Can I Move To An Intermediate Program (Doing Fierce 5 Right Now)

[geegle13]

Hi I'm currently weighing 82 kg
Doing a full body workout since early May, but started with Fierce 5 at the start of July.

My stats are PB are:
Squat: 5x100 kg
Bench: 5x82.5 kg
Pendlay Row: 8x72.5 kg
Facepull: 10x52 kg
Calf raises: 15x115 kg

Front squat: 5x80 kg
Shoulder press: 5x60 kg
Romanian deadlift: 8x105 kg
Lat Pulldown: 10x65 kg

I'm really looking forward to do another program. I want to have bigger arms. I never did weightlifting before started at the beginning of April I was weighing 76 kg

I want to work on my abs more I'm eating a lot but I'm thinking about cutting. I'm. 1.76m btw.

I think it's time to move on to another Program after almost 6 months doing a full body workout or should I continue with this program?

[rsid97]

What're your actual reasons for thinking it's a good idea to switch?

[geegle13]

I'm 30 years old btw

[geegle13]

What're your actual reasons for thinking it's a good idea to switch?

I'm bored of the workout and have a lot of hard time adding weights to my front squat and back squat I did a couple of resets and like I said I want to work on my arms more they are not in proportion with the rest of my upper body. I want to know how my weights are? Is it a good idea to move on to an indermediate program?

[Damnentia]

You can always do - but there is no promise you wouldn't progress better actually staying on a novice program..

(Actually - so long as you can progress on a novice program, in a good pace...it's somewhat safe to assume that doing an intermediate program is a waste of time).

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*P.S, a friend of mine, thrice my size, is now returning from a break. (He used to Squat and Deadlift more than 330kgs!)

He's quickly progressed from 120kgs to 250-ish in the recent year...do you know how he trains?

-He runs 3 compounds, and goes home.

[geegle13]

You can always do - but there is no promise you wouldn't progress better actually staying on a novice program..

(Actually - so long as you can progress on a novice program, in a good pace...it's somewhat safe to assume that doing an intermediate program is a waste of time).

-----

*P.S, a friend of mine, thrice my size, is now returning from a break. (He used to Squat and Deadlift more than 330kgs!)

He's quickly progressed from 120kgs to 250-ish in the recent year...do you know how he trains?

-He runs 3 compounds, and goes home.

Another good reason to switch to another program I'm having very tired legs. I work 10 night shifts per month I'm walking around 15 sometimes 20km per night. It's a quite heavy job most of the time I can't get enough rest the next day. So that's also a reason why I'm having a hard time increasing my squat weights. I'm usually working out around 7.30pm and finish around 9.30 showering etc. And go to work around 10.30 working until 6.30 am wake up around 1pm sometimes earlier

[Squid24]

Another good reason to switch to another program I'm having very tired legs. I work 10 night shifts per month I'm walking around 15 sometimes 20km per night. It's a quite heavy job most of the time I can't get enough rest the next day. So that's also a reason why I'm having a hard time increasing my squat weights. I'm usually working out around 7.30pm and finish around 9.30 showering etc. And go to work around 10.30 working until 6.30 am wake up around 1pm sometimes earlier

I wake up a 4am, start my workout between 4:30 and 5am. I work 6 days a week, 8-12 hr days, going to bed at 9 or 9:30pm. I am on my feet the whole time I am there, and I put in some miles every day with walking.

Why do you get up so early? Sleep till 5, that is 4 more hrs of sleep you could be getting. If getting at least 6 hrs of sleep, then welcome to the club....lol

[geegle13]

I wake up a 4am, start my workout between 4:30 and 5am. I work 6 days a week, 8-12 hr days, going to bed at 9 or 9:30pm. I am on my feet the whole time I am there, and I put in some miles every day with walking.

Why do you get up so early? Sleep till 5, that is 4 more hrs of sleep you could be getting. If getting at least 6 hrs of sleep, then welcome to the club....lol

please read carefully I'm working night shifts most of the time I fall asleep around 8 am and wake up around 1 pm sometimes 2 pm it's not easy to sleep in the afternoon

[geegle13]

Anyway can someone at least tell me something about my weights which one is good and which one should be better and I think I'm burning more than 1000 calories during my work. So maybe I need to eat 5000 calories? But I'm already 82 kg my bf is around 18%

[Damnentia]

Another good reason to switch to another program I'm having very tired legs. I work 10 night shifts per month I'm walking around 15 sometimes 20km per night. It's a quite heavy job most of the time I can't get enough rest the next day. So that's also a reason why I'm having a hard time increasing my squat weights. I'm usually working out around 7.30pm and finish around 9.30 showering etc. And go to work around 10.30 working until 6.30 am wake up around 1pm sometimes earlier

If your legs are tired - why would want to move to a program that works them harder?

It makes no sense.

In fact, given the circumstances, I would actually suggest running Fierce 5 Novice twice a week, instead of thrice!

[geegle13]

If your legs are tired - why would want to move to a program that works them harder?

It makes no sense.

-----

-TBH, if anything, your story (and the fact you are stuck) might tell us that your perhaps life might make it harder to recover from the Novice Program!

