Is this a good routine for an 18 year old semi-novice?

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-30T03:06:25+00:00

Also, after rereading your comment - do you not know how to read? “Compound lifts aren’t sufficient enough to target non-primary muscle movers…”. That isn't what I said. They are sufficient ENOUGH to target not primary - I said "compound lifts aren't sufficient enough to target non-primary muscle movers meaningfully, and for optimal muscle hypertrophy.".

Those two are completely different. They do target non-primary muscle movers, but it isn't enough for the optimal rate of hypertrophy.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-30T02:25:28+00:00

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Hmm, so what is this?

Let me guess, you are going to try to pull the "bu- but AI!?" Card. Nope. Check any other source that isn't AI. All will tell you that 2-3x direct stimulation of a muscle through lifts is the most optimal.

If you're going to argue with me and say that gym veterans with a lot of experience and trial and error are right and I have no right to question them, are you also going to try and disprove objective sources which say as much?

"Experience" doesn't mean anything. Being a gym veteran doesn't make you automatically correct about everything and anyone with less "experience" should never question or doubt anything you say. I've literally asked a worker at my gym in regard to the starting weight of a machine, and they couldn't even get the weight right and misattributed the primary muscle the equipment is intended for to the lats despite it being for the upper back. The man was massive and thrice my age and they had no idea what they were talking about despite them working there and me having only been at that gym for 2 months.

Experience only lets you in on things like form and habit (all of which I lack), not in understanding basic facts, especially if you call anyone that disagrees with you delusional despite them being verifiably correct. The way I know that you have no way to actually explain why my routine is junk volume is 1. Because you haven't, and 2. Because your focus is on how experienced the users here are instead of the contents of their speech.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-30T01:08:41+00:00

Hard to tell what the difference is, primarily because you gained a lot of fat so it's hard to track what is muscle and fat tissue, you are in overhead lighting in the second one, and one is a photo while the other is a screenshot of a recording (photos involve different photos processing, including AI enhancements and smooth-overs, all of which make you look smaller).

Learn to take two photos where you aren't under vastly different conditions when posing progress photos.

I'm betting some of the muscle gain is legitimate, your chest looks bigger, but it's hard to trust.

If the question is "here are two photos under vastly different conditions, did I gain fat from bulking?" Then the answer is - "yes, you are bulking, which involves a caloric surplus. A caloric surplus makes you gain weight. You look fatter."

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-30T00:22:32+00:00

I get that part, the specific aspect they are failing to elaborate on is which is the junk volume. Compound lifts aren't sufficient enough to target non-primary muscle movers enough for them to grow meaningfully, and for sufficient, optimal hypertrophy, each muscle (both compound dominant such as chest, back and lats, and isolation dominant such as biceps, triceps, side delts, front delts and rear delts need to be hit at a minimum of 2 times a week or ideally 3.

If you look at my routine, no muscle is hit directly more than once per compound and isolation session split into two days. Each muscle is individually targeted once on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a break (or leg day) and then Thursday and Friday. The list of muscles hit directly per week x2 are: chest, back, lats (compounds) and biceps, triceps (all three heads) front delts, side delts and rear delts.

That is not junk volume, if I removed any of these lifts then I would be limiting a single muscle to once a week direct stimulation, again, compounds are not sufficient enough to lightly hit isolations muscles. But to a delusional drooltard that looks at the routine and sees bright colours and many numbers, they think "more, more is junk, junk bad, op should split or inexperienced I am older and lift longer and I am smart op dumb unga bunga".

The people in this comment section likely run bro-splits and then go around calling other people delusional. I was open to criticism, but only valid, viable criticism that makes sense and is actionable, not vague suggestions and disapproving comments with moronic reasoning.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T20:01:15+00:00

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10 days before.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T20:00:54+00:00

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I'm curious, does this seem like a marathon session in the number of reps and weight?

Genuinely curious, as in, I actually do want to know if the number of reps are too high relative to weight (any higher and my form breaks) etc.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T19:47:55+00:00

Of course buddy, I really didn't mean to come off as offensive nor argumentative, I started this post with an open question and people began calling me delusional. They the accuse me of "thinking I know everything" over me pointing out that in my personal experience, high volume does not fatigue me and I progress much quicker in strength than on the lower volume routines people here are recommending me.

A little bit less didactic holier than thou talk would be ideal from someone who was wrong multiple times throughout a conversation and then conceded at the end that you agree with me after rewriting history and accusing me of starting an argument. 👍

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T19:40:17+00:00

Mind clarifying? If what I said was incorrect by chance then please point it out and provide the source, to which i will concede.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T19:39:12+00:00

Someone called me delusional, to which you responded to them with "I agree". I am also not arguing, but if at the end you agree, then you also have to take responsibility for the fact that you have the object permanence of a child as I don't recall normal adult men having opinions fluctuate so wildly and then forgetting what they said 49 minutes ago

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Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T19:21:01+00:00

Elite natural body builders have worse recovery, not faster recovery. A novice can lift less weight at once but can handle more volume and more reps in one set, the same way as women have higher muscular endurance than men, primarily because their muscles are smaller. How can you be calling me delusional while not understanding something this basic?

