AllPro: A Simple Beginner's Routine part IIII

[Balddude]

My take on this is that at the beginning, you should just stick to 10%. However, after you are 4-5 cycles in, you know the lifts, you know how your body copes with the lifts, etc, etc. If you think a 10% increase will result in a guaranteed fail in the next cycle, why not bump it up by 7.5% or 5%? As your experience increases and the load increases and the 10% jumps become bigger then I think you should use your best judgement.

A complete newb to the routine should just do the programme as written. Once you've lived it and breathed it for a while..... then you can tweak it IMHO.

I was thinking this would be a plausible solution as well. Not sure if that's what the general recommendation is around here, but it makes a lot of sense to me.

And I agree 110% on your last statement.

[mthawkins08]

Alright, so today I attempted to test my 10 rep max by lifting to failure... I have questions..

For squats, I'm using the machine squats for my first 5 weeks (I know.. I know..)... I went over 30 reps so I need to try it again with more weight.

DB presses I got 10 reps at 50 pounds

I'm doing the wide grip cable row instead of bent over row.. (once again.. I know.. I know.. just getting used to it).. 10 reps at 148 pounds

DB over head 10 @ 30

Using back extension machine instead of stiff legged deadlift.. is this ok to start with? Gym doesn't have free barbells.. 10 @ 290

Curls 10 @ 60.... Using the straight bar for curls, I felt like my veins were going to pop out of my arms.. getting extremely numb.. is this bad? Should I use the t bar instead?

Calf -- need to re-test.. too little weight

[teaayemmmmwhy]

In for the sexification.

[blizair]

Is this program a good one for athletes? Im 6ft 2 180lbs and Id like to put on around 25-30 pounds, but im worried about losing flexibility. I don't want my arms flared out to my side looking like i cant even pick my ass. I'm not sure if that's just me over exaggerating. Maybe that's not even possible without achieving a certain size, but if i had to pick an ideal look it would be that of an NFL WR or Nba player. Below is an example of my ideal look. Thoughts?

[sufcboy95]

Is this program suitable for 17 year old? Or should I go for something which will give me more gains, as recovery time should be less?

[thousandreasons]

For example, my bench is currently at 65kg and for next cycle I am moving up the required 10%. Now 65kg + 10% is 71.5kg.

I know I round down to 70kg for my heavy day but for the medium and light days do I minus the 10% & 20% off 71.5kg or 70kg?

Thanks in advance APers.

Going into 4th cycle, loving it! Should've clarified this sooner but ah well.

[thousandreasons]

Alright, so today I attempted to test my 10 rep max by lifting to failure... I have questions..

For squats, I'm using the machine squats for my first 5 weeks (I know.. I know..)... I went over 30 reps so I need to try it again with more weight.

DB presses I got 10 reps at 50 pounds

I'm doing the wide grip cable row instead of bent over row.. (once again.. I know.. I know.. just getting used to it).. 10 reps at 148 pounds

DB over head 10 @ 30

Using back extension machine instead of stiff legged deadlift.. is this ok to start with? Gym doesn't have free barbells.. 10 @ 290

Curls 10 @ 60.... Using the straight bar for curls, I felt like my veins were going to pop out of my arms.. getting extremely numb.. is this bad? Should I use the t bar instead?

Calf -- need to re-test.. too little weight

Who cares about getting used to it. Follow the routine and start light to learn the form.

If your gym doesn't have barbells and squat racks find a different one srs.

[Defgarden]

C1W4 Heavy - Progress Report

Squats - 110 - good. Honestly, I will probably go up to 130 on next cycle assuming next week goes well enough.
Bench Press - 95 - barely got all my reps, but got them all done. challenging, but not impossible
Bent over rows - 80 - honestly, I can't even do more than 7 or 8 before my form sucks and I'm barely doing half reps or none at all. I'm probably going to bump this down actually. I've been doing them with a flat back instead of the 45 degree thing shown in the video. Is one method preferred for this routine? Because right now, I feel this more in my arms than in my back really.
OHP - 70 - failed on the second set. This has been reoccurring.
SLDL - 100 - pretty easy actually. I'm going to bump this up to 120 on next cycle.
Curls - 40 - good, but challenging
Calf raises - 165 - good, but tough on second set. Using machine.

I'm usually a MWF guy, but my son has had a fever all weekend, so monday was a no go. Thus, this friday is a second heavy day. I'm considering just lowering the weight of the rows down to 65. Wise, or just wait till next cycle?

