AllPro: A Simple Beginner's Routine part VI

[nightanole]

Pretty excited about this routine, looking to drop 25lbs as a short term goal and 50lbs as a long term goal. Want to do fierce 5 as it looks more "fun" but everything I have read says this is better for cutting. Went and did a test run this morning and here is what I will be starting with Monday. Does anything seem out of balance?

Squat 160lbs
Bench 145lbs
Row 115lbs
OHP 85lbs
SLD130lbs
BB curl 70lbs

Surprised you can do SLDL with 130lbs (most cant get much past the knees with a straight back). But the rest of your numbers look pretty good.

Since you are looking to drop 50lbs, you may want to run the fat guy version of squats. Instead of progressing 10-20% a cycle, just add the weight lost to the bar. So you would start out at 160lbs, and by the time you drop the 50lbs your working weight is 210lbs.

[alburkdoll]

Surprised you can do SLDL with 130lbs (most cant get much past the knees with a straight back). But the rest of your numbers look pretty good.

Since you are looking to drop 50lbs, you may want to run the fat guy version of squats. Instead of progressing 10-20% a cycle, just add the weight lost to the bar. So you would start out at 160lbs, and by the time you drop the 50lbs your working weight is 210lbs.

I will double check my form on the SLDL, I have no problem starting lower and making sure form is correct. I am a bigger guy, 6'3" and 281lbs (at about 35% BF) with about 10 years of on and off lifting and it isn't uncommon for my strength to come back fairly quick even on a caloric deficit.

What is the thought behind adding lost weight to the bar instead of progressing on the same % increase as the rest of the lifts?

[nightanole]

I will double check my form on the SLDL, I have no problem starting lower and making sure form is correct. I am a bigger guy, 6'3" and 281lbs (at about 35% BF) with about 10 years of on and off lifting and it isn't uncommon for my strength to come back fairly quick even on a caloric deficit.

What is the thought behind adding lost weight to the bar instead of progressing on the same % increase as the rest of the lifts?

With the fat folk, typically i see them start off at say 275lbs at 5.10, and squatting 95lbs. Then they only want to progress at 10% a cycle, so fast forward 9 months, they lost a massive 75-100lbs, but squat is only at 135-150lbs. Ideally 9 months in, they should be around 160-175lbs body weight, and squatting a min 225. They could have easily done that if they just put that 100lbs they lost on the bar, and did 1 10% bump at the end.

You are free to do the standard progression rate, But id feel bad for you if in 6-9 months you are down to 240lbs, but are not squatting BMI 24 weight yet.

[alburkdoll]

With the fat folk, typically i see them start off at say 275lbs at 5.10, and squatting 95lbs. Then they only want to progress at 10% a cycle, so fast forward 9 months, they lost a massive 75-100lbs, but squat is only at 135-150lbs. Ideally 9 months in, they should be around 160-175lbs body weight, and squatting a min 225. They could have easily done that if they just put that 100lbs they lost on the bar, and did 1 10% bump at the end.

You are free to do the standard progression rate, But id feel bad for you if in 6-9 months you are down to 240lbs, but are not squatting BMI 24 weight yet.

Ok that makes sense. Also, flipping back to the SLDL weight. I may have been doing a RDL motion instead, so I will double check my form and adjust weight accordingly.

[nightanole]

Ok that makes sense. Also, flipping back to the SLDL weight. I may have been doing a RDL motion instead, so I will double check my form and adjust weight accordingly.

Start off at the normal DL lockout posistion
slowly lower weight, bend knees as much as you like as long as it doesnt cause hip drop
lower weight till hamstrings go tight, then immediately pull up/back and lock out
weight should never touch the ground between reps

Since you are not bending your knees much, the weight will end up over your toes or farther, not riding up your shins and quads.

My definition of the RDL is just a standard deadlift movement that you start at lockout, and slowly lower to make it a eccentric movement, and a lighter accessory to the concentric only standard deadlift.

[WakingOp]

Hey night, I think I'm gonna try this in the autoregulate form 2x a week. That is kosher right? My schedule atm is not conducive to a 3x schedule. I can do 2 or 4.

I want to do the autoregulate option, at first at least cause it's been a rough month and I'm gonna just lighten the load and work back up. And I don't think I need multiple cycles to do that.

I know you said to do 3 sets each if you run it 2 days a week, does that mean I have to get 12 on all 3 to pass or just the first 2?

