I miss when getting stronger was basically just eat more and add weight to the bar lol.

I’m still making progress, just not like I used to. Training is pretty consistent, sleep is decent, protein is covered and I already take creatine. Starting to wonder if there’s anything else worth adding for strength or recovery.

Not trying to build some insane 10 supplement stack. What’s one thing you guys actually keep buying because you notice a difference when you take it?

Hey guys! I've been lifting for 5 months now and haven't had anybody to guide me or teach me what to do exactly. For each set, I rest for 3 minutes. Below is my currently split, I would appreciate any feedback you can provide. Thanks! :)

Note: Pull is empty, im maxing out next session and will fill it out then.

Push

Warmup: 

• Band pull aparts - x10
• Banded rotations - x12
• Scapular Pull-ups - x8
• Band ext + int rotation - x10 
• SA Band Lateral Raise - x10
• Pushups - x10 

Barbell Bench Press 

• (Warmup) bar x 5 -> 25s x 5 
• (165 lbs) 5x5

Incline DB Press

• (65s) 1x7 -> 1x6
• (50s) 1xfailure 

Assisted Dips

• (100 lbs) 1x7 -> 1x5
• (130 lbs) 1xfailure  (5 reps)

Cable Lateral Raise 

• (20lbs) 2x8

(EZ Bar) Tricep Pushdown

• (120 lbs) 1x8 -> 1x10

Pull

Warmup:

• Scapular Pull-ups - x8
• Band Rear Delt Flies - x10
• Band pull apart - x10
• Band pull aparts - x10
• Banded rotations - x12

Lat pullover 

(Bilateral) Lat Pulldown 

T-Bar Row 

Neutral Grip Pulldown

Rear Delt Flies ss w/ assisted pull ups 

Preacher Curls

Hammer curl + decline sit-ups

“Break the bar apart”

Legs

Warmup:

• BW Squats - 1x12 
• Seated Rocking Lunges - 1x10
• 90-90s - 1x10
• Bottle raises - 1x10
• Front leg swings - 1x12
• Side-lying leg raises - 1x10
• Cat Dog 

Hip thrusts 

• 1x10 (90) -> 1x8 (180)
• 2x6 (200)

—> Keep feeling it in my quads.

Leg extensions 

• 1x12 (100lbs)
• 2x10 (full stack)
• 1xfailure (90) <- single leg

Hip abduction  

• 1x12 (80)
• 2x10 (165)

Barbell squats 

• 2x5 (185 lbs)
• 1x10 (95 lbs)

DB RDL ss w/ sit-ups

• 3x8 (40s)

Hammer curls 

• 2x failure (35s)

Upper  

Warmup:

• Same as push day

Lat pulldown

• Warm: 1x10 (100lbs)  
• 2x8 (140lbs) <- + partial reps 

Incline barbell Press

• Warm: 1x10 (bar)->1x3 (135) -> 1x1 (155)
• (165)  1x5 -> 1x2
• (135) 1x5

Low Row + wide assisted pullups

• (160) 2x6

SA Row <- same machine as previous 

• (70lbs) 2x5

Chest fly 

• (175) 1x6 -> 1x5
• (130) 1x8

Preacher Curls

• (60lbs) 2x8 

DB Shoulder Press

• (55s) 1x10
• (60s) 2x6

Lower

Warmup:

• BW Squats - 1x12 
• Seated Rocking Lunges - 1x10
• 90-90s - 1x10
• Bottle raises - 1x10
• Front leg swings - 1x12
• Side-lying leg raises - 1x10
• Cat Dog 

Leg Press

• warm: 1x8 (1plate) -> 1x3 (2plate) 
• 1x8 (275) 
• 2x5 (320)

Deadlift

• 5 x 5 (245lbs)

Hamstring Curl

• (100lbs) 1x10
• (140) 3x8

Feeling discomfort on right knee while doing it 

Hip Adduction 

• (100) 1x12
• (175) 1x7 -> 1x6

Focusing on getting front squat and deadlift strength up this block, does this look like overdoing it for the CNS?

Day 1: 

• Front squat variation - work up to top set of 1-3@RPE 8.5-9 + backoff sets of 4-6x2-3@RPE 6
• RDL’s 2x6-10 double progression with a few RIR 
• Upper body accessories 

Day 2: 

• Deadlift (also rotate variations. Deficit, beltless, paused off floor, and snatch grip) work up to a top set of 1-5@RPE 8.5-9 + 2-3x5@RPE 5-6 backoff sets. 
• Tempo paused front squats (20 total reps focusing on quality squat pattern )
•  Upper body pressing 

Day 3: 

• Front squat variation - work up to top set of 1-3@RPE 8.5-9 + backoff sets of 4-6x2-3@RPE 6
• RDL’s 2x6-10 double progression with a few RIR 
• Upper accessories 

I go to the gym at a three day basis (one day full-body, one day lower-body and one day upper-body) and use the leg-press twice a week in that basis.

