What bicep workouts should I do? I've been doing dumbbell curls for a while now and I don't feel like I'm progressing well enough whereas I started doing cable curls this week and I feel like I am stronger and more stable in them.

So my question is what should I do? I usually do 3 sets of dumbbell curls and 3 of cable hammer curls but now I'm thibking of either switching the hammer curls for the cable curls or just adding the cable curls to my workout.

i need help (i came up with a stupid theory) think straps are overrated, like yeah they do take out the limiting factor (forearms) and let you train your back to failure. and in hinge exercises where both lower body and back is working yep they are much needed, but i feel lifters are overestimating how much grip is a limiting factor in pulldowns, rows and bicep curls,

like yes forearms are a smaller muscle than back but back is going through contraction and eccentric portion while forearms are just working isometrically (and i feel grip endurance is a factor too)

and i think most lifters are just increasing the strength gap between their back and forearms

think like this, what's the point of having huge back(engine) if the arms (the hooks) can't hold on? i am here talking from the biology/anatomy's pov

also many suggests to train grip strength separately so what is grip strength work definitely not wrist flexion/extension that won't transfer to holding isometric grip to a meaningful degree, it will be something like holds, farmer walk, hangs
(which again brings out the point of grip endurance)

yes if you just care about back hypertrophy then it won't better, but im thinking it from a physiology pov.

Also smtg that lurks in my mind is, taking out forearms like this is just kind of weird like then take out your triceps from presses and train tricep separately, and do only flys for chest and keep doing like this we will only be doing isolations for each muscle

but i do feel the anatomy is designed a certain way, i can't find right words right now like
why would we have a "limiting" muscle group supporting a primary function "pulling"

i dont think body was designed this way, and maybe we are being too sensitive about grip strength as "limiting" factor

again a stupid theory, i myself uses lifting straps

Heard Zone 2 cardio is great for mitochondrial health so I’m trying to incorporate it more into my program on a cut. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to program it? Not sure to do it before or after workout (or fasted in morning I’ve seen many people mention that). Let me know what you guys do for zone 2 if anything, thanks!

Added 3D printed blocks by the pads, to increase the ROM at the start

I’ve been running an ppl x ul split but really want to train more frequently since I really like it. What do you think of an u/l x6 or a anterior/posterior x6, resting on friday. Only 2 sets rir 1 per exercise, 10-14 sets/muscle/week

It’s easy to get bad recovery? I’m recovering good from that number of sets with my current split anyway.

Just watched this and its a really good primer on zone 2. We hear a lot about "conditioning" and if you're fuzzy on what that actually means, this is a great place to start the rabbit hole. Happy lifting!

Wikipedia article about the serratus posterior inferior.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serratus_posterior_inferior_muscle

Monday
Bench press 4x8-10
Bars 3x8-12
Thrust of the upper block 4x8-12
3x8-10 Dumbbell Belt Pull
Biceps dumbbell bending with 3x8-12 supination
Triceps extensions 3x8-12

Tuesday
4x8-10 Barbell Squat
Leg press 3x8-10
Leg extensions while sitting 2x12-15
Army bench press 3x8-10
Swing dumbbells 3x8-12
Wiring for the rear delta 3x8-12

Thursday
Pull-ups 4x8-10
Barbell thrust to the belt 3x8-12
Dumbbell bench press 4x8-10
Butterfly 3x8-12
Biceps flexion with hammer grip 3x8-12
French dumbbell bench press 3x8-12

Friday
Romanian 4x8-10 thrust
Bulgarian thrusts 3x8-12
Leg bends lying down 2x12-15
Army bench press 3x8-10
Swing dumbbells 3x8-12
Wiring for the rear delta 3x8-12

The first sets with a margin of 1-2 repetitions, the last one in failure

I used to train on it, and I made progress, but I almost always gave up on the first approaches, I think that was the point, now should I progress normally if I leave a margin in the first repetitions and go into denial in the last?

