Modified PPL Program

V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Ive been training for about 3 months now after a 1.5 year hiatus due to a shoulder injury.

Started again in november doing high volume squats everyday since i couldnt do anything upper body/shoulder related yet, added a deadlift day towards the end of december so my program was then L/D/L/D/L/D/R monday to sunday.

Recently about 2 weeks ago started Push pull legs on a PPLPPLR schedule but didnt like it because of the larger gaps between training the same bodypart esspecially if i ended up missing a day.

Thinking of now doing a 2 day split, Chest+Legs and Back+Shoulders, Gives me the frequency i enjoy and have become accustomed to.

Age: 18
Starting weight: 59kg
Current weight: 68kg ~13% body fat
Starting squat: 50kg x 8
Current squat: 100kg × 6
Starting dead: 90kg x 5
Current dead: 125kg × 5

Bench is not worth mentioning due to only 2 weeks since starting. (45kg x 6)

Body weight 1.5 years ago: 73kg ~12%Bf
Bench 1.5 years ago: 80kg x 5
Dead: 140kg x 4
squat: 65kg x 8 ( I used to skip legs a lot)

^ All of these are goals to surpass within next 4-6 months of muscle memory

Current supps: Whey protien, Fish oils, Glucosamine, Animal pack vitamins, kirkland mens multi, ACV for digestion

Diet: Eat till i feel like throwing up every meal at mess except breakfast. Healthy foods like rice, beans etc. but beans and other legumes are cooked indian style so have lots of fat (which is good for bulk right now). probably eat upwards of 3k calories, not really possible to track at moment.

Just wanted to know what the more experienced members think of the program, and any adjustments theyd think will be good additions.

Also thinking of starting a bi weekly lifting progress thread for self motivation and for others? Good idea or No?

Edit: Added age
 
Hannibal

Hannibal

Ostrich
Catholic
Gold Member
You'd probably be just fine with 2700 calories a day, especially if your starting weight is 129 pounds. Since you're 18 there's plenty of wiggle room so I can't really critique your diet too much.

You put up some pretty good numbers in the past, but you want to be careful you don't eat your way into lardass territory.

Since you've already gained 20 lbs back and you're about 10 lbs away from your peak, you want to really monitor how much fatter you get in the weeks/months to come as the muscle memory gains slow down.

It looks like you know what you're doing. You've done the same program for 3 months so it wouldn't be a bad idea to switch to the two day split that you prefer.

The only thing I would add would be to turn this thread into your lifting progress thread (change the title, etc) instead of making a new thread, as your original post is more of a Lifters Lounge post than threadworthy material. Maybe post your starting program and then the two day split one.
 
V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Well I cant really edit now since the one hour windows gone, but maybe a mod can edit the title to "Vet-boy's Progress Thread" for me.

Until then I'll just post here bi weekly with lift numbers, weight gain, physique progress, any changes in diet/exercise etc.

'Hannibal' said:
It looks like you know what you're doing. You've done the same program for 3 months so it wouldn't be a bad idea to switch to the two day split that you prefer
Click to expand...

Actually i mentioned in the OP that my first month and a half was basically squat everyday, followed by adding deads after the end of december. Ive only done the PPL split for close to 3 weeks now and have hated only the lower frequency of trainings (I should have been more clear i guess). My rest days have always been on sunday because the gym closes early that day.

I'm open to any questions or advice anyone may want to throw my way in this thread about anything in the future.
 
Hannibal

Hannibal

Ostrich
Catholic
Gold Member
My bad, misread the post. I still think you should pick a program that both works and you enjoy. The two day split sounds fine to me. You're young, you might as well lift as hard as you're able.
 
V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Report:

Ran into some problems with recovery since i like training very intense. By the time i would fall onto another legday i would be only able to one good set with a working weight of 100kg and then just be completely fatigued for the next set and barely get any reps out. Almost had me thinking i had hit a plateau and needed to deload.

Adjusted the program by throwing in an accessory day for anything i felt i hadnt hit hard enough during PPL, ussually arms, calves or shoulders.

New schedule is PPLA repeat and rest only on sundays

No change in diet really

Lifts:

Squat: 5x5 @95kg ;failed last 2 sets at rep 4 so will bump up to 5x3 @100kg as soon as 5x5 @95kg is solid probably next week) Kind of following an adjusted form of one of the squat programs that was posted on here but forgot its name.

Bench: Working on getting 5x5 @55kg before jumping to 5x3 @60kg. Currently failing to hit 5 rep mark at 4th set

Deadlift: Currently doing 4x3 @135kg. Will bump to 4x3 @100kg when i can hit 4x5 @135kg

Other lifts: Linear increases

Weight: ~69kg
 
V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Progress:

As of last week's training I was able to squat 5×4 @100kg (relatively comfortably) and bench 5x5+ @55kg, No notable improvements in deadlift.

Next week:

Will bump squat to 105kg and go for 5x3 or 102kg and go 5x4, bump bench to 60kg and also go 5x3. Going to try and carb load for deadlift day to push for some progress in reps.
 
Fortis

Fortis

Crow
Gold Member
at 18, I'd eat as much as I could. Your ability to utilize those calories and burn em off is unmatched. Also, unless you're unhealthy your testosterone levels are probably amazingly high so you can build muscle at an insane rate.

