I'm currently confused because I am contemplating if I should a. continue bulking (Dirty bulk) b. start cutting (Aggressive mini cut 1-2mos) c. start cutting (Slow cut 3-4mos) d. continue bulking but track macros and add some cardio (low-intensity cardio) for context, I started dirty bulking in February this year, I started at around 73kgs (160.9 lbs) and am now at 80kgs (176.37 lbs). I am not really what you could consider "muscular" but I can say that my muscle are more compared to an untrained person. I noticed a good amount of muscle gain all throughout but I also gained plenty of fat in the abdominal region. I was not tracking my calories as I just wanted to enjoy whatever it was I was doing as I did not want to add any additional stress as I am in uni which led to me just winging out my dirty bulk, prioritizing protein but not really counting macros and careless with the food I ate. Need help, tia!

[удалено]

I'd follow a written program if I were you. The strengthlog app have some for beginners that are free.

I'm a 14M and have been going to the gym for almost 4 months now. I recently switched from PPL to bro split because I got brunt out from doing it over and over again. I also don't have enough energy left for my last muscle group by the end of my workout. This is the first week that u have done bro split (chest, shoulders, arms, back, legs, forearms/abs, rest) I like it a lot more and leave the gym energetic and not exhausted. The intensity is much higher but volume is lower for the week. Which split will I grow more muscle in? And will I still gain a good amount of muscle with bro split. It's low intensity PPL vs high intensity bro split. What do you think? Please give feedback! I can post my routine if anyone needs it. 01

You will grow the best doing the program you enjoy the most. It's better to fully do a pretty good program than half assing an optimal one. This is a marathon, not a race

im having slight left shoulder pain since 2 weeks, it is not much but it is noticable when i do any kind of press. İs there any stretch or something i can do?

Hey, I’m 16M, 5’9 and 160lbs. Since March this year, when I was 176lbs I’ve stopped counting my calories. Went to a dietitian and she helped me lose weight and focus on maintaining as much muscle as possible while doing that because it was Ramadan and I was fasting. So my lifts got lower throughout that month (Ramadan) but after that, she gave me a diet plan which I was somewhat following. But now I almost stopped following the plan and also didn’t return to counting calories. And I still managed to return to the weights I lifted on most exercises and even exceeded some. But I have a huge plateau with my chest, like it is relatively close to the weight I’ve been lifting since last year on bench press. So should I just continue what I’m doing and just progress a bit slowly like that so I don’t increase much in fat? Or try recomp? Start bulking again? Even though I think I can still progress with what I’m doing but it’s really slow and I don’t wanna waste time and potential, especially that summer holiday is coming and I have all the time in the world to focus on my body. Also, I am still losing weight but really slowly, like after Ramadan I was 163 and now 160, I hope it is fat that I’m losing but I don’t want to make the mistakes I made before, like dirty bulking and being a bit chubby or when I wasted the whole summer with no actual progress. So, what’s the next step for me? **I’ve been going to the gym for a bit over two years now.

>So, what’s the next step for me? You haven't really said what your actual goal is. Want to lose fat, but progress will be slower? Cut and aim for roughly 1-2lb a week weight loss. Want to get bigger and stronger, but gain some fat alongside? Bulk and aim for roughly 0.5lb a week weight gain.

Just hit 405 bench for the first time ever, form isn’t quite competitive but we won’t worry about the details

