Should I modify training?

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anask4
anask4 Posts: 86 Member
Hey everyone, I am a 20 year old 5'6" male. I weigh 151 lbs but have a high bf% (see attached pics) and am looking to get leaner over the summer before possibly bulking in the fall/winter. I have included my workout split below. I was wondering if it looks ok or if I should switch to a different program? I have been lifting for a year, during the first six months i did SL5x5 and have been following my current routine for the last 6 months.

front relaxed:
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front flexed:
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side relaxed:
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side flexed:
qgryn59sxlb5.jpg

back:atjn9qlrixd0.jpg



Also, how large should my deficit be if my goal is to drop body fat, and maintain muscle mass. Will a 250 calorie deficit will not leave me lean enough to bulk in the winter?

3 sets of 8-12 reps for everything.
Shoulders + arms Day
Close grip bench press-115(smith machine)
Seated overhead press- 75 (smith machine)
Upright row-60 (smith machine)

Seated Arnold press-30
Pinwheel curl-30 for 2 sets and 25 for 1
Dumbbell Curl-2x5 with 30 and 2x8 with 25
hammer curls- 25

Barbell Skull crushers-40
Barbell curl-40
Forearm barbell curl-40 for 3x5

Cable tricep push down (with metal handle)-50
Cable tricep overhead extension-30
Cable reverse curl-35
Cable shoulder raises-50
Cable forearm curls-50

12 minutes HIIT cardio.

Back + chest Day
Bench press:110
Shrugs:160 (smith machine)
Rows:130 (smith machine)
Deadlifts:200 (smith machine)

Incline dumbbell bench:30
Dumbbell bench:30
One arm Dumbbell row:40
Dumbbell shrug:45

Chest press:110
Lat pull down:100
Rear delts/row machine:85

cable flys: 20 lbs each side

12 minutes HIIT cardio.

Leg/Ab day
Squat-160 (smith machine)
Front squat-130 (smith machine)
Stiff leg deadlift-200 (smith machine)

Leg press-230
Leg press calf raise-230

Leg curl-90
Calf extension-230
Leg extension-170

Leg raises
Weighted decline sit ups-24 lb Dumbbells
Torso rotation-140

Replies

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Does your gym have a regular squat rack and barbells (non smith machine)?

    Do you have any strength goals in addition to physique oriented goals or do you primarily care about physique?
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,300 Member
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    One question at a time:

    A deficit of 250 calories per day is fine to lose fat while preserving muscle. That's what I did, and I lost 20# in six months. Not fast, but it was 10% of my pre-MFP weight, and I've been able to keep it off for more than 6 months since. Just keep the protein high: at a BW of 151 with I'm guessing maybe 15-18% BF, that gives a lean body mass of ~125#, so that should be the minimum number of grams protein per day. Increase intake from there as you see fit, especially on training days. (Some people will recommend a floor of 151, but let's start with 125 until you're used to eating that much.)

    For weight training advice, the first thing I notice is a heavy reliance upon the smith machine. It's adequate for learning to lift when never having lifted before, or for recovery from injury. But for someone who's been lifting for a year or so, you should be using almost exclusively free weights. You'll need to reduce the weight about 10% at first to get used to having to stabilize the weight safely without the assistance of guide rails, but you'll find your strength will rapidly increase to far beyond your smith numbers in short order.

    I'm assuming you used spaces to represent breaks between supersets? If not, with a year of training under your belt you should consider adding supersets to your routine. It saves time, and depending on the type of superset used has numerous other benefits. For example, by supersetting a dumbbell bench press with a dumbbell fly, you can thoroughly exhaust the chest muscle more than doing one at a time, leading to bigger growth. You'll need to lower the weights slightly with this type. Another alternative is to work the opposite muscle (back-chest, bi-tri, quad-ham) one after the other; this creates a synergistic effect where each is actually a mite stronger than otherwise, allowing for use of heavier weights and more strength. The third type is to work a completely different body part (squats and pullups) to allow more thorough recovery of the worked muscle between sets.

