Deadlift (ss: Hanging Leg Raises)
405x3
445x3
485x3
500x3
520x3
540x3
560x3
RDL (ss: Split Squat)
315 @ 4x8
Bench Press (ss: CS Rows)
315x5
335x5
355x5
CGBP (ss: DB Rows)
275 @ 4x8
Assistance Circuit (4x20)
Dips
Curls
Face Pulls
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So need some advice.
I have a cousin who is 5’6, 177lbs and probably close to 20%-25% bf (based on images online). He is getting stronger, but wants to get bigger too. His goal is to be ~185 @ like 15% bf. Basically be bigger and leaner. He’s not worried about number chasing as much in terms of the lifts. I have him on a basic 4 day upper/lower program that is similar to my beginner program.
He’s 38 and his stats are:
Squat - 225 @ 5x3
Deadlift - 295 @ 5x3
Bench Press - 175 @ 4x8
OH Press - 115 @ 4x8
BB Row - 160 @ 5x10
Chin-Ups - Can do 10x5
What should he do? Should he just clean up his diet and condition and continue to just focus on quality foods? Should he focus on losing some weight? He’s in this for the long haul so he’s pretty committed. But he also said he wants to be lean for the summer time.
I’m not good with nutrition (minus telling people to eat real food) and my process took me 4+ years.
Any advice you guys can give me to pass on to him would be appreciated!
This is his biggest enemy. I’ve gone back and forth over the years but I say chase numbers - not 1RMs, but bigger rep maxes.
20-25% BF is probably too much to show off any size. But it’s also silly to cut and then bulk. You just refill your fat cells.
I think the best course is to continue following your program and using bigger weights. Grow the strength and the muscles should follow. If he wants to cut then adjust the food without adjusting the training. If a deficit interferes with training progress then that’s how you’ll know it’s time to eat a bit more.
I’ve seen fat, strong people cut and reveal impressive bodies. I haven’t seen many people grow while worrying about being lean (myself included).
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He is 38. IMO he will not be making great gains especially not enough to waste time bulking.
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With his stats I guarantee that losing BF and being lean at 150 he will look bigger. I would get him lean and then decide if he wants gain.
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Dude, WHAT? You can say “he won’t get the gains of a 20-something year-old”, but this is too far. He’s 38. I do’t know when 38 got to be old. If he wants to get stronger and bigger, the time to do it is now, not after a cut.
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Yep my parents both started lifting in late 40s and they’re pretty damn fit. My grandma started lifting at 75 and now can carry her groceries in by herself. It’s about mindset and habits
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See this is what I was thinking. I told him if he aims for a 4/3/2/1 as a first goal at those sets /reps while continuing to eat well and condition over the course of months, he’ll naturally lean out a bit and build a ton of muscle. Like he would look “fit” and looks like he lifts.
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I agree with @Frank_C. I wouldn’t bother getting him to cut, just keep focusing on moving bigger weights and the size will come. You don’t give us a whole lot of info about his current diet, but given the body stats you provided I am going to assume that it isn’t too pretty.
Firstly make sure his diet is clean. Cut out processed high calorie shite and eat proper food
Secondly make sure he is hitting his protein number every day. 180-200g is where I would aim.
Thirdly make sure he gets a decent amount of good fat and then fill the rest up with carbs.
At his age and size he could probably drop a little fat whilst still gaining muscle if he eats right and keeps the focus on increasing strength.
I’m struggling to make sense of what you mean here. This seems to imply that if you’re fat now, you’re either skinny or fat forever and can never put on muscle.
How about 5/2 for athletes?
And, if the main concern is summer I’ll say this: he can lose a lot of fat by summer, but he won’t look like much with clothes on. If that’s an acceptable trade-off to him then he can certainly cut for a while. If anything, it’s rather educational.
We have a set amount of fat cells. Once they’re full, we create more and then fill those up. That’s why people get liposuction - it removes the actual fat cells.
