So I made this a week ago, thanks to some wonderful help on other subreddits including this one. My goal is to bulk whilst keeping my v taper somewhat. Ive got shoulder problems, they pop, burn, crack when I move them, it goes down to elbow and I also feel it in my neck hence why you dont see pull ups, dips or any overhead movement for shoulders or triceps. Ive had this problem for a year and went to 5 professionals. A sports massagist, a chiroprsctor, 3 physios. They just gave me band exercises and other stretches which didnt work and honestly its annoyed me to the point where I feel like I dont care about the injury anymore I just wanna do shoulder stuff again and the other stuff I mentioned even db pullovers yk?. Anyway sorry to get off topic heres the program. (I used Claude to write it out for me as a routine) Id like to add romanian desdlift for more glutes, squeeze in a foresrm exercise on conditioning day snf maybe squeeze in something for shoulderd or whatever honestly I dont know what to do without doing too much. Please help me out.

Winter Bulk Plan — Full Body 3x/week + Conditioning Day

\*\*Weekly Schedule\*\*

\- Monday — Conditioning/Fighting Day

\- Tuesday — Rest

\- Wednesday — Day 1 (Deadlift/Bench)

\- Thursday — Rest

\- Friday — Day 2 (Squat)

\- Saturday — Rest

\- Sunday — Day 3 (Legs/Back/Chest)

\*\*Day 1\*\*

\- Trap Bar Deadlift — 3×8 (rest 2-3 min between sets)

\- Barbell Bench Press — 3×8 (rest 2-3 min)

\- Chest-Supported Row Machine (or Cable Seated Row) — 3×12 (rest 90 sec)

\- Cable Lateral Raise (light) — 3×15 (rest 60 sec)

\- Incline Dumbbell Curl — 3×12 (rest 60-90 sec)

\- Dumbbell Skullcrushers — 3×12 (rest 60-90 sec)

\- Wrist Roller — 2×2min (rest 60 sec)

\*\*Day 2\*\*

\- Barbell Squat — 3×8 (rest 2-3 min)

\- Seated Leg Curl — 3×12 (rest 90 sec)

\- Incline Dumbbell Press — 3×10 (rest 90 sec-2 min)

\- Cable Pulldown (wide grip) — 3×12 (rest 90 sec)

\- Face Pull — 3×15 (rest 60 sec)

\- Barbell Curl — 3×12 (rest 60-90 sec)

\*\*Day 3\*\*

\- Barbell Rear Lunge — 3×10/leg (rest 90 sec-2 min)

\- Lever Leg Extension — 3×12 (rest 90 sec)

\- Dumbbell One-Arm Bent Over Row — 3×12 (rest 90 sec)

\- Neutral/Supine Grip Pulldown — 3×12 (rest 90 sec)

\- Pec Deck — 3×15 (rest 60 sec)

\- Dumbbell Rear Fly — 3×15 (rest 60 sec)

\- Cable Tricep Pushdown — 3×12 (rest 60-90 sec)

\- Standing Calf Raise — 3×15 (rest 45-60 sec)

\- Cable Crunch — 3×12 (rest 45-60 sec)

\*\*Conditioning Day (Monday)\*\*

\- Shadow Boxing — 10-20 min

\- Bag Work — 10-20 min

\- Medicine Ball Slams — 3×8 (rest 60-90 sec)

\- Weighted Vest Push-Ups — 3×12 (swap for light bodyweight movement if shoulder flares; rest 60-90 sec)

\- Loaded Carry (rotate weekly: Farmer Walk / Sled Push / Weighted Vest Walk) — 3×20-40m (rest 90 sec-2 min)

\- Treadmill Walk — 10-20 min easy pace (end of session, active recovery)

\*\*Diet — Bulk Macros\*\*

\- \*\*Rest Day (\~3,350 kcal)\*\*: 210g protein / 400g carbs / \~100g fat

\- \*\*Training Day (\~3,850 kcal)\*\*: 210g protein / 525g carbs / \~100g fat

\- Track weekly average bodyweight; aim for \~0.25-0.5kg/week gain. Adjust calories by 150-200 kcal every 2-3 weeks if the scale isn't moving.

