Which lifting program is the best for you?
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amyrebeccah wrote: »Can Strong Curves be done only 2 days a week? With my schedule right now the only times I have open are 2 days a week.
It's not built that way, but I see no reason why you couldn't, as each workout is a set of compound movements, not a split. There's a couple ways you could do it.
To prescribe for four days a week, Bret recommends a scheme of workouts A, then B, then A, then C. So you could conceivably either go:
Week 1: A, then B
Week 2: A, then C
Week 3: A, then B,
Week 4: A, then C
But I'd probably find that a little awkward, progressing on a certain exercise I'm only doing once every two weeks.
More likely, I'd just cut off the C workout and do A and B each week.
Thank you! I appreciate that explanation. That would work for the weeks I know I can only get in 2 SC workouts.0 -
Can Strong Curves be done only 2 days a week? With my schedule right now the only times I have open are 2 days a week.
Sorry i missed this. I would say two solid sessions would be better than nothing. It may not be optimal but if that is a sacrific you are willing to live with, then i would do it. Just stay in the order laid out.
Thank you. Here's another question: is it okay to do double strength workouts in the same day? I could in theory wake up and make it to the gym to make up for the other days missed. My concern is that I do pole and aerial at night which are both forms of body weight strength training. Is that okay? Or would it be overkill?
I'm sure you don't need all of this info, but I'm going to type it anyway: I've already committed to dropping spin on Mon & Thurs and replacing it with SC. Pole & aerial are Tues & Wed. Fri & Sat is either pole or I work that evening, but if I'm off both Fri & Sat I know I can do pole on one and SC on the other. My evening work schedule changes monthly, so I can't always guarantee a workout on Fri or Sat. And Sundays are my days that I travel to visit with my grandparents for the day. So I'm just trying to figure out how to fit SC in with everything that I'm already doing.
So there are some weeks where I can commit 3-4 evenings to the program and other weeks where I can only commit 2 evenings. If it's okay to do multiple strength workouts in 1 day, then everything changes and it's just a matter of me going to bed early enough to get up early to make it to the gym and work on time.
Your training could affect how you perform SC especially if you are fatiguing the muscles but I mean, it also depends on your goals. Would you say that your pole and aerial are more upper body focused? Perhaps you can do the Gorgeous Glutes program which is lower body only, OR on days where you have pole maybe just do the lower body exercises or incorporate band work. Again I don't know how taxed you feel after your pole so you may have to play around with the program and find out!1 -
Can Strong Curves be done only 2 days a week? With my schedule right now the only times I have open are 2 days a week.
Sorry i missed this. I would say two solid sessions would be better than nothing. It may not be optimal but if that is a sacrific you are willing to live with, then i would do it. Just stay in the order laid out.
Thank you. Here's another question: is it okay to do double strength workouts in the same day? I could in theory wake up and make it to the gym to make up for the other days missed. My concern is that I do pole and aerial at night which are both forms of body weight strength training. Is that okay? Or would it be overkill?
I'm sure you don't need all of this info, but I'm going to type it anyway: I've already committed to dropping spin on Mon & Thurs and replacing it with SC. Pole & aerial are Tues & Wed. Fri & Sat is either pole or I work that evening, but if I'm off both Fri & Sat I know I can do pole on one and SC on the other. My evening work schedule changes monthly, so I can't always guarantee a workout on Fri or Sat. And Sundays are my days that I travel to visit with my grandparents for the day. So I'm just trying to figure out how to fit SC in with everything that I'm already doing.
So there are some weeks where I can commit 3-4 evenings to the program and other weeks where I can only commit 2 evenings. If it's okay to do multiple strength workouts in 1 day, then everything changes and it's just a matter of me going to bed early enough to get up early to make it to the gym and work on time.
Your training could affect how you perform SC especially if you are fatiguing the muscles but I mean, it also depends on your goals. Would you say that your pole and aerial are more upper body focused? Perhaps you can do the Gorgeous Glutes program which is lower body only, OR on days where you have pole maybe just do the lower body exercises or incorporate band work. Again I don't know how taxed you feel after your pole so you may have to play around with the program and find out!
