10andBOUNCE said:

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I am tempted to try the Revolt Fitness Belt Squat attachment for my rack at home.

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Mammoth Fitness makes one with a kickstand that looks interesting.

10andBOUNCE said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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It's interesting because I feel like I have not reached close to my limit on my deadlift, but every time I throw 400+ on my back for a squat I feel like my entire body is going to explode.

I think it's partially a form/bracing issue and partially psychological. I feel like breaking 500 off the ground and pulling it up is way easier mentally than throwing it on your back and knowing you have to sink it and come back up.

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At the end of the day, we should all be able to enjoy exercising with some good mental and physical challenges as well.

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Amen.

Made the call to drop squats on weight and do some 3x8s for awhile. Just to change up the stimulus. Give my joints a break. Give myself a mental break. Adding some bulgarians in there.

Deadlifts, on the other hand, rock and roll baby. My deadlift is over 120 pounds heavier than my squat. Still going up. OHP and Bench. Still going up.

Starting my cut today, trying to drop about 10% of my bodyweight while maintaining strength.

Got up to about 255 and that's about my cutoff. I start to notice shortness of breath and just other general discomfort on a day to day basis at that size.

Going to try to drop to 230ish, maintain that for a little bit, then try to get sub 220.

CC09LawAg said:

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Starting my cut today, trying to drop about 10% of my bodyweight while maintaining strength.

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I know - I am prepared to be disappointed.

Aint gonna happen unless you are properly medicated.

I will report back when I hit my goal weight and let you all know.

If you are carrying a high body fat percentage, is the strength loss less noticeable than if you're going from lean to super lean?

My body has plenty of extra fuel to hold it over for a bit.

CC09LawAg said:

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Starting my cut today, trying to drop about 10% of my bodyweight while maintaining strength.

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Curious to hear how you get on with this.

Strength wont go through a floor board. BUT, 20 pounds isn't nothing. My experience is that you will have some glycogen stores that you will burn up in the first 2-3 weeks thinking that you aren't really losing strength. Then, once that gets depleted, and your hormones really transition into losing weight, you will feel the top end start to wobble. That heavy set starts to feel like absolute sheet.

BUT, about that time, your belts start feeling a little looser, the buttons on your shirt aren't fighting for their life. And in a few more weeks, those shirts you haven't worn for a good while, start fitting and looking awesome.

ALSO, keep in mind, you are stronger than 99% of the people walking this planet. In terms of "for life" you are strong enough from an objective perspective (subjectively, that's up to you).

So, don't worry about it and go get to feeling and looking awesome.

(This is basically what I tell myself and easier said than done).

Tex117 said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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Starting my cut today, trying to drop about 10% of my bodyweight while maintaining strength.

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Curious to hear how you get on with this.

Strength wont go through a floor board. BUT, 20 pounds isn't nothing. My experience is that you will have some glycogen stores that you will burn up in the first 2-3 weeks thinking that you aren't really losing strength. Then, once that gets depleted, and your hormones really transition into losing weight, you will feel the top end start to wobble. That heavy set starts to feel like absolute sheet.

BUT, about that time, your belts start feeling a little looser, the buttons on your shirt aren't fighting for their life. And in a few more weeks, those shirts you haven't worn for a good while, start fitting and looking awesome.

ALSO, keep in mind, you are stronger than 99% of the people walking this planet. In terms of "for life" you are strong enough from an objective perspective (subjectively, that's up to you).

So, don't worry about it and go get to feeling and looking awesome.

(This is basically what I tell myself and easier said than done).

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I have been pushing my lifting pretty hard the last few months, doing my base 5/3/1, then a 5x10 anywhere from between 50-70% of my training max. Then pretty high volume on accessory lifts.

I plan to keep pushing my training max up by 5 pounds (upper) and 10 pounds (lower) per month to keep the top end strength with my 5/3/1, then a 5x5 or 5x10 of an accessory lift with way less weight (Zercher squat, narrow grip bench for speed, snatch grip/deficit DL) so that my overall volume is down but my top end strength is still getting pushed and I work on weak areas on my main lifts.