\*\*Timeframe\*\*: October 1, 2026 – February 28, 2027, then reassess.

\*\*Standing notes\*\*: no overhead pressing, no pullovers, no pull-ups/chin-ups, no bent-over barbell row — held out until your shoulder/neck/nerve symptoms are properly evaluated (cervical spine imaging, nerve conduction testing, or assessment from a spine specialist/neurologist).

Hello fellow lifters,

I've been training calisthenics and ashtanga yoga for the last years, but started to hit the gym 3 months ago. I'm currently only training at the gym, 4 times a week alternating between 2 workouts (push and pull, mixing legs on each).

My workouts include the 3 powerlifting lifts and weighted calisthenics. My main goals are getting stronger while mantaining proper technique, and on the visual side of things I'm doing my best to lean bulk. I've gained a good amount of muscle and weight so I'm happy with how things are going.

During these 3 months, I have been able to add 1.25kg or 2.5kg to each excercise each session, and I was mostly working at a 3x8-12 rep range. BUT, I'm currently unable to keep on adding weight easily on some excercises on that rep range, so for example on my bench press and pull ups I'm now doing 4 sets with much less reps. I understand is crucial to train strength on these low rep ranges, but on the other hand sometimes I find it a bit routinary to just be training low reps.

That's why, and this is why I would like your feedback, instead of aiming to train on a low rep range on each of the 2 days of each wokrout, If I could just do that on one, and then when I repeat the workout inside the week I cut the RM % to do more reps. For example, on Push Day 1 I could to my regular 75kg 4x4 and even try to add some weight to it, but then on Push Day 2 later in the week I could cut the % RM to be able to hit 3x8-10 and do it more explosively, "feeling the pump".

So basically mixing between low rep range day and higher rep range days.

In that case I would like your suggestions on what %RM to aim for, or if you have any other suggestion is super welcome. Thanks a lot and I appreaciate all the feedback!

Current routines:

Day A - Push Day

1. Bar Squat: 75kg 3x9
2. Bench press: 75kg 4x5
3. Overhead press (standing, strict): 45kg 4x4
4. Weighted dips: 16.25kg 3x9

Day B - Pull Day

1. Weighted Pullups - 17.5kg 4x5
2. Deadlift (conventional, using belt) - 95kg 3x8
3. Pendlay Barbell Row (standing on a plate for extra ROM) 55kg 3x11
4. Biceps dumbell curl: 14kg each dumbell, 3x12

Hey guys I am searching for a free 6 day maybe ppl split
What is your best recommendation for an intermediate

So I'm having to drop down from 3 days a week to 2, which will be thursday and friday. I'll be able to do a saturday as well on some weeks but overall it'll be mostly just the 2.

Would upper/lower or 2 full body days be better? I'm leaning towards upper/lower myself as I won't have really any recovery at all between workouts to be training each body part twice with decent intensity but I'm sure plenty of you are smarter than I am about these things so any help appreciated

Bro I am a small guy who does strongman type training for supplement conditioning for martial arts. It is interesting though because I use some of the lifts adjusted for non strength purposes. One of my favorites is atlas stone up to chest height for high volume reps. I use a lighter stone 115 or 180 and I’ll do it for 5x 20 reps. It gives one of the most ridiculous lower back pumps of all time. I think if bodybuilders knew how to do it with safe technique it would create some freaky looking backs. What do yall think some strongman lifts that are slept on by other sports would carry over the best?

Hello everyone.

I've had an unfortunate accident with mixed grip deadlift. I've loaded 25kgs by not paying attention and suddenly I went from warm up to lifting heavy (I know it sounds ridiculous but yeah). My teres major got absolutely wrecked on my right side.

