I’d prefer not showing any video but I can describe the ROM.
The reps arent slow, but I always touch my chest before pressing all the way up
Like this precisely ^
Like this precisely ^
Is there a reason you don’t do a barbell bench press? I can better relate poundage to strength for your bodyweight. I like to know how many reps you can bench press with 1.5 times your bodyweight. If you weigh 180lbs, do as many reps as you can with 270lbs.
The heavier the dumbbells get, the larger they get, to the point that the shear size of the dumbbell restricts range of motion.
Also, how many pullups (or chin-ups) can you do?
Is this sarcastic? I am pretty sure the answer is 0.
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I dont do barbell bench press because I really really like dumbbell bench press, it’s my favorite exercise, again its kind of like that decision of doing what you like and sticking with it vs doing what you dont like (barbell) then quitting. I never liked barbell bench press (and I have often tried “maxxing” on it and hurting my wrist), dumbbells is amazing, I’ve failed on it many times but been able to just throw it down.
My barbell lift is weak. I think I can do 155 for 6 reps maximum, so to answer your question of 1.5xbw, I can do precisely 0.
My arms are long (6’4" wingspan) so not sure how that factors into the dumbbell size vs ROM, I personally always feel it very good in my chest whenever I do DB bench.
And 0 pull-ups, I have to use the assisted machine to do pull-ups. Yes, weak, I know.
OP, if you’re open to it, I feel that the following articles pretty nicely sum up all the info provided to you. If you considered following them, I think you’d get some great results.
Training: A Tried and True Bodybuilding Program Template
- Have a read through the article
- Consider doing the programs listed. If you don’t choose to do them, that’s okay, but at least compare your current training strategies to those proposed by Dr Hyght. I urge you to think about whether or not the differences are helping you, or harming you, given your current situation.
Nutrition: The Simple Diet
- The above guidelines are not perfect, but they provide very simple rules that are easy to apply, and I think will greatly benefit your overall health. I like this plan because it is simple, sustainable and healthy.
- The author does specify no sugar-free drinks (e.g. Coke Zero). Personally, I think these drinks are fine, but that’s probably my own confirmation bias talking. If you like diet soft drinks, and consuming them helps you manage cravings, I’d go ahead and include them.
Also, I’m not sure if it was covered, but are you doing any form of cardiovascular training? Given your blood sugar issues, I would strongly recommend performing some form of aerobic activity each week. We’re all meatheads here who love to lift weights, but evidence is pretty clear that aerobic exercise is essential for a healthy body.
The WHO recommendations are a good place to start, but aren’t infallible:
- 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise (moving at a pace that you could talk to someone, HR ~ 60-75% of max, e.g. walking, easy biking)
- 75-150 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic exercise (moving at a pace you could not talk to someone, HR >75% max; e.g. incline or weighted walking, hard biking)
That said, benefits are accrued well below these measures. I’d consider even starting with a total of 60-70min of moderate aerobic exercise a week, if you aren’t currently including aerobic training.
An easy way to assess how badly you need this form of training (other than your elevated blood sugar) is your resting heart rate. At rest, dind your pulse, count the number of beats in 30 seconds and multiply by 2. This is your resting heart rate. Keep in mind that the simple act of measuring your RHR will actually elevate it slightly, so your true RHR is probably 1-5BPM lower than what you measure. Technically, the normal “healthy” range for RHR is 60-100BPM, but really as a healthy person you want to be below 70. If you’re above 90 you’re in dire straits
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It’s why I’ve never ever given anyone any in-depth advice on diet unless the answer to the question is glaringly obvious like “Why can’t I gain weight? Is it my program? Am I an ectomorph?”.
It’s obvious the person has hyperthyroidism. @bulldog9899
(joke)
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If you wanna be a fellow bro (lol), I’ll tell you what the problem is by showing you what I’d do if I do a similar workout:
-
LOW INCLINE Dumbbell bench press (3 min rest each set)
40 lb each arm x 12 activation/warm up
65 lb each arm x 10 working set; not to failure; focus on muscular tension - lower under control, explode the weight up with the target muscle(s) and squeeze the shit out of them. See the Dorian Yates videos with his badass workout partner.
70 lb each arm x 8-10 working set; same as above
75 lb each arm x AMRAP (as many reps as possible) to technical failure; get in “the zone” and max that shit out.
75 lb each arm or drop down to 65lbs each arm x AMRAP if got less than 8 reps for previous set OR
80lbs each arm x AMRAP (as many reps as possible) to technical failure if got 8-10 reps for 75lbs and you did not go hit failure. -
Decline bench press MACHINE (2 min rest each set)
3 sets of 12 reps maxed out with weight on the machine (not comparable to anything externally)
Record the weights used and increase them over time without sacrificing muscular tension, i.e no shitty reps where you lift your shoulders off the pad etc. You can also do something similar to the recommendations for the first exercise and do a dropset on your last set. -
Chest flies MACHINE (2 min rest each set)
FST-7 (google it) 6-12 rep range; use same weights. Do not go max out during first few sets.