    Doing 3 sets of 8-12 is pretty standard for trying to increase muscle, but if we're starting to look at a food deficit then you won't be increasing muscle size without the extra calories. I suggest switching your primary lift of the day back to sets of 3-5 to increase strength, which is completely possible while slimming down. (When I lost 20# of BW I added 30# each to squat and bench.) You can keep the others at sets of 8-12, and maybe even choose one move as a finisher to increase to sets of 12-15 to pump lots of blood through your worked area, such as flies for chest, leg extensions & curls, lat pulldowns for back, and lateral raises for shoulders.

    For variety, you can try doing a push-pull-legs split for a couple weeks, just to shake things up and make your body guess what's happening, before returning to what you're doing. But ultimately, if you like your routine, like the body results you're getting from it, and have been improving your numbers, there's no reason why you can't stay with what you're doing. If it ain't broke, don't need to fix it unless you want to.
  • anask4
    anask4 Posts: 86 Member
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    SideSteel wrote: »
    Does your gym have a regular squat rack and barbells (non smith machine)?

    Do you have any strength goals in addition to physique oriented goals or do you primarily care about physique?

    I go to planet fitness and unfortunately it does not have a squat rack. They have barbells but the heaviest is 60 lbs.
    I dont have specific strength goals (yet) but I would definitely say I need and want to get stronger (as well as bigger when I am lean enough).
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    anask4 wrote: »
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Does your gym have a regular squat rack and barbells (non smith machine)?

    Do you have any strength goals in addition to physique oriented goals or do you primarily care about physique?

    I go to planet fitness and unfortunately it does not have a squat rack. They have barbells but the heaviest is 60 lbs.
    I dont have specific strength goals (yet) but I would definitely say I need and want to get stronger (as well as bigger when I am lean enough).

    How heavy do the dumbbells go?
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,300 Member
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    I think he means the heaviest DB is 60#, because it makes no sense to say the heaviest BB is 60#. Unless he has no Olympic bar with weight plates, only fixed-weight bars. In which case wow, remind me to not complain about what my gym has or does not have ever again.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    PF definitely has fixed-weight BBs. I think their DBs typically go higher, actually. 65-75lbs if I remember (I did a tour of one when I was looking for a new gym).

    Accurate reinactment of me while getting the tour:

    no-words-homer-into-brush.gif
  • anask4
    anask4 Posts: 86 Member
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    SideSteel wrote: »
    How heavy do the dumbbells go?
    Dumbbells go up to 75 i think.
    nossmf wrote: »
    I think he means the heaviest DB is 60#, because it makes no sense to say the heaviest BB is 60#. Unless he has no Olympic bar with weight plates, only fixed-weight bars. In which case wow, remind me to not complain about what my gym has or does not have ever again.

    Nope no olympic bar, the heaviest barbell is literally 60 lbs. I would switch but planet fitness is the only gym that has a location near my college and at home.

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,300 Member
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    Well, the good news is you don't HAVE to have heavier weights to increase strength. It helps, but I remember when my squat max was 315. For a good 3 months I never went above 225, but did a lot of reps. When I went back to going heavy, I discovered my best was no longer 315, but 365.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    nossmf wrote: »
    Well, the good news is you don't HAVE to have heavier weights to increase strength. It helps, but I remember when my squat max was 315. For a good 3 months I never went above 225, but did a lot of reps. When I went back to going heavy, I discovered my best was no longer 315, but 365.

    Agreed, but there really is a limit on how much strength you can gain with only light weights available, unless you start to get creative. At some point, you are going to be doing so many reps its going to end up as cardio.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Regarding the calorie deficit, what has your weight been doing recently? Have you been maintaining or losing?
  • anask4
    anask4 Posts: 86 Member
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    Sarauk2sf wrote: »
    Regarding the calorie deficit, what has your weight been doing recently? Have you been maintaining or losing?

    I ate at a surplus for about 4-6 weeks (250-500 cal above maintenance) and started eating at a 250-300 cal deficit last week. So to answer your question, until last week my weight was slowly increasing
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    anask4 wrote: »
    Sarauk2sf wrote: »
    Regarding the calorie deficit, what has your weight been doing recently? Have you been maintaining or losing?

    I ate at a surplus for about 4-6 weeks (250-500 cal above maintenance) and started eating at a 250-300 cal deficit last week. So to answer your question, until last week my weight was slowly increasing

    It really depends on how your deficit impacts performance and adherence and general lifestyle preferences, but from a physiological reason, I can see no reason why you cannot have a slightly larger deficit if you want. 250 cals a week is fine also however.