I'm 14 years old and have been working out for roughly a year (but only took it seriously around 4 months ago) and now know what I am doing concerning most things associated to working out. I (think) I have a good diet with a lot of protein, carbs and fats (mainly from natural foods) and get proper sleep. I was just wondering about my workout routine. I go to the gym 6 days a week doing a 3 day bro split twice a week. Concerning small muscle groups (i.e biceps, shoulders etc...) i do 12-16 sets per WEEK (6-8) per workout and with bigger body parts (i.e.Chest, quads etc...) I do 18-24 sets per WEEK (9-12) per workout. This is a mix of unilateral and bilateral exercises with a drop set as my very last set for a muscle group. I do a mix of using dumbbells, barbells and machines while changing up my exercises every day. I will also add that I take bcaas and whey after a workout...

Mark,

 

Unless you get a genetic read-out via FitnessGenes (www.fitnessgenes.com), you will have to go by how your body recovers, strength levels, and muscle growth. You are young so your testosterone, growth hormone, and other critical hormones are going to be at the highest levels ever now and until you are 21 and will never be this high again. The good news is this means your body can handle a lot of stimuli and stress via your workouts to support growth.

 

The best way to see if your workouts are too much or not will be to monitor your sleep, hunger levels, energy levels, and strength and size gains. If you are sleeping easily at night, have a steady appetite, and your workouts are energetic and you see gains (no matter how small) in muscle size and strength, then your nutrition and workouts are productive and on target. The minute any of these metrics begin to change for the worse, your body is not recovering enough and you either need to dial back your training volume and/or eat more nutritious calories.

 

Right now I wouldn't worry too much and rather enjoy the journey. You will make the fastest gains now naturally and as you go thru puberty. Don't be surprised if you put on anywhere from 20 - 40 pounds in the next year or two. The quality of these pounds is up to you and your nutrition - it will either be lean mass or a combination of muscle and fat.

 

John

Glad you made it to the site! Have you ever thought about doing a PUSH, PULL, LEGS if you are training three times a week?

I've been thinking about that for a while now but I just didn't see the benefit in changing. I don't know too much about the pros and cons of different routines but if you recommend it I will definitely give it a shot!

 

According to me you don't need too much volume to build muscle, I recommend you burns sets it will create some stress to your muscles and with your diet your muscles will growth.