AllPro: A Simple Beginner's Routine part VI

[Lunevillain]

You can run auto regulated 7 days a week if you want. The only thing will happen is you will start getting slow reps a lot earlier in the sets, over all weekly volume wont change much, you wont be able to double your volume long term, going from 3 days a week to 6 days a week.


Squats you can/should rebrace and take 2 big breaths between reps. The advanced lifters might be able to squeeze out 3 reps per breath, but a beginner cant. Else ya, take a week and only do warmup sets or 50% of working weight, to strip off the fatigue. Its not like a beginner deload where you reset 10% and spend weeks getting back to your working weight.

Alright great! Thanks! How often would you recommend deloads though? I read about every 5 weeks or so, but not sure if it'd be too little/much for this.

[nightanole]

Alright great! Thanks! How often would you recommend deloads though? I read about every 5 weeks or so, but not sure if it'd be too little/much for this.

When to deload is waaaaay to random to nail down. Highschool and college on a slight surplus might only deload every 3-4 months. A 40 year old on a cut might spend 1 week out of every 4 on a deload.

Thats why auto regulated needs a bit of experience to run it correctly. I trigger a deload when connective tissue starts nagging after a session, or if im short 2 reps on a set i completely fine 48 hours earlier. That is telling me the fatigue is too great to recover from.

[Lunevillain]

When to deload is waaaaay to random to nail down. Highschool and college on a slight surplus might only deload every 3-4 months. A 40 year old on a cut might spend 1 week out of every 4 on a deload.

Thats why auto regulated needs a bit of experience to run it correctly. I trigger a deload when connective tissue starts nagging after a session, or if im short 2 reps on a set i completely fine 48 hours earlier. That is telling me the fatigue is too great to recover from.

Ahh alright! It's all about trying and seeing what works I guess.. Thanks so much again!

[davidbzr]

3 questions.

1. I did one cycle and stopped at week 3 of my second cycle because I started a new job and couldn't make it to the gym when it was open. Im starting again tomorrow but I'm changing gym and going in the morning while fasting (I do 16/8 fast and 18/6 somedays), I don't eat until 1pm, you have any recommendations regarding this specifically? Training while fasting, I used to train around 6pm right after my second big meal of the day.

2. Also the new gym has a different weight for the barbells and doesn't have the very small plate of the other gym so I'm thinking I should better do the 10max test to be sure where to start, how should I go about this? The link for calculating in the first page is down.

3. After the test on Monday and after I figure out my correct lifting weight, when do I start the program? Wednesdays with heavy day? Or next Monday?

Thank you

David

[mikey1995]

Hey everyone,
I want to make a gym workout routine for my body mainly for mass. I am a beginner, but I have trained in the past with calisthenics. I can do around 6 pullups and 30 diamond pushups.
My goals are:
1 - Muscle Up (which I plan on doing through the progessions with resistance bands
2 - Size
3- Correcting my anterior pelvic tilt which is making my stomach bulge out.
I will be training the muscle up 3 times a week. Also, I want to do exercises for anterior pelvic tilt often so I can fix that. I would also like to incorporate weighted pullups (hopefully) and dips into my workout. Please give me any solid routine because i want to get a gym membership soon.
Thank you and let me know if there are other questions.

[Shadybaby316]

Hello sir nightanole,

2 weeks back i did some burpeeps after which i started having pain on my lower back. Last week after 2 days of rest I was expecting the pain to go away but it is still there.

Im currently on cycle 1 week 3 of the program.

I am going to visit the doctor to find out however incase he asks me to stop excersising this program what could be my options?

On the other hand, the pain is when i push my lower back towards front in a stretching posture. Let me know your thoughts.

Thank you so nuch in advance.

[Wortzilla]

I just finished my 2nd cycle. Passed everything but bench, and lost 6 pounds. I also failed bench first cycle. For week 5 heavy day I got 12 reps and 11 reps. Since this is still an improvement from cycle 1 and I lost weight should I count it as a win and repeat at 180 pounds again? Or either drop to 175 pounds or move to 3 sets of 4 reps to 8 reps using 185ish pounds?

