I'm a beginner. Is working out 3x a week enough to make good gains? (one day legs, one day arms, one day chest and core). Plus playing football 2x per week.

Go for full body 3x per week. Most optimal system for drug free newbie lifter. Routines such as starting strength, stronglifts and greyskull are all good options. All of these will give you some initial strength gains but not large amount of mass. Doesn't matter really as they are excellent foundation for whatever goals you will have later.

@the-dream - read one/two pages back we had a discussion about this.

Since I got married (and with tons of work/business), I had not been able to train with my PL club as the session times were too late for me. Recently they introduced new early sessions in the late afternoon which suit me perfectly. It's so good being able to train with proper equipment again, and also good to have people lift heavy around me when I'm going for a big set.

I've been keeping up with squat and bench so no problem there but I haven't been able to deadlift in regular gyms so I'm rebuilding my deadlift from light weight up. So far, because I use hook grip, it feels more like a thumb lift than dead lift! The weight feels light but it's like my thumbs are doing all the work. Can't wait to pull in the 200kg+ range again.

Cleared to test upper body at physical therapy after months.

Bench felt great, pulldown not so much so did 3 sets of low weight bench and will be bringing it back to my workouts (great because while my arms look good from muscle memory or whatever a little too jelly at the moment.)

Here's two workouts for you.

   
   

I don't know who the author is, but this is pure genius.

Feels so good to be in the gym regularly.

Just got back. In between sets I added up total weight lifted/moved around in this mornings session.

Came to over 4100kgs.

Be curious to see what some of you guys total numbers are.

Do you count warmup sets also? If so, couple of times I did 15 tons because I did leg presses and shrugs. But since that was mucking around with routine I used I threw them away soon. Currently I am averaging on about 6 tons (leangains RPT routine).

(10-08-2018 04:40 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  Do you count warmup sets also? If so, couple of times I did 15 tons because I did leg presses and shrugs. But since that was mucking around with routine I used I threw them away soon. Currently I am averaging on about 6 tons (leangains RPT routine).

Dunno. I just added up everything that I lifted up or moved. Today I did bench, deadlift, squat and farmers carry.

As a warm up I do leg raises, back curls and some plyometric ski related stuff.

By the way, i’m Not bragging, I was just amazed at what it added up to.

Personal training coach, which is app I use, calculates daily workout volume and even displays chart so you can see increase/decrease over time. Check it out if you want.

(10-08-2018 04:18 AM)Ski pro Wrote:  Be curious to see what some of you guys total numbers are.

As in weight * reps?

If so, my last workout I "lifted" a total of 15,265 lbs (~7,000 kg). This was a bench press + accessories workout, no squats or deadlifts. I also didn't count my dips as they were just body weight.

(10-08-2018 10:06 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  

(10-08-2018 04:18 AM)Ski pro Wrote:  Be curious to see what some of you guys total numbers are.

As in weight * reps?

If so, my last workout I "lifted" a total of 15,265 lbs (~7,000 kg). This was a bench press + accessories workout, no squats or deadlifts. I also didn't count my dips as they were just body weight.

Yes. Weight x reps

Your bench day is 7000kg? Serious. Wow

Just a lot of volume in there. I did close grip bench press 4 sets of 8 @ 86 kg, the incline DB press, DB rows, etc. I went heavy-sh on the DB work too. Trying to really get some results with this programming cycle.

I started making lifting a part of my life routine about 8 months ago...i'm glad I did. I got somewhat of a late start at 31, though.

I've learned a decent amount in the meantime, but my weakness seems to be consistency.

There's periods of a month here or there where i'm hitting it daily and eating a fuckton of protein / and in general seem to be 'on' with it But then I drink and party for a few days, not get good rest, my appetite crashes, and its almost like starting from scratch

The slightest thing can throw off my diet/ lifting schedule.

It seems like I'll have to make it my number 1 priority for a long period of time to see any real gains....just like anything, i suppose.

I need to get really motivated!

(10-08-2018 02:44 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  Just a lot of volume in there. I did close grip bench press 4 sets of 8 @ 86 kg, the incline DB press, DB rows, etc. I went heavy-sh on the DB work too. Trying to really get some results with this programming cycle.

My max for bench is 3 x 80. That area of my body seems so weak compared to what I can generate with squat and deadlift. Perhaps it’s the same for everyone

(10-09-2018 05:26 AM)Ski pro Wrote:  

(10-08-2018 02:44 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  Just a lot of volume in there. I did close grip bench press 4 sets of 8 @ 86 kg, the incline DB press, DB rows, etc. I went heavy-sh on the DB work too. Trying to really get some results with this programming cycle.

My max for bench is 3 x 80. That area of my body seems so weak compared to what I can generate with squat and deadlift. Perhaps it’s the same for everyone

When it comes to "the big three" I find that in general most people tend to not be equally well-rounded. Usually you have a particular lift you're real good at, and/or one you really lag at. Sometimes it just comes down to physiology.

My worst lift is my squat. My best could be my bench. You might also find these things change over time. When I was starting out my deadlift was my best, but then I got a lot better at bench with some technique and training improvements.

It's also important to note, generally bench (or any press really) is the slowest to gain simply because you use so few muscles and much smaller muscles compared to squat and deadlift.

