AllPro: A Simple Beginner's Routine part VI

[ActionLogic]

1) rev 1.0 had warmups for all exercises. This caused too many stalls for the first set of guinea pigs due to too much volume, so the program was rearranged so that the first 3 lifts warm you up for the last 3 lifts, and then we threw in curls for the girlz.

Does the lower volume provide any drawbacks?

2) There is zero rest time between exercises since we are not hitting the same muscle back to back, if you follow the original exercise order. Feel free to rest/work in if you want, it just extends the time in the gym. This is a hypertrophy routine, so its get in and get out and get the most growth, in the shortest amount of time in the gym. As intended this is a 30-45min program. Rest time of 90 seconds is the max, some drop it to 30 seconds or less on light days.

Similar to above, does taking rest between the different exercises have any drawbacks i.e., does it hinder hypertrophy/growth?

Thanks for your feedback

[davidbzr]

How about you take 72 hours or more rest after your failed heavy day, and do a single set 10 rep session using the weights you think you can handle. If you get in 10 reps, use that for next cycle. Each failed rep i would knock off 2.5% or the next weight change down, which ever is greater. So if you get 9 reps of 100lbs, odd are the next weight change down is 95lbs.

Will do. So to be clear my goal on (let's say) Monday would be to know with which weight I can lift 10 rep max?
How do I move on after that?

And btw, I went to the gym today and didn't fail any in the medium day 12 rep... I lowered the exercises mentioned, it was hard but I managed not to fail in any this time. Perhaps I could use this weight? or do you suggest I do the 10rep max thing on Monday anyway?

[Sh724]

Will do. So to be clear my goal on (let's say) Monday would be to know with which weight I can lift 10 rep max?
How do I move on after that?

And btw, I went to the gym today and didn't fail any in the medium day 12 rep... I lowered the exercises mentioned, it was hard but I managed not to fail in any this time. Perhaps I could use this weight? or do you suggest I do the 10rep max thing on Monday anyway?

If this is your test week (12 rep week), next week you will add at least 10% to each lift. The 10RM is really a starting point but if you are running the program correctly you will be pretty close to your 10RM after the increase. If your test day seemed really easy increase more than 10% if it was a struggle only go up 10%. Just starting out you should be able to increase more than 10%

Dont follow my routine bc i run a very modified version of allpro but what i do is really push myself on the second set of test day and do as many reps as possible then recalculate my 10rm based off of that.

[nightanole]

Does the lower volume provide any drawbacks?



Similar to above, does taking rest between the different exercises have any drawbacks i.e., does it hinder hypertrophy/growth?

Thanks for your feedback

Does the lower volume provide any drawbacks?
No, as a beginner you want the most amount of progression possible using the least amount of volume. The amount of increased volume you can handle is alot lower than the amount of increased working weight you can handle. So in the beginning you can do "linear progression" just adding weight and keeping the reps and sets the same. This only works till you hit wall and you cant recover from the volume. So on allpro, we say you can handle 10% more weight, once you can handle 50% more volume. Once you stall with that pattern, you switch to novice, which is 3 sets of 4-8 reps, for the first 3 exercises. Then we say you can handle 10% more weight, when you can handle 100% more volume. But notice we are severely stripping the volume away whenever we do a weight bump.


And no, taking rests between exercises will not hinder progress. If anything it might increase progress slightly, if the alternative is having to reduce working weight because you are tired. Feel free to take 2 hours to do the workout if you need to, hell the popular "starting strength" workout is 1.5 hours long, and less exercises.

[davidbzr]

Will do. So to be clear my goal on (let's say) Monday would be to know with which weight I can lift 10 rep max?
How do I move on after that?

And btw, I went to the gym today and didn't fail any in the medium day 12 rep... I lowered the exercises mentioned, it was hard but I managed not to fail in any this time. Perhaps I could use this weight? or do you suggest I do the 10rep max thing on Monday anyway?

[nightanole]

Will do. So to be clear my goal on (let's say) Monday would be to know with which weight I can lift 10 rep max?
How do I move on after that?

And btw, I went to the gym today and didn't fail any in the medium day 12 rep... I lowered the exercises mentioned, it was hard but I managed not to fail in any this time. Perhaps I could use this weight? or do you suggest I do the 10rep max thing on Monday anyway?

Nope, now that you adjusted the weights and already did medium day, you can go with your original plan. If you have 1 or 2 lifts you may thought could hit 2 12's with the heavy weight, and it was a false test day, just do 1 set of 10 with the 10% bump, on you light day. If you get in 10 reps, you pass, else continue next cycle with the original weights.

