A Simple Beginner's Routine part II

[Sngo]

its my first cycle second week, just starting. i do like it. i dont mind the time. i dont even want it to get to heavy to fast because then i could stall. i want to keep progressing every week. i just want to make sure im doing the right thing.

That is how you become successful in this program. Take your time and slowly adding the weight. Remember body building is a life time not a few months or a few years. You will appreciate this program after you past all your friend in squat, bench and DL as well as size. I went from 145lbs -190lbs in less than 1 year.

[lalalalakerss24]

Dude I have a hard time working out in 70 degree. Working out in 80 must be rough

[Sngo]

Dude I have a hard time working out in 70 degree. Working out in 80 must be rough

If you drink water in between set and properly hydrate prior to hit the gym you should be fine. I love it when i sweat like crazy.

[nwhiker]

I'm on day 3 of Week 1 (cycle 1) tomorrow. I am slightly concerned about SLDL and BOR forms because my hamstrings are very tight. I have been stretching, and have increased my flexibility by about an inch. I do not want to change the routine or switch anything out (which seems to be the primary thing people talked about on the old thread). I have not been rounding my back, but range of motion for Bent over Rows is probably recruiting more higher back than middle because of angle.

Do I have anything to worry about as I work on my flexibility?

[Sngo]

I'm on day 3 of Week 1 (cycle 1) tomorrow. I am slightly concerned about SLDL and BOR forms because my hamstrings are very tight. I have been stretching, and have increased my flexibility by about an inch. I do not want to change the routine or switch anything out (which seems to be the primary thing people talked about on the old thread). I have not been rounding my back, but range of motion for Bent over Rows is probably recruiting more higher back than middle because of angle.

Do I have anything to worry about as I work on my flexibility?

SLDL, slightly bent your knees and lock it into the position, on your way down, stick your butt out as far as you possibly can. You should feel a lot of pressure on your butt and hamstring. If your hamstring feel tight, slow down on your warm up sets and pause for one or two count when the weight down.

Bent over rows, bent your knees but don't lock it. Keep your back straight and at 90 degrees angle with your body. You can adjust your knees if it gets on the way. Try to have the bar touch your belly botton. If you feel more on your upper back because your elbow are opened too wide. Keep your elbow close to your body and you will feel more on the mid back. It is not the angle that make you feel that way. it is the position of your elbow

[jimuk]

in in on page 2 loving the program cycle 2 week 1 light day tonight bring on monday!!!1

[TrueQBN]

Sngo, you are a beast. You should really include some before/after pictures.

[moe1111]

guys can i add a tricep exercise i honestly like they dun get worked enough. i kno it wudnt than be all pros program but wudnt it help.

[MatTheCur]

guys can i add a tricep exercise i honestly like they dun get worked enough. i kno it wudnt than be all pros program but wudnt it help.

Bench press. OHP. Curls. Those're hitting your tris.

If you REALLY want to, add one set of a tricep exercise at the end of the routine, AFTER you've done at least 3 cycles.

If you're only on your first or second cycle, you're going to regret adding stuff, rest assured.

[MatTheCur]

Might as well put this thread to use then... so tomorrow's supposed to be my light WO (cycle 3, week 2) but I fell pretty ill today and pretty sure won't be able to do it, I'm on some heavy duty antibiotics at the moment.

Anyway.... my knees are giving me a lot of trouble, especially my left one, they're hurting more and more and it looks like I might have to stop with the squats (and/or SLDL). I'll try to go see a doctor and get sent to a specialist I suppose.

Do you think I could continue with the workout and skip squats (which is actually my favourite exercise, with BP being most hated...)?

If you feel sick don't worry about working out. Get well first. Next see a doctor. Never fool around with joint pain.

I have a different ... situation. My knees are just sore after workouts... And when I bend my right one, I get a bump that forms. It's a little squishy, but not liquid, and doesn't hurt.