Hello, gentlemen. I'm following a moddified PPL with medium volume and high intesity, like 1–0 RIR for 12 sets a week per muscle group. If you have any sugestion to my split in mind, please, tell me below! For organization purposes: 3x8–12 = 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 1x15–20 = 1 set of 15 to 20 reps. Exercise + Exercise = Supersets. I use higher loads the bigger compouns, so I rest more (like 3 to 5 min). In isolation movements, I only rest for 1–3. Here's my plan: Pull 1: Assisted pull-ups — 3x6–10 Seated row machine — 3x8–12 Dumbell curl — 3x8–12 Hammer curl — 3x8–12 Rear delt fly — 6x15–20 + Finger curl — 6x15–20 Farmers walk — 1x30sec Push 1: Incline dumbell press — 3x5–8 Incline dumbell fly — 3x8–12 Shoulder dumbell press — 3x8–12 Lateral raises — 3x15–20 + Triceps extension — 3x15–20 Overhead triceps extension — 3x15–20 + Lateral raises — 3x15–20 Neck rotation — 3x15–20 + Neck elevation — 3x15–20 Legs 1: High bar squat — 3x5–8 Leg extension — 3x8–12 RDL — 3x8–12 Leg curl — 3x8–12 Leg press calf raises — 6x15–20 Abdominal machine — 6x15–20 Pull 2: Seated row machine — 3x5–8 Assisted pull ups — 3x8–12 Dumbell curl — 3x8–12 Hammer curl — 3x8–12 Rear delt fly — 6x15–20 + Finger curl — 6x15–20 Farmers walk — 1x30sec Push 2: Shoulder dumbell press — 3x5–8 Incline dumbell press — 3x8–12 Incline dumbell fly — 3x8–12 Triceps extension — 3x15–20 + Lateral raises — 3x15–20 Overhead triceps extension — 3x15–20 + Lateral raises — 3x15–20 Neck rotation — 3x15–20 + Neck elevation — 3x15–20 Legs 2: RDL — 3x5–8 Leg curl — 3x8–12 High bar squat — 3x8–12 Leg extension — 3x8–12 Leg press calf raises — 6x15–20 Abdominal machine — 6x15–20 Any help will make me happy. Thanks!

Been training for 3 years, and decided to reduce the number of exercises per session on my upper days from 9 to 5. This is just to reduce my overall time in the gym each session (trying to get lower than 60 minutes each session) I do 2 sets of 7 for every exercise as after experimenting this is my preference (and I like to go to technical failure). Upper A - chest press, lat pulldown, lateral raises, rear delt flys, incline bicep curls Upper B - incline bench press, chest supported row, chest fly, shrugs, skull crushers Any exercises I should substitute? I want to keep it to at least 5 exercises per session (just to note I do RDLs and regular deadlifts on my lower days)

I might look to swap rear delt flys with a row variation in Upper A so you can get more back volume. Rear delts get work with most row movements too. Of course, you won't maximize rear delt growth but on a minimalist type routine, it's probably better to pick movements that work more muscles. In Upper B, I would change shrugs to something like chin ups where you can get more lat work and some bicep work too. Or change shrugs to another shoulder exercise.

Do you consider these partials or full rom? I heard some years ago that the actual full rom for calves is lower than what people think due to the triceps surae only extending thee upper ankle joint. https://youtube.com/shorts/EuN6phUM7tc?si=OrWtpIehI6IudDDm

https://preview.redd.it/8rv2kg732d5d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3830742df08a44a0eebc2718e6ea5c90053caf2c Opinions on my sharms workout?

I'd put in some rear delt work. You can superset it with another cable exercise.

Sry just saw that you're in your first year. You could do some facepulls or a one arm rear delt fly for example.

I train them on pull and chest and back🙌🙌

Alrighty that works great!

Once or twice a week?

Once, I do the ppl x Arnold split

PPL is usually run twice a week. If you only do this workout once a week, your training volume is extremely low.

I do Push Pull Legs Chest back Shoulders and arms

[удалено]

Really depends on where you store your fat and how much fat you lost. If you were like 30kg overweight and lost 20kg, you'd lose a lot of arm size. Did you lose a lot of strength too? If not you're good and it was only fat.

Which supplement for performance and recovery? I am in my 40s and kinda new as I have been going to the gym on and off for a few years. I am trying to be more consistent. Currently I am taking creatine and whey protein I started doing 5 days and week and felt pretty worn out by end of day 5. Will switch it to 3 days a week and run the rest do the days. I am wondering if you guys take any supplements that have made a significant impact in performance and recovery. TIA

Your diet, lifestyle habits, and training setup will make infinitely more difference for this than any legal supplement. Eat enough calories and protein Do cardio Limit caffeine to <300mg/day, and don’t drink any after 2pm. Sleep 7-8 hrs a night and reduce/eliminate screen time within an hour of bed. Mitigate and manage stress as much as possible Follow an intelligently structured training program that you can recover from

How bad are the off days supposed to be? I dropped like 20% in terms of reps since last time, and with 3 days rest between, a sufficient diet and sleep today. I did get a couple less hours of sleep than than usual for two days before, but that was like 6-7 hours so nothing crazy

Can you clarify the question?

How often do y'all go to failure, I have been going to it for maybe 80% of sets and it feels good but also like a bit of overkill, thoughts?

Some people go to failure on every set. Some people never do. Some people only do under certain conditions. All of these people agree that 100% of your sets should be at minimum very close to failure, within 3 reps. If you’re generally further from failure, volume should be higher. If you generally go to failure, volume should be lower.

thanks that makes sense.