You can adjust weights cycle 1, but i wouldnt adjust them down after that. Next cycle just focus on keeping the bar speed high and the rest time low for the exercises you failed at. You may have gotten 5-7.5% stronger, but just a few reps short of the full 10%.

[davidbzr]

Nope, now that you adjusted the weights and already did medium day, you can go with your original plan. If you have 1 or 2 lifts you may thought could hit 2 12's with the heavy weight, and it was a false test day, just do 1 set of 10 with the 10% bump, on you light day. If you get in 10 reps, you pass, else continue next cycle with the original weights.

You can adjust weights cycle 1, but i wouldnt adjust them down after that. Next cycle just focus on keeping the bar speed high and the rest time low for the exercises you failed at. You may have gotten 5-7.5% stronger, but just a few reps short of the full 10%.

Cool man I can't thank you enough for your help here. So to be clear: if I did today for example 2 12 reps with 45kg (medium day) on the squat and my heavy is 50kg, I would have to try this Friday (light day) 1 set of 10 reps with 55kg? Is that correct? And if I manage somehow to do that I can increase the weight for the next cycle by 10%? And same thing with all other exercises I did today...?

[ActionLogic]

Does the lower volume provide any drawbacks?
No, as a beginner you want the most amount of progression possible using the least amount of volume. The amount of increased volume you can handle is alot lower than the amount of increased working weight you can handle. So in the beginning you can do "linear progression" just adding weight and keeping the reps and sets the same. This only works till you hit wall and you cant recover from the volume. So on allpro, we say you can handle 10% more weight, once you can handle 50% more volume. Once you stall with that pattern, you switch to novice, which is 3 sets of 4-8 reps, for the first 3 exercises. Then we say you can handle 10% more weight, when you can handle 100% more volume. But notice we are severely stripping the volume away whenever we do a weight bump.

Great explanation!

And no, taking rests between exercises will not hinder progress. If anything it might increase progress slightly, if the alternative is having to reduce working weight because you are tired. Feel free to take 2 hours to do the workout if you need to, hell the popular "starting strength" workout is 1.5 hours long, and less exercises.

Great to hear!

Thanks for the replies, rep'd!

[xempik]

Yea thats what i thought you were doing. That is not a DP OHP, that is a shoulder press. The guy is not getting "the bar" even close to chest level, and with DB at the sides you are not getting much tricep/chest work.

We do the bar bell OHP standing, because it allows us to use a bit of body language to get the weight going, which allows us to use more weight, which increases overload when lowering the weight.

With the arnold press we cant use that body language, so we do it sitting so we can brace better.

Core work is going to be about the same for either exercise, since we are keeping the weight centered over mid foot. Your core can handle 400lbs or more right now standing straight, so that 50-100lbs you are lifting over head isnt taxing it much.

Anyway the requirement for the "move something heavy above your head movement" has a requirement that the "bar" needs to hit the chest each rep, have a shrug lock out, and keep the elbows directly under the wrists at the start of the movement. You can pick your variant based on that.

Hi Nightanole,

Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

- You are the expert So I will switch to seated arnold press. Can I switch directly from shoulder press weight to arnold, or should i test ? Also, can I sit without back support, or is back support recommended/better?

- Another thing I didn't mention is that I am doing mostly DB instead of BB because a) my gym has only 1 BB bench (another is smith) and 50% of the time its busy b) I don't like the idea of needing a spotter, I can always throw away the DBs. I understand BB is optimal for hyperthrophy, but I guess DBs also has its share of advantages, in the long-term should this be ok?

- I like the idea of hanging leg raises, should I add it in given I am doing DB squats/bench, cable row, and leg curls instead of SLDL? or not really necessary? And if I add it in, can I do it without weights and just go for increasing pure body reps?

Thanks again.

[nightanole]

Hi Nightanole,

Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

- You are the expert So I will switch to seated arnold press. Can I switch directly from shoulder press weight to arnold, or should i test ? Also, can I sit without back support, or is back support recommended/better?

- Another thing I didn't mention is that I am doing mostly DB instead of BB because a) my gym has only 1 BB bench (another is smith) and 50% of the time its busy b) I don't like the idea of needing a spotter, I can always throw away the DBs. I understand BB is optimal for hyperthrophy, but I guess DBs also has its share of advantages, in the long-term should this be ok?

- I like the idea of hanging leg raises, should I add it in given I am doing DB squats/bench, cable row, and leg curls instead of SLDL? or not really necessary? And if I add it in, can I do it without weights and just go for increasing pure body reps?

