I am going back to the gym tomorrow morning so you all better cough up some answers by then.
I know there are some commonly suggested routines. Like stronglifts 5x5, then there is 6-day PPL program that is suggested often on reddit too.
I also know that once you are experienced enough you can customise your program according to your requirements and liberties.
But I would like some suggestions for some intermediate-level programs. It has been a while since I followed one so I would appreciate anchoring myself to something definite rather than just doing what I like.
Thanks. Any suggestions are welcome.
https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Essay:A_nutrition_and_fitness_guide there's two routines in https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Essay:A_nutrition_and_fitness_guide#2_programmes_for_Strength_and_Muscle_building
Jesus christ man that is so much text. I will do the hypertrophy routine. Thanks.
I need alternatives for these two Friday exercises:
- cable flies: no cable machine, but there is a machine specifically for chest flies
- barbell skullcrushers: it hurts my wrists
Chest fly machine should work. Depends how you feel with it, sometimes they can restrict movement in a way that doesn't feel comfortable. I assume it's a seated one? You won't die from free weight chest flies, it's just not very efficient because of resistance along the rep curve.
Dips are a very good exercise but also quite demanding. You can try and see how many you get. Otherwise maybe the triceps extension? Though I find it terrible overall due to how close to the head the weight is and the movement just isn't very natural. If you don't have other wrist problems the pain should go away after some time and make sure to stretch your wrists and forearms at length before you start working out.
Being optimal is not the goal. It's often a pie in the sky type of deal with chasing it.
I want to mix things up a bit. I've been miring in my limited knowledge on this topic for a long while and want to avoid stagnation. I learnt from a Sekiro lore video that stagnation is associated with rot in Japanese culture and while I will never forgive them for inventine anime I think they might be onto something here.
If you're wanting to lift weights I recommend Starting Strength. If you are open to training bodyweight calisthenics in a strength-training style, I seriously recommend Convict Conditioning.
When I lifted weights I did Starting Strength. Absolutely solid program, even if the author/coach gives off a few "don't tread on me vibes". I did this in my early twenties for about 18 months before I switched to a bodyweight strength training system, since I found bodyweight stuff to be more fun and allowed me to train outdoors in parks and whatnot.
For the last 10 years I've basically been training using a slightly-tweaked Convict Conditioning system. Beyond the "grr convicts" gimmick in the book, the contents are top-notch and aren't pitching anything other than using bodyweight exercises as a serious strength and muscle building tool. It really kickstarted the progressive calisthenics movement in the 2010s. I've grown bigger and stronger for a decade using the exercises in this and the follow-up book (which is focused on some assistance exercises). The author outright says that their goal is to give you the building blocks to make up your own routines from the basic principles and does a good job of this, but also provides some sample routines to get you started.
In 2019 I threw in some mid-distance running (5ks and 10ks) as well, although I can't run atm due to life things and injury. Running interferes pretty noticeably with recovery, and can slow down your strength/hypertrophy gains compared to a pure strength or hypertrophy system and some people really don't like this. I found that I could still progress but it was a lot slower than before running, although I liked having the basis in cardio to complement the strength. I didn't lose much strength or muscle mass because I ate more to compensate and over time my recovery ability increased notably.
