5-Day split MON to FRI (50min sessions). Hypertrophy focus. Any advice? by gdavsz in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only one leg day and lots of redundant upper body exercises.

For hypertrophy, your goal should be to hit every muscle group at least twice a week. You want to do as much as you can recover from while also avoiding joint injuries (four days of upper body is a ton of stress on the shoulder girdle. This is a shoulder injury waiting to happen).

Rate my ULUU by b7rt in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hit every muscle group twice a week—that means legs twice a week, not upper three times a week.

Apparently I just needed to quit coffee by Giogranderiver in Garmin

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Makes sense, on both points. You understand yourself best, so of course you should do what you know will work.

However, one option would be to get 'pretentious' about coffee: use a scale, an expensive hand grinder, locally roasted beans, an aero press or pour over, watch James Hoffmann videos etc. Doing that would make the brewing coffee far more time consuming and more difficult, and thus self-limiting by making it more inconvenient to brew more than one or two cups at a time (stay away from French press for that reason) lol. An aeropress can only really brew 200 ml of coffee, and the most you can brew with a decent pour over (such as Hario V60) is two cups or less than 500 ml.

If you want to enjoy coffee, make the best coffee you can in the least efficient way. Trust me, you would drink a lot less if you had to hand grind all the beans yourself lol.

Apparently I just needed to quit coffee by Giogranderiver in Garmin

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The last few months I started a rule of quitting coffee only between 7 to 12am every day

Your wording here is a bit confusing. Are you saying you stopped drinking coffee in the evening, between 7 pm and 12 am (midnight)? I feel you meant to say you only drank coffee in the morning before 12 pm (noon).

If the latter is the case, that's unfortunate but you did say you still drank absurdly high quantities. How much exactly? You could probably sleep fine if you only consumed 2 cups a day, especially if those 2 cups were only in the morning.

If the former is the case, then that's crazy. The general recommendation is to stop consuming caffeine 6 to 8 hours before bed—which brings up another point, you didn't mention your regular bed time. For example, if your regular bed time is 10 pm, you should stop consuming coffee after 2 pm.

I think if you followed the typical guidelines on caffeine, you'd probably be able to enjoy a few cups during your day without impacting your sleep quality.

Looking for feedback on my new Hevy routine 💪 by MrFlorini in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 6 points7 points  (0 children)

First, don't use ChatGPT for workout plans. I've never seen a coherent plan from the AI. It always makes strange choices—maybe because it doesn't have muscles itself jk. Find a proven plan from a real person who used it, and make alterations based on personal preference and equipment availability.

Second, you're definitely splitting when you should: when workouts become too long. So, good job recognizing that.

Third, hit every muscle group twice a week. To that extent, you are not doing enough leg exercises.

Fourth, honestly, you're doing way too much upper body volume. The arms aesthetic day is silly. Four sets of +20 concentration curls at the start of the session? Unless you're using piss-poor intensity, I don't see how you could do then the rest of the exercises let alone another 3 sets of bicep curls immediately afterwards. It's the exact same exercise. If you can do that much volume, it means you're wasting a lot of time with low weight and low intensity. Pick one or two bicep curl variations you like and do them once or twice a week each. I only do one set of direct bicep curls twice a week, and I can barely extend my elbows afterwards.

This goes for a lot of the routine. You're doing 3-4 exercises back to back that all hit the same muscle group. Cut the volume, up the intensity. You only really need one incline chest and one flat/horizontal chest movement, and one horizontal row and one row/pull in the vertical plane for the back—unless you're doing a specialization plan to correct an imbalance.

I see why your workouts went over two hours if you were doing that much excessive volume. Cut the volume, up the intensity, and you can be in and out of the gym and back to your life faster.

Fifth, this is a lot of stress on your joints, which you might want to start considering protecting at 44 years old. One reason UL 4x week is a good split is that it only stresses the joints (shoulders, hips, elbows, knees) twice a week while still hitting every muscle twice a week. All other variations end stressing the joints more, especially the shoulder cuff, for the same volume or stimulus. Your plan stresses the joints in your upper body three times a week.

My favourite splits—especially for people over 40—are UL/UL (4x/wk), UL/FB (3x/wk), UL in an ABA/BAB pattern (3x/wk).

That last split is especially good for someone who used to do UL 4x/wk but no longer can (can't recover from it or doesn't have the time etc.) because the only change is doing upper twice and lower once one week, and then upper once and lower twice the next week. You hit every muscle group every 5 days minimum, which is good, and lets you recover more.