Thanks again.

If you have ever done the arnold press, you will find either A, you will need a back support, or B, you will need a bench you can brace your feet against to keep you from falling backawards. I have one of those old school benches with the useless foam bar at the bottom, i use that to lock my legs in.

The DB workout will be a little slower in progression, other than that there is no down sides. I will tell you to keep an eye on db position and speed. Its real easy to favor a weak side my moving the DB out of position a half inch or locking out the weak side a little slower.

Hanging leg raises can be your first accessory. You could start out with reps to failure, or a timed hang. For Reps i would add weight to keep you between 10-15 reps, and for time i would add weight between the knees, to keep you between 45-60 seconds. Just do one set after each workout.

[davidbzr]

Originally Posted by nightanole View Post
Nope, now that you adjusted the weights and already did medium day, you can go with your original plan. If you have 1 or 2 lifts you may thought could hit 2 12's with the heavy weight, and it was a false test day, just do 1 set of 10 with the 10% bump, on you light day. If you get in 10 reps, you pass, else continue next cycle with the original weights.
You can adjust weights cycle 1, but i wouldnt adjust them down after that. Next cycle just focus on keeping the bar speed high and the rest time low for the exercises you failed at. You may have gotten 5-7.5% stronger, but just a few reps short of the full 10%.

Cool man, I can't thank you enough for your help here. So to be clear: if I did today for example 2 12 reps with 45kg (medium day) on the squat and my heavy are 50kg, I would have to try this Friday (light day) 1 set of 10 reps with 55kg? Is that correct? And if I manage somehow to do that I can increase the weight for the next cycle by 10%? And the same thing with all other exercises I did Wednesday...?
Btw man, my girlfriend wants to start working out, she doesn't want to do so many upper body exercises so she doesn't want to follow this routine, would you recommend one to me she could use that you think would be good? she's a total begginer, skinny, 19yo

[ActionLogic]

Forgot to mention this in my above post, but due to a lower back injury (bulging disc), I have been barred from doing deadlifts and rows. Any recommendations as to what can replace those two exercises, and what would rep/set scheme look like for the new exercises in AllPros?

[twk_habs]

i love this beginner workout program!! thanks

[nightanole]

Cool man, I can't thank you enough for your help here. So to be clear: if I did today for example 2 12 reps with 45kg (medium day) on the squat and my heavy are 50kg, I would have to try this Friday (light day) 1 set of 10 reps with 55kg? Is that correct? And if I manage somehow to do that I can increase the weight for the next cycle by 10%? And the same thing with all other exercises I did Wednesday...?
Btw man, my girlfriend wants to start working out, she doesn't want to do so many upper body exercises so she doesn't want to follow this routine, would you recommend one to me she could use that you think would be good? she's a total begginer, skinny, 19yo

You got it. As for your GF, last page i posted a youtube routine, its basically 1 set allpro that is on a 2 week cycle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm-mYQ7a3xM

[nightanole]

Forgot to mention this in my above post, but due to a lower back injury (bulging disc), I have been barred from doing deadlifts and rows. Any recommendations as to what can replace those two exercises, and what would rep/set scheme look like for the new exercises in AllPros?

can you do farmer walks/carries and assisted chinups?

[ActionLogic]

can you do farmer walks/carries and assisted chinups?

Dont have the equipment for walks/carries, but I can get a resistance band for pullups/chinups? I was looking looking around forums last night reading up on what could replace deads/rows, seems like I am left with pullups/chinups and shrugs. All of which are doable, I just have no idea what the set/rep scheme would look like.

[nightanole]

Dont have the equipment for walks/carries, but I can get a resistance band for pullups/chinups? I was looking looking around forums last night reading up on what could replace deads/rows, seems like I am left with pullups/chinups and shrugs. All of which are doable, I just have no idea what the set/rep scheme would look like.

farmer carries can be done with 2 heavy dumb bells, or just walking around with a pair of 45's.

In terms of chinups (pullups are not recommended on the program), you have 2 styles:
grease the groove which is 7-10 sets spaced at least 30min apart, throughout the day, m-f. Sets should be half your rep max. Retest every 2 weeks.

The other way you can do it, is 1 set to 2-3 reps short of failure, rest 2-3 breaths and rep another out, repeat the breathing sets 10 times, so XXX reps followed by 10 rest pause reps. You do this style at the end of every allpro workout.

Once you can do 10 unassisted reps, we can change of the rep scheme.

