Progress Advice?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Looking for validation maybe? Or i guess better maybe some insight to my program choice.

Im 34 and about 205lbs now. Did a fat test at nutrition faktory for what its worth and fat is at 21%

Background have a sedentary job and taking a break on home repairs this year so my physical exertion isnt much. Started thia job 4 years ago and weighed 170lbs and ballooned up to 235lbs. I did manual labor since i was 16 when i started this job i kept eating like i was. This summer i started to work out calisthenics mainly and dumbell work (pushups, pull ups, suitcase quats and some filler). Moving forward to six weeks ago i was about 195lbs and joined the gym. Decided to do a ppl but my schedule only really allows mon, tues, wed.

So my main goal now is for strength first then ill go for more weight loss. I dont know how these numbers really stand, also not sure if i should take some things out? First two weeks at the gym i didnt record anything i was trying to get a feel for it again. Last week is week 6. Also never did a squat or dead til now so still trying to work on my form.

12/2/2019
HamstringCurl 2x25x80
BqrbellSquat 1x5x90, 1x5x135, 4x5x185, 4x12x135
LegPress 1x20x90, 1x20x180, 2x20x270
LegExtension 2x13x95, 2x13x80, 2x13x65
HamCurl 1x50x80, 1x30x95, 2x15x110
Squat Machine(hack squat?)1x20x90, 1x15x180, 2x5x300

12/3/2019 (push numbers are lower than last week, bench was 2x5x185)
BenchPress 1x10x95, 1x10x115, 1x10x135, 2x10x145
MachineOverheadPress 1x10x35, 1x10x65, 1x10x95, 1x7x125, 1x6x125, 2x4x125,
Dumbell bench 4x12x35
ChestFly machine 3x12x80
DumbellOverhead 1x10x35, 2x5x45
Dumbell incline 4x10x20

12/4/2019 (moved deads to the end to just wear me out as this is the last day of my workouts)
Dumbell row 1x10x20, 1x10x35, 4x10x60
1 arm lat pull down 2x12x40
Lat Pull Down 3 grips 3x20x80
MeadowsRow 1x10x25, 1x10x50, 2x10x75
Reverse machine chest fly 2x20x65
Machine row 1x20x60, 1x20x80, 1x20x110
Deadlift 3x10x135, 2x10x225, 1x3x315

*edit im at about 206lbs now belly still looks the same so id like to think i got atleast 1 pound of muscle out this so far.

2

How they stand objectively is one question, but I think it is better to have an idea of where you started versus where you are now. And if we are talking about strength in the usual terms, you can probably just look at your bench, squat and deadlift and ignore most of the rest of the stuff you logged. In other words, where did you start with those things versus where you are now?

Anyway, preaching aside. Your bench is low, your squat is low. Your deadlift is fairly strong, in a way that is out of proportion to your other lifts (which makes me wonder if your form is okay, but forget that for the time being). I assume you are approaching 6 feet tall? If your goal is to be “strong” I think you need to actually define what that means for you. I would say, for example, that you are going to need to bench your bodyweight 10 times before you can think of yourself as kinda strong. And so on. There are tools out there. Google the words “strength standards”, that will lead you to some useful tables.

3

As a fellow beginner, I’d have a hard time getting through all those sets of all those exercises and still give it a ton of effort. And from what I understand so far, effort beats volume in terms of strength development (in other words, quality beats quantity). Better to do a handful of sets that are super intense than to do a bunch of low-quality sets…

…Or maybe I’m a little bitch and that’s not too much work. Hopefully a more experienced person will chime in.