My weights will now look like:
Bench 180 again or 185 for 3 sets 4-8
Squat 265 3 sets 4 to 8 reps (I got 2 sets of 12 reps, but don't think I could stick to the 8-12 rep progression at 265 pounds)
BOR 120
OHP 95
SLDL 120
Curl 70
Calf raise (leg press machine) 385

[nightanole]

3 questions.

1. I did one cycle and stopped at week 3 of my second cycle because I started a new job and couldn't make it to the gym when it was open. Im starting again tomorrow but I'm changing gym and going in the morning while fasting (I do 16/8 fast and 18/6 somedays), I don't eat until 1pm, you have any recommendations regarding this specifically? Training while fasting, I used to train around 6pm right after my second big meal of the day.

2. Also the new gym has a different weight for the barbells and doesn't have the very small plate of the other gym so I'm thinking I should better do the 10max test to be sure where to start, how should I go about this? The link for calculating in the first page is down.

3. After the test on Monday and after I figure out my correct lifting weight, when do I start the program? Wednesdays with heavy day? Or next Monday?

Thank you

David

If you are not used to it yet, i would cheat on the fast, and have a small piece of fruit 45min before the workout, and put 1 scoop of whey(120-150 cals) in say 1 liter of water (basically pretty diluted) and sip on it from say 20min before the workout till 20min after the workout. This will help with the "crash" that will happen about 20min into the workout. Once your body is adjusted to the fasted workout, you shouldnt need the cheat. ALOT of people workout in the morning before breakfast, and this is their cheat, you are only fasting and additional 4 hours from those "normal" people.

If you cant go up and down weights 2.5-5lbs, you will have trouble with upper body weight changes. I normally recomend just throwing in 5lb of diy chain weights made out of 1.25lb lengths of chain, so you can micro load. Some times the hardware store even has 1/2 pound steel spacers with 2" holes for cheap.

The first workout can be done 72 hours after the test session (2 full days rest) just like any other heavy day.

As for calculating your 10 rep max, i recomend starting at 65% of your calculated 1rm, or 70% of your technical max (tested during a gym session).

[nightanole]

Hey everyone,
I want to make a gym workout routine for my body mainly for mass. I am a beginner, but I have trained in the past with calisthenics. I can do around 6 pullups and 30 diamond pushups.
My goals are:
1 - Muscle Up (which I plan on doing through the progessions with resistance bands
2 - Size
3- Correcting my anterior pelvic tilt which is making my stomach bulge out.
I will be training the muscle up 3 times a week. Also, I want to do exercises for anterior pelvic tilt often so I can fix that. I would also like to incorporate weighted pullups (hopefully) and dips into my workout. Please give me any solid routine because i want to get a gym membership soon.
Thank you and let me know if there are other questions.

Do this program. After you pass 2 test days, if the program has not corrected your ATP, do bent knee hanging leg raises, 1 set to failure, at the end of each workout. If ATP is not corrected within 2 more test days, you can add one more accessory, such as marching in place farmer carries.

[nightanole]

Hello sir nightanole,

2 weeks back i did some burpeeps after which i started having pain on my lower back. Last week after 2 days of rest I was expecting the pain to go away but it is still there.

Im currently on cycle 1 week 3 of the program.

I am going to visit the doctor to find out however incase he asks me to stop excersising this program what could be my options?

On the other hand, the pain is when i push my lower back towards front in a stretching posture. Let me know your thoughts.

Thank you so nuch in advance.

I will agree with what ever a sports rehab doctor recommends. They will tell you which exercises to avoid, alternatives, and what prehad/rehab exercises to include. If its a family physician or chiropractor, well those are the folks that say highschool football is good exercise, here is some muscle relaxers, stay off of it for a month or 2, and come back for 7 more sessions because you are out of alignment and tight.

