Hello, I've been going to the gym for about 2 years and I've always been trying to both build muscle and gain strength. I've noticed that my other lifts like Squats and Bench have increased significantly from when I started and are still steadily increasing. However, it seems that my Lat pulldowns and number of pull ups I can do aren't increasing as rapidly. Recently, I've found that my bench goes up by about 5 pounds every two weeks but my Lat pulldowns seem to have stagnated.

I believe that I have been training with a good number of reps (3-7), regularly reaching failure and even sometimes going beyond failure by squeezing in some partial reps during my Lat pulldowns and pull ups. However, unlike my other lifts, which I believe I train with equal intensity in, my Lat pulldown weight and my max number of reps on pull ups haven't really changed. Is there a reason for this? Should I train even harder? Should I include more pull days into my workouts?

I also do feel my back muscles being engaged during my exercises and my back and biceps have developed more. It's just that I feel like my strength isn't increasing by much.

This is more for my general knowledge, I have found a routine that I like that works within my work/life schedule. And I’m really just curious about this since I’ve seen similar routines around here and there.

So the idea of this would be one of two possibilities, making a 5 day routine.

First would be Deadlift and back squat one day, barbell press of some kind another, and circuit training between the two days.

Second would be deadlift one day, back squat another day, and a barbell press another, with the circuit training done in between.

What would be the effect? What would be the pros? What would be the cons?

What do you think about this program I made? I like how there is a different primary compound each day that prioritizes different movements with secondaries that are less fatiguing versions of primary compounds from the other PPL day. I also think the accessory work is important for a balanced physique

Push 1

•	Bench Press: 3-4 sets x 4-8 reps
•	Incline Bench Press: 3-4 sets x 6-12 reps
•	Dips/Flyes: 3-4 sets (AMRAP)
•	Overhead Tricep Extension (OHTE): 4x8-12
•	Tricep Pushdowns: 4x8-12
•	Lateral Raises: 4-6x8-15
•	Wrist Curls: 4x10-20
•	Cardio: 30 minutes

Pull 1

•	Barbell Rows: 4x5-10
•	Lat Pulldowns: 4x8-12
•	Chest-Supported Rows (CS Rows): 4x8-12
•	Pullovers: 3x8-12
•	Dumbbell Curls: 4x8-12
•	Barbell Curls: 4x8-12
•	Seated Calf Extensions (CE): 4x10-20
•	Leg Raises: 4xAMRAP

Legs 1

•	Squats: 3-4 sets x 4-8 reps
•	Back Extensions: 3x8-12
•	Leg Extensions: 4x8-12
•	Leg Curls: 4x8-12
•	Wrist Curls: 4x10-20
•	Cardio: 30 minutes

Push 2

•	Military Press: 3-4 sets x 4-8 reps
•	Bench Press: 3-4 sets x 6-12 reps
•	Dips/Flyes: 3xAMRAP
•	Overhead Tricep Extension (OHTE): 4x8-12
•	Tricep Pushdowns: 4x8-12
•	Lateral Raises: 4-6x8-15
•	Standing Calf Extensions (CE): 4x10-20
•	Cable Crunches: 4x10-20

Pull 2

•	Pullups: 4x5-10
•	Chest-Supported Rows (CS Rows): 4x8-12
•	Lat Pulldowns: 4x8-12
•	Face Pulls: 4x10-20
•	Dumbbell Curls: 4x8-12
•	Spider Curls: 4x8-12
•	Wrist Curls: 4x10-20
•	Cardio: 30 minutes

Legs 2

•	Deadlifts: 3-4 sets x 4-8 reps
•	Squats: 3x8-12 reps
•	Leg Curls: 4x8-12
•	Leg Extensions: 4x8-12
•	Seated Calf Extensions (CE): 4x10-20
•	Leg Raises: 4xAMRAP

Excluding cardio I’m usually in the gym for 90 minutes. I rest once every 2 PPL rotations, sometimes once a rotation. Is there a way I could make this a 5 day upper lower without sacrificing the benefits of my program. If you comment to refer to the wiki, I originally used the PPL over a year ago. I particularly did not like the squat, rdl, leg press leg day

At this point I'm only doing 3 sets for first two lifts and 2 sets for all other lifts (excluding warmup), example:

• Flat Bench 3 sets

• Pullup 3 sets

• Row 2 sets

• OHP 2 sets

• Side delt raise 2 sets

• Rear delt flye 2 sets

• Bicep curl 2 sets

• Rope pushdown 2 sets

I had to start doing 72h rest because my elbow wasn't recovering from a regular Upper/Lower/Rest/Upper/Lower

My split right now is Upper/Light Cardio/Lower/Light Cardio -repeat-

Obviously I don't need medical advice, just looking for any tips or thoughts based on what I said

So as of right now, I am struggling to find good exercises to build my lower body strength to pull more weight on conventional deadlift. I’ve also been having the same problem with my squats too, so what are some exercises that could add a lot to my squat? I need tips.