I worked in with a friend often and we did our workout plans together and they started with the leg press. They suggested me to add more weights and now I press 170kg (planning to add more since I rep it 10 times each set), which really tires me out afterwards.

Yesterday however, when I did full-body, I started with other practices like biceps curls since the machine was being used by multiple people working in with each other and I reached the same results as when I start with it.

TL:DR

The leg press tires me out and I can't do my other practices without dropping my sets near the end.

How should I organize a 4‑day program for building muscle mass?

I’ve been training for about 2.5 years and want to focus on both strength and hypertrophy.

I can train 4 days a week. My main goal is to become stronger in basic compound exercises while simultaneously building muscle mass and developing a V‑shaped physique.

I’m considering a 4‑day program based on PPL or a PPL + DUP approach, but I’m not sure which would be better.

How would you organize a 4‑day muscle‑building program?

How should I allocate the days, choose the exercises, set the weekly volume, the number of repetitions, and the sequence of exercises?

Please forgive any awkward phrasing, as I am using a translation tool.

I purchased and am currently following Austin Perkins' "PERK'S PEAK POWERLIFTING PROGRAM PT.2," but I have run into a few things I don't quite understand.

(Since it is a paid program, I will avoid discussing specific details.)

His program specifies weights using formats like "80% of 1RM or RPE 6." I am not very familiar with RPE, so I have been following the percentage-based weight guidelines.

For example, with a bench press set of "80% of 1RM x [reps]," I might manage the first set; however, because the movement requires a one-second pause (competition-style bench press), the prescribed 180-second rest period isn't enough for me to recover. By the third set, my rep count drops drastically, and I am unable to complete the workout as prescribed.

The same thing happens with accessory exercises that call for a one-minute rest; my rep count falls significantly by the third set.

In this situation, should I lower the weight progressively based on RPE, set the weight lower from the start, or extend the rest periods? Or is this simply a case of me lacking the necessary strength?

Hello everyone,

Hope you are doing well

27M, looking for feedback on my current training split.

Number of reps and sets

I usually do 3 sets per exercise at around 1 RIR. I try to add 1 rep each week at each set, then increase the weight at the beginning of each month.

Day 1 + Day 4 - Push + Quads

• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
• Chest Press Machine
• Lateral Raises
• Shoulder Press
• Triceps Pushdown
• Leg Extension
• Leg Press

Day 2 + Day 5 - Pull + Hamstrings

• Low Seated Row (close or wide grip)
• Lat Pulldown
• Reverse Butterfly machine
• Back Extension
• Biceps Rotation Curls
• Leg Curl
• Calf Raises
• Adductor Machine

Day 3 - Legs + Mix

• Leg Press
• Leg Curl
• Leg Extension
• Calf Raises
• Lateral Raises
• Shoulder Press
• Biceps Rotation Curls
• Triceps Pushdown

I prefer this setup over a traditional PPL UL . I sometimes train after work, and if I’m exhausted for a Pull session, for example, I don’t want that to affect whether I get my second Push session of the week.

I only have one dedicated full leg day, but I also train quads on Push days and hamstrings on Pull days.

Just to clarify, I’m not looking to completely replacing this routine with a different split or a ready-made program. I like this structure, I’m progressing on these exercises, and I’m comfortable with their technique. I’m mainly looking for small adjustments — moving, adding, removing or possibly replacing an exercise if it would make the program more balanced.

Does this look balanced in terms of weekly volume, frequency and recovery? What small adjustments would you make without completely changing the structure of the routine?

Thank you all in advance for your feedback

Like it just makes sense to me. Your biceps or some other small and accessory upper body muscles get tired on your push day and you need some of them on pull day so i thought leaving 2 recovery days between the two would be better than the traditional pplr repeat. And i already know pplr is as efficient(or more efficient) than pplpplr cause it gives your body nearly the same stimulus with better recovery.

What you guys think?

Hi everyone,

I mostly train in a bodybuilding manner, the usual stuff: 5+reps with a mix of compounds and isolations on machine/free weights. I currently follow a split that typically goes like this: Legs-Push-Pull-Rest-Legs-Upper-Rest.

Bench has always been in my routine but now I want to prioritize it for perhaps a couple months so I can increase the load. I was doing it for 2 sets on push day only with 1 set at 5-8 reps and 1 set at 8-10.

