I'm a "beginner" but these routines are kind of a joke.

[changeability]

UPDATE:

Thanks all for replies. I will start looking for a cool 3day/wk program.




OP:

so I'm 5'8, 200-205lb, and 27 years old.

four years ago I had never lifted a weight that I could think, but I did jog / run / sprint for a while in my teens, and did a crapload of cycling (for transportation) in my early twenties.

Then, in late 2013 I joined the Army.




I had 8-9 months before my ship date, and I spent the first few months focusing on my weight, running, pushups (I could only do 7 in 1 minute / set), and situps (not crunches).

Then I realized that I need more overall strength, so I started hitting the machines pretty good. There was a full body circuit where you switch machines every 30sec - 1 minute and I would do that 3-6 times, at least once a week, and the other 5 days a week at the gym (was there for cardio) I would sneak in some chest presses, pulldowns, leg presses, curls, and ab work (though I was really focusing on my PFT).

I can't remember exactly how long I did everything for, but it was around 3-5 months I believe that I was doing strength training (I finally got to 2 chinups I think, at 185lb).

(On the other hand, I got up to 60 situps and 35 pushups (both done in military test fashion, two minutes, no rest outside of the "resting" position which is still holding tension).




Fast forward to the end of 2014 and I had to leave due to a medical condition.

Fast forward again to three weeks ago, and I step back into a gym for the first time (after a week or so of reading up on ****). This time around I decided that barbells were the way to go, and have been split on barbells / dumbells and machine the first couple weeks, with this week being the first week that I have been only using machines for maybe one exercise.

Well, I did my first deadlift yesterday, and by the end of my sets I was up to 245lb. Today, I did 255 x 3. I won't comment on my bench, squat, or OHP, because I'm still working on not almost falling every set, or having one side of the barbell clang into the rack. Hoping to have some decent numbers this week since I have been practicing a lot at home with a broom stick, and at the gym with empty bar. (and watching about 5 hours of video + 2 books)




But the point is, after two weeks back in, my body has adapted and I'm seeing some of the gains that I had lost in the, and DOMS is going away pretty quickly now.

I'm lifting 4-5x a week, still working on a routine, but basically doing around 20 sets per week for each body part / group, at 3 sets of 4-6 rep, or 3 sets of 8-12.


For example today I did:

Deadlift (3 warmup, 3 working at 2-5 reps)
Pendlay row (2 warmup, 3 working at 4-8)
Cable pulldown (1 warmup, 3 working at 6-10)
Rack Pull (245 x 6, 315 x 1, 245 x 2)

biceps feeling tired at this point but:

hammer curl, ( 1 warmup, 3 sets at 25lb for 6-12)
preacher curl ( 35lb barbell for 3 sets of 6-10)

and I did a (literal) few shrugs because I was like 'why the hell not' .. reminds me, I did shrug the 245lb rack pulls a couple times as well..\




OK SO TL;DR

I used to do calisthenics / machine work for a few months (or longer, I can't remember), so now looking at these "beginner routines" is kind of like "wtf is that really it?" but everyone on here seems to scream "under 6 months? DON'T DEVIATE!!"

So, I'm obviously still a beginner, but I'm not completely convinced that my body is a beginner's body (obvious my functional strength is though).

This is why I'm focusing on learning the form and movements, while still hitting the muscles hard with dumbbells and the occaisional cable / machine, until I can load up the weight on the bar... Although, I think 255lb for a first-time deadlifter at 5'8 is kinda nice. The 315lb rack pull made me feel pretty good too =} (at the very end of my back workout haha)

But I'm hoping these numbers will double in the future, and I don't necessarily want to spend the next 5 months on Starting Strength or these other 5x5 3x5 routines that kind of look like underkill to me at this point.

Thoughts?




Also you get a cookie if you read all of this. Come to my gym and I will bring your favorite.

[WolfRose7]

yay cookies.

Respectfully you don't have any experience to call them underkill.
Push ups just become a mental exercise after a certain point and sit ups are about as worthless as it gets tbh.

Solid deadlift though (im not all negative ;P).

The problem with starting out with high volume on a program is you have no where to go but up, and once you reach your maximum recoverable volume... well then your done.
Novice routines look like the bare minimum because they are, they are as much as a novice needs to progress and little more.
Once you reach the point you can't progress anymore, you add a bit of volume, usually adding days to spread it out from a 3 day full body to a 4 day upper/lower for example. And then progress on that as long as possible.

That's the general gist, someone much more versed will come along at some point with a more detailed scientific answer.

You don't have to do any of these programs, it's all up to you. But they certainly work, you are not the exception and they will work for you.
If you so choose. Or do what you've been doing as long as you maintain healthy balance and don't push to failure to often you will hopefully remain healthy and progress

[DCSpartan]

You're bragging about a 255 pound deadlift? lmao.

[RollTideNation]

You're a beginner. Do SS and drink milk.

