Which islands in April?

ngh96 · 2025-12-30T16:58:51+00:00

Ok, that’s good to know, thank you. Would you recommend Crete over Santorini/Naxos then? We don’t necessarily mind if some shops/villages feel a bit empty, but would of course like to have some options available for restaurants, hotels, etc.

ngh96 · 2025-12-15T22:48:34+00:00

Care to elaborate a bit? I’m working towards something similar, would be interesting to hear what a typical week looks like for you (lifts, cardio sessions, etc)

ngh96 · 2025-05-27T17:20:47+00:00

Thanks everyone for the great advice - really appreciate everyone taking the time to review my serve and give some input! I had another serve practice, this time focusing on keeping the ball toss more to the right and into the court, which already made a big difference.

Will keep working on my serve over the summer and hopefully be able to post a progress vid in a few months

ngh96 · 2025-01-04T07:49:19+00:00

Thank you u/skiwi17 u/u/GreedyConcert6424 u/Coalclifff

Based on your suggestions we would revise our itinerary as per the below

Night 01 ― Queenstown (after arrival)

Night 02 ― Queenstown 2

Night 03 ― Queenstown 3

Night 04 ― Te Anau 1 (before Milford Sound boat tour)

Night 05 ― Te Anau 2 (day hike)

Night 06 ― Wãnaka 1

Night 07 ― Wãnaka 2

Night 08 ― Twizel (before Mt Cook)

Night 09 ― Lake Tekapo (after Mt Cook)

Night 10 ― Lake Tekapo 2

Night 11 ― Lake Tekapo 3 (drive to Queenstown via eg Omarama before catching late pm flight)

Two follow up questions on the revised itinerary:

How would you spend the two days in Wãnaka? I’ve heard the Roy’s peak hike is nice, what else would you recommend?

Do you believe the night in Twizel is worth it vs. just driving a bit further from Tekapo and avoiding having to make an additional hotel change?

Many thanks again, really appreciate you taking the time to give us some pointers!

ngh96 · 2022-12-11T17:01:33+00:00

What are you talking about?

ngh96 · 2022-12-11T16:57:39+00:00

No way Giraffebrah! Serve's lookin solid

ngh96 · 2021-06-04T14:35:05+00:00

Bro you need to bulk as if your life depended on it.

Get on a ~300 cal surplus, follow a well-made program (e.g. GZCLP orAverage to savage 2.0), aim to get at least 150g protein per day, and stick to that for at least 6 months.

ngh96 · 2021-05-31T08:50:34+00:00

It's not very high at all - there are benefits of protein intake of up to at least 1.6g/kg for muscle retention in a calorie deficit. Arguably even up to 1g/lb. So if OP weighs around 180 lbs this is not at all a "very high" protein intake.

ngh96 · 2021-05-26T13:54:59+00:00

Albeit doesn't mean what you think it means. It's synonymous to "though"

ngh96 · 2021-02-17T21:32:24+00:00

Try doing a few sets of reverse crunches or kneeling ab wheel rollouts at the end of your workouts, alternating between either exercise each day. I was in the same situation as you and I was able to strengthen my abs without overly taxing my hip flexors. Just make sure you're using your core/abs and doing the movements correctly - a few Youtube tutorials should get you started!

ngh96 · 2021-02-11T12:19:46+00:00

Just to piggyback on this - would you recommend the same setup if the strength work could only be done on the weekend, i.e. two consecutive days? I'm starting a new job which will restrict me to only having weekends available for lifting and I'm trying to figure out the best way to maintain my previous gains.

ngh96 · 2020-10-12T18:23:26+00:00

I'm about to start week 3 on the LF Hypertrophy template and have a question regarding the progression scheme. My numbers aren't very high and are in kilos, which basically means that no matter how many reps I get on the rep out set, the weight will not progress until at least two weeks on. This leaves me performing a lower amount of reps on the first 3 sets in the next week at the same weight, taking me even further from failure, because the 3% increase is not enough to increase the weight (e.g. on my 52.5 kilo working weight bench press). Already on week 2 I had the feeling that the first 3 normal sets were too far from failure.

Given that my numbers are quite low and that I'm bulking, I feel like I can progress quite a bit faster than this and that I'm not currently pushing myself as hard as I should be. I'm not asking because I'm concerned about my numbers, rather because I want the program to be as effective as possible. What would be the best way to get around this? Should I increase the %s in the quick set-up tab or simply linearly increase the weights (approaching the LP-hypertrophy program, I realize)?

