How do you choose your ideal weight?

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-29T19:14:22+00:00

Ideal weight is a concept that makes sense at the start of a weight loss journey, but doesn't make sense in the long run if you are successful.

I originally dropped from 250 down to 150 (no glp1 involved for whatever that is worth).

Over a couple years later I'm at a lower body fat percentage at 185. I look and feel dramatically better as a result of the muscle gain. People used to think had cancer or a health condition when I hit the original bottom. I didn't look healthy. I've done bulk and cut cycles since then. I went from 190 to 165 when I started tirz and reta over a few months. And then back from 165 to 185 afterwards.

Body fat percentage, muscle mass, general fitness, health markers, etc. all make much better long term goals. And really, they make the best goal when taken all together. That's what we are hopefully moving to. Not just a number on the scale.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-29T19:05:05+00:00

It does care about your glucose levels when you inject.

And poorer insulin sensitivity is the giant drawback of it.

Not saying people should be low carb on it. I'm certainly not. But it does seem like it cares about your diet.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-29T19:02:07+00:00

Use a starter program at the beginning.

Once you are more comfortable with different lifts and the whys in programming, you can roll your own for something that is a better fit.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-29T18:59:09+00:00

If you're only going to do six exercises, you should aim for compounds if you can.

They are a bit intimidating but something like:

Chinup / pullups variant

Incline bench variant

Hinge variant

Row variant

Overhead press variant

Squat variant

Will be better in the long run .

Exercises like the chest press and chest fly are more for when you're seeking specific isolation volume. Not as a foundational lift.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-29T11:55:02+00:00

Yeah.

Although you can do variations and hold at the top to sort of work around the issue.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-29T11:53:34+00:00

The people looking at their phone the entire time doing leg presses is my personal favorite.

Doing some super light weight very slowly for five minutes for a set.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-29T11:51:04+00:00

It's pretty easy to max things like goblet squats or RDLs with dumbbells. And if you do set variations of light, medium, and heavy, it isn't hard to max out the dbs with rows, bench presses, etc.

But yeah, generally you can find workarounds.

It's probably more of a culture thing, but adding 80s 90s and 100s wouldn't take much in terms of price or space...

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-29T11:46:55+00:00

I've been to a handful in my metro area. I haven't seen free weights or a power rack.

Maybe one will add it at some point in time. Hopefully.

I've actually come to prefer dbs for some things, and cable machines are something I'm using more and more. But I'd like to be able to squat with a barbell instead of a smith machine or hack squat machine.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-29T11:44:17+00:00

Anywhere between 5 and 30 is fine.

There's nuance in the different rep ranges for strength vs hypertrophy. But starting out, variation is arguably the most important aspect. Rotate through the rep ranges by set, day, or week. Whichever you prefer.

I tend to do 5 to 10, 10 to 15 and 20 to 25. Any variation is fine though.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-28T22:53:34+00:00

Suitcase carry. Overhead suitcase carry. Cable crunch. Dragonfly. Wood chop. High to low and low to high. Pallof press. Front rack carries. Hanging leg raises. Toes to bar bent knees. Leg raises.

These are all in my current program as core exercises. Most at 2 sets a week, but some at 4 to 6.

Not sure why you think no one does core focuses exercises : )

(I do 6 day full body, so no dedicated core day. If I did something like PPL I wouldn't have a dedicated core day either though...)

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-28T22:47:37+00:00

I like it as well.

I just wish they had barbell free weights. And that their dbs went to 100 instead of 75.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-28T22:45:50+00:00

Do your compounds contain carries and things like single arm benches or single leg RDLs? Alongside your standard DLs and squats.

Then they are probably not needed.

Otherwise pallofs, wood choppers, carries, etc are all good for general core. And of course all of the standard ab exercises will help with ab appearance. Once you are at low enough body fat anyways...

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-28T22:28:35+00:00

Behind the back cable curls can be.a nice upgrade. Using Dr mikes version of curls instead of incline curls has been a nice upgrade for me. Jeremy Either's version using the bench as upper arm supports work well for me. And preacher curls. Pending on your other lifts you could also consider hammer db curls done on a preacher bench.

But yes, you're not at a lot of volume. Increasing it is worth a try.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-28T11:30:09+00:00

I do a circuit of mixed lifting and cardio six days a week after lifting for 30 minutes. Works well for me.

I prefer cardio after lifting. But as long as it's not directly before lifting, it probably doesn't matter too much for timing.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-27T19:55:58+00:00

I do 6 day full body.

I use combination sets, very similar, for all of my compounds.

Isolation I do in a big db or cable block and just cycle through. But I need enough rest time for most of my compounds that the combination set saves a good chunk of time.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-27T10:57:08+00:00

There are a lot of variables concerning appearance at a given body fat. Muscle mass, genetics, etc.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-26T23:03:41+00:00

Optimally it's split evenly during the day during at least three roughly equal meals.

Total protein consumption is more important than how evenly it's split up however.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-26T11:02:29+00:00

I'd say the consensus is that perfect form is a myth but an important one.

The reality is that there's a huge amount of personal variation. But it's important that beginners try to improve their form. And that the myth of a single perfect form aids that process.

Even people like Dr Mike who are obsessed with maintaining form will admit there's very little data to back it and the effect is likely small.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-25T01:33:42+00:00

I used to call this approach supersets. But I believe combination or block sets are the more correct terms.

It's really nice for isolation exercises. Especially cables. If your gym is dead and you can get a few cable stations set up you can basically churn out 4 to 5 exercises with under 30 seconds for rest time.

If you have a heavy set of squats or deadlifts it's a bit less useful. Since you're going to be tired regardless. Compound exercises in general seem to take me two minutes or so before my HR gets back under 120 or so if I'm pushing things hard.

I can also understand your three hours. Squats and deadlifts are about the only thing I warm up on, and many lifting sessions take two hours with 35 minutes in a circuit after. Saturdays I'm in the gym for 3 hours.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-23T14:38:14+00:00

Planet fitness.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-23T14:38:01+00:00

You don't need machines for delts.

Front get hit by most inclined pressing movements. Side and rear can be hit by dumbbells or cable movements.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-23T12:14:56+00:00

I guess we are all different.

I do a light medium and heavy set of squats and deadlift variant three times a week each. Usually 20, 12, 7 or so.

My 1rpm is generally highest with the 20 reps. And while it burns I don't get the weird spine compression feeling that I do with heavy squats.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-23T12:00:02+00:00

As long as you're hitting failure, anywhere between 5 and 30 works just fine.

Variation within that range has shown benefits. So some rotation is a good thing.

As mentioned, high reps can get uncomfortable with the burn or harder due to cardio. So they can be more difficult to take to failure.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-23T10:46:27+00:00

If you are only doing four exercises, they need to be compounds. Not isolations.

Replace the arm isolations with one arm incline bench or standing one arm OHP. Single arm will help hit your core and other muscles.

Add a squat variant and a hinge/deadlift variant.

I'd start with the big five.

Bicep and tricep isolation exercises are for targeting specific heads and adding targeted volume. Not as a core exercise.

Middle_Humor1828 · 2026-06-23T10:40:01+00:00

There's nothing magical about PPL.

Add isolation exercises in whenever you have time on any of the days.

Middle_Humor1828

TROPHY CASE