[ActionLogic]

The other way you can do it, is 1 set to 2-3 reps short of failure, rest 2-3 breaths and rep another out, repeat the breathing sets 10 times, so XXX reps followed by 10 rest pause reps. You do this style at the end of every allpro workout.

Once you can do 10 unassisted reps, we can change of the rep scheme.

This looks good to me, and will start this next workout, but what about the trap stimulation from deadlifts? Should I also do shrugs or will chin ups suffice?

[nightanole]

This looks good to me, and will start this next workout, but what about the trap stimulation from deadlifts? Should I also do shrugs or will chin ups suffice?

For the most part they should be hit well with the back squat and shrug a lockout on the OHP. If in a few cycles they look like they are growing slower than your back, we can add some volume.

[arcticnova]

I'm finishing up AllPro next week and progressing to Greyskull LP as per your recommendations. I was wondering if you could give a recommendation for accessories lifts to add. My goal is pretty general, improve strength, size(aesthetics) and athletic ability. Here is what I got.

Pushup/chin up frequency method (6 days a week I think)

M:
Bench
Squat
Bent-over row 2x 6-8 (Or some other row variant?)

W:
OHP
Deadlift
EZ bar curl 2x 8-12

F:
Bench
Squat
SLDL 2x 6-10 (Not for back strength, but rather it's driving amazing progress in my flexibility. Not sure how to include this without overdoing back from this and deadlifts. Maybe do lighter weights?)
Cable Triceps push downs 2x 6-8 (I use to do these and my triceps responded AMAZINGLY to this exercise.. size wise... A bit vain reasoning so I'm not sure if I should include these as tri's are already on of my strongest muscles)

Any modifications you would recommend?

Here are my stats in case it changes things:
BW: 195lb
Squat: 210x12
Bent-over Row: 160x12
Bench: 190x12
SLDL: 165x12
OHP: 90x11 (This is my weakest lift. I never did it before a few month ago and now I've been battling shoulder issues that I hope are finally subsiding)
Deadlift: 1x315 (never actually trained this, just tried it a few times in last few months)

[nightanole]

I'm finishing up AllPro next week and progressing to Greyskull LP as per your recommendations. I was wondering if you could give a recommendation for accessories lifts to add. My goal is pretty general, improve strength, size(aesthetics) and athletic ability. Here is what I got.

Pushup/chin up frequency method (6 days a week I think)

M:
Bench
Squat
Bent-over row 2x 6-8 (Or some other row variant?)

W:
OHP
Deadlift
EZ bar curl 2x 8-12

F:
Bench
Squat
SLDL 2x 6-10 (Not for back strength, but rather it's driving amazing progress in my flexibility. Not sure how to include this without overdoing back from this and deadlifts. Maybe do lighter weights?)
Cable Triceps push downs 2x 6-8 (I use to do these and my triceps responded AMAZINGLY to this exercise.. size wise... A bit vain reasoning so I'm not sure if I should include these as tri's are already on of my strongest muscles)

Any modifications you would recommend?

Here are my stats in case it changes things:
BW: 195lb
Squat: 210x12
Bent-over Row: 160x12
Bench: 190x12
SLDL: 165x12
OHP: 90x11 (This is my weakest lift. I never did it before a few month ago and now I've been battling shoulder issues that I hope are finally subsiding)
Squat

I would put the SLDL at the end of deadlift day, this way you cant over do it, as you would say.

Im not a fan of tricep push downs, for most people, its going to end with elbow pain. Its better to work the tricep with the elbow at shoulder height or higher, even if you are laying down. You dont really want to be doing tricep exercises in the curl position.

I would also look into some GPP work. Even if its just circuit of burpees and chinups.

[arcticnova]

I would put the SLDL at the end of deadlift day, this way you cant over do it, as you would say.

Im not a fan of tricep push downs, for most people, its going to end with elbow pain. Its better to work the tricep with the elbow at shoulder height or higher, even if you are laying down. You dont really want to be doing tricep exercises in the curl position.

I would also look into some GPP work. Even if its just circuit of burpees and chinups.

1. I'm really afraid to pull my back by doing SLDL's on the same day as deadlifts. I can usually power through whatever back exercise I throw myself into, but then I don't feel the consequences till later that day and for a few days. After doing SLDL's today I think 1 warm up and 11 heavy set is enough for the stretching portion. So I'll probably just do that.

2. Do you recommend I take out the triceps work completely, as it was only for vain purposes. Or should I just replace it with something like lying skull crushers or weighted dips?