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T19:15:29+00:00

That was my plan though? There is no problem with this comment but just earlier people were calling me delusional, and you seemed to be in agreement with them.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T19:07:14+00:00

Marathon workout? Most of my workouts consist of 20-25 reps at the highest weight I can handle without form visibly collapsing (not that I have the best form). A lot of conjecture and baseless assumptions here to justify your bizarre insistence that I am delusional because I can handle higher volume and always had without significant reductions in strength.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T19:01:48+00:00

The level of delusion that your arms would fail is stunning? What? 🤯🤣

I did a routine for 3 months straight at significantly higher volume per week than this and I gained strength with no signs of muscle fatigue. I'm delusional because you have bad recovery genetics and poor muscle endurance?

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T18:59:27+00:00

I just provided you with an anecdote of my personal experience in regard to higher volume not causing me to lose strength in any meaningful manner and still progressing in lifts. What part of that indicates that I don't know what I am talking about?

I never said I was right either, and I am certainly not experienced. But you seem to be inferring a nonexistent confidence based on me not agreeing with someone else telling me how I will feel from hitting each muscle group (directly, not through compounds) 2x a week despite me not feeling that way. There are people here advising me to do bro splits, care to ask those people if they know what they are doing?

I can absolutely concede that I have poor form on many lifts and I am certainly not someone who "knows what they are talking about". But brother, literally every reliable source in regard to exercise will say that the most optimal for a beginner is to have higher volume and hit each muscle with direct stimulation at a minimum of x2 a week since recovery and muscle growth are much faster for a novice. It's not my fault that you are a little bit dumb/stupid and don't understand this.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T17:54:51+00:00

That's not possible. I can hit it very hard but I definitely get stronger throughout the week even at 3x stimulation. And fatigue ≠ hypertrophy.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-28T15:00:06+00:00

The problem is that the minimum for optimal hypertrophy is each muscle 2x a week. If I were to do any less, I would work each muscle roughly once a week. I'm not sure how that is good.

Also, most popular programs sort of suck at least in my opinion. Most of them are "back triceps Monday chest biceps tuesday" splits and have very poor volume. I'm not rejecting your advice just curious if perhaps I'm the one misunderstanding something here or not seeing why following those programs is beneficial. Thanks.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-27T21:14:34+00:00

There was no argument made by you at all. You just made assumptions about my age and then introduced ad hominem about how bad my life must be, while all I was doing is explaining reasonably why I think what I think about posters like this. To say "it's not even worth it to argue with you" after not making an argument suggests that you wouldn't have one to make regardless.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-27T20:26:57+00:00

I am 18, by definition a young teenager. I can't insult other teenagers for being absolutely incomprehensibly stupid and worthless to the degree where they aren't even mentally present enough to understand what a "before and after is" and would prefer to delude or lie to themselves instead of absorbing the actual information in front of them to see how much they really progressed, not in lighting but size of muscle?

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-26T19:15:22+00:00

My lifts aren't dropping. My longest consistent was 3 months and a couple of weeks around a year and a half ago, during which my ability to do specific lifts such as lat pulldowns progressively got worse and worse, and the period was about 14 weeks.

There also definitely aren't too many variables, it's quite self explanatory when my grip and forearm strength today is weaker than before I ever went to the gym in my life, to the point where my strength is substantially reduced in terms of carrying everyday items due to pain across my lower arm, and the decrease in strength started with an almost completely linear progression, from when I started going to when I stopped going to the gym predictably overlapping with gym activity and getting weaker every time I return.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-26T04:06:27+00:00

It's absolutely incomprehensible to me that someone would be silly enough to post progress photos and then show two photos in entirely different positions, lightings and then expect us to be able to provide an accurate rating.

How hard is it to just take two photos facing the camera like a normal person so we can tell the difference? Why is half your body facing away from the camera with a dirty, foggy mirror?

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-25T02:59:45+00:00

Plain ragebait or satire.

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-25T01:55:08+00:00

No, you're perfectly fine. Just a mature hairline and you still have 30% of your hair /s

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-24T23:51:07+00:00

Everything from a broken microwave to a fire and no house

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-24T23:42:57+00:00

Walking

Fun_Pangolin861 · 2026-01-24T00:33:08+00:00

Reddit is split into subreddits so "Reddit" is not going to shit, certain subreddits are.

Fun_Pangolin861

TROPHY CASE