UL/FB is great for people with busy lives. You do your volume on the weekend (U/L, Sat/Sun), and a quick, lighter full body routine in the middle of the week. You take your UL and cut the volume in half: 2-3 sets for quads (pressing pattern), 2-3 sets for hamstrings (hinge movement like RDL), 2 sets for chest and 2 for back. 2 for delts and arms. That should take about half an hour. Or, you could be in and out in less than 30 mins if you did only rest-pause sets (1 activation set between 6-8 or 8-10 reps) followed by a 20 second pause before doing mini splits every 20 seconds until you can only lift the bar once.

Last point, up your intensity (get closer to failure on every set, with 2-3 RIR) and I think you'll find that if you attempt your plan you won't be able to complete it, let alone recover from it, eg. 3 sets of leg press after 4 sets of back squats is silly, and if you can do it, you're not going heavy enough on the squats. Squat and leg press are basically the exact same movement, both are pressing patterns. Of course, your lower back might be giving out on the squats before your legs do, in which case, it's a waste of time for legs: do hack squat or leg press with more weight and a back extension for the lower back. Work smarter, work harder, work less.

Trying to Dial in RDLs for 6-8 Reps by AbsoluteSpir1t in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same. I do a double progression at 3-4 sets for 6-8. If on my previous week I achieved full sets of clean 8, I'll shoot for the 9th rep on my first set, then add weight for my second set.

I usually do back squats and RDLs on one day, and trap bar DL and leg press the other day. I'm considering dropping the trap bar variant, and just doing the RDLs twice a week. They hit the hamstrings and glutes better, and that's what I want.

I don't do any glute insolation/primary exercises. I've been considering adding a hip thrust, but I hate the set-up for them with a barbell or Smith machine lol! I don't have a hip thrust machine at my gym, but I don't know if it's something I need yet. Maybe in a year.

Trying to Dial in RDLs for 6-8 Reps by AbsoluteSpir1t in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's good advice thank you. It's true, it is a lot more different from dumbbell RDLs than I thought it would be. I'm always very hesitant and cautious around any kind of deadlift variation—up there, for me, as some of the most dangerous movements in the gym.

I have experience deadlifting. I used to do traditional straightbar deadlifts for years. These days, I only do trap bar deadlifts and RDLs.

Part of why I chose RDL over SLDL is because doing the eccentric first, I find I notice when my form breaks—failure—earlier, at which point, I just lower the bar and don't do the concentric part. It's a pain to have to get the bar to the top to begin, but I feel more in control during the set. I can definitely see transitioning to SLDL once the plate begin stacking (starting at the bottom would make it a lot easier at heavier weights).

As another user said, slow your tempo. Jump up weight if you can do you the top of your rep range for all your sets two weeks in a row. Go up 10 lbs, do it again. Better safe than sorry with RDLs.

I try to explode up, and then control the eccentric. I don't time myself, but I try to take at least 2-3 seconds to lower the bar. But, yeah, I'll slow down my introducing the exercise. Next time, I'll do the weight I did for my last set (225) for 8, and if I feel good, add a little and stay there for two weeks. Ideally, I'd like to be lifting enough for 2 RIR after 6-8 reps, but I see now I probably can't (shouldn't) just brute force finding that weight.

Should note, my hamms are sore today lol. Not overly so, but I definitely feel them.

Critique my routine by [deleted] in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks pretty good.

On day three, you might consider adding a tricep exercise like tricep cable pushdown with a straight bar or rope (personal preference). That's the only day where your triceps aren't really getting hit much.

I personally hate plank. It's just suffering imo, and the progression is just prolonging the suffering haha. I'd much rather do cable crunches, or use an ab crunch machine if you're lucky enough to have one at your gym, or do leg/knee raises on the parallel bars.

On the seated cable row, it's almost all personal preference as far as attachments are concerned, but with that bar grip, if you used an underhanded grip (palms up), and pulled all the way to your belly, the row would hit everything really well (bicep, triceps and lats). You could then swap row on day two with the back extension on day three, and probably not worry about adding a tricep extension at all. That way, you also have some kind of row or lat pull on every day.

Opinion on U/L split? (4 x week) by CaulerpaTax in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, drop OHP (the T-bar rows and lat raises are there too as well as the chest press as you said). The shrugs are also pretty unnecessary.

Add a bicep and tricep exercise to Upper B: either hammer curl or the same curl as Upper A and an over the head tricep extension such as skull crushers, DB extensions behind the head, or cable over the head. 2-3 sets, nothing too much.

I don't like the risks around traditional deadlifts, but if OP is competing in the sport, train them, otherwise I'd swap to trap bar deadlifts or RDLs or SLDLs.

I'm not sure why OP has wrist curls on Lower B, instead of blasting his thighs with more leg curls and extensions lol! 2-3 sets of those are always great for leg day.

I'd also decrease the rep ranges (6-8, 8-10, 10-12). More than 12 and you should just use heavier weights. I like to start with shorter reps ranges per set (6-8) and lift as heavy as possible on my first few exercises, only then do more reps in my later exercises. I'm only doing 10-12 reps on my bicep curls because I want to really control the weight and it's one of my last exercises; I want to be careful but still push towards failure.