Once you create a fat cell, it’s always there. When you go into a surplus it’s very easy to fill those up right away. That’s why it’s easier to get fat a second time. If a person cuts then they’ll shrink their cells but their body will be primed for storage at the end of the cut. It would be necessary to stay at the new weight for awhile before eating a surplus again. This is why you see people fail to recomp. They don’t allow the body to adjust to the new, lower bodyweight. They just flip the switch and start to eat again. Their body begins storing fat because it’s just been starved (or at least underfed) for awhile.
If a guy is 20+% body fat and wants to add muscle then I think eating clean, lifting hard, and doing conditioning is the way to go. I wouldn’t try to gain or lose weight at first. Eat at maintenance, bust your tail and see where you’re at in 1-2 months. Adjust from there.
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Yeah this is what I told him. Makes the most sense and you don’t have to go extreme either way. I think this way teaches good sustainable habits vs doing something aggressive.
So I asked him what’s he’s eaten the past week and he said he finally decided to start making better choices wiht food. He said his meals yesterday were:
Meal 1 - 1/2lb ground beef, sweet potato, cabbage
Meal 2 - 1.5 cup rice, 1/2lb ground beef, shit ton of spinach
Meal 3 - 1.5 cup rice, 4 eggs, 1/4 cup cheese, broccoli, cooking eggs in ghee
Meal 4 - 1 cup of greek yogurt with 1 banana and 1 apple
I told him I don’t know the calories, but if he sticks to eating like that as much as he can, he is perfectly on the right track. I told him overtime you might need to increase the meal size or add another meal, but he should be able to stick to something simple like this for a few months before he needs more.
Woah!!!
I actually did the day 2 workout yesterday after a 7 hour drive. Now today I’m driving 6 hours (these are my easy work days) to Bowling Green Kentucky. So I’ll probably do day 1 since I Already know where there’s a gym close by and I’ll be done traveling by 15:00.
What will your bodybuilding day be like?
I’m off till at least night time tomorrow so I was thinking I’ll get another workout in with my free time. I saw u said 4x8-12. So I was thinking full body using dumbbells, cables, machines.
What exercises are u planning on?
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Hey man so funny we talking about this because I found an article on elitefts (if you search 3 day workout) and I found that fits perfectly.
Basically it’s:
Day 1
-Back Squat
-Squat Supplemental
-Bench Press
-Bench Supplemental
-Assistance
Day 2
-Deadlift
-Deadlift Supplemental
-OH Press
-OH Press Supplemental
-Assistance
Day 3 (4x8-12)
Beltless Front Squat
Stiff-Leg Deadlift
Incline Barbell Bench Press
Barbell Rows
Overhead Dumbbell Supine Grip Press
Lat Pulldown
Bicep Curl
Bench Dips
I do like the look of this a lot.
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Dig it, I’m gonna have to go check what they suggest as supplemental and assistance. But I have a rough idea. Definitely gonna keep an eye on your log and see how you program it.
Yeah I found the article, gonna give the 3 day a shot. It’s got one mandatory active recovery day and one optional but it’s body weight and more or less be done at the hotel. The progression is gonna be a change from what I’ve been doing but it will let me know where I’m really at strength wise when I get to 3rm week so that cool. Thanks for the heads up nutty!!
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3 days a week takes too long now lol. The loads are too heavy. Going back to 4 to cut back on training time each day.
DEADLIFT (ss: Hanging Leg Raises)
405x5
465x5
500x5
465 @ 3x5
FRONT SQUAT (ss: Chin-Ups)
315x8
335x8
355x8
375x5
ASSISTANCE CIRCUIT
DB Lunges - 3x12
DB RDL - 3x12
Calves (Finally!) - 3x20
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BACK SQUAT (ss: Ab Wheel)
335x8
365x8
385x8
405x8
DEADLIFT (ss: Hanging Leg Raises)
485x5
485x5
485x5
485x3
485x2
ASSISTANCE CIRCUIT
Lunges - 3x20
GHR - 3x15
Back Ext - 3x12
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How long were they taking you?