JDiddly's picture
JDiddly
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Looking for Guidance

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Sorry for the textbook of shit I just posted yikes. I even cut down so many specifics and will be happy to give more info/pics if requested etc.
Hello! New to the forum, first post but been lurking for a while. I have started back lifting after multiple up and down fitness cycles in my life where I would get in decent shape then life would smash me in the face again (injuries from sports and finances). I am finally, after about two months of fully getting back in to routine, lifting 6 of every 8 on a PPL/OFF/PPL/OFF/ then repeat routine. I wanted some genuine insight into my lifts and some advice on what to work on if I'm on track to getting to my peak potential. I am currently interested in a career in fitness as it's something I'm insanely passionate about, would even consider competition as a natty eventually as well as hopping on the sauce down the road as my test dips and my strength plateaus. Nothing crazy just test mainly with some random accessories over the years I'm sure. I am extremely self educated (I know that can be a bad thing if it's the wrong information) but I've used, what I consider, good/educated sources like moreplatesmoredates and jeff nippard etc and I'm here to learn because you guys are more enlightened than me and I would love to learn. Enough with the bullshit here's my schedule for the most part. There are variances in certain lifts I'll list that I change per week.
BTW currently lifting in a home gym I made with ALL standard bars/weights during covid, moving to a real gym again in a couple weeks!

Push A: Chest Focused
Warmup- Stretch with set of pushups/dips/pullups
Bench- Warmups set light x10, then 1x8-12 2x4-6 1x8-12 (Little variance here weekly might max sometimes)
DB Press- 3x8-12 OR 4x6 (Depends on how hard I went on bench and I'm just now adding incline)
Weighted Dips- 1x8-10 2x4-6 1x8-10 (wanting to load heavy on these coming up for my decline position work)
1h Shoulder press- 3x8-12 (One arm at a time normally)
Tricep Kickbacks- 3x8-12
Lateral Raises- 3x8-12

Pull A: Back Focused (No RDL)
Warmup- Stretch with a set of dips and a 30 second or so hang from the bar
Pullups- 3x8-10 (just adding weight to these and working on my wide grip as well)
Bent Over Rows- 3x8-12 or 4x4-6 (I use a light warmup set to 8-10 with the 4x4-6 as my form is in question on these but I think it's all mental as videos say otherwise)
2h Shrugs- 3x8-12 (sometimes 1x8-12 2x4-6 1x8-12 if I went light on rows)
Vertical Rows- 3x8-12
Ez Bar Curls- 3x8-12
Hammer Curls- 3x8-12

Legs A: Quad/Glute Focused (Dealing with hip injury thing atm so only front squatting until it lessens or is looked at)
Warmup- Stretching with some bodyweight squats in a few stances/widths (scared for my hip)
Front Squat Barbell Loaded- 3x8-12 (Will throw on more weight to see for a couple reps here and there as well as will try a set of comfortable weight on my back instead of front once a week just to see how it feels)
RDL- 3x8-12 (looking for perfect form and control on these)
DB Lunges- 3x8-12 (on each leg one at a time)
Quad Extensions- 3x8-12
Hamstring/Calf Curls- 3x8-12 (pain in calves at the top of my lift at the 7-10 mark, is the weight too high for my calves? Almost a cramp it seems and happens regularly. The weight feels fine but it does tense up pretty uncomfortably or do I have my legs positioned to far up/down?)
Barbell Calf Raises- 3x8-12 (50/50 if I do these or not each week)

Off Days: Abs/Grip Strength
Off days I'll do some abs with bicycle crunches, leg lifts, leg raises in multiple positions hanging and in dip position and some weighted situps/crunches.
I'll also do grip strength with crushers and a few other exercises on these days.

Push B: Shoulders/Triceps
Warmup- Stretch, set of pushups, dips, and chins
Strict OHP- 1x8-10 2x4-6 1x8-12
Close Bench- 3x8-10
Weighted Dips- 3x8-10
Arnolds- 3x8-12
1h Tricep Ext- 3x8-12
Lateral Raises- 3x8-12 (variations like front delt targeted or egyptian)

Pull B: Biceps/Forearms
Warmup- Stretch and a set of pushups, dips, and chins
Ez Bar Curls- 1x8-10 2x4-6 1x8-10 (Sometimes preachers but still heavy weight in the 8 rep 8rpe+ range and will use assistance for the last 10-20% of the rep from my wife if I feel I need it. I try to wreck my biceps here)
Weighted Chins- 4x6
1h Rows- 3x8-12
1h Shrugs- 3x8-12
Concentration Curls- 3x8-10
Reverse Curls 1h or Ez Bar- 3x8-12

Legs B: Lower Back/Glutes
Warmup- Stretch with bodyweight squats etc.
DB Front Squat- 3x8-12 (I load this pretty heavy where the 8 range can be hard sometimes. I always feel good so I've continued to do so)
RDL- Warmup sets of 4 from 115 to my working sets 4-5x4-6
Weighted Lunges- 3x10 (Slightly lighter than my leg A day)
Quad Ext- 3x8-12
Hamstring Curls- 3x8-12 (Calf pain/cramping even though the weight seems easy)
Calf Raises- 3x8-12 (50/50 chance I do them atm or not based on hamstring curls I just dont like BB calf raises. I am spoiled from seated and standing loaded machines..)