Ever considered running Fire 5 Novice twice a week?

is that possible will I still make gains I'm happy about my gains the progression I made but because of my job I can't have enough rest I know rest is so so important. So basically what I can do is do workout a and b 1 time a week and repeat this until I legitimately stall and I'm ready to do an intermediate program?

[Damnentia]

is that possible will I still make gains I'm happy about my gains the progression I made but because of my job I can't have enough rest I know rest is so so important. So basically what I can do is do workout a and b 1 time a week and repeat this until I legitimately stall and I'm ready to do an intermediate program?

Life goes first. Don't make lifting an obsession.

To be very frank: I cannot promise that you make progress running intermediate, novice, or novice-nerfed-to-twice-a-week.

On one hand - your lifts are at the higher scale of "novice level". (Which may require higher volume, to stimulate progress).

On the other hand - I think Fierce 5 Novice is already too intense for you - given your circumstances.

-----

I do suggest that you try running Fierce 5 and see how it helps your recovery, but I believe that quite soon - this will not be enough volume for you, and you will be stuck again.

*A good personal trainer should probably help fine tuning the line between sufficient and effective work, and your lack of sleep...but that could get pricey.

[Squid24]

please read carefully I'm working night shifts most of the time I fall asleep around 8 am and wake up around 1 pm sometimes 2 pm it's not easy to sleep in the afternoon

Ok, so you did not understand my question, since you may have read it very quickly and drew your own assumption...I asked "Why are you waking up so early?"

Buy a mask to throw over your eyes. Trust me, I've been there. You can also workout when you get up then come home and take a nap....use the mask you just bought to cover your eyes from the light.....this...from a guy who had to switch from days to nights every other week....

Edit - More people on here who are either in your situation or have been in your situation....long before you were born...like myself. You just find a way, time management is a hard thing in everyone's life...

[geegle13]

Life goes first. Don't make lifting an obsession.

To be very frank: I cannot promise that you make progress running intermediate, novice, or novice-needed-to-twice-a-week.

On one hand - your lifts are at the higher scale of "novice level". (Which may require higher volume, to stimulate progress).

On the other hand - I think Fierce 5 Novice is already too intense for you - given your circumstances.

-----

I do suggest that you try running Fierce 5 and see how it helps your recovery, but I believe that quite soon - this will not be enough volume for you, and you will be stuck again.

*A good personal trainer should probably help fine tuning the line between sufficient and effective work, and your lack of sleep...but that could get pricey.

thank you very much. I think I'm going to continue this program for a while, because I'm able to make progress I'm eating well, but I'm going to listen more to my body. Skipping a training now and then, maybe that's more beneficial for my instead of running it twice. I'm doing this job already for 9 months, but I thought maybe it's time to move on to another program, but I think I'm not ready to do a intermediate program since my weights are still novice from what I've heard

[geegle13]

Ok, so you did not understand my question, since you may have read it very quickly and drew your own assumption...I asked "Why are you waking up so early?"

Buy a mask to throw over your eyes. Trust me, I've been there. You can also workout when you get up then come home and take a nap....use the mask you just bought to cover your eyes from the light.....this...from a guy who had to switch from days to nights every other week....

Edit - More people on here who are either in your situation or have been in your situation....long before you were born...like myself. You just find a way, time management is a hard thing in everyone's life...

I appreciate your message. I will just work harder and try to have more quality sleep and eat better, buy more comfortable shoes and continue with Fierce 5. My main intention for opening this thread was to know if my weights are good enough for a Intermediate program but I guess I have to spend more time and do my best to get the most out of me.

Doing a workout just after I'm finished is a big no my legs are too tired to do a workout

[Squid24]

I appreciate your message. I will just work harder and try to have more quality sleep and eat better, buy more comfortable shoes and continue with Fierce 5. My main intention for opening this thread was to know if my weights are good enough for a Intermediate program but I guess I have to spend more time and do my best to get the most out of me.

Doing a workout just after I'm finished is a big no my legs are too tired to do a workout

No one but you is keeping you from switching...I switched to cut down the frequency, but I loved the fullbody.

When you find the comfortable shoes...let me know what ya got...on my feet all day...diamond plate or pavement all day long....Boots for me tho...lol

[geegle13]

No one but you is keeping you from switching...I switched to cut down the frequency, but I loved the fullbody.

When you find the comfortable shoes...let me know what ya got...on my feet all day...diamond plate or pavement all day long....Boots for me tho...lol

Bata; I don't know if you know this brand. They have quality working shoes for example their "walk lines" are good for standing many hours. Quality soles are important like EVA, TPU I dont know which one is better but they are both better than PU soles.

[geegle13]

Take a look at their website bata industrials

[Squid24]

Take a look at their website bata industrials

They look nice. I was trying to figure out how to purchase a pair and what they cost. website is hard to get around for computer idiots like myself...lol

[geegle13]

They look nice. I was trying to figure out how to purchase a pair and what they cost. website is hard to get around for computer idiots like myself...lol

I'm sure there are enough webshops over there or stores where they this brand. It's a known brand world-wide..

[Squid24]

I'm sure there are enough webshops over there or stores where they this brand. It's a known brand world-wide..