Then I will do accessories in the 25 to 50 rep range depending on their intensity, focusing on unilateral exercises like bulgarian split squat, one leg DL, etc. so that again, the weight is lower but I work on areas that get neglected when I'm just pushing heavy weight.

I am hoping this is a three month phase.

CC09LawAg said:

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Tex117 said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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Starting my cut today, trying to drop about 10% of my bodyweight while maintaining strength.

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Curious to hear how you get on with this.

Strength wont go through a floor board. BUT, 20 pounds isn't nothing. My experience is that you will have some glycogen stores that you will burn up in the first 2-3 weeks thinking that you aren't really losing strength. Then, once that gets depleted, and your hormones really transition into losing weight, you will feel the top end start to wobble. That heavy set starts to feel like absolute sheet.

BUT, about that time, your belts start feeling a little looser, the buttons on your shirt aren't fighting for their life. And in a few more weeks, those shirts you haven't worn for a good while, start fitting and looking awesome.

ALSO, keep in mind, you are stronger than 99% of the people walking this planet. In terms of "for life" you are strong enough from an objective perspective (subjectively, that's up to you).

So, don't worry about it and go get to feeling and looking awesome.

(This is basically what I tell myself and easier said than done).

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I have been pushing my lifting pretty hard the last few months, doing my base 5/3/1, then a 5x10 anywhere from between 50-70% of my training max. Then pretty high volume on accessory lifts.

I plan to keep pushing my training max up by 5 pounds (upper) and 10 pounds (lower) per month to keep the top end strength with my 5/3/1, then a 5x5 or 5x10 of an accessory lift with way less weight (Zercher squat, narrow grip bench for speed, snatch grip/deficit DL) so that my overall volume is down but my top end strength is still getting pushed and I work on weak areas on my main lifts.

Then I will do accessories in the 25 to 50 rep range depending on their intensity, focusing on unilateral exercises like bulgarian split squat, one leg DL, etc. so that again, the weight is lower but I work on areas that get neglected when I'm just pushing heavy weight.

I am hoping this is a three month phase.

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If you can hang with it, then all the more power to you. Hopefully that works out.

BUT, do pay close attention to how your body is feeling. A coach I had said that injuries are more likely during a cut. This is because you are pushing when you just don't have the gas. (And sure enough, I got more banged up by the end. Back tweaks, pulls, etc.) Just saying, be aware.

Looking for advice here. Sorry for lots of words. Just a little background.

I'm male, mid 40s, never really worked out consistently until more recently. I joined planet fitness back in early 2024 after not being in a gym for over a decade. I've gone in and out of consistency since then. Most of 2024, I was doing 10x a month, but I lost motivation because I feel like I didn't see any results. I still haven't given up.. I was intermittent this spring, but trying to get it back in gear to go 3-4x a week, and combine with very consistent good eating. I go at lunch, so sometimes work gets in the way. I only pay the $10 for one location, and it's not close to home. Even if I could go at home, it would be tough. we have two boys active in sports so are often dividing to tote them around. I also am only in office M-Th, so if I go 4x in a week, it's 4 consecutive days. I've done it, but maybe that isn't effective? I obviously swap upper/lower body every other day when I do this.

I'm 5-11, currently about 180. That's about my heaviest, I prefer to be 165ish which I was last year. I put on holiday pounds every year, and usually I can lose it, but this year, it's staying on.

Anyway, I feel like I do a good variety at the gym. I do smith machine bench, on cables I'll do biceps, triceps, pulldowns, and rows. I'll mix in preacher curls, upright rows, supine press, decline press, and ab stuff like crunches, leg lifts, or an ab machine.
I also mix in the machines for all this; chest press, bicep/tricep press, leg machines, etc.

I feel like I've put in the effort, but just not maximizing it so not seeing any results. I look the same. I feel decently strong, I can do 10 pull ups, or about 13 chin ups. I can do 10 dips. On the bicep or tricep machines, I'm putting the pin in near the bottom. I haven't tried a max bench in a while, but last year I got a single 210lb if I remember. I see guys who don't look any bigger than me doing 250 or more. I did bench consistently twice a week for a few months, and don't feel like I got any more reps in for same weights.

