Qualified and experienced PT here to help

I'm not actually worried about my bench, quite the opposite. I run very powerlift-centric, and often find myself too (CNS) exhausted after my main lift of the day to get too far into the auxillaries. So I get what you would expect... big torso in relation to my arms/shoulders.

When I mess up my diet, it is always to the "not eating enough" side. I don't have nearly the appetite to sustain an extra 35 lbs of muscle. Force feeding is no stranger to me. Peanut butter, 2L of milk a day minimum, you know the drill. I don't protein shake, supplement, or pre-workout, though. Often lift fasted.
Most YT vids like we mentioned above seem not to emphasize veggies too much, but I always have a sneaking suspicion that they're not recommending (and I'm not eating enough).

Sleep is not an issue. Regular schedule. 7-8 hours a night, no alarm to interrupt REM cycles. Usually 1 hour nap during day.

Was on Wendler 5 3 1 until this month... body felt good, but not enough volume, no gains. Now I'm trying to get in 5-6 days a week push/pull/squat/push/pull/DL, and it's done better in one month than 4 on Wendler, but same problem again... I often crap out energy wise before I get all my intended aux lifts in, and shoulder impingment is becoming an issue. (not the end of the world, just a reminder to keep good form)




Lifts are 380dl/330sq/240bp @ 202bw

 

I hear ya. In the beginning, I found it best to start out with a no-ambiguity program like SL, just because it takes all the variables (which I wasn't aware of) out of the equation. But as I got to intermediate, things changed... one def needs to get a better handle on what's going on so he doesn't get hoodwinked with BS products or develop chronic injuries.

No shit. Just put a pair of huge guns on a guy, and some folks will buy anything they point to... except the juice he used to get there, of course.

Don't know if you're a UFC guy, but if so, let's hope Cyborg gets put to sleep tonight. Damn roid monkeys ruining it for everyone.

 

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah 2300 is my maintenance. It is really hard to garner the appetite to eat extra cals (agreed with @Devil's Details).
1. Yeah I train on the power rack in my gym, but I haven't really used the safety bars. Will continue to lift heavy.
2. This past couple of years I was following SL5x5 on and off, only back routinely this year. And yeah 2 years is long. I am unsure of my 1RM for my lifts, but I reckon if I just continue to hit at least 1.5xBW for most lifts I will be fine haha.
3. I barely do cardio outside of canoeing. Noted on the specificity.

Will do all these! Thank you so much @Appleglory

 

Do you think Stronglifts 5x5 is better for gaining mass than Starting Strength 3x5?

If I still want to train with barbells but I'd rather mass than strength, more volume is better, right?

 

Here you go, man.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html

 

Haha @Devil's Details I am constantly envious of bigger guys lifting heavy too (which can even be a trigger). Anyhow, squat away!

 

It works both ways. The taller guys (I started at 6' 1", 170 lbs) can lift more weight in an absolute sense, but the shorter smaller guys fill out their frame thicker, more aesthetically, and generally lift more on a BW% basis.

This.

One of my favorite things in PL'ing is taking a detour to the gym on the other side of town where all the big, aggro bouncers congregate, stick on 100lbs more than they've seen in their life, and let out the almighty roar as it goes up.

I also don't have to wait in line at their clubs. Too bad I hate EDM.

 

Sorry, missed this earlier.

Probably lost some, truth be told. I had wanted to take it easy for awhile after hoisting 400+ for the first time (sumo), and 531 seemed like a good way to tread water as there's very little volume. But all that extra time and energy ended up going somewhere else less productive, and thus a few months later here I am on nofap.

Don't really know that it's helping me any, but if I can help a couple guys out here and there, (I see some major flaws in the general approach here), well, let's just say I have a bill that needs paying.

 

Glad to have found this thread. I am 68 and still trying to keep in shape. I have been lifting somewhat steady for almost 30 years.Did a few PL meets about 18 years ago . I did DL 405 at age 50 but that ain't happening now. I have been doing some programs from Starting Strengths Barbell RX but found although I did make some progress with the weights I lifted I was looking fat. Actually going out to my garage soon and going to do a 3x3 metabolic program
SB Sqts,DB bench press and pulldowns no rest between lifts, then rest about two minutes and repeat two more times.Lets all hope for a Fap free year.

 

Thanks, and sorry I should have given more info about myself.

I've been training for 3 years following the Starting Strength novice program. My best lifts are 440DL, 330S, 235B. I'm 5-8 and around 160lbs.

I know you've guys have talked about skinny guys being strong on this thread but I want to get bigger.

Would you recommend more volume, 5x5, and more calories to gain an extra 20lbs?

Thanks,
- TruChange

 

I have some sort or sciatica in my hip and leg. Recently my foot and leg gets numb, and week as pain in the hip and glute. Also pain in the arch of the foot. Any suggestions? I understand your not a doctor and not diagnosing the condition, but can
Maybe offer some stretches or exercises I can try.

 

Can you recommend some exercises to loosen up the muscles in my lower back? I developed a problem with it out of nowhere last week. I've been to physio and they were going to give me some exercises but never came back to me. It's not painful at present, but it's tight and I have a restricted range of movement (albeit it's gradually improving each day).