DukeTheSlaya's Journey to Overhead Pressing Like a God

Was looking at my old thread and iv over doubled in strength since training properly, yess but im still weak .:relaxed:

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Food: breakfast leftover pasta, and some cereal
Snack fried rice
Lunch fried rice
Afternoon chixken sandwich
Protein shake
Dinner chcken snchitzel and rice
Bed casein

It’s amazing what just putting the work in the gym and kitchen can do! It’s not as complicated and overwhelming as we (I, very much included in this) make it.

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True that, honesty at the moment im very confused im seeing alot of articles on tnation saying “bodybuilsing splits are dead”
And then others saying “bodybuilding solits are best because 5 -7 days after is when muscle growth occurs”
Or more frequency for more gains or whatever.
Its confusing me so much!
My goal is to put on as much mass as i can basically and to gain strength as well, so im sticking with what im doing for a few more months or maybe just two. But all this information is confusing me. After i do my program for a while do i switch to a bodybuilding split or what?

The big secret is that there’s no one best way to train or eat because context is everything.

This is a real @#$% to get your head around when you start out because the most logical thing is to seek out ‘the best’ method and use that. This is made very difficult when apparently there are many, many ‘best’ methods.

This is my take on it based on my experience/observation so far:

  1. The simpler the method, the better. That doesn’t mean only simple methods work, it just means that the simplest way of using any given method will most likely be the optimal way of using it.
  2. Virtually every successful method shares more with other successful methods than it differs from them - even if it doesn’t immediately appear that way.
  3. As long as you are progressively adding weight, reps and muscle, what you’re doing is working.
  4. There are no really bad exercises, but there definitely are really good ones and these will differ from person to person and goal to goal. It’s a pain in the backside but you’ll have to figure each one out for yourself.
  5. Warming up properly and maintaining sufficient mobility for what you want to do are so important it isn’t funny. Make sure you do both before you start actually needing to due to injury. Prevention > cure.

Just in relation to point four, this is my suggestion of patterns/exercises to find your ‘really good’ variations of:

  • a squat
  • a single leg exercise
  • two horizontal pulls
  • a horizontal push
  • a vertical push

As far as I understand the only vertical pull is pull-ups or chin-ups - so there’s no need to figure out which variation works best really.

However, whenever you really start wondering about whether you need to change anything refer to point three.

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Thanks @MarkKO thats very useful. Il just keep doing what im doing and i think if i stall then its definitely time for something new.

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Destroyed todays workout! ! I figured out that before i do chinups if i do some warm up sets of pulldowns i can feel it in ky lats more when i do chinups this is addrd to toolbox.
Before i did my chest work i did soke machine chest presses and when i did my db press i could feel my chest working when i normally dont. Even tho last week i was sick and fuc*ed my workouts somehow iv gone up in strentgh .Flat dumbell bench was still a little difficultbut when It came to incline i managed to get 20+reps each set.

Upper 1:
Chinups i suck at these i used to be decent but since i dont do them only pullups i got bad at them. and to me pullups suck compared to chinups because i get a better ROM and feel my lats more.
So chinups from now on.
Chinups 4sets ×5
Chest supported row 3 sets 10 20 kg
Low row 3 sets 10 12/20
Flat db bench press 3 sets 10 22.5 kg
Incline 3 sets 10 20kg but i got more like 3 sets 20-30. Were really light.
Seated db shoulder press was meant to be 17.5 but that was to easy so i did an intense 3sets of 10 with 20kg.
Rear delt raises 4 sets of 35 1kg (thanks @littlesleeper for the link to meadows articlr. These destroyed my rear delts and embarrassingky since iv never trained them i used 1 kilo dumbells. And didnt even make 35 more like 20. And i think maybe il start doing a bigger jump thrn 2.5kg for my major exercises because it seems ny strength goes up quicker. Hmm but i dont know…

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I had four hours sleep and i still crushed tis workout. I am very tired now though

Do you guys all know what i mean by say db bench 20kg. Just to clarify its wjat i use each hand . Am i meant to say the combined weight or just keep saying it how i say it. I dont know these things.

I generally go by the weight per hand.

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Don’t do this. Just take it slow and build up. If it’s a bit light one week and you do say 20 reps instead of 10 then it’s some work in a different rep range which will probably do you good anyway. Also if ever you have a bad day, which happens sometimes, then it’ll make it a lot easier for you. Even with 2.5kg added a week that’s 10kg a month and 120g a year, imagine that. Another thing to remember, you’re only really young, everyone wants fast results but lifting isn’t something short term you’re in it for the long game. Smaller movements might need even smaller jumps.

The only exception is I’d say you could probably add 5kg a week to your big lower body lifts for a bit before adding 2.5kg but if I remember correctly you’re already using all the weight you can for them?

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Nah i been doing smith squats with a different food placement so there much harder now, 70 kilos last week but 75 this weeks or 72.5 depending.

Alright will stick to the 2.5kg progression thanks @caesium32

The dumbells at my gym only go to 35kg so in few months when iv maxed out i dont know what im gonna do because i live in small town with one gym

Il have to do smith presses😭

Then hit high reps with the 35kgs. Simple. There’s only so many things you can do when it comes to training.

Move a heavier weight.
Move the same weight faster.
Move the same weight for more reps.
Move the same weight with shorter rest intervals.
Move the same weight slowly(tempo), feeling the muscle.
Move the same weight more frequently.

I’m sure I missed out a bunch but this about sums up progression.

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Nutrition:
Breakfast couple bowls of cereal,toadt protein shake
Recess nut bar,fruit
Lunch chicken veggetables.
Afternoon sandwiches ham n cheese
Dinner chicken curry
Before sleep casein.

Forgot to buy greek yoghurt so buying some tomorrow

Are doms a good thing or a bad thing? I hardly get them anymore

Leg day today, Gotta crush it !