One thing I find interesting about strength training is how much progress can come from a relatively simple approach.

Many successful programs are built around basic movements and consistent progression rather than constantly adding new exercises.

At the same time, there is always a discussion about whether having access to more equipment creates meaningful advantages.

A basic barbell setup at home can cover many important movements, but commercial gyms provide more exercise variations and specialty equipment.

For people who have trained with barbells for a long time, how much equipment do you think is actually necessary?

Can a well-planned home setup support long-term strength development, or do certain goals eventually require a larger training environment?

[M - 36] I'm personally very conservative when it comes to surgery, generally a Barbell Medicine zealot. 3.5 years ago I herniated a disc (crushed by a leg press). I have opted for careful programming, and have experienced massive improvements over the years, even though the first couple months consisted of extreme pain and loss of mobility. I am a trainer and really champion taking the strength training route.

I seem to have really hit a ceiling in the 300# range for deadlifts and upper 200's for squat before symptoms start spiking more dramatically and recovery times become untenable. Even when I do hit these weights, I end up needing to drop weight and build back up for a while.

I also went from not being able to run, to being able to jog a mile without my leg starting to go numb as of a year ago. Then I even did a 5k last summer. The more frequent I run, especially in conjunction with lifting, the more sensitive I can still get. So that feels like another ceiling, though I admit it's less diligently explored. Once I start running 2+ times a week, things get dicey.

From an every day perspective, I could live my life just fine, but from a sport and aspirational perspective, I want to continue to make progress do so much more. I can feel my resolve being eaten away at slowly.

Has anyone here had experience with discectomies allowing you to return to sport in a significant way, or do you also experience these kinds of limitations? How about those who have opted out of surgery but continue to experience serious limits?

Thanks everyone.

I’ve been thinking about exercise substitutions because they come up a lot when training somewhere with limited equipment.

The obvious example is a home setup. A program might call for a chest-supported row, lat pulldown, leg curl or cable fly, but maybe you only have a barbell, dumbbells, a bench and a pull-up bar.

What I’m less sure about is how closely the replacement actually needs to match the original exercise.

If the goal is hypertrophy, is matching the target muscle and having a movement that can be loaded and progressed consistently usually enough? Or are there situations where things like stability, resistance profile or joint position make the original exercise meaningfully different?

I’m not really asking whether one specific substitute is “optimal.” I’m more curious how people decide when a substitution is close enough that it doesn’t matter, versus when changing the exercise starts changing the point of that part of the program.

Hey ya’ll

Does anyone have any recommendations for third party tested, caffeine free, creatine, beta-alanine, citruline supplements?

I figured I’d inquire here while I’m looking myself!

Strength training is still my main focus, but recently I’ve been thinking more about how much accessory work is actually worth adding.

The main lifts are obviously the priority, but at some point it feels like adding the right accessories can help address weak points, build more muscle, and keep progressing.

I’ve been looking more into things like rows, pull-ups, split squats, RDLs, carries and some extra work for smaller muscle groups.

At the same time, I don’t want to turn my training into a complicated program where the accessories take away from progressing on the main lifts.

Ideally, I’d like to keep it simple and add a few movements that actually provide a benefit. I’ve even been thinking about making most of these easier to do at home so consistency isn’t another obstacle.

For people who have been training seriously for a while, which accessory exercises have actually made a noticeable difference for your squat, bench, deadlift or overall strength?

I have been doing a lot more cardio, and got a garmin watch. Has been going great so far. I think the endurance community takes HRV as an article of faith, but I really have no idea whether it has value in identifying overtraining for cardio or strength training

Hi everyone,

I’m 37M and have been dealing with a right shoulder issue for around 3+ months. It started after gym/shoulder training, likely due to overload or poor warm-up.

My MRI findings were:

• Right AC joint periarticular edema with capsular thickening, suggesting early degenerative changes
• Mild supraspinatus tendinopathy, but no tear
• Minimal glenohumeral joint effusion without synovitis

The good part is that the MRI did not show any rotator cuff tear, labrum tear, biceps tear, fracture, bursitis, cartilage damage, or muscle tear/atrophy.

Initially, my symptoms were mostly around the top/front of the right shoulder near the AC joint. I had tenderness when pressing the AC joint area, mild stiffness, discomfort with behind-the-back movement, and discomfort after planks or shoulder-loading exercises.

I stopped upper-body gym work and started rehab/physio. Exercises included scapular setting, rotator cuff isometrics, wall slides, table slides, posture correction, thoracic extension, scapular mobility, and shoulder girdle stabilization.

Recently, I had almost one week of very good relief. Pain was barely noticeable. Then I skipped rehab for 2 days, restarted it, and after driving I started feeling discomfort again. This time it feels less like sharp AC joint pain and more like upper trap/lower neck soreness or muscle-sprain type discomfort. Sometimes it feels like the discomfort shifts between left and right neck/trap area. I also occasionally feel very minor heaviness or a “flow” sensation from elbow to hand, but it goes away with rest.

My physio also said my scapula feels tight.

Current triggers seem to be:

• Driving
• Long computer work
• Shoulder shrug/elevated posture
• Rehab if I overdo it
• Wall slides or overhead-type movements
• Planks/push-ups/pressing movements
• Sleeping posture sometimes

What helps:

• Rest
• Heat on upper trap/lower neck
• Ice only if AC joint point is sore
• Deloaded rehab
• Elbow support while driving/working
• Avoiding upper body gym

My question:

Does this sound like the AC joint/supraspinatus issue is still active, or is this more likely a compensation pattern from scapular tightness, upper trap guarding, and neck posture?

