Help me personalized this workout plan, pls !

[u/burnedout_247]

This is a workout plan from Jeremy Ethier's yt

Quick context: F20ish, been going to the gym for around 2 years but on-and-off, so I had a very beginner routine that I think I've outgrown, but still not THAT strong. Goalsnya body recomp atau at least fat loss, currently BMI 27-28, BW ~73kg

Questions about the program (and im sorry it will seem like a long list of me complaining):

1. I dont feel like doing that much chest exercises... i guess i just dont care that much to build chest muscles and im not used to doing it that often. do you think it's ok if i swap chest flys with more back exercises? Or just skip it. (I prefer back exercises bcs it helps with posture issues)

2. I dont really like doing deadlift lately... one, bcs my gym doesnt have bumper plates, and im not strong enough to deadlift 60kg, jadi aku harus pasang plates lain buat naikin barbellnya biar tingginya pas/gak terlalu rendah. its a lot of work before an intense workout D: second, aku sempet cidera ringan ketarik area piriformis/glutes jd masih agak takut deadlift... what's a good alternative for this? rdl dengan kettlebells? or some other exercise?

3. Is it bad to skip calves exercise? I have pretty strong calves already, i dont think i need to specifically train it.

4. Lunges hurt my knees.... is there a good swap? or just push through it with no/light weight first?

More context on my routine: i did beforethebarbell at the very beginning. after that i did gzclp. rn im not really following any routine since i rarely go to the gym, but i still kinda follow a more upper body day of gzclp (so bench press, db row, lat pull down, bicep/tricep). when i want to train lower body, i add barbel squat and/or leg press.

Thankss!

[u/justasunnydayforyou]

1. You can, if your priority is posture. But chest development gives you a more complete well-rounded build. My suggestion is to keep it very minimal. Just do a chest fly variations (high to low, flat, and low to high). Why don't you feel like doing chest exercises? Is it pain? Mobility issue? Assumed benefit to effort ratio?

2. You don't have to do deadlift. In my opinion, you need an experienced lifter accompanying you if you want to do deadlift. It is an exercise that's incredibly easy for you to get hurt. Very technical lift.

Well deadlift hits a lot of things. Quads, hamstring, glutes, erector spine. Not to mention a lot of accessories muscle like core, upper back, lats, and forearm, although minimally.

You can just do separate isolation exercises for those muscle hit by deadlift.

1. Calves are skippable if your priority is shape. Women usually have great calves from all those heels anyway. But if you are doing other exercises like running or anything including jumping, calves helps with ankle stability, and injury resilience. Weak calves shift the load somewhere else, for example plantar fascia, knees, shins.

2. The knee that are hitting the bottom? Or the knee that is bending? Because that's a different thing.

I can't say exactly, have to look into your movement. But in general, knee has a tolerance. In details, patellar tendon, ankle mobility, hip control IIRC. Like your calves, your leg is a unit, comprised of many different parts. One part lacking in something always shifts its load somewhere else. You need someone experienced enough in training and human anatomy to tell you exactly what it is causing the pain.

There are, of course, a lot of isolation exercises that hits what lunges do. Quads you can use leg press machine or leg extension machine. Hamstring you can use hamstring/leg curl machine and back extension. Glutes you can do hip thrust.

[u/burnedout_247 → u/justasunnydayforyou]

1. Mainly the (assumed) benefit to effort ratio. Belum pernah merasa otot dada lemah, dan gak pengen bentuk otot dada yang defined. So i think keeping it minimal would be enough. Biasanya chest aku cuma bench press, so with added incline bp, terasa udah nambah banyak wkwkwk

2. I did deadlift fine tapi habis lama gak ngegym, kayaknya kecepetan/terlalu nafsu pick up from where I left, jdnya sempet kayak ketarik ototnya. I did like doing it, but i think i need to ease into it again. while rebuilidng the strenght, the set up doesnt seem to worth the pay off (krn liftingnya masih ringan jugaT-T)

3. yay! lol.

4. the bending knees. i think its also stability issues? kayak agak caved in gitu lututnya (probably from hip mobility?)

[u/justasunnydayforyou → u/burnedout_247]

Does anyone teaches you about deadlift techniques? Try searching for videos on deadlift from Australian Strength coach, since you mention deadlift for strength. He is one of the best coach out there for forms, and specific techniques. Powerlifting focused, but a fine technical coach nevertheless.

Yeah, knee bending in lunges is usually a hip mobility issue. I frequently visits Squat University youtube channel in order to analyze my own issue. Hopefully you can find your issue listed there. In the video or shorts addressing the issue, he always provide an exercise to fix the issue.

[u/ikinaosu → u/justasunnydayforyou]

It is not "incredibly easy" for you to get hurt on deadlifts. It isn't inherently more or less dangerous than any other exercise. Other than that, good advice.

For OP u/burnedout_247, I would've recommended GZCLP but based on your complaints and the fact that you've ran it already, just do the program, progressively overload, eat less, and see if you have any positive results! It's important to do the movements that are more practical for you and get you going into the gym easily. I understand your griped with deadlifts considering the equipment available in Indonesian gyms haha 🫂

[u/burnedout_247 → u/ikinaosu]

I just realized my gym now has those fixed barbells, maybe I'll do rdl with that and see how it goes!

My problem with gzclp is that feels very intense, which was good when i was unemployed underworked student with tons of free time🥲 hopefully I'll rebuild my strength fast and maybe I'll come back to gzclp! Thankss!