AllPro: A Simple Beginner's Routine part V

[k1ngoftheranch]

intermediate 2 c1w5 (yesterday)

bench 165x 8,8,8,5
row 135x 8,8,8,8
ohp 95x 10,10 (cheated last rep a touch)
curls 80x 12,8 (4 after just to get reps in)
tricep ext 85x 12,12
incline hgdb press 50s x 12,12
lat pulldown 140x 12,12

[k1ngoftheranch]

so decided not to do lower today...may go tomorrow afternoon and do it but still gonna go lighter on squat b/c of my knee...few questions i want to throw out there...

first this upcoming monday i have some runnin around to do so not going to gym for upper and i may take teusday off...will resume thurs/fri...plan to keep most of my weights the same and restart the whole cycle a week from monday...will only be upping the few i passed properly...for upper thats tricep extension and rows...for lower its leg extension, leg curls, seated calf raise...if i feel the increase in weight for rows throws off my ROM or form im dropping back down as im more interested in working the muscle than the weights as i want to get bigger mass as my main goal...

i have been growing with this routine etc but i still feel my chest is not growing as fast as my arms and shoulders...would inclne bench be better than incline hammer grip dumbell?

and im thinking of swapping lat pulldowns for wide grip pullups as they are known by most as one of the best lat building exercises...ill keep rep range 4 sets of 6 (ramping up each week so 6,7,8,9,10) adding weight as necessary...vs the 2 sets of 8,9,10,11,12 the program calls for...

thoughts??


also for ohp and bench i use a thumbless grip...any problem with that? i feel it helps me keep my wrist in proper form...

[Pi1]

Cycle 6 week 2 medium day done (revised version)

Sqt-185#-4x5
Bench-205-4x5
BOR-150#-2x9-Just thought I woud do the 2 sets of 9 today instead of the 4 sets of 5. just to be a little different.
OHP-115-2x9
SLDL-185-2x9
curls-80-2x9
calf raises-185-2x9
shrugs-150-2x9
lat pulls- 120-1x9

I still after all these months find my grip starting to slip half way through the second set of sldl.

Revised version??? Is this a modification you devised or have i missed a thread somewhere?

[map84]

Can I do this workout on tues, weds and fri? It says to do it on non consecutive days, but that's not an option for me. Thanks

[nightanole]

Can I do this workout on tues, weds and fri? It says to do it on non consecutive days, but that's not an option for me. Thanks

How about heavy heavy tues fri? You do heavy/medium back to back you will be back here complaining about this hurts and that hurts.

[nightanole]

Revised version??? Is this a modification you devised or have i missed a thread somewhere?

GP100 like alot of us moved on from allpro beginner but still post here because we still do the same lifts.

[GuntherT]

I need some advice here....

I am about to start my third cycle now and I don't feel like I am progressing, My lifts have been fluctuating to the point where I've had to reduce weights by 10% on my first cycle lifts as I was failing early on in the cycle. I've barely passed Squats even after reducing the weight in my second cycle.. Rest of my lifts I have been able to complete (barely) so it's not like I am not pushing myself. I don't want to give the impression where I keep reducing weights because No I don't..

I don't feel any stronger than when I started, my body structure hasn't improved much either ( some people say they see changes). I've read people progressing rapidly in the first couple of months starting especially as beginners.. It hasn't happened to me. I've still got the same chicken skinny arms

I know 2 months of working out isn't much time at all but I was really hoping improvement in strength and health in general ( Don't feel much has changed..)

What could I possibly be doing wrong? My diet is in check ...I try to be as strict as possible

Edit: I do want to add I AM losing weight (1.5 lbs/week)

[nightanole]

I need some advice here....

I am about to start my third cycle now and I don't feel like I am progressing, My lifts have been fluctuating to the point where I've had to reduce weights by 10% on my first cycle lifts as I was failing early on in the cycle. I've barely passed Squats even after reducing the weight in my second cycle.. Rest of my lifts I have been able to complete (barely) so it's not like I am not pushing myself. I don't want to give the impression where I keep reducing weights because No I don't..