If my metabolism were the same as it were 10 yeras ago when i was 18 I"d be shredded 24/7, 365. Eat, eat, eat ,eat ,eat.
 
V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Progress:

Did legs today, bumped up to 105kg and was able to hit 3 hard reps for only the first set

Hit a single of 105kg on the second set then decided to bump down to 102kg

Hit a double and then a single on 102kg than dropped down to 100kg and hit another single and decided to call it a day

Gonna drop back down to 100kg next leg day and just aim for atleast a 5x5 before i attempt to jump up to 105kg again

Ive got papers coming up soon so im gonna have to cut workouts shorter to no more than an hour so im predicting progress will be slow for the rest of march and early april.

Bodyweight: ~69kg closing in on 70kg

Questions:

Whats your guys opinions on leg presses?

Ive been doing it right after squats every legday and am upto 200kg @ 6-8reps atm. Not sure if it would be more beneficial to continue with this exercise or maybe switch it out for front squats in the same rep range, thoughts? Kinda have the free weight vs machine battle in my head over this.
 
V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Came back from a roughly 2 week break from lifting due to exams.

Did pretty well on exams thankfully.

Only trained one day during those two weeks where i only went in to do a 4x4 of squats @100kg. Also did diamond pushups and dips in my room every couple days.

Went back this Monday, final exam was also on Monday.

Had some surprising things happen in the gym these past 5 days.

Progress on first 3 days back to gym:

Day 1: Bench

Skyrocketed upto being able to do comfortable 5x3 @70kg, I even did a 75kg @ 3 for my final set and hit it through the fatigue.

All other chest related exercises jumped up aswell.

Day 2: Deadlift

Repped out 135kg at 4x4 with comfort, couldve probably gone upto 6 reps on the first 3 sets easy. I was amazed because i was rarely able to do more than 2 triples at this weight before having to drop down before exams.

All other back related lifts also had great increases.

Day 3: Squat

Did 2 triples at 105kg, then dropped down and did 2 triples at 100kg, the finally 2 triples at 95kg.

This may not sound like great improvement but keep in mind i had just done heavy deadlifts the day before.

Notes/Questions:

So after the the first 3 days i decided to rest for Thursday and went back again yesterday and for some reason i was surprisingly weaker.

I couldnt bench 70kg with ease like last time and all my other exercises dropped in weight too. I had sub par sleep the night before but I couldnt believe that was the cause since on day 1 I had actually pulled an all nighter before my exam and went to the gym with a 3 hour nap just before.

I feel like this may be because I trained with such high volume the first day and the 3 days was not enough for a full recovery (I was in the gym that day for close to 3 hours).

Could extra rest days be substituted with more sleep through naps? More protien in the diet? Or maybe this was just a bad training day and I'm exagerating?

Anyways, I feel like I am going to kind of drop the PPL program and go for High volume low frequency splits. One training day per week per muscle group? The huge jump in progress i had this week really has me excited for the potential gains.

How much rest is enough rest guys?

Weight:

Dropped 2kgs down to ~68kg, probably all water since I missed creatine during exams some days.

Age:19
 
V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Changed programs after starting to lift with a good friend who is a professional powerlifter.

New program includes squat bench and deads 3 times a week alternating 6 days a week as squat + bench one day, deads the next and then repeat.

Pulled a glute muscle that hasnt healed up fully yet but have been training around the injury with lighter weight.

Have hit a 110kg squat for a double 2 weeks ago on max out day, have yet to test dead due to glute pain

Bench 70kg x5+ reps with ease

May hit 80kg 1rm on next max out day

Bodyweight: ~71kg have gotten slightly leaner because of tge extreme heat this time around in india making it harder to eat enough, also loss of water weight from heat and high frequency training

Heavy deads and squats are done belted now, creatine has not been so consistant because im trying to stretch what little i have till i go back home.

Last heavy dead lift was 140kg×4 when i pulled my glute 3 weeks ago

Just to clarify:

All my prevously listed lifts in the bench and squat were off by ~3kg because i had often mistakenly used the lighter 17kg barbells that were already on the racks unknowingly. Anyone reading can adjust accordingly.

Never realized i didnt specify my height: 5'10"
 
V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Pulled 150kg x 3 last week.

Exams running now so, less sleep, less intense work outs, not so harder to eat all my food, not looking great for progress this month
 
V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Lost about 3.5 - 4kg this month thanks to the mess shutting down. Lived off of bananas, milk, peanut butter, and protien powder for a while. Ran out of protien a little over a week ago.

I've noticed myself looking very flat and lacking fullness so theres a lot of glycogen and water loss, as well as some fat gain.

Ive noticed some strength loss is there but its not substantial after testing today.

Only 3 more days till I head home. Couldn't be more excited to finally be headed back after a year.

The daily access to meat, eggs, and milk will really help to bounce back and push further than ever before.

Will make sure to buy a fridge on my return back to india.

Planning to change my post layout from random inserts to a more organized format on a regular basis in the future.

Also going to include the new program that ive been following thanks to my friend in professional powerlifting
 
V

Vet-Boy

Robin
Current lifts:

130kg squat
160kg dead
95kg bench

Weight seems to have been stable but i have gotten noticeable leaner judging by the new vascularity through out my body. Currently need to find a reliable scale to judge my current body weight but id estimate it anywhere between 70-72kg.

Cant wait to get bigger, stronger and leaner this year
 
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