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2.5 months into training, few Qs

staunch308

New member
started training the start of February this year, so been just over 2.5 months, when i started training i was 77KG and it wasn't until i started bulking 3 weeks ago that i went from 77.5 to 79 (current). i never did SS, i just jumped straight into training with a mate who has been training for over a year now.

i never tried a max single rep on anything, ive noticed my strength is improving slowly but im not sure wether what i am doing is the best i can be doing, this is what my workouts consists of keep in mind that i am assisted by spotter in final reps of 3rd & 4th set,

Chest and Tris (Same Day)
4x8-12 Reps Smith Machine Incline at 20 working upto 40KG
4x8-12 Reps Dumbbell Press, start at 12.5, to 15, to 17.5 to 20KG
4x8-12 Reps Chest Press, 30KG total
4x8 -12 Standing Cable Flys, 40kg

and tris
4x8-12 reps of tri pulldowns (the bar) at 30-40KG
4x8-10 Skullcrushers at 15KG
4x8-12 reps of tri pulldowns (rope where you pull it outwards at bottom of rep) 30-40kg

i have a flat spot on my chest, the outside areas of my chest is where its at but my upper chest is lacking

Back
4x8-12 Reps Chin-Ups (palm facing forward)
4x8-10 Lat Pulldowns 30-40KG
4x8-10 Deadlifts at 30KG, now 30KG deadlifts for me are easy and I know i could do 40KG+ easy and will attempt tommorow. foccused on form first.
4x8-12 reps seated cable row at 30-40kg

Bis
4x8-12 reps, dumbells curls 12.kg drop to 10kg repeat set (drop set)
4x8-14 reps, isolated bicep curls (do one arm then the other) 10KG
4x8 Reps on curlbar standing curls, 10KG total

Shoulders
4x8-12 Reps shoulder press machine, 20KG - 30KG total
4x8-12 reps standing dumbell shoulder flys, dont knwo the exercise name but the motion ends up your fists facing forward, neck height arms wide, does traps a bit too. i do it at 12.5kg then drop to a 10kg set then repeat another 3 times.
4x8-12 rear delt pec dec, but facing the opposite way 30-40KG
4x12-18 shrugs with 20KG each side

basically just want some advice and tips on what i should change etc, any recommendations?

cheers
 
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Hey good on you for getting into weight lifting but that program is terrrrriible.

Where are you located?

Jump on the PTC begginer program Stick to it for the next 6 months and report back with progres.. Also post diet and sleeping pattern please.

Christian
 
me and my mate whos been training for over a year share this training program btw and to be honest i didnt really think it was anything worth bragging about, it feels really sloppy and like im not getting much out of it. he can continue with it if he wants, but i will start doing it differently for the better.

my diet consists of roughly:

7:40: breakfast
- 6 weetbix with milk, and sometimes wholemeal toast 1 or 2 pieces
9:30:
-30% protein with 60% carb protein shake, used as a meal replacement with water (looking at adding a bit more protein into it)
11:00:
- 2 fruits, usually apple and pear, small handful of nuts (almonds+cashews), bun or something similar
1:00
- 2 sandwhichs (most times lettuce with smallgood meat), 1 carott, small apple, few multi-grain biscuits like those salada things
4:00 pre workout
- 1.5 cup oats sometimes muesli (with bran, sultanas etc) with dash of milk and sugar
- creatine mono, 5g (taken before eating)
- jack3d, does give me that extra kick, 1.5 scoop (have stopped as of last thurs)
directly after workout(usually 6 ish)
- 40g wpc with water
30 mins after shake, dinner 6:30-7
- dinner can vary night to night it is never consistent except for veggies which is every night regardless of what is the main part of meal, but is often either, pasta, rice, steak or other meat, chicken, fish very rarely.
9:00 ish
-
scoop of wpc with milk and a few carbs

i get 8 hours sleep a night a night minimum


is this the PTC begginer program you mean? http://ausbb.com/strength-training-power-lifting/9460-beginners-program.html

Now, if your a beginner, here is what you need to do, for between 3-12 months.

Squat 3 x 10
Bench press 3 x 8
Bent row 3 x 8
Military press 3 x 8
SLDL 3 x 8
BB curl 3 x 8

Do this 3 times a week. Progressively add weight.
i assume that it means select a weight that for squats where i can do 3 sets of 10 reps at the most (hit failure at 11 reps)?

also 3 times a week, does that mean do all those 6 listed exercises 3 times a week? i usually train 4-5 times a week? am I meant to do all 6 exercises say mon, wed and fri leaving tuesday and thursday as rest days?

thanks for your help too, the motivation is there but i just need to adjust my workout program and maybe my eating habbits
 
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Mate you would do much better on a 3x a week full body workout:
squat, deadlift, powerclean, bench press, military press. add pullups and dips. also add bicep curls and pulldowns at the end of your workout for arms if u need extra.

check out the beginner workout sticky's...


just saw you got the link...yeah man do that. 3x a week is heaps when you are lifitng heavy.
 
