AllPro: A Simple Beginner's Routine part VI

[nightanole]

How active should I be on non training days?

I’m only on cycle 1, but already feel like I could be more active. I’m training Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On all days I always try get 10,000 steps in, but can I be doing more, or is the rest good? Saturday and Sunday in particular

You can be as active as you want to be. Hell the recommended cardio is 3 10k jogs per week. As long as you are not doing HIIT you can do what you want. In fact the low intensity steady state stuff increases recovery.

[nezaboy]

I guess my worry is if I’m running my legs will be more fatigued for squats?

You can be as active as you want to be. Hell the recommended cardio is 3 10k jogs per week. As long as you are not doing HIIT you can do what you want. In fact the low intensity steady state stuff increases recovery.

[kusok]

Ma gonna be jacked if I do this?


I do a super hard MMA training 2x weekly, Plus another hour or 30 mins daily on my own just shadow boxing and drills, so I would do 2x per week both heavy days lifting then?

[xuerebx]

Form check again! Cycle 3 week 2 heavy day, and I missed my first rep on the second working set of my squats (got 8 reps instead of 9). My last form check was when I uploaded the videos around 1.5 months ago, and since the lifting load has increased I want to make sure I'm still on track.

Not sure of my SLDL again...

Squat: https://streamable.com/azg5uq

Bench: https://streamable.com/5c3zjk

SLDL: https://streamable.com/2fw65z

BB Row: https://streamable.com/5mqxl4

All the second (last) working set, except for bench being the first working set.

Thanks!

[nightanole]

Ma gonna be jacked if I do this?


I do a super hard MMA training 2x weekly, Plus another hour or 30 mins daily on my own just shadow boxing and drills, so I would do 2x per week both heavy days lifting then?

Yup 2 heavies a week

If you can already get 10 reps of bw bench and 10 reps of 1.25-1.5x bw squat, then this program is to easy for you

[nightanole]

Form check again! Cycle 3 week 2 heavy day, and I missed my first rep on the second working set of my squats (got 8 reps instead of 9). My last form check was when I uploaded the videos around 1.5 months ago, and since the lifting load has increased I want to make sure I'm still on track.

Not sure of my SLDL again...

Squat: https://streamable.com/azg5uq

Bench: https://streamable.com/5c3zjk

SLDL: https://streamable.com/2fw65z

BB Row: https://streamable.com/5mqxl4

All the second (last) working set, except for bench being the first working set.

Thanks!

Everything looks good

squat is literally at parallel each rep, so make sure you dont start getting higher

bench i love your butt doesnt have a hint of it wanting to come off the pad. You look like your are benching a bit high, but it could just be your proportions. as long as you are not flaring out to get that high on your chest you are fine.

SLDL fine
BB row fine


I will say your neck makes my neck hurt just looking at it. Some people can workout with that much head movement, some people litterally need to workout with a tennis ball under their chin to break the habit. If you have no neck issues you can continue with the constantly looking forward form.

[xuerebx]

Everything looks good

squat is literally at parallel each rep, so make sure you dont start getting higher

bench i love your butt doesnt have a hint of it wanting to come off the pad. You look like your are benching a bit high, but it could just be your proportions. as long as you are not flaring out to get that high on your chest you are fine.

SLDL fine
BB row fine


I will say your neck makes my neck hurt just looking at it. Some people can workout with that much head movement, some people litterally need to workout with a tennis ball under their chin to break the habit. If you have no neck issues you can continue with the constantly looking forward form.

Thanks for your insights nightanole!

Regarding squat, I'm honestly not sure how low I can go (in my mind I was breaking parallel). I took a video for my second warmup set and tried to go very low - this is the result:

Warm-up squat: https://streamable.com/rh3cb1 (as you can see, it's still just at parallel)

Regarding bench, what do you mean exactly by benching high? I touch the nipple line at each rep (it may not look I'm not touching, but I touch my chest for every rep). I took a video for my last working set yesterday, shirtless to see the arc and proportions better:

Final working set bench: https://streamable.com/esr2cf

And finally, for the head bobbing, which exercise exactly do you mean?

[nezaboy]

I’m only on cycle 1 and week 3. Today it got me thinking about the end goal to bench bw and squat 1.5 bw.

Currently squatting 58kg
And benching 55kg

Is it. Or am they are so close at this stage? And would I expect to bump my squat at a faster rate than the bench?

I would say on my 10th rep I could have maybe squeezed out another rep but not much more, so I’m fairly confident that the weight is right.

Is it possible I just have girl legs? Or any other comments or thoughts on getting squat up more?

[nightanole]

I’m only on cycle 1 and week 3. Today it got me thinking about the end goal to bench bw and squat 1.5 bw.

Currently squatting 58kg
And benching 55kg

Is it. Or am they are so close at this stage? And would I expect to bump my squat at a faster rate than the bench?