Triceps:
-
Tricep extension machine
FST-7 6-12 reps
→ Should I drop the rep range to 12 reps?
(Rep ranges don’t really matter. What matters is you are able to control the weight effectively and focus on muscular tension (see above). For example, if you used a weight that’s your 3-5 rep max on this kind of machine, unlike compound exercise, they’d be pretty shitty reps and your joints are going to pay for it in the long run. In the end, find out what works for you and keep doing it.) -
Dips x 3 sets AMRAP. If can get more than 15-20, use a weight belt.
These are just suggestions if you don’t want to change up what you’re doing too much. You can always do something like 531 if you want. I don’t think programs really matter when it comes to building muscles as long as they’re not fucking retarded.
Now, here’s the cold hard truth. 75lbs dumbbells for bench is a really pussy weight for someone at your bodyweight who’s been training for 7 years. I used to do cheat curls with the same weight when I was younger and a lot dumber.
I cannot help you with your diet, but I can tell you that whenever someone trains with me for the first time, I can get him to get at least 3 more reps than what he thinks his max is. If I REALLY maxed out 75lbs dumbbells for 6 reps on the bench, there’s NO WAY I’m getting 10 reps when I lower the weight to 70lbs on the next set without doing really shitty reps unless I’m hypothetically on something like dbol, let alone the amount of reps you’re getting for the sets that follow. I might even need a spotter to help me get the dumbbells up to the top position for a second set using 75lbs. I’m really questioning your intensity/effort when it comes to lifting.
You might want to find some big guys to train with and do what they do.
5 Likes
Hey man,
Honestly, thank you very much, this post was very useful to me.
I do think my main issue the last 7 years was diet the more I think of it. I took “Eat big to get big” a bit too seriously and mainly ate fastfood everyday. I’m looking at some of my historical records and I can’t count how many times I went from the gym straight to Pizza Hut for a double cheese deep pan pizza because I was “bulking.”
I think I made huge mistakes with my diet while bulking in the past and huge mistakes while cutting because I had crazy cravings and would often sacrifice protein for carbs (like having noodles chowmein instead of chicken).
I think in the last 1 month I have really focused hard on my diet and been seeing some good improvements.
Now, here’s the cold hard truth. 75lbs dumbbells for bench is a really pussy weight for someone at your bodyweight who’s been training for 7 years. I used to do cheat curls with the same weight when I was younger and a lot dumber .
I know unfortunately, but I am hopeful I can get to 100s by October 2022, when I first started I couldn’t even do knee pushups that they make girls do so even getting to 75 for me was somewhat of an achievement esp given how retarded my diet was.
These are just suggestions if you don’t want to change up what you’re doing too much. You can always do something like 531 if you want. I don’t think programs really matter when it comes to building muscles as long as they’re not fucking retarded.
I think I have built some muscle for sure over the years but again because of insane diet gained a lot more fat. I think sometimes I would be gaining 1-2kg per week because I was eating 5000-6000 calories a day having 2 large pizzas (yes I know I have a crazy appetite, runs in the family).
As a summary, I will apply your changes (thank you very much for that, I appreciate it, I love training with this style I have been doing and I would prefer doing something I enjoy rather than 5/3/1 which doesn’t look nearly as enjoyable [sorry, I dont like very low reps]) and mainly focus on the diet. This is where I have messed up and now that I look back I can tell this must be the root cause. Crazy yo-yo diets with no consistency, fast-food, chips “eat big to get big” too seriously downing 5-6k calories a day definitely added up and got me into deep shit.
Let’s see where I am in a year. you guys know I am not the type of quit (7 years with this progress would have demotivated everyone) and I still feel I can make this shit happen in this next year or two, will pay the most attention to this diet and focus on my routine and keep it going.
Cheers!
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It’s difficult for me to understand how you can look at some of the profile pics of the guys responding with advice, and respond with “thanks, but I think I’ll just keep on as I am, as I enjoy what I do.”
I worked at a weight loss center years ago, and often found myself saying some variation on “of course, you can do what you want to do, but if what you want to do is lose weight, then what you need to do is follow the program.” I said this as the thin, athletic mother of small children, so had both the science of my employer and I would imagine my own cred as someone who was managing to walk the walk.
I went back to college/graduate school and am a psychotherapist now. I run into the same thing. “You can’t sleep? Here is evidence based advice on this matter.” And I get the same “thanks, but I think I’ll just keep on as I am, as I enjoy what I do.” Often they drop out of therapy because I’m “not a good match.” I am all in on the stated goal. Why is the goal-haver less invested than me?
It’s very perplexing. Can you help me understand?
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Fast food and “Eat big to get big” are not the same thing. Nutritionally, fast food is devoid of many constituents useful for muscle growth. It’s also usually cooked in oils that do nothing but increase adipose tissue (don’t give the benefit of say the Omega-3s,-6s in fish oil).
This is slightly insane. For reference, I am 6’3, 290 lbs with decent musculature and I don’t eat anywhere near this level even when I am gaining muscle.
