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Good information for the most part. I will say that most studies have shown that rep range is not that important for hypertrophy. 5x5 is just as effective growth wise as 3x10. But 3x10 takes less time to get through the workout.
For most people, 6 basic movements a week will do great for strength/ hypertrophy and then just stay active (walking, tennis, dancing, hiking, gardening, martial arts) for the rest of the days that you can.
- Vertical push - Dumbbell press, military press, handstand holds, handstand pushups
- Vertical Pull- Chin ups, pull ups, machine pull downs, band pull downs
- Horizontal push- Bench press, dumbbell press, push ups, incline press
- Horizontal pull- Barbell rows, dumbbell rows, machine rows, band rows
- Hip hinge- Barbell deadlift, trap bar deadlift, dumbbell deadlifts, romanian deadlifts, good mornings
- Squat Variant- Barbell squat, dumbbell squat, split squats, step ups, bodyweight squats, leg press
Just pick the version that works best for your body and that you have the equipment to do. Get stronger by adding more resistance or more repetitions. Do them consistently enough so that you can measure your progress. Change over to another exercise in the same movement once you get bored/ start to stagnate. That's all there is to it mostly..
Thanks comrade! A few decades of strength training made me learn the hard way. Glad to share what I've learned!
Dynamic before workout. Static after workout. Always. Just don't go overboard with statics. You CAN over stretch with static stretches and cause more harm than good.
I just disagree with that comrade
I stretch before workouts because I want to get in fairly awkward positions - if I'm squatting I'll sit in a deep squat for five minutes while working on my ankle forward travel, my hips, my lower back. then I'll do a lot of back stretching cause my thoracic spine is a bit curved forward and I have issues with it.
the difference between doing that and not doing it is enormous for me.
dynamic stretches are a good warm up tool but they're not going to significantly temporarily increase my flexibility in that same way. and for many of the specific issues I have there are no applicable dynamic stretches.
I think the distrust of static stretching pre workout came from some studies which had participants do a series of deep stretches immediately before trying a max or near max effort lift. which is obviously silly, but if you don't do that then it's absolutely fine and good.
If that works for you than all the power to ya! Part of working out is figuring out what works for the individual as everyone's bodies are different. I used to static before, I just noticed over several workouts I did better lifting when I didn't static stretch before and just did more dynamics.
I do find it funny you mention deep squats as that's the exact reason I stopped doing statics before. I have come to the conclusion my hip joints don't allow for true "deep squats," and trying static deep squatting stretches prior to lifting caused me a good deal of back/leg pain issues. I have some degenerative disks that only complicate the issue. Been wanting to get an MRI of my hip joints to see if there's issues with them as well but, you know, medical costs in shit hole US. All the times I've had ppl review my form says I'm doing everything right up to the point where I physically cannot move myself further into the stretch/lift.
My mobility used to be even worse that it is now with squatting. I have worked stretches into my routine and it's been about 2 years since I started. For about a year now I've been at this dead point where I just can't go down to get to the true "deep squat." Even attempting to do so is gonna upset my disks. Even with my buddy watching my form, making sure my backs at the right angles and my butts not "tucking under" on the lowest point. It's so frustrating. I'm so envious of ppl with normal hips and not fucked disks. Also of ppl that have access to affordable medical treatments. If I lived somewhere I could actually get this shit looked at without shelling out a few grand just for a diagnosis it would be wonderful.
I’ve been putting it off for ever. I’m just too self conscious for chud gyms around my area and I can’t afford it. I want to start getting stuff at home to begin at least but I’ll be saving this for later.
Thank you comrade.
Great post. My advice to folks trying to get into a routine is know that once you’ve been lifting for a couple months, it will no longer feel like a chore. It’ll actually become the highlight of your day — or at least that’s how it’s been for me.
Finding the exercise activities that I look forward to doing has been huge for my health. I always look forward to a run or a climb.
Do you go to a climb gym? I’ve always wanted to try it, friends in college loved it.
Yeah, my friends got me into it a few years ago. I've found that most climbers are very chill people.
Thanks for the write up! The most important advice I can give is this: the best workout isn't the most intense one, or the one that gives you the most gains, or the one that is the most technical and requires advanced knowledge. The best workout is the one that you do. Its easy to be intimidate and feel like you don't know what you're doing, and to be overwhelmed when you don't know which muscles do what, what exercises strengthen which muscles and so on. There are ways to maximise efficiency, but all exercise will make you fitter.
Great write up!
For some of our homebody comrades, those super short on time, or those who can't afford a gym consistently, I'd highly recommend going with 1 or 2 kettlebells, at least as another option to start out or if you don't have access to a full gym. Due to their shape, the variety of exercises they provide give you the ability to hit just about every part of your body with a single piece of equipment.
I've been lifting for years and can't believe I haven't tried them sooner. They are literally so fucking fun; like, the concept of having fun WHILE working out is so foreign to me...usually I like the DOMS feeling after lifting, but don't get a whole lot of enjoyment while I'm working out other than the pump and the music. With kettlebells that's different, it's this awesome flow. Been doing kb sport style and am obsessed. It's actually got me excited about lifting again since I started like 10 years ago.
