Aww What The Hell, 2 Years Progress

Training Beginners
41

[quote]schultzie wrote:
also, what is haphazard about my current program? is it too much work? I’m having a lot of fun doing it, it might be a bit heavy on the lower body[/quote]

maybe “haphazard” was to strong of a word.

it looks pretty good, i just noticed you aren’t doing any vertical pressing, and very limited lat work.
but i missed your explanation of an injured wrist (although I’m not sure how you manage all those dead lifts and bench’s with an injured wrist either).
also I’m not sure i could handle doing heavy squats and dead lifts on the same day (tues and fri). but if it works for you, keep going.

I think the main issue is your not sure what you want. your not sure if you want to get lean, to fix your injuries, or to reach your lifting goals. I think your program, your eating, should focus on one goal at a time, then go for broke!

but really my first post was meant to be an encouragement. You’ve made alot of progress from where you started in a decent amount of time. Keep up the good work.

42

i can do vertical pressing if it’s DBs, but with a barbell doing them olympic style/rippetoes style, the wrist rotation when you lock the elbows at the top hurts my left wrist, in the bench press you dont do that so i have no problem.

lat work i agree, im leaving out bent barbell rows and tbar rows because i already have tons of posterior chain work. the weighted chins are all i have. perhaps ill add pullups to that day, but im always so gassed after the db rows. i DO have a pullup bar in my basement and i do them pretty much every day. its set up that i cant really get my chin over the bar due to the ceiling but i can get my forehead to it, i just do more and it seems to work the lats fine.

finally, I AM deadlifting and squatting on the same day, but the secondary exercises are always done lighter and in a higher rep range, conventional deads + front squats seems to work great because fronts squats are more quad dominant anyways, and back squats + RDLs works fine too… i dont know. even after barely popping out a 3rm i always have gas in the tank for lighter 6 - 8 rep sets. perhaps my CNS isn’t trained enough. the weight on the front squats and RDLs doesn’t really matter though, as its just assistance work.

I think i need to rework my upper body days though, Incline presses seem to be a waste of time even though my upper chest is lacking, i’m not bodybuilding. i might switch that with narrow grip bench, and swap dips with a seated db press.

as for the back day, i love kroc rows and weighted chins, but they use all my energy to do, perhaps ill just do more sets of them/ or something like

weighted chin x3
db row x 5
weighted chin x3
db row x max
weighted chin x3
db row x 5
weighted chin x3
db row x max

and keep going until i cannot do 5 reps of db rows and/or 3 reps of chins with no weight. and wait maybe 1.5 - 2 mins between sets.

so far i’ve gotten 3x60lbs, and 15x95lbs.
this workout would be incredible for grip training too. i’ve noticed that holding on to the bar has not been a problem at all since i’ve done them.

ideas? comments?

43

[quote]darwin420 wrote:
Here’s a comparison. I might still be a newb, but it looks to me like you’ve made some excellent progress over the last two years. Don’t sell yourself short, man.[/quote]

I agree. Persevere. Your progress has been great, considering your starting point. I’m quite new to this myself - less experienced than you, for sure - but you are stronger than you look, IMHO. I think someone already pointed this out, but could food be your weak point?

Edit: Any leg shots? They’re visible in the pre pic, but not the after.

44

[quote]schultzie wrote:

Monday:
Benchpress - up to a heavy triple
Incline Press - 3x5
Dips - 3x6-8
Lateral Raises - 3 - 4 sets of whatever, try to progress

I still cant do overhead pressing due to my wrist, and my pressing strength is crap compared to everything else, currently at 205x5

Tuesday:
Deadlift - up to a heavy triple
Front Squat - 3x5
Unilateral - 3x6-8 (doing db split squats, right leg way weaker)
Decline Crunch - 2x10-15 (25lb plate behind my head)

Wed - off/arms w barbell at home, i never trained arms till recently, they are lagging, especially my high biceps.

Thursday:
Calves - 5 - 6 working sets seated/standing whatever
1000m row warm up
Chinups - up to a heavy triple (currently @ BW+60lbs x3)
DB row - 5,5,kroc style, 5 no straps, using heaviest db in gym…95lbs… current record is 15 reps
Pullovers/something… i dunno what to do after rows

Facepulls, YTWLs, Rotator cuff shit etc.

thursday is my random sort of day. perhaps i should turn it into another benching type day?

Friday
Back Squat: up to a heavy triple, Olympic style
Good Mornings: 3x5
RDLs: 3x6-8
Decline Crunch: 2x10-15, same as tuesday.

on the weekends i’ve started messing aroung with a sledgehammer doing levers and pronations etc.

also, what is haphazard about my current program? is it too much work? I’m having a lot of fun doing it, it might be a bit heavy on the lower body[/quote]

too much work? i would say not enough work. your workout looks like something for perhaps maintaining strength and composition, rather than hypertrophy or maximal strength. the lateral/calf raises, im guessing, are strictly for some beach muscles, or i hope it is… because its not going to do much in terms of your current goals.
haphazard would be a good word to use for your program. you got some good exercise selections but i cant agree with the order or templates you do it in; deadlifts to front squats, back squat to good mornings… save your back and perform just one of those at a time.