I don't feel any stronger than when I started, my body structure hasn't improved much either ( some people say they see changes). I've read people progressing rapidly in the first couple of months starting especially as beginners.. It hasn't happened to me. I've still got the same chicken skinny arms

I know 2 months of working out isn't much time at all but I was really hoping improvement in strength and health in general ( Don't feel much has changed..)

What could I possibly be doing wrong? My diet is in check ...I try to be as strict as possible

Edit: I do want to add I AM losing weight (1.5 lbs/week)

So you could say you have lost 8 percent of your body weight while maintaining the same performance level. At 6 ft you should be around 175-180lbs at 10% to look decent. So at your current pace you will hit it in another 2 months, which is the beginning of June. If you have a picture from christmas and the beginning of june it will be like night and day if you stick with your program. Sorry but unless you are 25-30% BF or more you are not going to be able to lose weight and progress on lifts.

As for your skinny arms, you are on a beginner program that hits the arms with 4 exercises 3 times a week. Most programs are half to 1 third that, as they mostly focus on core and leg strength.

Your choices are:
maintain lifts while losing weight (max preserve muscle)
eat at maintenance, and progress slowly on lifts while losing fat
Eat above maintenance and progress on lifts faster till you hit your numbers, then cut at a faster rate

Pick one.

[GuntherT]

So you could say you have lost 8 percent of your body weight while maintaining the same performance level. At 6 ft you should be around 175-180lbs at 10% to look decent. So at your current pace you will hit it in another 2 months, which is the beginning of June. If you have a picture from christmas and the beginning of june it will be like night and day if you stick with your program. Sorry but unless you are 25-30% BF or more you are not going to be able to lose weight and progress on lifts.

As for your skinny arms, you are on a beginner program that hits the arms with 4 exercises 3 times a week. Most programs are half to 1 third that, as they mostly focus on core and leg strength.

Your choices are:
maintain lifts while losing weight (max preserve muscle)
eat at maintenance, and progress slowly on lifts while losing fat
Eat above maintenance and progress on lifts faster till you hit your numbers, then cut at a faster rate

Pick one.

I don't mean to change the plan, it is still to lose weight and reach 180 lbs .. I started off at higher than 25% Body fat but thank you for the clarification as I felt I was doing something wrong. I'm not sure if I follow the second part.. It sounds like my arms are getting hit pretty hard then why the lack of muscle?

I am still going to try and lose 1.5 lbs a week, I want to feel stronger .. Does that happen once I stop cutting?

[ClassActJack]

it may be your diet, since you are on a cut your eating at a deficit I'm assuming? Could play a role in you feeling weaker and sluggish. Especially if your carbs are low. Try eating a large bulk of your carbs first thing in the morning, about an hour before you work out and within an hour or so after your workout. The high carb intake in the morning and post workout should help rev your energy levels up.

And as for your question about wanting to feel stronger, I may be wrong on this but, I feel most people feel more sluggish and weaker while on a cut. Its the nature of the game.

so for example I normally eat 2 bananas post workout. Especially on heavy days.

[nightanole]

I don't mean to change the plan, it is still to lose weight and reach 180 lbs .. I started off at higher than 25% Body fat but thank you for the clarification as I felt I was doing something wrong. I'm not sure if I follow the second part.. It sounds like my arms are getting hit pretty hard then why the lack of muscle?

I am still going to try and lose 1.5 lbs a week, I want to feel stronger .. Does that happen once I stop cutting?

Average diet for the average male that works out and wants to lose about what your loosing:
100 grams of fat
100 grams of protein
150-200 grams of carbs

These are the MINIMUM you can goto and still perform on lifts/sports. Its 1900-2100 calories a day. You go below that and system will start acting weird and you will feel sluggish so lifts will suffer.
Your lack of muscle is from either your diet, that fact you are losing weight at a pretty good pace (fat is 3500 cals a pound, muscle is 900).
Im pretty sure you have stick arms just be cause you cant bench your body weight yet and OHP over 100lbs. Unfortunately to have big muscles the min is to be able to lift big weights. It doesnt matter if its 1 plate for 12 or 2 plates for 2, you still have to increase your calculated 1 rep max to see muscle gain. You want Tiger Woods arms, he benches 3 plates for reps.

http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/g...shoot#slide=11

PS: in terms of arm growth, slap a 16oz steak on each arm, thats 1 pound of growth on each arm.