Anyway, I'd recommend a minimum of 1 or 2 KBs (one "lightweight", one "heavyweight" - these are relative to your strength), around 8kg - 12kg for beginners (adjustable ones exist too), and foam flooring (those puzzle mats at 1/2 inch thickness are fine). That's it. I workout barefoot lol. There are plenty of form and intro tutorial videos on youtube, and you can post form checks to :reddit-logo: /r/kettlebell. At the moment that community is super chill, supportive and chud free as far as I've seen. I personally use a competition kettlebell and am working to get a fancy adjustable one, but they're not necessary. For guidance and workouts I use Lebe Stark videos and Joe Daniel's program, which overlap in a lot of ways, though the former is kbsport style. Lebe Stark has hundreds of workout classes he put out for free, so I don't really do anything for programming, other than my plan of gradually moving up in weight.
I'm still a kb beginner but me know if you have any other questions. They've been amazing for me during this covid hellscape and I hope they can help my comrades too
:arm-L: :heart-sickle: :arm-R:
Sick post, comrade! Thank you for putting this together.
I started with Starting Strength but that community + the dude are reactionaries so I don't like recommending them as much anymore. GSLP looks very similar, even identical to how some people recommend SS.
So two quick Qs:
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What's the salient difference between SS and GSLP?
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Is the community / face of GSLP less shitty?
Thanks!
Oh no I mean GLSP vs Starting Strength, which is a 3x5 program with this A/B program:
A: Squat, Bench, Deadlift
B: Squat, Overhead press, Deadlift/Power Clean/Rows (starts as deadlift, eventually other exercises replace it)
It was promoted by Mark Rippetoe, who's chuddy. Starting Strength is an adaptation of it and I'm guessing GLSP is as well. I'm looking for a distinguishing feature so that I can sell it to others (rather than the chud-driven one).
SS is essentially made for skinny 16 year old dudes needing to put on some weight for their specific sport. It's super leg focused and makes you squat three times a week + deadlifts. So your legs are sore all the time, you barely do any upper back workout and you have to learn 3 seriously complex leg movements while progressing rapidly in weight (squat, clean, deadlift).
Again, this is fine if you are lanky as fuck, 16 and want to get into track and field or football or basketball. If you are at any other point in your life, you should absolutely tweak the program and start from something more "gentle", that only has you squat once or twice and actually incorporates some real pulling work.
Also some of Rippetoes queues for the lifts are rather questionable. You don't need to deal with chunky asshole chud and his program. There are plenty of alternatives around.
This is all good advice! I'm still just distracted by GLSP, which looks like it also has squats 3x per week and deadlifts 2-3x per week.
I do tend to tell people to do basically that program with the caveat of starting with the bar alone if they're already strong enough that this is easy for them. If the bar is strenuous then I tell people to do bodyweight squats at first and to alternate inverted rows with deadlift just so that they can control their progression via bodyweight reps at first. My thinking is to focus on sustainable training with reduced injury risk and plenty of time to focus on form before lifting heavy.
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Extremely helpful, thank you comrade!
:arm-L::soviet-heart::arm-R:
Question about resting and sets: would it be safe/somewhat practical to set up a circuit that works different muscles and different parts of the body in order to skip resting between sets? I have ADHD and though I've been trying to get into any routine for years, my biggest barrier has been how excruciating the rest time between sets can be — I often end up wandering off to go do something else or give up early because the repeated 1min active time to 3min rest cycle is torture for me. even if it would be suboptimal would something like that still be slightly effective? Or is there another way to get out of that rest time?
What does being undernourished mean for working out? I barely manage (well, fail often) to eat enough to satisfy even my RMR. Should I focus on cardio/light exercise in general, rather than lifting?
I don't know if my body will actually create more muscle, and not just absorb more fat and muscle I already got cuz of the calorie deficit.
lack of appetite due to medication, but I've got a dietician and am working on all that. I'll bring this q up with her too, when I speak with her in a month,
Thanks for the quality effortpost! PS I guess it is too textwallish for the crowd here !?
PPS One of these days I might actually visit the gym, so far I am doing daily pushups/squats/brisk walking/running - all in small series but usually multiple times a day and without skipping a day, which is I guess more important than intensity and my-big-yet-never-materialized-gym-plans. PPP...PS One of my most recent discoveries - the one that actually finally made me do pushups daily - was followng a simple rule: "Want coffee/macha? Do series of pushups first!". Sounds silly yet it works for me - earlier I was doing similar "conditioning" for refined sugar, but I practically stopped eating it in the meantime. But caffeine... ☕I have very bad ankle flexibility that prevents me from doing squats or deadlifts with good form- any advice on how to deal with this?
So basically I can't have a full workout routine until I've fixed my flexibility? From r/flexibility, a lot of people work on ankle dorisflection for months without noticeable improvement
