Athlean X Pendlay Row
Manases Yatnalkar
No, your traps will grow just fine from heavy deadlifts and rows. Once you have a foundation then you should start isolating. Doing heavy shrugs and overload training will negatively impact your recovery, especially since the workload is already high enough.
There is no need for upper pec work. The overhead presses done with a pause will do more than enough to hypertrophy the upper chest. As a matter of fact, once you reach the intermediate stage your incline press will automatically be very strong.
Besides, a novice lifter does not have lagging body parts, because their ENTIRE body is weak. Therefore, they need not perform incline presses. Worry about that in the intermediate stage.
Weighted Chin-up, yeah I already hit all the numbers for the big 3. However I still struggle with Weighted Chin-up at 240 lbs weight. I will get there when i lose weight 27% bodyfat at the moment but Weighted Chin-up may be too much for a novice lean or overweight.
I already workout for about 2 years and shit results 68kg 1.85cm height and 14% bodyfat( yeah the same brazilian guy making questions on your videos ) , as well, my lower back was injuryed so i am re loading slowly, i know anyone thinks that but for me its really hard gain mass , like, even with proper diet, i gain almost only fat and a little strenght .Thats why i am changing my nutrition aproach.
Actually thats all, afraid of do total vertical moves by now, like ( ohp and pull ups- the two exercise i like most ) ,reduce a bit of volume due not maximum recovery by the nutrition option. And focusing at facepull to change my internal rotated shoulders .As always, i know my english isnt good ; )
Can you explain the set/rep/weight progression better please? For example, do you only progress to 4 sets once you can complete all 3 sets for 6 reps? then you can progress to 4 sets of 6,6,6, then maybe 5. And you only progress once you can do all 4 sets of 6? Then you would go to 6,6,6,6,4 until you can get all 6 sets of 6? Thank you
2) The seated chair deadlift is good because it teaches you to pull back. I would not be doing them during this program. If you want to, at the end of your workout you can do them with a broomstick or empty bar just to teach form, but other than that I would not mess with them.
Just a quick question on box squats. Iv read a lot of conflicting ideas on their usefulness to free squats, if i remember correctly Jason Blaha said pause squats were better and there was also an article by Dan Green where he felt box squats had no carryover. Do you think box squats are useful for free squats?
Protein is way too high, and carbs are too low.
And based off your information, I suspect that you probably have a decent amount of muscle mass, but are nearing the end of the novice phase. Running this program for some months may be of good use to you.
Will we be okay deadlifting twice a week conventional up until 405lbs or is there a certain point we should stop to only once a week for recovery purposes. What should we then replace the 2nd deadlift with if that is the case?
1- If you keep the rest times low, the total workout will be shorter. However, you will still end up in the 1h-1h15 range (which is actually short for the volume of this program) Thus, if you want to run a faster program, try Starting Strength.
Hi, nice blog! If I want a body similar to Jeff Seid, do I have to pass trough the novice stage. In other words, am I supposed to bench 225, squat 315 and deadlift 405 before I start to workout like he does. And what If am an absolute skinny fat, and full body strength workouts 3 times a week, are too much to recover from?
Because people will abuse the progression system. By manipulating total volume they will lift weights that they are unable to handle, and as such they will plateau and call me out for my program being ineffective even though it was their own fault.
Hey I am glad to hear you are making great gains! To answer your question though, I suppose lateral raises would not be negative, but I still would not do them. If you truly want that 3D look while keeping your shoulders healthy, do band face pulls instead. Assists in recovery too btw.
Hey alex great program. But I was wondering if I should continue doing squats. I squated 265 the other day at 164 but my legs are getting to be very big; 24 inches at the thickest part. Should I continue the program untill I hit 3155 or should I try a more upper body based program as I only have a pretty small upper body; 175 bench with 14 inch arms.
Also I chose to do free weight squats instead of box squats so whenever I am squatting, my left hip tends to shoot up before my right side. Do you have any idea to fix that? I injured my hip flexor over a year ago and ever since I have been really unbalanced on my squats.
Cool program and book. I have a question. My legs are well developed 25 inches. But my upper body is not so well developed. I can bench 675 lbs and overhead press 655 lbs. Should I do this beginner program without the leg exercises or should I do one of the upper body program from your book?
