guys so i have been lifting for 2.5 years
for the first 6 months did mainly cardio for the next 1.5 years did 5x5 stronglifts.
got a nerve pinched and then when i came back with 1 month to a meet I did smolov (with a 1rm or 140kgs) and canditos advanced bench program (with a 1 rm of 70kgs) .
so 1 month later at a intercollegiate meet
ended up with these as my 1rm(at 87kgs)
squat:155kg
dl:180kg
bench:80kgs
now contemplating start 5/3/1 full body full boring . but would like it if someone could guide me to a good bench program where i can focus only on bench.
i want to focus on upper body strength as i cant even pullup/bench my bodyweight but and kind of have an unaesthetically large ass that chicks tend to laugh at and make fun of.
Keep it simple. Add another bench session with a variation, or different reps and sets.
5x5 for a year and a half is a lot. I would do 531 basic to start and add volume later if needed. Many want to work harder, but find the volume that gets you progress, and stick with that until it doesn’t work anymore.
More work doesn’t always equal more results. I’ve found that I was previously doing to much, and have been making more progress with less.
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eight is 175cm age is 20 , weight is 87, nerve pinch in my spine
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Ok, let’s dissect this because there’s quite a bit going on here.
Let’s get nix the first issue nice and quick. You almost certainly don’t have a large backside at your height and weight, and even if you do I’m pretty sure women don’t make fun of it because they most likely don’t care. Unless, of course, you’re a dick to them in which case they might and that would be fair and the fix is easy. You must start being a decent person.
Moving on, you’re considering a full body template but you want to focus on upper body? That doesn’t make much sense. Any 531 template you pick will produce results provided you do it properly and eat right. You’ll get bigger and stronger and that means your pressing and pulling strength will go up.
In all fairness, your numbers aren’t terrible by any stretch of the imagination so as long as you train and eat halfway decently things will fall into place over time.
What are your goals? Because full body full boring is absolutely not a good choice for upper body strength focus. I’ve run it plenty, enjoyed it and had good results with it, but it’s an absolutely terrible fit for your stated goal. Even more so because I suspect that by “upper body strength” you mean “upper body size”, in which case cutting out half of your main upper body lifts, and all assistance is an awful idea.
no kind sir by upper body strength i mean upper body strength . i just want my bench to hit like 120kg as a meet 1rm after a year from starting date or atleast a 1rm of 100(225).
i want to be able to say howmuchyabench with a nice grin . (please dont judge me)
yes but i have only managed to add 10kgs on my bench in one year . need better gains .
this app called strength standards says im a novice in bench . while my squat and deadlift are showing as something above intermediate. I feel so bad about it i sometimes wanna hop on a cycle even though i havent got a clue where to get it.
Ten kilos on a lift in a year is very good progress. That’s 50 kilos in five years and 100 kilos in 10. On one lift. In powerlifting terms that’s 150 kilos on your total in five years and 300 in 10. Considering you trained using a shitty program that’s very good progress.
Whatever app or standard you look at is garbage. Ignore them all. Look at what guys your age, height and weight have achieved and see where you sit and then look at what those better than you have done to get there. If you can do more than you could three months ago, you’re doing rather well. You want some achievable benchmarks, squat 200 kilos, bench 140 and deadlift 230. That won’t make you even remotely special but you sure as shit won’t have any call to be embarrassed and that’ll give you a plenty good base to work from.
Do not, whatever you do, get on any kind of PEDs until you have put AT LEAST five years of consistent work in, preferably closer to 10. You don’t need them right now. That kind of timeframe will have you sitting well above that 200/140/230 with hopefully a reasonable understanding of training.
You want better gains, you earn them. It isn’t hard, just a bit tedious and uncomfortable. Train three to five days a week. If you want to be a powerlifter, make sure you get good at the competition lifts and outside that train like a bodybuilder. Make sure you’re putting on between one and two kilos a month. Prioritise recovery: eat, sleep, don’t ever listen to your ego in the gym. If you want to look nice, learn how to feel your muscles and what exercises let you do that best. Make sure your diet is good and that you stay reasonably lean. Whichever path you take do some kind of conditioning once or twice a week.
Don’t try to prioritize one lift over the others because you are equally weak all over. A lot of people, especially younger guys, have a hard time making progress on bench, there isn’t much that can be done about it other than just keep training. It’s the lift that progresses the slowest.
However, the problem with 5/3/1 and Stronglifts is that both have you doing an equal amount of benching and overhead pressing, which makes no sense if you want to increase your bench. OHP is fine as an assistance lift, but nothing more. You could use some sort of 5/3/1 setup but bench twice a week for sure. Squatting twice a week is a good idea for most people as well.
I also don’t recommend boring but big. If you want to know why then read what I said in Paul Carter’s forum in the thread about “BBB junk volume” so I don’t have to repeat myself.
The thing some people don’t realize is that steroids don’t automatically turn you into an elite lifter. They will make you stronger, but if you are weak now then you will be a little less weak on steroids. I have seen comments from several people on this site saying they wish they never took steroids, side effects plus getting stuck on TRT for life is not as much fun as it might sound.
thanks for the reply, anyways please help me out idk much . blackironbeast.com/5/3/1/calculator
tell me which program to pick .pls.
your help is much appreciated
Good man. You won’t regret it. If you have questions, hit me up. I’ve read the original and Beyond and run it for a bit with decent results. Haven’t read Forever, but there are guys on here who have.
Listen to this and everything @marrko has told you.
I am more than double your age and did a novice meet last month. The one thing I noticed was how that younger guys were ahead of me on squat and deadlift but when it came to bench it was not the case. Bench just takes time under the bar to progress.
Spend some time learning and dpi g some 531 templates and just add more bench pressing volume as assistance on both bench and oh days.
I’m not one to judge other people’s goals, especially not when it’s to get stronger. I also appreciate how receptive you seem to be of advice. The three guys who’ve chimed in above are all bigger and stronger than me, plenty of posters have been helped by all of them.
If I was going to pick one of the programs/options there I would go with “periodization bible” and add a down set or two. Also bench twice a week, the 2nd day can be close grip instead.