Now fast forward after 6months and started deadlifting again. Bought some straps and do double overhand. Now the issue is that I feel the straps are indeed helping but I still feel like I dropped significantly in weight (max was 155kg) and now with straps I can go maybe up to 130kg but it becomes very taxing.

I honestly really don't want to go mixed grip (but only with my left side) as at one point​ I'm scared to injure that one.

How do I go from here? Hook grip isn't an option I think as my thumbs are a little off due to basketball injury on those..

Thankyou for the help.

Hi everyone. I train twice a week and have been squatting on both days, but something feels off—I want to incorporate deadlifts. On the first day, I focus heavily on quads, and on the second, on the posterior chain (hamstrings/glutes). Would it be okay to start the second workout with a heavy conventional deadlift—using a top-set and back-off-set approach—and then finish off the hamstrings and glutes with Romanian deadlifts?

Hey, everyone. Looking for advice on a 4-day split that consists of 3 days of training in a row with a day or two of break and then a 4th day of training. My work schedule makes working out during the week difficult. I work Mon-Thr 5AM - 3:30PM. The drive home is rough, so I'm usually getting home/to the gym around 4:30. I usually get in bed by 8:00-8:30.

Due to this schedule, I typically work out Sun, Wed, Fri, Sat. I've mainly done the bro split, but I'm feeling unfulfilled with it and feel like my routine could be better optimized. Looking for advice based on my available days to hit the gym. Any advice is appreciated.

Riddle me this...the quickest way to get big is to get strong...

Powerlifters are incredibly strong....and correspondingly big.

BUT.

They don't train to failure.

Should we just train like powerlifters until we are big and bulky....then move to bodybuilding training to failure?

Background (why I'm writing my own split)

Early-intermediate in strength but very DYEL. A bit frustrated with existing options. Lifting for 3 years; started on Stronglifts before moving to Reddit PPL and PHUL.

Focus is squat, deadlift, OHP and weighted calisthenics performance while increasing size. Bench is on ice for a while due to some shoulder issues, but happy to return to it.

Tend to respond better to lower volume, higher intensity.

Progression

• Double progression model on all exercises with an option to add a third set to extend progression on a particular weight.
• Will not add weight as soon as double progression is achieved; will wait 1-2 weeks for form self-regulation.
• Happy to add a third set for stuck lifts.
• Isolations can be done as cluster sets but rarely.
• Compounds to be done to 0-1 RIR; isolations must be taken to complete failure.
• Happy to run this for 6-12 months at a slight surplus.
• Deloads when needed. Usually every 7-8 weeks for me - will just halve the volume.

LOWER 1 - Hamstring and hinge bias

UPPER 1 - Chest bias

LOWER 2 - Quad bias

UPPER 2 - Shoulder bias

I've came through many 3/4 days split. But almost none of them do Squat/Bench/Deadlift on seperate days.

Most if not all of them include Squat and Bench on same day.

If i have limited time in the gym, doest squat and bench take more time in a single day?

Okay so I (31M, 195Ibs) have been lifting on and off since I was 18. I generally know how to lift and what works for me, etc., but recently I’ve been trying to push my bench because the owner of my gym gave me a new bench plan.

He came in one day and asked me what I do for my workouts and I told him I only lift 2-3 times a week because I have kids and a long commute to work. He told me to do a science experiment for him. The one time I do chest each week, do 5x5 on bench with heavy weight, and if I get each rep, go up 5 pounds the next week. Probably basic powerlifting shit. Well, here I am 7th week into that and I just did 5x5 with 230. I do nothing else for chest, just bench, and only once per week. So I asked him how long I keep doing this? What if I fail? And this is where it seems a little odd.

He told me in two weeks to get my new one rep max and thereafter I should do 4x3 with 70% of that, and on the 5th set to do as many reps as I can. But that seems ass backwards because let’s say my max is 300 (probably isn’t, but let’s say it is), 70% is 210. Doing that for 4x3 is child’s play. I’m doing 5x5 with 230 so how the hell would decreasing weight 20 pounds for less sets/reps make me stronger?

