Best strength training routine? Thoughts?

Sharky

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Feb 25, 2006
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What I'm doing now is working great except for the fact that it is cutting into things I want to do. Surfing, MA, etc etc. I'm spending way too much time in my garage by myself and when I'm done I'm not good for much. Mostly kettlebells and up to 60 pound dumbbells. Higher reps and little to no rest between sets.
 

Havoc

Phil Edwards status
May 23, 2016
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also if u r doing early intermediate training, sched the intensity lift ahead of the volume ones. i.e. swap postion of dl and squat depending on the day.

read practical programming by rippetoe
 

VonMeister

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What I'm doing now is working great except for the fact that it is cutting into things I want to do. Surfing, MA, etc etc. I'm spending way too much time in my garage by myself and when I'm done I'm not good for much. Mostly kettlebells and up to 60 pound dumbbells. Higher reps and little to no rest between sets.
I learned the hard way that training should never interfere with life. If you are smoked afterwards or too fatigued or beat up the next day to surf you should dial it back a bit. I've made some of my biggest strength gains taking things relatively easy compared to how I used to train. Right now I'm in the doldrums. Nothing feels productive gains are few and far in between but I know accepting this now and just taking what I get on every training day, I'll hit a period where everything clicks. If I were to go make a bunch of changes chances are I would get stuck in unproductive cycle after unproductive cycle. Best bet, take what's there and enjoy the gains when your body is ready for them.
 

grapedrink

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I learned the hard way that training should never interfere with life. If you are smoked afterwards or too fatigued or beat up the next day to surf you should dial it back a bit. I've made some of my biggest strength gains taking things relatively easy compared to how I used to train. Right now I'm in the doldrums. Nothing feels productive gains are few and far in between but I know accepting this now and just taking what I get on every training day, I'll hit a period where everything clicks. If I were to go make a bunch of changes chances are I would get stuck in unproductive cycle after unproductive cycle. Best bet, take what's there and enjoy the gains when your body is ready for them.
Most of the better fitness types I follow say that it's best to rack it with 1-2 left in the tank, and to finish your workout feeling like you could do a bit more. The idea that you should be beat up and sore for several days is holdover over from the 80s/90s.
 
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GromsDad

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For a person who wasn't looking to drive totals and just wanted to improve their health and physical performance I would start with the following for a 2-4 weeks and see how the trainee felt and haw progress was going. This is a time to focus on form and feeling...learning what RPE feels like. While RPE is an advanced concept I use it with beginners because its a valuable tool that they need to learn at some point, it keeps them involved in their training program, and due to the drastic increases in beginning trainees from session to session due to familiarity and form improvements that drive efficiency it's sill to pre-program a weight. it allows the trainee to meet their potential where it stands on that day. I use rep ranges that will limit intensity in order to manage fatigue and risk of overshooting RPE...overshooting RPE on the tenth rep of a ten rep set is much less intense than overshooting on the fifth of a five rep set.

Day 1

Squat 1 set 5 reps @ RPE 6, 1x5 @ RPE 7, 1x5 @ RPE 8 (4-5 increasing warm up sets all at 5 reps. Weight increase between last warm up set and first working set 5-10%. Difference in weight between working sets should generally not exceed 10% but in the beginning this is fungible.
OHP 1 set 8 reps @ RPE 6, 1x8 @ RPE 7, 1x8 @ RPE 8 (same rule as squat)
Deadlift 1 set 5 reps @ RPE 6, 1x5 @ RPE 7, 1x5 @ RPE 8 (same rule as squat)

Day 2
Squat 1 set 10 reps @ RPE 6, 1x10 @ RPE 7, 1x10 @ RPE 8
Bench 1 set 8 reps @ RPE 6, 1x8 @ RPE 7, 1x8 @ RPE 8
Deadlift 1 set 8 reps @ RPE 6, 1x8 @ RPE 7, 1x8 @ RPE 8

During the week get minimum 60 minutes less than to slightly annoying aerobic activity..walks, surfing, hitting a heavy bag...whatever.

We'll make an adjustment around week 4-6 based on how your training went and your new goals as I guarantee after 4 weeks they will change. At the 3-4 week mark we would normally begin adding things like pull ups, curls tricep extension etc. No hard and fast rule, just some work.
You mention day 1 and day 2. What about the rest of the week? Are you sayin only do the weights 2 days a week and just do aerobic exercise the whole rest of the week? I've been going to the gym 3 to 5 days a week for an hour each session. Had to look up what RPE meant. Having said that I would say my current workouts are more sets than you recommend but staying in the 4 to 9 range and never going to 10. I generally focus on lower body one day and upper body the next and do some abs and core every session. We are heading into winter here so for the next 4 months the vast majority of the exercise I get will be at the gym.