Im going to tell you right now to learn to keep a neutral spine and stop trying to touch your toes with a rounded back, or hyper flex backwards. You dont static stretch pulled muscles, treat them like a bruise. A week or 2 after a severe pull (which you dont have else you wouldnt be able to walk) that doesnt need surgery, you can start with extremely light, very high rep work. Add weight and reduce reps if pain doesnt increase. AKA the muscle needs to "heal in place" which means healing while being used. That is assuming its a bad pull and the muscle belly is torn.

Odds are your muscle is fine, and you just aggravated some connective tissue (feels fine till you put a load on it) and its going to take a few weeks/2 months before you can fully load it without it getting inflamed.

The worst one i did was i hyper extended a ligament in my wrist (evidently a common problem in pitchers) and it took about 15 months before i could workout pain free without wrist wraps. I could workout just fine during that 15 months, but it required extended warmups, and always wearing a wrist wrap. I couldnt just do a chinup, i had to grab the bar and slowly load my body weight onto it, then do the set, as an example.

[nightanole]

I just finished my 2nd cycle. Passed everything but bench, and lost 6 pounds. I also failed bench first cycle. For week 5 heavy day I got 12 reps and 11 reps. Since this is still an improvement from cycle 1 and I lost weight should I count it as a win and repeat at 180 pounds again? Or either drop to 175 pounds or move to 3 sets of 4 reps to 8 reps using 185ish pounds?

My weights will now look like:
Bench 180 again or 185 for 3 sets 4-8
Squat 265 3 sets 4 to 8 reps (I got 2 sets of 12 reps, but don't think I could stick to the 8-12 rep progression at 265 pounds)
BOR 120
OHP 95
SLDL 120
Curl 70
Calf raise (leg press machine) 385

I dont keep notes on everyone, are you the guy who weighs 250-300lbs?

Anyway you have 2 choices:

Repeat again at 180lbs, focus on keeping rests as short as possible on medium/light day, and keep rest at the full 90 seconds on heavy day. Also focus on keeping bar speed as high as possible.
Or bump the weight 10%(200lbs?) and do the 3 sets of 4-8 reps.

I woudnt do 185lbs for 3 sets of 4-8 reps, because if you do the calculations, that is a massive weekly volume drop, and volume is the #1 pusher of progression.

Also remember you have the end goal working weights for a 180-200lb person, so you might just spend your entire time fighting to maintain lifts, and maybe putt some of the weight you lost, on the squat bar

[Wortzilla]

You have a good memory. I am the fatty with the high starting squat. I was afraid you would say to. I may be stuck at 180 for a long time. I did 3 sets of 4 at 185 today. I will switch back to 2 sets at 180 gor another cycle. Should get it since I was 12/11 last time. Guess I'll have to adopt the mindset of maintaining strength while getting smaller is good instead of just seeing the weights go up.

[beemertec]

The wife and I completed our first workout today. She abhors excersise, but she agreed to do this with me. I started with the numbers I listed earlier based on my SS weights, but I realized quickly that they would be too heavy in later weeks. Here are my weights for the worksets at 8 reps in pounds.

Squat - 100
Bench - 85
Bent Row - 75
OHP - 65
SLDL - 95
Curls - 45
Calfs - 100

I set the calves to match the squat, but they will go up a lot next cycle I am sure.

Week 1 was really easy, and week two was even easier so I decided to go ahead and up the weight a little on a coupe of exercises this week since it is my 10 rep week. I know this is not by deisgn, but I started way too light.

This week I did my 10 rep workout at:

Squat - 120
Bench - 95
Bent Row - 95
OHP - 65
SLDL - 95
Curls - 45
Calfs - 120

I could have done more of every exercise, but it was still challenging and I feel like jello now which I didn't the first two weeks. I was also elevating my heart rate more which I like since I am not doing any cardio during the first cycle.

