[squishy]

Originally Posted by kevinbahnz

sounds like my week. i'm feeling like crap right now. i think i'm coming up with a cold. I had a pretty good shoulder day. I was on the military press and on the last rep I couldn't get it off my upper chest. Tried 3 times before I had to call the guy in front of me for help

Haha happens to the best of us.

First time I went to bench, put a 45 on each side, pushed bar up, and watched as it just fell right to my chest and wouldn't budge haha. Guy next to me came over and got it up.

[UncleWede]

Last week wasn't so good. Tuesday I had an excellent leg workout, came out thinking of Conan pushing the wheel, then since the wife dropped me I had to run (sorta) home. Its a mile, up over the freeway. I thought my tree trunks were going to fall off at first, but about half way up the overpass I got into a good stride.

The rest of the week life got in the way. Plus Halloween put a real dent in the diet. This weekend I thought I might make it up but the boys game I reffed was a sleeper, I don't think I broke a sweat. I tried extra hard to run further than necessary in the girls game. My game on Sunday got cancelled ;(

[Billup]

Well after my hiatus of not going to the gym, I am forcing myself to go back starting today. I need to stop being a fucking procrastinator. There's no reason I can't spend the last hour of my day at the gym here in the plant.


Need to spark some motivation back in my life.

[UncleWede]

12 oz curls don't count any more?????

[squishy]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Last week wasn't so good. Tuesday I had an excellent leg workout, came out thinking of Conan pushing the wheel, then since the wife dropped me I had to run (sorta) home. Its a mile, up over the freeway. I thought my tree trunks were going to fall off at first, but about half way up the overpass I got into a good stride.

The rest of the week life got in the way. Plus Halloween put a real dent in the diet. This weekend I thought I might make it up but the boys game I reffed was a sleeper, I don't think I broke a sweat. I tried extra hard to run further than necessary in the girls game. My game on Sunday got cancelled ;(

Get back at it this week! As long as you have a better week than the previous, you're making excellent progress!

I spent Halloween hitting legs at the gym at 8pm. Only person there, damn it felt so good.

Originally Posted by Billup

Well after my hiatus of not going to the gym, I am forcing myself to go back starting today. I need to stop being a fucking procrastinator. There's no reason I can't spend the last hour of my day at the gym here in the plant.


Need to spark some motivation back in my life.

Yes, exactly! Goals, goals, goals! Do whatever it takes to reach those goals, whether it's to put on 10# of muscle in 6 months, or to lean out and get shredded. Change your attitude, change your physique. Get to it, and get it done.

[kevinbahnz]

I'm getting lower and lower on the squat rack, but i haven't maxed out yet. I'm only pushing 225x3reps. I know I can do more on the smith machine though.

[UncleWede]

Last night I hit a new PR on the leg sled. Normal pyramid set is 3plates x 12, 4x10, 5x8, 4x10, 2xtry for 20. Last night went 3x12, 4.25x10, 5.25x9, 4.25x10, 3x18.

[UncleWede]

Workout day ideas: So I'm stuck.

Day 1 is "pull" day: curls, triceps (ok, not pull), and lats. I do various machines and free. Between each group I also do something for core.

Day 2 is Legs. Again, break up between each muscle group with core.

Day 3 is "push" day, typically chest and shoulders.

What to do on Day 4 besides drink?

Weekends are 3 days dedicated to soccer, either playing or referee.

These aren't always exactly consecutive, because life gets in the way. But I go thru this rotation each time I go into the gym.

[richardbb85]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Workout day ideas: So I'm stuck.

Day 1 is "pull" day: curls, triceps (ok, not pull), and lats. I do various machines and free. Between each group I also do something for core.

Day 2 is Legs. Again, break up between each muscle group with core.

Day 3 is "push" day, typically chest and shoulders.

What to do on Day 4 besides drink?

Weekends are 3 days dedicated to soccer, either playing or referee.

These aren't always exactly consecutive, because life gets in the way. But I go thru this rotation each time I go into the gym.

IMO, i would do
M: back + biceps
Tues: chest + tri
W: legs (let ur upperbody recover)
Thurs: shoulder + traps

[UncleWede]

When I did the "push" day Monday, I ran out of tri to really work the chest, and it had been a good 5 days at least since I did tri work specifically.

I try to do push vs pull because if I have to grip on consecutive days, that is my failure point. Doing this of late, I can generate better quality, quantity, and weight on things like the lat pull-downs while still being able to hold onto a dumbbell to curl. When I used to do lats on a following day, I couldn't hold the bar the second day.

