Looking for a New Routine - Strength Phase

Morning all,

I’m 4 weeks in to the Reactive Pump programme and enjoying it (Check out my training log
All for the Pump - Creeping Death 2 - #4 by TrainForPain ) and do plan to finish it!

But after over a year of working out from home before this I’ve not enjoyed being weaker on the big lifts in the gym.

So i was thinking about running a FB 3 times a week or an upper/lower push/pull phase afterwards.

I want a 3-4 day routine and wanted to improve my my big lifts while still getting some hypertrophy in. I don’t deadlift and have only just started squatting again after quite a few years out. I’m happy to swap those exercises out and use others on a programme with a progression model (RDL & Hack Squats).

So looking for recommendations really. Never done a FB 3 times per week but most of them look a little unrounded.

Thank you

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Try 5/3/1

There are a couple of the books you can get on the Kindle store which detail different templates you can use.

The overall premise of it is you do one main lift (OHP, Bench,Squat,DL) each day and format accessory work to suit. There are several templates that are geared towards hypertrophy.

Progression model is easy to follow and allows steady progress over time. You can also use variations of these lifts as your main lift if you wish to, for example I was using Zercher Squats as my main squats and continue to use Trap Bar Deadlifts as my main deadlift.

I’ve been using it for months now and was making great progress before I got injured

Cheers, ran 531 for quite some time and really enjoyed it but was wondering if i’d benefit more from doing the lifts more often and a FB kinda template. That being said i should have thought about building the monolith or something like that as they did a good job on strength and size.

You can run a form of BBB where you do main lift using 5/3/1 and do volume of work using alternate main lift. For example on bench days use OHP as hypertrophy work for 5 sets then vice versa

Look up Brian Ahlsruhe 4horseman on YouTube. It’ll show you a free set up OR you can buy his written ‘perfected’ version for $25 USD.

I have had outstanding success on it gaining strength, size and conditioning.

It is not for the weak minded

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Korte 3x3!!!

Powerlifting Academy has a 16 week program that might fit the bill but it’s pretty intense. Barbell Medicine has a 3 day program but it is light on accessories so maybe Building the Monolith is your best bet (I’ve seen a bench focus one if you want to bench more).

You’re right about FB 3/ week routines being unrounded. If you’re just doing the Big lifts all the time You need to be rounded. Your body needs to be prepared to get the most from those routines.

You said you haven’t been strength focused and haven’t been squatting much. So you need more practice with the lifts and more mass specific to the lifts. Like muscles in the right place to lift big.

Maybe you could spend some time on an upper/lower plan with lift specific days, like the Meadows/Tate hybrid BB/PL plan.

Or something cool from Thibadeau

Then you’ll be bigger and more prepared to get gains from a super focused, almost strength peaking routine like Korte or something. Theoretically.

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Do you train in a regular gym? I’m honestly curious how you pull it off

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Yeah man, I just swap out anything I don’t have/can’t make do.

There are obviously some exercises that are more efficient than others, but it’s not too hard to swap something out to get the same intended purpose

Like for example I don’t have a tonne of space to practically do farmers walks with heavy weight so I might do DB static holds or db marching in place

Stuff like that ain’t so bad, just need a little lateral thinking

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Fair enough. I just never felt comfortable doing it. Like even walking off to do the jumps in between deadlifts was begging someone to take the bar from me. That’s probably more a my head thing than reality though

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It’s almost the opposite.

People stop what they’re doing to watch me train sometimes. No bullshit.

I’ve had at least five different grown men come up and ask me what I’m training for in the last few months.

I also think the moat of sweat I leave around the barbell probably keeps them at bay too

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Well, you’re also jacked - that’s a variable

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What about super squats? Anyone got any views on that?

@T3hPwnisher frequently champions super squats and also deep water

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Honestly I don’t look that jacked in person. And I think the effort required in the giant sets is just so foreign to your average trainee

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I might do that after the reactive pump then to see how it is. Deep water scares me slightly and I’ve heard the workouts are really long.

I might think up some more excuses just in case someone else says Deep water.

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It seems like the perfect follow-on

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I found this version on line from Mr Carter which looks slightly ‘better’ or maybe i just prefer it to the original.

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Super squats is a great programme to add size. Not so great on the strength. It is not an either or. But it’s purpose it to make you bigger and if you get a bit stronger - then brilliant.
As an example - I ended up doing 22 squats with 140kg. My body exploded in size. But then 3 weeks later I failed a set of 5 squats at 160kg.

For strength FB is hard. If you want to do that - Texas method is the best way to go I’d imagain.
Persoanlly since I found upper lower work outs I’m sold on them. On a 3 day a week programme - that look like this:
Upper / Lower / Upper - Lower / Upper / Lower.

For loading I use 531 on big lifts and then lots of volume on the accessories as you have plent of recovery. But in all honest I find most stuff works well so long as you give it enough effort and food.

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From who?

Super Squats is awesome. Everyone should run it at least once, irrespective of goals. In regards to Super Squats and Deep Water, they’re excellent examples of opposite sides of the same coin. Super Squats is one big set of squats, Deep Water is 10 sets of 10. Both push you to the limit but in different ways.

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