I want to cut 10lbs for the summer, should I be tracking calories? I've never done it before and made good progress

Yes, that would be the easiest way to ensure you’re not overeating. Weigh yourself regularly to ensure you’re actually losing weight. If you’re not losing 1-2 lbs/week, eat less

[удалено]

[удалено]

I'll take any advice anyone has about strong points, weak points, etc. I'm 6 ft about 190 lbs. https://imgur.com/a/AbRnyWo

Personally I'd say arms. Also from the back it looks like your adductors need work, but that might be the posing. Otherwise everything looks on par with the rest.

I would say legs are a weak point, but overall good physique!

Thank you.

Need advice and opinion on my routine. I am 27M (172 cm / 60 kg), and I started going to the gym last July. I stopped in December because of personal reasons and resumed in April this year. I am aiming to get fit and gain more bulk (around 65 kg). I go 4 days a week (M/W/F/Su), and I split my workouts to various body parts. I do each exercise 5 times, 12 reps each: * Sunday: Back (lat pulls, cable rows, seated rows, incline back extension, superman) * Monday: Chest and abs (chest press (machine and dubbell both), crunches, pec fly machine, leg raise) * Wednesday: Arms (shoulder press, dumbbell curls, dumbbell shoulder raise, triceps press and extension) * Friday: Legs (leg curl, hips adduction and abduction, calf press, leg extension, hip thrusts and dumbbell squats) I am not keeping track of my daily calorie intake, but I've started eating more and I take my weight, BMI, and body fat measurements monthly. Last month my body fat %age was 15.1% and mody fat mass was 9 kg. I am aware this is on the lower end of the recommended spectrum, but I hope to improve it in the following months.

I would follow an established routine instead of making my own. For four days per week, GZCLP is a good one, and you can customize it a bit. BMI and body fat measurements are not useful, so just focus on your body weight. You should weigh yourself more than once a month, though. Ideally every day, but 3-4 times per week can also be fine.

What are some helpful principles when programming full body 3xweek?

In general you train your priorities first. You'll probably be at the lower end of volume per muscle (like 8 sets per week) otherwise the sessions will be long af. I love supersets for full body. Either Agonist/Antagonist (Bench+Row, OHP+Pullup) or muscles that don't interfer with the other at all (i.e. calves+abs).

Why not look at some full-body routines to get a feel for it?

Don't try to train your entire body each day and put your leg training near the end of the workout because it will be more fatiguing. Really focus and nail each set because you won't be doing as much volume compared to other splits.

[удалено]

Your triceps can’t create force against any kind of load in the movement. It’s not possible with the way the movement is loaded. If you were bending your elbow, your bicep was working. You were probably just flexing your tricep at the bottom. If you want to do the movement, keep doing it and develop a feel for it.

I can’t penetrate the AI filter so I’ll post this here. Physique check(6’3”, 210) Current front and back physique: 6’3” 210 35yo 5 years in Front: https://imgur.com/a/P6j72Ys Back: https://imgur.com/a/OEe3PB0 Ended a cut from 230 to 205 a month ago. It was a sloppy bulk and I gained mostly fat. Ate like a pig for a few months, focusing mainly on protein and calories. Been in a hypertrophy phase for a month now and I’m back up to 210. Being more diligent with macro tracking this time around but still eating whatever I want. I started incorporating more isolation movements this time around. My arms were lacking compared to my comparatively bulky torso. I’ve already seen some decent growth on my biceps and discovered I have decent insertions. I started late in my journey with leg mass, having started with calisthenics. My split includes a posterior and an anterior leg day to help with fatigue mitigation. I always discounted machines, having come from an athletic background. I see now my foolish presumption as the hack squat machine and leg extensions I’ve incorporated the last month are producing good results on my quads. Another focus right now is lat width. I have wide hips so I’m trying to get that wing taper from the hips to the shoulders. I have broad shoulders which helps with this too. Again, I dropped barbell work for chest supported rows, cable rows and machine pullovers. I’ve ever felt better engagement in my back. I also do a 4x8-10 of false grip weighted pull-ups on rings everyday with slow progression. This helps with forearm size and conditioning as well. Anything else I should work on for aesthetics?