I would say on my 10th rep I could have maybe squeezed out another rep but not much more, so I’m fairly confident that the weight is right.

Is it possible I just have girl legs? Or any other comments or thoughts on getting squat up more?

You just started, so you will have a lot of imbalances. A lot of people bench more than they squat when they first start. Yes the lifts you are good at will progress slower than the lifts you are learning. And on the low side you will only be squatting 25% more than you are benching, especially if you have short arms and long femurs.

I have orangutan arms and short legs, im a deadlift machine, but really suck at bench.

[nightanole]

Thanks for your insights nightanole!

Regarding squat, I'm honestly not sure how low I can go (in my mind I was breaking parallel). I took a video for my second warmup set and tried to go very low - this is the result:

Warm-up squat: https://streamable.com/rh3cb1 (as you can see, it's still just at parallel)

Regarding bench, what do you mean exactly by benching high? I touch the nipple line at each rep (it may not look I'm not touching, but I touch my chest for every rep). I took a video for my last working set yesterday, shirtless to see the arc and proportions better:

Final working set bench: https://streamable.com/esr2cf

And finally, for the head bobbing, which exercise exactly do you mean?

Again cant watch videos for another 10 hours. By benching high, the video looked like you didnt have elbows under wrists at chest level. Again this may be the video.

As for the head bobbing, watch your videos, your head position is now fixed, when you are bent over, you are looking directly forward, when you are upright, you are looking directly forward. This is different from having a fixed head position were are looking facing the floor when bent over, and facing forward when upright.

[xuerebx]

Again cant watch videos for another 10 hours. By benching high, the video looked like you didnt have elbows under wrists at chest level. Again this may be the video.

As for the head bobbing, watch your videos, your head position is now fixed, when you are bent over, you are looking directly forward, when you are upright, you are looking directly forward. This is different from having a fixed head position were are looking facing the floor when bent over, and facing forward when upright.

Would a video from the front make it clearer for the bench?

Regarding the row - got it it's clear now, thanks!

Forgot about the 10 hour limit!

[nightanole]

Would a video from the front make it clearer for the bench?

Regarding the row - got it it's clear now, thanks!

Forgot about the 10 hour limit!

Yea you are fine with the bench, it was just the angle.

[xuerebx]

Thanks a lot man! I'm aiming to continue 'cutting' for 3-4 more weeks and then go on a slow, lean bulk as I can't see my lifts increasing too much past this next cycle.

[nezaboy]

Is there any particular tdee calculator you find most accurate? They’re all so different. I’m 36, 180cm and 76kg. Currently eating 2200, but thinking that might be a bit too low still? Activity is the all pro. Daily steps around 10,000

You just started, so you will have a lot of imbalances. A lot of people bench more than they squat when they first start. Yes the lifts you are good at will progress slower than the lifts you are learning. And on the low side you will only be squatting 25% more than you are benching, especially if you have short arms and long femurs.

I have orangutan arms and short legs, im a deadlift machine, but really suck at bench.

[nightanole]

Is there any particular tdee calculator you find most accurate? They’re all so different. I’m 36, 180cm and 76kg. Currently eating 2200, but thinking that might be a bit too low still? Activity is the all pro. Daily steps around 10,000

No. All the calculators tell you you have to eat like a horse.

The recommended starting diet(males 5.8-6.1 ish) is 100g of fats and protein, and 200-300g of carbs. So 2100-2500 cals. Then adjust up or down 200-300 cals every 2 weeks till the scale starts going up or down 1kg per cycle. Now if you are pretty over weight then it could be 2-3kg down, but its always going to be 1kg up.

[nezaboy]

Well I’m aiming for the 1kg up now as I’m happy with my bf. 1kg Ionia hard to gauge over a few weeks though. I could crap half a kilo 😂

No. All the calculators tell you you have to eat like a horse.

The recommended starting diet(males 5.8-6.1 ish) is 100g of fats and protein, and 200-300g of carbs. So 2100-2500 cals. Then adjust up or down 200-300 cals every 2 weeks till the scale starts going up or down 1kg per cycle. Now if you are pretty over weight then it could be 2-3kg down, but its always going to be 1kg up.

[nightanole]

Well I’m aiming for the 1kg up now as I’m happy with my bf. 1kg Ionia hard to gauge over a few weeks though. I could crap half a kilo 😂

Yea i can "bulk" 5 pounds after a salty pizza or taco night

[nezaboy]

I’ll carry on with my 2200 for another week and weigh in. Then that’s 2 weeks. Just on 2200 I’m still a bit hungry. So would assume I can probably go higher. Diet is pretty decent too.

Yea i can "bulk" 5 pounds after a salty pizza or taco night

[nezaboy]

Which grip is best for row on this program? Does over hand or underhand affect which muscles are used?

[nightanole]

Which grip is best for row on this program? Does over hand or underhand affect which muscles are used?

