AllPro: A Simple Beginner's Routine part V

[thcalan]

If you want to continue with this program, you REQUIRE two rest days before Heavy Day. Heavy day is as described.....damn heavy. You will not be able to achieve you lifts down the road if you do not have adequate sleep and rest, particularly before Heavy day.

Where did I say that I was skipping rest days?

I want to know is how tortured I would be doing yoga a few hours after my test

[Mainer215]

Ok guy's. I'm on cycle 6 or 7 (lost track of the number) and I have been progressing steady without too many repeats.

Current Stats
Squats 225
Bench 165
BOR 130
OHP 90
SLDL 225
Curls 85
Calf Raises 225

As you can see, my OHP is one of my weakest lifts. I can curl damn near as much as my OHP! I do standing OHP. How can I improve on this lift? I am looking at adding something in that will target the traps as well as help improve my OHP. I like the look of big, bad ass traps. I think adding pull ups would be beneficial (wide grip for the back/traps) and also because they are fun. But I think shrugs will be even more so ideal as an addition.

Is adding both wide grip pull ups (more so for fun) and shrugs for traps too much?

Only way to know is to try. If you have made it that many cycles without adding anything then I can see no reason not to add the exercises you mentioned.

Good luck.

[Mainer215]

I'm starting cycle 3 next week and planning on cutting to get from ~15% to under 10%. I've been using this for bulking so far but is this still a good routine for cutting too? And should I avoid increasing the weights this time since I won't be eating as much food?

This is a good routine for cutting. You should always strive to add weight. I would recommend only bumping by 5% during your cut on all of your passed exercises though unless you feel that the test was easy.

Good luck.

[Mainer215]

Currently on C1W1. Things feel okay right now, considering I am coming back from being really sick. I read that all pro recommended no more than two 30 minute sessions of cardio per week. My goal is to put on size and strength (currently 165 lbs, want to get back to at least 180), but I also enjoy running and want to incorporate some cardio for the sake of my heart as well. I am going to start with one session per week and then add a second after my first cycle. So my schedule hopefully will look something like this:

Sun - rest
Mon - rest
Tues - Heavy Day
Wed - 20-30 mins of cardio (adding in cycle 2)
Thurs - Medium Day
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Light Day + 20-30 mins of cardio after

*Foam rolling before every workout and stretching everyday as well.

Does anyone with experience on this program think this looks okay? I am still allowing 2 days rest before my heavy day so hopefully this won't be a problem.

With regards to my calories, I lost a lot of weight while sick and am slowly trying to raise my calories back up. I am currently at about 2800 calories per day and gained 0.4 lbs the last week. If I add cardio how much should I increase my calories by? Assuming I burn around 350 calories per cardio session, that would be 700 extra calories per week if I do two sessions. Could I just add 100 calories to my daily total to make up that 700? Thanks and hopefully this made sense.

It makes sense. try that calorie scheme for a few weeks and see what happens. If you continue to gain weight then all is good. If you do not gain weight then add in some more. It is as simple as that.

As for cardio do as much as you like but the more that you do will impact the amount of calories that you must consume and your recovery.


Your plan looks ok to me.

Good luck.

[nightanole]

I know in the FAQ it says you're not supposed to substitute exercises but I'm doing this at home without a power rack or bench. For the squads I've been doing hack squats, not sure if front squats would be better? And instead of bench press I've been doing floor DB press. Any suggestions if these would be ok substitutions, or suggest better exercises without the equipment?

Next best thing to a back squat is a zercher squat, you can do that off the ground.

C1 test day this Sat

How crazy would I be to take a yoga class I started last week a few hours after the big lift day? I'm assuming it's going to have no affect to my progress but am I unduly torturing myself?

The only thing that really affects this program is hiit training. Yoga, 5k training, bag work, manual labor job, these should not affect progression.

Quick question guys , Are you guys going to failure on both work sets?? I usually only push to failure on the last set but iam wondering if i should be pushing to failure on both working sets ??

Wat? This is a fixed rep program. You go to the weeks set rep count and stop. Its designed so you dont burn out and can work out every body part 3 days a week. If you want a goto failure style of training try 5/3/1 or greyskull lp.

[nightanole]

Can i change the rep scheme from 8-12 to 6-10?

It seems a better balance that way with power and hypertrophy

The "novice" version is switching the first 3 lifts (squat/bench/row) to 4-8, and keeping the rest at 8-12.

[Mainer215]

C1 test day this Sat

How crazy would I be to take a yoga class I started last week a few hours after the big lift day? I'm assuming it's going to have no affect to my progress but am I unduly torturing myself?