I really feel the bent rows in my lower back from trying to squeeze my core really tight so I don't bend it. Is that one of the places that I should feel the bent over rows?

By the SLDL, my grip was feeling it from the added weight, but the SLDL itself felt fine. Curls were much tougher after adding the weight to the earlier exercises.

I did my calf raises as 1 set of 20 intead of 2 sets of 10 so that I could feel a little burn. Is that OK to do?

[nightanole]

Week 1 was really easy, and week two was even easier so I decided to go ahead and up the weight a little on a coupe of exercises this week since it is my 10 rep week. I know this is not by deisgn, but I started way too light.

This week I did my 10 rep workout at:

Squat - 120
Bench - 95
Bent Row - 95
OHP - 65
SLDL - 95
Curls - 45
Calfs - 120

I could have done more of every exercise, but it was still challenging and I feel like jello now which I didn't the first two weeks. I was also elevating my heart rate more which I like since I am not doing any cardio during the first cycle.

I really feel the bent rows in my lower back from trying to squeeze my core really tight so I don't bend it. Is that one of the places that I should feel the bent over rows?

By the SLDL, my grip was feeling it from the added weight, but the SLDL itself felt fine. Curls were much tougher after adding the weight to the earlier exercises.

I did my calf raises as 1 set of 20 intead of 2 sets of 10 so that I could feel a little burn. Is that OK to do?

Calfs anything goes, some dont even do them if they like them already. I tend to avoid them, because they cause sleeping cramping if i do them on a regular basis full range.

Bent over row should be like a reverse bench press, with about the same; grip width, rom, and spot it hits on the chest. The feeling in the lower back is fine for the first 4-6 weeks if you are using your core to create intra abdominal pressure to support the spine. However if you are hyper extending your back (vs neutral spine) or using your core to just pull your rib cage to your pelvis(making the spinal erectors work harder than they need to) then the sore lower back is a sign your form or bracing is wrong.

[beemertec]

Bent over row should be like a reverse bench press, with about the same; grip width, rom, and spot it hits on the chest. The feeling in the lower back is fine for the first 4-6 weeks if you are using your core to create intra abdominal pressure to support the spine. However if you are hyper extending your back (vs neutral spine) or using your core to just pull your rib cage to your pelvis(making the spinal erectors work harder than they need to) then the sore lower back is a sign your form or bracing is wrong.

My grip width has been wrong for sure. I was using my SLDL grip width. I will go to my BP width next work out. I will have my wife film me to be sure that I am not hyper extending, but I am usually pretty good at being able to maintain a neutral spine. I don't pull my rib cage in. I just take a deep breath while straight and squeeze my core muscles as tight as I can, but not sucking in my gut. I am not sure how to explain so that it makes sense. I would describe it like if I my core were a cylinder. I don't want the wall to collapse in or bow out because I feel weaker either way (as if I am using some of my strength to pull it in or push it out). Rather, I want the cyliner walls to be straight where I fell the strongest. Does that make sense?

[nightanole]

My grip width has been wrong for sure. I was using my SLDL grip width. I will go to my BP width next work out. I will have my wife film me to be sure that I am not hyper extending, but I am usually pretty good at being able to maintain a neutral spine. I don't pull my rib cage in. I just take a deep breath while straight and squeeze my core muscles as tight as I can, but not sucking in my gut. I am not sure how to explain so that it makes sense. I would describe it like if I my core were a cylinder. I don't want the wall to collapse in or bow out because I feel weaker either way (as if I am using some of my strength to pull it in or push it out). Rather, I want the cyliner walls to be straight where I fell the strongest. Does that make sense?

Make a balloon in your belly, and then hug it tight with your abs. So yes you technically are trying to suck in your gut, but since all the air is in your gut, its not going anywhere. You are not trying to take a punch to the stomach, you are trying to shove your belly button into your spine, but there is an air pocket preventing it. That is how you support your spine from the inside.

