AllPro: A Simple Beginner's Routine part III

[syncmaster913n]

Nice work. Best of luck on the new routine.

Medium day for me tonight. Heavy day was Monday then I went to a friends for New Years and while I was good about not drinking too much, I prob did have a little too much holiday snacks...lol

I plan on ramping up the core work and cardio for until the end of my time on this routine.

Thanks!

Holiday snacks will give you more energy in the gym

[ngtvenfnty]

Happy New Year to all, hope everyone made out okay in the past week or so. I am glad to finally get back to normal, my Christmas week was not fun as I did 2 heavy days. This week aside from New years and too much drinking etc was back on track.

Cycle 4 week 4 medium day was today, felt a lot more difficult than I expected granted I still ended up passing everything. Am looking forward to test week.

The holidays have been a total bust in regard to lifting. It has been at least a week since I last did my workout. In the process of moving right on the tail of the holiday, so I don't see getting back to it at least until Monday at the earliest.

[Desparado]

If you are a beginner as this program intended for, and which is probably the reason why it attracted most people here in the first place, then to worry about "cutting" and "bulking" at this stage in the game is an absolute waste of time and mental resources. If you are as most people are who come here, just starting out, then no matter what program you choose to do you will experience both muscle growth and strength gains.

It is important not to put the cart before the horse. I believe the core of this routine will take anyone through many levels of fitness, and the rewards for consistency will be visible and noticeable and reflected in your strength, on a weekly basis if not daily. If you just want to move beyond skinny fat or scrawny and to look good on the beach next summer, then this is exactly the program you need to be doing. For someone who just wants some functional strength and a "nice" body, these core lifts will get you there in short enough order. The time to start thinking about cutting and bulking, and the fine details of strength vs size training (if your goal is competition),is SEVERAL YEARS AWAY for just about any genuine beginner. That is not to say that you don't need to focus on your diet if you are significantly overweight or very skinny, but most "average" guys just need to stop whining and thinking so hard, and start lifting.

And I say all this as an average guy who went through years of the mental gymnastics of "I wish I could have a better body", "I am going to try to start working out", and when I finally did it doing these basic lifts, watched my body metamorphose practically before my eyes in the space of a few months. It requires commitment, but it is not as hard and as grueling, nor does it require so much though and calculation, as we are often led to believe.

Excellent post. Couldn't have said it better myself. A beginner will progress with just about any routine whether the goal is to "bulk" or "cut." Consistency and nutrition are the keys to sustained success. This program is excellent specially for those just starting out. Follow it faithfully and you won't be disappointed.

[Desparado]

Happy new year everyone!

It just so happens (completely unintentionally and wasn't planned) that my time with AllPro's Beginner routine has come to an end as of today, on January 1st 2013 I've completed 7 cycles on a reasonably aggressive cut, going down from 35% to 17.5% bf. I'm happy enough with my current fat levels that I no longer want to keep cutting and instead I'm switching to a recomp and will be going with a different routine from now on (already started today).

Below are some very basic progress pics; quality is poor and lighting is different (two different apartments between before/after) as these were done only for myself and I never planned to post them publicly so wasn't really bothered with the format. But I guess the difference is apparent enough that picture format is not really that important at this pont, so I hope it is taken for what it's worth. The "after" pictures where done at around 19% BF, a few weeks ago.

Front, despite what it may seem I was actually flexing in the "before" pic as well, trying to suck in my stomach as much as possible (don't ask ). Both pics have light coming down from above and were done without a "post-workout pump"


Back, both relaxed:


From the beginning of the routine, my 10 rep maxes went up as follows:

Squat: 95 -> 175 (had to take some time off on those due to a knee injury)
Bench Press: 85 -> 155
BOR: 80 -> 150
OHP: 40 -> 80
SLDL: 100 -> 246 (I bumped the weights heavily on cycle 5 when I started using gym chalk)
Calves: 130 -> 280 (I was using a more aggressive progression on those)

Curls I'm not mentioning cause I've been doing chin ups instead of them for a few cycles now, so no clue where I'm at.

Thanks go out to everyone posting in this thread, in particular to (some of them are no longer posting):

64509chvl
Robosphere
Skullster
PapaPumpkin

And of course, to the man himself - all pro.

Happy new year everyone once again. Good luck and have fun!

Excellent job! Good luck on your next phase!

[ngtvenfnty]

Happy new year everyone!

Front, despite what it may seem I was actually flexing in the "before" pic as well, trying to suck in my stomach as much as possible (don't ask ). Both pics have light coming down from above and were done without a "post-workout pump"

Wow, great transformation there. You have built yourself one hell of a nice body. Mirin those guns (yes totally homo ).

[robosphere]

If you are a beginner as this program intended for, and which is probably the reason why it attracted most people here in the first place, then to worry about "cutting" and "bulking" at this stage in the game is an absolute waste of time and mental resources. If you are as most people are who come here, just starting out, then no matter what program you choose to do you will experience both muscle growth and strength gains.

