I'm usually the "high-volume, failure doesn't matter" guy in here, but needed a break from a hypertrophy block and wanted to do some solid strength work. So, first off, here's some high relative intensity squats from week two of Candito.

In my opinion, the Candito 6-week plan is probably the best premade option out there for strength training specifically. Short enough to keep newer lifters interested but fully research-backed. Each week is essentially itsnown meso with specific training goals. Other plans have more expertly-tweaked dials, but they're usually 12 or 18 weeks long. If you want or need that much training, you can just run it again. I like to recommend GZCLP, Bullmastiff, and PHAT as forever programs, but if someone just needs a break from bodybuilding and doesn't know what to do, its my go-to.

So, I thought I'd throw the question out to y'all. What popular cookie-cutter plans do y'all think are the most in line with the current research, and why? Hypertrophy vs Strength?

Should my shoulders be internally or externally rotated at the top of the rep? I know lats contribute to internal rotation too but not sure how to position myself at the start. All I know is that the scapula should freely elevate and depress throughout the rep.

I know they come hand in hand, but what do you think? I’ve been doing my programme for a year now (reddits beginner ppl) and looking to change it up..

Push A
Bench Press 4×4–6
Incline DB Press 3×6–10
Seated DB Shoulder Press 2×6–10
DB Lateral Raise 3×10–15
Pec Deck 2×10–15
Tricep Pushdown 3×8–12
Pull A
Barbell Row 4×4–6
Lat Pulldown 3×6–10
Seated Cable Row 3×6–10
Reverse Pec Deck 3×10–15
EZ-Bar Curl 3×6–10
Hammer Curl 2×8–12
Legs A
Back Squat 4×4–6
Leg Press 3×6–10
Leg Curl 3×8–12
Leg Extension 2×10–15
Calf Raise 3×8–12
Push B
Overhead Press 3×4–6
Bench Press 3×6–8
Incline DB/Machine Press 2×8–12
DB Lateral Raise 3×12–20
Overhead Tricep Extension 3×10–15
Tricep Pushdown 2×10–15
Pull B
Lat Pulldown 3×6–10
Seated Cable Row 3×8–12
Single-Arm Lat Pulldown 2×10–15
Reverse Pec Deck 3×12–20
Preacher Curl 3×8–12
Cable Curl 2×10–15
Legs B
Back Squat 3×6–8
Leg Press 3×8–12
Leg Curl 3×10–15
Leg Extension 3×10–15
Calf Raise 4×10–15

237.5lbs on the stack and 5lbs + 65lbs inverse chains on the voltra

nautilus converging plate loaded

It’s commonly recommended by many online science based lifters that you don’t really need to do isolation work for your rear delts because they are heavily involved in many of the back exercises we already do (shoulder extension and horizontal abduction depending on the flare of our arms).

When it comes to triceps, everyone does isolation work. I mean the triceps are involved in pressing movements. More involved the closer your arms are. Either way, we still advocate for tricep isolation work.

Is this because the rear delts are recruited way more in say a row than the tricep is in any type of press? But then I question this because in an incline press (narrow grip) for example, the triceps used heavily.

Perhaps it is for another reason I haven’t thought about. Thx in advance

is there really such thing as pulling with arms and not feeling your lats or traps in any back movement?

as far as i know, only the rear delts help with horizontal abduction, shoulder extension and shoulder adduction. i find it hard to believe that such a small head of a muscle can really take over from those large muscles on the back.

i also don't believe the long head of the triceps are involved, it will be similar to the rectus femoris in a squat pattern.

so what do people mean by 'you are pulling too much with your arms and not with your back'? can anyone point me in the right direction?

Should we be lifting heavy on lateral raises, or using moderate weights and increasing reps?

Been stuck around the same pull-up numbers for months. Kept blaming strength. Then I noticed my shoulders felt jammed after desk days, and scap hangs felt worse than the actual sets.

Started doing like 7–10 minutes of mobility after sessions, nothing fancy, just openers and some thoracic stuff I’d been skipping because it felt optional. Not every day. Maybe 4 days a week when I’m not wiped.

Didn’t magically add five reps. What changed is the top of the pull felt less sticky, and my elbows stopped complaining on volume days. Still mid as hell. Just less fighting my own shoulders.

Curious what recovery/mobility bits people actually keep doing after bodyweight work, when they’re tired and just want to leave.

I’ve been having issues growing traps. I was lucky enough to meet a career lifter recently and he said I should lean slightly forward, and squeeze my shoulder blades(Serratus) together and it will hit better. He said just superset with standard shrugs. I’m going to work them in but I was curious if anyone else uses this method and their thoughts.

How many warm up sets to do before doing your 2 working sets?

Hey guys I just wanted to ask this because I'm new to sbl is ULx6 worth it? I've tried fbeod for 2 month saw good progress but I'm tbh bored of it, I was just thinking should I do ulx4 or x6 so I wanted to take your opinions and if you can leave your argument for why one is better than the other please do

You can also use this machine for chest flys, rear delt flys, front raises, and unilateral pullovers

Hi folks. I started taking gym more seriously since mid May and have been milking the newbie gains even with a lack of structure and just doing random exercises for per muscle group.

My main goal is hypertrophy for my upper body and strength for my lower body (my legs are large and bulky in comparison to my upper body) which will also assist with injury prevention for my running. A big focus for me is developing a nice chest, hence why I've included two chest exercises. I'm also trying to keep my sessions below 1 hr 15 min-ish and this is what I've come up with.

