I’m 15 at 177lb body weight. I’m around the intermediate level. Be honest about what you think of my physique. I’m might try training for bodybuilding purposes soon just for fun, but right now I train mostly for strength. give your opinion on what I need to work on.
Just keep working on everything equally, eat properly, and give it time. Consistency is key brother.
2 Likes
I love what I do so that is not a problem for me, thanks for the support
You need to work on your traps. Have you tried concentric leg press for them?
1 Like
Your better than the average 15 year old. Most 15 year olds I know cant do a pullup.
How tall are you?
1 Like
Im 6 foot
Good base for 15. The best thing you can do for yourself is pick a tried and true training program / progression model that emphasis the basic compound lifts and hammer it consistently for years.
WS4SB’s, 5/3/1, and the Super Soldier Protocol (Paul Carter) look like they’d be a good fit for you.
2 Likes
x2.
Also if you’re going to buy a book consider LRB Inception.
1 Like
Everything. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. You’re relatively balanced based on your appearance. If strength training is your priority, then you need to tailor your training to your goals.
Do you have the desire to compete in anything? If so, there would be reference points, more concrete things to shoot for. I’d be more helpful if I had a better idea of exactly where you want to be long-term. Right now, you look like a dude who probably lifts weights. Do you have an ideal physique that you’d like to look like? Or some lifts you want to accomplish in the next few years?
4 Likes
I just want to be big AF. I don’t care about getting on stage at least at this time. My training is basically get stronger and get bigger from that. I want to try to compete in power lifting but mostly for the bench press. I want the yoked look with the massive upper back and traps with the higher body fat (15-20). I know I need to work on my legs because there was about 9 months of on off squatting because of a little back pain but now im in it for the long run. I also just want a massive upper body and some big legs, they don’t need to be cut legs, just big.
Move a lot of weight, eat more than you are now (regardless of how much you’re eating, just eat more, eat the whole fucking cow), set goals.
You look better than I did at 15, that’s for sure. But I wasted a lot of time fucking around and “just trying to get bigger”. I realized I liked strength training more, took a personal grudge with my lower back, set up progression, and kicked ass without missing a day for 8 months. If I was sick, I lifted. Worked 15 hours? Lifted. Dealing with domestic drama? Lifted. Moved houses? Lifted. If I wrote down a program for that day, I fucking moved weight. And i moved the exact weight i planned on. A bit extreme, but I personally needed it at the time, and I saw leaps and bounds more overall full body progress as a result.
1 Like
Don’t be the fat guy who squats 400 lbs and thinks that justifies weighing 250. lol. You’re nowhere near that point, but that’s kind of where your current mentality will take you. A fat guy with traps is like a skinny guy with abs or a fat chick with boobs. Not impressive. You’ve obviously got a particular aesthetic you’re going for, and that’s a personal decision, so do whatever makes you happy. Just be careful about letting your bodyfat get out of control. Putting on too much extra fat will definitely hinder your strength gains. And if a little back pain kept you out of the gym on and off for 9 months, you’re going to be in trouble when the weights get heavier and you get heavier. It will only get worse.
As for training, the best advice I can give, even to someone mostly invested in powerlifting, is to not neglect any parts of the body. Overdeveloping your bench muscles can be very problematic long term for mobility, posture, and just feeling ok in general. I’m telling you this from experience. I spent years of my life bench pressing too much, overhead pressing too little, neglecting being a well rounded athlete, and I’ve been fighting to fix that for the last 4 years. It’s a tough battle.
2 Likes
Concur 100% with @flipcollar The only difference between a shredded jacked guy and the “yoked” look you’re talking about is the second dude is fatter than the first dude. Both require building a lot of muscle, the latter just means having less dietary discipline.
Spend less time with heavy singles, maxes and gimmick lifts and more time with reps at this point. You’re still growing, and this is the time to lay down a good foundation to grow into. I started lifting at 14, I’m 33 now, you can do this for a LONG time and it means there’s no rush.
4 Likes
I don’t want to be a fat ass powerlifter, I just want to be very big and very strong. I still want muscle definition but not like how a bodybuilder on stage looks. My training is never focused on one thing for very long ( Im trying to work on that). If I see something that looks fun I will try it. The 9 months that I was out for squatting was from bad form. I am really working on that right now and my squat is surpassing what it was at its peak in just a few weeks or training. My biggest focus is to stay injury free for as long as possible. I know at my age right now it is not worth getting hurt for a PR that could have waited. I really don’t care too much about powerlifting I just want to compete in the bench. I lift for fun and that is what keeps me in the gym. My form on my squat is much better so I don’t see any problems that could occur. I also started pulling sumo off the ground for the first time in a while and it feels pretty good. The form to me right now is number 1. on bench I think my grip is a little too wide so I will move it in more to save the shoulders and pecs.
I never want to stop lifting so I want to keep my form as good as possible. I might start doing a little more hypertrophy training just for fun but right now im just trying to get strong and I think my body fat is perfect for that.
This statement shows the dichotomy that you need to rid yourself of.
Hypertrophy training IS “trying to get strong”. A bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. This is why training is periodized such that the accumulation phase is BEFORE the intensification phase. You need to accumulate volume before you try to improve maximal strength. This is especially so considering your goal is to be big.
Rid your mind of this idea that you have hypertrophy training or strength training. When you get bigger, you’re getting stronger. The time spent intensifying is simply improving your ability to express that strength.
3 Likes
Right now my training is based for strength. Want I meant is that I might switch to training that is more focused on looking better rather than lifting maximal weight. This would involve a lot more volume or I can go back to full body twice a week with a volume day and an intensity day. That system worked for me very well but I got off track and started to over program to the point where im in the gym for 3 hours.
I am saying hypertrophy training IS how you lift for strength, especially at your age and development.
I know that both are required for strength but I want to add more volume instead of intensity and that is how I would train for size.
Good luck then. It sounds like you have it all figured out.