3. GPP work? Are you saying like chin up's and pushups. I plan on doing the frequency method of those, which I think is 6 sets throughout each day of as many chinups/pushups as you can do that doesn't fatigue you.

4. Should I add weighted chins anywhere in there anywhere or am I getting enough pulling between the deadlifts/sldl/rows & frequency BW chin's

[agoodz]

How important is the 90 second rest time in between work sets? What happens if you take 2-3 min instead?

[nightanole]

1. I'm really afraid to pull my back by doing SLDL's on the same day as deadlifts. I can usually power through whatever back exercise I throw myself into, but then I don't feel the consequences till later that day and for a few days. After doing SLDL's today I think 1 warm up and 11 heavy set is enough for the stretching portion. So I'll probably just do that.

2. Do you recommend I take out the triceps work completely, as it was only for vain purposes. Or should I just replace it with something like lying skull crushers or weighted dips?

3. GPP work? Are you saying like chin up's and pushups. I plan on doing the frequency method of those, which I think is 6 sets throughout each day of as many chinups/pushups as you can do that doesn't fatigue you.

4. Should I add weighted chins anywhere in there anywhere or am I getting enough pulling between the deadlifts/sldl/rows & frequency BW chin's

1) The SLDL, as you notice, is a stretch exercise and a hamstring finisher. I advised to do it after deadlifts, however you will have to drastically reduce the weight used, since you are now doing real deadlifts too. This isnt a bad thing.
2) Just switch it out with another tricep exercise. If you can do dips, go for it, they are great for building over all upper body.
3) General physical preparedness. Conditioning work. Sled pulls, bag work, jump rope (odds are no one at your gym can do 120 a min for 3 min), hill sprints. There are lots of guides out their for rugby, american foot ball, etc. Greyskull has 2-3 books of just those programs.
4) I would not add weights chins at this time, maybe once you can do 15 chinups etc, then you can know them down to 8 reps using weight with your frequency method.

[nightanole]

How important is the 90 second rest time in between work sets? What happens if you take 2-3 min instead?

Rest time, when given on a program, is critical. On most beginner programs we are trying to get in 10 "quality" reps. On SS, the first 1-2(maybe 3 on the first set) reps are fatiguing the smaller fibers that you engage all day long, so that the last 3 reps engage the upper threshold fibers that grow the biggest/fastest. On allpro, those upper threshold fibers are not getting engaged till half way through the first set or more. However if we keep the rest times low, those "all day long" fibers wont be recovered by the time you do the second set. So 1/3 of the first set is quality reps, and 2/3 of the second set is quality reps. If you rest 3min, you are back to 1/3 of the second set being quality. It would be better to just drop the working weight so you can complete the second set with a 90 second or less rest.

In the same way, on SS, if you only do 90 second rest, you will have to severally reduce the working weight in order to not miss reps on the second and third set, so it drops the quality reps back down to only 1-2 per set.

[arcticnova]

1) The SLDL, as you notice, is a stretch exercise and a hamstring finisher. I advised to do it after deadlifts, however you will have to drastically reduce the weight used, since you are now doing real deadlifts too. This isnt a bad thing.
2) Just switch it out with another tricep exercise. If you can do dips, go for it, they are great for building over all upper body.
3) General physical preparedness. Conditioning work. Sled pulls, bag work, jump rope (odds are no one at your gym can do 120 a min for 3 min), hill sprints. There are lots of guides out their for rugby, american foot ball, etc. Greyskull has 2-3 books of just those programs.
4) I would not add weights chins at this time, maybe once you can do 15 chinups etc, then you can know them down to 8 reps using weight with your frequency method.

1. Got it. so 135 x6-10 instead of 165x12 is the drastic weight drop you are talking about?

2.Got it.

3.Got it.

4. I haven't tried how many I can do , but I'm relatively sure I can do atleast 15.......

So other than those small change, you think the routine I posted will be a good start and needs no other modifications right?

[nightanole]

1. Got it. so 135 x6-10 instead of 165x12 is the drastic weight drop you are talking about?

2.Got it.

3.Got it.

4. I haven't tried how many I can do , but I'm relatively sure I can do atleast 15.......

So other than those small change, you think the routine I posted will be a good start and needs no other modifications right?

Looks good to me. Yea 135 on the SLDL, since you will be prefatigued from the real deadlifts. You might even want to rig up a progression scheme of keeping the SLDL between 10 and 15 reps, so if you go over or under, add or remove 5-10lbs.

