Hello everyone! I have been looking for an intermediate training routine but can’t seem to find one. I have had the same routine for 2 years now and I feel like I am no longer making any progress so if anyone has an official intermediate routien that has been proven to work please share with me
Thank you all in advance
This would be a good place to start
I’m intrigued what happens when your exercise gets classified as “officially” intermediate, does it get a certificate or a medal or something?
Semantics aside, What beginners program have you been following? What’s your progress been like? Are you hitting your goals? What are your goals?
I’m amazed that you couldn’t find an “intermediate program”. I rarely see a forum thread go by without someone recommending 5/3/1 or the Texas Method.
“Hey guys, I want to add 20lbs to my squat”
“Do 5/3/1”
“Hey guys, I want to get Hyyyyyuge”
“Do 5/3/1”
“Hey guys, I want to learn to juggle knives with my dick”
“Do 5/3/1”
Having a goal would be helpful.
For me personally, the intermediate program I loved and had success with was “Big Beyond Belief,” which you can read about with some searches on here. Spidey22 is another user who liked this program. Got my squat into the low 400s, built my “strength endurance” in terms of high rep sets very well, gave me a “religion” to be enthusiastic about at the time. Just all around good, fun program for me. Try to find the book and actually read it.
Another classic staple that many would recommend: http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding/do_this_routine_instead_of_that_dumb_one?id=4404649&pageNo=0
[quote]Fabriziox1 wrote:
I have been looking for an intermediate training routine but can’t seem to find one.[/quote]
You didn’t look very hard. There’s a plan literally titled “Mountain Dog Training for Intermediates”:
I’m not saying you should do that, because you may not have hit some of Meadows’ criteria to actually be considered “intermediate”, but it’s there.
What is your current specific goal? That’s a pretty big factor in choosing/designing a program.
A few months ago you talked about getting to 10% bodyfat. Did that work?
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
[quote]Fabriziox1 wrote:
I have been looking for an intermediate training routine but can’t seem to find one.[/quote]
You didn’t look very hard. There’s a plan literally titled “Mountain Dog Training for Intermediates”:
I’m not saying you should do that, because you may not have hit some of Meadows’ criteria to actually be considered “intermediate”, but it’s there.
[/quote]
+1 to starting out without any of the Meadows intensifiers (controlled descent, etc). IMO you’re better off using a more basic exercise selection and a more standard bodypart split. Meadows’ programs are, at least imo, really more “intermediate-advanced.”
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
[quote]Fabriziox1 wrote:
I have been looking for an intermediate training routine but can’t seem to find one.[/quote]
You didn’t look very hard. There’s a plan literally titled “Mountain Dog Training for Intermediates”:
I’m not saying you should do that, because you may not have hit some of Meadows’ criteria to actually be considered “intermediate”, but it’s there.
What is your current specific goal? That’s a pretty big factor in choosing/designing a program.
A few months ago you talked about getting to 10% bodyfat. Did that work?[/quote]
Yeah I ended up getting to around 8% actually and started a lean bulk. People keep mentioning “goals”, honestly I just want to look better physically, aesthetic I’m not a believer that you need to have your goals set to get things done… I just like going to the gym and want to look better and that has been enough of a reason as of why I haven’t quit going/have had a constant diet for years.
[quote]dagill2 wrote:
I’m intrigued what happens when your exercise gets classified as “officially” intermediate, does it get a certificate or a medal or something?
Semantics aside, What beginners program have you been following? What’s your progress been like? Are you hitting your goals? What are your goals?
I’m amazed that you couldn’t find an “intermediate program”. I rarely see a forum thread go by without someone recommending 5/3/1 or the Texas Method.
“Hey guys, I want to add 20lbs to my squat”
“Do 5/3/1”
“Hey guys, I want to get Hyyyyyuge”
“Do 5/3/1”
“Hey guys, I want to learn to juggle knives with my dick”
“Do 5/3/1”[/quote]
Doesn’t this routine exclude mutiple muscle groups libe biceps, abs etc? So far I have hit my goals which were dropping to 10% bf (got to 8) and the from there start lean bulking to gain mass, which is where the problem comes in… I haven’t been seeing results from my current workout program which I have been using for a very LONG time
5/3/1 does not exclude multiple muscle groups. You may be thinking of a different program.
531 basically tells you to train four barbell lifts for strength, based on a specific percentage progression, and then add other lifts to fill out the program. So the answer is ‘not necessarily’.
However, if you really don’t care how much weight you can move, 531 may not be for you since it is really built around enjoying steady strength improvements.
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
531 basically tells you to train four barbell lifts for strength, based on a specific percentage progression, and then add other lifts to fill out the program. So the answer is ‘not necessarily’.
However, if you really don’t care how much weight you can move, 531 may not be for you since it is really built around enjoying steady strength improvements.[/quote]
I’ve seen this sentiment a lot and I find it really odd. 5/3/1 is the program that had the most radical impact on my physique, allowing me to put on 15lbs in 6 months. The change was dramatic enough that one of my wife’s co-workers who hadn’t seen me in since I put on the weight thought that my wife had divorced and got remarried in that 6 months time.
