Been doing starting strength for a while and I’m tired of it. I get slightly stronger but that doesn’t really mean much to me. I’d like to see some physical changes in my body. But there’s so much crap out there it’s hard to choose where to move on from here. I’m eyeing 5/3/1 right now but I prefer not to read like 50 pages before being able to lift some weights.
My personal experience with online lifting communities and programs is that it tends to attract a ton of people who are into the "minmaxing" mindset, and for whom spending a lot of time and energy making sure their routine, nutrition and progression is "just right". You don't need to do that unless you're really hitting a wall or at risk of injury.
That being said, the easiest, non-gimmicky program I know is Stronglifts 5x5 with the last set going til failure. You'll make progress, and if you keep your diet within reason, you'll see some physique gains within a couple weeks.
Isn’t stronglifts the same as starting strength? I remember looking at it a while ago and skipping it since I felt it was the same thing as what I was doing (SS).
And yeah, I tend to minmax everything. I keep track of macros but it does help with diet. I’m not too concerned with minmaxing workouts though. I just want a program that keeps me stimulated with noticeable progress indicators. SS has increased weights each session which is okay, but it gets dull and I’d like some hypertrophy
If you want some hypertrophy you should do a bodybuilding program. The movements you do in starting strength or 5/3/1 will not provide you with enough volume for your secondary movers like your biceps and triceps, calves, delts, etc. You could experiment with adding isolation movements to a program like 5/3/1. You could also go with a push/pull/legs type program.
There are a lot of ways to skin the metaphorical cat. I've found that trying a lot of different programs isn't necessarily a bad thing as it keeps things interesting. Although I will say that knowing when to change the training variables (intensity, volume, frequency) is key for continued progress on any program. I would recommend that you read and maybe try out Barbell Medicine's "The Bridge" program. https://www.barbellmedicine.com/the-bridge/
There's also this program selector website, which might show you some programs you've never heard of. It's out of date but a lot of those programs are very effective. http://www.rohitnair.net/pp/
:07: thank you. I’ll take a look at these sites. In the meantime, I’m just gonna keep lifting until I can formulate something coherent
Regarding 5/3/1, I’m seeing on Reddit that people are using a variation of that program called “boring but big” or BBB to focus on hypertrophy. Any experience with this?
I have done 5/3/1 BBB, I thought it was cool but it didn't stick with me for some reason. It might be a good option for you!
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