Do you want results or do you want enjoyable, easy workouts (which clearly haven’t worked)? 5/3/1 is proven to build both muscle and strength and works for everyone I know who has tried it. Get stronger first. Getting strong will automatically get you bigger in the beginning.
You say your stuck at “small” but you’re not - you’re fat.
In that time did you ever think why it wasn’t working?
1 Like
I’m taking advice from a lot of people lol, I think what @dt79 said can help me out, sticking to something I like doing with some modifications and fixing diet. As long as I can gain strength why does it matter which program you are doing that much? I swear people on t-nation pump up 5/3/1 as if there is nothing better (I know, biases are at play here). And also, why run a program you just dislike?
I still think the main problem has been diet more than anything, looking back on it, it doesnt matter if I did 5/3/1, arnold gains, yolo program, with that diet, these 7 years result would have been the same no matter what.
What you like doing flat out doesn’t work…
Sisyphus rings a bell here…
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Do you want results or do you want enjoyable, easy workouts (which clearly haven’t worked)? 5/3/1 is proven to build both muscle and strength and works for everyone I know who has tried it. Get stronger first. Getting strong will automatically get you bigger in the beginning.You say your stuck at “small” but you’re not - you’re fat.
Well you kind of need both, how can you expect someone to run something they don’t like? I don’t like to go under 5 reps, why is it that big of a deal?
What you like doing flat out doesn’t work…
How can you say this with such strong conviction? My program is just a variation of push pull legs, so that doesn’t work?
I can bet you money if I ran 5/3/1 with my old diet it wouldn’t have worked either, nothing would have worked if diet is bad.
Also seriously, whats up with people on this forum hell bent upon 5/3/1? There are other good programs out there too that don’t involve going down to 1 rep.
Because they want results above comfort.
See thread title.
At the very least you would have gotten stronger and closer to achieving your goal of pushing the 100 pounders for reps.
5/3/1 is excellent because the programming is not overly complicated and quickly shows the results of well designed progressive overload. One can learn a lot from that.
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Because they want results above comfort.
Sure, ok you tell me, what is considered “results” in terms of strength from the point where I am in right now?
If I am doing 75 lb dumbbell bench press for 5, when will 5/3/1 get to me 100? That will be the benchmark then for “good results”. Inb4 “it depends on person,” sure it does, but then what even does it mean to get “good results?” Now if you say something like 1 month that is just insane, there are barely any people in gym who even touch the 100s.
Dude, you started this thread because you aren’t getting any results. You can’t then defend your method by saying ‘but my results are great’.
You are also using a completely non standard measure of strength, DB bench, which is an exercise that varies wildly from person to person in terms of form, and ROM. We have no idea what you are doing or why the weight has gone up. in your own words you struggle to bench 150 so your chest clearly isn’t that strong despite your mega DB bench progress and you are likely very efficient at the movement, which is great for numbers but not so great for muscular recruitment.
If you actually want help you need to stop being defensive and be open to suggestions from people who have achieved what you want to achieve.
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I started this thread to get an idea of what could be the issue but after thinking it through I dont think it is necessarily just one thing, and I dont care much about defending my program, I am just trying to know why there is such insane focus on 5/3/1 as if everything else just sucks.
- Does training program matter that much as long as you are gaining strength and progressing? Your bench example goes both ways, I don’t do bench press (I haven’t done it since 2018 regularly).
- Diet is probably the most important, any excess calories will go to fat and I was having 5000 a day while bulking exclusively on fast food.
- I also now think back a bit, I stopped training from Feb 2020 to July 2021 so that obviously played a role too
- I was inconsistent between 2017 to 2019 due to external factors
- Diet was atrocious once again, during bulk 5000 fat calories, during cut 1200 calories
- Sleep was never on point (inconsistent, travelling etc)
I initially thought my diet was fine, but the more I looked back to the last few years I can see that even if my training program was built by Phil Heath I wouldn’t have gotten any better results because I was continuously in the bulking/cutting cycle since I was having a stupid diet bulking with Pizza Hut and cutting with orange juice.
I am not trying to defend any one program, sure I could be running garbage but it is still intense (going to failure is intense no matter what). I’m just wondering why people here think you will get absolutely 0 results running anything other than 5/3/1 if your diet is on point, recovery/sleep is on point?
For my case, the last 2 have not been on point AT ALL or even close or even consistent, I shouldn’t have even made this post but instead just reflected on these 2 things first before trying to change my program.
I have tried other programs too like StrongLifts, Ice Cream Fitness, PHAT (layne norton), but also didnt get any results because training is a rather smaller part of the equation in comparison to diet and recovery with diet being the most important. Now you cant claim 5x5 is a garbage program right? Just because I didn’t get results due to 2 of the most important things being out of order?
Usually the people that suggest 5/3/1 have a fairly solid understanding of the program. The folks who speak against it tend to not. You’d fall squarely in the second camp, so why knock it if you don’t know anything about it?
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Once again not trying to knock it at all, they know way more than me. But it just seems like everyone thinks everything else absolutely sucks for some reason and 5/3/1 is all or nothing 