I just want to look like I work out. I also want to lose my belly once and for all, and actually see some abs. I know diet is key here, so this is my plan which I've already phased in a bit.
2 eggs and toast at breakfast
Peanut butter scoop and banana before gym
After gym a can of high protein soup with added chicken breast. (45ish g of protein, but lots of salt.. does this matter?)
Protein shake when I get home 30g
Dinner I will do chicken breast and a veggie or beans. Gonna let wife cook for her and the kids cause they all love their carbs and today was her last day for summer, so my separate dinner starts now. I've only incorporated the breakfast and lunch now for a week or two.
I do drink alcohol. As of last few years, I've mostly cut it out Mon-Thurs. Mostly beer at this point. Occasional old fashioned.


What I could use help on is what should I be doing for reps/sets. I currently usually do a set of 10 of a weight that I could probably do 15 or 20. Rest 90 sec, then I'll go heavier and do 10 of a weight that 10 is about my max, rest 90 sec, then I go heavier and see what I can do.. maybe 7 or 8. I have no idea if this is effective.

Again, just want to look like I actually work out, since I have for a while now. Is averaging ~5 days a month simply not ever going to give visible results? I have 23 check ins this year, but got 7 in May alone plus yesterday. Hoping to keep that up to 10-12x for the next few months at least. If I start to see results, I know I will be motivated and keep it up.

It doesn't look like you're doing any free weight lifts based on your post.

Any kind of squats? Bench or DB bench? Deadlift or trap bar deadlifts?

You need to read about progressive overload. You need to be building strength in the 3-6 rep range on big compound exercises and then filling in accessories in the 8-12 rep range.

I have pumped Stronglifts 5x5 on here for years, so take a look at that. But more importantly, read this page to get an idea of what progressive overload is and how it will make you stronger.

Progressive Overload

I was where you were years ago, where I'd do all kinds of exercises and never understand why I'd stall. I made the mistake of thinking that if I was doing a lot meant I was going to get a lot of results.

When I did 5x5 and simplified my approach, my body and strength gains completely changed. I got a year-ish out of the program, then I switched to intermediate programs.

I say all that to say, you need some kind of beginner level structured program to take the guess work out. Right now you don't know what the problem is because you don't have a plan. I'm not an expert on bodybuilding splits or anything like that, so I can't speak on that. But I think everyone needs a baseline strength level on the barbell lifts before venturing off into that.

If you start a beginner program and stall out at 3 months, it's likely your diet, sleep, stress, etc.

Finally, set a realistic amount of days to work out every week. Don't make a plan for a 5 day split if you know you cannot do it. You're just going to get pissed off and frustrated. I got fantastic results doing 3 days a week and walking the other 4. You can absolutely make progress lifting 3 days a week, and as a beginner you can probably get away with two days a week if you're doing some good high intensity cardio the off days.

62strat said:

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Again, just want to look like I actually work out, since I have for a while now. Is averaging ~5 days a month simply not ever going to give visible results? I have 23 check ins this year, but got 7 in May alone plus yesterday. Hoping to keep that up to 10-12x for the next few months at least. If I start to see results, I know I will be motivated and keep it up.

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To clarify - you lifted weights 5 days in a month? So a little over 1 day a week?

Not to be too blunt, but this will MAYBE be enough for maintenance. You need to get in AT LEAST 2 days a week. And work very hard on those 2 days.

If you can only make it to the gym once a week, figure out a good body weight strength training regimen to do at home another day. Or do P90x or something like that.

But moving weight once a week is not going to be enough for any kind of significant progress.

CC09LawAg said:

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It doesn't look like you're doing any free weight lifts based on your post.

Any kind of squats? Bench or DB bench? Deadlift or trap bar deadlifts?

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I do bench on smith machine. I am not comfortable doing free bench without a buddy/spotter.
I also have lower lumber back problems. I'm good now, but one bad dead lift can debilitate me for a week, so I'm hesitant.
I do squats now and again on smith machine. I prefer the sit down leg press.. again for back.
I do bicep preacher curls and overhead tricep curls.
My shoulder had pain a while back, and I had to quit dumbbell shoulder presses. Shoulder no longer hurts, but as so as I do a shoulder press, machine or free weight, it kinda hurts. Not sure what to do there.