I teach people by using a lose string or lose weight belt. If the string or belt falls off, they didnt suck in any air. If the belt digs into them, then they are flexing there spine instead of keeping neutral.

[davidbzr]

If you are not used to it yet, i would cheat on the fast, and have a small piece of fruit 45min before the workout, and put 1 scoop of whey(120-150 cals) in say 1 liter of water (basically pretty diluted) and sip on it from say 20min before the workout till 20min after the workout. This will help with the "crash" that will happen about 20min into the workout. Once your body is adjusted to the fasted workout, you shouldnt need the cheat. ALOT of people workout in the morning before breakfast, and this is their cheat, you are only fasting and additional 4 hours from those "normal" people.

If you cant go up and down weights 2.5-5lbs, you will have trouble with upper body weight changes. I normally recomend just throwing in 5lb of diy chain weights made out of 1.25lb lengths of chain, so you can micro load. Some times the hardware store even has 1/2 pound steel spacers with 2" holes for cheap.

The first workout can be done 72 hours after the test session (2 full days rest) just like any other heavy day.

As for calculating your 10 rep max, i recomend starting at 65% of your calculated 1rm, or 70% of your technical max (tested during a gym session).

Ok I'm used to the fast, I had no problems today and I don't want to break it.
Here are my numbers for today:
Squat 13reps 47.5kg
Bench 14reps 37.5kg
BoRow 6reps 47.5k (tried again w less wright) and 10reps 37.5kg
OhP 11reps 17.5kg
SLDL 12reps 37.5kg
Curl 12reps 15kg
Calf is whatever I did 120kg in some inverted machine stuff in this gym

Can you help me set this up?

Thanks again.

PS: what do you do for a living if you don't mind me asking?

[beemertec]

Make a balloon in your belly, and then hug it tight with your abs. So yes you technically are trying to suck in your gut, but since all the air is in your gut, its not going anywhere. You are not trying to take a punch to the stomach, you are trying to shove your belly button into your spine, but there is an air pocket preventing it. That is how you support your spine from the inside.

I teach people by using a lose string or lose weight belt. If the string or belt falls off, they didnt suck in any air. If the belt digs into them, then they are flexing there spine instead of keeping neutral.

That makes sense. Thanks!

[nightanole]

Ok I'm used to the fast, I had no problems today and I don't want to break it.
Here are my numbers for today:
Squat 13reps 47.5kg
Bench 14reps 37.5kg
BoRow 6reps 47.5k (tried again w less wright) and 10reps 37.5kg
OhP 11reps 17.5kg
SLDL 12reps 37.5kg
Curl 12reps 15kg
Calf is whatever I did 120kg in some inverted machine stuff in this gym

Can you help me set this up?

Thanks again.

PS: what do you do for a living if you don't mind me asking?

squat 50kg
bench 40-42.5kg
row i would make the same as what you choose for bench
ohp 10kg
SLDL 37.5kg, goal is to extend the range of motion, not increase the weight. I would rather you be able to hit your ankles at 37.5kg, vs mid shin at 50kg.
calf raises anything goes


I make avionics and inertia sensors in the same compound that has a crossfit/group training gym. Watching the parking lot is very entertaining...

[davidbzr]

squat 50kg
bench 40-42.5kg
row i would make the same as what you choose for bench
ohp 10kg
SLDL 37.5kg, goal is to extend the range of motion, not increase the weight. I would rather you be able to hit your ankles at 37.5kg, vs mid shin at 50kg.
calf raises anything goes


I make avionics and inertia sensors in the same compound that has a crossfit/group training gym. Watching the parking lot is very entertaining...

Thanks a lot
That makes sense 😅

You got any social media or anything one can follow you on?

