Bored - Stick With It?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

So Mondays I do Bench and Squat, Tuesdays I Deadlift. These are my ME days where I try and lift as heavy as possible.

I throw in chins (mon), pullups and dips (tue) on these days as well. Lately these exercsies have not received my full effort and I do not go heavy (just bodyweight on all of them). I used to be able to go heavier (20kg, 12.5kg, 30kg respectively) but have really focused on the 3 core lifts and am just completely fatigued after performing them.

Come Wednesday and Thursday I run out of ideas for what to do. I just do the same bang-for-buck exercises but without going heavy. Yesterday (Wed) it was (in order)

4x6 Flat DB Bench
4x6 Pullups
4x6 Squats
4x6 Chins
4x6 Dips
2x6 Reverse Preacher Curls (really bored shitless - feeling like I had much more energy left in me. After increasing my max lifts I’m finding it much easier to perform more sets at my previous lighter weights - which used to feel pretty heavy!)

All lifts were light - ~75% 1RM.

This was an unusually high volume day. I’d done my best ever on Mon and Tues for Bench, Squats and Deads (75kg 95kg and 120kg. I’m 68kg BW).

This afternoon I’ve got no set plan. Probably some light deadlifting.

My question:
Is it better to stick with these basic compound movements but go lighter on my non-ME days? (I workout Mon-Thurs then rest over Fri-Sun)

Or are there some more interesting, higher volume, perhaps isolation exercises which would benefit me?

My goal is to increase my max lifts for Bench, Squat, Dead but I’ve found that my new found max strength is allowing higher volume high-rep work. Maybe I really am getting stronger?!

2

So Monday you do ME Bench and Squat, then the next day you do ME deadlift? What do you do Fri,Sat,Sun?

Unless I’m reading this wrong, you’re setup sucks. Go read the westside thread, or the WS4SB thread to get a better idea of how to organize things.

3

i agree with vision… heavy squats and heavy dl’s back to back… why??

4

How can anyone be bored of squatting?

5

If you’re doing Max Effort days, why don’t you do the Dynamic days? Force production with lighter weight is an important part of building strength.

If you’re looking to build more mass, have you tried rest-pause sets a la DC training? You can lift somewhat heavier and still set PRs.

You should probably have more separation between your workouts too.

6

[quote]HotCarl28 wrote:
i agree with vision… heavy squats and heavy dl’s back to back… why??[/quote]

I haven’t found it to be a problem. Mon and Tue is when I feel my best and its been working for me - my lifts are increasing.

The major lifts are (in my very simplistic understanding) working completely different parts of my body?

Bench = Chest
Squat = Legs
Dead = Back

Each major part gets one ME lifting session a week. Simple.

Fri, Sat and Sun? I rest from the gym and grow!

But the view I’m getting is stick with the basic compound movements but drop the weight on the non-ME days. Seems logical to me!

7

[quote]ultimatethor wrote:

You should probably have more separation between your workouts too.[/quote]

I get to the gym after work Mon-Thurs.

Weekends the gym closes at midday and I don’t wake up till 10am. Then I like to relax and have breakfast.

Fridays, I have a beer with mates after work.

If only I didn’t have a job to go to I’d be sweet and be in the gym mornings and afternoons 6 days a week!

8

[quote]ninearms wrote:
How can anyone be bored of squatting?[/quote]

Only boring when I’m not going heavy!

I still feel a little stupid in the gym sometimes. Even the few guys and girls doing squats still only go fairly light and not all the way down but they do bang out 10 or 15 reps.

I look like I’m a struggling fool with an ego by putting on as much weight as possible, dropping low and struggling to get 3 reps in. I have fallen over in the squat rack more than once. Quite funny. I love safety bars.

Only one other guys does deads. He is huge and puts over 400 pounds on the bar. I walk up after him and slap on half that. I also get pissed looks for using chalk from the gym management.

9

Squatting is far too painful to be boring. Just alternate how you squat. Cycle Power and Olympic Squats. Cycle your rep ranges. Do Bulgarian Split Squats or Lunges as your primary leg move.

But for god sakes fix your program.

10

Just a personal opinion here and I’m not nearly as experienced as most, but I’m always amazed when I read that someone is doing either squats and deads in the same workout, or ME Squat one day, then ME deads the next day. I attempted to do squats and deads on the same day before I started the whole body training method, and there was just no way I was getting full potential out of the 2nd lift, ie, squat, then dead, my deads were terrible.

Even now on the 1 day on, 1 day off, 1 day on schedule, I’m still pretty sore after deads or squats on the next lifting day. I did RDL’s yesterday for the first time in maybe a month and could hardly walk today, there is no possible way I’m going to be able to do squats tomorrow.

If you’re bored, switch it up. I switched to front squats for a month and just went back to back squats. Nice carry over, and back squats are fun again.