[nightanole]

Hey night, I think I'm gonna try this in the autoregulate form 2x a week. That is kosher right? My schedule atm is not conducive to a 3x schedule. I can do 2 or 4.

I want to do the autoregulate option, at first at least cause it's been a rough month and I'm gonna just lighten the load and work back up. And I don't think I need multiple cycles to do that.

I know you said to do 3 sets each if you run it 2 days a week, does that mean I have to get 12 on all 3 to pass or just the first 2?

auto regulated you dont run 3 sets. You can auto regulated once a week for 2 sets just fine. The extra set rule is for regular, in order to keep the fatigue high.

[NiallGlennon]

Hey, I'm interested in starting this program but I notice you said before not to switch from one beginner program to another. I'm currently doing 5 x 5. I'm currently at 100kg squat, 70k bench, 105 DL & 50kg OHP. I have a high body fat % and I think it will get worse if I continue 5 x 5. Is it a good idea to switch to this in your opinion?
I'm 36, 5ft 11" & 82kg.

[nightanole]

Hey, I'm interested in starting this program but I notice you said before not to switch from one beginner program to another. I'm currently doing 5 x 5. I'm currently at 100kg squat, 70k bench, 105 DL & 50kg OHP. I have a high body fat % and I think it will get worse if I continue 5 x 5. Is it a good idea to switch to this in your opinion?
I'm 36, 5ft 11" & 82kg.

Allpro graduation numbers:

Bmi 24 @ 13% body fat
bench bw for 10 reps
squat 10 reps of 1.25-1.5x bw
row equals bench +- 20%
OHP is at least 60% of bench
SLDL is below squat, with a goal of reaching the top of the ankle line with a straight back.

Typical time on allpro is 5-7 cycles unless very over weight, then it might be a year.


I do not recommend people to run any program for less than 120 days. That is where the "dont be a program hopper" comes into play. You will spend around six weeks just adapting to a new program, with very little muscle mass changes till you have adapted. So no point adapting from 5x5 for six weeks, then spending six weeks progressive overloading on allpro, then moving on to something else, which again will require about six weeks to adapt to.

[GenerationZero]

I'm at 18 reps (12-20 adding 2 reps each week) and for my bench in failing on 16 reps on the second set.

Other exercises are fine and wondered could I break this down to 3 sets? Thanks

[nightanole]

I'm at 18 reps (12-20 adding 2 reps each week) and for my bench in failing on 16 reps on the second set.

Other exercises are fine and wondered could I break this down to 3 sets? Thanks

Ill let you do it, if test day is still 2 sets of 20. The point of the higher reps was to get in the volume without stressing your connective tissue as much. If you just game the system so that you pass so you can use an even heavier weight next cycle, that kinda defeats the purpose.

Personally i would remove 2.5-5% of the weight.

I believe you were going for:
12
14
16
18
20

That means you are failing at "10 rep week" which is a process indicator that either the weight is too heavy, or your diet is out of spec.

[GenerationZero]

Ill let you do it, if test day is still 2 sets of 20. The point of the higher reps was to get in the volume without stressing your connective tissue as much. If you just game the system so that you pass so you can use an even heavier weight next cycle, that kinda defeats the purpose.

Personally i would remove 2.5-5% of the weight.

I believe you were going for:
12
14
16
18
20

That means you are failing at "10 rep week" which is a process indicator that either the weight is too heavy, or your diet is out of spec.

Right I'll drop the weight by X% but next week is test day at 20 reps so to make sure we're on the same lines, this week is 18 reps and I was struggling on 16 but last week (16 reps which is 10 rep equivalent) I was ok. Cheers

[BreakThePlate]

Hi all,

Long time lurker first time poster!

So, I have a question if I may... Am I done with All Pro's or should I keep going?

I've just completed Cycle 5.

Squats 242.5lbs - Passed every cycle
Bench 165lbs - Failed last 3 cycles!
Row 176lbs - Failed this cycle which is the first cycle failed. Failed on form for the last 2 reps of 2nd set.
OHP 110lbs - Failed this cycle which is the first cycle failed. Only got 11 reps and 9 reps.
SLDL 220lbs - Passed every cycle
Curls 100lbs - Failed last two cycles!

Any input highly appreciated!

[nightanole]

Hi all,

Long time lurker first time poster!

So, I have a question if I may... Am I done with All Pro's or should I keep going?

I've just completed Cycle 5.