CC09LawAg said:

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62strat said:

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Again, just want to look like I actually work out, since I have for a while now. Is averaging ~5 days a month simply not ever going to give visible results? I have 23 check ins this year, but got 7 in May alone plus yesterday. Hoping to keep that up to 10-12x for the next few months at least. If I start to see results, I know I will be motivated and keep it up.

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To clarify - you lifted weights 5 days in a month? So a little over 1 day a week?

Not to be too blunt, but this will MAYBE be enough for maintenance. You need to get in AT LEAST 2 days a week. And work very hard on those 2 days.

If you can only make it to the gym once a week, figure out a good body weight strength training regimen to do at home another day. Or do P90x or something like that.

But moving weight once a week is not going to be enough for any kind of significant progress.

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My 2 year average, yes.. it's probably only about 5. But I have many missed months. take those out and maybe it's 7 times a month average.

I did about 4 months consistent in late 2024 at ~10-12 times a month, then again in summer 2025. Not seeing any visible change really demotivated me.

I can make it to gym 4 days a week, but at this point, I want to be effective. I don't want to go 10 times a month for 4 months again and not feel or look different. That's why I'm here asking questions.

Got it.

I'm not sure on your equipment or physical limitations, so I will take you at your word on the issues you've discussed and help how I can.

I would do a 2 day split that you set a goal to do every other day. The nice thing about this is you can hammer a full body workout every other day when you aren't busy, but if you do get busy and you can only do it once or twice a week, you're still hitting every muscle in your body.

Workout 1, plan to have a compound leg push (leg press) and a compound upper body push (bench). Do these at a weight you can do for 5x6, then go to 5x8, 5x10, then go up 2.5 or 5 pounds on the lift and back to 5x6.

Then I'd do a quad and hamstring exercise, same as above but with 3x8, then 3x10, then 3x12 and go up in weight and back down to 3x8.

Then an upper body pull (lat pulldown or cable row) same as above but with 3x8, then 3x10, then 3x12 and go up in weight and back down to 3x8.

Workout 2, same as workout 1 except I'd do a compound leg pull (some kind of RDL or something like that), compound upper body push (maybe an incline press if your shoulder bothers you with full overhead pressing). Same rep scheme.

Then same thing as workout 1 and the rep scheme, just do different exercises (so if you do leg curls on workout 1, maybe do hack squats. If you do laying hamstring curls on workout 1, do seated hamstring curls workout 2, then if you do lat pulldowns do cable rows for workout 2.)

Add some bicep and tricep work on to each one if you want, and you guessed it, 3x8, then 3x10, then 3x12 and go up in weight and back down to 3x8.

Quote:

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I have pumped Stronglifts 5x5 on here for years, so take a look at that. But more importantly, read this page to get an idea of what progressive overload is and how it will make you stronger.

Progressive Overload

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Is this what you're talking about?

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/5x5-workout#muscles-used

So you're saying just do these 5 exercises, based on the rotation shown, and adding weight as described, and that's it? I like simple, and this seems simple and easy to follow.

My gym has squat racks and smith machines. Does it matter which one I use for these?

62strat said:

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Quote:

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I have pumped Stronglifts 5x5 on here for years, so take a look at that. But more importantly, read this page to get an idea of what progressive overload is and how it will make you stronger.

Progressive Overload

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Is this what you're talking about?

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/5x5-workout#muscles-used

So you're saying just do these 5 exercises, based on the rotation shown, and adding weight as described, and that's it? I like simple, and this seems simple and easy to follow.

My gym has squat racks and smith machines. Does it matter which one I use for these?

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Yep that's it. It is amazingly simple and effective.

I can only speak to the effectiveness of free weights. I do not think anyone would recommend using machines or smith machines for this program.

Based on your representation of some of your back issues, the swaps I would consider would be trap bar DL vs straight bar deadlift, and I would consider increasing your squat VERY slowly and carefully.

Barbell rows can cause some issues with your lower back if your form isn't locked in, so I would be careful there as well.

