AllPro: A Simple Beginner's Routine part III

[FitBeyondForty]

Well... After my first complete cycle I have dropped a total of 12.4 lbs.

Just to show everyone how important diet is I thought I would share this. During the first few weeks of my cycle I didn't take diet very seriously.... I lost a little, but I felt I was spinning my wheels. Then, thanksgiving came and went. The following week was spent getting back down to my pre-Thanksgiving weight. Now, since the turkey-day debacle I feel like I have hit my stride with my diet and the weight is melting off.... I now weigh myself every Sunday and just this last week I shed 5.6 lbs.

So, to anyone out there who thinks they can get results on this (or any other) routine without eating right I must implore you to get your nutrition in proper order!!! You'll hit your goals much faster!

Peace,
alacriTEA

A loss of 12lbs in 5 weeks is too much. You don't want to be losing more than 1 1/2 lbs per week. Anymore than that and you are losing muscle.

[Tupperwolf]

Just did the 4th week of my first cycle and kind of disappointed in myself.
I got my 10repmax pretty accurate so the 1st set was rather easy but I'm having troubles with the second one.

Squats 120lbs: 1 sets of 11 wasn't a problem at all, my legs are progressing good. Though the guy from the gym said I had to place the bar higher on my neck so my back would stand more vertical. I always read I had to put the
bar lower on the back. I attached a picture. I normally do it as in the 3rd position but the guy said I had to do it like the second otherwise I would hurt my back. Also I almost did 'ass to grass' while he said that 90° is
more than enough. Kind of confused now what is best.
Any tips one the squats and OHP? I think if I eat well enough I might be able to pass my BP next week, lets hope so!

Who is this guy from your gym? I would like to educate you but I am probably not the best source of info. Get on Google and do some searches for high bar and low bar squats, Olympic and powerlifting squat fundamentals, and the importance of squatting deep. Squatting deep recruits the central nervous system and far more muscle fibers, increasing testosterone and human growth hormone production. Look for articles by Rippetoe. I personally squat low bar and make sure I squat good and deep. I changed my bar position partway through my 2nd cycle, I was using the high bar position.

[DeltaCharlie75]

That's the thing, I don't know if it was a genuine off day. I was trying to find out if the skipping breakfast situation could actually affect my results or if it's just me rationalising my awful endurance xD ... What do you think ?

Try another heavy day and find out. You know your body best.

[Tupperwolf]

A loss of 12lbs in 5 weeks is too much. You don't want to be losing more than 1 1/2 lbs per week. Anymore than that and you are losing muscle.

I disagree. He is morbidly obese. At almost 390 lbs I would not restrict him to losing 1-2lb a week at this stage of the game. I would say killer job alacriTEA, keep it up! At some point you will definitely want to slow down your weight loss but for now, stick with the training and keep the diet in check and enjoy watching the pounds fall off!

[ottawatim]

Not cutting but I'm having trouble eating enough ... I've always been skinny-fat and it's phucking difficult for me to eat so many calories xD.



But do you manage to stick to the recommended rest time between sets then? I swear to god I could not have done (and in fact I didn't manage to complete all of the exercises xD).

If you don't, do you count them as "pass" even if you rest longer? That's my concern now.

And I'm not used to it, omg xD. That was the first time squats leave me like that xD. And if you puke then I guess you are supposed to eat again the lost calories right? I'm having trouble eating enough as it is so that's why I didn't want to puke at all xD.

PS: I guess you've read too much BB.com when your main concern when puking is meeting the caloric requirement thing xD

I have managed to stick to the rest periods so far. It is tough though. I just keep fighting through it and I seem to make it okay. Can barely move when I'm done though. Could have just been an off day. Give it another go and see what's up.

[FitBeyondForty]

I disagree. He is morbidly obese. At almost 390 lbs I would not restrict him to losing 1-2lb a week at this stage of the game. I would say killer job alacriTEA, keep it up! At some point you will definitely want to slow down your weight loss but for now, stick with the training and keep the diet in check and enjoy watching the pounds fall off!

You might be right...I didn't look at his stats. He can probably get away with more than the 1.5lbs a week weight loss.

That said, I would still caution a slow easy pace and to check in with his doc.

Keep up the good work alacriTEA.