[gcjager]

The good news is everything comes suuper easy! As long as you go to the gym 6 or 7 days a week you can do whatever lifts you want There's no need to waste time following established routines with proven results curated by people with lifting experience that extends past 30 and 40 years. Chances are their techniques and routines are outdated anyway, it's 2017 - people have evolved since the 70's.

You're only a beginner if you believe you're a beginner!

[SuffolkPunch]

The thread title is a great way of getting attention, props to you for that OP.

The answer is still the same that would give to any noob - you need DIRECTED ADAPTATION - to practice a handful of core compound lifts with a progressively ramping intensity. This will build inter/intramuscular coordination, drive the growth of new muscle tissue and train the peripheral and central nervous system to allow bigger weights to be handled in future training sessions to drive long term growth.

Or you can ignore advice coming from years of experience and research and find out the hard way...

[Luca2]

But I'm hoping these numbers will double in the future, and I don't necessarily want to spend the next 5 months on Starting Strength or these other 5x5 3x5 routines that kind of look like underkill to me at this point.

And you are hoping to double your deadlift by doing what exactly?

[Rabbitjb]

How can they be underkill when you don't have the form yet?

You need your form down pat on each of the major lifts before you rack great numbers to prevent injury

self belief is great but not when you can't back it up

Put the work in and you will get there...gl

[sooby]

guarantee you squatting heavy 3x a week is not under kill.

[Junsuiakai]

Get to 3 plates on 5x5, I want to hear how underwhelming 5x5 is then lol

[changeability]

You're bragging about a 255 pound deadlift? lmao.

brb teaching you reading comprehension--nobody was bragging here.

[changeability]

thx all for inputs. It looks like the average gains here are about 8-15 lb a week depending on the exarcise.

I'm going to see what I get next week with what I'm doing now (mostly because I'm kind of addicted to this **** now and 3 days a week sounds awful) and switch over to something more traditional likely when what everyone here is saying and I stop gaining.

But we'll see. I'm not really in any rush and am having fun and getting stronger so. Think of it as an experiment for the next couple weeks or so.

peace.

[changeability]

The thread title is a great way of getting attention, props to you for that OP.

Yeah. I was lifting a lot of books before I ever started lifting (if machines count as lifting). Writing is kind of my thing

[ironwill2008]

thx all for inputs. It looks like the average gains here are about 8-15 lb a week depending on the exarcise.

I'm going to see what I get next week with what I'm doing now (mostly because I'm kind of addicted to this **** now and 3 days a week sounds awful) and switch over to something more traditional likely when what everyone here is saying and I stop gaining.

But we'll see. I'm not really in any rush and am having fun and getting stronger so. Think of it as an experiment for the next couple weeks or so.

peace.

The best way to make/prove a point on this site is with pics or vids; words don't really convey much.

Post a pic of your current condition either ITT or in your BodySpace, and then another one in a couple of months, if you're still around by then.









Good luck meeting your fitness goals for 2017.

[changeability]

The best way to make/prove a point on this site is with pics or vids; words don't really convey much.

Thx m8.

I'm looking in the mirror now and can see the top 4 of my abdominis... and if I pull the fat down from my arm there is quite a bump on my bicep (for a noob).

chest is where I think I'm really lacking (which is lame considering all the ****ing pushups I did)

Think I might do the picture thing even though selfies aren't my thing. But it probably would be cool to look back.

[RollTideNation]

I actually agree with you on the 3x a week thing. I know it's tried and tested but I'm not squatting 3x a week. No thanks Jeff.

I've had more luck with this:
Day 1: squat, bench, rows, assistance
Day 2: deadlift, OHP, pull ups, assistance
Day 3: same as day 1.

But then again, I've always utilized some form of conditioning, so I had to take that into account when setting up my programming. Take it for what it's worth.

You don't have to do SS or 5x5... The only reason those are recommended is due to the fact that they meet the general criteria for optimizing gainzzz, in a simple, premade format.

[Pomegranate23]

I'm a beginner so you should probably not listen to me but, why don't you do some kinda upper lower instead then? There are some good ones in the stickies like F5 or vikings. I mean if you really dislike doing 3x full-body and if those routines truly hurt your motivation to work out then perhaps that's the next best thing?

When I first started out I was also extremely skeptical towards 3x a week programs and often felt like they sucked but I decided to listen to the experienced guys here and grew to enjoy F5 novice.

[DCSpartan]

brb teaching you reading comprehension--nobody was bragging here.

Although, I think 255lb for a first-time deadlifter at 5'8 is kinda nice.

brb teaching you how to read your own writing, Lord of the 255 First Time Deadlift. You are the Chosen One.

[changeability]

brb teaching you how to read your own writing, Lord of the 255 First Time Deadlift. You are the Chosen One.

crack open a dictionary noob:

brag:
say in a boastful manner

boast:
talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities.

Keyword here is excessive. Try lifting a book sometime instead of a weight.