[kevinbahnz]

Originally Posted by richardbb85

IMO, i would do
M: back + biceps
Tues: chest + tri
W: legs (let ur upperbody recover)
Thurs: shoulder + traps

+1

[UncleWede]

What do you do for back? We're talking lat pulls, rowing, that kind of stuff, yes?

[kevinbahnz]

For my back I start out with pull ups, T-bar row, seated cable rows(wide grip) then finish off with lat pull downs. Then I'll switch it up and add alt. dumbell rows and iso lat pulls(machine Low and Hi)

[richardbb85]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

What do you do for back? We're talking lat pulls, rowing, that kind of stuff, yes?

it depends on your goal/what you trying to do, width vs thickness

sometimes i do 4 row exercise then 2 lat, sometimes i do 3-4 lat pull then 2-3 row exercise. then i do my bicep, n maybe forearm if i still have energy

[UncleWede]

I hate wasting time, and my goal is always to get out in under an hour because I don't speak to anyone usually.

So for pull day, I always group muscles if I can, very little resting. Curl machine, tri extensions. Lat pull or rows coupled with tri presses or cable curls. Dumbbell curls with overhead tri. My break is in doing something core.

Push days I still do bench press solo, but the rest of the time I couple some chest machine with either a should press or trap shrug. Differeing angle or width of hands on every set.

My real goal is for there to be some definition under the inch of blubber

[kevinbahnz]

do 3 back exercises and 2-3 biceps exercises. Since the back exercises also work the biceps you don't have to hit it that hard.

[Templar]

What are you all trying to do?? Some of these accessory lifts are really unnecessary. Machines are unnatural. They balance everything for you. Use an olympic (45 lb) barbell. So many of these muscles you want to work on can be built by NOT using a machine and just lifting big with a bar.

I do the Stronglifts 5x5. I use the app on my phone because it's easy to keep accountable and stay on track. I've seen better results with this program than I did with the program I was on earlier this year, and in less time. I'm consistently making progress. I have deloaded once and broke through a plateau on squats. Loved it.

Mon - Workout A
Squats (Real squats = legs parallel, hip joint below the top of the knee, not half squats or some other stuff)
Flat Bench press
Barbell rows (not that underhand/trap work "row")
Dips

Wed - Workout B
Squats
Standing overhead press (sitting is bad, use your core and balance the weight)
Deadlifts
Chinups

Fri - Back to workout A

Weekends off

If you follow the program, you'll progressively get stronger (and in doing so, build muscle, because you can't get stronger without adding muscle). It's not a "rush to glory" program, so it will take some time, but that is fine. Never lift two days in a row (he recommends no cardio on off days either to fully recover but I have done cardio and felt fine). I find myself in the gym for maybe a little under an hour. If I do some cardio to warm up or cool down, then a little longer.

Each time you lift, add 5 lbs to the weight. So essentially I am adding 15 lbs a week to my squats. A little less for the other exercises. You do a few warmup sets, then 5 sets of 5 reps (except deadlifts, that's 1 set of 5). If the set was easy, take 90 sec rest. If not, do 3 mins rest. If you fail, rest 5 mins and try again. If you fail to do the 5 sets of 5 reps three workouts in a row, you do a deload and lower the weight by 10% for your next workout. You can do this program as long as it keeps working and you get stronger. It depends on a lot of variables (sleep, nutrition, size, age, etc), but there are options to take it to a 3x5 or 3x3 as well. Cycling it when you plateau can help you through it.

Best part is that the app does ALL OF THIS for you. It times your rest, buzzes when it's time to go. If you fail, it deloads the weight by 10% for you. You can even have it calculate plates for you. Not that it's that hard, but I usually don't want to think about that stuff and find that I can focus more on my form, breathing properly, and getting at it.

[pukicabuki]

Stronglifts is terrible..... nothing more than a rip-off of the starting strength routine with a couple of tweaks that make it worse. Replacing power cleans with barbell rows is silly and the change to a 5x5 from a 3x5 will cause one to plateau/stall quicker. Not to mention it also is typically way too much volume for a novice lifter and its typically a poor routine for a seasoned lifter. Doing multiple heavy compound lifts on the same day (squats and deadlifts) is alright for novice lifters but when the weight starts to build it is recommended to give a couple days between them. Doing them together will put a serious damper on the gains made on whichever exercise you are doing 2nd.

......also 15 sets of squats per week?