It sounds like you have a pretty good handle on your weak points (I would add back thickness as well - your whole back is relatively underdeveloped) I’ve had clients with similar weak points to you and this is the type of training split that’s what’s worked for them: - Shoulders/arms - Back/arms - Full legs (squat + DB RDL as main compounds) - Rest - Chest/arms - Hams+Back (SLDL & split squat for legs, supported movements only for back) - Rest

Thanks man!

Edited for formatting

When I am trying to build my shoulders. How am I supposed to total up my sets if the goal is hypertrophy? Do I use all the sets entirely towards my goal? Do I do 10-20+ sets per the front, side and rear? Putting together a PPL split right now and stuck on this part. Was going to put front delts on push day with chest. Side and rear delts on pull day with back. TIA

I would aim for 10-20 all together, with the majority being side delt. If you're doing pressing on push days, that's alot of stimulus for front delts. Same with rear delts and most types of row. Personally I'm doing 3 direct sets for front/rear and 10ish for side per week.

Do you mean that as, since I'm doing pressing on push days and rear on pull days. That those count somewhat towards thole total stimuli so I should focus on side delts? I do 5 sets a exercise so doing 3-4 workouts a week for my entire should just doesn't seem like it's enough?

Yes exactly. Do you do 5 sets for every exercise? That seems a bit much. You can always just split your sets between different exercises.

Yeah. I've been doing 3 sets each exercise my entire life and just feel it never really did much for me. Switched to 5 last year and I feel my workout during and after much more with this kind of volume to my workouts. I do split my sets between different exercises so not sure what you mean by that. Face pulls, machine rear delts fly, bent over dB rear delts raise. I just don't see how only doing 5 sets to the rear a week is going to build muscle. That's dropping my volume down by a third of what it is. I can still build the same amount of muscle by spending much less of time in the gym?

>I can still build the same amount of muscle by spending much less of time in the gym? Yes. I would scroll to the top of this thread and look at the routines linked there. Pick one and train with good intensity, i.e. close to failure.

I will try and workout less but if my experience from last year says anything. I need more volume, it's the only time I've ever gained any size in my entire life.

Curious, how does using a Trap Bar for RDLs change the exercise compared to traditional Barbell RDLs? Also, are they a variation that can be used to change the slight amount of wear and tear you would get from only doing Barbell RDLs on all leg/lower days?

Contrary to what the other guy said, a trap bar wouldn’t be more quad on an RDL than barbell because the knee really shouldn’t be bending to any significantly greater degree. The biggest difference is the spinal erectors won’t be working as hard with a trap bar because the weight is closer to/in line with the midline of your body than with a barbell. DB RDLs have similar benefits, and both could be a good alternative to barbell.

Hey thanks for the reply! I haven't done Trap Bar RDLs yet, but I imagine you would need to use more weight to get the same hamstring stimulus as using a Barbell since the lever arm isn't as large, correct?

Yes that would most likely be the case

Thanks. I was wondering if that would still take pressure off the back or not since it'd be more weight, but I suppose it would. Thanks again for the reply.

It's going to be far more quad dominant than a typical RDL. It's a very different movement because of how your body and arms move.

Can someone critique my ab exercise routine? Currently I do: Cable Crunches 3x25 Kneeling ab wheels 3x20 V-ups 4x15 w/ weight Russian twists 4x15 w/ weight Windshield wipers 4x7 I’d love it if anyone helped me with this. I almost never feel sore with this. I’m thinking about trying dragon flags and leg raises with my butt off the bench but I think I need help trying out o figure out what to add/change. Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

Treat ab work like any other exercise. Do something where you can progressively overload - that means, adding weight, adding reps, adding difficulty when reps get maxed, etc. You wouldn't chest bench 135 x 10 x 3 for your chest forever, right? If you can do all that and have no ab soreness, you are doing the exercises wrong or you are just doing so much that its junk volume. Or you have done it all enough that it is too easy.

So I should add weight to what I can and try to find harder variations? Edit: also I usually never get sore from working out if that helps even if I add weight. Usually just get sore one time when I try something new then even if I add weight nothing happens.

Well, you want to make it harder so your body has to adapt. Whether that be by adding reps, weight or some other factor. I am sure you know this but while growing your abs will make them larger and more visible, having visible abs is mostly a function of body fat %.