Due to wrist damage, i alternate. It really doesnt matter. It does have to be a different grip than the curl accessory. SO under hand row over hand curl. Under hand row, and pullups. Etc. You can even hex bar row if you want.

[nezaboy]

Ok great. So currently I’m using the ez bar for curls. So Over hand barbell does rows?

Due to wrist damage, i alternate. It really doesnt matter. It does have to be a different grip than the curl accessory. SO under hand row over hand curl. Under hand row, and pullups. Etc. You can even hex bar row if you want.

[nightanole]

Ok great. So currently I’m using the ez bar for curls. So Over hand barbell does rows?

Yes.

Also remember that the ez bar distributes the load over both sets of braci equally. So EZ is more 50/50 forearm and bicep, vs straight bar that is mostly bicep. One is not better than the other, but some have popeye arms and do not want the forearm work. Others have sticks for arms and the EZ will create more meat vs the straight bar.

[nezaboy]

Oh **** I didn’t know that. I took the ez bar as it’s more comfortable. I guess I’ll
Stick with that for now. Am on my 10 rep week, and kind of excited for next week and the week after for the harder test!

Yes.

Also remember that the ez bar distributes the load over both sets of braci equally. So EZ is more 50/50 forearm and bicep, vs straight bar that is mostly bicep. One is not better than the other, but some have popeye arms and do not want the forearm work. Others have sticks for arms and the EZ will create more meat vs the straight bar.

[training12]

Completed my first cycle of allpro. Failed on the Row. I was able to complete my second working set but failed on the first. with longer breaks i can do it, should it be only a minute or less. I will repeat in the next cycle.

after the workout I do cardio, HIIT or steady state depending on the day and time. Does this hurt gains, as am trying to lose weight. I did 30 mins steady state today after heavy day. Should it only be done on off days, don't always have time to do that. I can for one off day, prefer to do some cardio on the weight days due to schedule.

[nightanole]

Completed my first cycle of allpro. Failed on the Row. I was able to complete my second working set but failed on the first. with longer breaks i can do it, should it be only a minute or less. I will repeat in the next cycle.

after the workout I do cardio, HIIT or steady state depending on the day and time. Does this hurt gains, as am trying to lose weight. I did 30 mins steady state today after heavy day. Should it only be done on off days, don't always have time to do that. I can for one off day, prefer to do some cardio on the weight days due to schedule.

The rest limit is 90 seconds.

Nothing hurts gains if its done directly after the workout. HIIT will hurt gains if done on off days. Steady state improves gains if done on off days for longer than an hour at a time.

[training12]

The rest limit is 90 seconds.

Nothing hurts gains if its done directly after the workout. HIIT will hurt gains if done on off days. Steady state improves gains if done on off days for longer than an hour at a time.

I do the cardio straight after. Normally 30 minutes, or run a certain distance. That can also be HIIT.
Off days have done steady state, hour or more. Was thinking about doing HIIT, on those days too, will avoid it. Why does it hurt gains, tires the body more?

[nightanole]

I do the cardio straight after. Normally 30 minutes, or run a certain distance. That can also be HIIT.
Off days have done steady state, hour or more. Was thinking about doing HIIT, on those days too, will avoid it. Why does it hurt gains, tires the body more?

There are 2 energy systems for your muscles. allpro and HIIT tax one, and low intensity long duration / "sports" tax the other. So doing HIIT on off days taxes recovery like doing another allpro or other lifting session. But you are perfectly fine taxing one system while the other recovers, and making one more robust also improves performance in the other.

[nezaboy]

So it looks like the Uk will go into a month lockdown this week. I’m fuming as the gym will close!

I have at home a bench and adjustable dumbbells up to 30kg each hand. So I have a decent amount of weight. Can I convert these somehow from barbell to dumbell? Also how to perform squats with dumbbells and get that kind of weight up to shoulders? Or should I use a different squat?

I’m guessing if I can barbell
Bench 60kg, I won’t be able to do 2x30kg dumbbells because of stability.

I am
Just going into 11 rep week

[nightanole]

So it looks like the Uk will go into a month lockdown this week. I’m fuming as the gym will close!

I have at home a bench and adjustable dumbbells up to 30kg each hand. So I have a decent amount of weight. Can I convert these somehow from barbell to dumbell? Also how to perform squats with dumbbells and get that kind of weight up to shoulders? Or should I use a different squat?

I’m guessing if I can barbell
Bench 60kg, I won’t be able to do 2x30kg dumbbells because of stability.

I am
Just going into 11 rep week

DB variant:

floor DB press
row with hammer grip
goblet squat (possibly also with a backpack)
Seated arnold press instead of OHP
SLDL with hammer grip

And since its a floor press, you dont have to worry about that stability

[nezaboy]

Same weight as barbell?

DB variant:

floor DB press
row with hammer grip
goblet squat (possibly also with a backpack)
Seated arnold press instead of OHP
SLDL with hammer grip

And since its a floor press, you dont have to worry about that stability