCBliever]

No.

:runaway: :sammich: :runaway:

:moon: :moon: :moon:

[hyperintensity]

I suggest a book called Men's body sculpting. Read it, follow it for a few (3+) years then you "should" be ready for DC.
If you are eating a lot of food you will gain weight. If you are not gaining weight you need a lotx2 if that doesn't work a lotx3. Leave the muscle magazines at the store. They will only mislead you onto another path every 4 weeks. That gets you nowhere.

[Marine]

Why not? And why ask for advice if you're not going to listen to it anyway?

because I actually want to gain some muscle not just strength, maybe I am wrong, but people I have talked to that do that type of program, get a little stronger but see no musclar gains.. Or am I talking about a differant program???

Also I have been told that the best time to gain mass is when you first start...

With onyl 3 or 4 days a week available, I need a program that will work,since I am not able to do the 5 day split routines.

[Marine]

Since someone said I dont eat enough(which was deleted I believe) heres what one of my days looks like:

Brkfst: 5 whole eggs, two peices of wheat toast, 1 glass of milk and 1 glass of OJ(pure) on way to work

meal 2: Protien shake+ two scoops of peanut butter+ milk
3-4 ounc fish(mainly saltwater such as grouper or flounder)
1 apple,bananna or orange depending on mood

meal 3: most of the time 2 PB sandwhiches a small slice of chicken breast (4-6 ounces), a small bag of mixed fruits and either a bow of oatmeal or two with honey

Meal 4: 6-8 ounce chicken breast with bread, sides of green beans, black beans, and rice... Sometimes I add a small side of potatoes or french fries

Meal 5: Before workout(on workout days) regular meal on non workout days- Protien shake and creatine, two slices of buttered bread and a bow of oatmeal with honey- On non workout days spaghetti or beef with salad and beans as a side.

Meal 6:regular meal on non workout days- 4 PB sandwhiches, ritz crackers with sardines, and a glas of weight gainer(650 calories a serving)-this is my snack before bedtime.

Hows that look???

I admit I miss a meal or two some work days, if I am extremely busy, but I do try to make up for it...Also I work in a office enviorment, so I do not burn alot of calories at work...

[lhart6272]

because I actually want to gain some muscle not just strength, maybe I am wrong, but people I have talked to that do that type of program, get a little stronger but see no musclar gains.. Or am I talking about a differant program???

Also I have been told that the best time to gain mass is when you first start...

With onyl 3 or 4 days a week available, I need a program that will work,since I am not able to do the 5 day split routines.

strength gain+massive quantities of food=muscle gained

good choices any 5x5 programs, google madcow 5x5 its 3 days a week if you dont like that look at wendlers 5-3-1 triumvirate.

DC is TYPICALLY for advanced bodybuilders:whisper:

3-4 days is enough you can run 5-3-1 three or four days a week i currently use it but dont let a "schedule" stress me out if i feel good i lift if not or my schedule is hectic i miss a day gaining strength and size for those who arent genetic freaks happens through consistency over months and years. pick a program (not from a magazine) and run it into the ground get strong on compound lifts eat so much the wife starts bitching about the grocery bill, if you start gaining too much fat add more cardio/ if you can eat no carbs after 6(per DC ).

listen to guys like sammich, DCbeliever,adam etc are your friends they have been where your at and will not give you bad information it just may not be what you want to hear.

use the search engine on this site tons of FREE valuable info.

read the journals see what is working for people and how they are setting up thier routines.

start a journal on here in time you will be suprised at the help people are willing to give its a lot easier to give advice when well informed.

if you really want to get MASSIVE hire Homonunculus and Skip then all the guess work is gone.

hope this helps

[mentalflex]

because I actually want to gain some muscle not just strength, maybe I am wrong, but people I have talked to that do that type of program, get a little stronger but see no musclar gains.. Or am I talking about a differant program???

Also I have been told that the best time to gain mass is when you first start...

With onyl 3 or 4 days a week available, I need a program that will work,since I am not able to do the 5 day split routines.

DC works, end. However before you jump right in, listen to what the veterans on this site are telling you. They have been around the block more than once and are pointing you in the right direction. Once you have a solid foundation, move into a DC program, you'll get much more out of it.

if you really want to get MASSIVE hire Homonunculus and Skip then all the guess work is gone.

I concur! I haven't worked with Skip personally, but Homon has this thing down to a science and will keep you on track while ensuring your training/nutrition fits your lifestyle. I've added more muscle in one blast with Homon than I did in the entire previous year.

[steel1970]

Your diet is poop...sorry to be blunt, but it is. Look over some guys diets in here and you will see you are WAY off, not just in macro quantity, but food quality as well...

[FK86]

With onyl 3 or 4 days a week available, I need a program that will work, since I am not able to do the 5 day split routines.

The most productive training programs out there entail working out 3 days per week. Example: 5/3/1 can be done 3 or 4 days per week, but it's even been discussed on this forum that most people saw greater, more consistent gains training 3 days instead of 4.