I showed it to my grandfather, who's an ex-PPCLI soldier, who said, "Oh, you've got a muscle that's popping out a bit?". Is that what that is?

[TFlorian]

Is this program good to get ripped (Lose BF%) ?

[MatTheCur]

Is this program good to get ripped (Lose BF%) ?

Any program alone is not enough to get ripped... You have to watch your diet too.

This program splits between size/strength/endurance. If you're looking for a beach body and quick, this probably isn't the program for you.

[mmapcpro]

Just finished up week 1. Today I did the SLDL's instead of the RDL's that I was inadvertently doing before, but I did them up on a 4" block.

I moved my hips back as far as I could during the descent while keeping my back straight...at the bottom, I hung my shoulders down as far as I could reach...then I would pull my shoulders back up to straighten everything out, and then raise my back as I pulled my hips in...finished by squeezing the cheeks.

This sound right? I was able to really feel it good in my lower back, glutes, and hams.

I also added incline crunches and leg raises at the end of the workout...but I actually failed on my second set of leg raises at 8 reps (was shooting for 10...planning on doing 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 reps through the 5 weeks)...guess I need to work on that. Maybe I"ll keep the reps just like the other exercises for the 1st cycle until I don't fail.

[mozzi101]

Just finished up week 1. Today I did the SLDL's instead of the RDL's that I was inadvertently doing before, but I did them up on a 4" block.

I moved my hips back as far as I could during the descent while keeping my back straight...at the bottom, I hung my shoulders down as far as I could reach...then I would pull my shoulders back up to straighten everything out, and then raise my back as I pulled my hips in...finished by squeezing the cheeks.

This sound right? I was able to really feel it good in my lower back, glutes, and hams.

I also added incline crunches and leg raises at the end of the workout...but I actually failed on my second set of leg raises at 8 reps (was shooting for 10...planning on doing 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 reps through the 5 weeks)...guess I need to work on that. Maybe I"ll keep the reps just like the other exercises for the 1st cycle until I don't fail.

Not sure on the shoulders moving down in a SLDL, the way I do them is start position, chest out shoulders back, knees slightly bent, then swivel at the hips and drop as low as I can whilst being able to maintain a straight back with face pointing forwards, (I imagine a gorilla pose) then lift back up again from hips again causing a slight pelvic thrust. No other body parts moving, arms and shoulders motionless. Not sure if that's right but that's how they look to me in the vids. I would worry that dropping your shoulders might cause the back to arch, not sure on this though. To be sure your back is straight do a side on in the mirror without a shirt, look most closely at the lowest point you go, if it looks curved it is.

Just finished my week 4, cycle 1, roll on next week, itching to get onto the next cycle.

[mmapcpro]

Not sure on the shoulders moving down in a SLDL, the way I do them is start position, chest out shoulders back, knees slightly bent, then swivel at the hips and drop as low as I can whilst being able to maintain a straight back with face pointing forwards, (I imagine a gorilla pose) then lift back up again from hips again causing a slight pelvic thrust. No other body parts moving, arms and shoulders motionless. Not sure if that's right but that's how they look to me in the vids. I would worry that dropping your shoulders might cause the back to arch, not sure on this though. To be sure your back is straight do a side on in the mirror without a shirt, look most closely at the lowest point you go, if it looks curved it is.

Just finished my week 4, cycle 1, roll on next week, itching to get onto the next cycle.

Do you feel it really starting to get harder on your 4th week? Because it still feels very easy to me. I was doing SS for 2 weeks prior to this, and every workout I increased weight...this feels very different, but I'm trusting the system.

[mozzi101]

Do you feel it really starting to get harder on your 4th week? Because it still feels very easy to me. I was doing SS for 2 weeks prior to this, and every workout I increased weight...this feels very different, but I'm trusting the system.