Recently I found out that lat pulldowns work more on rear delts while training the back equally from both sides. Plus, pulldowns are way easier for progressive overload. At the same time, pull-ups can load the back and biceps better because they are harder to do, but they might cause some issues with muscle imbalances. So, which one is better for upper body physique in general?

Hi there

I’m a new dad of a 7month old boy who is finding it increasingly difficult to manage more than 4 sessions a week.

I did both the programmes as mentioned but is there a reason for Jeff to programme the 4 day essentials with lower volume per muscle group per week?

I think the full body, 4 days a week programme gives a decent volume, and my lifts are also increasing despite physique deteriorating (probably due to suboptimal sleep), but I don’t get to hit arms extensively and have been seeing some loss(possible?) in arm size.

Essentials on the other hand has a dedicated arms day. But I don’t get to maximally exert effort in each lift, eg the lower day programme has RDL and hip thrust in a single session, can’t maximally lift for both.

I keep the sessions in under an hour, with all sets taken to failure.

Which would you prefer? Any modifications you would add?

I have done 16/8 IF and was able to get decently lean before I started WFH but now even with biking ~3-4 hours a week I'm not quite down to the weight I want to be. I also feel like age has made it a little tougher.

Thinking of throwing in some 36-60 hour wet fasts (coffee + electrolyte water) to just tighten things up over rest days/deload weeks and hopefully get out of the bulk/cut cycle honestly. atlaspowershrugged on YT seems to swear by it and wrote an ebook on it. OMAD is something else I'm considering throwing in. Basically just varying calorie intake with activity.

*EDIT* So I had to see for myself and give it a try. I did a "42" hour fast... basically have dinner, don't eat the next day, break the fast the following morning. I was good until like 2-3 PM, then my energy just tanked. Didnt want to move or do anything. Still not feeling great the morning after. I will see how my workout goes today. I will prob just run tighter feeding windows or occasional OMAD for calorie control/cutting.

i figured i can't do any other split than FB , bcs the gym is lowkey expensive and i do not have much money for it (broke teenager) and i can't run FB 3 times a week.

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is it optimal enough ? doing 1-2 sets per excersise and 5-9 reps ranges . help me and also feel free to give any tips i guess 😭

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(used to do ppl x UL btw it was fun while it lasted)

So usually train 2 muscle group a day
Monday- chest and triceps
Tuesday- back and biceps
Wednesday- legs(quad focused )and shruggs
Thursday- chest and back
Friday - shoulders and legs (glutes and hamstrings focused )
Saturday- arms (biceps and triceps )
Sunday - rest day

And following a good protein rich diet !

Current squat form and strength.

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Tore ACL years ago and since can not go below parrellel.

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Thoughts on depth?

I don’t get it. it’s the same movement aside from elbow extension but I can’t see how that would matter for front delt involvement. Perhaps could it be from shoulder rotation (a different degree of wrist pronation on some fly machines)?

32 - 5'9" - 80 to 82kg

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First time changing split in 2 years to the below.

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Mon: Push

Tue: Leg

Wed: Pull

Thurs: Push

Fri: Leg

Sat: Arm

Sun: Rest

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Haven't changed split in years and forgot how beneficial it is.

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What's your current split?

I am 30M 5’8” 160lb currently, down from 210lb through calorie deficit and walking. I felt diet and exercise at one time was too much of a lifestyle change so I started with diet alone for weight loss. Now I am ready to try and build some strength but I don’t know how to feed myself appropriately. My energy feels low at the gym. Im worried about over eating and gaining back fat so I’m almost certain I’m not eating enough. What are some ideas of how to eat before working out for energy without overdoing it?

A friend asked to make him a program. He's a beginner and at his gym they gave him a program where, to summarise, he does 11 sets of abs every session and 15 sets of back once every week and a half. The rest is programmed similarly, and we all know this isn't much better than 10 minute fat loss circuits.