[GuntherT]

Average diet for the average male that works out and wants to lose about what your loosing:
100 grams of fat
100 grams of protein
150-200 grams of carbs

These are the MINIMUM you can goto and still perform on lifts/sports. Its 1900-2100 calories a day. You go below that and system will start acting weird and you will feel sluggish so lifts will suffer.
Your lack of muscle is from either your diet, that fact you are losing weight at a pretty good pace (fat is 3500 cals a pound, muscle is 900).
Im pretty sure you have stick arms just be cause you cant bench your body weight yet and OHP over 100lbs. Unfortunately to have big muscles the min is to be able to lift big weights. It doesnt matter if its 1 plate for 12 or 2 plates for 2, you still have to increase your calculated 1 rep max to see muscle gain. You want Tiger Woods arms, he benches 3 plates for reps.

http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/g...shoot#slide=11

I used the sticky to calculate my requirements

lbm 147.75
bf 25
bmr 1787.5
tdee2145
deficit 1716

160 protein
73.75g fat
103.1g carb

Using sedentary life style ( Uni student).. I really don't want to go any lower + I am losing weight 1.5 /week so why go higher?

Even though my sleep quality is great I wake up every morning with body aches, Lack of energy etc.. Are these signs for not eating enough?

My bench is 72 , OHp is 40... Hopefully once I am done cutting I can raise these lifts at a good pace

[GP100]

GP100 like alot of us moved on from allpro beginner but still post here because we still do the same lifts.

Yes thanks. I wasn't on yesterday to reply.

[Sader762]

No real questions just dropping in to say hello.

I've been reading the site for about 2 months while I finished up my current workout plan and trying to drop my bf some. I plan on starting on Monday with AllPro, it looks to be the best fit for my goals out of everything I've read.

I've picked up a power rack and oly weights, I've got a good selection of hex dumbbells already.

Thanks for all who have added quality information to this thread, for those that take the time to read the info is great.

[k1ngoftheranch]

so decided not to do lower today...may go tomorrow afternoon and do it but still gonna go lighter on squat b/c of my knee...few questions i want to throw out there...

first this upcoming monday i have some runnin around to do so not going to gym for upper and i may take teusday off...will resume thurs/fri...plan to keep most of my weights the same and restart the whole cycle a week from monday...will only be upping the few i passed properly...for upper thats tricep extension and rows...for lower its leg extension, leg curls, seated calf raise...if i feel the increase in weight for rows throws off my ROM or form im dropping back down as im more interested in working the muscle than the weights as i want to get bigger mass as my main goal...

i have been growing with this routine etc but i still feel my chest is not growing as fast as my arms and shoulders...would inclne bench be better than incline hammer grip dumbell?

and im thinking of swapping lat pulldowns for wide grip pullups as they are known by most as one of the best lat building exercises...ill keep rep range 4 sets of 6 (ramping up each week so 6,7,8,9,10) adding weight as necessary...vs the 2 sets of 8,9,10,11,12 the program calls for...

thoughts??


also for ohp and bench i use a thumbless grip...any problem with that? i feel it helps me keep my wrist in proper form...

Any thoughts??

[ClassActJack]

I used the sticky to calculate my requirements

lbm 147.75
bf 25
bmr 1787.5
tdee2145
deficit 1716

160 protein
73.75g fat
103.1g carb

Using sedentary life style ( Uni student).. I really don't want to go any lower + I am losing weight 1.5 /week so why go higher?

Even though my sleep quality is great I wake up every morning with body aches, Lack of energy etc.. Are these signs for not eating enough?