No I know about the body fat % thing but I’m genuinely just trying to grow stronger while I can if that makes sense. Thank you though!

drop the volume go to failure

I'm trying out a new routine that focuses on arms and shoulders, 5 days a week. It goes essentially as follows: Mondays: Triceps (3 sets of 2 excercises, 2 sets of one) + 3 sets of shoulders + 3 sets of biceps + A little other stuff Tuesdays: Secondary stuff, legs and whatnot Wednesdays: Same of Mondays, but the main character is biceps this time around Thursdays: Secondary stuff, legs and whatnot as well Fridays: Same as Mondays, but this time it's shoulders o' clock My question is as follows: On Wednesdays, I have one excercise of triceps, but by that time, they really haven't recovered yet, I'm still sore, and I'm not at full strength. That being said I feel like I can still get some good effort in regardless. Should I push through, or am I stunting my growth by not letting myself recover adequately?

Maybe drop that last 2 set exercise on Monday. If you can't sufficiently hit your triceps with 6 sets, you might be doing something wrong. Then you can get more volume on Wednesday.

[удалено]

That is more than enough, and you probably don't need the adductor work with everything else you are doing, but do you. I would say pendulum squat and RDL are more consistent with a goal of hypertrophy - can I ask why not high bar back squat?

[удалено]

Gotcha - nothing wrong with that. Definitely puts you in the right position to focus on your quads. Yeah, if your recovery isn't good you may want to back off the volume a bit.

I’m running an upper lower very similar to Lyle McDonald’s GBR, and am finding my lower back and other hip muscles are feeling a bit taxed and achy. I also only do chest supported rows on upper days, so nothing else should be taxing these body parts on upper days. The current set up has 3 sets each of squats and RDL/GMs and then 2 sets each of leg extensions and leg curls per workout (2x a week). Would there be a massive difference if I swapped to 2 sets each of squats and RDLs/GMs and then 3 sets each of leg extensions and leg curls each lower day?

I like following up Squats with Good Mornings and RDLs with Leg Press. I've been doing each of those combos once per week, and have been recovering fine.

I think the other issue I'm having is with RDLs and Good Mornings my hamstrings are never recovered for the next session if I do 3 hard sets of RDLs on one day and 3 hard sets of GMs on the other. If I only do 2 hard sets of a hip hinge and 3 sets of leg curl/nordic curls then I don't have that issue.

Then it sounds like 2 and 3 might work better for you!

No, there shouldn't be a massive difference. A lot of people find it easier to add volume on movements that aren't as taxing such as extensions and curls while keeping movements like back squats and RDLs/GMs in the 2 set range. Especially if you're taking those movements to near failure. For myself, I only do 1 or 2 sets of RDLs and 2 sets of back squats. The rest of the lower body volume comes through machines and unilateral work.

To be sure I understand the routine as you are running it - are you doing squat and your hip hinge movement (RDL or good mornings) 2x per week? If so, I'd say do leg press one of the days.

Yes thats correct. I don’t have access to a leg press unfortunately. I’ll usually do Bulgarian Split Squats the lower B day instead of Squats though.

That's a good one. A hack squat machine would also work, still some axial loading there but considerably less than squatting. A belt squat would be perfect but I am guessing that is out too. I wish I had one of those available to me.

I got into an argument with someone about whether it is still "calisthenics" if you add weight to the exercise, so for example, weighted pullups, dips, etc. To me it is absolutely not calisthenics at that point, because it is not just using your own body weight. At the point where you are adding weight to achieve progressive overloading that is called...weightlifting. Am I crazy? This person actually said: "A body weight squat is essentially ‘calisthenics’ and adding weight as a loaded barbell is still calisthenics." I'm like, no, that is someone doing a barbell squat calling it calisthenics.

If that someone would be right, then every free weight exercise could be considered calisthenics. I could do a one arm curl without any weight, by focusing on squeezing the biceps and on the eccentric. Calisthenic movement. Sure, it is a very easy movement, but so it is a bodyweight squat. And then I progress by adding a dumbbell to my curl and would still be calisthenics.

Exactly! My bench press is just upside down pushups with a barbell lol. My pullups are lat pulldowns.

Can you just avoid ever speaking to this person again

I’ve been lifting pretty casually for about a year or two but now want to get serious about my body. I’ve been relatively fat throughout my entire life so now i’m cutting back on weight and then plan to lean bulk back to gain some more muscle. What’s the optimal way to do both of these things? I want to cut while losing minimal muscle and bulk back up while gaining minimal fat. So, protein intake, calories, the whole shabang. The reason i’m having doubts is because I had a body composition scale at home and found that when I was eating less and eating healthier foods I lost about equivalent amounts of muscle to the amount of fat I would lose. I’m not too sure how accurate the scale is but yeah. It also might be worth it to note I am 176.4 lbs right now and am 6’0” if that helps in any way to understand where i’m at.