[Templar]

Originally Posted by pukicabuki

Stronglifts is terrible..... nothing more than a rip-off of the starting strength routine with a couple of tweaks that make it worse. Replacing power cleans with barbell rows is silly and the change to a 5x5 from a 3x5 will cause one to plateau/stall quicker. Not to mention it also is typically way too much volume for a novice lifter and its typically a poor routine for a seasoned lifter. Doing heavy compound lifts on the same day (squats and deadlifts) is alright for novice lifters but when the weight starts to build it is recommended to give a couple days between them. Doing them together will put a serious damper on the gains made on whichever exercise you are doing 2nd.

......also 15 sets of squats per week?

Firstly, the guy openly admits that his version of the 5x5 is really nothing new, and it's based off of a different program made a long time ago.

My results speak for themselves. I never said I was a "seasoned lifter." I also haven't had issues with the volume, as I have consistently improved.

I started light, and have continued to progress. I have lost inches on my waistline and continue to gain strength. As it says on the program website, there will come a point where I no longer benefit from stronglifts. When that comes, I will do what I need to do. For now, this has been working for me.

Unless you want to enlighten us and share your amazing workout plan that works for everyone?

[squishy]

Originally Posted by richardbb85

IMO, i would do
M: back + biceps
Tues: chest + tri
W: legs (let ur upperbody recover)
Thurs: shoulder + traps

Yes, this is basically what has worked for me.

IMO, this is the best routine that will work for everyone:

1: chest, triceps (various incline/decline chest presses, overhead french press for tris)
2: back, biceps (deadlifts and pulling exercises for back, curls for bis)
3. legs (squats, lunges, curls, extensions)
4. shoulders (military press, side/front laterals)
5. Off

And repeat. That's 4 days on, 1 day off. I do a variation of this, but not exactly it.

[pukicabuki]

Originally Posted by Templar

Firstly, the guy openly admits that his version of the 5x5 is really nothing new, and it's based off of a different program made a long time ago.

My results speak for themselves. I never said I was a "seasoned lifter." I also haven't had issues with the volume, as I have consistently improved.

I started light, and have continued to progress. I have lost inches on my waistline and continue to gain strength. As it says on the program website, there will come a point where I no longer benefit from stronglifts. When that comes, I will do what I need to do. For now, this has been working for me.

Unless you want to enlighten us and share your amazing workout plan that works for everyone?

No need to get all defensive. I didn't attack you personally. I simply pointed out a lot of flaws with the stronglifts program which is shared by a LOT of people that are far more knowledgeable than I am. If it works for you that's great, but I wouldn't recommend the program to others. Especially since there are better alternatives that are very similar.

I don't have any great secret to success. My goals are clearly different than yours just based on the type of program you use compared to me. I personally do a 5-day split. I like the consistency and the volume but I also do a lot of what you call accessory lifts in order to work specific areas. A basic strength building routine like stronglifts won't benefit me in the ways I need.

I'm 5'10" and currently ~210lbs @ ~17%bf.... so I'm not a small guy but I also don't want to be a meat sock. I'm starting to cut bodyfat to lean out and I'll hopefully end up around 195-200lbs @ ~11-12%bf.

A typical week for me is the following...

Monday - Chest/Abs
Bench
Incline bench
Decline bench
Hi/Mid/Low cable flys
Wide grip bench to failure if I have any gas left in the tank

Tuesday - Back
Deadlifts
Pull-ups
Lat pulldowns
Dumbbell rows
Dumbbell pullover
Seated cable rows

Wednesday - Legs/Abs
Squats
Abductors
Adductors
Calf raises
Leg extensions
Leg curls

Thursday - Shoulders
Military press
Front/Side raises
Shrugs
Face pulls
Bent over shoulder flys
Upright row

Friday - Arms/Abs
Dumbell curls
Dips (weighted)
Hammer curls
Skull crushers
Reverse grip barbell curls
Reverse grip tricep pulldown
Rope curls to failure
rope pulldowns to failure

The Ab stuff is just kind of whatever I feel like doing that day. It usually includes a weighted situp movement, some kind of oblique exercise, a twisting core movement and some kind of a core stabilization exercise.

That is a pretty intense weeks worth of exercise for most people but I like it and I don't have any issues with recovery. I'm not advocating people go out and try this as it is probably too much for most people.

Again, no need to get defensive about what I said. There was no intention of it being a personal attack. I apologize if you took it as such.

[UncleWede]

I'm 5'9" (and a half) at about 205, but no where near 17%, more like 30. My target if I want to keep up with running is around 180-185.

I was 191 about 18 months ago when I participated in a drug trial for a new insulin. I bulged to 210 and have been struggling with the 205 plateau for about 3 months now.