[NoWarhead]

I need a little suggestion here. I got to the gym late today (Cycle 2, Week 5). Since I got late, I missed out on completing all the workouts today as the gym hit closing time. Currently, I am on a cut diet as I am at 27.5 BMI (apprx 162 lbs@163 cm)

Today I did
Squats - 70 lbs (last set 12th rep was tough, but I made it)
Bench - 80 lbs (again, struggled with balance on the last rep)
Bent over rows - 80 lbs (same, struggled with form on last 2 reps)
Overhead press - 60 lbs (struggled with form last 1-2 reps)

missed:
Straight legged deadlift - target 70lbs
upright row - target 50 lbs
calf raises (leg press machine) - 80 lbs

- Should I just finish the remaining exercises tomorrow? OR do I repeat the whole exercise on Wednesday?

- Do I pass on the exercises I struggled with on the last 1 -2 reps?

- What are your thoughts on this?d

Thank you

[NoWarhead]

^ That was at 10 pm last night. I did not sleep... Did my LISS 2 am - 3 am (walk for an hour).

I went back into the gym this morning (6AM) and completed the following:
SLDL - 70 lbs (12 reps - pass)
Upright Rows - 40 lbs (12 rep - pass)
Calf Raises (on the leg press machine) - 80 lbs (16 reps- very difficult last 2 reps)

What would you do?
--Squats - last 2 reps were difficult, but form was fine - pass or fail?

--Bench - Last 2 reps struggled with form - left side weaker slightly - pass/fail?

--Bent-over rows - Last 2 reps struggled with form (arching back)

--Overhead press - Last 2 reps struggled to maintain straight posture - relying too much on spine/feels as if I am relying on it too much to maintain posture - pass or fail?

--Stifflegged DL - Great, but I did it first exercise this morning, to make up for the remainder of last nights exercise - pass/fail?

--Upright Rows - I passed this one for sure!

--Calf Raises - did this on leg press machine - definitely was speeding it up so as not to fatigue the calves too much...but still my calves were burning from 11th reps onward...but completed 16 reps through a lot of burning sensation. pass or fail?

---
Id really appreciate your input on this Week 5 of my 2nd Cycle. Your input would give me a reference point as to what counts as a pass and what doesn't. Thanks!

[nightanole]

I need a little suggestion here. I got to the gym late today (Cycle 2, Week 5). Since I got late, I missed out on completing all the workouts today as the gym hit closing time. Currently, I am on a cut diet as I am at 27.5 BMI (apprx 162 lbs@163 cm)

Today I did
Squats - 70 lbs (last set 12th rep was tough, but I made it)
Bench - 80 lbs (again, struggled with balance on the last rep)
Bent over rows - 80 lbs (same, struggled with form on last 2 reps)
Overhead press - 60 lbs (struggled with form last 1-2 reps)

missed:
Straight legged deadlift - target 70lbs
upright row - target 50 lbs
calf raises (leg press machine) - 80 lbs

- Should I just finish the remaining exercises tomorrow? OR do I repeat the whole exercise on Wednesday?

- Do I pass on the exercises I struggled with on the last 1 -2 reps?

- What are your thoughts on this?d

Thank you

You can take 72 hours rest and repeat test day, though when i did it i got the same results both days. Else on medium or light day you can use the heavy day weights for the accessories as a test day.


As for the struggling reps, if you add 10%, and only get 10% stronger next cycle, and dont improve form, then you will get the same results next cycle's test day (struggled with form last 1-2 reps). Im perfectly fine with you grinding the last 1-2 reps, if you are not compromising form.

[Shadybaby316]

I will agree with what ever a sports rehab doctor recommends. They will tell you which exercises to avoid, alternatives, and what prehad/rehab exercises to include. If its a family physician or chiropractor, well those are the folks that say highschool football is good exercise, here is some muscle relaxers, stay off of it for a month or 2, and come back for 7 more sessions because you are out of alignment and tight.

Im going to tell you right now to learn to keep a neutral spine and stop trying to touch your toes with a rounded back, or hyper flex backwards. You dont static stretch pulled muscles, treat them like a bruise. A week or 2 after a severe pull (which you dont have else you wouldnt be able to walk) that doesnt need surgery, you can start with extremely light, very high rep work. Add weight and reduce reps if pain doesnt increase. AKA the muscle needs to "heal in place" which means healing while being used. That is assuming its a bad pull and the muscle belly is torn.