Hello lads,

I have been stuck at a 315 since February (about 8 months now) and I am pissed lol. I really want to achieve 405 and I have the genetics for it, but my programming knowledge is very bad.

I was thinking:

Day 1:

- 8x1 (95%)

- 10x10 (German Volume Method)

- Shoulders

- Triceps

- Back

- Biceps

- Rear Delts

Day 2: Repeat

(Obviously sleeping 8-9 hours and being on point with nutrition as well)

Any ideas or additional insight would be highly appreciated, as well as any other programs you have previously completed in the past that helped you achieve a 400+ bench.

---

Note: I am 5'8" & 191 lbs.

Thank you.

Greetings!
Although I started working out with Starting Strength, follower by a modified version of it with added accessories (I can't remember if it was Blaha's or Greyskull LP, etc), I decided to compete in bodybuilding...

It became obvious which muscle groups were underdeveloped when I started cutting for my first competition, so I moved on to compound lift routines. I did well in drug-tested competitions and placed either 2nd or 1st.

Recently, bodybuilding routines are starting to feel "boring" and I wanted to see how strong could I get, but didn't want to compromise on becoming a powerlifter, since unlike bodybuilding, I don't intend to compete on powerlifting.
This lead me to the next best thing, powerbuilding!

I don't think I should go back to starting strength or another LP routine since I've already been working out for 3.5 years. There's no more linear progression at this point.
I have heard about 5/3/1 and GZCLP (but unsure if the linear progression is as aggressive as in SS),
but I actually haven't read in detail what they are.

Any suggestion? I downloaded Keylifts' app so it can calculate the percentages fro 5/3/1 on the spot instead of me actually doing them on a calculator or Excel. Is this a good routine for powerbuilding, or how do I start?

I know it is for the average sized person, but I started at 270 lbs, cut down to 250 by the time I hit 3 plates. I know being in a deficit makes it harder to gain strength, but I don't think it mattered too much since I had so much fat.

I'm just curious if my bench after almost 6 months is actually good or just typical for someone 6'2 250.

I'm also curious what you guys were able to bench in 6 months and what you can now. I'm pretty confident I can get a 4 plate bench, but I wonder how likely 450+ is.

Pretty much all the big 4+ plate benchers at my gym who are around my size, started young for football, and a lot of them are enhanced. So I don't really know how my progression compares. Like one guy who's pushing 500+ now, it took him 4 years to bench 315 but he started training at 12.

Powerbuilding while cutting Hey so just a quick question I have been running russwoles vol 6 for a while now and I have noticed great strength gains the only problem is I am going to try and cut from 230 soon down to 210 to lose some fat and my question is should I keep running the same program while cutting or change programs since it will be harder to hit a new 1RM on week 6 while cutting

Hello everyone I have been lifting for about 2 years (some massive cuts in that space so a lot of "newbie gains" were on the time) and have been running GZCLP since the beginning of august and am a little stuck on how to proceed. Im M24, 5'9'' 187-189lbs.

My currents T1 lifts are:

BP: 215lbs x3

SQ: 265lbs x3

DL 385lbs x3

OHP: 145lbs x3

While my T2s and T3s are progressing fine, I am noticing that it takes me 2 weeks to progress on my T1s now. am running the blacknoir 3 (sets) of 5 version of GZCLP since I have prior history with the OG layout in the past and what is happening is that I will approach a new weight, fail that week say on my 3 sets the first week will go 5/3/2 in terms of reps. Second week re-approaching that weight I will get all reps including an AMRAP (ex 5/5/AMRAP - 8). Two weeks ago I moved to the 4x3+ and progressed one week and then am failing again now.