It is important not to put the cart before the horse. I believe the core of this routine will take anyone through many levels of fitness, and the rewards for consistency will be visible and noticeable and reflected in your strength, on a weekly basis if not daily. If you just want to move beyond skinny fat or scrawny and to look good on the beach next summer, then this is exactly the program you need to be doing. For someone who just wants some functional strength and a "nice" body, these core lifts will get you there in short enough order. The time to start thinking about cutting and bulking, and the fine details of strength vs size training (if your goal is competition),is SEVERAL YEARS AWAY for just about any genuine beginner. That is not to say that you don't need to focus on your diet if you are significantly overweight or very skinny, but most "average" guys just need to stop whining and thinking so hard, and start lifting.

And I say all this as an average guy who went through years of the mental gymnastics of "I wish I could have a better body", "I am going to try to start working out", and when I finally did it doing these basic lifts, watched my body metamorphose practically before my eyes in the space of a few months. It requires commitment, but it is not as hard and as grueling, nor does it require so much though and calculation, as we are often led to believe.

This should be on the first page!

[allenhopkins]

3 days per week. 2 days rest is after your light day.

eg.

M - heavy
T - rest
W - medium
Th - rest
F - light
Sat Sun - rest

Could I go every other day and just skip the 2 day break? I don't think I need 2 days rest after the light day.

[celbii]

Quick question,
I started cycle 5 on monday, however I was also getting sick. I am now sick lol and don't think I will be able to workout today or friday, nor do I want to goto the gym with the possibility of getting others sick.
What should I do? Take off today and friday and restart cycle 5 next week? Or redo cycle 4 next week then work to cycle 5 again.

Thank you.

[1fatoldman]

Could I go every other day and just skip the 2 day break? I don't think I need 2 days rest after the light day.

NO! After a couple of cycles, your going to be looking forward to the rest. Those that have tried what you are suggesting have "all" posted that in the long run it didn't work.

[1fatoldman]

Quick question,
I started cycle 5 on monday, however I was also getting sick. I am now sick lol and don't think I will be able to workout today or friday, nor do I want to goto the gym with the possibility of getting others sick.
What should I do? Take off today and friday and restart cycle 5 next week? Or redo cycle 4 next week then work to cycle 5 again.

Thank you.

A week off is a good thing. When you feel better just start with day one Cycle #5

[ngtvenfnty]

Could I go every other day and just skip the 2 day break? I don't think I need 2 days rest after the light day.

I say satisfy your own curiosity. Experience is the best teacher after all. I asked the same question, and tried it, and it was immediately apparent after going from a lighter day to a heavier day that I did indeed need the extra day of rest. I think you will discover the same. It is generally recommended that you always do total body routine after two days of rest, so this program is already pushing a little harder than general recommendations by doing three per week, and compensating by de-loading throughout the week. You will find the jump from a light day to a heavy day with extra reps to be quite taxing, if not now then very, very soon.

[syncmaster913n]

Wow, great transformation there. You have built yourself one hell of a nice body. Mirin those guns (yes totally homo ).

haha, thanks bro *wink*

[MrSlippery]

Quick question,
I started cycle 5 on monday, however I was also getting sick. I am now sick lol and don't think I will be able to workout today or friday, nor do I want to goto the gym with the possibility of getting others sick.
What should I do? Take off today and friday and restart cycle 5 next week? Or redo cycle 4 next week then work to cycle 5 again.

Thank you.

I would not worry about the break, once you feel better simply continue on as you left off. Typically you have a few weeks before your body can start to regress, back a few cycles ago I took a full week off and actually felt better and stronger coming back.

[snirisl]

I have a question. . If I am at cutting phase and I eat of course caories less than maintance and keeping my protein high..if my logic wont fool me..im not able to see progress in weight because im not in surplus therfore Im not increasing my strength no? Help me with that im in 4th week cycle 1 and having failures at heavy day at some of the exceraises and I almost sure I won't be able to get 12 reps for all the sets at the fifth week..

[GordtheWard]

What kind of cardio have you guys liked on this program? do you do it after lifts or on your off days?

[Vaylor]

I have a question. . If I am at cutting phase and I eat of course caories less than maintance and keeping my protein high..if my logic wont fool me..im not able to see progress in weight because im not in surplus therfore Im not increasing my strength no? Help me with that im in 4th week cycle 1 and having failures at heavy day at some of the exceraises and I almost sure I won't be able to get 12 reps for all the sets at the fifth week..

If you are failing on your first cycle, then you did not properly calculate your 10 rep max. Use less weight.

[Vaylor]

Awesome. Went to the GYM today after work and there were only a few people. Im gonna start going in the mornings during my day off.

[WestOz]

Could I go every other day and just skip the 2 day break? I don't think I need 2 days rest after the light day.

Follow the rules or you'll be sorry.

[alacriTEA]

Follow the rules or you'll be sorry.

I love the subtly menacing tone of that statement... well played, sir.

[snirisl]

If you are failing on your first cycle, then you did not properly calculate your 10 rep max. Use less weight.

Yet , should I experience muscle growth and being able to increase weights?

[nevergain]

Yet , should I experience muscle growth and being able to increase weights?

