I recently picked up training again and still need some advice.
My weight is around 215 at 6’1 and stayed the same for the last 5 months.
My current training plan consists of the following exercises.
squat 198 x 5 x 5 x 5
bench press 215 x 5 x 5 x 5
Power clean 154 x 5 x 5 x 5
cardio 40 min
deadlift 297 x 5 x 5 x 5
dips 12 x 12 x 12
pull ups 8 x 6 x 5
cardio 40min
My squat seems low but the rest looks good to me.
Nothing outstanding but I can regular push my limits.
One thing I am not sure about is stretching and flexibility work.
Especially after the last couple of exercises my Achilles tendon/soleus area felt very stiff.
I recently increased the speed on the treadmill so this might have something to do with it.
Not long ago I started foam rolling and these areas hurt quite a bit.
The other area I am unsure about is supplements,
as of now I don’t take anything except iron-II so I can donate blood again.
Is it worth checking out at my current level or can I postpone it or completely ignore it?
My best suggestion for you would be to look up a tried and true training plan where you will PROGRESS. That’s the key - otherwise you’re wasting your time.
Mobility work - can’t over do it. If you have the time (and patience) stretch every day, do dynamic mobility exercises, foam roll…can’t do too much.
Supplements - For general health, fish oil. BCAA/whey peri-workout will help with recovery. Apart from that, just eat well and you will get everything you need.
I have read Rippetoe’s Starting Strength and Practical Guide to programming, so continuing to make progress should not be an issue.
I have read some articles on T-Nation on stretching and flexibility, but is there a good book about it?
I always feel that these articles leave something out.
I will look into fish oil, I heard good things about it.
Alright, got myself some fish oil and I do think I noticed some small differences already. I will take it until my caps are depleted and try to look for a difference.
Read up on mobility work and started doing some regularly with some foam rolling.
Up till now I was training in a normal gym, luckily there is a Olympic lifting club nearby and I have already trained there two times. Strong guys, chalk, bumper plates and a trainer that knows his stuff.
What would you guys do continue lifting in a normal gym or start Olympic lifting?
Don’t really know for sure, the atmosphere in their small gym is awesome but I still have a membership for 7 months in my normal gym. Money wouldn’t be a big issue.
They don’t do deadlifts but they do flexibility work and are quite successful at weight lifting. I guess I should try it out and see if I am good at it.
I would suggest even to those who don’t wanna be oly lifters to train at an oly lifting club instead of some random gym. In general the atmosphere there is going to beat out the tons of machines at the gym which you don’t need anyway.
Your program looks fine as long as you squat twice per week at least.
Stretch/foam roll = the more the better. If it hurts when you foam roll it, then you probably should foam roll it. If it’s tight it also probably needs stretching and/or foam rolling.
Try to find stretches for everything butt and below. As long as you feel a stretch in the muscle that you are trying to stretch that’s good enough IMO. 4 sets of 30 seconds for each muscle is more than a decent amount of stretching if you do it every day.
Supplements, I suggest the same as the others, but… find a GOOD fish oil, otherwise you can be spending a lot of money which isn’t worth it. The one from Biotest is pretty good and if you are in the US its probably at a decent price. I’d start with 5grams of EPA+DHA combined per day.
A good multivitamin is also great. If you tend to feel sick often then definitely get vitamin C supplements. Other than that I suggest protein, creatine, glutamine and BCAAs in that order. Start with just protein and only during/post workout. Most important part for you right now though is to just lift often with proper technique and get your diet/sleep right.
I would suggest the same thing. Just wanted to know if he had goals, which he doesnt. Setting a goal for yourself, either in life or the gym is key to, well, achieving. If not, you just post stuff.
At worst, you would learn to snatch, squat, etc properly at the Oly gym.
I currently ride my bike for 45-90min during workdays, so no extra cardio on training days.
I do have goals that I want to achieve, if I start Olympic lifting a 100kg snatch and clean&jerk would be my first goal.
This would be doable within 3-4 months according to the trainer at the gym.
yeah i agree with previous posters, pick a tested and widely accepted program like 5x5, 5/3/1, juggernaut, or others. the longer you train, the more you realize and appreciate simple programs. i doesnt need to be anything crazy to succeed, the only thing that needs to be different from the norm is your attitude and work ethic.
as for supplement advice, i would actually advise getting some experience under your belt before jumping into supplements. much like training, there is a little bit of experimentation in taking supplements. if you really want something now, stick to protein, the most basic supplement, but still king of them all