Yes, pole and aerial are very upper body focused. So if the Gorgeous Glutes program is geared towards beginners, I could definitely do that one instead (I'm still reading the book, so I haven't gotten to the breakdown of the programs yet).
But I am considering sitting out of aerial for the first run through of this b/c it would save me some money. Since I've never lifted and my squats are abysmal, I want to work with a PT for a few weeks to get my form right. I also don't want to half *kitten* this program (pun only half way intended). So that would leave my Tuesdays open.
Thank you for the suggestion and input.
Edited to add: with pole, my legs are sore due to bruising, not necessarily for over using the muscles. The lower body is used for climbs, hangs, and sits (see Martini sit in my profile pic). The arms, shoulders, back, and core is what gets you up the pole, into inverts, handstands, etc.1 -
Good heavens we need a bump
Cheers, h.2 -
I second that.0
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Right now I'm doing squat everyday style Bulgarian method. The volume is relatively low but the frequency is very high. Working up to a 1 rep max everyday day. Then drop back sets. It's working wonders right now. My daily minimum is higher that my max was when I started a month ago.0
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butterbuns123 wrote: »Right now I'm doing squat everyday style Bulgarian method. The volume is relatively low but the frequency is very high. Working up to a 1 rep max everyday day. Then drop back sets. It's working wonders right now. My daily minimum is higher that my max was when I started a month ago.
That's interesting. I'm doing something similar. Picked it up from a Net article.
Doing DLs and SQTs daily for a 1RM w/drop sets. Set a daily minimum, do a few warm up sets 1x5, 1x3, 1x2 (at progressively higher weights from about 50-75%) and then do my min 1RM (which is a weight I never have a problem doing), then try to do more 1RMs at higher weights.
When I reach my max 1RM for the day (which sometimes is just the min), I do drop sets of 2x3x90% and 1x5x80% and I'm done. Also using the same program for BP, OHP and Rows but only do those 1x a week, not every day. When the min gets easy, I just raise it 5 or 10 lbs, which indicates progress even if no new 1RM PRs are set.
So, just doing low reps at high weights now. Simple to follow (not complicated like 5/3/1 and other Intermediate programs), no/little risk of burn out or overtraining and less risk of injury than doing 5x5 and 3x5 (2-3x's a week) at max weights as I was doing before. Making progress and setting new 1RM PRs all the time. A much more positive workout experience and less chance of failure. A great motivator.
Also doing 50-100 dips, 50-150 pushups and 25-50 pullups as accessory exercises every day. Sometimes add in 50-100 sissy squats and 50-100 GHRs (on specialized stands/benches that I own). And, I do heavy Farmer's Walks at least 1x a week, as an accessory lift, where I'm currently carrying 215# w/a trap bar for 3 carries of 200 ft each.
BTW, my current 1RM PRs are: 300 DL, 240 SQT, 190 BP, 115 OHP. According to the Killustrated Charts, these are at the Elite level for men my age/weight (66/165#) for the DL, BP and OHP and ony 10# short of Elite for the SQT. So, I'm quite happy w/my progress utilizing this unusual lifting program.
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So question, all these programs have a specification of beginner, intermediate, and advanced; how do you know to which category you belong to?0
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So question, all these programs have a specification of beginner, intermediate, and advanced; how do you know to which category you belong to?
A Beginner is someone who has never trained w/weights or who has trained b4 some time ago and is starting from scratch again. The length of the Beginner stage can vary from 6-12 months (or much longer) based on how well and consistently the person trains. The Beginner stage ends when the lifter plateaus and cannot increase his/her PRs by following a simple linear progression, which is typical of Beginning lifting programs, such as Starting Strength and Stronglifts.
At that point, you're an Intermediate. Increased strength will be more difficult to come by and you will need to resort to programs that vary the routine to "confuse" & challenge your muscles to grow in different ways. Wendler's 5/3/1 and the Texas Method are 2 such programs.