Harder yes, in some areas not so bad as others, but I really think the first cycle your body or CNS is still adjusting so some things catch up more quickly. I had hoped my squats would feel easier being bigger muscles, I thought they would get strongest first, not the case, they kill me every time, I hate them lol! My bench on the other hand is too easy and the rest of them got harder as you would expect with each additional rep, that's just for me.

Hardest are over head press and that seems common for a lot doing this routine. To be honest I was sure I was going to fail work sets this week as I almost did the week before, but the strength progress with the de load really does work for me and I got through them ok on week 4 to my surprise.
I started out light though as I am quite happy with slower steady strength gains at the start cos of my age and shocking history of lethargy. I know many others on here going heavier at the start couldn't make all their sets in the later weeks. So you will just have to wait and see how well you picked your starter weights, just remember if your first cycle turns out to be way off on certain exercises you can make some bigger adjustments to cycle 2 to get you closer to your limit.

I'm sure some others will chime in on their experiences.

[Basslover]

Wow, today was my first workout in the gym, i too am going to strictly stick to this training.
Today i tested how much weight i could do, 10 rep max.
I tested 3 exercises:Squats, Bench Presses and Bent-Over Rows, wanted to take it easy and didnt want to test all the exercises.

Tommorow i will test Overhead Barbell Presses, Stiff-Legged Deadlifts, Barbell Curls and Calf Raises.

For the 3 exercises i tested i first did a warmup with a empty bar, then i gradually put some more weight onto the bar. In total i did 4 sets for each exercise, with the fourth set i could make the 10 reps, with the tenth rep i was kinda shaking but i did it.
Will this be enough to find out my 10 rep max or should i test it more, maybe i can lift more weight. But like i said with the final set i was thinking ok this is the weight i should start with.

Here are the weights i used for the exercises:

Squat: 110 lbs , 4th set managed 10 reps
Bench Presses: 100 lbs, 4th set managed 10 reps
Bent-Over Rows: 66 lbs, 4th set managed 10 reps

Maybe if i test these exercises more i can do a little more weights, but thinking about it, these weights i felt comfortable doing, not to easy, not to hard.
What do u think, should i test more to see if i can do more weights or are these weights good to start with?

Thanks in advance.

Oh, and to AllPro, congrats with the second channel .

[MatTheCur]

Wow, today was my first workout in the gym, i too am going to strictly stick to this training.
Today i tested how much weight i could do, 10 rep max.
I tested 3 exercises:Squats, Bench Presses and Bent-Over Rows, wanted to take it easy and didnt want to test all the exercises.

Tommorow i will test Overhead Barbell Presses, Stiff-Legged Deadlifts, Barbell Curls and Calf Raises.

For the 3 exercises i tested i first did a warmup with a empty bar, then i gradually put some more weight onto the bar. In total i did 4 sets for each exercise, with the fourth set i could make the 10 reps, with the tenth rep i was kinda shaking but i did it.
Will this be enough to find out my 10 rep max or should i test it more, maybe i can lift more weight. But like i said with the final set i was thinking ok this is the weight i should start with.

Here are the weights i used for the exercises:

Squat: 110 lbs , 4th set managed 10 reps
Bench Presses: 100 lbs, 4th set managed 10 reps
Bent-Over Rows: 66 lbs, 4th set managed 10 reps

Maybe if i test these exercises more i can do a little more weights, but thinking about it, these weights i felt comfortable doing, not to easy, not to hard.
What do u think, should i test more to see if i can do more weights or are these weights good to start with?

Thanks in advance.

Oh, and to AllPro, congrats with the second channel .

If you do a split test, like what you're doing, your muscles will have a day to rest. When you do the other exercises, you're not going to get a feel for what it'll be like when you're doing the actual routine.

You want to go in, warm up for each exercise, then choose a weight you think you can lift, and rep until failure. The best results come from 6-9 reps, as they yield the closest 1RM/10RM calculations.

Think about doing the entire routine, but with 2 warm up sets, and then loading the bar to rep until failure.