I would start adding weight once you are doing 60 reps of chinups per day. You could also mix it up by doing inverted rows with the feet at bar level (odds are you will never reach chest due to anatomy, unless you have really short arms or a barrel chest, or a major chest arch).


Keep in mind, since this appears to be a trap you are starting to inch towards, just because its a balanced routine, doesnt mean its balanced for you. So keep checking the mirror for lagging parts, and add volume to those parts, and the parts that are not recovering very well, you will have to reduce volume. Volume is defined as tonnage lifted per week, so 10 reps of 100lbs is 1000lbs of volume. So you can see how adding 5-10% more weight that causes a 4+ rep drop, drastically reduces volume. You have to be careful about this going forward, because just because your 1 rep max went up 10%, odds are the amount of volume you can handle per week only went up 2.5-5%. So now its a dance to get the right amount of intensity (percentage of 1 rep max on a few sets) per week, while balancing that with the amount of volume you can handle.

[arcticnova]

Looks good to me. Yea 135 on the SLDL, since you will be prefatigued from the real deadlifts. You might even want to rig up a progression scheme of keeping the SLDL between 10 and 15 reps, so if you go over or under, add or remove 5-10lbs.

I would start adding weight once you are doing 60 reps of chinups per day. You could also mix it up by doing inverted rows with the feet at bar level (odds are you will never reach chest due to anatomy, unless you have really short arms or a barrel chest, or a major chest arch).


Keep in mind, since this appears to be a trap you are starting to inch towards, just because its a balanced routine, doesnt mean its balanced for you. So keep checking the mirror for lagging parts, and add volume to those parts, and the parts that are not recovering very well, you will have to reduce volume. Volume is defined as tonnage lifted per week, so 10 reps of 100lbs is 1000lbs of volume. So you can see how adding 5-10% more weight that causes a 4+ rep drop, drastically reduces volume. You have to be careful about this going forward, because just because your 1 rep max went up 10%, odds are the amount of volume you can handle per week only went up 2.5-5%. So now its a dance to get the right amount of intensity (percentage of 1 rep max on a few sets) per week, while balancing that with the amount of volume you can handle.

Do you think doing a set of lighter SLDL's before my deadlift as a warmup is OK or will that compromise the deadlift. The reason I was thinking about doing this is that, to get into the deadlift position, I'm at the edge of my flexibility. Straightening my back while keeping my hands on the bar and without lowering my hips too far takes absolutely all the force I can apply to it (and even then I'm sure it's not perfect). Doing the SLDL right before might ease that.

How do I know when I'm not recovering enough on a lift? I figure the primary sign is that your starting to lose strength in that lift instead of gain, right? So to be more clear, how can I tell the difference between not recovering or simply reaching too much weight which triggers the 10% greyskull reset?

[nightanole]

Do you think doing a set of lighter SLDL's before my deadlift as a warmup is OK or will that compromise the deadlift. The reason I was thinking about doing this is that, to get into the deadlift position, I'm at the edge of my flexibility. Straightening my back while keeping my hands on the bar and without lowering my hips too far takes absolutely all the force I can apply to it (and even then I'm sure it's not perfect). Doing the SLDL right before might ease that.

How do I know when I'm not recovering enough on a lift? I figure the primary sign is that your starting to lose strength in that lift instead of gain, right? So to be more clear, how can I tell the difference between not recovering or simply reaching too much weight which triggers the 10% greyskull reset?

You can try doing the SLDL as the first lift, and the standard dead lift as the last lift. Just dont go above RPE 8.0 on the SLDL. Your other option is doing a romanian deadlift as the warmup of the deadlift.

If you are not recovering enough, you will trigger a reset, and the next session wont have any more reps on the 3rd set, as the first time you did it with that weight.

So you might have 200 for 7 when you start. You might get up to 220 before you can only get out 4 reps. Then when you reset, you will find you can only get out 6-7 reps with 200 again. It is VERY common to reset on greyskull, you will be doing it every 4-6 weeks, but it is NEVER common to reset and get less reps at the same weight. That is how the program works, every single session is a PR in either weight or reps on that 3rd set. Even if its just 1 rep or 2.5lbs. You might spend months resetting to the same weight, but it will be a PR each time.

[JordanThomas94]

Newbie here so i am in the process of starting this beginner plan cause i am new to bodybuilding as a whole my main goal is transform my body, build muscle, and gain mass i just was wondering.Is there a nutrition plan for this beginner guide? Also is there a certain point to where once your good with this plan that you could switch to another plan? Plz help me out guys