MyDarkestDays

I have done a high amount of volume in the past (at least it seemed high volume to me). It was pretty much 5x5 but split for the body parts, plus about 6 exercises of 5-6 sets. I've been doing 1 strength exercise as I like to keep some kind of strength exercise even though I mainly do 6 or 8-10 rep ranges. It was the result of fuckarounditis I think lol. What would be more aggressive than 5/3/1? I will have to look into 5/3/1 more. I have glanced at it in the past but haven't given it a second thought until now. I have seen that it is either a 3 or 4 day split. Would it be possible to do the 4 days consecutively and then 1 or 2 rest days and then repeat the cycle? I know how rest days are important but honestly the less rest days I have the happier I am. I think that's why I've been sticking to 5 days splits and not 3 days like 5x5.

I could use some help getting my current program straightened out. Currently I'm doing a compound movement with 3 sets of 5-8, followed by a few straight sets with 1 drop set at the end of each exercise such as: Bench 185x8, 185x6, 185x5 Incline Flyes 40x8, 40x8, 40x7, Drop set 35x8, 30x8, 25x8 Incline DB BP 55x7, 55x6, 55x6, Drop set 40x9, 35x8, 30x9 Ignoring the fact that my Bench is weak as hell, at the end of all this I was going to do dips but was too tired to even get up on the station. Is this kind of programming a good idea or can this end up being too much volume? Would I be better off doing a reverse pyramid type program? Right now I'm focused on losing some fat while maintaining muscle, and prefer 5 day splits with 1 strength-focused exercise at the beginning of each workout. Stats via Sticky: Preference: Powerlifting and free weights, 5 day splits Physical Stats: Male, 23, 5'10", 188lb Previous Training: P90X, 2 months 5x5, 5 day split programs. Current Diet: 40% Protein / 30 / 30, calorie deficit

I gained about 3-4lbs this month although I don't know how much of it is actual muscle, but I've definitely gained at least a bit of muscle. I was worried about going higher as I didn't want to end up gaining TOO much. How many calories would you recommend? Thanks, I'll have to try whole milk and peanut butter. Both of those seem to be ok with my system as far as I can tell.

I know you have to eat a lot of food, but the carbs are always what seems to make it hard. It feels like they take up all the room in my stomach when I eat them. Breakfast : 4 eggs with spinach 1 al fresco chicken sausage Lunch: 90% lean ground beef with lettuce and tomato Raisins Home made baked french fries Dinner: 90% ground beef with lettuce, tomato, and 2c rice Broccoli Homemade baked french fries After Workout: 2c whey protein with 1 banana 2,936 calories 29.6% / 97.7g fat 40.5% / 300g carbs 29.9% / 221.6g protein I feel just as bloated eating all this as I did when I would eat wheat and grains.

I have a gluten intolerence so im a big paleo fan. After losing a lot of weight i decided i wanted to work on gaining weight and muscle. What are the best macros forgaining weight and how many carbs should i aim for? I was doing 40c/30p/30f with 300g carbs but find it pretty hard to hit that amount without force feeding myself.

Yes, here is one of the sample routines I found for it: And the website for it is http://www.fst-7.com/

I was on Fitocracy the other day and someone was talking about a program called FST-7. To me it just looks like a usual 5 day split but with 7 x 8-12 added in at the end for a pump. Has anyone heard of this and if it's actually decent? I was looking at it because I'd like to change my routine just for something new than my usual routine.

I've had this problem forever now. No matter what chest exercise I try (bench press, flyes, etc), I'm never really sure if I'm using my chest muscle instead of my arms. I think my chest is the most muscle-lacking part of my body. How can you tell when you're using your chest muscles? Is it when that area right next to your armpit starts to burn? That's the only area I ever feel getting tired if I do a chest exercise. I never feel it in any other part of my chest except next to the armpit :/

Not sure if this has been requested before, but maybe add in a recipe section for the different lifestyles like Paleo and Vegan? I know there's recipe websites out there but not all of them have some of the things I've seen on here (such as Egg Monster). Just thought it would be useful to have member recipes being shared.

The first things that come to mind are either: - The person who wrote this article is either overweight themselves and want something to blame, or they've never tried Paleo and just assume that they know what's best for everyone. - Even if Paleo wasn't the best lifestyle, it sure beats the standard American diet. I think anything that helps you look at your food more closely is a step in the right direction. - After reading that article, it appears stupidity is as widespread as obesity.

I'm willing to bet that it's because you're not eating enough. Your BMR says (assuming that you're 20-30 years old, you didn't post your age), that you use around 1900 calories WITHOUT exercising. Times that by your activity level (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/) and you got your calories to maintain weight. So if you're working out 3-5 times a week, you'd be using around 2974 calories (-500 for weight loss = 2474). So from the look of it you're probably under-eating by a lot. I would try adding 300 calories every week until you're around that number. I've had the same problem with losing strength during workouts and it's because I wasn't eating enough. I thought I only needed 1800 calories and lost 10lbs in my lifts, listened to my body and added calories and now my lifts are stronger and still losing weight. And make sure you eat clean. Every calorie counts

Haha I love the part where he tries to run out of the hospital and the guard brings him back

Thanks for the help guys! That T-Nation link is actually just what I was looking for. I can stick to a plan no problem, but coming up with them is when I suck

Yes I forgot to add that, but the increase in reps would mean a decrease in weight. And after week C it would go right back to week A. The idea I had for upping the weight was to try and increase it each workout the same way SL5x5 does. Or would it be better to just do those rep ranges in each workout instead. Instead of switching every week, every day I'll just do 12, 10, 8, and 6 reps while adding weight?

I've been second guessing myself after thinking it over but I've come up with a plan after reviewing some of the blog posts on NF. I'm not entirely sure if everything's right so I would appreciate any help I could get on if this would be a good plan for building all around functional strength (using free weights). Week A 5x5 Monday - Squats, DB Deadlift, DB Bench Press, DB Overhead Press, DB Rows (nowhere in my house to do pullups), Plank. Wednesday - Lunges, Calf Raises, Incline DB Press, Dips, DB Rows, Mountain Climbers. Friday - One legged DB Squats, Hip Raises, Decline DB Press, DB Rows, Jumping Knee Tucks. Week B 5x8 Same exercises Week C 5x12 Same exercises Will this plan do me good or am I setting up for failure? I've debated over full body workouts vs different body parts each workout, and generally just stressed over getting it right the first time around.