Yep I struggle with bench and overhead press but will get there eventually. just so seeing as a beginner should I be taking deload weeks?
Are you doing 5/3/1? Just start back up on a 5ās week. I wouldnāt take a deload till you start missing reps
Something simular yes. Would you suggest I take a deload if I plateau?
You might have to feel that out. Iām not a big fan of deloading so early when the weights arenāt that heavy because thatās time of quality training you miss out on. But if everythingās stalling, it might work.
Itās completely case by case, so check out some of these articles to figure out and evaluate your situation
https://www.t-nation.com/training/deload-is-dead
When my coach does my programming, my deload is more of an intro week of a new block. On stuff I been doing, I get lower reps, get to go heavier in the same linear progressive overload (Adding 5-10lbs for 8s, then doing the same for 6s that week). On new movements, I get 2 sets, which will be 3 sets for the rest of the block.
The bench is just a grind, man. It also seems to be more āindividual specificā in terms of what helps.
For instance, most of us will see at least some improvement in squat and deadlift as long as we squat and deadlift. Cue someone coming in to tell me thatās too simple, but until you get into relatively heavy weights I stand by it.
For the bench, though, youāll see some folks improve it with lockout work, others with paused work, someone else needs a ton of dumbbell accessory work, and another person need to get stronger overhead. It just seems to vary. The good news is you can work it a little more frequently, so you can experiment a little more and see.
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Iāve heard some people suggest that waiting until performance decreases to deload is less than ideal but I donāt think itās a bad way to go about it as youāre learning and gaining more experience.
A little over 1lb a week is a pretty good rate of weight gain, thatās what I did a for a few years and it always ended up being close to 50/50 fat to muscle gain.
You could also try maintenance calories at your current weight for a bit of a recomp, keep the scale weight the same but beat the log book and keep making strength gains. I wouldnāt make any drastic changes though as you are making progress, just an option to keep in the back of your mind down the road.
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So here is an update and I am so happy at the results and not taking steroids. Several guys here have adviced me I am not eating enough and reccomended 3000 calories a day. This has been a game changer for me and have finally managed to make some noticable strength gains. Over 4 months of training barbell bench has increased from 4 sets of 5 40kg to 4 sets of 5 70kg. When I started I was deadlifitng 4 sets of 5 100kg I can now do the same with 3 plates or 140kg. Hereās a pic 5 months ago. Damn I look so scrawny
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congratulations on the progressā¦
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Hi,
-Do neither cut or bulk at this stage.
- Get ur hormones measured.
- learn muscle building basics. Because I doubt you know how muscle is actually built. How stimulus works, what is metabolic window and what to eat.
- your diet is quite likely wrong too. Something that messes normal hormone levels.
Basically: you donāt need hormones. You need a good meal plan and good workout plan. Roids arenāt some magic pill that equalize all things you do wrong. You will just end up messing your health and killing yourself rather than growing big.
From all naturalās perspective: Ur basics arenāt doing fine man. You need work on the basics.
Even roid users have to have great basics.
Invest in pt. If not: at least Post your workout and diet. Weāll tell you what can you do about it.
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No you are right. I need to work on basics and I have taken feedback from my very first post and I am eating more mainly fresh wholesome foods like brocolli sweet potatoās, brown rice and lean protein like chicken breast or tuna steak etc. Scroll up and you will see pic I have posted of my results since taking feedback from this forum a few months ago. I am still learning and continuously educating myself.
At the moment I am enjoying this journey of learning and will continue to educate myself. I have no interest in steroids as finally I am making progress. Of course I am still learning and educating myself to get the most out of my time in the gym and diet. But at least for now itās going in the right direction for once! I know how everyone is saying invest in PT or online coaching but honestly at the moment I cannot afford it. There is a wealth of free info on the Internet as well as other experienced lifters I can learn from at the gym for the time being.
My training routine at the moment consists of a 4 day push pull leg split over one week. With 3 rest days in between depending on how fatigue I feel. At the moment I do two push days a week and legs and pull once a week. So basically I am benching and over head presiding twice a week and deadlift and squat once a week obviously I have other exercises as well but these are the main lifts I am focusing on and every week I try to progressively overload. I am thinking of maybe switching to full body 3 times a week? What do you think? The thing Is my current routine at the moment seems to be working okay for me. Also my diet has not been 100 percent. A few times especially over festive period I did binge on junk but back on track now. . However my training has been on point. Since posting on this forum around 4 months ago my weight has increased from 12 stone 7 pounds to around 14 stone. I have gained 21 pounds. I think part of that is fat but also some muscle as well as strength has increased and t shirt sleeves are finally filling out. Also jeans feel tighter around my glutes.
Dude hell yeah, good work! Keep at it.
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This is great news! Youāre making good progress and it seems sustainable and easy to adhere to for you.
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You donāt need to change if what youāre doing is working, but if you need the extra free time then going to a 3 day full body is a great idea.
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Okay guys so I have taken your advice and from next week have hired a coach from next week for twice a week on a Monday and wednesday and give me a workout plan to do by myself on a Friday. He has suggested full body 3 times a week and recommended I wonāt need anymore sessions based on my current lifestyle as his sessions are intense. He will also offer nutritional advice. His credential seem good and I have seen his results on Instagram from his other clients. It will be expensive but letās trial it out and see how it goes. Will commit to two months with My coach
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Great news! Glad youāre makin it happen. Keep us posted on your progress with your trainer. Iāve been through a lot of different trainers and have been with my current one for a little over a year.
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Just a quick update I have decided to switch coaches. I have asked around and the ones I was currently going to use doesnāt offer a personalised training programme and doesnāt physically measure body fat or lean mass etc. I have decided to go all out and am paying for the most expensive and experienced trainer in the gym. He is a former amateur boxer and specialises in fitness model preparation, strength and muscle building. He will consistently measure my body fat leveles and lean body mass as well as actually offer a personalised training programme for me. Not a one fit all programme that the other inexperienced guys are offering. May seem like a stupid question but he has asked me what my goals are. I told him strength mass and size and to primarily teach me proper form and teqnique on all the compound lifts and get stronger in them. I have suggested a four day split. Two days I will train with him upper and lower and the other two days he will give me an upper lower workouts to do by myself. He will also assess my diet and write me a personal plan for that as well. What do you think I should tell him my goals are? Or is what I said okay. This guy really does offer a personal tailored plan and charges a premium.
I donāt think its a stupid question at all, and def a question he needs to be askin to offer the right service to you.
I think what you told him is a good start, but the more specific you are, the better he can tailor this plan for you since youāre paying good money for it (that being said, not everything needs to be customized for a novice/intermediate)
Hereās something I learned from the corporate training world:
Goals should be SMART - Simple, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time Bound
Tell him some goal figures you have for weight gain and/or lifts (or have him suggest some realistic standards for you to pursue) by a certain date.
Be mindful about the personalization and bodyfat measurement. My program is custom, but I donāt think EVERYTHING is customized for me and I see similarities in my stuff with other dudes at our gym. At my level, I donāt sweat it because I donāt need complex training. Also, most bodyfat measurements arenāt accurate. If heās using the same method frequently, it could be a way to consistently monitor progress, but calipers and what ever that impedance thing is arenāt really accurate compared to a dexascan.
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