Squats 242.5lbs - Passed every cycle
Bench 165lbs - Failed last 3 cycles!
Row 176lbs - Failed this cycle which is the first cycle failed. Failed on form for the last 2 reps of 2nd set.
OHP 110lbs - Failed this cycle which is the first cycle failed. Only got 11 reps and 9 reps.
SLDL 220lbs - Passed every cycle
Curls 100lbs - Failed last two cycles!

Any input highly appreciated!

Would have to know body weight, bmi, etc. You could be a 90 pound woman or a 275pound 6.7' man...

But even you failing bench for 3 cycles, your ohp is only 67% of your bench, so its still in spec (60-75%). If you would have passed it would of ended up low.


But i would say you are about done. If you are chubby you can still use allpro for a few cycles to maintain while you cut. Else its time to look for more complex program patterns such as 5/3/1 or greyskill LP etc. You could even rotate allpros intermediate programs every 8-12 weeks.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...5025731&page=1

[rosco36]

I have been doing All Pros beginner routine for about 4 cycles now and it was going well until this week for the 10 reps Romanian Deadlift I started feeling pain in my left hamstring and groin area as I push my hip back and get lower with the bar towards my knee. Something seems to be getting aggravated doing this movement and I was wondering if anyone has any idea of what might be causing this. I skipped the RDLs for today's workout and my other lifts are still going well. Thanks for the help.

[nightanole]

I have been doing All Pros beginner routine for about 4 cycles now and it was going well until this week for the 10 reps Romanian Deadlift I started feeling pain in my left hamstring and groin area as I push my hip back and get lower with the bar towards my knee. Something seems to be getting aggravated doing this movement and I was wondering if anyone has any idea of what might be causing this. I skipped the RDLs for today's workout and my other lifts are still going well. Thanks for the help.

Are you actively pushing out with your knees in the squat/row/dead, or just tensing to keep the knees from caving in?

It might not be the SLDL giving you the problem, but revealing it. It might be caused by bad squat/row form.

As a temp fix, narrow your stance, and point your toes more forward, in the squat/row/SLDL. This will reduce rom a bit and "protect" the hammies if you have a minor pull.

[rosco36]

Are you actively pushing out with your knees in the squat/row/dead, or just tensing to keep the knees from caving in?

It might not be the SLDL giving you the problem, but revealing it. It might be caused by bad squat/row form.

As a temp fix, narrow your stance, and point your toes more forward, in the squat/row/SLDL. This will reduce rom a bit and "protect" the hammies if you have a minor pull.

I always point my toes outward about 15-25 degrees on those lifts. You think I should try reducing that to like 5-10 degrees?

I am supposed to be actively pushing my knees out on the row and RDL as well?

[nightanole]

I always point my toes outward about 15-25 degrees on those lifts. You think I should try reducing that to like 5-10 degrees?

I am supposed to be actively pushing my knees out on the row and RDL as well?

Its kinda hard to describe. It would be like some lifters tense the tricep in the curl, and complain about bicep issues.

In your case, the more you point toes out, and the wider the stance, the more issues you will have with your hams "if" you are not thinking " push knees out" correctly.

This can happen at any time the knee is not completely bent or completely straight.

So i guess the question you should be asking your self is "are my knees naturally not going to cave in using this form, or am i fighting to keep them from caving in".

You can also have the opposite problem, doing things too narrow or toes pointed too far forward, and all the stress is on the outer quads, so then your quads feel like your current hams.


If you want to try something, get a bar, or slightly heavier. High or low bar it on your back. And just sit at the bottom of the squat position. If your toes and stance width are correct, everything should feel "even" after 30-60 seconds or what ever. If something hurts, use the above as a guide to try to adjust things so it feels even. Then that is more or less can be the stance for every standing lift on allpro. You dont have to get fancy and have a different "tuned" stance for every lift.

[rosco36]

Its kinda hard to describe. It would be like some lifters tense the tricep in the curl, and complain about bicep issues.

In your case, the more you point toes out, and the wider the stance, the more issues you will have with your hams "if" you are not thinking " push knees out" correctly.

This can happen at any time the knee is not completely bent or completely straight.

So i guess the question you should be asking your self is "are my knees naturally not going to cave in using this form, or am i fighting to keep them from caving in".

You can also have the opposite problem, doing things too narrow or toes pointed too far forward, and all the stress is on the outer quads, so then your quads feel like your current hams.