Odds are your muscle is fine, and you just aggravated some connective tissue (feels fine till you put a load on it) and its going to take a few weeks/2 months before you can fully load it without it getting inflamed.

The worst one i did was i hyper extended a ligament in my wrist (evidently a common problem in pitchers) and it took about 15 months before i could workout pain free without wrist wraps. I could workout just fine during that 15 months, but it required extended warmups, and always wearing a wrist wrap. I couldnt just do a chinup, i had to grab the bar and slowly load my body weight onto it, then do the set, as an example.

Hello nightanloe,
So the doctor said to rest for a week no gym. Although its not disc, its just a muscle pain.

My question, how should i restart after 1 week rest?

Im on cycle 1 week 3, please advise if I have to start from begining 1st week or i resume from 3rd week 11 reps?

Thank you coach

[nightanole]

Hello nightanloe,
So the doctor said to rest for a week no gym. Although its not disc, its just a muscle pain.

My question, how should i restart after 1 week rest?

Im on cycle 1 week 3, please advise if I have to start from begining 1st week or i resume from 3rd week 11 reps?

Thank you coach

Id take a week off, during the week you can do some leg raises and even chinups, anything hanging.

When you get back, i would just do body weight good mornings for 30-40 reps, up to 2 sets, any amount of rest you like. You can do this daily if you want at your house, you can even use a broom stick if you want to mimic the form a of a bar. Once you can do 2 sets of 30-40 while looking like super man(arms extended) you should be ready to start allpro again, and i would just start off at 9 rep week using the weights you are using now.

[NoWarhead]

You can take 72 hours rest and repeat test day, though when i did it i got the same results both days. Else on medium or light day you can use the heavy day weights for the accessories as a test day.


As for the struggling reps, if you add 10%, and only get 10% stronger next cycle, and dont improve form, then you will get the same results next cycle's test day (struggled with form last 1-2 reps). Im perfectly fine with you grinding the last 1-2 reps, if you are not compromising form.

Thanks a lot, Nightanole!
As you can tell, I did half of the exercises at night, the remaining next morning.

I think I will repeat some of the exercises, but Ill consider pass on Squats, SLDL, and Upright Rows. Im going to repeat BP,BOR, OHP, and Calf Raises, just to get form under control on my 3rd Cycle!

Thank you. I have lost about 6 lbs with diet and Allpros (dumbbells only) so far. I am glad I made this entry.

[Eugene2208]

Upper/lower or push/pull 4 days a week are great routines. However again, they are not very fast routines. Its real easy to see if its a good beginner routine, a good beginner routine will have you adding at least 20-30lbs to your lifts every month.

A good push/pull or upper/lower will have you at least doing the lift once a week, and adding 5lbs to the lift each time. Some of the patterns repeat, so AB rest AB rest. Those still need to have you adding a weekly 5lbs to the lifts. This should make a beginner stall every 6-8 weeks, and have to remove 10% of the weight and work back up again.

Allpro is a bit different, we say if you can handle 50% more volume, you can handle 10% more weight(at least). We never remove weight from the program if you fail(other than find tuning the first cycles weights).

You can miss reps any day but test day, so if you only get in 11 reps and 10 reps, you just keep going, you dont do something weird to make up the failed rep.

If you get in your 2 sets of 12 on test day, that means you technically could handle 2 sets of 9@110% weight, but we give you 1 8 rep week to get used to the weight, as a mini deload.

If you fail to get in the 2 sets of 12, that means you can not handle 50% more volume, so you are not strong enough to handle the weight bump, without a very large reduction in volume. In that case you may be 5-7.5% stronger, and focus the next cycle on increasing bar speed and decreasing rest (90 seconds is the max, some only rest 30 seconds on light day). And after that cycle you may find you can bump the weight more than 10%, maybe 15%.


