Hi Paul, I’d like to know wether or not the GMM program would be something for me. I’m 6ft, 165lbs, 26 y/o with 13-15% bodyfat. I started training 2.5 years ago and gained 35lbs. Had to take a full year off b/c of a shoulder injury (torn labrum). Because of that I can’t do pull-ups anymore.
My current lifts are: bench 135lbsx8, ohp 95x6, squat 205x5 and DL 225x5.
I’d like to increase upper body mass, legs are growing fine… But upper body not so much.
How should I eat? Slight surplus/maintenance/deficit?
I’m a bit sceptical about the 350 method as it’s high rep sets, do they really work for natties?
My facepalm is for that last line there about natty’s. This shit is honestly driving me insane and I’m glad we’re going to address with it f’n science today on the podcast.
I can’t tell you how to eat because you need to determine that based on your goals. I’ve also written multiple articles on here about bulking and cutting phases.
Right now you’re weak as hamster piss, so regardless of what you do routine wise you need to go from a 135x8 bench to more than that.
I don’t think that the GMM type program is for you with where you’re at right now. I’d look into my last article about the driver for muscle growth.
Yes there’s a program in there that was ran for the study that article outlines. It’s simple, solid and most likely what you need at this point. It gives frequency, varying rep ranges etc. main point is stick with it. Don’t have program ADD. Hit PRs with the movements and you’ll grow. Simple
I’d honestly start with the 5 set version and see how it goes. There wasn’t a MASSIVE difference in terms of results between the two. The 10 sets per session did a bit better but the 5 sets group really wasn’t far behind it.
As a newbie I experienced the biggest gains in size and strength following stronglifts 5x5 for 2 months. It has 15 sets of squats, 7.5 sets OHP, row and bench and 1 or 2 heavy sets per week of DL.
In the off days I was adding some arm, core and calf work and 10-20 mins cardio. It worked wonders.
My only problem with this kind of work was that I almost broke myself. It was really heavy training. It took me a month to recover. I did some methabolic complexes with barbel and lighter weights and some other circuits.
I would do it again, but my mind and body does not really want to return to that torture.
I really don’t understand why people quit training like this. It doesn’t take a year to recover from a torn labrum and it looks like you didn’t even get it fixed.
I had surgery to fix chronic subluxations of the biceps tendon yesterday. My labrum was also frayed and cleaned up. I’ll be back in the gym as soon as I can move without getting nauseous or light headed (hopefully in two days).
I’ll be fully recovered and training regularly in 12 weeks.
Why do people just quit for long periods of time because one joint is injured???
Anyway, OP, follow the above advice for at least a year and you’ll see progress.
LOL I don’t know why people quit. I have trained through torn biceps, quads, a pec, etc. The biceps required surgery and my arm to be in a sling for weeks on end. I just trained around it. People who take time off completely like this aren’t REALLY lifters. They are closer to something I consider recreational gym loafers.
Didn’t really take time off entirely, just from a structured program.
I saw 6 different PT’s, only the last one helped me. He had me do shoulder/back exercises for 6 months 3x a week and did 2x a week legs in the gym myself. Surgery for my condition will fix the SLAP tear, but probably won’t get me pain free. Now after rehabbing I am pain free. Glad I did this and didn’t keep going like an idiot.
A biceps tendon is easier to fix than a labrum. A labrum is 100% cartilligde, which does not heal by itself and 99% of times has an underlying condition that has to be fixed first. After surgery it would’ve taken me 6-8 months to regain full function in my shoulder without the guarantee of being pain free and needing surgery again in the future. Tearing your shit up again by just continuing and getting back in the gym too early is more nefast than taking some more time off doing rehab. I had 3 of the best surgeons in my country look at it after doing copious amounts of tests, only one of them said he would attempt to fix it, the other two referred me to the latter one.
And b/c I’m only 26 and there’s other things in life than being able to lift heavy shit, I took my time. Now I’m ready to move forward again and train safely with longevity of shoulder health in the back of my mind.
I think the point was focus on what you can do not what you can’t. Hurt shoulder get good at leg press, machine hack squats, leg curls, seated calf raises, abs, back extensions, etc