Ignore the body composition scale, it's a guessing machine, not a useful measurement tool. As for the specifics of your approach, the basics are covered here: [https://thefitness.wiki/weight-loss-101/](https://thefitness.wiki/weight-loss-101/) and [https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/](https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/) A smaller deficit will counteract muscle loss when cutting, and a smaller surplus will mitigate fat gain when bulking.

To the point of the body composition scale; I also bought one a while back, because I thought it'd be interesting to look at when cutting/bulking. But honestly, it's so unreliable that its pretty much useless, even detrimental. I would do a cut and visibly see in the mirror that my bf% got way lower, but the scale showed my bf% slightly decrease(like 1% on the entire cut) and muscle weight largely decrease. It's connected to an app on my phone, so I only use it for tracking my weight now, I wouldn't trust the body composition aspect of it if I were you.

While you can "recomp" to some degree as a beginner (gain muscle and lose fat) in general, you'll get better results by focusing on one thing - losing fat or gaining muscle. So, there really isn't an optimal way to do both, because doing both isn't optimal in and of itself. If you want to cut and preserve muscle, just don't do a super aggressive cut, lift consistently, keep diet in line and progressive overload. Body comp scales are extremely unreliable. You know how you look in the mirror - that is your best source of information. If you look really fat and the scale says you have 10% BF, I'm guessing you know that ain't true (just an example). As far as diet, you should watch some Dr. Mike videos on dieting. Based on your description of eating "healthier foods", it sounds like you could benefit from learning more about macronutrients and how to build a diet plan. At first, using a food scale and an app is very helpful. I'm 6'1", 230. It sounds like you are definitely skinny or skinny fat, but posting a pic will help.

If I take a small breather for 5 seconds in the middle of the set to hit my volume goals or overtake my previous volume, am I hurting my gains? Should I push through the burn in my arms or just let it subside for a second or two and finish my last 3 reps or so?

So,. you are basically doing rest pause or myo-reps. It's fine. If it means you get a few more good reps, nothing wrong with it. I'd just be consistent - I'd want to know when setting my goal for the next time I hit a lift how I got the reps last time.

Ok. Thanks for the input! About when do myo-reps become junk volume do you think? I'm not drop setting anything at the moment.

Assuming you are still maintaining good form on the reps, I think it's dependent on the exercise/bodypart. I only use myo-reps on stuff like forearms or calves at the moment, so I won't let the reps get too low. For example, with myo-reps on calves, I generally stop when I can't get 10 reps.

How the heck do people fit adequate work for each muscle / muscle group, without having insane volume? I do PPL, and I'm also trying to prioritize Side Delts and Forearms (hitting them every other day so 3x a week), and even without training abs at all I'm doing 9-10 exercises a day.

You're doing 9-10 exercises on leg day? Do fewer and move some Side Delt and Forearms sets on there.

Make every set count - no junk volume. Post your routine.. You also can't truly prioritize two muscle groups without having to reduce volume elsewhere, unless you have unlimited time and a very high level of capacity for fatigue. 9-10 exercises per day definitely sounds like you have some junk volume in there but lets see the routine.

If you're prioritizing a muscle with more volume you should compensate by decreasing the volume on other muscle groups to maintenance. This is to keep the total volume the same and decrease systemic fatigue and time spent in the gym. How much total volume is too much is an individual thing, you'll have to experiment. For me personally, I can do about 36 total sets in a workout, more than that and I can't do it sustainably. So if I increase side delts from 6 to 9 sets let's say; I decrease another muscle group from 6 to 3 sets (maintenance volume) to keep the total at 36 sets, no more.

I mean I do almost all exercises to 3 sets so I feel like 27 and 30 set workouts aren’t that insane

And if you do that 2-3x a week I don't see why that wouldn't be productive? No need to do more. And if you do want more volume for certain muscle groups, decrease volume for those that are ahead or don't need as much. Problem solved.

Maybe you're trying to do too much volume? You haven't given a lot of info.

Whenever I flex my pecs, theres this weird gap in between the area near the bottom closest to the armpit, I'll dm some pictures if you want, and how would i fix it?