[Basslover]

If you do a split test, like what you're doing, your muscles will have a day to rest. When you do the other exercises, you're not going to get a feel for what it'll be like when you're doing the actual routine.

You want to go in, warm up for each exercise, then choose a weight you think you can lift, and rep until failure. The best results come from 6-9 reps, as they yield the closest 1RM/10RM calculations.

Think about doing the entire routine, but with 2 warm up sets, and then loading the bar to rep until failure.

Lol, i started wrong right away allready , u are right, i should do them all. Should i start over tommorow and test all the exercises or should i rest a day because i did 3 exercises today? And what would be the maximum sets for rep until failure, i mean is it normal that i maybe need 6 or 7 sets until i find out my rep failure? Also how much weight should i add to the bar for the next set?

Thanks.

[Xyas]

Well everyone I have returned from a 3 week hiatus of working out. I took all pro's advice and instead of changing my weights to account for the lack of barbell at the gym I was at in Florida, I just took the three weeks off and came home to restart where I left off.

I was on the 11 rep week of my third cycle. I actually was able to complete everything and was very impressed and surprised by it. I am happy where I've gotten myself (I lost 15 pounds over the course of the 3 cycles) dropping my weight from 180 pounds to 165 (which I did to look good for spring break ). My body fat percentage has gone down significantly and I'm going to start trying to bulk now.

I calculated that I need about 3600 calories a day to increase my weight by 1 pound each week. I've bought a food scale as well as a bunch of healthy food to get me started bulking up.

My upper body measurements as of 3 weeks ago were...
Upper arm left:12 inches
upper arm right: 12 inches
Chest: 39 inches

Nothing big, I know...but let's see how I progress with the program (which I've loved so far).

My current supplements for the workout program are creatine, xtend, myofusion protein powder, and cytogainer meal replacement shakes (due to long shifts at work).

Thanks everyone for the help so far in the last topic, and I hope to be a bigger part and more helpful in this one! I'll let you know how things continue to progress. Pictures to come soon as well of before and after starting the workout.

[Sfatalis]

WOW nice they had to make another thread to carry on the Q's

Tonight is my final workout day for week #4 of cycle 1. The Light Workout.

I am surprised at how resilient my legs/knees are considering last night I played a soccer game(forgive me lol) with a whole bunch of punishing sprinting. I think I can do squats today no problem.

I'm startin to get shoulder pain though, which started Tuesday after my heavy day. I think sloppy presses have something to do with it. Should I rest my shoulders?

And please does anyone have a reliable description or preferably a vid describing the overhead press? thanks.

[Basslover]

And please does anyone have a reliable description or preferably a vid describing the overhead press? thanks.

I am not alowed yet to post links but cant u search on youtube? There are alot of videos about overhead press

[Xyas]

WOW nice they had to make another thread to carry on the Q's

Tonight is my final workout day for week #4 of cycle 1. The Light Workout.

I am surprised at how resilient my legs/knees are considering last night I played a soccer game(forgive me lol) with a whole bunch of punishing sprinting. I think I can do squats today no problem.

I'm startin to get shoulder pain though, which started Tuesday after my heavy day. I think sloppy presses have something to do with it. Should I rest my shoulders?

And please does anyone have a reliable description or preferably a vid describing the overhead press? thanks.

This is the one I use and it works great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJFjYyA40ss

Hope that helps!

[lalalalakerss24]

Bench press. OHP. Curls. Those're hitting your tris.

If you REALLY want to, add one set of a tricep exercise at the end of the routine, AFTER you've done at least 3 cycles.

If you're only on your first or second cycle, you're going to regret adding stuff, rest assured.

Curls hit triceps? Isnt it okay to add chin ups on your light day?

[Max10]

Do you feel it really starting to get harder on your 4th week? Because it still feels very easy to me. I was doing SS for 2 weeks prior to this, and every workout I increased weight...this feels very different, but I'm trusting the system.