If you want to try something, get a bar, or slightly heavier. High or low bar it on your back. And just sit at the bottom of the squat position. If your toes and stance width are correct, everything should feel "even" after 30-60 seconds or what ever. If something hurts, use the above as a guide to try to adjust things so it feels even. Then that is more or less can be the stance for every standing lift on allpro. You dont have to get fancy and have a different "tuned" stance for every lift.

Great info. Thanks!

[27MinuteMiracle]

Night,

My accessories are chin-ups (I don't do Curls), face pulls, and Hammers.

How many sets are recommended for Chin-ups?

Thx,

[nightanole]

Night,

My accessories are chin-ups (I don't do Curls), face pulls, and Hammers.

How many sets are recommended for Chin-ups?

Thx,

"up to" 30 chinups a session. There really isnt any bad way to program them as long as each set is a couple of reps from failure or more. You dont want to max out. You could do 1 every 15-30 seconds if you can only do 3-4 in a row.

[BreakThePlate]

[QUOTE=nightanole;1596612371]Would have to know body weight, bmi, etc. You could be a 90 pound woman or a 275pound 6.7' man...

But even you failing bench for 3 cycles, your ohp is only 67% of your bench, so its still in spec (60-75%). If you would have passed it would of ended up low.


But i would say you are about done. If you are chubby you can still use allpro for a few cycles to maintain while you cut. Else its time to look for more complex program patterns such as 5/3/1 or greyskill LP etc. You could even rotate allpros intermediate programs every 8-12 weeks.



Thanks for that. Appreciate the advice.

I've been looking at starting Greyskull LP as suggested, however, it seems to be marketed as a beginner routine.

Is it okay to swith to GSLP after graduating All Pro?

Will it do me for another 6 months or am I likely to be stalling?

Cheers!

[nightanole]

[QUOTE=BreakThePlate;1597088021]

Would have to know body weight, bmi, etc. You could be a 90 pound woman or a 275pound 6.7' man...

But even you failing bench for 3 cycles, your ohp is only 67% of your bench, so its still in spec (60-75%). If you would have passed it would of ended up low.


But i would say you are about done. If you are chubby you can still use allpro for a few cycles to maintain while you cut. Else its time to look for more complex program patterns such as 5/3/1 or greyskill LP etc. You could even rotate allpros intermediate programs every 8-12 weeks.



Thanks for that. Appreciate the advice.

I've been looking at starting Greyskull LP as suggested, however, it seems to be marketed as a beginner routine.

Is it okay to swith to GSLP after graduating All Pro?

Will it do me for another 6 months or am I likely to be stalling?

Cheers!

GSLP, properly programmed (not just praks 3-6 month absolute beginner version) will end up being a 3 year program that will take "most" college athletes to a 5 plate for reps deadlift, and comparable other lifts. But you have to program it correctly by adding and removing lifts/plugins/gpp as you go.

You could say greyskull is a loooooong beginners program, but it will take you deep into the intermediate.

So a 100% grey skull would look like this:

Senior high school, does phraks or some other really short 30min version, get to 4 plate deadlift in 9-12 months
keeps going, by end of sophomore college is at 5 plate deadlift and the program takes about 1.5-2 hours 3x a week.

And by that time full body 3x a week is going to be grueling and very long in the gym, and switch to a more life time upper/lower or push/pull 4x a week.

[BreakThePlate]

[QUOTE=nightanole;1597090241]

GSLP, properly programmed (not just praks 3-6 month absolute beginner version) will end up being a 3 year program that will take "most" college athletes to a 5 plate for reps deadlift, and comparable other lifts. But you have to program it correctly by adding and removing lifts/plugins/gpp as you go.

You could say greyskull is a loooooong beginners program, but it will take you deep into the intermediate.

So a 100% grey skull would look like this:

Senior high school, does phraks or some other really short 30min version, get to 4 plate deadlift in 9-12 months
keeps going, by end of sophomore college is at 5 plate deadlift and the program takes about 1.5-2 hours 3x a week.

And by that time full body 3x a week is going to be grueling and very long in the gym, and switch to a more life time upper/lower or push/pull 4x a week.

Thanks for the super fast response. Really appreciated.

I wish I was younger - but at least I'm still 40 years young!

I've got the GSLP book and have been researching and I think I'm going to do the base program with barbell rows/chinups & curls/tricep pushdown plugins to start with (alternating so a total of 4 x exercises per workout as recommended by the book)

I think it will be good as I'm familiar with most of the exercises from All Pro's and the small changes will be welcome after 6 months on All Pro (although I've loved it!).