The top set for as many reps as possible paired with the assistance work (I stared with BBB and used variations from there) can have a pretty drastic impact if followed with some eyeball popping intensity. Meanwhile, I didn’t really see the greatest strength gains on it.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
531 basically tells you to train four barbell lifts for strength, based on a specific percentage progression, and then add other lifts to fill out the program. So the answer is ‘not necessarily’.
However, if you really don’t care how much weight you can move, 531 may not be for you since it is really built around enjoying steady strength improvements.[/quote]
I’ve seen this sentiment a lot and I find it really odd. 5/3/1 is the program that had the most radical impact on my physique, allowing me to put on 15lbs in 6 months. The change was dramatic enough that one of my wife’s co-workers who hadn’t seen me in since I put on the weight thought that my wife had divorced and got remarried in that 6 months time.
The top set for as many reps as possible paired with the assistance work (I stared with BBB and used variations from there) can have a pretty drastic impact if followed with some eyeball popping intensity. Meanwhile, I didn’t really see the greatest strength gains on it.
[/quote]
Interesting.
I think the reason people consider it a “strength” program is that the basic idea behind the % loading of 5s, 3s, 5/3/1s followed by a deload is designed to enable longterm progress / weight increases on the main lifts. Which is obviously a good thing, in many ways, but goes against the common idea of “building muscle” in 4 or 8 or 12 weeks. Of course, BBB is specifically designed as a hypertrophy / mass gain protocol, and includes a lot of additional relatively low-intensity volume for that purpose.
I’ve never done BBB myself but would like to at some point, and consider it a good recommendation for a lot of people looking for a new routine. Perhaps including the OP, if his goal is mass.
Do a search on here and you will find enough intermediate programs to keep you enthused for years.
Mountain Dog springs to mind especially if you are used to a 5x5 type approach as it’s good to try something completely different. That often results in noticeable gains.
Tim Henriques program here will get you used to a once a week bodypart split. This is probably where you should start.
I’m a big fan of training in cycles or blocks and Mike Robinson has that approach.
http://www.T-Nation.com/training/stair-step-approach-to-muscle
So does this guy :
A lot of T Nationers love Max OT . Most trainers over the years have added modifications by adding reps to the isolation exercises.
German Volume Training is one that trainers seem to either love or hate. There are a few different versions of it but do a search and you can read all about it. This is a good one to do in a 6 week block straight after a strength phase.
Charles Staley is well known for Escalating Density Training. I love it for conditioning. If you want to get fit and ripped this is for you.
Escalating Density Training: Revisited
If I was young and really fit I would try and do this at least for a 6 week block.:
Push / Pull / Legs is a very popular split for a few obvious reasons. It gives your joints a rest whilst still being able to train the same body part more then once per week. Also no training session causes an adverse effect on the other so actual days don’t matter as you can just rotate through regardless. Always a great split to start with after full body.
So there’s a few to get you started.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
531 basically tells you to train four barbell lifts for strength, based on a specific percentage progression, and then add other lifts to fill out the program. So the answer is ‘not necessarily’.
However, if you really don’t care how much weight you can move, 531 may not be for you since it is really built around enjoying steady strength improvements.[/quote]
I’ve seen this sentiment a lot and I find it really odd. 5/3/1 is the program that had the most radical impact on my physique, allowing me to put on 15lbs in 6 months. The change was dramatic enough that one of my wife’s co-workers who hadn’t seen me in since I put on the weight thought that my wife had divorced and got remarried in that 6 months time.
The top set for as many reps as possible paired with the assistance work (I stared with BBB and used variations from there) can have a pretty drastic impact if followed with some eyeball popping intensity. Meanwhile, I didn’t really see the greatest strength gains on it.
[/quote]
I’m not saying it’s bad for hypertrophy. I’m saying that the psychological factor would be lost on someone who doesn’t really care about strength gains.
Perhaps I don’t understand the psychological factor you are speaking to. If ones goal is to get bigger, and the program they follow gets them bigger, wouldn’t that be psychologically rewarding?
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
Perhaps I don’t understand the psychological factor you are speaking to.[/quote]
I’m also confused. T3hPwnisher didn’t mention any psychological factors to my reading of his post. Apart from potentially the ability to use + sets effectively?
It boils down to this: if you don’t enjoy breaking PRs, one of the big 531 cornerstones is missing. I’m not talking about physiology here, nor am I speaking for myself.
I remain confused, but I believe the problem is on my end.
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
It boils down to this: if you don’t enjoy breaking PRs, one of the big 531 cornerstones is missing. I’m not talking about physiology here, nor am I speaking for myself.[/quote]
I get what you’re saying now, but I don’t see it as a big reason not to do 5/3/1 because even if you take the PR’s out of the equation, I just don’t think the program is missing anything.