It will definitely become more difficult at week four and five. Your last five words are the key, though. I think we all completely understand the need to feed the fire to get after it and not feel like you're wasting workout time. A good program will get you amped, so staying patient will be possibly one of the hardest disciplines with this whole setup.

I can tell you this, though.....After a few cycles, I still will start up the next one and feel like week one and two are too easy. I actually felt this in my last cycle, right up to week five. That's when I promptly and thoroughly had my butt kicked, progressing in weight in only two of the exercises. I would have SWORN three weeks ago that I'd be adding weight to BP and probably OHP, too. But, no, not this go around.

I guess my point is that weeks one and two tend to be deceptive. Again, rely on those five words and you'll be glad you did. I mean, what's the worst that can possibly happen? Even if you're adding 10% in every exercise through your first two or three cycles you're certainly not losing ground!

[Sngo]

Sngo, you are a beast. You should really include some before/after pictures.

I didn't take any before pic except a few that was about couple years old . Since it is summer and i have my Physical test coming up so i decided to stay at 185 till the test is over then i will really start adding more weight.

[Sngo]

Bench press. OHP. Curls. Those're hitting your tris.

If you REALLY want to, add one set of a tricep exercise at the end of the routine, AFTER you've done at least 3 cycles.

If you're only on your first or second cycle, you're going to regret adding stuff, rest assured.

I agree with MatTheCur. IMO Bis and Tris workout are not necessary at this point. I rather add dips, Chin, pull down and standing rows before any isolate workout. Just my $.02....

[mozzi101]

Well everyone I have returned from a 3 week hiatus of working out. I took all pro's advice and instead of changing my weights to account for the lack of barbell at the gym I was at in Florida, I just took the three weeks off and came home to restart where I left off.

I was on the 11 rep week of my third cycle. I actually was able to complete everything and was very impressed and surprised by it. I am happy where I've gotten myself (I lost 15 pounds over the course of the 3 cycles) dropping my weight from 180 pounds to 165 (which I did to look good for spring break ). My body fat percentage has gone down significantly and I'm going to start trying to bulk now.

I calculated that I need about 3600 calories a day to increase my weight by 1 pound each week. I've bought a food scale as well as a bunch of healthy food to get me started bulking up.

My upper body measurements as of 3 weeks ago were...
Upper arm left:12 inches
upper arm right: 12 inches
Chest: 39 inches

Nothing big, I know...but let's see how I progress with the program (which I've loved so far).

My current supplements for the workout program are creatine, xtend, myofusion protein powder, and cytogainer meal replacement shakes (due to long shifts at work).

Thanks everyone for the help so far in the last topic, and I hope to be a bigger part and more helpful in this one! I'll let you know how things continue to progress. Pictures to come soon as well of before and after starting the workout.

Hey losing 15 pounds from 180 great result, I am trying to do similar and realized a couple of days ago that I was actually gaining weight, slightly confusing as it could be muscle weight but I think generally my calories were too high so I am going to chop off 500 off my maintenance rather than 250 as I was doing before and see how that goes. I have also changed up from beer to whiskey to cut some more cals and carbs from my drinking nights, that's a 300 cal saving or more right there. According to my wifes measurements my waist has decreased an inch and my shoulders gained 2 inches, not totally convinced yet though as water weight could give those differences depending when taken and we did that measure early morning. My aim is to get to 15% body fat from 25% and then start bulking. (plus 500 cals on maintenance)

[dgaughan]

I'm going to be starting this routine soon at home by myself without a spotter. What if any problems are there is you do squats & bench presses without a spotter. Perhaps I should rely on DBs instead of barbells without a spotter?

[lalalalakerss24]

I agree with MatTheCur. IMO Bis and Tris workout are not necessary at this point. I rather add dips, Chin, pull down and standing rows before any isolate workout. Just my $.02....

So chin ups are good at the end of my light workout?

You probably have no trouble working in 80 because you were in the Marine? (correct or was it something else)