My bench is 72 , OHp is 40... Hopefully once I am done cutting I can raise these lifts at a good pace

You're taking in less then 1500 calories there is no way your body will be able to perform or at least improve at that intake. I would ramp up the carbs a bit. If your really set on keeping your calorie intake at just below 1500 then take in 3/4s your fat and replace it with carbs.

[GuntherT]

You're taking in less then 1500 calories there is no way your body will be able to perform or at least improve at that intake. I would ramp up the carbs a bit. If your really set on keeping your calorie intake at just below 1500 then take in 3/4s your fat and replace it with carbs.

Taking 1716 calories not 1500 , My fat intake is already .5g/ body weight doubt I want to reduce it even more

[nightanole]

Taking 1716 calories not 1500 , My fat intake is already .5g/ body weight doubt I want to reduce it even more

160 protein
73.75g fat
103.1g carb

1716 cals

Ok lets reroll for the real world and not this 1 gram per pound stuff that no one who makes money on performance uses.
You know what, hell with it, im not rerolling
100 grams of fat
100 grams of protein
150 grams of carbs
1900 cals. Thats only 200 more than your taking in now. The corrections will; protien is the worse energy source on the planet for humans, so reduced that 50 grams, carbs is the best, upped that 50 grams, under 100 grams of fat a day will cause hormone problems. Try that out, it should be pretty easy to adjust. I now know why you feel like crap since you are trying to work out on 100 grams of carbs. 150 is borderline and most people that need a 3000k cal diet have 350-400 grams of carbs. 100/100 fat/protein is good enough for anyone juicing or non juicing under 200lbs@10% to gain 3 pounds of muscle a month. Then you just throw in carbs to keep performance up.

[MehCheniti]

Profiled.

[nightanole]

Any thoughts??

1. the more you pause at the bottom of bench at the chest the more the chest will get developed. Decline is better for the chest than incline, thats why they have you puff up your chest on the flat bench, to make it a semi decline. Incline is better for shoulders because of alittle less internal rotation.

2. Double check your research on shoulders for wide grip(it may be fine if you check the signs you can do it, just like the signs you can do dips safely). I know the safest is narrow grip chinup, and even arnold recommended it for forearm size.

3. false grip is great and recommended for OHP as it prevents internal rotation and impingement. Thumbless on the bench is called "the suicide grip" and will get you kicked out of any meet. For an alternative form; grip the bar with elbows pointing out and bar going parallel to thumb (if you had it out hitch hiking) but sitting on the palm. keep elbows under wrists during the movement. You will find this causes your bar path to turns into an arc, and there is a little rotation of the arms since the elbows will be at a 45 angle to the body when the bar hits your lower rib cage. This also helps cure a few people of using their shoulders instead of their chest to move the weight.

[GP100]

Well I just played around with the weights today. I was feeling good. It was light day. I probably shouldn't have alter things today but just wanted to be a bit different on the reps. No plans to make it a common practice.


cycle 6 week 2 light day (goof off )

Sqt-165-4x5
bench-185-3x9
BOR-135-2x9
ohp-105-2x9
curls-70-2x9
calf raises-165-2x9
shrugs-135-2x9

[GuntherT]

160 protein
73.75g fat
103.1g carb

1716 cals

Ok lets reroll for the real world and not this 1 gram per pound stuff that no one who makes money on performance uses.
You know what, hell with it, im not rerolling
100 grams of fat
100 grams of protein
150 grams of carbs
1900 cals. Thats only 200 more than your taking in now. The corrections will; protien is the worse energy source on the planet for humans, so reduced that 50 grams, carbs is the best, upped that 50 grams, under 100 grams of fat a day will cause hormone problems. Try that out, it should be pretty easy to adjust. I now know why you feel like crap since you are trying to work out on 100 grams of carbs. 150 is borderline and most people that need a 3000k cal diet have 350-400 grams of carbs. 100/100 fat/protein is good enough for anyone juicing or non juicing under 200lbs@10% to gain 3 pounds of muscle a month. Then you just throw in carbs to keep performance up.