Most people (except competitive lifters) seldom get to the Advanced level, but if you have plateaued with both a Beginner and Intermediate program over a 2-3 year period and the weight you lift is above the Intermediate levels published on strength charts - like the one published by Starting Strength - then you may be ready to try an Advanced program which is designed to squeeze the last possible ounce of strength out of your muscles, which are probably already at or near 95% of your genetic potential.
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So question, all these programs have a specification of beginner, intermediate, and advanced; how do you know to which category you belong to?
A Beginner is someone who has never trained w/weights or who has trained b4 some time ago and is starting from scratch again. The length of the Beginner stage can vary from 6-12 months (or much longer) based on how well and consistently the person trains. The Beginner stage ends when the lifter plateaus and cannot increase his/her PRs by following a simple linear progression, which is typical of Beginning lifting programs, such as Starting Strength and Stronglifts.
At that point, you're an Intermediate. Increased strength will be more difficult to come by and you will need to resort to programs that vary the routine to "confuse" & challenge your muscles to grow in different ways. Wendler's 5/3/1 and the Texas Method are 2 such programs.
Most people (except competitive lifters) seldom get to the Advanced level, but if you have plateaued with both a Beginner and Intermediate program over a 2-3 year period and the weight you lift is above the Intermediate levels published on strength charts - like the one published by Starting Strength - then you may be ready to try an Advanced program which is designed to squeeze the last possible ounce of strength out of your muscles, which are probably already at or near 95% of your genetic potential.
Very well stated. I actually just updated the OP to add in Greg Nuckols complete guide to strength training. It's a bit long but covers these topics in great detail. So far, everything I have read is worthwhile.1 -
I do a kind of beginner lifting program I guess. Im not sure which one of these it is because I kind of made it myself from modifying the 5x5 one a lot but its like this.
Monday 3 reps 5 sets (powerlifting day, also on this day isometrics are done)
wednesday 12 reps 3 sets (muscle building day, at about 2/3 of mondays weight) also on this day 5 minutes of continuous light reps for some such as benchpress (for endurance)
friday 5 reps 5 sets (attempting to do mondays weight so trying to make progress on the number of times I can rep my 3 rep max)
next week try to increase the weight, even if its by 0.5kg.
I do basics benchpress, zercher squats, deadlifts, barbell rows, overhead press, pullups, dips, fatman pullups, kettlebell swings, pullovers, a variation of dumbell flies, and some thing I call judo throws (which is lying down and pulling a weight from behind to in front of you on one side at a time like youre throwing someone..)
On the days in between I do circuit training for martial arts.. burpees, crunches, mountain climbers all of that stuff.
I dont know what people think of my routine, any advice would be appreciated, but it seems to be working for me0 -
I started the m&s full body dumbbell workout (I looked at it after reading this post) today I am total beginner and now I am aching (I done a run yesterday so the combination of the both is what's made it worse I think) it didn't take too long so I am hoping I can stick to it when I return to work.
Tomorrow is rest day, any advice or tips when it comes to doing the workout or when it comes to food?
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chezzabelle82 wrote: »I started the m&s full body dumbbell workout (I looked at it after reading this post) today I am total beginner and now I am aching (I done a run yesterday so the combination of the both is what's made it worse I think) it didn't take too long so I am hoping I can stick to it when I return to work.
Tomorrow is rest day, any advice or tips when it comes to doing the workout or when it comes to food?
Really work on form. It should be a time to get introduced to the big compound moves and should somewhat set you up for the next step.
Food wise, aim for whole foods and adequate protein. If you get DOMS food high in potassium and magnesium should help.1 -
chezzabelle82 wrote: »I started the m&s full body dumbbell workout (I looked at it after reading this post) today I am total beginner and now I am aching (I done a run yesterday so the combination of the both is what's made it worse I think) it didn't take too long so I am hoping I can stick to it when I return to work.
Tomorrow is rest day, any advice or tips when it comes to doing the workout or when it comes to food?
Really work on form. It should be a time to get introduced to the big compound moves and should somewhat set you up for the next step.
Food wise, aim for whole foods and adequate protein. If you get DOMS food high in potassium and magnesium should help.