Also, do not be deceived and I'd suggest starting at 45 pounds (the bar) like the program suggests. It goes up FAST.

CC09LawAg said:

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62strat said:

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Quote:

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I have pumped Stronglifts 5x5 on here for years, so take a look at that. But more importantly, read this page to get an idea of what progressive overload is and how it will make you stronger.

Progressive Overload

---

Is this what you're talking about?

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/5x5-workout#muscles-used

So you're saying just do these 5 exercises, based on the rotation shown, and adding weight as described, and that's it? I like simple, and this seems simple and easy to follow.

My gym has squat racks and smith machines. Does it matter which one I use for these?

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Yep that's it. It is amazingly simple and effective.

I can only speak to the effectiveness of free weights. I do not think anyone would recommend using machines or smith machines for this program.

Based on your representation of some of your back issues, the swaps I would consider would be trap bar DL vs straight bar deadlift, and I would consider increasing your squat VERY slowly and carefully.

Barbell rows can cause some issues with your lower back if your form isn't locked in, so I would be careful there as well.

Also, do not be deceived and I'd suggest starting at 45 pounds (the bar) like the program suggests. It goes up FAST.

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OK.. day ONE.
Still seems like so little time, you can see how long it took (that was with a 5 minute quick walk on treadmill) and compared to what I did yesterday.

Today I did bar only on squat rack for squat and row. I did 135 bench on smith machine. 60 sec rest between everything. I also did squat->row->bench, so I didn't have to leave the squat rack and come back. Is order of these important? (other than squat always first?)

I don't think I am comfortable doing bench freely. Is it advised to do this without a spotter? What are my options here?

I have a buddy who after an incident and injury with free bench always uses smith now for several years, and he reps in the 300s, so in my mind it's not a huge limitation, but, the squat racks at PF don't even have benches near them (just the one you see in my pic there, which seems more for the stretching area). The squat racks are on other side of gym from smith machines, where all the benches are.

I barely got the 5th rep in the 5th set for bench at 135. Should I dial it back a bit to ease back in, or just leave it since I got it?




I only have 4 days to work with. Would it better to rest on day 2 or day 3?

The first few weeks of Stronglifts will take 30-45 minutes. You will be able to get away with a minute of rest between sets. I promise you, in a month after adding 5 to 10 pounds per workout you will be getting your ass kicked. Think about it - if you could add 5 pounds to your bench every week, you'd add 260 pounds to your bench every year. If you could add 10 pounds to your squat a week you'd be squatting 520 pounds by the end of the year.

I would back way off on the weight. The goal is to stack wins for the first few weeks so you build momentum. If you try to start at the absolute most you can do you will stall ASAP.

If you tried 135 on bench, I'd go down to 65 on free weight bench and be very slow and methodical and focus on your form. I'd set up safety catches or something to alleviate your mental block.

Not a huge issue doing row before bench, just know it will sap your energy for the bench press and may eventually stall your progress versus being more fresh to do it before the rows.

You will need to rest 1 day (at least) between workouts because you are squatting every workout and need the recovery.

62strat said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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62strat said:

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Quote:

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OK.. day ONE.

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Still seems like so little time, you can see how long it took (that was with a 5 minute quick walk on treadmill) and compared to what I did yesterday.

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Looking back at my workout logs, I started at 65 squat, 65 bench, 65 BB row, 45 OHP, and 65 deadlift Week 1.

By week 11, I was squatting 215, benching 140, rowing 135, OHP 110, and deadlifting 215. So in less than 3 months I went up ~150 pounds on lower body and half that on my upper body.

CC09LawAg said:

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62strat said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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62strat said:

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Quote:

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OK.. day ONE.

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Still seems like so little time, you can see how long it took (that was with a 5 minute quick walk on treadmill) and compared to what I did yesterday.

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Looking back at my workout logs, I started at 65 squat, 65 bench, 65 BB row, 45 OHP, and 65 deadlift Week 1.

By week 11, I was squatting 215, benching 140, rowing 135, OHP 110, and deadlifting 215. So in less than 3 months I went up ~150 pounds on lower body and half that on my upper body.