Argh I was told multiple times by people in the losing fat forum to use the sticky , Now that I am using it .. it's not good enough I am going to try your suggestion in couple of weeks when I am back home plus it will give me the chance to stay active. Pretty sedentary right now because of exams..

I haven't just come up with numbers randomly ( 1 gram per pound stuff).. I was using http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=156380403 which is recommended highly

[BadBoy787512]

nightanole, or anybody else,

I'm just about wrapping up my first cycle (this coming Monday is going to be my "test" day). Next cycle I plan on introducing cardio as per the faq for this program, and I'm wondering if doing more than three 5-mile walks a week is going to be overkill--was given a Fitbit as a late-birthday present and wanted to put it to use (they, the Fitbit people, recommend getting 10,000 steps a day...).

Thanks in advance!

[thcalan]

C2W1

I passed all my lifts last week except OHP which I failed so miserably, and so often that I DROPPED that one 10%.

After today's workout I feel it in my shoulders more than ever

So basically it's a great argument for good form and a great argument against working to failure.

[WRC_619]

C1W1 After Action Report(AAR) and lessons learned. These are in no particular order of importance. Just my observations after coming back to weights after a long absence from weight lifting.

1. 2 heavy days per week seems to work well for military, due to the volume of calisthenics and cardio we do for military PT.
2. Slow progress is to be expected for the above mentioned reasons.
3. Rarely, you may have to do the exercises slightly out of order to keep from waiting forever to start the next exercise.
4. 10 rep max testing is extremely important.
5. When in doubt, start light. It will take care of itself after a bit(per the FAQ pdf)
6. After getting used to long drawn out workouts(i.e. BUD/S Warning order PT), this one requires a paradigm shift. I felt like I could do more after, but abided by the FAQ and did not f*&^ around with the program.
7. There are enough scheduling tips in the last 4 all pro threads that excuses are nearly non-existent for this program short of physical injuries.
8. Don't sweat strength imbalances. They will correct over time with consistent and proper training.
9. I am doing this on a cut for a couple more weeks, and it is not terribly difficult yet.

Just my .02 for what it is worth. I have set a personal goal to follow this for at least 5 cycles and then see where to go from there. Trying to get back to 191 from 250 while maintaining muscle/strength and getting there a couple of pounds at a time.

[nightanole]

Argh I was told multiple times by people in the losing fat forum to use the sticky , Now that I am using it .. it's not good enough I am going to try your suggestion in couple of weeks when I am back home plus it will give me the chance to stay active. Pretty sedentary right now because of exams..

I haven't just come up with numbers randomly ( 1 gram per pound stuff).. I was using http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=156380403 which is recommended highly

Sorry the 1 gram per pound stuff is marketing. As for you using the sticky, alot of it pertains to FIT people that are at 10% bf or below, and are not doing sports/power lifting/etc, and have an above average muscle mass that requires 2500-3000 cals to maintain.
Also my recommendations to overlap with the sticky or are within 10%.
1. Protein:
STRENGTH training -> (about .6g / pound)
2. Fats:
between 0.4-1g LEAN weight/ pounds
3. Carbs:
Moderately active: (about 2 - 3g/ pound)

I got you at wut, .5 grams per pound of protein, .5 grams per pound of fat, and .75 grams per pound of carbs.
Now look at your original numbers you got and see how close they are to the sticky with your 100 grams of carbs and 150 grams of protein. And remember these numbers are for fit people in the teens of bf or lower to get bigger. My numbers are just the min any human should hit just to function and perform tasks without injury. You can go above my numbers, just not below.

nightanole, or anybody else,

I'm just about wrapping up my first cycle (this coming Monday is going to be my "test" day). Next cycle I plan on introducing cardio as per the faq for this program, and I'm wondering if doing more than three 5-mile walks a week is going to be overkill--was given a Fitbit as a late-birthday present and wanted to put it to use (they, the Fitbit people, recommend getting 10,000 steps a day...).