My question is while I am starting to feel fatigued in my workouts I don't feel I have dumped all in the tank with my workouts where I cant progress. Does this sound like symptoms of someone who just needs to eat more? I also walk a minimum of 10K steps daily and am eating 2900 calories which I was thinking of bumping to 3100 and seeing what happens? My main goal is to hit 1/2/3/4 for minimum 3 reps by the end of the year.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance

https://preview.redd.it/22xvzaccnqxd1.png?width=869&format=png&auto=webp&s=eacad9d91cd3f26469b57f4bb3bbb9c897f42258

Here is my program. I know it is not 100% pureblood GZCL but I am used to a lot of volume running JnT, 5/3/1 BBB and nsuns for long periods of time in the past.

I'll keep this as concise as I can.

• Began BB benching for strength in April 2024 after just under 2 years of hypertrophy training (DB flat and incline and flys for chest)

• I hit 105kg in May 2024, trained "effectively" and ate well for around 5 months and can now do only 107.5kg with good form.

• I've tried Greg Nuckol's 2x a week beginner bench: made 2.5kg progress after 1.5 months.

• I then tried Greg Nuckol's 2x a week intermediate bench: made 0kg progress after a month.

I've asked powerlifters around my gym many times for advice, followed their advice, and only underperformed week by week (lifts to 7-9 RPE only got harder and sets that were supposed to be 9 RPE felt like 11 out of 10 RPE)

• I eat well I think (3,500kcals: 200p / 500c / 90f) - not gaining weight very fast though as I'm nearly 100% sure I have hyperthyroidism
• I hydrate myself well (4L water a day)
• I train effectively (avoiding failure on bigger lifts to prevent fatigue, progressively increasing intensity throughout each block, etc.)
• I supplement well (creatine, preworkout, the main vitamins etc.)
• I always get around 300g carbs in before every lift and have intraworkout carbs + electrolytes
• I warm up well, avoiding fatigue but priming centrally and peripherally
• I do accessory lifts such as flyes or dips
• I don't have lagging muscle groups such as back or front delts
• I have one heavy session and one light technique session per week in which I record my bench, which looks textbook

Anyone have any idea what's going on? I think it could be the fact I'm gaining weight very slowly and I have terrible mental preparation: the cycle of underperforming every single heavy session without fail puts me in a rut and I cannot break out of feeling defeated before I even attempt the lift, even if I'm feeling good that day.

Any advice appreciated. TIA

Hello!

My name is Kristi Nielson and I'm a mental health research student at Lancaster University. I'm posting here to ask the community moderators if I could share information about a study I'm conducting on men's experiences of orthorexia? Please feel free to DM me with any questions or comments!

Thanks,

Kristi

Hi so I’m looking for advice on whether to stop squatting for a while while I build my strength and mobility. Basically, I’m F 24, and started going to the gym intensely 3 years ago. I’ve made a decent amount of progress with all my lifts and am feeling quite strong and looking muscular. That being said, I never trained anything at all until the age of 21, even as a child, so to start with my mobility was terrible. Paired with the fact that for the first 2 years in the gym I barely did any proper mobility work, it still kind of is. This is especially the case for my hips and hamstrings which are sooo tight - even though I do it often, front folds are still so difficult and burn my hamstrings a lot. Same with core; it was weak and I’ve always had bad posture, and even though I’ve been working it consistently for the past year, it’s not the strongest. I am also tall (5’10) with long legs. All that combined means my squats feeeel trash. Like terrible. I squat 40kg on my good days and have been stuck at it for months. The bottom of my squat hurts my back and feels unstable I just hate them. I’ve been persisting & working on form + core + stability in hopes it gets better, but I really can’t say that it has. Sure my form looks bettet but it feels terrible and the weight isn’t going up. My other lifts are! (my leg extensions are at 80kg, hip thrusts at 130kg, bulgarias 22kg in each etc).

I don’t know what to do anymore as they are really making me hate leg days. Should I abandon squatting for a while and focus on accessories and mobility or just persist and continue hating them? How often should I do them? What would you do?

Btw I do 3 leg days a week (ham glute quad focused) with squats on 2 of them.

Wanted to link this guy here if it helps anyone!

https://www.instagram.com/p/C33TiQTyRM6/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Not sure what brands or exactly what kind of belt I need. Not looking for anything pricey but I want quality. I’m new to lifting and have a prior hernia surgery so I think a belt is necessary.

Every time I do lying hamstring curls, I always quit early due to this part on my right leg hurting. I feel like it’s gonna tear and I get afraid, and for those saying I should do it seated, I don’t have that machine. Any solutions? I’ve never had any hamstring problems. Infact, I can deadlift/RDL just fine.

Even after reading through the instruction doc multiple times I have no idea how to work it so I can have RTF for main movements and hypertrophy for the secondary movements. Is there anyone able to share their Google Sheet?