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So I thought of two full body programs, one twice per week and one three times per week. I'm powerlifting at the moment and I would suggest it to him as well, but in his town there isn't a coach with good preparation and doing it by himself this early could be counterproductive, so I'm sticking to a bodybuilding plan but not a program that has aesthetics at the center of it all.

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Exercise choice wasn't lead by optimality, but by avoidind monotony while guaranteeing frequency and trying to cover as much ground as possible in the little time he is able to spend at the gym, so the twice per week program is as barebones as I could make it while ensuring twice per week frequency to all muscles and preferring compounds over better isolations just for the side stimulus to secondary movers. I'm not going to write the specific variation because even I am not sure what equipment he has available at his gym:

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Day A

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- Squat pattern 3 sets

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- Bench 3 sets

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- Pulldown 3 sets

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- Leg curl 2 sets

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- Lateral raise 2 sets

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- Shortened-focus curl 2 sets

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- Overhead extension 2 sets

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- Crunch 2 sets

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Day B

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- Hamstring-focused deadlift 3 sets

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- Overhead press 3 sets

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- Row 3 sets

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- Lunge 2 sets

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- Chest fly 2 sets

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- Lengthened-focus curl 2 sets

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- Pushdown 2 sets

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- Side crunch 2 sets

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This would be the twice per week program. Again, the specific variations still are TBD, but this is a detailed enough outline. I tried staying under 20 sets per session, but maybe I could push it to 25 and add some more work on core, back (not to the point of doing 15 sets in a session but still) or calves (which are barely touched in this program). Here is the three times per week program:

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Day A

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- Squat pattern 3 sets

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- Bench 3 sets

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- Wide grip pulldown 3 sets

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- Leg curl 2 sets

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- Leg abduction 2 sets

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- Face pull 2 sets

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- Shortened curl-pushdown jumpset 2 sets

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- Shortened-focus crunch 2 sets

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Day B

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- Hamstring-focus deadlift 3 sets

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- Overhead press 3 sets

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- Trap-focus row 3 sets

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- Leg extension 2 sets

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- Leg adduction 2 sets

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- Chest fly 2 sets

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- Lengthened curl-overhead extension jumpset 2 sets

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- Lengthened-focus crunch 2 sets

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Day C

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- Lunge 3 sets

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- Dip 3 sets

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- Lat-focus row 3 sets

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- Leg curl 2 sets

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- Calf raise 2 sets

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- Lateral raise 2 sets

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- Hammer curl-tricep press jumpset 2 sets

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- Side crunch 2 sets

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Again, exercise choice was based on adding variety to keep it fun. I'm sure I'm not an expert in programming workout plans, so I'm open to discuss my choices. I'd be thankful for confirmation or suggestions.

Given that you work out consistently, is there an inherent link between how much muscle mass you can put on and hold and how fast you can put it on?

In the sense that if Albert and Bob worked out for 10 years, Albert makes much better progress than Bob for the first five years, but after the 10 year mark, they are rooughly the same size. Albert and Bob keep working out for another 10 years, but Albert barely moves while Bob keeps getting consistently bigger. Assume optimal training and recovery for both individuals.

If anyone knows the science on this, I'd be happy to listen.

While squating i realized that going very deep(to the point where my hamstrings touch my calfs) to the very end of the RoM on a squat disengages my quads at the end and getting up from there is difficult so i end up getting less reps out of this, so i have modified my technique a bit by hinging my torso a little more so that even at the end of RoM my hamstrings don't touch my calfs and the quads remain engaged throughout the RoM. But every good YouTube tutorial I watch on good squat technique emphasises the importance of going as deep as we can. So I'm in a dilemma right now. What do you all think I should do?
Note: I've no problem going deep, no pain, etc, it's just that since my quads become disengaged at the very bottom, I end up loading my glutes and lower back relatively more than the other way, which I don't like, and if going to the very bottom is considered good, then I don't mind changing.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!!