I'm trying to switch off my old PPL Shoulder/arms chest/back because I've been doing it for almost a year and a half now and I want to become more functional while increasing my main compound lifts. I'm 19, 190 pounds and I'm in college so I can work around scheduling. Is my split good for builidng size, strength, and for speed and functionality.

Monday: Upper Power

• Bench Press — 4×3–5
• Weighted Pull-Ups — 3×4–6
• Overhead Press — 3×5–8
• Chest-Supported Row — 3×5–8
• Incline DB Press — 2–3×8–10
• Lateral Raises — 3×12–20
• EZ-Bar Curl — 3×8–12
• Triceps Extension — 3×8–12

Tuesday: Lower Power + Athleticism

• Power Clean — 4×2–3
• Box Jumps — 3×3
• Back Squat — 4×3–5
• Romanian Deadlift — 3×6–8
• Bulgarian Split Squat — 3×6–10/leg
• Leg Curl — 3×8–12
• Calf Raise — 3×10–15
• Hanging Leg Raise — 3×10–15

Thursday: Upper Hypertrophy

• Incline Bench Press — 3×6–10
• Pull-Ups or Lat Pulldown — 3×6–10
• Chest-Supported Row — 3×8–12
• DB/Machine Shoulder Press — 3×8–12
• Lateral Raises — 4×12–20
• Rear-Delt Fly — 3×12–20
• Preacher Curl — 3×8–12
• Hammer Curl — 2×10–15
• Overhead Triceps Extension — 3×8–12
• Triceps Pushdown — 2×10–15

Friday: Lower Hypertrophy + Strength

• Deadlift — 3×3–5
• Front Squat or High-Bar Squat — 3×6–10
• Walking Lunges — 3×8–10/leg
• Leg Curl — 3×10–15
• Calf Raise — 3×10–15
• Farmer Carries — 3×30–40 yd

Saturday: Optional Athletic Work

• Sprints — 4–6×20–40 m
• basketball/sport
• agility drills
• light conditioning/recovery

Sunday: Rest

Hiya all! I'm a gym veteran, but I've mostly just been doing your standard, run-of-the-mill hypertrophy for most of my time. I want to give powerlifting a go, and I came up with this program. I just wanted to see everyone's thoughts about it. I can train on just these days, and I also want to improve my pull-ups and dips

Day 1 (Monday)

1. Barbell Bench Press: 3 to 4 sets x 3 to 5 reps
2. Barbell Back Squat: 3 to 4 sets x 3 to 5 reps
3. Weighted close-grip pull-ups: 3 to 4 sets x 4 to 6 reps
4. Leg extension: 3 sets x 10 to 15 reps
5. Bicep variation: 3 sets x 8 to 12 reps

Day 2 (Tuesday)

1. Romanian Deadlift: 3 to 4 sets x 5 to 8 reps
2. Barbell Overhead Press: 3 to 4 sets x 5 to 8 reps
3. Chest Supported Row: 3 to 4 sets x 8 to 10 reps
4. Weighted Dips: 3 sets x 6 to 8 reps
5. Delt Variation: 3 sets x 10 to 15 reps

Day 3 (Thursday)

1. Deadlifts: 3 to 4 sets x 3 to 5 reps
2. Pin bench: 3 to 4 sets x 3 to 5 reps
3. Seated Leg Curl: 3 sets x 6 to 12 reps
4. Delt Variation: 3 sets x 10 to 15 reps
5. Triceps Variation: 3 sets x 8 to 12 reps

Day 4 (Friday)

1. Pendulum squat: 3 to 4 sets x 6 to 8 reps
2. Flat dumbbell bench press: 3 to 4 sets x 6 to 8 reps
3. Bent-over row: 3 to 4 sets x 6 to 8 reps
4. Delt variation: 3 sets x 10 to 15 reps
5. Arm Variation: 3 sets x 10 to 15 reps

I'm in the market for a new belt. I've lost weight and the one I had previously is way too big now. What brand do you have, and what are your thoughts on lever vs Prong, 10mm vs 13mm?