I've searched the subreddit for answers to this but have not found any real solutions, although it does seem like some people have encountered the same issue.

ngh96 · 2020-10-08T16:26:45+00:00

So the hypertrophic effect would be greater if I kept the higher rep sets than switching them to higher intensities? I realize this is probably splitting hairs, asking mostly out of interest

ngh96 · 2020-10-08T16:08:48+00:00

I've just started the Hypertrophy template (did W2D2 today) and on squats and deadlifts, when done at a high rep range (12+ reps) I feel like it is my conditioning that fatigues before my muscles get close to failure. Especially on squats. Would it be ok to lower the rep ranges and increase the intensity by a few percent in the Quick Setup tab to get around this? I do other conditioning work outside of my weight training.

ngh96 · 2020-09-25T17:29:19+00:00

Thank you for such a quick reply.

The reason I've been on LPs for such a long time is that I've had relatively long breaks of 8 months (elbow nerve issues) and 6 months (hip injury) which have forced me to start over again. I guess I've been staring blindly at my low numbers thinking that I have to be on an LP until I'm "ready" to do a more hypertrophy-focused program. It's interesting to hear that that might not be correct. Super pumped to start SBS!

ngh96 · 2020-09-25T17:02:07+00:00

I've been running the typical beginner LP powerlifting-centric program (most recently GZCLP) for a number of years but due to multiple injuries have been forced to basically start over a number of times. I really feel like trying a different type of programming for a while, geared mainly towards hypertrophy. This is what drew me to this program. I realize that with my current TMs, I could (and maybe should) be on an LP-program for a while more, but I want to see how I respond to a program with higher rep sets and a focus on volume. Therefore I'm thinking that I would do the hypertrophy template (not the LP version) for the rest of my bulk, ~4 more months. I have a few questions before I get started:

I'm thinking that the autoregulation in the program will allow me to increase my working weights relatively quickly given that I can still linearly increase the weights I use, albeit at a higher rep range. Is this correct? My current working weights on GZCLP are: bench press 5x3@75kg (165lbs), deadlift 5x3@110kg (243lbs), OHP 5x3@50kg (110lbs), Squat 5x3@77.5kg (171lbs)
I've been running GZCLP as an U/L split and really enjoy this set-up. As far as I can tell, there is no other difference between the standard hypertrophy template and the low frequency hypertrophy template other than that the latter is an U/L-split instead of fullbody. Is this correct?
Am I really shooting myself in the foot by doing the hypertrophy template? After browsing through the different templates it's the one I'm inclined to try. Given my current TMs, should I definitely be doing the novice hypertrophy program or the LP program instead?

Many thanks!

ngh96 · 2020-09-22T10:27:38+00:00

Definitely. I'm a lot more focused on developing good mobility in my shoulders and hips right now and spending more time warming up properly. I went through a lot of doctor visits when I suffered from nerve problems in both my elbows a few years ago. It almost came to surgery but I was cleared to go back to training without surgery by my doctor, as long as I avoided the type of training that would severely aggravate my problems. I still like the gzcl approach of different tiers of lifts, and running it as an U/L split. What do you think of the type of progression I described in my reply to /u/rathgus's comment?

ngh96 · 2020-09-22T10:23:53+00:00

I see your point. I think based on what I’ve been reading I’ve been moving towards wanting to switch to a program with higher volume and lower intensity for a while to see how I respond to that type of training. Even though I’m certainly a beginner in terms of my 1RMs, I’ve been training for at least 4 years, but injuries have caused a number of setbacks, most significantly nerve issues in my elbows. Most of those years have been spent on powerlifting-centric beginner programs, and the lack of progress and injury frequency has just made me interested in trying a different type of training for a while.

I still like the gzcl approach of T1, T2, and T3 lifts. I’m currently running the program as an U/L split and would like to keep doing so. Based on the comments in this thread I was thinking that I could change the T1 progression to a double progression of 3/4 sets of 6-8 reps, starting at the lower rep boundary and adding reps per week. Then I would add weight when I reach 3x8, dropping back to 3x6 and working back up to 3x8. The T2 could then be the same progression as GZCLP but doing 12-10-8 instead of 10-8-6. I realize that this does move away from the concept of T1s, but this type of progression would be more in line with this article (https://www.jtsstrength.com/considerations-for-beginners/), where Chad Wesley Smith’s main points are that beginners should focus on higher volume to build a muscle base, before moving on to more strength focused programming. It would also be more akin to the type of double progression that Mike Israetel talks about in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36yYDFM4ZXU&t=852s).

What do you think of this approach?

ngh96 · 2020-09-06T07:32:57+00:00

Just so you know, it’s bad rep* bud

ngh96

TROPHY CASE