As a side note, I've finally seen the scale start to drop a bit. I'm trying to lose weight, though I'm not super concerned on the speed of it at this point. During the work week my diet is in better check than on the weekends, though I'm trying to shore that up as well. Is it normal for a noobie not to see much weight loss for 2-3 weeks?

[tential]

Is this program suitable for 17 year old? Or should I go for something which will give me more gains, as recovery time should be less?

It's a beginner program. It's suitable for all ages and is one of the best beginner programs you can pick. Starting Strength is good too.

In.......

Cycle 5 here, and going strong!

Tential: Agree on IV. Plus the ab section seems to have some cardio stuff mixed in with it. But apart from that, great job and like the addition of videos!

For the newbs: Just show up. Move some iron. Put in the time. Eat enough food.... it'll work just fine. Don't expect to look like Arnie in a week, though!

where exactly sorry it was awhile since I read the FAQ, it's TheLBM's FAQ, I only did some formatting.

Why not IV?

Because I'm a retard... Seriously, I made it right after I woke up in a rush since the last thread should have been closed. Didn't want to leave it open. Well, that's embatrassing...

Nice new thread! Program rocks! I'm on cycle 7 week 3 and very happy with my progress and results.

Hey can we fix the links on first page. Use the '\[url=http://...\]linkname\[/url\] format. With the '\' removed.

Explain please? All the links work for me.

My take on this is that at the beginning, you should just stick to 10%. However, after you are 4-5 cycles in, you know the lifts, you know how your body copes with the lifts, etc, etc. If you think a 10% increase will result in a guaranteed fail in the next cycle, why not bump it up by 7.5% or 5%? As your experience increases and the load increases and the 10% jumps become bigger then I think you should use your best judgement.

A complete newb to the routine should just do the programme as written. Once you've lived it and breathed it for a while..... then you can tweak it IMHO.

This becomes obvious with some lifts. You do it as written but you eventually know what to add.

[ABRMess006]

For anyone looking for ab workouts on off days, I found these in the last thread, spent the past 30 minutes trying to find them, I am planning on starting these probably thursday (next off day)...

Here is the first that I found, don't remember who posted it, sorry!

Captain Chair Leg Lifts 3x10
Situps 3x25
Supine Lateral Scissors 3x25
Medicine Ball Oblique Twists (12lbs) 3x20
Plank 3X30sec
5k run or 5k elliptical


Here is the other one I found which I also don't know the original poster...

30 sec weighted russan twist
30 sec punch plank
30 sec reverse crunch
30 sec rock climber

x 3 sets



I am planning on doing the second one, possibly some cardio if possible on the weekends.



BTW, picked up a 24" foam roller.... holy crap! Highly recommend it if you don't have one, feels great! Had some tender spots today and someone I work with recommended it. Wal-mart has them for $18.... go get it!

C1W4 Medium Day tomorrow, feeling good! Stay Strong AP'ers!

[TheRealTmac]

I cannot stop my back from rounding on the stiff leg deadlifts. Will it really be that detrimental if I leave them out?

[noobydooby]

I cannot stop my back from rounding on the stiff leg deadlifts. Will it really be that detrimental if I leave them out?

don't you feel your lower back straining? sometimes when i round my back, i can really feel it, and that's when you know you're doing it wrong. you know the saying, lift with your legs, not with your back.. if you round your back, you're lifting with your back, not with your legs. so yes, it's detrimental. maybe your flexibility is what's causing you to round your back. work on your flexibility. i tell ya, you can lift so much more weights with your legs, than your back.

[RamboJesus]

I cannot stop my back from rounding on the stiff leg deadlifts. Will it really be that detrimental if I leave them out?

Rounding your upper back is good. Rounding your lower back is a no no.

[Broscientist88]

Is there any progress pics for this routine? Sorry to sound skeptical it just seems like very low workload compared to my PPL.

[marius42]

Cause the Romans wrote 4 as IIII

fairly certain they wrote 4 as IV

[FrankFF]

For anyone looking for ab workouts on off days, I found these in the last thread, spent the past 30 minutes trying to find them, I am planning on starting these probably thursday (next off day)...

Here is the first that I found, don't remember who posted it, sorry!

Captain Chair Leg Lifts 3x10
Situps 3x25
Supine Lateral Scissors 3x25
Medicine Ball Oblique Twists (12lbs) 3x20
Plank 3X30sec
5k run or 5k elliptical


Here is the other one I found which I also don't know the original poster...

30 sec weighted russan twist
30 sec punch plank
30 sec reverse crunch
30 sec rock climber

x 3 sets



I am planning on doing the second one, possibly some cardio if possible on the weekends.