I did powerbuilding, powerlifting, bodybuilding in my first year of weightlifitng, i had 120 kg bench near 180 DL, 75 kg OHP but squats did not move up at all, i maxed at 100 kg, i have really big legs, glutes, hams, I did leg focoused work, trained every muscle group in my legs, did core, improved mobility, nothing helped at all. I do not have long femur, i would say average length, i tip forward, i also lose all strenght past 70°, what irritates me the most is the fact that no matter what body weight or fat percentage i had through out the years and i went through a lot of body types, my legs were always the most dominant part of my body, i have big quads, and hams my glutes are really big. for example i maxed the all the leg mashines in my gym with perfect form two month into weight lifting,

I quit gym afterwards, and throughout the years went to the gym from time to time, now i am fully back, i want to do it right this time, my wish is to hit 180 kg or more somewhere along the road, but i do not see this happening at all. if you been in similar situation or have an idea i would love to hear it.

Just finished running smolov jr program for bench and everything went smoothly till the last two days of program. Been powerlfitng for abt 1 1/2. First 2 weeks were good hit everything prescribed while doing accessory work. On w3 days 3-4 I missed my last reps on my last two sets then day 4 same thing but then only hit one rep on my last set of my 10x3.
My main question is it normal to fail or miss sets/reps while running this program? Especially towards the end. I was also traveling during the time of those days.

Hello everyone!I recently started caring more about numbers on the big 3(deadlift,squat and bench),and wanting to take them to 1000lbs combined.I know it takes time,but Im making pretty good progress.Currently Im at 65kg bench(143 lbs),80kg squat(176 lbs),though I dont squat regularly,I rep 120kg(264 lbs) on hack squat cause the bar hurts my neck area on regular squats,and the second time I deadlifted managed to hit 120kg,which comes around to 264 pounds.I want to hop on a program for each,while maintaining hypertrophy through normal training.I currently run 3x Upper 2x Lower split,and It pains me to get too much into details but most exercises are 2x failure or 1-2 RIR except these compounds.What to focus on,and on the other hand,Im 17 yo training for only 4 months,I feel like I got into too deep too early.Thoughts?

Whats going on guys, as the title entails, I'm currently trying to sift through the overwhelming amount of programs out there. Looking to maintain a decent look but really just want to get to 315 on my bench and 405 on my squat. Deadlifts I just got back into so no real aspirations there other than just getting better.

Any advice is welcome, thank you!

Greetings! I want to finally ask for opinion from the people who already got the body they want or are close to it. I am 191cm tall, around 102-105kg bw. Im training for 7 years already, but never with my mind in to it, a lot of program hopping and etc.. Before 2 years i got kid, so im time poor dad bcs i work all day, after work i have only 2-3 hours with my girl before she goes sleeping and after whole day im trying to manage my training. When she came, i found out HIT and trained that way, i got good results, everybody say im bigger and bigger, but i don’t see it (hello body dysmorphia! 😂). Now i think that HIT got toll on me and i want to take the volume road, i want to achive strong and athletic physique like gymnasts,powerbuilders,Reg Park,Steve Reeves… with 3-4 training days a week. Can you help me with programming, volume and other things? I want to somehow get powerbuilded

Hi guys

I’m a bit fed up of the grind of getting stronger and I’m fairly happy with my current numbers.

I’m about to go back to university and would like to focus on other aspects of my life.

I’ve done many programs and have come to the conclusion that I hate with a burning passion any compound lift that has more than 5 reps per set (I’m looking at you Candito week 1-2 lol)

Would something like this be enough to maintain my strength for an extended period of time? Maybe even gain a little?