[WeiLiSi]

Who is this guy from your gym? I would like to educate you but I am probably not the best source of info. Get on Google and do some searches for high bar and low bar squats, Olympic and powerlifting squat fundamentals, and the importance of squatting deep. Squatting deep recruits the central nervous system and far more muscle fibers, increasing testosterone and human growth hormone production. Look for articles by Rippetoe. I personally squat low bar and make sure I squat good and deep. I changed my bar position partway through my 2nd cycle, I was using the high bar position.

He is the owner of the gym. He told me low back squats will ruin my lower back while deep squats will ruin my knees but do recruit more muscles. Have to say the guy is also against deadlifts. It's more this kind of lifestyle fitness gym than a real bodybuilding/powertraining one. Besides this, you think my stats are in balance? I feel a bit low on the OHP. Also forgot to mention my SLDL which is 110lbs, they go fairly easy but I wanted to get my technique right before lifting heavy.

[ngtvenfnty]

He is the owner of the gym. He told me low back squats will ruin my lower back while deep squats will ruin my knees but do recruit more muscles. Have to say the guy is also against deadlifts. It's more this kind of lifestyle fitness gym than a real bodybuilding/powertraining one. Besides this, you think my stats are in balance? I feel a bit low on the OHP. Also forgot to mention my SLDL which is 110lbs, they go fairly easy but I wanted to get my technique right before lifting heavy.

Why would squatting ruin your knees anymore than bench pressing ruins yours elbows and shoulders? And running makes you decrepit in old age...except its the runners who are still going strong at 75. I don't think id ask the owner his advice anymore, and if he is a trainer as well I would question his school of thought. I felt and saw changes in my body from DAY 1 of doing deadlifts and squats. Everything I ever did to get in shape before that was pissing in the wind by comparison.

[Ferello]

Hey guys I'm currently doign a edited version of this routine due to the fact i have a injured back and have been advised not to use my lower back at all does this look ok?

Leg press
bench press
pull ups(on assisted machine)
seated barbell press
leg curls
upright rows
calf raises

will this still be effective ans is there any room for barbell curls in there at all? as i dont feel my biceps being hit in during rows, decently anyway.

[FaceP1989]

Cycle 1 Week 5 Test Day Complete. Today kicked my ass but got through everything. Squats in particular almost had me, i'm putting it down to the late night Saturday and the moving house on the weekend. Looking forward to upping the weights!

PS: I guess you've read too much BB.com when your main concern when puking is meeting the caloric requirement thing xD

HA!

[sajor]

I just finished my 9th cycle, after doing this workout for over a year, i do believe its time to switch it up a bit,I narrowed it down to 2 workouts either a pyrmid or 5x5 workout.

Currently im 5"6, 140lb, 16% Bf, below are my current lifting stats 2 sets and 12 reps each
Squat 129
Bench Press 129
Bent Rows 112
Millitary Press 75
Stiff Leg Dead Lift 183
Curls 66


I was thinking doing either 5x5 or pyramid workout with the exercises shown above, do you guys think this a good idea , also what should i base my starting weight in , i was thinking with starting with %20 less then what im currently lifting, also and i know this might be a stupid question but, ill ask anyways, in pyrmaid and 5x5 when do you add weight. Thanks guys.

[ottawatim]

C2W5 test day today. I am shaking so bad I can barely type. Had a good workout but I got my a$$ kicked. Here are my lifts.....

Squats: 215>235
Bench Press: 135>145
BOR: 115>125
OHP: 75>85
SLDL: 125>135
Curls: 65>75
Calf Raises: 165>165 Fail! Only thing I failed. Legs just gave out.

Pretty happy. Was real close to failing OHP but feel that I held my form on the last rep though it was a struggle. The squats just take so much energy out of me. And because of my belly, the BORs and SLDLs give me trouble breathing bent over like that. Hope to remedy that soon though. Good luck all!!

[EddieFromEurope]

I just finished my 9th cycle, after doing this workout for over a year, i do believe its time to switch it up a bit,I narrowed it down to 2 workouts either a pyrmid or 5x5 workout.

Currently im 5"6, 140lb, 16% Bf, below are my current lifting stats 2 sets and 12 reps each
Squat 129
Bench Press 129
Bent Rows 112
Millitary Press 75
Stiff Leg Dead Lift 183
Curls 66


I was thinking doing either 5x5 or pyramid workout with the exercises shown above, do you guys think this a good idea , also what should i base my starting weight in , i was thinking with starting with %20 less then what im currently lifting, also and i know this might be a stupid question but, ill ask anyways, in pyrmaid and 5x5 when do you add weight. Thanks guys.