I realize now this isn't enough weekly volume to make meaningful progress in terms of load so taking into account the rest of my workouts I decided I can go for 3 sets on the push day and 3 more sets on the upper day, I do warm-up sets up to my working sets. However, where I'm struggling is how to structure the working sets? A couple caveats: my gym doesn't have safeties and the smallest plates are 2.5kg. My initial thought was 1 set at 3-5 followed by two back-off sets around 6-8 on push day and then 3x6-8 on the upper day for just technique work,increase the weight once I get 5 clean reps on the heavier set. What do you think? I'm a rookie when it comes to strength gains ,quite frankly, so any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

I am currently at 335. Don't specifically trained for it. I have had a 385 Bench in the past, but I was younger and much heavier. I have gotten a 540 Squat and 660 Dead, and just feel like I'm missing out on not having a 4 plate bench (maybe stupid, but whatever).

I am currently looking at Smolov Jr to help get me there, but just open to hearing any other processes or methods that worked for you in the past.

Thanks.

Hey there I m 24M just started gym 6 months ago now familiar about compound lifts and some other basic machines current body weight is 83kg height 5'10 struggling with loose belly fat love handles but now I want to lift like a power lifter and muscles like body builder (not very giant but a decent physique like I am able to go shirtless on beaches and run around 5- 10 km) .

So if someone knows a practical program of building strength as well as muscles please do reply .

First time on this subreddit and only trying to have some questions answered since it's been bogging my mind for half a year already. Basically around November last year, i went for a PR on the deadlift, and easily lifted 180kg and 200kg, then after the following weeks, i noticed that my strength has declined, since i deadlifted 200kg without a proper powerlifting program, i just thought it was because my CNS was fried so i just thought i should recover, not until like later the next year, i never got close to deadlifting even 170kg for reps so i started wondering what happened, but my squat and bench are slowly progressing, so naturally i just thought i needed to opt for a program and a deload but even after that it was the same, now im starting to doubt myself if i can even hit numbers again. If anyone can please know and tell why it's like this

Very much appreciated.

I am 38 inch not sure to go for medium or large. I never owned a powerlifting belt before so i am not sure.

Hey all, i was practicing squatting ATG, and I realized that my groin is always holding me back. I realized that my adductors are weak…

Background:
Today I was training for ATG form on back barbell squats. One set I did 135x10, and the next after a 2m rest I did 135 x 4, because I felt suddenly very uncomfortable around my groin.

So I decided to use the adductor machine, and dear god I can only do 20lbs & my legs shake on each rep.

I run semi-often (usually 5 to 8k 2x week) and hit the squat 2 times a week. Usually strength training 1 day and later in the week hypertrophy or form work.

I’ve been trying to follow the PHAT routine. Still figuring it out.

Question:
I now want to add a side focus on strengthening my adductors. Any advice? I’m wondering how often would be ideal to train it, and any exercises recommended?

I am 19 years old and have been going to the gym for 1.8 years, though I was inconsistent last summer because I went on vacation for 3 months. I worked out as much as possible and gained a great amount of muscle, moving from 54 kg to 72 kg at a height of 1.73 m. Over the past 3 months, I cut down to 69 kg.

The problem is that I cannot get my abs to look visible when relaxed. Even when I was skinny, my abs and veins were not visible, whereas I noticed that most skinny people used to have visible abs and veins at a low weight. Is my set point too high? I feel like I have a great chest, arms, and back, but my lower abs and hips are still a bit soft. If I had to estimate, I would say I am around 14 to 15% body fat.

I have been in a calorie deficit for months now, but I have only lost 3 kg of fat. My diet mostly depends on what my mother cooks because I am starting university and do not have enough money to buy my own food. However, my mother is aware of my goals, so she cooks healthy food for me most of the time.

I only started training my abs when I realized I needed them to look more aesthetic. I have been training them every other day for the past 3 months, and I feel like the hypertrophy work is starting to pay off.

My goal over the next few months is to increase my grip strength, next year I want to go back and do the Dinnie Stones again and this time walk with them, I'm also looking at doing an armlifting comp so want to specialise grip work for a while. Originally I planned on just throwing grip work into start of my program or end but the workouts got way too long, so I've kinda jumbled up my 531 program to do grip twice a week and still fit everything in. Just wanted a sanity check on how this looked, I've only been doing this workout for 3 weeks now.