BTW, picked up a 24" foam roller.... holy crap! Highly recommend it if you don't have one, feels great! Had some tender spots today and someone I work with recommended it. Wal-mart has them for $18.... go get it!

C1W4 Medium Day tomorrow, feeling good! Stay Strong AP'ers!

I have been using this one for the last two weeks and an happy with the results.

FrankFF

[marius42]

Nice new thread! Program rocks! I'm on cycle 7 week 3 and very happy with my progress and results.

Hey can we fix the links on first page. Use the '\[url=http://...\]linkname\[/url\] format. With the '\' removed.

Cycle 7, not bad. Is on c5 or 6 myself (lost count), but did you struggle alot with some exercises when you were around cycle 5 and 6? Cause I have a really hard time coping with the benchpress and the bicep curl.

[TheRealTmac]

don't you feel your lower back straining? sometimes when i round my back, i can really feel it, and that's when you know you're doing it wrong. you know the saying, lift with your legs, not with your back.. if you round your back, you're lifting with your back, not with your legs. so yes, it's detrimental. maybe your flexibility is what's causing you to round your back. work on your flexibility. i tell ya, you can lift so much more weights with your legs, than your back.

Yes I do feel it and that's the problem. I can only maybe stretch my hamstrings a few inches before my lower back rounds when I do them.

[Vaylor]

Oh yeah one thing I think that seriously needs to be added to the OP:

"One final comment on training before I wrap this up: an insidious (and stupid) idea that is out there (especially in the realm of bodybuilding) is that trainees should focus on irrelevant things: the feel, the squeeze, the pump. This is crap and guys who do this, unless they are on drugs, simply don’t grow. Muscle grows as a function of progressive tension overload, if you’re not adding weight to the bar over time, you’re not growing. This doesn’t mean that you have to add weight at every workout, but if you’re not gradually going heavier over time, you won’t be growing either."

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...-mistakes.html

The amount of noobs who whine about the workouts not being tough enough is rather annoying.

[FrankFF]

Guys, I am not sure which direction to head. Do I Bulk or Cut My BW is 142 Lbs, and my BF is around 15-16%? . I don't really want to get to much BF build up and am hoping to still be able to build muscle and strength through Noob gains.

[1SickKunt]

how long does it take some of you guys to do the full workout? For me its only about 35 minutes, with plenty of rest time and moving plates around/on and off the bar, Im just wondering if im doing it right

[rdferguson]

Two questions:

1. Do the days you do the different workouts matter? Could I do my heavy day Wednesday and light day on Monday?

2. I don't have the flexibility to do the stiff legged dead lifts. I can maybe go down a few inches at most before my back starts to round. If I leave them out will it be a big deal? If not, what should I do?

1. So long as there's a heavy > medium > light continuum and you're strictly training on non-consecutive days, it doesn't matter which day of the week your training week starts. What you've described here is basically starting your training week on Wednesday, and that's fine. You may want to make sure you get 2 days rest before the heavy day each week (so light on Sunday may be preferable to light on Monday), but that should be fine.

2. Firstly, work on flexibility. Secondly, if you can't do SLDLs, try RDLs, which allow more knee bend (still without letting your knees drift forwards). Thirdly, doing them will make you better at them, and the weight of the bar dragging down your thighs will actually assist in creating a stretch, so you may actually gain flexibility from doing SLDLs. Could also be a technique thing -- may be that you need to push you butt back further. You do need some sort of hinge in the program, so don't just skip out on them.

Guys, I am not sure which direction to head. Do I Bulk or Cut My BW is 142 Lbs, and my BF is around 15-16%? . I don't really want to get to much BF build up and am hoping to still be able to build muscle and strength through Noob gains.

That's a tough one. At 142lb, my instinct is to say bulk; at 15-16% bodyfat, my instinct is to say cut. It's worth noting that you've got your whole life ahead of you to get bigger, leaner and stronger, so in the big scheme of things it really doesn't matter, ergo whichever is more important to you right now (more muscle vs less fat) is a fair target. In saying that, a slow bulk is probably the way to go, just getting into a surplus of 200kcal/day. It's enough to build muscle, while minimising fat gains (you might even lose some fat at first, although I wouldn't hang my hopes on it).

[mike_nofx]

I cannot stop my back from rounding on the stiff leg deadlifts. Will it really be that detrimental if I leave them out?

How far down are you coming with the bar? Stop before the back begins to round. If that means the bar is only at knee level, so be it.

Also, maybe you are using too much weight?