Yeah, I'll figure it out soon

[cornman99]

is that possible will I still make gains I'm happy about my gains the progression I made but because of my job I can't have enough rest I know rest is so so important. So basically what I can do is do workout a and b 1 time a week and repeat this until I legitimately stall and I'm ready to do an intermediate program?

You need to eat more than you think, I worked in a restaurant as a teen and had trouble gaining weight since I'd be walking around for 6-8 hours each night.

Get your diet and sleep in check, calculate your TDEE using the very active option for exercise, and then still eat more than that.

[geegle13]

You need to eat more than you think, I worked in a restaurant as a teen and had trouble gaining weight since I'd be walking around for 6-8 hours each night.

Get your diet and sleep in check, calculate your TDEE using the very active option for exercise, and then still eat more than that.

I'm already 82kg so I should eat more? 5000 calories or what?What about burning fat with this program (fierce 5)?

[cornman99]

I'm already 82kg so I should eat more? 5000 calories or what?What about burning fat with this program (fierce 5)?

do you want to lose or gain?

[geegle13]

do you want to lose or gain?

I don't know I read a lot about fierce 5 but most of the people were underweight starting this program. I was already around 76 kg/168lbs now I'm 82kg/180lbs my bf went from 14-15 to 18-19% so I don't know what to do. Of course I want to gain muscle but my weight is already good I guess I'm about 5'9/5’10. I don't think I can cut doing Fierce 5 maybe I should do an other novice full body workout. Do you have any recommendations? I'm a bit clueless right now lol

[Damnentia]

I don't know I read a lot about fierce 5 but most of the people were underweight starting this program. I was already around 76 kg/168lbs now I'm 82kg/180lbs my bf went from 14-15 to 18-19% so I don't know what to do. Of course I want to gain muscle but my weight is already good I guess I'm about 5'9/5’10. I don't think I can cut doing Fierce 5 maybe I should do an other novice full body workout. Do you have any recommendations? I'm a bit clueless right now lol

Cutting just means you shouldn't expect be able to add weights as quickly (or at all).

Fierce 5 isn't too intense a program to avoid doing when on a cut.

Only problem I can think about, is that Fierce 5 calls for half progression for women, and also half when cutting, so it might make progression a little more complicated.

I.E: how do you progress 1.25lbs on your Pendlay Row weekly? Are there any 0.625lb plates around?

[geegle13]

Cutting just means you shouldn't expect be able to add weights as quickly (or at all).

Fierce 5 isn't too intense a program to avoid doing when on a cut.

Only problem I can think about, is that Fierce 5 calls for half progression for women, and also half when cutting, so it might make progression a little more complicated.

I.E: how do you progress 1.25lbs on your Pendlay Row weekly? Are there any 0.625lb plates around?

both sides 1.25kg/2.75lbs plates every week 2.5kg/5.5 lbs but I'm struggling lately

[geegle13]

Cutting just means you shouldn't expect be able to add weights as quickly (or at all).

Fierce 5 isn't too intense a program to avoid doing when on a cut.

Only problem I can think about, is that Fierce 5 calls for half progression for women, and also half when cutting, so it might make progression a little more complicated.

I.E: how do you progress 1.25lbs on your Pendlay Row weekly? Are there any 0.625lb plates around?

the smallest plates are 1.25kg

[Damnentia]

When I did half-progression, I did 2.5kg (1.25kg each side) ever other week.

I.E:

Week 1: 3x8x50k
Week 2: 3x9x50k
Week 3: 3x8x52.5kg

But half then even that (progress from 8 reps to 11 reps, then add weight and back to 8 reps) could be too weird. /:

I mean, there is a chance 11x50kg would actually be much harder than 8x52.5kg

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I have a suggestion for how to work around it (if you really want to do Fierce 5's template), but need to self-regulate your workouts.

It's called: Having a rep-range.
For example: "Pendlay Rows: 3x7-9".

What does that mean? -
It means that initially - you start working with sets of 10.

For example:
Week 1: 3x9x40kg
Week 2: 3x9x42.5kg
Week 3: 3x9x45kg

But then you notice it is too hard, so you start working with sets of 8:

Week 4: 3x8x47.5kg
Week 5: You attempt to do 3x8x50kg...but you can't do that.
Week 6: 3x7x50kg
Week 7: 3x7x52.5...but you fail.
Week 8: You fail again. (Which calls for a reset):

Week 9: You reset from 52.5kg to 45kg, and start all over again. (9x45kg).

This may help you slowly milk progress, in tiny steps, despite not having access to 0.575kg or 0.2825kg plates.

[cornman99]

I don't know I read a lot about fierce 5 but most of the people were underweight starting this program. I was already around 76 kg/168lbs now I'm 82kg/180lbs my bf went from 14-15 to 18-19% so I don't know what to do. Of course I want to gain muscle but my weight is already good I guess I'm about 5'9/5’10. I don't think I can cut doing Fierce 5 maybe I should do an other novice full body workout. Do you have any recommendations? I'm a bit clueless right now lol

you can cut using any program, your progress will just likely slow down or stop. Cutting is about diet, not which program you do.