input on my training progress

[tattedlegend]

Hey everyone,
First let me apologize if this is in the wrong section.
I want to post an update of my current stats and get feedback on my current progress.
I started seriously training beginning of December 2014. It has now been about 6 months. I have not ran any gear, nothing but creatine, protein(whey and hydrolyzed beef), multi vitamin, joint support and fish oil. In December I started at
5'10
150Lb
Approx 7-8% BF
185 bench 1rm
205 squat 1rm
225 deadlift 1rm
My most recent training stats are
162 lbs
5.7-7% bf (I don't think the machine is very accurAte)
225 bench 1rm
275 squat 3rm
315 deadlift 1rm
I am 20 years old, I don't plan on running any gear now or in the near future.
My diet consists of 175-225g protein (at least) and 3500 cal (at least) daily. Don't really track carbs or fats.
Are these good gains for 6 months time? I know I probably gained quickly because I wasn't at my potential when I started. I was using drugs, mainly benzos and opiates and smoking marijuana daily. I have persued a life of sobriety since then, but still struggled with smoking until 25 days ago (25 days 100% clean, feelin great)
Just looking for some General feed back, regarding progress of my gains, and my diet.
Again I apologize if this is in the wrong section and a mod may move it.
Thank you all, much appreciated

 

[jaymaximus]

Congrats on the sobriety. Its the 1st step.
Youve made some good progress, just keep at it.
What are your goals as far as your training? That will help figure out your diet and what you should do going forward.

 

[tattedlegend]

Thank you, Jaymaximus
It means a lot.
As of right now, I want to set realistic goals, and further them upon reaching them. When I started my goals were What my current 1rm are now, except I want to reach a 315 squat as well.
Weight wise , I want to get up to 175lbs and maintain my 7% or less BF.
I'm more concerned with how I look than what weight I can push. I am fairly knowledgeable in weightlifting and continuing to gain knowledge in nutrition, currently studying for ISSA certification as well.
Appreciate the input .

 

[weighted chinup]

Good work so far, and nice strength gains in such a short period. How does your training currently look?

Keep it up, the strength gains are coming in nice and steady for you. Be patient and you will be impressed with where you are at in another 6 months, a year, etc.

 

[tattedlegend]

Thank you, weighted chin up.
My training schedule is as follows
3 days on, 1 day rest.
Day 1 back and bi, main lifts
Deadlift 5x5 135,225,275,275,225(sets x reps x weight, 1st and last set normally 8-10 reps)
Standing bent over back rows 4x10 135,155,155,155
Lat pull downs 4x5-8 145,160,160,145
Few other back exercises, I switch out and integrated other lifts.
Biceps normally curls, hammers, preacher curls, overland grip curls, and curl bar 80lbs
Day two chest tri I switch between dumbbells and barbell exercises
Dumbell press 75lbs or
Bench press 185 3x5
Incline dumbells 60lbs or
Incline bench 155 4x5
Decline bench 185 3x8
Decline dumbells 65lbs
Leg day normally consists of
Squat 225 4x5
Front squat 3x10 135
Leg press 4x5 450
Leg extensions and leg curls
Weighted calf raise superset with unweighted calf raise
Thanks for the input
Edit: these are not all the lifts I do, just the main one's I can remember right now

 

[weighted chinup]

Looks good friend, I run a similar setup so I can offer a few suggestions for things that I have worked for me if you don't mind. Pick and choose and experiment as you want, just some friendly advice.

I notice you mentioned alternating / switching out exercises for other exercises, do you do this for a specific reason or is it just change for the sake of change? If so, I would suggest keeping exercise selection consistent, and rather than changing movements, keep them consistent so you can train the same movements more, more practice with them will help with getting stronger at them. Practicing movements more will get you more adept at them and will facilitate more / faster strength gains and your physique will reflect that.

for example, instead of alternating BB bench with dumbbell bench as your main movement every other session, stick with BB every time you train Push as your first movement, and pick 1 dumbbell movement to do after if you wish. This puts focus on your main movement, BB bench, and will let you practice it more frequently since you aren't alternating. You can also reduce exercise selection a little bit and invest that volume into a smaller selection of exercises, this is an excellent tool imo and something I utilize too.