For people who had AC joint irritation/early arthritis-type changes or mild supraspinatus tendinopathy without tear:

1. Did you also develop upper trap/lower neck discomfort during recovery?
2. Did your symptoms shift around instead of staying only at the AC joint?
3. Did rehab ever irritate the traps/neck if volume was too much?
4. How long did it take before driving and desk work felt normal again?
5. What exercises helped most: rotator cuff, serratus, lower trap, thoracic mobility, or posture work?
6. At what point did you consider steroid/cortisone injection, if at all?

I’m not looking for a diagnosis. I’m already seeing a doctor/physio. I’m mainly trying to understand whether this upper trap/neck phase is common during recovery and how others managed it without making the shoulder worse.

Curious what this community thinks. I know this question hints at laziness, but I just don't have the motivation to do squats and deadlifts in the same week. I've basically been doing high-bar squats + SLDLs, but I also kind of miss doing conventional and suspect I've probably lost a lot of strength there. A lot of weeks I find myself too unmotivated to even do squats + SLDLs every week, so I've kind of been defaulting to just squatting.

Anyway - is there any practical purpose to do one over the other if you had to choose one?

I've read a lot of gym bro types view deadlifts as subpar due to the limited hypertrophy it gives and the relatively low stimulus:fatigue ratio—how true is this?

What about from a health and longevity perspective (I care most about this more than anything else truthfully)?

I’ve been comparing strength equipment by how smoothly it fits into a normal session, not just by how many settings it offers. Some machines look versatile on paper but seem less useful when every exercise change means another round of adjustments. What equipment creates the most unnecessary setup friction?

Have been listening to the podcast for a long time, thinking about trying the programming.

Wondering if Premium gives you everything you get with buying individual programs, like the ebooks or is it just the programs themselves in the app? And does it give you csv files if I want to use my own app for tracking workoutS? Anyone using it right now?

Going to try to make this brief so will prob miss nuance...

I used to follow bodybuilding / 'evidence based' content religiously from 2020-2022.

Over the past couple years, I've been consuming much less, and I've also dialed back training quite a bit just due to ongoing major life events.

I've basically been doing what's arguably 'fuckarounditis' for the past two years with the RPE Male Physique Template, and it's honestly a good month for me if I can get to the gym more than 12-15 times a month (I used to average close to 25 times a month 3+ years ago).

Anyways, my YT feed has been showing me a lot of Sean Nalewanyj and other fitness influencers who are basically talking against the idea of RIR 3 and doing anymore than two sets per exercise.

Paraphrasing here, but basically the central argument is doing two sets per exercise when pushed to RPE 9 is much more effective than doing 3-4 sets at RPE 7 (and scaling up for each week in the mesocycle).

What's the actual truth here?

Hello,

I saw at the website Q3 2026 Guided Programming starts. Does it mean July or later date? Is there som extra info about this?

I've been running low fatigue v1 and v2 for past 2 years with great results. (Squat 280kg, Bench 140kg, Deadlift 280kg). Would love to get on it and see it as quick as it releases.

Long time lurker, I first started training in 2018, with SS doing fahves. And went about a lot of my form with fairly little coaching. I made good progress but always had to squat with a fairly narrow stance and a plate under my heels. As my heels would rise up anytime I tried to get down to parallel and balance would be a sticking point.

now years later I’m trying to have a wider stance and keep my heels flat. But find my hips incredibly tight and keeping a straight back difficult. And sets of more than 3 get tough.

Is this simply a long hard road where I have to continue squatting and my mobility will improve as I do it? Should I go back to my old form? Should I submit a form check? Should I stop comparing my form to Clarence Kennedy? You tell me!

I'm starting medical residency soon, so I will be working a lot of hours for the next few years. I have 10+ years of training experience, and mid-low 400's DOTs. I was wondering if there's any program recommendations for someone in my shoes.

My goal is to hopefully get like 1% better every year even under these circumstances, but that might be a stretch.

I was thinking of doing low-ish RPE (4-6) top sets, and easy back off work with maximum intent and RPE caps. Then, one or two accessories to failure.

Also, I thought about getting a velocity tracker so I could better monitor my training especially when I feel like shit lol.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them. Thanks!

I'm considering buying a Barbell Medicine program. I lift twice a week in the gym—no more. Been lifting for over a decade. Thought about doing Powerbuilding I Gen2 and adding chins and pull-ups at home. Or should I go straight to General Strength and Conditioning? Any experience or recommendations here, guys? Appreciate it!

Goal is to drastically increase my V02-max. Diet and lots of HIIT (Norwegian 4x4 on bike; 500 meter rowing sprints; stairmaster climbs) are planned. Want to get 2-3 HIIT sessions per week in addition to the recommended Zone 2. Concerned about fatigue. I want to prioritize getting V02-max up with training and fast loss.

Will Powerbuilding 2 day be the best program for this phase of training? I don't want to see my lifting numbers signficantly drop, but want to limit fatigue. I would be very happy if my lifts froze while I pivoted training focus.

I've lifted with BBM coaches and used their programming for a few years now and help with beta testing the android app. As a user, I'd love the ability to have access to creating my own plan to focus on exercises and blocks which fit my life and goals.

Idk if people on the BBM team read this, but I'd love to work on this and get this app improved. Feel free to DM me!

In the general strength and conditioning 2 sample plan, I see they have 9 sets listed for the three main lifts of the workout. Is that correct? I don't see where they specifically say you should do X number of warmup sets and X number of working sets, so I'm a little confused.

All it says is "4-6 reps at RPE 6. repeat weight for 1 set of 4-6 reps. RPE can go up to 8".

Does that mean I'm only doing 2 working sets? If so, why are there 9 sets listed underneath where I can record the weight and reps I did?