Weekly Question Thread - Week of 7/1/2019

[commando95]

@dawn16 The one that you can adhere to long term. So long as you're training each body part more than 1x/week and preferably not training major muscle groups on back to back days the split doesn't really matter. The training split is just a way to group volume logically but it ultimately comes down to preference and your schedule. Do you want to be in the gym 3,4,5, or 6 days a week?

The more important factor is what progression scheme are you implementing to keep you progressively overloading in a systematic manner? And are you progressively overloading your nutrition as well?

 

[dawn16]

@commando95 I prefer a 6 day/week split, but I’ve seen some competitors follow a 10 day rotation. As far as progression schemes, I’m still unsure what is most effective-increasing reps, sets, or weight?? Nutrition is in check for sure.

 

[trumpeter2]

@dawn16 At the moment sets is very popular, literature shows that increasing reps before weight is better.

I would recommend you to auto regulate your training based on sets, work rep ranges that allow you to go 2 reps close to failure comfortably.

 

[hopenfaith24]

@paparazi257 Is muscle and strength website truth worthy??

 

[frankie8297]

@paparazi257 Is there a point to working out with low testosterone? I'm 17 with bitch ass levels(200ng/dl), and I'm wondering if it's inhibiting from making gains. I've been consistently working out 6 days week(10-12 hours) with Nsuns, eating alot(3300-4000 calories daily), and getting a bunch of sleep(atleast 9 hours), yet I'm losing weight(muscle mass) and getting weaker. I'm even feeling more chubby, even though my mass is dropping. What should I do? Up the calories? Drop the volume? Quit giving a shit until my test levels get back to normal?

 

[niecey85]

@frankie8297 If you're losing weight, it has nothing to do with test levels, weight is 100% calories.

 

[frankie8297]

@niecey85 I was under the impression low test levels resulted in loss of muscle mass. I definitely need to revaluate my diet and start tracking my weight though

 

[niecey85]

@frankie8297 Also if you're a beginner (less than a year of consistent training) you're probably training too much.

 

[dawn16]

@frankie8297 Did you ever take prohormones or any 'supplement' a friend had you try? Even just once? I often see teens doing stupid things like buying prohormones on Amazon and crashing their hormones.

 

[frankie8297]

@dawn16 No man. The only thing I can think of that would tank my hormones is my dissociation due from excesive worrying(OCD behavior)

 

[dawn16]

@paparazi257 How do I adapt my bodybuilding routine to a strength routine?

I can't seem to find a good answer.
And do not want to gain strength only to lose gains on other areas.

 

[mmntc]

@niecey85 Any routine you would recommend?

 

[niecey85]

@mmntc I'm far from being an expert on strength, you can check out the list of recommended programs on /r/powerlifting 's wiki page.

 

[neliii_br]

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[humblechad]

@paparazi257

https://imgur.com/a/xxMFCYc

15lb difference in a shirt. At my highest I looked huge and bulky but now deep in my cut I just seem to be getting small and I’m not sure if it was just fat making my muscles look huge or I’ve been actually losing muscle. I’ve been getting around 150g of protein a day and lifting 4- 5 days a week doing 5/3/1. I’ve been on this cut for awhile also it’s been very slow could that be play in a part of losing mass also?

 

[dawn16]

@humblechad A lot of trainees think they're losing muscle when they cut. In many cases it's just a matter of actually being smaller because of less bodyfat.

If you're not losing strength throughout your cut than you're probably not losing much muscle. If you're work capacity goes down that's pretty normal during a cut as well. Just don't want to lose your strength.

 

[trumpeter2]

@humblechad Which one is the peak bulk pic and which one the cut pic?

 

[humblechad]

@trumpeter2 First one is my cut last one is my peak bulk

 

[dawn16]

@humblechad No one will be able to say anything with those pics because you are covered up.

 

[maayaa]

@paparazi257 Alright, I've been increasingly frustrated with myself over the years. Entering my 30s and having been lifting since high school with ultimately pretty limited results.

A little background, from high school through about age 24 my "training" was in no way conducive to my goals or in any way smart. Therefore, I would say that I've been trying be serious since I was 24. Still I mainly focused on bro-splits with no real rhyme or reason. More recently I've been shifting to push pull and full body approaches. I've seen some very slow and minimal strength change, however don't feel like I'm making much headway gaining mass.

I'm currently doing a 3 day, full body split.

Day one: squat, bench, bent over rows, Oh dumbell press, pull up, dips
Day two: deadlift, incline press, lunge, Oh bb press with laterals, pull ups, dips, bb curls
Day three: squats, bench, bent over rows, OH db press, pull up, dips, tricep extensions

Rough estimates about sets and reps are as followed:
First two exercises are 5x5 followed by 4x8-10 for remaining compounds and isolations are 3x10-12.

Present stats: 5'7" 148-150lbs
Currently I'm achieving:
(all weights listed are not including 45lbs bar)
squat 230lbs x 5 reps
Deadlift 230x 5 reps
Bench 130 x 5-6 reps
OH press 60lbs x 5-6 reps

Eating 3 meals per day with an evening snack. Meals are balanced. On training days I will include post workout protein.

Limitations: new father, have only about an hour 3x per week to train.

What recommendations can you guys make for effective programming as well as nutritional plans?

I dont know if I should just suck it up and start with a beginner plan or go intermediate and even then I have no idea of what to actually focus on rep and set wise.