In December I'll possibly switch it up and add swimming. I had ditched the gym with a pool early on in Covid due to their stupid Covid rules and haven't been back there since. So long as our asshole governor doesn't do anything stupid after election day I'll go back to that other gym rather than the rogue middle finger to covid gym I've been at the past year and a half. :)
 

VonMeister

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You mention day 1 and day 2. What about the rest of the week? Are you sayin only do the weights 2 days a week and just do aerobic exercise the whole rest of the week? I've been going to the gym 3 to 5 days a week for an hour each session. Had to look up what RPE meant. Having said that I would say my current workouts are more sets than you recommend but staying in the 4 to 9 range and never going to 10. I generally focus on lower body one day and upper body the next and do some abs and core every session. We are heading into winter here so for the next 4 months the vast majority of the exercise I get will be at the gym.

In December I'll possibly switch it up and add swimming. I had ditched the gym with a pool early on in Covid due to their stupid Covid rules and haven't been back there since. So long as our asshole governor doesn't do anything stupid after election day I'll go back to that other gym rather than the rogue middle finger to covid gym I've been at the past year and a half. :)
Random exercises = Random results.

I didn't mention two days....I answered a question for a person who only had two days to train. Other than that just meet the AMA recommended minimum daily activity guidelines....of course exceeding these guidelines is probably a good idea.
 

PRCD

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Random exercises = Random results.

I didn't mention two days....I answered a question for a person who only had two days to train. Other than that just meet the AMA recommended minimum daily activity guidelines....of course exceeding these guidelines is probably a good idea.
Hey man, I'm speaking for most of us when I say I've learned a ton from your poasts regardless of the people who reject your advice.

I might switch to a 2-day template at some point.
 

grapedrink

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Hey man, I'm speaking for most of us when I say I've learned a ton from your poasts regardless of the people who reject your advice.

I might switch to a 2-day template at some point.
VM got me to start doing squats and deads regularly. I only did them for sporadic periods and gave up because the form never felt right and I was getting bad advice from others.

When I checked out Rippetoe/Starting Strength and his form videos, it finally clicked for me :beer:
Since then I cannot fathom doing a workout that is not full body.
 
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johnson7

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You guys should definitely check out some of Jim Wendler's stuff too. I think someone on here mentioned it, Rippetoe reminds me a lot of Greg Griffin, anyway if your interested in barbell training it's a great resource.
 
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VonMeister

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You guys should definitely check out some of Jim Wendler's stuff too. I think someone on here mentioned it, Rippetoe reminds me a lot of Greg Griffin, anyway if your interested in barbell training it's a great resource.
I don't know that Wendlers programming ever worked for anyone except Wendler. It's inappropriate for and would require extremely drastic changes to fit a novice. Intermediate and advanced lifters begin and have their own unique programming requirements to optimize adaptation so it doesn't fit their either. I don't want to say it's the worst program ever written but as a template....it's the worst program ever written. I think if he published a shell with some variables it could be an option but that wouldn't have sold a bunch of e-books.
 
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casa_mugrienta

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VM got me to start doing squats and deads regularly. I only did them for sporadic periods and gave up because the form never felt right and I was getting bad advice from others.

When I checked out Rippetoe/Starting Strength and his form videos, it finally clicked for me :beer:
Since then I cannot fathom doing a workout that is not full body.
I just checked out the Starting Strength squat video and WTF?

Whatever is going on in his lower back/pelvis at the bottom of the squat cannot be good for his discs.

 
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averagejoe

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May 28, 2008
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I don't know that Wendlers programming ever worked for anyone except Wendler. It's inappropriate for and would require extremely drastic changes to fit a novice. Intermediate and advanced lifters begin and have their own unique programming requirements to optimize adaptation so it doesn't fit their either. I don't want to say it's the worst program ever written but as a template....it's the worst program ever written. I think if he published a shell with some variables it could be an option but that wouldn't have sold a bunch of e-books.

Barbell Medicine has a lot of good info too. Their Beginner Template has basically the same lifts as starting strength but it has different rep ranges on different days.

I think VM referenced the AMA exercise recommendations; not familiar with those but if you look up the CDC guidelines, they’re a big eye opener. They recommend way more exercise than most people are getting. If everyone followed the guidelines there would be way less obesity and way fewer health problems.
 

casa_mugrienta

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Why exactly?
4:19 - watch the vicinity of the L5 at the bottom of the squat...not sure if it's anatomical or technique related but that exact movement his pelvis is doing at the very end of the squat before coming up is textbook for how to cause disc injury wear and tear (no pun intended) in the workplace...so imagine the disc pressure when it's loaded.

This is a simple matter of bone, disc, and flexion - muscle isn't gonna help. Like putting any joint in a really bad position.

I would guess it's anatomical and makes sense some people could safely squat deeper than others based on this...this guy probably shouldn't be going that deep.
 
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