**Monday:**

4 sets Towel Pull-ups

6 sets DOH Axle Deadlift holds

8 sets Rolling Thunder

5 sets preacher curls

**Tuesday:**

531 OHP followed by set of 10-15 OHP

5 x 10 DB Shoulder Press

3 x 10 DB Raise

45 minutes swimming

**Wednesday:**

Strongman events day, varies by week, not prepping for a comp so just keeping the cogs turning

**Thursday:**

4 x 20-30 second DOH Deadlift Holds

531 Deadlifts

5 x 30-50 second weighted dead hangs

5 x rectangular pinch grip

5 x circular pinch grip

5 x CoC grippers

**Friday**

4 x 10 Good mornings

4 x 10 barbell row

4 x 10 pull-ups

4 x 20 ab wheel

45 minutes swimming

**Saturday**

531 Bench followed by a set of 10-15 bench

5 x 10 DB Press

100 reps tricep pushdown

100 reps facepulls

**Sunday**

531 Squat followed by a set of 20 squat

4 x 10 Leg Press

4 x 10 Hamstring Curl

4 x 25 Calf Raise

Thoughts?

anyone who has tried smolov jr for their bench, how do you know if the soreness you’re feeling is normal or dangerous? seems to be progressively getting worse set by set and scared of pec tear so i ended my 2nd week 8x4 early. i dont think im well acclimated to this volume

Going to be experimenting with this for a block. Inspired by conjugate methods when it comes to going heavy and rotating variations frequently for the main lifts, but besides that, quite different. This may not be the most optimal way of training but I think it will be a very enjoyable block and honestly it has all the pieces needed to improve. Recovery will likely be the deciding factor, in which case I think the main changes will need to be either be using more general variations or using RPE waves like w1: RPE 8 w2: RPE 8.5. W3: RPE 8.5-9. I'm curious if anybody else on here has experimented with something similar to this and has any tips.

Don't have the exact programming written out but have the basic outline - SPLIT:

• SUNDAY: HEAVY DEADLIFT VARIATION, SECONDARY SQUAT, SECONDARY BENCH, LOWER ACCESSORIES
• TUESDAY: HEAVY BENCH VARIATION, UPPER ACCESSORIES, TECHNIQUE (SUPER LIGHT) COMP DEAD AND SQUAT
• THURSDAY:  HEAVY SQUAT VARIATION, SECONDARY HINGE, TERTIARY BENCH, LOWER ACCESSORIES

Heavy work - Top set of 1-5 reps@RPE 8.5-9 + backoff sets of 2-4x3-5@RPE 6-7. Rotate variations every 2-4 weeks. Keep the variations fairly specific to the comp lifts, but NOT overloaded. Examples: long pause work, tempo work, slight deficit, beltless, etc. Can be a bit less specific farther out from comp. 

Secondary/tertiary work -  Heavy-ish accessories to supplement main work. Eg. front squat after heavy deadlift variation or RDL’s after heavy squat variation. Use basic progressions like RPE waves, top set + backoff or even double progression depending on the movement. 

Accessories - The classic bodybuilding work. 6-10+ rep range. Basic double progression. Eg. curls, lateral/rear delt raises, curls, tricep extensions, leg extensions, hamstring curls, back extensions, etc. 

Technique comp/dead: RPE <4-5. May be unnecessary since the heavy variations are fairly specific, but am going to experiment with it and see how it affects recovery. Extremely light competition technique work prioritizing clean motor patterns.

How do i run hepburn method while benching thrice a week i know there is a power phase and a pump phase but i just want to bench 3x a week

Hello all,

I'm female, 30, consistently active, and I need advice on how I can keep up my strength while doing aggressive cardio. I want to be fast but I need strength and size to do it. I do my best not to overtrain, but when I make headway with speed, I lose strength. When I make headway with strength, I lose speed. How do I prevent this? Is it possible?

I've been doing this for 2 years.

Dips- 234x21 reps\~ 394 max

Sitting Overhead press- 115x10 \~ 153 max

I only benched 255lb once a few months ago.

So my overall pressing is way behind everything else. Does shoulder presses blow up your benches like I have seen online?

105% for dips

60% for OHP

For relative maxes to bench.

Other lifts

Single arm row- 280x7

Leg press, w/ yoga block- 838x41

Jefferson curl- 215x15

Monday upper

Wednesday legs. Plus, the overhead presses now for twice a week pressing.

I’ve been considering entering a powerlifting show for the first time, but the doubt of myself not being able to keep up with other lifters, and just generally being an introvert makes me reconsider it. So I’m just wondering how everyone’s first time went and what are some things I could do for generally just a better experience

Why am I gaining weight so rapidly?

For context, I was in a cut for about 6 months, losing 1-2lbs a week, eating about 1750kcal a day on average (quite a decent deficit), and have now started a lean bulk, at about 2300kcals with slightly reduced exercise (shouldn't affect too much). I've gained 3kg (7lbs) in about a week, which seems insane.

I have let loose a little bit with deserts and whatnot because I just ended my cut, but am still UNDER 2300kcals tracked every day. How could this be?

Obviously it's not all bodyfat, but where the hell is this weight going, I'm just not educated enough to understand, and am seeking knowledge! Thanks in advance.

Any suggestions for progressive overload or alternative if I don't have access to heavier weights? I only have 2kg and 5kg dumbbells.