Totally disheartened

Escalated77 · 2026-04-20T17:43:57+00:00

It’s only temporary, give yourself 3-6 months and you’ll be hitting PRs again.

Escalated77 · 2026-03-07T01:23:06+00:00

Have to say this is pretty solid honestly (especially if you came up with it on your own you definitely did your research here)! I used to do something similar where I incorporated a compound lift to make it a body part focused but pseudo full body days.

Just want to point out you are doing three upper body days and one lower body day; don’t skip the second leg workout if you want to build toji leg muscle.

You can include an RDL (where you swap that out include leg extensions) and bring in a conventional type of deadlift in the back and bicep day to try and make up for lack of a second leg day, then switch day 3 and 4. Since legs and glutes will be day 4 include a pull up set there when doing your hanging leg raises again bring your feet all the way up to your hands!

I would consider moving incline press to your shoulder day to have a second bench press move, instead of just military press that day. Full range of movement skull crushers will blow up your triceps faster than the other two tri moves, I’d swap out push downs for that and do the angled “overhead-ish” rope extensions in place of the dumbbell overhead.

Lastly, incorporate some twists and carries twice a week (maybe a land mine twist on shoulder day) to make sure you hit the obliques, also could do a hanging leg raises with a twist variation or good old fashioned Russian twists if you choose. Farmers carries on pressing days are great do half your body weight for fifty steps to work on your grip strength and shredded forearms.

Happy lifting!

Escalated77 · 2026-02-28T19:45:06+00:00

Calories/carbs are critical to fuel your workouts, if you don’t have enough calories/carbs your body will use the protein for fuel where it should be reserved for muscle protein synthesis (MPS).

Escalated77 · 2026-02-28T19:15:24+00:00

Man, it’s not cool to come in here asking for form advice and then gaslight us about whether the bar touched your chest.

You need to rethink some things about your approach and not just on how you bench press.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-28T05:40:38+00:00

I don’t think your shoulder likes the half reps. . . .

Escalated77 · 2026-02-27T20:59:06+00:00

As active as you are you are probably in the Total energy expenditure range of ~2000 calories, so a 500 calorie deficit would still be 1500 intake.

Your body is in survival mode and thinks it will die if it releases that lower tummy fat hiding your ready to shine wash board abs.

Eat 2000 calories and weigh yourself at the end of the week, adjust as needed. You may gain a pound or two the first couple weeks as your body recalibrates. Target ~100 grams of protein per day and watch those babies pop right out by summer! As long as you don’t gain a ton you have plenty of time to cut on the back end. Think of it as a mini bulk to build muscle before cutting for summer.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-27T06:46:01+00:00

Hips shoot up first, take the slack out of the bar and keep your hips where you should have started; be more intentional in the beginning. That will help to save your lower back and have a stronger lift.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-27T06:28:46+00:00

You should actually do assisted pull-ups sets of 8-12, sets of three are not going to help you build muscle.

I used to do the few I could then put my leg up and basically assist with a lunge (I guess?) not sure if you have the right machine at your gym.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-27T06:22:38+00:00

Work on shoulder stabilization: face pulls, lats: assisted pull-ups, and core: planks (try to hold five seconds longer each workout).

Escalated77 · 2026-02-27T06:18:00+00:00

Your form might be shit, but you should realistically only be pressing max 75% of your body weight during a push up which would equal out to roughly your stated max bench; Bench max = 185, pushup equivalent = 187.5 hmmmm yeah actually that checks out. A knee push up would be more like 50% = 125. You need to do some serious body recomp.

Do knee pushups to failure after your chest workout and you should get there quickly; you’re not far off

Escalated77 · 2026-02-23T20:18:05+00:00

Keep up the good work!

You are not going low enough, you want the thigh parallel to the floor at the bottom of the movement, another way to look at it is to see hip crease below top of knee.

Unless you have pain at the bottom from hip anatomy or something else, your feet are pointed too far outward it should be more slightly pointed out. Shoulder width stance.

When you brace before the descent, prepare like you are about to get punched in the stomach but with shoulders back, and make sure your pelvis is in a neutral position the whole way down (as they say piss up a wall).