Off Day and Repeat
I have a few variances on some of the days where I change to incline for db press or do wrist curls instead of forearm curls or superset them etc. I am very limited atm until I'm back in the gym due to lack of equipment but based on my learning this is a pretty effective split for an intermediate lifter coming back and hitting it like a maniac to get big quick. My nutrition is on point I'd say. I am eating 2700-3000 calories a day with at least 185-200g minimum protein atm bumping up slightly to get peak muscle memory gains. I am 5'8 163 around 13% bodyfat (just now seeing 6 pack). I'm on like 85-90% natural ingredients and get more than 750g of good veggies per day. I eat fruit (apples bananas and kiwi mainly with blueberries sometimes). I am a super clean eater. I love that type of food. I eat 150-200g broccoli/cucumber/spinach/carrots raw a day. Only salmon/chicken/turkey/steak and rice/pasta with veggies. Only 10% or less of my intake is sugars aside from fruit/milk. My supplement stack is the PES Science Jeff Nippard bundle basically and I take creatine. Natty entirely.

My main goals are strength AND aesthetics and maximizing my natural potential before juice so my main questions are what should I change about my current training once I am back in an actual gym to maximize those goals? Which exercises are a must have that I don't have atm, how should I change my reps/sets to maximize them, should I be hitting my most important lifts more than I am like doing bench/ohp/heavysquats/heavy rdl more than once per 8 days? My only cardio is walking/hiking with my wife and dog every other weekend or so but nothing crazy and some sprints every week when I can. I will be training fighting again 3x a week soon but will accommodate with calorie surplus on said days. Also my diet info is extremely simple (more than happy to give a full breakdown im a super simple clean eater. wife calls me a Neanderthal because a hunk of meat is all I need with some veggies to be happy 5 times a day) but based on my height and weight do those macros sound good for peak results? I'm looking to make a career out of fitness and just started my ACE/NASM certs I am doing ACE for personal training and NASM for nutrition. I am willing to do whatever is needed to make this happen. I am extremely determined and disciplined. I want to hop on the sauce but will wait until it seems like the correct time, I'm still young and my test levels aren't awful, but not amazing either for a 25 year old man. I also have another year or two of lifting before I am "pretty close" to my peak. So I'd say it's possible I'd wait until after 30 to start ANY test or anything at all.

Current 1Rep Max on some excercises: I haven't maxed on a lot I do atm in a few weeks.
Bench- 215-225 (Haven't tried in weeks but I do 205 for sets of 4-5 now)
OHP- 140
RDL- 315
Curl- 120
Weighted Dip- 60lbs
Squat- Over 250 but my hip/flexor has been messed up for a month or so now so I'm going lighter and front squatting almost only.
I have been told I put on strength and muscle quickly before and have always had a decent physique compared to the average guy up until my last surgery. Any advice at all would be more than greatly appreciated. I respect most of you very heavily so tell me everything wrong and right and how to be better. I just want to learn while correcting any errors. I will be making a youtube channel soon posting my lifts to document and form check. I'll update on that by next week hopefully for everything. Sorry for the text wall just trying to get some information based on my current work. I am putting everything into this so any supplements/lift info etc to help would be heavily appreciated. Thanks again!

press1's picture

Continuing on from your other post ......

Just put the youtube channel on hold for a moment mate, no need for that yet. Just concentrate on getting those lifts up and down and don't hang bait out for the form police.

I would personally drop the RDL's and put in normal deadlifts with a conventional stance for your hip issues rather than sumo, get that 225lb bench up to a good 8 to 10 reps - this is easily achievable for someone of your weight. I know because I was banging out 17 reps with 225 when I was natty 145lb's. Put a medium arch into it, feet tucked back below your butt & pull down and make sure to touch the chest. Don't bother with pausing or any of that. Barbell rows double overhand grip or use straps if needs be and focus on getting those as heavy as possible without it turning into a lower back exercise. If you want to increase your bench drop the OHP as these will only make your shoulders even more sore than they already are and kill your speed in the ascent in the bench. Try and bench twice a week and DL once along with squatting once.

Shit I've just seen you only train each exercise once every eight days!! This is not enough frequency to gain some proper strength. After 5 days of not doing an exercise you begin to lose strength mate - The bar groove, CNS mapping and muscle firing and power all start to diminish. Once every 4 days I find is the ideal freq.

In a promo × 1
Bearded_muscle's picture

10 words or less.

Kidding.

Just watch the arms on the PPL. They tend to suffer. I like switching to a bro split with an arm day every 1-2 years for at least 6 months to offset that lack of stimulus.