Leave them out and YNDTP

[GKC45]

For example, my bench is currently at 65kg and for next cycle I am moving up the required 10%. Now 65kg + 10% is 71.5kg.

I know I round down to 70kg for my heavy day but for the medium and light days do I minus the 10% & 20% off 71.5kg or 70kg?

Thanks in advance APers.

Going into 4th cycle, loving it! Should've clarified this sooner but ah well.

You stick with the seventy and then subtract 10% / 20% as appropriate. You will always have to deal with rounding.

[GKC45]

Alright, so today I attempted to test my 10 rep max by lifting to failure... I have questions..

For squats, I'm using the machine squats for my first 5 weeks (I know.. I know..)... I went over 30 reps so I need to try it again with more weight.

DB presses I got 10 reps at 50 pounds

I'm doing the wide grip cable row instead of bent over row.. (once again.. I know.. I know.. just getting used to it).. 10 reps at 148 pounds

DB over head 10 @ 30

Using back extension machine instead of stiff legged deadlift.. is this ok to start with? Gym doesn't have free barbells.. 10 @ 290

Curls 10 @ 60.... Using the straight bar for curls, I felt like my veins were going to pop out of my arms.. getting extremely numb.. is this bad? Should I use the t bar instead?

Calf -- need to re-test.. too little weight

You do what you have to do... but my suggestion is look for a new gym.

[GKC45]

Is this program a good one for athletes? Im 6ft 2 180lbs and Id like to put on around 25-30 pounds, but im worried about losing flexibility. I don't want my arms flared out to my side looking like i cant even pick my ass. I'm not sure if that's just me over exaggerating. Maybe that's not even possible without achieving a certain size, but if i had to pick an ideal look it would be that of an NFL WR or Nba player. Below is an example of my ideal look. Thoughts?

Your arms aren't going to flair out over night, or even next year. If you want to be flexible, stretch.

[GKC45]

Is this program suitable for 17 year old? Or should I go for something which will give me more gains, as recovery time should be less?

This routine is perfect for you.

Go read this thread on nutrition - http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...1703981&page=1 and get a least 8 hours of sleep and you will see some real gains.

[GKC45]

C1W4 Heavy - Progress Report

Squats - 110 - good. Honestly, I will probably go up to 130 on next cycle assuming next week goes well enough.
Bench Press - 95 - barely got all my reps, but got them all done. challenging, but not impossible
Bent over rows - 80 - honestly, I can't even do more than 7 or 8 before my form sucks and I'm barely doing half reps or none at all. I'm probably going to bump this down actually. I've been doing them with a flat back instead of the 45 degree thing shown in the video. Is one method preferred for this routine? Because right now, I feel this more in my arms than in my back really.
OHP - 70 - failed on the second set. This has been reoccurring.
SLDL - 100 - pretty easy actually. I'm going to bump this up to 120 on next cycle.
Curls - 40 - good, but challenging
Calf raises - 165 - good, but tough on second set. Using machine.

I'm usually a MWF guy, but my son has had a fever all weekend, so monday was a no go. Thus, this friday is a second heavy day. I'm considering just lowering the weight of the rows down to 65. Wise, or just wait till next cycle?

As a side note, I've finally seen the scale start to drop a bit. I'm trying to lose weight, though I'm not super concerned on the speed of it at this point. During the work week my diet is in better check than on the weekends, though I'm trying to shore that up as well. Is it normal for a noobie not to see much weight loss for 2-3 weeks?

Don't do a whole lot of changing up or predicting just yet. You will see some big neural gains in the first few cycles and those are exciting. Once those are maxed, your lift progression will slow, but that's when your body actually starts to grow. In the meantime, make sure you are eating right and sleeping good.

[GKC45]

I cannot stop my back from rounding on the stiff leg deadlifts. Will it really be that detrimental if I leave them out?

don't you feel your lower back straining? sometimes when i round my back, i can really feel it, and that's when you know you're doing it wrong. you know the saying, lift with your legs, not with your back.. if you round your back, you're lifting with your back, not with your legs. so yes, it's detrimental. maybe your flexibility is what's causing you to round your back. work on your flexibility. i tell ya, you can lift so much more weights with your legs, than your back.

SLDL is a back exercise, not a leg exercise.

Keep your chest up and stay focused on form. Lighten the weight if you need to. You'll get it.

[noobydooby]

how long does it take some of you guys to do the full workout? For me its only about 35 minutes, with plenty of rest time and moving plates around/on and off the bar, Im just wondering if im doing it right

50 to 60 minutes, with 60 to 90 seconds rests