9th cycle but so weak lifts? Is this even possible? Were you cutting all the time?

[sajor]

9th cycle but so weak lifts? Is this even possible? Were you cutting all the time?

Dude im only 140lb , i would say thats average lol

[DeltaCharlie75]

Hey guys I'm currently doign a edited version of this routine due to the fact i have a injured back and have been advised not to use my lower back at all does this look ok?

Leg press
bench press
pull ups(on assisted machine)
seated barbell press
leg curls
upright rows
calf raises

will this still be effective ans is there any room for barbell curls in there at all? as i dont feel my biceps being hit in during rows, decently anyway.

If this is what you can do to work around the injury and it has been approved by the professional who told you not to do lower back work then go for it.

[piroxeno]

Try another heavy day and find out. You know your body best.

I have managed to stick to the rest periods so far. It is tough though. I just keep fighting through it and I seem to make it okay. Can barely move when I'm done though. Could have just been an off day. Give it another go and see what's up.

Ok, thanks guys. I don't know if being a newbie my adding reputation counts, but there it goes xD.

PS: another heavy day like this one scares the sh** out of me xDD

[Desparado]

C2W5 test day today. I am shaking so bad I can barely type. Had a good workout but I got my a$$ kicked. Here are my lifts.....

Squats: 215>235
Bench Press: 135>145
BOR: 115>125
OHP: 75>85
SLDL: 125>135
Curls: 65>75
Calf Raises: 165>165 Fail! Only thing I failed. Legs just gave out.

Pretty happy. Was real close to failing OHP but feel that I held my form on the last rep though it was a struggle. The squats just take so much energy out of me. And because of my belly, the BORs and SLDLs give me trouble breathing bent over like that. Hope to remedy that soon though. Good luck all!!

Nice job Ottawa! I finished Cycle 2 myself last week and it was a ball buster! Keep it going and good luck!

[FalseShadow]

Dude im only 140lb , i would say thats average lol

If you have done this routine for 9 cycles you must have incredible determination... I'm not sure what's going on with your lifts though. You have been working out hard for a year and you haven't reached bodyweight squats? What were your starting weights? I'm certainly no expert, I'm not even very strong, but I feel you need to be more aggressive with the weight if these are your numbers after a year of lifting. If you think it's because you weigh 140lbs, it's not. I am 5 inches taller than you and weighed 146lbs when I started, and after a few weeks of getting the form down I was squatting more than you are now. My progression would probably be considered slow by some. You have to look into what's going on here...

[ottawatim]

Nice job Ottawa! I finished Cycle 2 myself last week and it was a ball buster! Keep it going and good luck!

Thanks man, it was surely the toughest workout I've had up to this point. Looking forward to starting another one though. Good luck to you.

[johnlou1983]

Upcoming 2 weeks straight of only fitness gym center 50 lb max dumbbell sets which only gives me the needed load for half the workouts for cycle 2, but gives me the full load needed for cycle 1 , as a result of a business trip and cruise. Luckily I just finished my first cycle, but now I'm stuck with a question, do I do?

1. 2 weeks of cycle 1 load at 12x reps
2. 2 weeks of cycle 2 load at 8x reps and 12x reps for not heavy enough load?

[Krunkz]

Week 5 Cycle 3 Test/Heavy day. This work out session really kicked my butt!!! Let me tell you.

Squat = 330 (Pass)
Flat BP = 245 (Pass but last two reps were tough!)
Bent-Over Rows = 205 (Pass)
Overhead Press = 135 (Failed, got 12 reps on first set, seemed smooth. hit 10th rep on 2nd set and only got it to my nose. the failure actually felt nice though because I gave it my all)
SLDL = 350 (pass, I was pretty destroyed after these)
Upright Rows = 105 (pass, love these, no shoulder discomfort at all from these so far)
Calf Raises = 250 (pass, did 20 reps each set for these)

This session has been my favorite so far. Sadly it will be my last with this All Pro routine. If i strictly follow it I would be adding 30+ pounds on certain lifts which is a huge increase. I know I could just add 10 pounds etc but I am also feeling it is time to move on. I will most likely be moving to one of All Pro's intermediate routines. I am sure I will still post in here though. This is an awsome group of people. I love the energy in this thread!

[HYMENATOR]

Dude im only 140lb , i would say thats average lol

How many pounds have you put on in that year? I would say you're not eating enough and that's why your lifts are still weak and you've made little progress. I'm not being a smartass, I have the same problem.

