My name is Mike and will try to get to the point ASAP. I have been working out for a few years now through which I will say I have progressed. Started out with crappy routines given to me by the trainers at gyms until I found SS 5x5. From there I started reading and learning as much as possible from this site and some others but mainly from top trainers.
The two best routines I have done with good results are GST and 5/3/1. I love Wendlers work.
Jumping ahead now…through the years of hard work and good training plans I still have not achieved the body I want. My lifts have gone up for sure; dead lift 475, squat 400, military 180, bench 240 ( slow progress due to shoulder injury) but on track now. But I look in the mirror and don’t like what i see. With clothes on I don’t look like a lifter and without it all I see is gut and no signs of muscle unless I look for that special angle against the light.
I’ve tried the diets for getting lean, getting big and get nowhere. I’ve paid to get trained online, ok results still not what I wanted. Crazy thing is, I spill my guts in the gym every time I train.
I recently ran into CT’s Strength Circuits and was wondering if that would be a good match for me…
So should I do this program, would you have me do something else?
Some specs: 35 yrs old, 5’11", 20-21% BF, currently lifting 4xweek and usually my programs are centered on the big lifts, I like to keep isolationsto a minimum.
Well, thanks for reading this out and hope to hear from you.
My first thought is that you have been doing, and considering another , strength routine when what you are concerned with is appearance…looking like you lift. Hey, everyone that lifts would like to look like it so no problems there. Maybe consider more of a bodybuilding program for a while.
Go with the higher reps, body part specific (to you) routines that will build the look you want more than strength focused. Sounds like you have built a solid base…experiment a little. Wont hurt the strength effort…can always come back to that. Look at Meadows on this site for some ideas.
Good that is what I will do. Any specific recommendations to Meadows programs that I should look into. Main issue for me some programs is equipment availability. I workout from home so I have squat rack, barbells and dumbells, pullup station leg curl and extension bench treadmill and few other things. But no specialized equipment, though I am trying to get my hands on a leg press or smith machine.
I was in the same situation as you. I changed two important things that made the difference to me. First, DIET. I did IF for six months and lost about 25 pounds, some muscle and strength loss, but worth it when I stand in front of the mirror and see abs starting to peek out (nothing like a positive attitude from this). Diet, Diet. I only eat carbs around workouts, but this may be specific to my system, but, of course, if what your doing is not working, CHANGE IT.
Second, I was following all of the various routines (mostly split body part stuff) and they didn’t work for me. What has worked, is MORE training. I do full body five days a week (different exercises and reps schemes and focus at each workout). This approach seems, strangely to me, to help me overcome any soreness, maybe by driving blood to the muscle. Each week at one of the workout days I focus on either deadlifts, squat or pressing movement. I also add in as I feel like it, some HIIT (sprints on the treadmill) once or so a week on an off day. Some will argue that this type of workout means that I am not destroying the muscle or working it hard enough at each workout. But for me, the end matters, not the means. I’ve tried all of the split body workouts and, for whatever reason, they didn’t work for me.
Again, the most important thing is, after years of doing something a certain way and it not working, do something else, even if the something else is not what everybody else is recommending. Best of luck!
First the good: cavalier is right. There’s no way you can lift that kind of weight without having a substantial amount of muscle mass. In fact, in terms of having a physique that would be the envy of 99% of guys your age, I dare say you already have all the muscle you need.
Now the bad: You’re carrying too much bodyfat, and you will not have the physique you seek until you lose it. There is no getting around this fact. No matter what lifting protocol you follow, no matter how hard you train, no matter how strong you get, you will not look muscular until you lose the fat. Thus, it is to issues surrounding diet/weight loss that you need to devote your attention. Fortunately, there is a plethora of good dieting info on this site, and a lot of people here who have managed to get lean. So long as you have the requisite commitment and mental toughness, everything you need to get the physique you want is at your fingertips. Best of luck.
The truth is I have been heavier, near 240 and have been able to get 215, but past that has been so tough. I made the 215 eating a diet of 2500 calories p/day. I will have to see if tweaking cal intake lower should be the way. Though my main issue is, jeez most powerlifters look big and I look nothing like that group. But again, I will post the pics and let you guys see what I mean. In the meantime i will begin reading on more diets and look into Meadows. thanks guys.
Your problem is your age.
You are young and you think we should focus on quantity.
In some decade(s) you are likely to appreciate QUALITY.
Eat quality foods(never count calories).
Lift regularly.
Never look at the quantity of the load.
Use dumbbells your shoulders will do better.
You are where you want to be.
Often we want 2 things.
Now in a part of your mind you are a real man(you lift big).
If you choose to be human you will loose the fat because animals do not carry extra fat with no reason.
All the best !