Was just concerned about being stuck in my current stalling/rut because the progression would still be too fast for me.

But, you've allayed my fears. I'll try it out and reprogram as I go if I need to.

Cheers!

[NEWBcourage]

Hi all

I've just started day 1, cycle 1 and don't think I'm doing it right.

In Bb.com terms I am absolutely new to this.
I've been doing relatively light weights/high reps (sometimes seen as resistance assisted cardio) for years, with some added heavy sets on the side.

I'm F, 5'6, current weight ~144, fat % circa 17% (tape measure and monitor based). Currently doing intermittent fasting to drop to 130-135, would do 80g protein, 12g fat and carbs at 90g. Mesomorph, have had hypothalamus issues in the past.


SOO... I did day 1 yesterday, having read the thread here and some fandom reports too, and it felt way too easy at times:

Squats - 110 lb
Chest - 55lb
Rows - 55lb
Overhead press - 55lb
SLDL - 66lb
Upright rows - 55lb
Calf raises - 45lb

These were calculated based on 10Rm, reduced by 20%. I found chest and shoulders somewhat harder because of my ridiculously weak wrists, but other than this I could have done the whole thing three more times, probably without feeling it much.

I really want to go back in today and start over, upping my weights, but seems like it might not be the best idea.


Do you have any advice to deal with this?

Also, can I still do my low weights/high reps on rest days?

Thanks!

[nightanole]

Hi all

I've just started day 1, cycle 1 and don't think I'm doing it right.

In Bb.com terms I am absolutely new to this.
I've been doing relatively light weights/high reps (sometimes seen as resistance assisted cardio) for years, with some added heavy sets on the side.

I'm F, 5'6, current weight ~144, fat % circa 17% (tape measure and monitor based). Currently doing intermittent fasting to drop to 130-135, would do 80g protein, 12g fat and carbs at 90g. Mesomorph, have had hypothalamus issues in the past.


SOO... I did day 1 yesterday, having read the thread here and some fandom reports too, and it felt way too easy at times:

Squats - 110 lb
Chest - 55lb
Rows - 55lb
Overhead press - 55lb
SLDL - 66lb
Upright rows - 55lb
Calf raises - 45lb

These were calculated based on 10Rm, reduced by 20%. I found chest and shoulders somewhat harder because of my ridiculously weak wrists, but other than this I could have done the whole thing three more times, probably without feeling it much.

I really want to go back in today and start over, upping my weights, but seems like it might not be the best idea.


Do you have any advice to deal with this?

Also, can I still do my low weights/high reps on rest days?

Thanks!

Your numbers seem "funny".

I'm F, 5'6, current weight ~144, fat % circa 17%
Currently doing intermittent fasting to drop to 130-135

That is some MMA levels of fitness. A f at 17% would have abs of steel, and at 144 would be a contender in the UFC. So you might want to reevaluate your technique.

80g protein, 12g fat and carbs at 90g

The starting diet is 100g of fats/protein and 150-200g of carbs. I find it hard to believe you can even get down to 12g of fat, even with non iso protein powder. And mathematically humans cant survive on less than 26g of fats, and that is with a lab grade perfect mix. In the field we used to call this "rabbit starvation" when all you could hunt was rabbit, and was getting little to no fat.


Ok and the final point "this seems way too easy". Yes it should be. This is a fatigue based training style. The fatigue will slowly build up, and by 10 rep week you will realize these "easy" weights are starting to kick your arse. Allpro does not have a deload protocol and you are not allowed to lower the weights.

Just stick with it. The min bump at the end of the cycle is 10%, but many can get in even 25-33% just by learning the lifts and adapting to the new program, but that is only for the first few cycles.

[NEWBcourage]

Your numbers seem "funny".

I'm F, 5'6, current weight ~144, fat % circa 17%
Currently doing intermittent fasting to drop to 130-135

That is some MMA levels of fitness. A f at 17% would have abs of steel, and at 144 would be a contender in the UFC. So you might want to reevaluate your technique.

80g protein, 12g fat and carbs at 90g

The starting diet is 100g of fats/protein and 150-200g of carbs. I find it hard to believe you can even get down to 12g of fat, even with non iso protein powder. And mathematically humans cant survive on less than 26g of fats, and that is with a lab grade perfect mix. In the field we used to call this "rabbit starvation" when all you could hunt was rabbit, and was getting little to no fat.