[wtiger11]

If you haven't really squatted before and you weigh 200+ pounds, do not be surprised that you can't squat very much. I'll tell you WHY you can't squat much. It's bc your legs are weak bc they aren't used to doing it (just like mine were 5 months ago) and bc you are also pushing some extra body weight (I'm not calling you fat, I'm just saying you're heavier compared to me and your legs are doing more work if you were to squat what I squat). When I started, squatting 95lbs 10 times was hard. This was after my leg pressing to up my strength, and after my squatting on the smith machine for a few weeks.

Another reason squatting is hard for you is because it takes so many muscles. It takes all of these muscles and they are all used to not doing anything, they don't know how to squat, and they are all doing it wrong lol. Picture 30 people lined up trying to lift a really long, heavy log, and just barely doing it. Now picture training these guys for a few months the most efficient way to lift the log, how to work together, and make them a bit stronger. Now have them lift the log and they will own it, because the collective strength of all of their muscles working together more efficiently made them able to lift it so much easier. Add to the fact that they got a little bigger and stronger on top of this, and they will be able to lift a much heavier log. This is what will happen once you learn to squat.

I started squatting 95 pounds 3x5 on starting strength. When I took a break from lifting I was ale to squat 205lbs for 3x5. Thi isn't a lot, and some went faster, but it is definitely progress. You might ask why I keep talking about SS in the al pro forum. the reason I'm here is although bc SS gave me a bit of strength, it got too demanding on my body to try to increase the weight every single workout day. My knees felt the strain of squatting, not bc squatting gives you bad knees or bc I had bad form, but bc I was giving it everything I had EVER OTHER DAY with no exceptions. It was just wearing me down.

To start for squats

When you grip the bar, put your thumb over top of the bar, not below it like you want to. Have your wrist straight, not bent. This keeps you from hurting your wrists and elbows.

Keep your back tight, grip the bar narrower than you want to, it should stretch your shoulders uncomfortably. This creates a "bunching" of your back muscles where you can now rest the bar.

Rest the bar on your back, probably lower than you want. Look online for low bar placement. It's probably lower than you think it should be.

Push your butt out behind you as far as possible

Try to arch your lower back IN, in a concave way. Round it IN, not out. Stick your butt OUT, try to make your lower back so tight it goes past flat and looks a bit curved in. It sounds wrong to round your back, but rounding it in will actually engage your back muscles and tighten everything. It will be pretty flat, but just rounded in a bit. It should feel really tight. Keep it tight always.

imagine you are gonna sit down on a low couch, you know how when you do your butt goes back, you bend over a little at the waist and stick your butt out behind you? You don't just go up to a couch and lower your butt straight down. You'd look like an idiot. Do this motion and sit your butt BACK, not down.

Keep a pretty wide stance. The toes should be pointed out comfortably, maybe out a little more than you would have them naturally. Whatever this angle is, point your knees out over your toes so they are pointing in the exact same direction.

DON'T let your knees buckle in. Keep them wide out by your toes. All nobs do this. Don't let them buck in, keep them out.

Try not to let your knees hang out over your toes. Depending on how long your legs are and stuff, they might a bit bit probably not much.

DON'T let your weight go onto your toes. All noobs also seem to do this. try to push from the heel of your foot, put the weight there. Doing this combined with your tendency to have the weight on your toes will cancel each other out and put it on the mid foot.

When you get to the bottom go as low as you can without having your back loosen up causing your butt to bend in under you.

You just need to get your thigh a little bit below parallel with the floor. You might not be able to do this yet, but your ROM will increase as you squat more. Heavier weight will push you down more. Squat is almost as much stretch as it is a lift.

Sorry if this was too long. Post more questions if you have them. Let me know if I helped.

This helped me out lots, thanks for posting! I found that I needed to place the bar lower on my back and that really helped me get more comfortable when at the bottom of my squat. I think I need to work on my grip and/or wrist position as I found with having the bar lower on my back it did put some pressure in my elbows. This seems real strange for me to have discomfort in my elbows when squatting but I'm sure it has to do with set-up.

[JayRich1]

Any tips for testing my 10rm? I just want to make sure I do everything right the first time so I am not paying for it later on. What is the ideal situation for doing the test (rest, meals, meal contents)?

