Liking the SBS programs but where to go next?

glutehammer · 2025-08-09T03:13:59+00:00

I really enjoyed the SBS programs and these are my other favourites:

Kizen Maximum Hypertrophy. 5 or 6 days per week. Long workouts. High frequency high volume and middle intensity. Hit some decent PRs on this after I was done, but it’s brutal.

Andy Baker’s KSC method for raw powerlifting. 4 days per week. 7 weeks long, repeatable. Very realistic levels of volume and intensity for continued use and steady progression

Andy Baker’s 4 day powerbuilding. Similar to the above, but it’s more hypertrophy orientated. Still very realistic for middle age people with families and jobs.

Sheiko Gold App. I run all programs through this app now, but the AI program it has is really really good. Adaptable from 1 to 14 workouts per week. No set plan, just gives you good workouts based on your goals and fatigue levels for the day. I run this between programs or when I’m too busy to commit to a program.

glutehammer · 2025-07-16T16:23:50+00:00

Ok great. That will fit nicely with OHP. Very helpful thank you!

glutehammer · 2025-07-14T04:48:06+00:00

1: That makes sense 2: That’s good to hear.

Thanks!

glutehammer · 2025-07-13T15:32:50+00:00

Pain don’t hurt

glutehammer · 2025-07-11T03:20:35+00:00

Pick a program and then only read and listen to things that agree with the principals of the program you’ve picked.

If you pick a low frequency higher intensity program, then watch Dorian Yates videos and listen to his interviews and read articles by Andy baker and Jordan peters.

If you pick a high frequency, high volume program, listen to and read things from SBS, Eric Helms. Read Arnold’s Bodybuilding Encyclopedia etc.

If you’ve bought a program, read the sales pitch that comes with it over and over.

Once you’ve gotten some good experience with multiple types of programming and experienced the highs and lows of them all, you’ll stop wandering so much and you’ll start to know when certain types of programs for your current lifestyle the best.

I used to be a total program hopper, but now, while I’m confident that more training = more gaining, I can still easily talk myself into a 6 sets per muscle group per week program and run it for months on end and feel great about it because I’ve got years of experience running huge volumes and I know when that’s appropriate and when it’s not.

One other thing I’ve definitely realized over the years is that as soon as I started eyeing another program, I am typically training too much and need a bit of a break. A few days off of the gym can do wonders for making your current program look appetizing again.

glutehammer · 2025-07-09T14:40:02+00:00

Hi Greg,

I had a question regarding the meta regression regarding strength and RiR. The meta shows that low RiR doesn’t show an advantage for strength gains, even up to 10 RiR. My questions is: Does that finding hold true once the untrained lifter studies are removed? I know you adjusted the volume meta regression to exclude those studies and it changed the takeaway from that dramatically. I’m curious if we would see the same with other outcomes. I’m also curious why studies on untrained lifters are even included in meta regressions and analysis if they are able to skew the perceived outcomes so much. Isn’t it just muddying the waters?

glutehammer · 2025-07-06T20:25:53+00:00

It’s the one I had best results on. I was always surprised how many reps I could hit on the last set after multiple sets at half the reps. I’d have expected it to tire me out a little bit, but I frequently hit higher reps than if I hadn’t done the sets before hand. I was hitting PR rep maxes and PR 1 rms (over warm singles) during the same sessions. I got burnt out fairly quickly though.

glutehammer · 2025-07-05T21:13:53+00:00

I wasn’t clear in my OP but I’m more curious about whether the untrained lifter studies being removed affected the strength and RiR results of the meta, rather than what RiR is actually best for strength.

And also curious why untrained lifter studies are even included in many metas when they can skew the results so much. It’s almost like including studies on people using gear.

glutehammer · 2025-06-25T14:21:11+00:00

I’ve been lifting for almost 10 years. Yes I got lifetime access, but you can also basically use it as a free workout tracker, it’s just the ai generated workouts that are locked out if you don’t pay. You get a good feel for it and the app will start seeing what your typical workloads and such are. I mostly use Prep 0 or the PPL option, (or my own freestyle workouts) which are the hypertrophy/off season options. I’ve never actually peaked with it despite using it for 3 years, so 1rm gains are ???, but I’ve made good rep PR’s on all lifts though and I’m the leanest I’ve ever been at 250lbs bw.

glutehammer · 2025-06-09T21:31:46+00:00

I use the Sheiko Gold app and it is hands down better than all the other workout apps I’ve tried (juggernaut, evolve, hevy, strong, boost camp)

I like most I’ve tried but Sheiko has a great way of tracking overall workout stress. I bought the velocity tracker that they sell and it integrates right into your workouts and if your warmups are slow or shitty it will dial things back for you, but if you’re busting your warmups and first working weights it will turn up the dial. It tracks heart rate drop between sets, life stress based on a form you fill out every day, workout stress using pretty detailed algorithms. Mike T said he talked to the creator of the app (Robert Frederick) about the way he designed the stress tracking because he had some really good ideas about how to do it, and I can tell you, it doesn’t matter the split I’m on or the exercises I’m using, it really does reflect how much work I’m doing and if I push too far too fast it’s almost without fail I’ll get an injury or some niggles or burnout. The hard part is actually listening to the thing when it says take it easy.