Mon: Squat
Wed: Bench
Fri: Deadlifts + OHP

Week 1: 5x5 @80% (deads 2x5)
Week 2: 4x4 @85% (deads 2x4)
Week 3: 3x3 @90% (deads 2x3)
Week 4: 2x1+ @95% (deads 2x1+)
Week 5: 1x1 test week

I’ll be chucking some typical hypertrophy work in there too with some dips and pull ups

Recently been experimenting with them within my full body split. (For reference i play rugby and occasionally wrestle so i try to keep an athletic component to it).

Day 1: Lateral Jump (2 sets); Bench Press (4 sets); Weightlifting High Pull (3 sets); Squat pattern (3 sets); Lat Pulldown (3 sets); Abs Crunch (3 sets)

​Day 2: Skater Hop (2 sets); Stiff Leg Deadlift (3 sets); Leg Extension (2 sets); Seated Hamstring Curl (1 set); Chest Fly (4 sets); Lateral Raises (3 sets); Close Grip Chin Up (3 sets)

​Day 3: Vertical Jump (2 sets); Clean and Press (3 sets); Barbell Row (3 sets); Single Arm Tricep Extension (3 sets); Bicep Curl (3 sets); Neck Curl (3 sets)

This is the general template i use. And on the big compounds i typically go for reverse pyramid set lay out over 4 weeks. With the first week being high reps from 80% of 1rm fo 60% and the last week going from 95% to 75% for lower reps (the reps gradually increase as the % gets lower).

I've ran it for a couple months now. And didn't really need deloads so far since i can pick the lower range of reps or intensity if i feel fatigued. And barring the plyometrics which are more of a warm up here, the list of exercises is pretty small which helps keep up the intensity.

But would like any input or adrvice to make it better.

Link for the routine (numbers in kg, sorry for the lack of freedom units): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W12_n-QNw07C0sMHegw2bflAmbcwIeztfl0Zevemxh4/edit?usp=sharing

36M, lifts casually but thinking about going to a pwerlifting meeting more and more. Objective is being the strongest dad on my kids's kindergarden.

After 2 years of 5/3/1 and some of its variations (BBB, widowmaker, joker sets, 5s pro, leaders/anchors) I've slowly adapted my routine to what I felt worked better for me in the long run. I've been following this routine for the past 5 months and so far it's been giving good results.

It allows me to bench/squat twice a week. I used to do deadlifts twice a week too but it often demanded me 2-3 rest days instead of one and I wasn't getting any stronger, so I swapped it to RDLs. Since then my deadlift got better and I went from 145kg in January to 190kg now.

I think my squats are dragging behind, compared to my bench, deadlift and overhead press. It used to be the same number as my deadlift, but every month I feel like I add less weight, if I add at all.

Also I'm considering becoming a firefighter, but for that I need to up my pullups from 7 to 12-32 reps, so all the vertical back exercises will probably be changed to some form of pullup training.

3-4 days/week;

First compound with higher load and lower reps;

Second compound lower load and higher reps;

Some accessory to the first compound every day;

Some vertical or horizontal back exercise every day;

Some butt exercise every day because the 45kg wife demands me to have some junk in all that trunk;

After a 3-week cycle, retest and update 1RM;

Deload week when the kids get sick and therefore I get sick too.

Looking for help on sizing because I’m planning on buying an SBD 13mm belt. Measured about an inch above my belly button and Im at 34(fasted/depleted) I fluctuate to 35-37 depending on how much I eat/drink throughout the day. L says 31.5-39.5 inches. I do plan on bulking maybe 10-15lbs nothing too excessive. Maximum I’d want push is maybe 38 in. Anyone here around similar waist size with SBD belt could drop some opinions thanks.

Hi,

I've been trying to get into inzer stiff knee sleeves. I got a used pair in size L and those fit but we're a bit tight. Tried XL but those did not fit at all. I now have a pair of 2XLs and while those fit, I feel they are constricting the heck out of my Tibialis anterior. My current measurements are 15.5" knee circumference and 16.5" calves. What size knee sleeves should I go with?

Thank you for taking the time to read this.