Hi comrades, a few months passed and I improved my workout, while in the past 2 weeks I wasn’t as consistent as I would’ve liked I think I’m still doing good. I have yet to implement squats and the other ones cause I strained my knees too much, one of the reasons I removed the leg press; I heard its because of having flat feet?
leg curl 55kg / leg extension 3x8
leg press 3x8 30kg
lat pulldown 3x8 40kg
shoulderpress 3x8 30kg
chestpress 3x8 25kg / inclinepress 3x8 25kg
dumbell row curl 3x8 10kg
dumbell row triceps exercise (no idea how its named) 3x8 15kg
biceps curl barbell 20kg 3x8 / skull crushers 3x8 10kg
~~middle chest 5x8 12.5kg ~~smith machine
mid row 3x8 35kg
The new gym I’m going at has different machines so I had to remove/replace some of the exercises. The lat pulldown one is especially harder now cause the machine is made for giants; and the shoulder press works at a different angle. It’s cheaper and closer to me here, though
You do all of this in a single day? I agree with what is being said here that it is too much for a single session, but at the same time I also wonder about how you can have such a long list of isolation exercises with such light weights. Can I ask you for how long have you been working out? It would also help to have your height, weight and bf%.
Yeah I do that in around 1h30m. I started around June 2023. My new gym doesnt mark the weights which is annoying, it just marks them like level 1-13, I assume one weight is 5kg. I’m unsure about my body fat ratio, how can I calculate it?
My new gym doesnt mark the weights which is annoying, it just marks them like level 1-13
Less “annoying” and more “downright terrible”. I would tell you to ask what weight they are exactly to your gym’s receptionist, but I assume those are dumbbells which I think are not right for you to use now. More on that later.
I’m unsure about my body fat ratio, how can I calculate it?
https://www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html
Yeah I do that in around 1h30m. I started around June 2023.
You started lifting a little bit more half a year ago and you are already doing skull crushers and incline presses and attempting to target your chest by sections despite the fact that you only have a chest press of 25 kg: where I am from we call this “building the house from the roof”: just because your favourite gym influencer or that high school friend of yours that has been hitting the gym for 6 years does it it doesn’t mean that it is the right thing for you.
Instead of doing a lot of exercises that target specifically small muscle groups you should be doing what a beginner should be aiming for: a general development of your musculature through a few compound movements following a strength program, which should mainly include squats, deadlifts, bench presses and overhead presses. Eat a calorie surplus and 1 g of protein per lb of body weight, keep adding weight to your lifts often, sleep 8 h a day and once you’ve gotten big and strong and you see that there are small bits of muscle here and there that are lacking behind, you can then start thinking about isolation exercises. For now, consider sticking to a beginner program of the many ones you can find on the web. I personally recommend Starting Strength or StrongLifts 5x5 (both of which use barbells only, thus why what I said of dumbbells above) for more or less a year before considering moving on.
Also, avoid the Smith machine like the plague.
I did overall good progress though, I have way more visible muscle and bulked around 13kg. I’m not following any social media persons, I started working out using Critical’s prolewiki guide. I’m not yet doing squats and deadlifts because I want to go through some checkups first and I have flat feet. I know and apply the rest of the tips you’ve mentioned.
I did overall good progress though, I have way more visible muscle and bulked around 13kg.
The thing with being a beginner is that pretty much everything you do will work to an extent, but I still maintain my advice if what you want is to maximize your noob gains and keep progressing afterwards.
Okay, thank you for your detailed writeup, much appreciated, I’m making notes from all the comments lol
I disagree with your suggestions on squats deadlifts and bench press with barbell. OP already said they have bad knees. Squat and deadlift are both very technical lifts usually done poorly. They are doing leg extension and curls which is a safe alternative good for beginners.
Similarly working in the 5 rep range is usually heavier weight which also is not good for the beginner especially with technical lifts.
Starting Strength and Strong Lifts 5x5 is kinda ass when you think about it. It’s the opposite of beginner friendly because the lifts are technical and you’re going heavy. It’s outdated.
A beginner should concentrate on hypertrophy and hitting all their muscle groups. Volume is actually a good thing provided they can stand it and keep coming back.
OP already said they have bad knees.
“Bad knees” can mean anything. What it actually means is for OP’s doctor to decide, as well as if it is compatible with squats/DLs or not.
They are doing leg extension and curls which is a safe alternative good for beginners.
Good heavens, no. None of those exercises target together as many muscles as the squat. You are completely forgetting your core and your posterior chain with those.
Squat and deadlift are both very technical lifts usually done poorly.
