Hey guys what’s going! New to the forums and am excited to be a part of the community. Bit of background, I am 24 years old, 147 lbs currently at 5’6". I have been seriously training since maybe 18 and have done a vast array of programming from the beginner strength routines to what would be considered pure hypertrophy.
I recently wrapped up a roughly 28 week cut and have spent the last 3-4 weeks in what feels like a limbo. I was working with a coach so diet and training was all outlined for me and I just did the work. Due to finances, I can no longer afford the coach and to be honest I feel a bit lost. The goal of training was aesthetics/bodybuilding as I have been running mountaindog programs for roughly the last three years.
My question therein lies as where do i go from here? My goal, mainly, is to continue to pursue my physique but as a natural I am kinda bored of the pure bodybuilding training and honestly enjoy training for strength just from a measuring progress perspective, however, i get caught up in the whole specificity thing that if your goal is x train for x.
To put a bow on the initial question, I guess I am looking for what to do from a nutrition and training (program) perspective given that I kinda want the both of best worlds now of strength and aesthetics, solely so I can stop spinning my wheels and giving myself the dreaded paralysis by analysis. Current lifts are a 175-185 bench (not too sure tbh as i’ve really only been doing incline bench 145x6), 255x8 squat and a 365 sumo pull.
Thank you all, and if this is jumbled happy to have some back and forth in the thread and iron it out!
When strength training it’s nice to have a training partner to compete with each other. You get stronger pushes him to get stronger. He gets stronger pushes you to get stronger. The competition will help keep things exciting.
Surely you recall all the diet tips. You don’t need a coach for that.
Some good long term strength goals are:
Bench Press: 1.5 times your body weight for 10 reps
Squat: 2 times your body weight for 10 reps
Deadlift: 2 times your body weight for 10 reps
Short term goals are fewer reps with those poundages.
Just guesstimating:
- Your squat is at about 2 reps at 2 times your body weight
- Your bench press is not yet to 220lbs, so you have some work to do to get it up.
- Your deadlift is about at 295lbs for 10 reps, so you are at a good strength in the deadlift. You might try to get your traditional deadlift up to that strength.
A good upper body strength goal is 10 reps in the pull up with 50% of your body weight added by a strap, so you would be doing pull ups as if you weighed 220lbs.
Reaching all of these would be a true challenge and should be viewed as long term goals.
Of course as you gain weight these target poundages also increase.
As strength training becomes boring, switch back to bodybuilding training, but then you will be stronger and can thus move heavier weights
This seems pretty damn impressive. Not to derail OP’s thread but how many people do you think can do this?
Probably all the male Olympic gymnasts. I knew a couple fairly light weight guys who could do a one arm pull up. I’m sure they could have.
But honestly, it’s a long term goal. Get to adding 25% of your body weight for 10 reps.
That’s what I was thinking too 
I really ‘simple’ (NOT EASY) idea is just write down three goals that you want to do on a piece of paper and put it somewhere you see it
For example my goals at the start of this year where
Weigh 185
Run a sub 6min mile
Squat (in some form) 500lb
By putting all my focus on those goals rather than overthinking my training routine, diet, recovery etc I not only hit those goals BUT got bigger, more aesthetic etc etc.
Simple, not easy.
Maybe yours is
Do an amateur show
Weigh 170lb with abs
Bench 225 for reps
Ya feel me?
5 Likes