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So is the goal to add the 5lbs of weight every two weeks and be able to do it? What if you can't do it? Do you back off to previously successful weight?

During this entire process, are you bailing on the 5th rep at times?

62strat said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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62strat said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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62strat said:

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Quote:

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OK.. day ONE.

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Still seems like so little time, you can see how long it took (that was with a 5 minute quick walk on treadmill) and compared to what I did yesterday.

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Looking back at my workout logs, I started at 65 squat, 65 bench, 65 BB row, 45 OHP, and 65 deadlift Week 1.

By week 11, I was squatting 215, benching 140, rowing 135, OHP 110, and deadlifting 215. So in less than 3 months I went up ~150 pounds on lower body and half that on my upper body.

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So is the goal to add the 5lbs of weight every two weeks and be able to do it? What if you can't do it? Do you back off to previously successful weight?

During this entire process, are you bailing on the 5th rep at times?

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Everything is on the Stronglifts site I linked.

You add 5 pounds to each upper body lift and to squat per workout, and add 10 pounds to the deadlift every workout.

When you reach a point where you fail a 5x5 3 times consecutively, you usually deload by about 10% and start working your way back up.

You'll be a much more experienced lifter by then and know if you need to switch programs or not.

62strat said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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62strat said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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62strat said:

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Quote:

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OK.. day ONE.

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Still seems like so little time, you can see how long it took (that was with a 5 minute quick walk on treadmill) and compared to what I did yesterday.

---

Looking back at my workout logs, I started at 65 squat, 65 bench, 65 BB row, 45 OHP, and 65 deadlift Week 1.

By week 11, I was squatting 215, benching 140, rowing 135, OHP 110, and deadlifting 215. So in less than 3 months I went up ~150 pounds on lower body and half that on my upper body.

---

So is the goal to add the 5lbs of weight every two weeks and be able to do it? What if you can't do it? Do you back off to previously successful weight?

During this entire process, are you bailing on the 5th rep at times?

---

App

This app will take a lot of the guesswork out of it for you and it is free. It is what I used.

Well, 4 days in of eating the exact same thing every day and I managed to go up about 5 pounds from day 1 and have weighed that exact same amount every morning since I started.

So either I'm about to have a huge weight drop, or 2600 calories is my maintenance at 6'2 254 pounds, which I find hard to believe.

Its hormones man. Its not like flipping a switch and your body starts shedding fat. AND, you are burning off all the glycogen and other goodies.

I found it was about week 3 were I started to see the weight really start dropping (and the high end strength with it).

Yeah, I'm not worried about it but almost every other time I've started a diet I've lost weight almost immediately.

I used to drop into way too large of a calorie deficit right away and not really monitor my macros other than protein intake. I'm trying to do it the right way this time and slowly burn it off versus rushing it.

CC09LawAg said:

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Squat PR today of 465.

It was maybe a tad high but I'm counting it. I sank 445 no problem.

Had been plateaued at 425/430 for 2 years because of life events, so I'm very happy.

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Freakin awesome. What an achievement!

This is the way. I have about 5 more lbs to gain, then will be doing this my self.

Nice!

Very nice! Great job, sir!

Should be a good sign for bench. The better my squat is, the better my bench is. That's usually because my body weight goes up when I am squatting heavier and need the extra weight to be stronger on bench too.

CC09LawAg said:

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Thanks man.

Felt good and I think I could've gotten a little more but wanted to take the W with a 40 pound PR.

Hoping this is a good sign for my bench press to come off 300 - really trying to get that third plate for my max.

Optimistic about what the higher squat means for my deadlift - going to try to max that out later this week.

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Thats awesome! What a PR!

I hit a deadlift PR (for a triple), last week, three weeks after I dropped my squat down in weight into higher rep ranges. Felt good and I have a bit of room.

Squat and bench definitely love a caloric surplus.

Good luck on that bench! Thats basically the crowning "bro" achievement.

(IM closing on on 275 for a 5x3. Maybe by the end of summer(ish) and around 220 lbs. Id like to keep going, but my vanity (actually, by cholesterol and blood pressure), will get the better of me, and Im going to cut.