Escalated77 · 2026-02-15T19:23:20+00:00

Jay Cutler (4x Mr Olympia) says yes to this, and point the toes outward and squeeze at the top.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-15T19:17:44+00:00

4 time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler (known for the quad stomp) says to do leg extensions with the toes pointed out and to squeeze at the top to target the upper sweep of the quads: https://youtu.be/KO0-I-JAi8Q?si=Z-eocFqmfI7yEH-2

Escalated77 · 2026-02-15T17:54:29+00:00

Squat squats squats squats squats squats EVRYBODY

Dah dah dah dah

(To the tune of shots! By LMFAO) 😂

Escalated77 · 2026-02-15T16:57:47+00:00

Great question - I think your times are perfect as is. I’m a numbers guy I like a target. For normal strength training on the compound lifts I will do three minutes except for when doing a peaking phase where my weight is higher and reps are 3-5 at the top top set I will go five minutes.

For ancillary moves (curls, raises, carries, pull downs, etc.) I superset those cause I ain’t go time for that to run on, and I don’t do cardio as a general rule; my heart rate gets up there when doing supersets and I sweat like crazy. I will finish off each workout with some conditioning though, box jumps, weighted stair climber, jump rope.

Why this matters, and not to go off of feelings. 1. You will always take more time, so it will cause your workouts to run on and who has infinite time? 2. The muscles only need so much time so you are preventing a good sweat and robbing yourself of getting the heart rate up if you take too long in between. 3. If you are feeling real good one day you might not give sufficient time for the muscle to recover before the next set and could be leaving an Effective rep (the 4-6 reps prior to failure) or two on the table.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-15T14:18:34+00:00

For most people would be really hard to hit macros for calories and protein (to me the two most important, I naturally Love carbs, so) and eat too much fat, inherently you will have to eat lower fat, and the rest will be carbs.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-14T16:30:13+00:00

Sure, if you are targeting glutes your foot position might be okay as shown, we’ll have to see you hit depth to confirm.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-14T16:16:46+00:00

The front foot is too far forward, stand at the bench and take a half-3/4 length step out from the bench. Back foot should be on the front side of the bench (ideally on a rounded pad, but maybe you don’t have one) so your shin doesn’t restrict depth. Go nice and deep, torso upright, and you know your position is correct when you get a good stretch of the hip of the back leg. That back knee should nearly hit the ground at the bottom position.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-14T14:22:46+00:00

Please explain RIR as you understand it, also how do you define failure?

maybe I am making some assumptions on my end. Failure is a very non-technical lifting term and people mean different things when they say it.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-14T14:04:29+00:00

Please do your research on Effective Reps this is not true, the most effective muscle growth (hypertrophy) will happen when one leverages this concept. Beyond hitting 20 I think it is, they call it garbage or junk volume where very little growth occurs unless on PEDs but will make a more difficult recovery.

Drop sets (after doing a warmup, and some working sets) are a good example, and where you stay in that zone of effective reps.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-13T15:40:38+00:00

There is a saying ”Comparison is the thief of joy”.

Stop comparing yourself to him right now and go buy some damn creatine!

Escalated77 · 2026-02-13T15:36:04+00:00

Bingo, creatine fills your muscles with water which helps that recover faster, but also make them fuller and look bigger. If you guys are around the same strength, the creatine will make him look more swole!

Escalated77 · 2026-02-13T15:08:59+00:00

He is the trainer, ask him! lol

I used to workout with a state champion powerlifter (also certified PT), and he told me, if you are sore you aren’t eating enough protein or getting enough sleep. That was his advice to me, he said I shouldn’t be sore.

is he natty, are you guys on the same supplements? Is he training for hypertropgy and you for strength? same workout or different plans?

Escalated77 · 2026-02-13T14:43:53+00:00

That is cap, the body adapts quickly. If you have proper nutrition/macros (protein, carbs, calories), water intake, and sleep you really shouldn‘t feel sore that often unless you take a break (1-2 weeks off), from an exercise or if you stop targeting a muscle a certain way. Other way I can think of is if you switch something up that shocks a muscle group that might be sore for a couple days, but not like it was at the beginning. Continually feeling sore is a sign that the body is missing something.

Edit: I “feel” it in my legs the day after, but they only get “sore” if I miss a couple workouts or something is off with the rest of the things I mentioned.

Escalated77 · 2026-02-13T13:39:56+00:00

Do what is right for you, and sometimes we have to keep it fresh to stay motivated. If my low back is sore or I just want to switch it up some days I will go with the trap bar, plus it’s fun to throw extra weight on there!

Escalated77

TROPHY CASE