I know nothing about yoga so take this with a grain of salt. If you want to take yoga then by all means do it. Try it after your heavy day and see how it goes. If it is too much then either reschedule your lifting workouts so that you can do yoga on an off day or try to find a yoga class on another night.


JMHO.

[Mainer215]

Tough to stay motivated today for "medium" day - here I am, doing my 90% 1RM SLDL's at 95# - and the guy next to me is doing 405# (8 plates) deadlifts..I just tell myself, "That's me in a couple years...."

That's the attitude Gunny.

We all start somewhere.

[Mainer215]

Quick question guys , Are you guys going to failure on both work sets?? I usually only push to failure on the last set but iam wondering if i should be pushing to failure on both working sets ??

No where in the program does it say to go to failure. You go to the required reps for the week or you don't make it and stop. Training to failure is not needed in this program as the progression is built in by increasing the reps.

[cian93]

This is a good routine for cutting. You should always strive to add weight. I would recommend only bumping by 5% during your cut on all of your passed exercises though unless you feel that the test was easy.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice, I'll try adding 5% then, I passed everything but it was far from easy on test day. The squats in particular were very difficult and tired me out before everything else. Should I do cardio days too at this point? And if so is there any simple, short, high-intensity routine I could try?

[AgPilot]

Where did I say that I was skipping rest days?

I want to know is how tortured I would be doing yoga a few hours after my test

Whoops. My apologies, I had misread your post. My vote would be to enjoy the Yoga!

[Mainer215]

Thanks for the advice, I'll try adding 5% then, I passed everything but it was far from easy on test day. The squats in particular were very difficult and tired me out before everything else. Should I do cardio days too at this point? And if so is there any simple, short, high-intensity routine I could try?

You do not have to do cardio on your cut as most of your weight loss should be from diet. I do multiple sessions of cardio per week as part of my ordinary workouts as I like to improve my cardiovascular health and I have a treadmill set up in front of a TV so it makes sense to do something while I watch sports or something else.

Try doing a couple of LISS cardio sessions and see how that effects your lifts. The most important thing is to try to continue to gain strength. This will minimize muscle loss during the cutting process.

Good luck on your cut.

[TheGUNNER13]

Last week I cleared 12 reps on everything, but I think the time has come for me to move on from All Pro beginner. More on that later. First, results from last week:

Squat - 205 (felt like I could have added more reps!)
Bench - 185
Rows - 135
Press - 105 (had failed on this the previous cycle; excited to clear it this time)
SLDL - 135 (had plenty left in the tank; needed to add more weight to the bar)
Curl - 12x90
Standing Calf Raise - 12x275 (machine)

Why do I think its time to move on? On Sunday I reset to 8 reps and added weight to the bar. Squats were the only exercise that I made it to 8 reps(truthfully could have gone 10; legs have really grown these past few months). For everything else it wasn't good. Bench was 5x205, for example. OHP was 4x115. I decided to spend the rest of the week as a sort of deload week while I figure out what I'm moving onto next.

Allpro beginner has been a great routine. Combined with the proper diet, I have seen more progression in the past 3 months than I have the past 3 years. This is not an exaggeration; previously I had no sense of nutrition and no routine with progressive overload. Just spinning my wheels.

Going forward, I'm considering All Pro Intermediate 1. Not sure how to handle training 2x a week since I've always done 3x or 4x a week. Guess I can add some light cardio for conditioning or ab workouts or something. I'll take any feedback on that if anyone had done that routine and wouldn't mind sharing their experience.

nice numbers man....give a shot of ur leg before and after, will motivate people.
but for a guy benching 185, you dont seem a lot muscular upfront....

[Conquester]

So ideally I should be able to complete each week without assistance, except for maybe the final week when I get to 12 reps? Today was my first day weightlifting in general and I couldn't finish my bench presses so I guess I should bump down the weight.

[Jonmurgie]

So ideally I should be able to complete each week without assistance, except for maybe the final week when I get to 12 reps? Today was my first day weightlifting in general and I couldn't finish my bench presses so I guess I should bump down the weight.

If you've JUST stated the routine then did you spend the time to find your 10rm as the routine instructs? Without that you're just guessing at what to lift, you shouldn't have any issue with completing the correct reps on the first 2 weeks of any cycle as it's weight you've lifted for more reps. Just sounds like you've not started correctly so next time just work on calculating your 10rm to set your weights, have a couple of days off then start again.

Good luck.

[sambris24]

The "novice" version is switching the first 3 lifts (squat/bench/row) to 4-8, and keeping the rest at 8-12.