Other then that looks good, that is my only suggestion.

My current setup is somewhat similar to yours like I said, it looks like this

Weighted Dips
Incline Barbell Bench
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Straight Bar Pressdown

Weighted Chin-up
Weighted Pull-up
Seated Row
Lying Cable Curl

Front Squat
Weighted Hyperextension

I take rest days when I feel the need and pick up from where I left off.

 

[tattedlegend]

Much appreciated input Weighted Chinup. I normally alternate my lifts just because I didn't want my body to get "used" to the workout, but that would probably only be the case after long period of time. I will implement your advice and see how it works out.
Thanks again

 

[weighted chinup]

Much appreciated input Weighted Chinup. I normally alternate my lifts just because I didn't want my body to get "used" to the workout, but that would probably only be the case after long period of time. I will implement your advice and see how it works out.
Thanks again

Keep us updated. And no problem.

 

[insertnamehere]

Thank you, weighted chin up.
My training schedule is as follows
3 days on, 1 day rest.
Day 1 back and bi, main lifts
Deadlift 5x5 135,225,275,275,225(sets x reps x weight, 1st and last set normally 8-10 reps)
Standing bent over back rows 4x10 135,155,155,155
Lat pull downs 4x5-8 145,160,160,145
Few other back exercises, I switch out and integrated other lifts.
Biceps normally curls, hammers, preacher curls, overland grip curls, and curl bar 80lbs
Day two chest tri I switch between dumbbells and barbell exercises
Dumbell press 75lbs or
Bench press 185 3x5
Incline dumbells 60lbs or
Incline bench 155 4x5
Decline bench 185 3x8
Decline dumbells 65lbs
Leg day normally consists of
Squat 225 4x5
Front squat 3x10 135
Leg press 4x5 450
Leg extensions and leg curls
Weighted calf raise superset with unweighted calf raise
Thanks for the input
Edit: these are not all the lifts I do, just the main one's I can remember right now

Are you doing 5x5 for every weight you have listed for deadlift? If so, what is the reason for this?

 

[Ozzy619]

Hey everyone,
First let me apologize if this is in the wrong section.
I want to post an update of my current stats and get feedback on my current progress.
I started seriously training beginning of December 2014. It has now been about 6 months. I have not ran any gear, nothing but creatine, protein(whey and hydrolyzed beef), multi vitamin, joint support and fish oil. In December I started at
5'10
150Lb
Approx 7-8% BF
185 bench 1rm
205 squat 1rm
225 deadlift 1rm
My most recent training stats are
162 lbs
5.7-7% bf (I don't think the machine is very accurAte)
225 bench 1rm
275 squat 3rm
315 deadlift 1rm
I am 20 years old, I don't plan on running any gear now or in the near future.
My diet consists of 175-225g protein (at least) and 3500 cal (at least) daily. Don't really track carbs or fats.
Are these good gains for 6 months time? I know I probably gained quickly because I wasn't at my potential when I started. I was using drugs, mainly benzos and opiates and smoking marijuana daily. I have persued a life of sobriety since then, but still struggled with smoking until 25 days ago (25 days 100% clean, feelin great)
Just looking for some General feed back, regarding progress of my gains, and my diet.
Again I apologize if this is in the wrong section and a mod may move it.
Thank you all, much appreciated

Those are very good gains for 6 months. Theres a lot of recovering addicts and alkies here, myself included. Traded that shit for the iron. Glad you found it at a young age. You still have a lot of natty potential and with your progress Im sure youll hit 315 bench within a year. Keep it up.

 

[tattedlegend]

Keep us updated. And no problem.

No I don't do it on my warm up set or final set, just my heavy sets of 275. Thank you for the reply.

Thank you Ozzy619, it's very appreciated. Thank you for your input

 

[insertnamehere]

No I don't do it on my warm up set or final set, just my heavy sets of 275. Thank you for the reply.