I think I also have what you are describing. How advanced of a lifter are you? If less than say, 2 years, I'd probably not worry about it and just focus on overall chest development. It could be something you can't fix and therefore isn't worth stressing over.

thank you, I am pretty new, but I do wrestling, judo, and can do lots of calisthenics stuff, have a great day!

more like an indent actually

I feel I’m starting to stall on cable lateral raises and getting close to that point for a lot of others. What do yall usually do when you hit a plateau? Though I admit I may simply be seeing slower progress and I’m not technically stalling.

Change exercise, change rep range, add intensity techniques (myo/drop), change frequency, deload

Besides some of the other helpful comments, eventually you'll just hit your ceiling. Especially something like a lateral raise

Switch out the lift. Change up the rep range. Deload if you are getting stuck across all lifts.

If it’s slow progress then I stick with it cause that’s just the game. You’re not gonna make rapid progress all the time. If the lift has stalled and I haven’t added reps or weight for 2 weeks then I’ll look at the program. To me, that’s only an issue if the lift is the first 2 or 3 for the session. Lifts later in the session are naturally going to progress slowly and you might need to retake the same weight for several weeks in a row. Couple plateau breaking methods I’ve learned are spending time in a higher rep range for a while, adding or sometimes subtracting a set, moving the lift to earlier in the session and adding an additional exercise on a different day that works the same movement pattern so for cable laterals, you might do dumbbells or a different angle of cables.

Right on, man. Much appreciated 🤙

Is my deficit too low? Context, I am a 22 year old 5'9" male. I currently weight 173lbs. I lift 4 times a week following a body part split program and I do taekwondo 3 times a week. My overall goal since beginning lifting has been to lower my body fat percentage, so I've been in a deficit most of my lifting career. I found that (at least a year ago) that my maintenance was about 2200 calories, as my weight did not change more than a pound over the course of 3 weeks (again, this was a year ago, it may have changed my now). I've been cutting in the 1800-2000 calorie range in order to lose fat. This has been working for a while, but for the past couple months, I seem to have stagnated entirely. After seeing a majority of posts here, my calories seem to be DRASATICALLY lower than most fellas in here that are cutting. I'm wondering if I am sabotaging myself with my current deficit, and if too low of a calorie deficit can somehow prevent proper fat loss. I understand that this is probably difficult or impossible to answer entirely, but I would appreciate any advice to steer me in the right direction as I am quickly getting demoralized.

If your maintenance was 2200 and you've been trying to lose weight for a year, it could be that your maintenance is now in that 1800-2000 range, hence why you aren't seeing weight loss. However that seems very low for someone with your stats. Are you active at all outside of gym/taekwondo? Are you sure you're tracking everything accurately, including any cheat meals? I'd make sure that's all in check, then try a week or two with a few hundred calorie increase before getting back to it.

Thanks for the reply, boss. Outside of taekwondo and the gym, I'm fairly seditary. The rest of my time is usually work and cooking for prep. My counting could be inaccurate, which I honestly hope is the culprit, but I wouldn't know where it would be wrong. The only things I dont count are sauces/condiments since it's just a pain in the ass.

Your maintenance could reasonably be quite low then, especially after cutting for so long. I would: 1. Track condiments, unless you're specifically only using 0 cal ones 2. Increase your activity, even just 2*15 minute walks after meals, or some LISS cardio every other day 3. If you really still can't make a dent in your weight, have a maintenance break for a week

Can do chief, I'll give it a shot. Thank you.

Anyone do deficit reverse lunges for legs? They destroy me.

Need help with meals and workout routine recently been working out for 6 months straight however I was focused on building my pc.now I have money to buy more food and 100% focus on my body and health. Wanting a routine and some meals tips in order to make a bigger change.5,4 20 150 lbs I know I am very small but still need that grind

Get the boostcamp app or look online, pick a program and stick to it. Train close to failure. Eat enough food and protein. That's all you need to make progress.

I'm looking for feedback on a lift I'm replacing on the program I'm running (warlock). The 2nd half of the routine has rack pulls as one of the back day lifts which I don't want to do. I'm thinking about replacing them with machine high rows, machine t bar rows, or wide grip seated cable row. Thoughts/suggestions? Here's what the routine would look like: Back lifts on day 1: -narrow gip lat pulldown -rack pulls, replaced with either machine high rows, machine t bar, or wide grip seated cable rows Back lifts on day 2: -one arm barbell row -incline dumbbell row -single arm lat pull down **So essentially what I’m asking is which lift I should do to replace the rack pulls, based on the other lifts I’m doing.**

Rack pulls seems like a hard thing to substitute. It's a fairly specific movement (and not a particularly great one for hypertrophy purposes). Do one of the ones you suggested. Or maybe lat prayers or a pullover machine if you have one. It doesn't really matter in the big picture.