Thanks in advance!

The normal recommended cardio is 3 5k's. thats like 3 20min cardio sessions. You can add more such as a 10k, if you adjust your carbs so you are at least at maintenance cals. You start missing lifts or dropping weight or dont know how to feed yourself then up the cals or adjust your cardio.
Really the only major cardio that can hurt this program is HIIT.

[k1ngoftheranch]

1. the more you pause at the bottom of bench at the chest the more the chest will get developed. Decline is better for the chest than incline, thats why they have you puff up your chest on the flat bench, to make it a semi decline. Incline is better for shoulders because of alittle less internal rotation.

2. Double check your research on shoulders for wide grip(it may be fine if you check the signs you can do it, just like the signs you can do dips safely). I know the safest is narrow grip chinup, and even arnold recommended it for forearm size.

3. false grip is great and recommended for OHP as it prevents internal rotation and impingement. Thumbless on the bench is called "the suicide grip" and will get you kicked out of any meet. For an alternative form; grip the bar with elbows pointing out and bar going parallel to thumb (if you had it out hitch hiking) but sitting on the palm. keep elbows under wrists during the movement. You will find this causes your bar path to turns into an arc, and there is a little rotation of the arms since the elbows will be at a 45 angle to the body when the bar hits your lower rib cage. This also helps cure a few people of using their shoulders instead of their chest to move the weight.

Will do on bench...maybe switch incline db press to decline and see how i like it...also after my whole upper day i do a really slow set on flat bench with 135 letting it sit at chest level for about 5 seconds before pushi g back up and i like it for a good pump post allpro routine..

If its better for shoulders esp mine with the shoulder seperation issue i have in my right ill go with a more narrow grip as i read a study where pullups are best regardless of wide or narrow so i should still benefit...and like i said ill be upping to 4 sets weighted most likely vs the 2 sets of lat pulldown as its the last exercise...


So thumbs point in and sit along bottom of bar if i read that correctly?..will yive it a go next session...

Thanks again....still need to find out how to rep u..

[fat1977]

I know they say dont change **** but is there any drawback to doing decline bench rather than flat? or a combination of incline/decline? I'm not too concerned with incline since we have OHP in this workout but if I were to rotate them would it be better to switch them every workout or every week or every cycle? I would think cycle since the weights would be different between the two. However, for now I just want to know if I am impacting other exercises or the program in general by going to a slight decline (~10%)?

[dansadeck]

I used to weight 150lbs then I trained/dieted seriously for 2 years and went up to 178lbs (did many different workouts during this period). Took a semester off due to busy schedule/moving town etc.... Now I am back to 155 lbs. Very dissapoting, but decided to get back to it and take my training/dieting seriously once again.

Heading to the gym tomorrow to test my weights and get back to 178lbs.

[PlywoodRat]

Hey everyone.

I am going to start this workout on Monday! I started lifting on January 10th and began to lose motivation last week after watching a form video I made. It looks like I have gained a lot of fat and minimal muscle. I have decided to mix it up a bit after avoiding the gym the last 3 days. I was doing phrak's greyskull lp variant (never missed a day!) and eating 3200 calories a day. I have went from 148-158 since starting. I had to deload on my lifts a few times, I am not sure why.

My lifts 3x5:
Overhead press 65-75 This has been stuck here for a long time. Sometimes I am able to do 80lbs
Squats 115-155
Bench 100-135
Dead lift 105- 190 This is only 1x5 and I started really light because of horrible form
Weighted chin ups went to 15lbs
Rows 115-140

I am not sure if that is decent progress or not.


I just figured out most of my lifts for all pros about 30 minutes ago.


Squats 135
Bench 100
Rows 100
Overhead press 55
Curls 55
SLDL 135 I can lift more but they feel extremely awkward to me, possibly because of form. I wish I could just do normal ones because I really enjoy them. Any tips!?
I still have to figure out a weight for the calf raises!







You guys are stuck with me now... I might start a journal but I am not sure yet.