That is why you learn first not to do them poorly. An excercise being more or less complex is no excuse to forget form in any of them. Watch some youtube videos to learn to do them properly and if you don’t try to egolift, rest enough between sets and mind progressive overload you can perfectly squat twice as heavy as when you began in 4-5 months with good form.
Similarly working in the 5 rep range is usually heavier weight which also is not good for the beginner especially with technical lifts.
You begin with light weights and minding form above all before progressing to higher weights. No matter the weight you lift: if you are not lifting what for you is heavy relative to the reps you are doing, you are going nowhere.
Starting Strength and Strong Lifts 5x5 is kinda ass when you think about it. It’s the opposite of beginner friendly because the lifts are technical and you’re going heavy.
Technical is what you want to be as a beginner before you start lifting heavy. Bad habits need to be kicked out right at the beginning before they settle, and this is true in any sport or skill.
It’s outdated.
It has worked for most people who have tried and stuck to it, and the human body has not evolved exactly much in the few decades that have passed since it was written. I can’t see how it is outdated.
Doing heavy squats and deadlifts when you have a knee issue is not rehab friendly. A 5x5 routine is focused on heavier weight lower rep. That’s the opposite of technical lift training which should be lighter and focused on good form.
It’s outdated because it’s focused on using barbells with technical compound movement lifts of heavy lower rep range. It’s very strength focused, not hypertrophy. OP is in a good rep range for hypertrophy.
If OP hasn’t reached a plateau, it’s okay not to squat or deadlift. Targeting multiple muscle groups at once is a strength thing.
What do you mean middle chest? You cannot isolate your middle chest. That being said, That’s WAY too much volume for a single session, I recommend splitting your volume across different sessions and increase rest times (2+minutes to maximize productivity)! Chase those gains, comrade!
For reference, this is my back and tricep (more optimal hehe) workout (everything to failure or 1 rep in reserve):
- Long head tricep extension: 6 sets (2 of them are warmup) and 4 working sets (2 each arm), unilaterally)
- Tricep pushdown: 2 working sets
- T-bar row, 2 working sets (+1 warmup), supersetted with Kelso shrugs.
- Wide grip pulldown, 2 working sets
- Illiac lat pulldown, 4 sets (2 per arm, unilaterally)
- rear delt flies, 2 sets (1 per arm, unilaterally)
If you don’t understand anything of what I’ve said, feel free to tell me or check out Ryjewers and Paul Carter. Those two guys put out amazing info!
I was under the impression that I’m doing way less than before XD It takes me around 1h30m to complete it.
The “middle chest” is a device called that, my new gym doesnt have it though; was something like simulating a bench press but with weights and not an individual barbell.
I see you don’t count the exercises in the set themselves, just work to failure, which is interesting, I usually did this for my last set only.
I know about the illiac lat pulldown but I’m not really using that zone of the gym too much to be honest. Thanks for the tips, I’ll check them out!!
The failure thing is just personal preference, though I recommend it. The higher your intensity the less sets you will be able to get away with. The perfect range is around 4-6 working (hard) sets per muscle group per workout and adding more should not contribute much if at all for growth.
How to increase set intensity:
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Long rest periods (2+ min). This allows your muscles to recover properly from the previous set.
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Stay in the 1 RIR (rep in reserve) - failure range.
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Intensifiers (stuff like dropsets, myoreps) don’t increase the intensity — they prolong it — and at best are as good as a straight set (at worst are just a hindrance). Use them sporadically.
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Pick a weight that allows you to fail within the 4-10 rep range. No need to perform more reps (except maybe on some small isolation exercises if you prefer). This will reduce accumulation of fatigue and will lead to a more productive workout.
Also comrade, what do you mean by “I don’t count the sets in the exercise”? I usually do 2 sets per exercise (4 for each arm when it’s unilateral)… I’m confused lmao.
No problem! If you have any doubts feel free to text me. I’ve been hitting the gym consistently for around 4 years
I have to research reps in reserve and dropsets myoreps etc I haven’t heard of them.
I meant the amount of reps in a set (english terminology is really confusing) like 3x8 or something like that which I saw you didn’t mention
Thanks again
Right,that. I didn’t mention reps because I always go to failure (sometimes 1 rep in reserve when the exercise is new), so the amount of reps are never fixed.
Yep I figured, thanks. At the moment I’m just increasing weight on my current exercises, seem to be doing okay
If that is happening, then it means you’ve built muscle and are indeed on the right track!
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Cheaper and closer is better! I’m also a beginner, so I haven’t any tips. I am curious if you think you could possibly do more weight on regular bench than incline? I know I can.
For months I had to do use the assisted benvh simulators to get to a basic muscle level; when I started I was way too skinny, now I’m in the normal muscle range I think.
You can, because physics: Not 100% of the force being exerted on the barbell by you is actually pushing the weight up!