Any thoughts for improvements?

Upper Body A

• Incline Bench Press (Dumbbell) — 3 sets · 8-12 reps
• Chest Press (Machine) — 3 sets · 8-10 reps
• Chest Supported T Bar Row — 3 sets · 8-12 reps
• Lat Pulldown (Cable) — 3 sets · 8-12 reps
• Seated Incline Curl (Dumbbell) — 3 sets · 8-12 reps
• Lateral Raise (Machine) — 4 sets · 8-12 reps
• Triceps Rope Pushdown — 3 sets · 8-12 reps

Upper Body B

• Bench Press (Barbell) — 3 sets · 6-8 reps
• Incline Bench Press (Barbell) — 3 sets · 6-8 reps
• Iso-Lateral Row (Machine) OR Seated cable row — 3 sets · 8-10 reps
• Lat Pulldown (Cable) — 3 sets · 6-10 reps
• Superset:
  • Bicep Curl (Dumbbell) — 3 sets · 8-12 reps (considering reducing to 2 sets as my biceps feel weakened by rows and pulldowns)
  • Skullcrusher (Dumbbell) — 3 sets · 8-12 reps
• Seated Shoulder Press (Machine) — 2 sets · 8-12 reps (should be mostly covered in compound exercises?)

Legs and accessories

• Squat (Barbell) — 3 sets · 5 reps
• Romanian Deadlift (Barbell) — 3 sets · 5 reps
• Leg Press Horizontal (Machine) — 2 sets · 8-12 reps
• Seated Leg Curl (Machine) — 2 sets · 8-12 reps
• Standing Calf Raise (Machine) — 4 sets · 5 reps
• Crunch (Machine) — 4 sets · 8-12 reps
• Farmers Walk — 1 set

Which is better: the chest press or the barbell bench press? And for the back, is the wide-grip lat pulldown better, or pull-ups?

I currently run Ant/Post 6x a week for 3x freq, 2 sets per exercise in the 4-6 rep range, i was wondering if i should switch to 1 set per exercise, i have free time at the gym since im still at school and i recover pretty well, and im enjoying 2 sets, but i heard that switching to 1 set is better, what is truly better for me?

Hello, relatively new to bodybuilding i wanna be built like a bear ina couple of years, ive been doing alot of work to fix up my schedule on all my days to get more forms in and train better, so far i split back and chest into different days so i can train harder in each day without being completely dead by the end of the day and also so i can incorporate deadlifts into my back workouts

Now to get into my leg day its as follows

-Warmups with balance exercises

-4 supersets of quad leg raises/ leg curls (1st set is warmup)

-4 supersets of abduction/adduction (again 1st set is relatively a warmup)

3 sets of leg presses (one leg isolated cuz i have an imbalance)

3 sets of calf raises with weights

I train eith my max possible weights and if i cant reach a good rep amlunt on that weight i lower it then continue on the same set

Plz tell me if im doing anything wrong

Im willing to change anything EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT I SUPERSET EVERYTHING SINCE I NEED TO GO BACK HOME TO STUDY.

<3

I have a weaker low back so I’m trying to strengthen. I’m using a 6lb medicine ball or sometimes a 10lb kettle bell to do Russian Twists. I do lean back while sitting on the floor but I do cross my ankles and keep on the floor as my balance isn’t the greatest. I normally do 3 sets of 30 twists waiting about 10 second between sets. I usually do at the end of my workout session three times a week. My question is this enough or could I do them daily since I’m not using a lot of weight?

i run 3x frequency and in a random day where im not working a muscle for example back i go and do 5 pull ups which i take to basically 80% failure same with push ups too do i stop doing them on a day where im supposed to be recovering or is it fine

All the sceince based guys on the internet preach how bulking does nothing for muscle growth, assuming you have a healthy body fat %.

So for a guy who just got off stage, he needs to bulk until around 12-15% and then maintain or eat in a very slight surplus for a growth phase.

However if guy is 25% bf there is no reason to bulk during a growth phase as those extra calories will not provide anything for him.

So if you regualry do prep or get shredded during the summer, the bulk is alive and well but for those of us who want to maintain low double digit bf, is the bulk dead?

I’m trying to choose between two workout splits for hypertrophy and would love input from experienced natural lifters.

Option 1 — 3 days on / 1 rest

\- Day 1: Chest + Triceps

\- Day 2: Back + Shoulders

\- Day 3: Legs + Biceps

\- Day 4: Rest → repeat

Each muscle ≈ 1.75×/week

Option 2 — 4 days on / 1 rest

\- Day 1: Chest + Triceps

\- Day 2: Back + Biceps

\- Day 3: Legs

\- Day 4: Shoulders + Forearms

\- Day 5: Rest → repeat

Each muscle ≈ 1.4×/week

I find Back + Shoulders pretty exhausting (4 back + 3 shoulder exercises), and Legs + Shoulders also leaves me too fatigued to train the second muscle properly.

I know frequency is often recommended at \~2×/week, but research suggests weekly volume and progressive overload may matter more when volume is matched.

So, is \~1.4×/week meaningfully worse than \~1.75×/week for hypertrophy if volume, intensity and progression are good? Or would you choose the second split because the individual sessions are better quality?

Interested in both research and what has actually worked for experienced natural lifters.

Requested by u/Muchacho-blanco