Is This Program Too Intense?

[Shawn1080]

I'm 16, 140 pounds, I have been lifting for about 4-4 1/2 months (I started in early or mid january) and I started out with doing the fierce 5 novice program for about 2 months maybe 2 and a half month then I moved on to the 12 week bulking plan (12 week daily bulking trainer, as they call it) from bodybuilding and i am currently in week 8 of that program. I am not seeing a tremendous amount of gains. When I started I think I could do either 75 or 85 pounds a few times. I currently do 125 around 3-5 times. I haven't done max yet, but i believe i can only get around 135. I did go from curling 15-20's to curling 30-35's. Anyways, most of the time, I have just been doing low reps with 3-6 sets of it (depending on what it is of course), so nothing has been too intense spare the first week and the 7th week of the 12 week bulker. That all being said, I am probably going to switch plans after this week of my 12 week bulker plan and I was looking at more intermediate plans rather than the beginner plans im using. I found this and it looks pretty intense, although i see it says "for everyone" and it says advanced on another page of bodybuilding.com but it says can be scaled back for any level. My question is will I be ok to follow this current plan or do I need to make changes, if so what changes should be made? Its the FST-7 Get big and ripped 8 week program (if you go to bodyspace and search under "find a program" you should find it pretty quick)

TL;DR Will I be ok to follow the FST-7 big and ripped plan with only 4 months of training?

[CommitmentRulz]

Height? Weight? Your lifts are novice level. You should be on a novice routine. Why did you hop off Fierce 5 at a little over 2 months?

The thing is, as a beginner almost ANYTHING will work somewhat. But why not get on a routine that offers you superior growth for your time and effort?

[Shawn1080]

Height? Weight? Your lifts are novice level. You should be on a novice routine. Why did you hop off Fierce 5 at a little over 2 months?

The thing is, as a beginner almost ANYTHING will work somewhat. But why not get on a routine that offers you superior growth for your time and effort?

Im 5'6 140 pounds. I got off fierce 5 cause I wasn't seeing too much growth to begin with, but I also know that you shouldn't do a program more than 2 or 3 months max as your body gets used to it.

Are you saying I shouldn't use that program(FST-7)? If so, what would be a better solution?

[CommitmentRulz]

but I also know that you shouldn't do a program more than 2 or 3 months max as your body gets used to it.

Not true. Not trying to be mean, but you should forget what you think you know. If you continue to jump from program to program every 2 months, you'll be back here in a year asking what you're doing wrong because your progress is limited/disappointing.

Your working bench is 125 pounds. You should be on a novice routine and ride it until you legitimately quit making progress, after following the deload protocols multiple times. What are you squating and deadlifting?

[DaddyDelRe]

I'm 16, 140 pounds, I have been lifting for about 4-4 1/2 months (I started in early or mid january) and I started out with doing the fierce 5 novice program for about 2 months maybe 2 and a half month then I moved on to the 12 week bulking plan (12 week daily bulking trainer, as they call it) from bodybuilding and i am currently in week 8 of that program. I am not seeing a tremendous amount of gains. When I started I think I could do either 75 or 85 pounds a few times. I currently do 125 around 3-5 times. I haven't done max yet, but i believe i can only get around 135. I did go from curling 15-20's to curling 30-35's. Anyways, most of the time, I have just been doing low reps with 3-6 sets of it (depending on what it is of course), so nothing has been too intense spare the first week and the 7th week of the 12 week bulker. That all being said, I am probably going to switch plans after this week of my 12 week bulker plan and I was looking at more intermediate plans rather than the beginner plans im using. I found this and it looks pretty intense, although i see it says "for everyone" and it says advanced on another page of bodybuilding.com but it says can be scaled back for any level. My question is will I be ok to follow this current plan or do I need to make changes, if so what changes should be made? Its the FST-7 Get big and ripped 8 week program (if you go to bodyspace and search under "find a program" you should find it pretty quick)

TL;DR Will I be ok to follow the FST-7 big and ripped plan with only 4 months of training?

just find a beginner program and stick with it. don't worry about bulking or cutting focus more on just eating healthy.

[Shawn1080]

Not true. Not trying to be mean, but you should forget what you think you know. If you continue to jump from program to program every 2 months, you'll be back here in a year asking what you're doing wrong because your progress is limited/disappointing.

Your working bench is 125 pounds. You should be on a novice routine and ride it until you legitimately quit making progress, after following the deload protocols multiple times. What are you squating and deadlifting?

The novice programs get boring and im left feeling unfulfilled and im never sore. I couldn't keep doing it. Both my squat and deadlift are weak, ill do like 135 or 145 for squat 12 times, and then about 145 for deadlift 12 times, although I could do more i know for deadlift, its just its a pain to do (sometimes literally cause my form can get messed up and I have no belt) but also the last time i checked for 12 reps I had to do it at the very end of my workout compared to the beginning, cause some dude was on it for a while. So Ill see again tomorrow for 3 sets of 8

[rhadam]

The novice programs get boring and im left feeling unfulfilled and im never sore. I couldn't keep doing it. Both my squat and deadlift are weak, ill do like 135 or 145 for squat 12 times, and then about 145 for deadlift 12 times, although I could do more i know for deadlift, its just its a pain to do (sometimes literally cause my form can get messed up and I have no belt) but also the last time i checked for 12 reps I had to do it at the very end of my workout compared to the beginning, cause some dude was on it for a while. So Ill see again tomorrow for 3 sets of 8

lol. Have fun making sub-par progress. Your diet obviously is lacking and you disregard a good program thinking you know better when the fact is you just don't put forth the effort. I'll look for your post in a year that goes something like "Haven't made progress in a year wtf is wrong with me?"