Thank you for replying, I was really trying to make sure I didn't round my back or anything today, the kids thought it was funny mummy lifting the weights lol
Will look out for foods high in potassium and magnesium hopefully it will help
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@psulemon I don't know if this has been shared here yet (didn't want to read through 7 pages) but a great resource to add to your bodyweight section is Darebee.com. Tons of different programs and workouts and a great support community and all content is 100% free which is nice.0
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Anyone have any thoughts on trying strong lifts with 3 sets of 10 instead of 5 sets of 5? What might the outcome of that be?0
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Anyone have any thoughts on trying strong lifts with 3 sets of 10 instead of 5 sets of 5? What might the outcome of that be?
You would basically be running a beginner hypertrophy program rather than a beginner strength program...you won't make the same kind of strength gains...you will be recruiting more slow twitch muscles whereas a strength program is going to recruit and train fast twitch muscles...you also won't get the same kind of CNS adaptation.
You would be working in a body builders rep range vs a power lifter/olympic lifter rep range.1 -
Thanks for the reply. It was very helpful.cwolfman13 wrote: »Anyone have any thoughts on trying strong lifts with 3 sets of 10 instead of 5 sets of 5? What might the outcome of that be?
You would basically be running a beginner hypertrophy program rather than a beginner strength program...you won't make the same kind of strength gains...you will be recruiting more slow twitch muscles whereas a strength program is going to recruit and train fast twitch muscles...you also won't get the same kind of CNS adaptation.
You would be working in a body builders rep range vs a power lifter/olympic lifter rep range.
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These routines are categorized by level, but how do you know if are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced?0
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These routines are categorized by level, but how do you know if are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced?
I would recommend reading the complete guide to training that is linked at the bottom of the OP. Overall, the level you chose will be largely dependent on your training experience, whether or not you have followed a structured program before, what your goals are and what you are looking to get out of a program.
For example, if you haven't really followed a structured program before and you would like to get strong while cutting, it may be beneficial to start with a beginner program that focuses on the big four (OHP, Chest Press, DL, Squat). This might even apply to someone who has lifted in the passed as well. The main difference between a beginner and an intermediate lifter, is the time spend on a beginner program. For a real beginner, it could be 6 to 12 months (maybe more if volume keeps on increasing) while an intermediate lifter might only follow it for a few months to get strength back to previous levels.
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My trainer closed his studio so I will be working at home with dumbbells and a 5 ft bar (which I've used only a few times). (I go the Y to swim but it's far enough away I cannot go every day to swim and do weights.) I have looked at a few routines and feel frustrated with the rigid rules. One program says you HAVE to do pull ups or lat pull downs. I don't have the equipment to do that and am nowhere close to doing a pull up anyway. Another program says you HAVE to use barbell, no dumbbells allowed. Another program says you HAVE to do exercises in a certain order switching back and forth between machines and free weights. Another one seems to focus on body appearance as the primary goa, like a good butt or whatever. Another says you HAVE to progress by 5 lb every week, even on something like OHP which is not gonna happen for me. So if I can't find a program that fits and all the programs (and people here) say DO NOT vary from the established program AT ALL, it leaves you hanging. I am very confused. My trainer always varied what we did from week to week. I wrote down the last several workouts I had with my trainer and feel maybe I'd be better off just doing those and making my own variations based on that?0
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5x5 says to increase by 5 lbs, but u don't have to. I increase by doing an extra rep or set or until able to progress to the next weight. Nothing is set in stone. There is wiggle room within any program. Just ask where substitutions can be made.3
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@lorrpb so sorry your studio is closing and you are losing your trainer. You seem to have done so well there. Any chance he/she could do on line or from home with you?
As for programmes- I have never been lucky enough to have a trainer so have followed a couple of on line programmes.
I did HasFit which is a very basic beginners- I was as week as a kitten, and upped the weights as I progressed. Never went heavy though.
I also did the Nerdfitness at home. It is bodyweight, and I had to adjust just about every move until I could do them as per the programme. Never did the jumping jacks; decided I liked my knees too much, so did weighted step ups instead.
Once I got those under my belt I felt confidentand strong enough to explore the world of heavy lifting.