[Grailer]

Any tips for testing my 10rm? I just want to make sure I do everything right the first time so I am not paying for it later on. What is the ideal situation for doing the test (rest, meals, meal contents)?

Where I failed you might succeed , I couldnt get link to work for finding my 10rm when I first started . But since then found this working link , gluck.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post928710923

[ngtvenfnty]

How many pounds have you put on in that year? I would say you're not eating enough and that's why your lifts are still weak and you've made little progress. I'm not being a smartass, I have the same problem.

No, what you see is a guy who was not very strong to start out (for whom the program is intended) and followed the program exactly. If he started squatting 60 lbs and followed the program exactly for 9 cycles his weight progression looks like this.

c1 60
c2 66
c3 72.6
c4 79.86
c5 87.846
c6 96.6306
c7 106.29366
c8 116.923026
c9 128.6153286

And so he has made exactly the progress predicted by AllPro and by those who say the program should be followed exactly.

[FalseShadow]

Any tips for testing my 10rm? I just want to make sure I do everything right the first time so I am not paying for it later on. What is the ideal situation for doing the test (rest, meals, meal contents)?

My tips would be make sure you do the lifts in order, and only rest for 90 seconds between exercises! This is huge and I think it might be getting overlooked here. When in doubt start lighter, it will help you in the long run.

Example: I can curl 35lb dumbells in each arm for 10 reps. You would think I would do maybe 75 or 80 pounds on barbell right? Because barbell is a bit easier than dumbbell curls. WRONG. For this program I do 55lb barbell curls. Reason being that my forearms are dead after rows, SLDL and OHP. I am also just generally beat from the other lifts. Endurance is my problem, I hope my body gets better at it as I'm on my second cycle now.

Again I would really recommend after you get your 10rm not uping the weight until scheduled to do so even if it feels too light. I should have done 9 reps on each exercise last work out and like an idiot I let people convince me to just go for 11. I got everything but just BARELY and feel like I need to increase weight and reps more gradually like the program says. For me everything felt super light at 8 reps. I almost died after curls at 11 reps. This is what EVERYONE IS SAYING so if you think you are different bc it feels pretty light at lower reps you are probably wrong unless you guessed your 10rm out of nowhere.

It's not just 10% more weight on an exercise. After adding that weight if it feels difficult like you think it should now your whole body is more tired from that little struggle. Then you do your next exercise and you notice your grip isn't as strong or whatever, so then you have to compensate and work harder to do that exercise. It keeps stacking and stacking and it gets way harder than you think it would. So just do it gradually. I SCREWED UP when I knew I shouldn't have. So did everyone else that tried this. Listen to us and just don't do it.

[coupon4]

Just finished my first workout after being out of the gym for over a year. Here were my lifts:

Squats: 115lbs
Bench: 105
Row: 105
Press: 65
Dead lift: 115
Standing upright rows: 65
Calf Raises: 115

2 questions:
1) If I fail a lift in week 1-4, do I repeat the entire week before moving on to the next week? Also what do I do for the medium/light after failing?

2) When you guys do your calculations, do you round up/down? I ended up rounding up to the nearest 5 or 10lb, but that put some of my lifts at the 10MR weight.

[GrimDim]

I'm kinda confused. For this program 20min HIIT workouts are recommended (if you want to do cardio). But won't HIIT greatly tire you? Won't it also burn tons of the calories you need while bulking? I want to do cardio, but i don't want it to mess with my lifts. Could you recommend some kind of cardio i can do on my off days (2 or 3 days) that will keep my heart healthy and generally help with my health/recovery/psychology?

[ottawatim]

Just finished my first workout after being out of the gym for over a year. Here were my lifts:

Squats: 115lbs
Bench: 105
Row: 105
Press: 65
Dead lift: 115
Standing upright rows: 65
Calf Raises: 115

2 questions:
1) If I fail a lift in week 1-4, do I repeat the entire week before moving on to the next week? Also what do I do for the medium/light after failing?

2) When you guys do your calculations, do you round up/down? I ended up rounding up to the nearest 5 or 10lb, but that put some of my lifts at the 10MR weight.

Nothing changes if you fail week 1-4. Keep pressing on. The only fail that matters is week 5. Medium/light don't change either. That being said, if you are failing every week 1-4 on a lift, your 10RM calculation may not be correct.

I always round down. Especially if rounding up makes the weight the same as heavy day. You can round up if you think the prior weight was low but don't rush things. It will get hard quick.