(10-09-2018 10:07 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  

(10-09-2018 05:26 AM)Ski pro Wrote:  

(10-08-2018 02:44 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  Just a lot of volume in there. I did close grip bench press 4 sets of 8 @ 86 kg, the incline DB press, DB rows, etc. I went heavy-sh on the DB work too. Trying to really get some results with this programming cycle.

My max for bench is 3 x 80. That area of my body seems so weak compared to what I can generate with squat and deadlift. Perhaps it’s the same for everyone

When it comes to "the big three" I find that in general most people tend to not be equally well-rounded. Usually you have a particular lift you're real good at, and/or one you really lag at. Sometimes it just comes down to physiology.

My worst lift is my squat. My best could be my bench. You might also find these things change over time. When I was starting out my deadlift was my best, but then I got a lot better at bench with some technique and training improvements.

It's also important to note, generally bench (or any press really) is the slowest to gain simply because you use so few muscles and much smaller muscles compared to squat and deadlift.

Thanks for the info. It stands to reason that the squat is my best.

On a different note, my chiropractor told me to lay off the deadlifts and interval sprints for a while whilst he fixes my ankle. I’m gutted. I love deadlifts.

Destroyed myself with squats earlier in the week, but still managed 180Kgx5 for deadlift top set today. Slowly crawling back to where I was.

It is unbelievable (probably very much believable to some) to me how something so simple as a just one specific cue can change the execution of the exercise.

Back story:
My usual A/B progression workout routine has of course deadlift as one of its main exercises. While it has never been really a sticking point in my training, recently I experienced some things which made me realize I was doing it wrong in some way. Incremental progression is there each time, but it seemed like some parts of my body can't keep up with it and this displays primarily in a form of lower back pain.
Several times in a row I experienced lower back pain after deadlift. First soreness immediately after exercise and than day later a bit of pain together with DOMS.

Yesterday I decided to go to the crux of the matter, see what is really going on as yesterday I had to break my previous PR.

I wrote usual stuff in google and some of the results were Starting Strength forums with several people asking about same stuff as me. Problem is more common than one would think.
Someone linked article by Rippetoe where Rippetoe condensed basically his whole deadlift chapter from book into just 5 steps to insure perfect deadlift. Here they are:

1. Set your shins 1 inch from the bar. Putting the bar at 1 inch from the bar puts it directly over the midfoot.
2. Without bending your knees, reach down and grip the bar just outside your shins. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.
3. Bend your knees and drop your shins until they touch the bar. Where your butt is at this point is where it will remain throughout the rest of the setup and beginning of the pull. Again: DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.
4. Squeeze your chest up by pointing it at the wall in front of you. This starts a wave of extension throughout the back that will result in a flat back. If you find yourself on your toes at this point, rock back to shift your weight back to the midfoot.
5. Drag the bar up your legs, keeping the bar in contact with your legs throughout the lift.

So yeah, I am glancing over steps and thinking if I am doing the same stuff or am I wrong in some way. First 3 steps were basically the same as I was doing before but what really blew my mind was step 4. I knew something is off now as for the first time I am hearing about "chest squeeze" and I decided to see if there is a video tutorial. Luckily there was Alan Thrall's:





I was doing the same thing Alan displays as being wrong at 4:30 mark. I was doing EXACTLY that. Driving my hips down intentionally and while I didn't push the bar away this was basically my start of pull. Obviously I lose a lot of strength in that movement and my lower back takes some of the weight on itself in order to try to balance everything out (or so I interpreted it).

Fast forward couple of hours later after my Eureka moment. I am doing exactly these five steps, starting of course with warmup weight. Deadlift feels MUCH different. Much more natural. And then when the work set came, it felt heavy, but manageable. I think I got a bit rounded back on last two reps but it so unlike before I knew this stuff.

I finish my work set of 137.5 kg and feel exhausted but great, no soreness whatsoever. Now almost a day later, there is no lower back pain at all. Something so simple as chest squeeze made all the difference!

Glad to hear you're dialing in your technique. Of the big 3, the deadlift is the simplest lift in theory, but the most complex in practice. Part of it's complexity is in the fact that you don't get a done of corrective feedback from doing the lift. That is, you can have shitty form but still lift heavy weight. If you have shitty form on squat or bench it will have a serious effect in your ability to move heavier weight, but deadlift can be fudged, so you need to be more cognizant of your technique.

For.me, it's the one lift I always revisit because I always feel I can get my form better than it is.

Bought the rogue Ohio power bar for big 3. Planning to buy a steady power rack and plates to go with the bar to build my home gym in due time

The rack and weight will be the big $$$. Try to find used stuff on CL or eBay. An adjustable flat/angle bench can be had new for cheap. I'm looking into going the home gym route in the not too distant future...

When you guys were newbies, at what point did you start to enjoy going to the gym or get some positive feelings from it? Was it your first session or when you first started to see some results after a few months or what?

It took me 5 months to START having this feelings. Everything until that point was regarded as a side job, i.e. something you must do and which you don't necessary like. There are a lot of things that could have improved how I felt before, but it is what it is. Now, I am giving myself wholly during workout and I am enjoying feeling of accomplishment when I going home, having done a fine job. The workout itself is a hard, sweaty and tiring job and I can't really find much pleasure in it. It is just when it's all over that I can enjoy it.