I decided the 5x5 style programmes weren't for me. I was training on my own and wasn't comfortable with rapid weight increases.
I did decide the AllPro programme, with a rep increase, 8-12, before a weight increase would probably suit me better.
Off to the gym to test my 1 rep max- ahem, only a 45lbs bar- way too heavy for me, so I sat and worked out how to do the moves with dumb bells and went from there. I also worked out which machines I could use. I had 1RM for both and worked the programme between both. The machines allowed me to move more weight, the dumb bells were good for engaging the abs and smaller stability muscles.
I worked for over 6 months like that until the gym ( rec centre) brought in a lighter bar, at my request, and I could work the programme as written. (Still getting us to it)
Long story short, you have the experience of working with your trainer so you know what a balanced programme is.
You also know your strengths and weaknesses. Those that can be improved on and those you have to work around to avoid further injury.
So find a programme that fits you in the main, and substitute similar muscle engagement moves to suit the equipment you have available. Run it past your ex trainer, or post here, if you want it critiqued.
Do use the routines you have from your trainer- make sure as you progress they are balanced.
I know not a purists view, I do what works for me.
Cheers, h.7 -
Bump1
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Bump!0
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I have been 2 years in lifting and not new to compounds lifts at all but I was trying to look for strength and power training programme rather than bodybuilding hypertrophy one, can anyone maybe help?1
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TylerShewbatski wrote: »I have been 2 years in lifting and not new to compounds lifts at all but I was trying to look for strength and power training programme rather than bodybuilding hypertrophy one, can anyone maybe help?
What program where you following for those two years? How many days do you typically lift?
In a general sense, I would first recommend reading the strength training guide to determine which category you will fall in, but I suspect a good intermediate program will be ideal. I would probably recommend looking at Wendler 5-3-1. It's a fairly solid program which focuses on the 4 big lifts (chest press, OHP, DL, Squat) with some accessory lifts (these are higher reps, but designed that way). The primary lifts are in the lower rep range with the except of of the max set. There is PH3 but before you do a program like that, Layne Norton recommends having a wilks score of 350 or higher.0 -
TylerShewbatski wrote: »I have been 2 years in lifting and not new to compounds lifts at all but I was trying to look for strength and power training programme rather than bodybuilding hypertrophy one, can anyone maybe help?
What program where you following for those two years? How many days do you typically lift?
In a general sense, I would first recommend reading the strength training guide to determine which category you will fall in, but I suspect a good intermediate program will be ideal. I would probably recommend looking at Wendler 5-3-1. It's a fairly solid program which focuses on the 4 big lifts (chest press, OHP, DL, Squat) with some accessory lifts (these are higher reps, but designed that way). The primary lifts are in the lower rep range with the except of of the max set. There is PH3 but before you do a program like that, Layne Norton recommends having a wilks score of 350 or higher.
Hi,
I ran a individual split for first 5 months than been running p/p/l ever since and it depends on week on how many days i lift. It varies from 5-6, push/pull/legs/rest/repeat and do you mean 350 score as in 350 pounds on every lift?0 -
TylerShewbatski wrote: »TylerShewbatski wrote: »I have been 2 years in lifting and not new to compounds lifts at all but I was trying to look for strength and power training programme rather than bodybuilding hypertrophy one, can anyone maybe help?
What program where you following for those two years? How many days do you typically lift?
In a general sense, I would first recommend reading the strength training guide to determine which category you will fall in, but I suspect a good intermediate program will be ideal. I would probably recommend looking at Wendler 5-3-1. It's a fairly solid program which focuses on the 4 big lifts (chest press, OHP, DL, Squat) with some accessory lifts (these are higher reps, but designed that way). The primary lifts are in the lower rep range with the except of of the max set. There is PH3 but before you do a program like that, Layne Norton recommends having a wilks score of 350 or higher.
Hi,
I ran a individual split for first 5 months than been running p/p/l ever since and it depends on week on how many days i lift. It varies from 5-6, push/pull/legs/rest/repeat and do you mean 350 score as in 350 pounds on every lift?
Look at Wilks score calculator. Or you can go into the PH3 program --> program details, it has a calculator.0
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