Need help

[knucklesamich]

"8 to 12 sets per day each set to failure"
Bro, a lot of folks train differently, but I think you are overtraining my man. Try 1 - 2 sets each to failure, 6 - 12 reps. It took me forever to figure out I was overtraining, it took me forever to realize this. I like how Mentzer put it (God rest his soul). Imagine you are digging a hole, and when you're done, you're going to put a hill on that hole. Each set you do is like taking more out of the hole, you cannot build the hill until you fill up that hole. The bigger the hole, the more time it will take to fill it up and you cannot build the hill until the hole is filled.

You tear down muscle in the gym, you build muscle when you rest. IMO, focus on building strength, if you get enough rest, the next time you perform a particular exercise e.g. lat pull downs, you should be able to add more weight than before or complete more reps than last time. Muscle takes a little while, I can relate, it is frustrating lol. IMO, PEDs provide much faster recovery, but not fast enough for example, to train arms or legs every day, that's way too much.

 

[qadsan]

I made great progress with lower reps earlier on.

* especially once I started pinning testosterone . . .

But I never experimented with higher rep ranges back then, so I do not know whether I would have done even better with higher rep ranges. Maybe not?

I also experienced injuries working in lower rep ranges, that maybe, just maybe I would not have experienced working in higher rep ranges. My tendon connections and deep muscle tissue certainly do not seem to feel the same strain shooting for 15 as shooting for 5-8. It seems to me, not scientific, just my opinion, that the higher rep ranges are a lot safer for more advanced lifters, older, bigger, handling higher workloads on tendons that are no longer 19 years old.

That’s been my experiences as well as I’ve gotten older. Higher reps with lighter weights has definitely cut down on my injuries. The other thing that has helped me a lot in terms of reducing my injuries is first warming up with much lighter weights while going through the motions before going heavier, and also holding a stretch with the lighter weights to help stretch things out in my shoulders, chest, back, etc, before I start the heavier weights.

 

[cousinmuscles]

That training routine and what you are saying makes no sense. You can't train to failure and keep your next sets in the same rep range unless you keep dropping the weight. You obviously don't go heavy and don't do demanding exercises.

Go for reinventing yourself in training. Ditch the machines. Your new gods are Squats, Deadlifts, Bench press, Barbell row, Overhead press, Pullups and Dips. These exercises demand a lot

Progressive overload: Never duplicate a workout in reps/weight/sets. Either you do more reps, more weight, more sets, or some times same but much better technique/form. When you stall, you change the exercise to a variation, like seated barbell press, front squat, deficit deadlift, seal row et.c. You can also change rep ranges and do better than you did last time you did this rep range.

You only need 3 sets of each exercise. If you go to failure do so on the last rep or if you like proper HIT then you only need one top working set and go for a new maximum maximorum (PR).

Aim to do sets with 2 plates on OHP, sets with 3 plates on bench, sets with 4 plates on squats, sets with 5 plates on deadlifts, sets of 20 on pullups, sets with 2 plates on dips. By then you should look the part. Add another plate and you are looking like a monster. On your journey to these numbers, while facing obstacles and plateaus, you will figure out all the details of what you have been doing wrong.

 

[Slowww]

Seeing the post again if you want to check insulin go get your A1C tested. Also begin testing blood glucose with a glucometer regularly.
The first test will check your fasted insulin over a longer period of time (3 months)
Glucose tests on a weekly/ daily basis can help determine if you are becoming insulin resistant or if you are becoming more sensitive. They can help you determine if you need to change some dietary aspects, cardio, etc.

You also said you believe you have thyroid issues. My wife and I thought she had thyroid issues. So we went to the doctor and it turned out she did… they prescribed medication now it’s fixed. Unless you have some rare condition it’s probably not too challenging to fix so just go to the doctor and either rule it out or fix it. That being said I also take thyroid medication, but I don’t have real thyroid problems, it’s just done to manipulate metabolism after seeing my blood assay results and that it could be improved.

Those are some basic things you can do to address those two POTENTIAL issues. But they might not exist, so at least check it out.