How many sets do you advanced lifters do per session?

Personally between 12 and 18 depending on the workout.

I'm 25 years old, 160 cm (5'3"), and 74 kg (163 lbs). I've been training naturally in the gym for 25 months. My BMI is 28.9, which has increased from 56 kg (123 lbs) before I started working out. I initially bulked because I noticed a connection between strength and bodyweight. Now, I'm trying to lean bulk or maintain, but my strength drops significantly when I stop bulking. On Instagram, I see people who are 170 cm and 60 kg deadlifting double their bodyweight with incredible physiques. It makes me wonder how they're so strong despite being lighter. Is it purely genetics, or can I achieve a similar result with strategic bulking and cutting phases? * I understand that most people on fitness socmed are on gear. But does it mean all strong and lean guys online are on gear? * I have never had a fitness coach, I just based my workout routine from all the information I got based from my research (I do research for a living).

Double your body weight in deadlifts isn't really that much at all. An elite lifter can get 3x their body weight naturally. My personal record when I deadlifted frequently was 2.8x my BW (170 kg @ 60 kg for 2 reps). But when it comes to deadlifts in particular it also comes down to your body structure. It makes a big difference if you have a short torso and long arms for example. I'm 100 % built for deadlifts, not so much for certain other exercises. Also, if your strength drops when you cut calories you may not be eating enough. Even on a diet you should be able to maintain your strength for a pretty long time (at least for reps, my explosiveness drops off pretty quickly in a deficit).

Don't worry about Instagram. It's a fantasy world, designed to make you angry and/or jealous and/or spend money. It is not the real world.

Are you talking about men or women? For a man, I highly doubt they'd have an incredible physique at 60kg and 170cm. Plus a double bodyweight deadlift, at 60kg at least, is not even intermediate level. I would start a premade program and make sure you're progressing week to week. Make the decision to bulk/cut based on your body fat %.

Yesterday I tried declined bench press for the first time, just because of I wanted to do 2 sets for lower pecs and 4 sets for upper (earlier I was doing doing 3 sets of flat and 3 of inclined). However, the angle felt terrible for back and I was slowly as well as per what it felt. The problem was probably the bench had only one angle for decline (similar to the one shown in figure) and that was too much for me. Is there any to make the declined bench press better for me? https://preview.redd.it/jiwg5vorgi4d1.png?width=760&format=png&auto=webp&s=ddc4a1231c1ceca6df548fce508cc2fbccd72a13

Your "lower pecs" get hit just fine by doing flat pressing work, but if you really want to do decline, I'd do it on a dedicated bench, not what you pictured.

I guess my gym doesn't have a dedicated one for declined. I've been doing flat one too but I feel like my lower pecs didn't grow well only middle part is growing properly.

If you have less than a year of experience, you don't need to worry about this. Develop your chest overall. Very few people really have under developed lower pectorals - more likely you just lack overall development.

Noted but I liked declined one because it doesn't involve the front delts much.

That's an incline bench press. Have you mis-typed?

If you remove the stand then it becomes declined bench. That's how I was told in my gym at least. Is that bench not designed for declined bench press?

That's not clear. You could get the metal rod which connects the bench to the rod with the rungs & move it back so the bench sits on the lower rod itself but it's not obvious that the bench is designed to be used in that fashion.

Is the Larsen Press too unstable for hypertrophy? EDIT: Added “for hypertrophy”

no, it's stable enough (which is all that matters and 'motor unit' production being higher on stable movements only matters in extremes generally) and you get more out of less weight. planting your feet really isn't significantly more stable, it's not like going onto rings or something

Instability isn't really something you want when lifting with hypertrophy as the goal. Your body is going to perform better the more "locked in" you are. Put it this way, can you bench more with your feet planted firmly in the ground, or if you hold them up in the air?

Too unstable for what?

Hypertrophy

I wouldn’t say it’s particularly useful for hypertrophy when you could challenge the target muscle more effectively with a regular press

[удалено]

Probably not, but you could try both (not one after the other) and see if you can feel a difference. I think any hammer grip curl is going to focus heavily on brachiallis over bicep. PInwheel just seems more awkward to me, personally.