Right now I am 180 lbs and have a max squat of 325. My goal is to squat 405 by the time I graduate high school in may, which I think is doable with the right programming. I found smolov for squats and it looks pretty good, its a lot of squatting but squat is my favorite lift so it wouldn't be too bad for me. My deadlift will also go up because of the carryover from squatting, but what about my bench and overall upper body? A lot of posts say to not combine smolov with other programs, but since smolov is only squatting how would I train bench or upper body? Thank you

So I've been lifting for the last year or 2 and been focusing more on getting stronger with the various powerbuilding programs out there.

However one thing my ego is getting passed is implementing things like belts, knee guards, and lift straps. Also see people in a lifting kit for clothing.

I'm currently at around 800 - 830 of the 1000 pound club between bench squat and deadlift as I narrow down form. Im 5'8m at 225. This is raw strength at the moment and feel like I'm still improving and using the right muscles. My core has dramatically gotten stronger the last couple months. I have not been using a belt, straps, or anything.

When have you all started implementing accessories?

[SOLVED]

At the moment, I've made a 4 day a week hypertrophy block for my powerlfiting macrocycle:

Day 1 - Squat and Bench

• Warmup - Light Cardio
• Highbar Squat - 1x12 @ 65% and 4x12 @ 70%
• Machine Hack Squat - 4x12
• Leg extesnion - 4x12
• Competition Bench - 1x12 @ 60% and 4x12 @ 65%
• Dumbell Press - 3x12
• Overhead Tricep Extension 4x12

Day 2 - Rest

Day 3 - Deadlift

• Conventional Deadlift - 1x12 @ 65% and 4x12 @ 70%
• Romanian Deadlift - 3x12
• Hamstring Curl - 3x12
• Hollow Body Pullup - 4x12
• Narrow Grip Row 4x12
• Cable Lateral Raise 3x12
• Cable Curl 4x12

Havent Included Day 5 or 7 because they are basically just repeats of Day 2 and 3 put with different varitions or grip widths of exercises.

What leads me to write this post is that ive been experiencing a lot of fatigue during my workouts, sometimes this is because the limiting factor of my main lifts become breath (Mostly in squats). However I experience next to no fatigue the next day, making me feel as if I could add and extra 2 days to my program (obviously I dont really want to do this beacuse of time constrains, and it also suggest something is off with my prgramming).

Because of this it is almost clear that a 5 day split (Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Squat, Bench. Only Deadlifting once a week) would achive something that I want. This is beacuse having a specific day for each lift would mean I might be able add one or two more exercises. However, I'm worried that only training my Deadlift accessories once a week might be a problem.

Constraints:

• I only have enough time to run a 4-5 day split
• I would prefer if I could have some what identical days in my program, instead of prioritizing certain lifts on one day (like a day when I'm focusing on deadlift, and have I little bit of bench work). But if someone could justify why this may be better and maybe how I could execute it that would be great.

Questions:

• Would it be fine if I only trained my deadlift accessories once a week if I follow a 5 day split.
• If I ran a 5 day split would it be fine if I added more excersises (if I broke down the Squat and Bench day into 2) or I I already using enough.
• Is it possible that my split is already most affective for me, and I just don't respond well to higher rep ranges and switch to 8-6.
• If anyone had any different ideas that would be much appreicated.

Thanks

This is the diet ive been eating, its about 2600 calories. 300-500 calories less than what i need for my bulking requirement. Im not sure what more to add. Need some advice :)

Breakfast:

200 ml whole milk (3-5%) 120 Calories

60 ml yogurt (2-5%) 40 Calories

2 Bananas 220 Calories

250 Grams frozen berries 180 Calories

15 ml honey 35 Calories

+

Blueberry muffin 387 Calories

982 Calories Breakfast

Lunch:

225 Grams of Minced meat (12%-15%) 400 Calories

100 Grams of dry rice 130 Calories

125 Grams of crushed tomato 110 Calories

100 Grams of white beans in tomato sauce 90 Calories

50 Grams of Onion/garlic 20 Calories

Paprika powder + Chili Powder

750 Calories Lunch

(Pasta)Dinner:

225 Grams of Minced meat (12%-15%) 400 Calories

110 Grams of Pasta 360 Calories

30 Grams of Spinach 7 Calories

50 Grams of Onion/garlic 20 Calories

250 Grams of tomato pasta 60 Calories

847 Calories Dinner

2584 Calories in total (Day)