I'm confused by this statement. Have you already increased weights? You are only supposed to increase weight if you get your 12 reps on heavy day. If you don't get that, you are supposed to go back to the same weight for that exercise when starting the next cycle.

[ngtvenfnty]

Yet , should I experience muscle growth and being able to increase weights?

It is hard to tell but you do not exactly look like you have a lot of fat on you.. Even still, if you are eating below maintenace, and have fat to lose, and are working out, there is no particular reason that you body cannot gain a little muscle at the same time.

It probably is not an efficient way to go about it. You body is using fat to make up the difference in calories. I would think that your body prioritizes which tissues it will utilize for extra energy in the event of a caloric deficit. I would think that it preferentially burns fat, and preserves muscle, bone and nerve tissue to the greatest extend possible. I would think of the extra protien and the workout as programming your body to preserve muscle.

If you are very fatigued on your heavy days I would suggest you sleep better on your two rest days, scale the weight to something more manageable, and ensure that you are not cutting your food intake to an extreme amount. In fact I would suggest that you stop "cutting" altogether. Eat the amount of food that is required to be a 190 lb block of muscle and do the routine, and eventually you will become a 190 lb block of muscle. It is that simple.

[Vaylor]

Yet , should I experience muscle growth and being able to increase weights?

Yes you will be able to increase weights and get stronger. Now as far as being able to build muscle mass on a cut, im not really sure about that.

[666pluto]

Regardless of your final goals this is a great routine to start out on, even if you only do it for 3 cycles and move on. Reason I say that is because it will get you used to lifting, make sure you focus on proper technique and see where you are at in a few cycles. Again regardless of your goals this routine will gain you plenty of strength and confidence in your gym which for many is key.

Thanks. I did decide to carry on with this workout, or at least give it a try as a start for a few cycles before carrying on if I feel the need to.

[makeitright]

1. Between exercises doesnt matter too much but I would limit it to what you need (more on heavy day, none on light day etc...) I take 2 mins between squats-bench and row-press. Bench and press are my weak lifts so I give myself some extra rest before starting the warm ups on bench.

2. You want to use normal speed, unless your working on some part of bench like lockout strength vs off the body strength etc...

The slower you go the longer you are time under tension (TUT) which will effect strength for that set. I do some slower negs and explode off chest on light day to mix it up a little.

It's no big whoop. It's a one time thing, it's not like you sit around and read the newspaper for 10 minutes between sets, like some of the old guys at my gym.

Thanks for the replies, guys. Yea, it was definitely a one time thing (hopefully). Kind of threw my off my "groove" though. The newspaper comment gave me a good laugh haha.

The first few workouts on medium day gave me a good kick in the ass yesterday morning. I think I waited a little too long between breakfast and going to the gym because halfway through squats I started to get weak and hungry. I would have had a bigger breakfast had I known it would be that long between eating and working out. Man, how some can workout fasted is completely beyond me. Can't let that happen again.

[Shondang]

I just get back to the gym 2days ago after a very long time and trying to figure out my 10 rep maxes. So let say my 10 rep maxes for bench presses is 20kg, is it gonna be the weight i use for the workset on heavy day of cycle 1? Sorry for my poor english.

[Champions1966]

What this routine like cutting? I'm currently cutting but I'm skeptical that I'm going to be able to add reps each week and 10% total weight each 5 weeks as I can't currently build muscle as you can't lose fat and gain muscle at the same time? I understand you can as a total newbie but im not. I've been lifting badly for around 2 years now but in terms of stats like my 135lb bench press, I'm probably still considered a newbie hence doing this routine. So I doubt I can gain muscle on this program cutting so how can I increase weight or should I just leave it at my current max until I bulk? Thanks!

[makeitright]

I just get back to the gym 2days ago after a very long time and trying to figure out my 10 rep maxes. So let say my 10 rep maxes for bench presses is 20kg, is it gonna be the weight i use for the workset on heavy day of cycle 1? Sorry for my poor english.

Correct. Except you'll only be doing 8 reps of your 10 rep max weight for week 1. By the third week, you'll be doing 10.

[andy3168]

This thread is so weird. One one hand, BB is really supporting Gethin's workouts, and this vocal group here is supporting this routine.

Before I even start, why is that there is only a handful of before after pics? If this routine is GOD's routine then surely there will be more people talking their success huh? All I see is numbers, aka how much you can weight but not muscles. I maybe harsh, but I am one of many I am sure.

Btw, I even went to the transformation page(skinny to mass), and barely a few people there used this workout. Yeah, that says a lot right there.

[nevergain]

This thread is so weird. One one hand, BB is really supporting Gethin's workouts, and this vocal group here is supporting this routine.

Before I even start, why is that there is only a handful of before after pics? If this routine is GOD's routine then surely there will be more people talking their success huh? All I see is numbers, aka how much you can weight but not muscles. I maybe harsh, but I am one of many I am sure.

Btw, I even went to the transformation page(skinny to mass), and barely a few people there used this workout. Yeah, that says a lot right there.

I don't think anyone ever said this was god's routine, just another option out there. I think a lot of people do it for a few cycles, then switch up programs and don't think to add their pics in this thread as they aren't really looking at it anymore