I’m really a performance-only kind of guy. I mean like, numbers in key lifts come first way before numbers in a tape measure in some bodypart. So my strength in some key lifts are more important to me than anything. This even extends to cardio. I’m fat right now, REALLY fat, but if it so happens that cholesterol problems weren’t a huge issue in my bloodline, and it so happens that I can get away with being fat in the boxing ring, I’d stay fat. This is within reason of course. There comes a time when I end up comfortable with my performances on key lifts that I’m willing to just semi-abandon them and actually go for actual physique goals.
I wanna stick to my aptitude by figuring out which key lifts a person needs to be good at in order to have a good physique without being too meticulous on certain stuff. I just wanna mention first that I won’t ever take drugs for it outside of caffeine.
So assuming my diet is solid, I get enough rest, and I don’t work a manual labor job, which key lifts should I work on improving in order to build an aesthetic physique? More specifically, what should my numbers be on them and in what proportion should they be to each other?
This is a really broad question that will be tough to give a specific answer to. If you’re really fat, like you said, but have been lifting for awhile, even with a purely strength focus, you likely have some muscle. If you wanted to switch to physique goals, I’d say your first step would be to lose the fat. One, just that will improve how your physique looks, but two, it will also let you more accurately tell where you need to improve.
Assuming you want a more specific answer than “it depends what you’re weakest at”, @T3hPwnisher has a blog post that answers this question and perfectly sums up my thoughts on it. Because I stole them directly from him.
The great thing about MacDonalds is that you need neither a fork or a table. Or teeth.
Edit: In fact, I think I might start a new diet that requires all food to be eaten with a knife and fork and a table. Feels like it would eliminate a whole lot of crap food choices.
Choose one main movement for each muscle group and get real strong while also focusing on consciously using the target muscle(s) move the weight. If you need science and shit to justify what you’re doing, it’s called intramuscular coordination, which is basically what bodybuilders call mmc.
E.g
Chest/Triceps; Incline Bench Press, Dips
Legs: Squats, or front squats + leg curls
Back: Mid to close grip Pull-ups/Pulldowns, Rows to sternum
Shoulders: Side, rear delt raises
Biceps: Any kind of curl
You can set this up for once, twice or fullbody 3 times a week as long as you spread out the total volume. IME it doesn’t make much of a difference. I may schedule my workouts to short ones 5-7 days a week training each muscle once to twice a week mostly just to fit my work schedule.
Now that I’m working from home for the most part, I can go 3-5 times a week with longer workouts.
High rep squats will give you big legs. People with small legs look strange.
Dips and pull ups are also 2 very easy exercises. Fat man pull ups and press ups will make do until you develop the strength or lose enough weight to do these.
Log clean and press. 100% love this. Another member spoke about how training for this sort of movement changed the way they looked. And there are exercises that will help you build a good log and press.
But if you just wanted to log clean and press 3x a week you could.
Day 1 - 5x5 with 75% of your 1RM
Day 2 - using 75% of your 10 rep max - 10 reps as fast as possible for 5 sets.
Day 3 - work up to your 3-5 rep max.
Diet’s more important than your workout as long as you’re putting full effort into whatever you’re doing during the workout.
A good workout with a shitty diet = minimal gainz
A bad workout with a good diet = gainz
A good workout with a good diet = maximal gainz
While you don’t need to aim for perfection, just keep the priorities in mind. You have to be mentally prepared to make this a lifestyle and not just something you do for an hour a couple of days a week.
People normally fail because they don’t understand this part.
Your biggest problem is just that you have absolutely no idea what you want, and it’s leading you to give 10% effort towards 10 things, instead of 100% effort towards one thing. If you wanted to lose weight and look good, training like an actual boxer would get you there with no extra frills.
Instead, you’re asking about aesthetic-based movements while squatting “heavy” and apparently throwing a couple punches here and there while refusing to do cardio.
You are getting pretty much the exact results one would expect from such a routine.