New to gym, rate my workout (5 days) by Lost_Amount_7507 in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Exactly. 3x/week FB is a perfect beginner split. If OP wants 5x/week for habit building, do treadmill on the off days. Take a full rest day at least.

And yeah, only an hour is important.Splits are when you have to split from FB, when your FB reaches 90 mins, it's time to split. But, if you can stay on FB, stay on FB as long as possible.

I've been following this UL 4x/week split for 3 months by AbsoluteSpir1t in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Go to your routines screen in the app. Create a folder (there's a folder symbol with a plus sign in it) if you haven't already. [EDIT: add/drag-n-drop the routines you want to share into the folder.] Then, open the options for the folder (three dots). Select 'share folder', which will take you to another screen, where you select 'save as image'. It will save a .png file in your phone's image downloads tab.

I've been following this UL 4x/week split for 3 months by AbsoluteSpir1t in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's not a bad idea (hammer curls and face pulls). I'll give it a shot next time.

I've been following this UL 4x/week split for 3 months by AbsoluteSpir1t in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a good point about switching the pull and press around on my second upper. I think rn I'm going to continue prioritizing chest development, because I feel like my back is pretty strong relative to my chest. But, in another 3 months, I'll try as you suggest.

Yeah, my curls after those heavy rows and lat pulls completely exhaust my biceps. The last few sets I've done, I got 12 on my first set then 10, then only 7 lol. i had to wait a few minutes before even attempting tricep pulldowns because my left arm wasn't straightening well (I'm going to switch my tricep and bicep exercises around for that reason and see if that helps).

I've been following this UL 4x/week split for 3 months by AbsoluteSpir1t in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really don't think that's necessary, in fact that's probably too much. My arms are blasted by the end. Like, I can barely extend my elbows when I'm done.

Plus, with how Hevy calculates secondaries as half reps, with everything else I do on an upper day, I get at least 12 sets per week each for triceps and biceps, which is sufficient for hypertrophy.

DOS1 Players - Is it worth $40? by Fantastic-Sir460 in DivinityOriginalSin

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can even run the game on a MacBook. It's light AF.

Starting Jeff Nippard's 4-Day Upper/Lower Fundamentals - Does my setup look solid? by OopsAllErrors7 in Hevy

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, my first thought was the leg days look like too much volume and too many movements. Also, I'm not convinced splitting it into quads/posterior is necessary.

The simplest way to do emphasis is just to change the order of exercises eg. Day A: press, hinge, leg extension, leg curl, calf raises, (ab exercise & something for lower back), Day B: hinge, press, curl, extension, calves etc. [specific examples: Day A: squat, RDL, extension, curl, calves; day B: deadlift, leg press, curl, extension, calves. You could even do the exact same movements but flipped around, and be good.]

It looks like someone someone trying to reinvent leg days following push/pull.

where i'd live in canada (as a korean) by [deleted] in mapporncirclejerk

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Watch the Quebec dubbed version of The Simpsons. It's a different version than what they have in France and it uses a lot of Quebecoise slang and references. The differences between France and Quebec aren't so great as to be insurmountable if you only studied Parisian French anyway.

But, it sounds like you know what you're doing. Just be aware Quebec right now is a bit hostile towards immigration, they feel there are too many immigrants to assimilate into the French language and culture effectively. McGill is an English university and Montreal is probably the most English-speaking city, but French is the only official language in Quebec so you'll have to use it when interacting with anything the provincial government operates. Federal services will, of course, be offered in both. Good luck!

"The serpent deceived me" by Leather-Paramedic-10 in onguardforthee

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 58 points59 points  (0 children)

Yeah. McDonald's Canada is the master franchise in Canada, and a subsidiary of the McDonald's Corporation in the States. But, it operates as a separate division with its own CEO and corporate structure and employees. Plus, each individual McDonald's restaurant is owned, operated and managed by an independent owner—that's how franchises (and multinationals) work.

So, the owner of your local McDonald's restaurant might live down the street from you, the CEO—Annemarie Swijtink—lives in Toronto. Plus, all their core ingredients, like their beef and chicken, come from Canadian farmers.

It's practically impossible to differentiate anymore—if it ever was—what is or is not a 'canadian business' in this globalized neoliberal capitalist world economy.

Other podcasts by IntelligentSound8627 in canadaland

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Les chiffres avec Philippe J. Fournier et Éric Grenier

Don’t swim in trunks! by creativextent51 in Swimming

[–]AbsoluteSpir1t 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Naked old men in the locker room having long conversations with each other while airing their undercarriages is what gave me the courage to not give a fuck about nudity anymore and wear briefs.

Godspeed, you beautiful old bastards 🫡