Improving strenght

[mtc]

Hi guys, i'm thinking to start my first cycle in the next 6 months (a simple Test E cycle, but i don't want to talk about it right now) but before i want to become stronger, so i've some questions for you, 'till 2 months ago i was training with A1-B1-A2-B2 schedule:

A1:
Bench press 4x6
Dumbbell press 4x8/10
Cables crossover 4x10
Chest press single arm 3x10

Military press 4x6/8
Dumbbell shoulder press (neutral grip) 4x8/10
Rear delt 3x10

Barbell curl 4x6/8
Dumbbell curl 4x6/8

B1:
Deadlift
Barbell row
Pulley
High pulley row

Squat
Leg extension
Leg curl

Close grip bench press
Push down

The 2nd version of each training follow the same way as the first ones but changing the exercise, for example instead of bench press i was doing weighted DIPS and so on, i was resting from 1 min for the lighter exercises to 2 mins for the heavier ones. When i was training this way my muscles were full, now i've sticked to a strength program, the classic 5x5 Bill Starr, i'm making some progress in terms of strength but my body doesn't look full like it was before, so the first 2 questions are: Do I looked fuller before because of the high volume training? Was it just an optical illusion made by water inside muscles?
Back to Bill Starr, i'm making great progress on squat and deadlift, but i'm stuck with the bench press from 2 weeks on the same weight, i can perform only 4 reps, any advice?

I'm 176cm 77Kg 25yo, these are my max for 5 reps:
deadlift 164kg
squat 110kg
bench 101Kg

 

[SinisterDog]

Well strength training and hypertrophy training a lot of times tend to be mutually exclusive . Usually you set one goal at a time and work towards it for a 6-12 week cycle or block then switch things up. But short answer ya high volume with shorter rests will give you more of a pump and make you look like that I’ve found. Strength work tends to have longer rests and less volume. How long have you been running the starr 5x5? And did you write your program or take that from somewhere. Reason I ask is it’s usually better to follow a proven program than to try and do your own. Starting strength and starr 5x5 are great programs to follow. I personally like Wendlers 5/3/1 because it’s highly customizable to your goals. Not going to go into detail but right now I’m running a 12 week max strength block and I’ll test my 1rm then Ill switch to maybe a 6 week hypertrophy block . If strength is your thing then stick with the starr program. Program hopping only leads to little progress and wasted time.

 

[Necessary Evil]

Well, if you are stuck in weight it may be time to start a deload. It's proven to help. You could either decrease the intensity and/or volume by 50% or even skip the gym for some days to help promote recovery. It might seem like counter productive but trust me it's the best thing you can do if you have reached a plateau.

While strength training is pretty much essential for muscular development I think that it's time to change things up. If you really enjoy strength training you could try a correctly structured periodized program that does both strength and hypertrophy and would suit you very well in my opinion. Layne Norton's PHAT program is really good.

 

[mtc]

Well strength training and hypertrophy training a lot of times tend to be mutually exclusive . Usually you set one goal at a time and work towards it for a 6-12 week cycle or block then switch things up. But short answer ya high volume with shorter rests will give you more of a pump and make you look like that I’ve found. Strength work tends to have longer rests and less volume. How long have you been running the starr 5x5? And did you write your program or take that from somewhere. Reason I ask is it’s usually better to follow a proven program than to try and do your own. Starting strength and starr 5x5 are great programs to follow. I personally like Wendlers 5/3/1 because it’s highly customizable to your goals. Not going to go into detail but right now I’m running a 12 week max strength block and I’ll test my 1rm then Ill switch to maybe a 6 week hypertrophy block . If strength is your thing then stick with the starr program. Program hopping only leads to little progress and wasted time.

I was in this program for 8 weeks, and i found it online, when it comes to strength programs i prefer to stick to something proven to works instead of testing by myself. I agree with you, hopping every 4-5 weeks to different programs is meaningless, the first and only strength program i've tried in my life is the bill starr one, it works so why change?

Well, if you are stuck in weight it may be time to start a deload. It's proven to help. You could either decrease the intensity and/or volume by 50% or even skip the gym for some days to help promote recovery. It might seem like counter productive but trust me it's the best thing you can do if you have reached a plateau.

While strength training is pretty much essential for muscular development I think that it's time to change things up. If you really enjoy strength training you could try a correctly structured periodized program that does both strength and hypertrophy and would suit you very well in my opinion. Layne Norton's PHAT program is really good.

I believe in deload too, but i don't think i needed it, not with a so low training volume, next time i'll try some days off, now i've switched to the hypertrophy (old) schedule i've used to do in the past, just with a little less volume, so when my body adapts to it i can add 4-5 series more per week. The PHAT program looks really interesting, when i was doing my strength program i was tempted to do 2 days for the strength and 2 days for the hypertrophy, but i thought that increasing the volume could have decreased my performance on the strength days, and now i discover that exist a program similar to what i was thinking, thank you bro, i'll try it in the next future for sure.