45

what about ditching the back squats and good mornings, and just having a deadlift day, and a front squat day? each day having a unilateral secondary and some ab work?

46

are you trying to get bigger or get some beach muscles? abs, arms, lateral raises, you can do on your own time, but if you wanna add mass, get to the point.
id keep the back squat and ditch the front squat and good mornings instead. reason being is you’re going to be able to add a lot more volume to your leg exercises with the back squat. on your leg days, decide whether you will be squatting, or doing deads. then work off of your choice and continue with your unilateral movements…
and i dont know what a ‘heavy triple’ constitutes, but im guessing you need more reps, more sets. i like 6/10 x 3-5 on deads and 5x5’s on squats.

sample leg day

deadlifts
315lbs 8 x 3

steps ups
bw + 30lbs dumbbells 4 x 8

dynamic walking lunges with barbell
bw + 95lbs 60 yards or 50 steps

jump squats for time
20 second bursts 10 second rest 6 sets

47

You are seing progress, that’s the important thing so don’t be too hard on yourself. You might not look ‘jacked’ now but if you keep doing what you are doing in another 2 years you will be bigger still, another 4 years you won’t recognise yourself. have some patience Rome wasn’t built in a day.

I would add that there is nothing wrong with using higher rep training cycles as well to assist muscle building and to give your body something else to think about 10-12’s, all your work seems to be low rep. Also higher reps are less taxing on your joints, your body will thankyou for this in the years ahead.

One last suggestion, if posible find a bunch of strong guys and try and get into their training circle, your progress will accelerate.

Keep up the good work, and good luck.

48

[quote]schultzie wrote:
what about ditching the back squats and good mornings, and just having a deadlift day, and a front squat day? each day having a unilateral secondary and some ab work?[/quote]

Back when I had the luxury of being able to work out 4 times a week, I did deadlifts or squats every session. I think these exercises will make you grow most, followed by bench press/chin ups, and, finally, by military press/barbell row. Well, that’s my personal experience, anyways!

49

[quote]schultzie wrote:
I think i need to rework my upper body days though, Incline presses seem to be a waste of time even though my upper chest is lacking, i’m not bodybuilding. i might switch that with narrow grip bench, and swap dips with a seated db press.

[/quote]

If you’re not feeling like Incline Bench is doing anything then yeah maybe switch it up. Personally I always feel a low incline DB press hits the chest more than a regular incline barbell press, esp if I use a neutral grip, but this is assuming it doesn’t irritate your wrist. Otherwise then yeah a close grip could be a good choice second exe.

Injuries suck big time! They always seem to mess up a schedule right when things were going well, but give yourself some credit for working around it. If you can still make some progress while you are injured (without further irritating the injury) then it’s all good.

50

thanks for the advice everyone.

i think im gonna drop the rdls, good mornings, and front squats. up the reps to 5 on all the first exercises, so lower days will be

Deadlift 5x5 of working weight + warmups
Unilateral
calves

Back Squat 5x5
Unilateral
calves

As for eating, im gonna make at least 3 of my meals 1000+ calories, tons of lean burgers on the bbq, tons of pb, whole eggs etc. so hopefully 4 - 4.5k calories per day

51

you’re gonna do great
you should start a log…

52

Definitely made good progress in 2 years. The BIGGEST thing you need to get disciplined with is your diet.

NO ONE can stress that enough! Leave the chips and pizza alone

53

[quote]liston78 wrote:
Definitely made good progress in 2 years. The BIGGEST thing you need to get disciplined with is your diet.

NO ONE can stress that enough! Leave the chips and pizza alone[/quote]

no leave the chips, eat the whole fucking pizza.

You’ve made good progress, however me and you, we’re at the point where we need to step it up a notch to start nailing bigger numbers even though we aren’t even close to “advanced”, pussy footing around isn’t going to make a 400 pounds deadlift into a 500 pound deadlift. I’m coming to the realization I need to kick it in high gear all of the time to make my best progress. We’e’re at the point where the gains will start to slow down and some people lose intrest after plateuing. Don’t let that be you, eat all the goddamn food you can handle and add more weight to the bar.

best of luck

54

Yeah I guess if you made a good pizza like Shugart’s recipe then fuck it- devour that thing.

55

Never ever ever give up.

56

2 years isn’t that long when it comes to bodybuilding or powerlifting. Look at some of the biggest people on this site, they have been training for YEARS. You are at an advantage cause it’s early in your training career, so figure out what needs to be done and make it happen.

There is progress in those 2 pics, get it done man.

BTW, not to nit-pick, but what is your shoulder press at?