i just got into core work (basically planks) this month. at the start of the month i put a bit of a twinge in my upper back doing squats, and i was starting to notice that my body seemed to want to fold over in the middle on my way up out of the hole as the weights i was squatting went up. so it felt like ab strength was turning into my limiting factor on squats and i didn't want that. atm i start every workout with rolling and stretching unless it's one of my sloppy days, so i like to throw the planks in with that routine, almost more to wake up my core and get it ready than as a workout in its own right.

i also do roumanian deadlifts sometimes. in my mind, i'm mostly thinking of these as a good glute/hamstring move . . . for whatever that's worth. and since i'm a little obsessed with the upper back recently, i keep meaning to do flys with dumbbells, and/or some of those straight-arm dumbbell raises. sometimes i actually get them done too.

lunges . . . just eugh. i've tried them in various ways and really never could keep my knees from going nuts after them, so me and lunges do not get along. but there's the farmer's carry with kettlebells . . . i kind of like that one for in between lifts.

I followed the ICF template for a month and a half or so! It IS a lot of volume.

Be honest I think about doing isolation work these days but rarely get it in. The conditioning circuits I do are more than enough as accessory.

But by my experience I'd suggest the following with SL (all in basically a 3 sets of 6-10 fashion. Aiming for a weight where you can hit 8 reps per set is good, too. This is accessory, not strength work):

Workout A (in no particular order, really):
- Rope face pulls (rear delts. You just hammered the front ones with the BP) - make these higher rep work though, 12-15 range
- Triceps pushdowns
- RDL variation - the single legged with a weight offset ones are awesome for core work as well if you can work up to that
- Hollow rocks, sitouts, hanging leg raises, toes to bar (or knees to elbows)

Workout B:
- Chin-ups, or a vertical pulling motion
- Dips, the bar type (assisted or not). Or close grip bench. Please do not do bench dips. The damage it's done to my shoulders (and many others)... I can't even begin to tell you guys. I can't do them anymore. Do close grip push-ups instead, okay? Just trust me? lol.
- Lunges, any variation. Or hip thrusts, if that's your thing.
- Planks, ab wheel rollout, KB swings

That's it, really. Anything else would be fluff. You have your biceps and triceps work cut out for you. Some good variations of core work. RDLs will hit your hammies. The lunges will cover that bum. And you don't need to hit every exercise every week. Rotate it out. And hey, if you feel like throwing in biceps curls, why not? lol.

Which, btw, I hate lunges and they used to give my knees a really hard time. You want to focus on staying as upright as possible and pushing through the heel of your front foot. Not only does that make your glutes do most of the work, but it also offers a more solid base so that your knee is not wobbling about and making it harder than it needs to be. In order of progression from easiest to hardest (BW only, only add weight if you can do them all) I'd go static split squats, drop (back) lunges, walking lunges and then front lunges. If you still wobble a lot, widen your stance (legs hip width apart) and maybe move your stride length in a bit.

I think that covers most of it? [/wall of text]

Krok rocks. Seriously.

Awesome! I will be using these with my 3x5 plan. Thanks @krokador‌

I do the occasional accessory but not much really. I do leg press sometimes on deadlift day either before lifts because I need to do something while I wait for the squat rack or spot to deadlift, or after just for the fact that I like that one. I do dumbbell bench on same day as regular bench as an accessory. It was advised to me by both trainers I had sessions with and both had different reasons for it. Sometimes that day I will also do rows with dumbbells to try and feel it more cause that way I can pull a little further as the chest isn't blocking the path of the weights. I tend to do 3 sets of 8 reps on accessory and dumbbell weight is based on what my weaker side can handle. Every now and then I move up on those. I'm now at 27.5 for db bench and might move up to 30's soon.


Though weighted hip thrusts do seem interesting. One of these days I'm going to give that a try. hmmm

I'm doing this: http://scoobysworkshop.com/pullups-for-total-beginners/
Because I can't do either a full pull-up or chin-up yet.

crabada wrote: »

I know I asked this once before, and Krok was awesome enough to answer it, but now I can't find it --

When should I be doing good mornings?

xo,
C.

Not as the last thing before bed at night, that's for sure! (That one just begged for the lame joke, sorry!)

It depends what you wanna do with them. I personally tend to use them as a warmup with light weight for the most part (just the bar, and sometimes even just bodyweight).

As an accessory you can throw them in at the end of your workout. If you're feeling adventurous, they're GREAT to superset with OHP or bench press, especially the bench press because the back tightness carries over to the whole small arch shoulders back you want to have to be stronger/protect your shoulders.

You don't wanna go too heavy with those if your technique is not 100% spot on, because it'll put a lot of stress on your lower back. It's good practice for keeping the back tight during squats, tho!

Also, forgot to say this, but if you have a GHD in your gym (that thing that looks like a hyperextension bench, but has a rounded pad
), Glute Ham Raises are THE BOMB for that butt. They're hard though, so you might wanna bring your resistance bands along for the ride to help at first.

threnjen wrote: »

For hamstrings I have been doing Good Mornings along with OHP using the same weight. So I do my reps of OHP then get under the bar and pick it up and do good mornings, then rest.

It works AWESOME. This is my permanent go-to for OHP accessories since I can do it in the same spot.

First few times I could barely walk the next day my hammies hurt so bad, and I still get pretty major DOMS doing this and sometimes have to take a 2 day rest.

I will have to try this. Been playing around with accessory work but still find myself a little lost after my 5x5 or 3x5 is done.

I am starting to do rack pulls, too. I do them after I deadlift or on the opposite workout day so that I have energy to deadlift. I don't use a program (yet) for them but I do them lighter than my deadlift and try to vary the height so one day I'll do 12" and the next I'll do 14".

Tricep push downs are when you stand up and push the bar down on the cable machine.

I'm enjoying front squats and split squats. I think skull crushers (triceps target) are helping my bench too. What areas are you looking to target?

Face pulls, high pulls, prison dips (not sure if it's the same as seated dip?), push ups, pull ups (assisted or with bands, too), lateral raises, shrugs, etc. are all options for those areas. That's all I can think of right now.

@Krok -- Thanks for all those awesome suggestions. And for raising a very important question -- What *am* I aiming for with any of these accessories. I guess I should probably give that some more thought before I just randomly pick things.

I do know I want to strengthen my back (lower and upper), arms and shoulders, but beyond that, I don't have a plan. I'll keep thinking about it and do some more research.