I did not know this! I think will opt for this and increase the weight I lift for those 3 in cycle 2 by a higher % as I much prefer higher weight/lower reps for these exercises

Thanks, would rep but need to rep others before I can rep you again, IOU!

[Oleg9]

Just to make sure.. Don't beat me lol.. Is this routine good for bulking?

[Jonmurgie]

Just to make sure.. Don't beat me lol.. Is this routine good for bulking?

Yes, it's good for bulking/maintaining/cutting, especially if you're a beginner. Just do the routine as written and use diet to deal with what you're overall goal is.

[Oleg9]

Yes, it's good for bulking/maintaining/cutting, especially if you're a beginner. Just do the routine as written and use diet to deal with what you're overall goal is.

thank you for your answer.
sorry for being annoying with this dumb question, but i've read so many posts about cutting over here and started to doubt if this routine is also so good for bulking as for cutting

[dgrierms]

nice numbers man....give a shot of ur leg before and after, will motivate people.
but for a guy benching 185, you dont seem a lot muscular upfront....

Thanks for the kind words. No, my chest isn't big at all. It has been pretty stubborn. Maybe I'm just not meant to have a big chest.

[Mainer215]

thank you for your answer.
sorry for being annoying with this dumb question, but i've read so many posts about cutting over here and started to doubt if this routine is also so good for bulking as for cutting

Not a dumb question as a lot of us are using it during cutting as it is very cut friendly. As to your question, any program with built in progression (as this one is) will be good for bulking as long as your diet is right.

Good luck

[Mainer215]

The "novice" version is switching the first 3 lifts (squat/bench/row) to 4-8, and keeping the rest at 8-12.

Campeao,

This is what I have done and I like it.

[nightanole]

thank you for your answer.
sorry for being annoying with this dumb question, but i've read so many posts about cutting over here and started to doubt if this routine is also so good for bulking as for cutting

Future advice, if the routine does not say for cutting, its ONLY for bulking. This is one of the few routines you can do on a cut WITHOUT changing it. Most routines will bury you on a cut. But yea its great on a bulk, but i would really try to up the weight 15-20% each cycle on a bulk.

I would recommend not bulking on this program till you can get around 75% bw on the bench and 100% bw on the squat. You just cant stimulate 2lbs or more muscle growth per month when you are only moving 75-100lbs worth of weight. Practice and cns adaptation will take you that far. If you dont believe me read the part 4 thread. alotta people wishing they started their bulk alot later in the program. Hell i recomp'd on the program for 5 cycles, and only had to deload twice, and lost a few inches in the waist. If i was your age and on a bulk, i might have been able to get to 2 plate bench and 2.5plate squat, if i started with 100lbs on bench/row/squat.

[skodins2231]

The "novice" version is switching the first 3 lifts (squat/bench/row) to 4-8, and keeping the rest at 8-12.

Do you go to 2 heavy days at this point or still stick to the H/M/L schedule?

[kevscfc]

Just did cycle 2 heavy day today (had to fit it in the day after light day) but managed to pass everything apart from OHP. Shoulders are weak and they were lacking after the first 3 exercises and only managed 9 reps set 2.

Loving the routine though, and can't wait for the next session!

I'm thinking of adding shrugs from cycle 3 as my traps are lacking. Are dumbbells better than Barbell for this or is there no big difference?

[ABRMess006]

Didn't get the rest I should have this week which made my C2W5 light day extremely difficult! Passed everything regardless, moving onto C3W1 Monday!!!

Here is a pic of my 10 week progress:

[RobertJoseph17]

Didn't get the rest I should have this week which made my C2W5 light day extremely difficult! Passed everything regardless, moving onto C3W1 Monday!!!

Here is a pic of my 10 week progress:

Nice, you can definitely tell a difference. What are you doing diet wise?

[nightanole]

Do you go to 2 heavy days at this point or still stick to the H/M/L schedule?

Your choice, long term allpro says you MIGHT need to add one more set to the exercises on the heavy heavy style.

[Mainer215]

Didn't get the rest I should have this week which made my C2W5 light day extremely difficult! Passed everything regardless, moving onto C3W1 Monday!!!

Here is a pic of my 10 week progress:

Great work. Can see definite changes.

Keep it up.

[Mainer215]

Do you go to 2 heavy days at this point or still stick to the H/M/L schedule?

I still use the H/M/L schedule with 3 work sets on the first 3 exercises as I am still cutting. Will add a 4th set on these 3 when I switch over to bulking.

Good luck.