If you want to train 4 days give WS4SB a go - I'd just recommend instead of the ME lift rotation you stick with 5x5 for squat/bench on ME lower/upper days respectively
If you scroll down the bottom to the 'washed up meathead' section it changes up the template a bit to include an extra 'vanity' or conditioning day
http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles.html
 
yeah legs, deadlift was the closest thing concerning legs.

going to start the ptc routine today,

Squat 3 x 10
Bench press 3 x 8 (smith machine or actuall bench press? will alternate between flat and incline on different days)
Bent row 3 x 8
Military press 3 x 8
SLDL 3 x 8
BB curl 3 x 8

will do this routine monday, wednesday and friday; would it be alright to throw in just biceps on thursdays leaving my tuesday for rest or just abs?

i was reading up on an article by fadi and he said how on the off days, tuesday and thursday, that high reps of a very low weight (talking like 5kg bench for 100 reps) will help a muscle to recover faster due to increased blood flow to it but nto actually fatiguing it

also, squats might be a problem allthough ive never tried them my knees crack and show a bit of pain doing the squat motion. anyone else get this?

also, if i was doing this routine for a couple of months, wont my body get used to the same constant workout and build a tolerance?
 
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Start with weights that you can easily handle. Add weight every session. You may not need to change program in the first year.
I have noisy knees. Get used to the squat motion with no weight (look up Goblet Squats.) And ease into it. I have found that my knees now don't hurt like they used to. If you add chin ups to the routine you won't need to do biceps on another day.
You could add a set of Overhead Squats at the end of the routine and then you would not need any abs workout either.
How about just sticking to the program for 4 weeks and see how it goes?
 
great thanks for the advice tls, yeah I will start it today and post up how i go, what weight i lift etc

i will stick to it for a couple of months, keeping a log of my progress
 
I am currently at work so I'll be brief...

Just look into what your maintenance calories are...

From there add 500 or more depending on how you think your body will respond...

For example if 1500calories is your maintenance, you add 500calories to = 2000calories...

800cal of protein
800cal of carbohydrates
400cal of fats (Id'e probably go higher and not pay much attention to the fats)

That leaves you with 200grams of protein, 200 grams of carbohydrates, and about 45 grams of fat (go a little higher)...

Split into either 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 meals - Depends on how much calories your eating obviously and also your work/school, how often you can eat, time constraint etc etc.

In this case we will stick to the middle figure of 5...

So that will leave you with;

Breakfast (1), Snack (2), Lunch (3), Snack (4), Dinner (5)

Each meal consisting of 40grams of protein and carbohydrates and 10grams or more of fat (don't be too strict on the fat).

This method I think is the most efficient if you can spend a little time on calorie counting sites and design your meal macros in a 40/40/20 split and to amount to the calories you want per meal...

An example would be 200grams of meat, 130grams of cooked brown rice, large salad with olive oil = About 400calories +/-... x5 = 2000calories

All comes down to how strict you want to be...

If half the shit doesn't make sense it's because I am at work and on an iPhone lol...
 
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all that on an iphone cheers man haha

so basically aim for 40g protein, 40g carbs and 10g fat every meal, at 5 meals a day. i can cover the carbs no worries at 40g per meal easy, but the protein and fat will take a bit of adjustment, will try throw in some nuts, think its time to learn to get used to the taste of tuna lol, ive got wpc too. i honeslty dont keep track of how many calories i consume, but i try put in a bit more than what i want and it seems to be working for me, im upto 79.7KG from 77 in three weeks.

anyway, i gave the PTC routine a shot today and found it quite good, here are my results, btw could not get my max rep as didnt have anyone to spot me,

Squats
20kg x 8 reps
20kg x 8 reps
25kg x 8 reps

Incline Smith
30kg x 8 reps, 3 sets

Bent Over Row with BB
35KG x 12 reps
45KG x 12 reps
45KG x 20 reps

I probably could have gone a bit heavier to get 8 reps on all 3 sets, but was focused more on form than anything, felt it work my traps well but not so much my lats; form could be out.

Military Press with BB
45kg x 10 reps
45kg x 8 reps, x 2

Really felt it in my delts, but my wrists were hurting a bit from it, might have been the position my hands were in might have been too close, they were at just wider than shoulder length tho

Deadlifts
40KG x 8 Reps, 3 Sets

Thinking about dropping it too 35KG just to make sure form is correct

Subbed BB Curls for Dumbell Curls
12.5KG x 12 reps
15KG x 16 reps
12.5 x 12 reps

Went on to go do Dumbell Press on flat bench with 15KG each hand x 8 reps, even tho i usually do 20KG. then called it quits, thought if dumbell press wasnt meant to be included should i do it or not.

thinking of creating a log
 
Deadlifting with 40kg is not a deadlift because you are increasing the range of motion due to the smaller plates, and increasing chance of bad form. Use the 20kg plates to do a proper deadlift.

Do bench press either dumbbell or barbell not smith incline. Can switch it up once a week to incline if you want.

oh and create a log ;)
 
Deadlifting with 40kg is not a deadlift because you are increasing the range of motion due to the smaller plates, and increasing chance of bad form. Use the 20kg plates to do a proper deadlift.

Do bench press either dumbbell or barbell not smith incline. Can switch it up once a week to incline if you want.

oh and create a log ;)

was deadlifting with 1 20KG plate on each side, total 40KG

yeah i read smith machine doesnt work stabiliser muscles at all, so benching with barbell or dumbell pressing now
 
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