[DaddyDelRe]

The novice programs get boring and im left feeling unfulfilled and im never sore. I couldn't keep doing it. Both my squat and deadlift are weak, ill do like 135 or 145 for squat 12 times, and then about 145 for deadlift 12 times, although I could do more i know for deadlift, its just its a pain to do (sometimes literally cause my form can get messed up and I have no belt) but also the last time i checked for 12 reps I had to do it at the very end of my workout compared to the beginning, cause some dude was on it for a while. So Ill see again tomorrow for 3 sets of 8

They aren't boring you must not be working hard enough. If your not sore lift heavier. You can keep doing it stop being a pussy. They're weak because either lack of good nutrition or you aren't lifting heavy enough. Deadlifts aren't a pain, learn proper form before trying to go heavy, no need for a belt unless u get at least over 250.

[Shawn1080]

lol. Have fun making sub-par progress. Your diet obviously is lacking and you disregard a good program thinking you know better when the fact is you just don't put forth the effort. I'll look for your post in a year that goes something like "Haven't made progress in a year wtf is wrong with me?"

My diet is lacking, currently working on it, contemplating buying a mass gainer as well. I was told by a bunch of dudes that the program isn't going to work the best, and from what I saw, it didn't, and then some huge dude at the gym told me to not go on a plan for more than 2 or 3 months cause your body gets used to it and and builds a tolerance. What is your suggestion I do? Are you saying I should not switch plans, and stop the 12 week bulk plan im on and go back to fierce 5 or finish the current plan im on?

[Shawn1080]

They aren't boring you must not be working hard enough. If your not sore lift heavier. You can keep doing it stop being a pussy. They're weak because either lack of good nutrition or you aren't lifting heavy enough. Deadlifts aren't a pain, learn proper form before trying to go heavy, no need for a belt unless u get at least over 250.

Doing the same 10 excerises (fierce 5) every time I go for months is boring, and I would make sure I would fail on the 5th rep or JUST be able to get it, still no soreness, still left feeling unfufilled. I know my diet is bad and im trying to do better on that though, but im lifting as heavy as I can go for everything (spare the deadlift on my current plan as of last time i did it). So I see you are suggesting I shouldn't switch plans again, so should I stop my 12 week bulk plan and go back to fierce 5 or what should I do?

[rhadam]

My diet is lacking, currently working on it, contemplating buying a mass gainer as well. I was told by a bunch of dudes that the program isn't going to work the best, and from what I saw, it didn't, and then some huge dude at the gym told me to not go on a plan for more than 2 or 3 months cause your body gets used to it and and builds a tolerance. What is your suggestion I do? Are you saying I should not switch plans, and stop the 12 week bulk plan im on and go back to fierce 5 or finish the current plan im on?

The body seeks to adapt to stimuli, yes. However that is why we increase weight and/or reps as well as rep ranges. If you do the same amount of weight and reps for chest press yes over time you will reduce the effectiveness of that exercise. If you look at workout programs they talk about programming and variation to keep you progressing. You don't need to switch lifts or workout programs every couple months that's complete nonsense.

[Shawn1080]

The body seeks to adapt to stimuli, yes. However that is why we increase weight and/or reps as well as rep ranges. If you do the same amount of weight and reps for chest press yes over time you will reduce the effectiveness of that exercise. If you look at workout programs they talk about programming and variation to keep you progressing. You don't need to switch lifts or workout programs every couple months that's complete nonsense.

I see, thank you. Were you suggesting I go back to fierce 5, or finish my current 12 week plan then find a new one?

[rhadam]

I see, thank you. Were you suggesting I go back to fierce 5, or finish my current 12 week plan then find a new one?

Fierce 5 is a fantastic program for novices. Remember, if you aren't gaining weight, that's a diet issue. Your routine has nothing to do with your body weight.

[Lightning315]

Im 5'6 140 pounds. I got off fierce 5 cause I wasn't seeing too much growth to begin with, but I also know that you shouldn't do a program more than 2 or 3 months max as your body gets used to it.

Are you saying I shouldn't use that program(FST-7)? If so, what would be a better solution?

You werent doing smthn right then. F5 is the best novice program.
You can do program for as many time as you want - even 2 years, if its still leads you to progress.
Imo you should go on 200-500 calorie surplus, do f5, read how to do it properly and start doing it, make journal and write there detailed so if you dont do smthn right you can get corrected.

F5 Novice > F5 Intermediate > F5 Advanced > Madcow 5x5 > 531

[ASMahwah19]

I did essentially the same thing as you, running a higher level routine and not understanding why I wasn't making progress. Now I am finally doing Fierce 5. You are going to get on a novice routine eventually, so why waste all this time and effort thinking you are skipping the boring steps when in reality you are just postponing them

[seth9463]

My diet is lacking, currently working on it, contemplating buying a mass gainer as well. I was told by a bunch of dudes that the program isn't going to work the best, and from what I saw, it didn't, and then some huge dude at the gym told me to not go on a plan for more than 2 or 3 months cause your body gets used to it and and builds a tolerance. What is your suggestion I do? Are you saying I should not switch plans, and stop the 12 week bulk plan im on and go back to fierce 5 or finish the current plan im on?

It sounds to me like you're way ahead of yourself. Overcomplicating dieting and programs before you really need to is only going to hinder your progress. Don't worry about your weight until like a year after you started lifting. just focus on getting your numbers up for compound lifts.