Ok and the final point "this seems way too easy". Yes it should be. This is a fatigue based training style. The fatigue will slowly build up, and by 10 rep week you will realize these "easy" weights are starting to kick your arse. Allpro does not have a deload protocol and you are not allowed to lower the weights.

Just stick with it. The min bump at the end of the cycle is 10%, but many can get in even 25-33% just by learning the lifts and adapting to the new program, but that is only for the first few cycles.

Hey

Thanks for your reply.

Helpful re way too easy point.

Not sure which technique I should re-evaluate here, please specify. Do you mean fat % measuring? I only have a tape measurer and a body fat monitor to work with but that's what I've been getting recently.

I have strong abs and do martial arts but have only competed nationally and that was in my teens/early twenties - defo no contender for anything anymore lol

Re fats - are you saying I should eat more or just scolding me for poor maths? I'm recalc macros as I'm typing this, but I am looking to drop substantially and with IF I'm getting a meal a day in really.

All in all, as I understand it your recommendation is to keep going with the same weights for this cycle and up in the next.

Can you also advise on the rest day q?

Many thanks for your help!

[nightanole]

Hey

Thanks for your reply.

Helpful re way too easy point.

Not sure which technique I should re-evaluate here, please specify. Do you mean fat % measuring? I only have a tape measurer and a body fat monitor to work with but that's what I've been getting recently.

I have strong abs and do martial arts but have only competed nationally and that was in my teens/early twenties - defo no contender for anything anymore lol

Re fats - are you saying I should eat more or just scolding me for poor maths? I'm recalc macros as I'm typing this, but I am looking to drop substantially and with IF I'm getting a meal a day in really.

All in all, as I understand it your recommendation is to keep going with the same weights for this cycle and up in the next.

Can you also advise on the rest day q?

Many thanks for your help!

Im not sure if the body fat percentage technique you are using is correct. 17% on a female is extremely low, that is almost relaxed abs on a 10% male. So saying you want to drop and additional 10-15 pounds is odd.

If you know how to feed yourself correctly, you can drop to around 50g of fats, but that requires a very good profile. The 100g recommendation is for is to the miniumum bro diet of chickenbreasts, green beans, rice, and fats just from a shot of olive oil and a shot of coconut oil. If you are eating good nuts and fish and fatty veg, you can go to 50 ish and still "perform". But that is the main point of the 100g of fats and 150g for carbs, much below that and performance suffers, and its better to just up the cardio to get the deficit needed.


Rest day can be anything thats not lifting, GPP and sports are fine. The recommended cardio for the week is 2-3 hours of low intensity steady state. This is normally 3x 10k jogs per week.

[GenerationZero]

Just completed test week at 20 reps and my arms feel like they're about to drop off even on light day with weight I thought I'd fly through.

1. I reached failure on my arms, is this ok to add maybe 2-5% additional weight for the next cycle starting at 12 or redo this one? I'm checking in this as I think you mentioned to have 2 reps in the tank.
2. For arms I've been using a straight bar. Should I change this to an EZ bar for any reason? Not sure if I need to vary anything.
3. For 12-20 reps should you increase by 2% or 5% per cycle (I did 8-12 for around a year and was increasing by 10% minimum towards the end of that year)?

Thanks

[nightanole]

Just completed test week at 20 reps and my arms feel like they're about to drop off even on light day with weight I thought I'd fly through.

1. I reached failure on my arms, is this ok to add maybe 2-5% additional weight for the next cycle starting at 12 or redo this one? I'm checking in this as I think you mentioned to have 2 reps in the tank.
2. For arms I've been using a straight bar. Should I change this to an EZ bar for any reason? Not sure if I need to vary anything.
3. For 12-20 reps should you increase by 2% or 5% per cycle (I did 8-12 for around a year and was increasing by 10% minimum towards the end of that year)?

Thanks

1-3) The pattern doesnt work unless you go up or down 10%. 2.5-5% is less than the accuracy of the plates, and will provide too long of a deload. The only way to go up or down less than 10% is run auto regulated, and even then its not recommended because there is little to no volume reduction.

2) Straight bar hits the biceps, ez splits the load between the biceps and forearms. Its up to you what you want to hit. An arm is an arm, unless you are built like popeye you can use the ez to get bigger forearms.