Thank you Ozzy619, it's very appreciated. Thank you for your input

I'm assuming you meant to quote me.

Ok, that makes more sense. Otherwise that would be an insane amount of volume for deads.

What is your plan of progression? As in, when do you add more weight to your squat, bench, and dead, and how much do you add?

 

[tattedlegend]

I'm assuming you meant to quote me.

Ok, that makes more sense. Otherwise that would be an insane amount of volume for deads.

What is your plan of progression? As in, when do you add more weight to your squat, bench, and dead, and how much do you add?

I normally add more weight when the weight I use for 3-5 reps becomes something I can rep 8 times. I normally will add about 10-20 lbs depending on the lift, and use the New weight for sets of 3-5 reps. Is this an effective method , or what would you recommend ?
Thank you for the input
Edit: for clarification on the deadlift, it normally goes as follows
135 for 10 reps
225 for 6-8 reps
275 for 5 reps
275 for 5 reps
225 for 5 reps
Not multiple sets of each weight, sorry if that was confusing

 

[insertnamehere]

I normally add more weight when the weight I use for 3-5 reps becomes something I can rep 8 times. I normally will add about 10-20 lbs depending on the lift, and use the New weight for sets of 3-5 reps. Is this an effective method , or what would you recommend ?
Thank you for the input
Edit: for clarification on the deadlift, it normally goes as follows
135 for 10 reps
225 for 6-8 reps
275 for 5 reps
275 for 5 reps
225 for 5 reps
Not multiple sets of each weight, sorry if that was confusing

Yes, thank you for clarifying that.

What you're currently doing seems to be working just fine for you. You've made nice gains in the last 6 months. Is there a more effective method? More than likely but the difference may not be noticeable.

Since you're essentially just starting out, I personally would like to see you on a 5x5 program with the big three (squat, bench, deads). I know strength isn't really your goal but as WC said, if you get strong, your body will reflect that.

However, you're making steady progress so just keep doing what you're doing until it stops working. When it stops, look into some of the structured strength programs out there and pick one to try out.

You're doing great. Keep up the good work and you'll amazed at where you'll be in a year.

 

[tattedlegend]

Yes, thank you for clarifying that.

What you're currently doing seems to be working just fine for you. You've made nice gains in the last 6 months. Is there a more effective method? More than likely but the difference may not be noticeable.

Since you're essentially just starting out, I personally would like to see you on a 5x5 program with the big three (squat, bench, deads). I know strength isn't really your goal but as WC said, if you get strong, your body will reflect that.

However, you're making steady progress so just keep doing what you're doing until it stops working. When it stops, look into some of the structured strength programs out there and pick one to try out.

You're doing great. Keep up the good work and you'll amazed at where you'll be in a year.

Thank you very much for the feedback , its much appreciated. Very reassuring to see I'm heading in the right direction with my training, I do a lot of research to try and make it as effective as possible and it really is paying off.
Thank you everyone for the replies thus far.
Glad to be accepted into such a knowledgeable weightlifting community and excited to see where this journey takes me.

 

[B Easy]

Congrats on the progress man, especially on your sobriety. Addiction is a curse, but you can turn it into a blessing my replacing a good habit with a bad one, which it seems like you are doing. Some of the most dedicated, motivated, and successful people I know (inside and outside the gym) are recovering addicts who have refocused themselves and become "addicted" to success and being the best they can be. Stay focused and keep up the good work and you will shatter every goal you set.

 

[tattedlegend]

Congrats on the progress man, especially on your sobriety. Addiction is a curse, but you can turn it into a blessing my replacing a good habit with a bad one, which it seems like you are doing. Some of the most dedicated, motivated, and successful people I know (inside and outside the gym) are recovering addicts who have refocused themselves and become "addicted" to success and being the best they can be. Stay focused and keep up the good work and you will shatter every goal you set.

Thank you B Easy, it really means a lot.

 

[TheKid83]

Traded the shit for iron... Feel that bro

 

[TheKid83]

It's amazing how many people that on this site are in the rooms too