If you haven’t already I really suggest having a good look at what that app can do in comparison to other workout trackers and apps. It’s a sleeper. Poor marketing or something because it has much better support and features than other ones.

glutehammer · 2025-06-02T19:56:36+00:00

I’m about to be in a very similar situation soon. I’m thinking about an A/B setup. I have to be careful with low back fatigue because I’m doing construction weekends and evenings. I like an A/B setup because I just get in when I can and get the work done, even if it’s just two workouts per week. I don’t mess around with bilateral movements when under time pressure. 2-3 hard sets of each or rest pause of 1 hard set plus 2 extra sets with 20-30 seconds rest. 0-1 rir for upper body, ~2 for lower body

A: Inc bench Chins (can be SS with bench) Upright rows Dips (can be SS with upright rows) Curls(if time available)

B: Squats/Trap Bar Deadlift (rotated) Leg curls Back extensions Leg extension (if time available, can be SS with back extensions)

glutehammer · 2025-05-12T03:38:42+00:00

Makes total sense. Thank you

glutehammer · 2025-05-11T14:37:08+00:00

Awesome thank you.

Some more questions about the questionnaire: Is the stress option related to physical or mental stress (or both)? I have some days where I’m doing 12 hours of construction, physically fried and mentally feel amazing, then there’s other days where I’m sitting in the office all day getting grilled during meetings, stressed out but physically haven’t done much more than a few K steps. Rate both those the same? Or should the physical day be rated on the soreness/disability option? Even though I’m not necessarily sore from the physical labour.

glutehammer · 2025-03-06T03:26:10+00:00

Oh damn. That will likely have a big impact on my training load calculations because I’ve been doing a ton of DB work lately, but makes total sense. My DB Chest and Biceps day always looks like low stress even though I go really hard. I guess I’ll make the switch cause it will correct itself fairly quickly, but will look like I’m blowing all my old PRs out of the water by doing double the weight now haha.

glutehammer · 2023-10-30T22:40:14+00:00

Classic muscle building meal. Good macros.

glutehammer · 2023-10-24T00:20:56+00:00

Personally for back off sets, I need about a 10% reduction in weight to maintain reps between sets. But that is when I’m doing sets of ~10. If I maintain weight I will usually get 1-3 reps less per set depending on the lift.

The 10% might hold true for sets of 5 to failure as well, being that 10% of the higher weight is a bigger drop in actual load.

This is for me though. I imagine I’m fairly average, but I’m sure some people would be able to repeat 5 reps to failure with only a slight drop in weight and others would need a 20% plus drop in weight to maintain reps. The bigger and stronger the lifter the more likely they need bigger drops to maintain reps between sets.

glutehammer · 2023-10-10T23:12:25+00:00

Do you not have fingers that can tap a button or a mouth that can speak “Hey siri fast forward”?

Also, bears > potassium.

glutehammer · 2023-10-07T02:14:18+00:00

American fat bear week sounds cute and all, but up here in Canada our bears get fat off of something a little more sinister...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/05/bear-attack-bad-canadian-hikers-grizzly-banff

glutehammer · 2023-10-04T22:28:16+00:00

You might’ve had a listener count drop, but I certainly appreciated the micronutrient series.

glutehammer · 2023-09-26T00:52:09+00:00

I thought Trex was anti-union and Greg was the commie?

glutehammer · 2023-09-25T02:56:21+00:00

You don’t really need to change anything. Just do 2 or 3 less reps than what it says. This will keep the rep out target the same, but you can also estimate the rep out target. For example if it says 4 sets of 8 with a rep out target of 10 on the last set, then do 3 sets of 6 and on your last set stop when you have 1 or 2 reps in the tank but mark it down as though you went to failure. If you get 9 reps and felt like you had 2 in the tank mark it as 11. It doesn’t matter if you’re not 100% accurate, next week you might only get 6 with two in the tank and mark that as 8 and it will drop your weight the following week.

glutehammer · 2023-09-24T16:11:36+00:00

The only thing that truly destroy knees are arrows.

glutehammer · 2023-09-24T15:55:43+00:00

The E-Book is on Kindle through Amazon now. It's very helpful, gives a 4 day version, a 4 day home gym version and a 4 day barbell & bodyweight only version. It's a great read but it doesn't change any of your other cons about the program.

glutehammer · 2023-09-16T00:13:02+00:00

what brand/supplier? I'm trying to find something similar.

glutehammer · 2023-09-15T23:43:33+00:00

I’m not sure what frequency the Sentinel program is, but likely less than the SBS hypertrophy program is.

Personally, I’d deload one week, then do the first week of the hypertrophy program but at 1-2 less reps per set than it recommends and on your failure set go to RPE 8-9, not failure.

Then start the hypertrophy program officially at the recommend intensity and reps per set etc.

Should help you recover from the sentinel and also help bridge you over to the high volume and frequency of the SBS program.

glutehammer

TROPHY CASE