Hey alex, huge fan of urs here. Ive been running ur program for four months and ive doing well so far. In the other hand i found that i have a shitty ankle and hip mobility, and everything i tried so far like streches, foam rolling, etc did no work. The center of my problems are in my high bar squat which im having a hard time to progress cuze everytime i get to a certain amount weight i usually stall and hit a plateau. Should i consider doing low bar squats instead since it requires less mobility? What u think its the best option for me, going low bar or try working on mobility and stick with high bar? Thanks man
Hey Alex, I also have ankle mobility issues as well. Would you be able to refer me to the specialist. And I was wondering, my goals are mostly trying to be as big/aesthetic and strong as possible. Would your novice program be suitable for these goals?
Hey Alex, if I want to bodybuild after I finish your novice program, what type of training protocol should I follow? Should I move to an upper/lower or a split or stay on full body? And how should I program the reps? Higher reps? Lower reps? Have you already made a video on this?
Also, I believe you mentioned in a previous comment not to alternate between dumbbell extensions and barbell extensions for triceps.
Is this because the barbell has the most carryover to OHP and dumbbell extensions would ultimately be less effective? Thanks
Hey man love your programs, have shared with a lot of my friends. Forcing myself to stay true to it as much as possible.
I noticed that the bar path when I bench is often skewed (right side rises faster for the last few reps), perhaps implying unbalanced contribution from one side towards the movement. Would you recommend any unilateral pressing exercise to incorporate into the program? (Based on when I do one arm push-ups my left side is weaker)
Would you mind posting links or provide references to videos that do a good job of demonstrating exercises like Pendlay Row or Paused OHP (sorry to sound like a freeloader but if possible, all the exercises you have recommended). I have never done Pendlay Rows /Paused OHPs before so I would like to get started from a trusted source.
Oh if your doctor told you not to squat then this program is probably not appropriate for you (at least for the legs).
Yes do lunges instead, and lots of reverse hyper extensions. For back, do lat pulldowns.
Hope this helps you out,
-Alex
thanks alex, I saw your videos on reverse hyperxtensions and It has help a lot man for the pain. Im trying to buy the wrist for my feet also. So I will do leg press instead of squad and lunges instead of deadlifts. Thanks man
Absolutely, box squats are especially beneficial for your joints. The only thing to consider is recovery. Make sure you use lower volumes than a younger person, and that your sleep and nutrition are on point.
-Alex
hi alex .im running this program less than 2 months and my ohp goes 30kg to 40kg. bench press to 50kg to 60kg my squat 50 to 70kg and my conventional deadlifts(because my gym not have a trapbar lol)insanely goes up to 60 to 90kg
but i have a trouble with my grip strenght.
my forearms are like 2 pencils and i have larger fingers but my grip in deadlifts is starting to fail at 80kg and 92.5kg i cant holdthe bar.
the question is how i start streghtending my grip? can i starting use chalk? pls reply
pd:sorry for my english im latinoamerican
Hello, i just started your program and I have a few questions:
For box squats i use a bench, it is slightly lower than my knees, is that low enough?
Also, instead of weighted chin ups I am thinking of doing like a one handed pulldown on a cable machine with underhand grip, is that fine?
Would doing the floor press on a smith machine be an option?
Also what weight do you advise starting with on the larger compound lifts? As much as you think you can do for that number of reps/sets, or something based off your current 1RM?
1) How would I go about warming up for one of the two workouts. Should I just perform 4 warm up sets for the first exercise (squats) and thats it? Or should each major muscle group have its own warm up sets? example: warm up for squats, warm up for chest and warm up for back and shaoulders?
how do progress in your programm?? for example i have a 135lb bench press and i do 55 for a week. if i cant increase the weight next week what do i do?
and also i had a knee injury due to bad form in squats and now i can barely do any leg exerices, in your programm the only exercise u have is squats what should i do??
hey man i have some questions
1) when doing dealifts i can do 220lb for reps but i cant keep my back straight. should i lower the weigt??
2) also in your novice programm do i need to do the exercises you written in that specific order??( sometimes cant squat bcs there is someone else)