This is a very high volume program with 7 exercises 3 days a week. You are allowed up to 2 accessories once you start passing test days to bring up weak points. That brings the total top 9 lifts, for a beginner routine...

Thank you for the detailed explanation.

After a couple of sessions, I notice that my body still feels the soreness from the previous workout, and therefore I may not be performing to the fullest.
Does it indicate that I may require longer rest periods for certain muscles?

Another question - what's the name of the " chest/biceps ; leg/triceps ; back/shoulder" 3 days weekly routine? Is it for more advanced?

[sillystelios]

I'm starting this program today after a long time out of the gym. I'm 37 and last went to a gym in my mid twenties. I'm just wondering how many cycles this program might last for me. Are there certain strength standards to be aiming for? I'm 75kg and about 20% body fat, is 2000 calories a day a good starting point.
Cheers.

[nightanole]

Thank you for the detailed explanation.

After a couple of sessions, I notice that my body still feels the soreness from the previous workout, and therefore I may not be performing to the fullest.
Does it indicate that I may require longer rest periods for certain muscles?

Another question - what's the name of the " chest/biceps ; leg/triceps ; back/shoulder" 3 days weekly routine? Is it for more advanced?

This is a fatigue based training style, you are not allowed to recover. The joke is, if you can do 3 heavies a week, you are not going heavy enough. Once you are in the groove, medium day should require the most effort.

As for the "intermediate routines", they are 4 day a week upper/lower or push/pull routines.

So upper/lower could just be allpro re arranged so monday/thurs is squat/SLDL/calfs, and tues/friday would be row/bench/curl/OHP. Once you include the accessories, the sessions would take an hour.

Here is theviking1992's upper/lower

The Upper/Lower Split

Upper 1/Lower 1/Off/Upper 2/Lower 2/Off/Off and repeat...

Upper Day 1
Bench Press - 4 sets - 32 reps
Barbell Row - 4 sets - 32 reps
Military Press - 3 sets - 25 reps
Wide-grip Pulldowns or Pullups - 3 sets - 30 reps
Incline DB Press - 3 sets - 30 reps
One-arm Cable or DB Rows - 3 sets - 30 reps
Straight-arm Pulldowns/Facepulls - 3 supersets - 30 reps each

Lower Day 1
Back Squat - 4 sets - 32 reps
Deadlift - 2 sets - 12 reps
or
Romanian DL - 3 sets - 30 reps
Hack Squat - 3 sets - 30 reps
Lying Leg Curls - 3 sets - 30 reps
Single-leg Leg Press - 3 sets - 35 reps
Abs/Calves Superset - 3 sets each - 40 reps each

Upper Day 2
Bench Press - 4 sets - 32 reps
Barbell Row - 4 sets - 32 reps
Military Press - 3 sets - 25 reps
Wide-grip Pulldowns or Pullups - 3 sets - 30 reps
Lateral Raises/Barbell Shrugs - 3 supersets - 30 reps each
Barbell Curl/Skullcrushers - 3 supersets - 30 reps each
Overhead Cable Extensions/Cable Hammer Curls - 3 supersets - 35 reps each

Lower Day 2
Back Squat - 4 sets - 32 reps
Romanian DL - 3 sets - 30 reps
Leg Press - 3 sets - 30 reps
Leg Extensions/Leg Curls - 3 supersets - 35 reps each
Abs/Calves Superset - 3 sets each - 40 reps each

[nightanole]

I'm starting this program today after a long time out of the gym. I'm 37 and last went to a gym in my mid twenties. I'm just wondering how many cycles this program might last for me. Are there certain strength standards to be aiming for? I'm 75kg and about 20% body fat, is 2000 calories a day a good starting point.
Cheers.

10 reps of bodyweight bench, and 10 reps of 1.25-1.5x bw squats, with a bmi of 24@13% bf. Most get 5-7 cycles out of the program before they move on.