Hello,
a few weeks ago I started my training journey and I am still training, which is a record for me. I'm finishing my first cycle this week and next week and I am planning the next cycle. However, I have a lot of questions and need some help.
Context
I am a 37 yo male that did a lot of sports when I was in my teens/early 20s, but I became sedentary and my diet was shit. I had my second child in October and from October to end of December, I lost 25lbs by changing my diet which motivated me to start training.
On Youtube, I found Jeff Nippard and Renaissance Periodization which gave me a lot of information on how to change my diet (which is ongoing still, but since the end of December, I lost another 5 lbs without trying) and also a lot of information on how to train. And that is how I started weight lifting.
I have two young kids, so it was important to me that I could train at home with minimal equipment, and that is why I bought the Dumbbells only 3 days training from Renaissance Periodization. I only had to buy a set of 10lbs dumbbells (already had 5lbs) and I could start working out.
I wasn't able to properly finish the whole cycle (I'll describe why later), but I am still very proud of what I accomplished. I worked out when sleep wasn't great (won't be for a while with a 3 months old), even if time was short, or if the motivation wasn't there to begin with. I stuck with the training and diet changes, and my body started changing and it was/is a great motivator to continue.
Since I did a lot of sports that require leg muscles (Volley-Ball and Soccer), my legs are a lot stronger than my arms and my core is decent.
Training Program
The Renaissance Periodization 3 day trainings with dumbbells only is as follows : Each day is 3 exercices + 3 SuperSets of 2 exercices. 1 or 2 days rest between each Day to make sure that the body is completely healed and ready for training.
The program is a 6-weeks program. The first week is 2x sets of myo reps (5-30 reps). Each week, a new set is added. Week 6 (the last week) is deload week, so only 1 set.
Day 1:
- Medium Push-ups
- Chair Shoulder Press
- Upright rows
- One-arm rows / Goblet Squat
- Alternating Curls / Stiff-Legged DeadLift
- Crunches with top hold / Sumo DeadLift
Day 2:
- High Bent Rows
- Supinating Curls
- Paused Side Raises
- Reaching Sit-ups / Double-legged Glute Bridges
- Two-arm standing extensions / Sumo Stiff-Legged DeadLift
- Narrow Push-ups / Sumo Squats (shoulder rack)
Day 3:
- Bent Upright rows
- Sumo Squats (shoulder racks)
- Good Mornings
- Forward Lunges in place / Slow down reaching situps
- Hammer Curls / Two-Arm standing extension
- Medium Push-ups / Elbows Out bent row
My issues with the program
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This week was my week 4 of the program and I hit a big wall. I started strong in my two last training, but halfway through the training, I was out of energy. The compound exercices + the number of sets killed me. The progression is too much for me, so I will be deloading a week sooner because I won't be able to do more progression next week. So the program gets too tough for a newbie like me, especially considering that my sleep is not great with young kids. My strength grew a lot during this cycle, but my systemic fatigue is really high right now.
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Since my legs are stronger, I can do more reps/load, but it also means that it needs more time to heal. My legs are the limiting factor in the frequency of the trainings because they always take 2 days to heal, while my arms are usually good to go after a day of rest. I was hoping to do 3 trainings a week, but it was 3 trainings every 9 days because I had to take 2 days of rest between
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Lots of compound exercices, which sometimes limited my reps for other exercices. For example, on day 2, after the supinating curls and Side raises, my arms are dead. So when I do the Reaching sit-ups, I am limited by my ability to raise the weights over my head. I have to stop because my arms can't hold the weight anymore, not because my abs are grilled. Same thing on Day 3 with the push in the last SuperSet. My arms are done, so I can't do a lot of push-ups.
Why I need help
I would like to start a fat loss phase soon, and I would like a sustainable training program to accompany that fat loss phase.
I plan on doing a 6 weeks phase, so I would like a 6 weeks program that will end on week 7 with a deload. The current program doesn't work for me, because of the reasons above
What equipment do I have?
- 5lbs, 10lbs and adjustable up to 20lbs dumbbels
- I bought a workout bench, without a barbell rack
- Pull-up door bar.
- Gym rings
- Movable dip bars
What exercices I don't like in the current program
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One arm rows : They feel extremly awkward. I tried different variations, they always feel out of place.
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Reaching Sit-ups with heavy arms : As I mentionned above, the limiting factor in the current program for this exercises is my arm fatigue.
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Push-up is fine, but every workout, with two days where the exercise is in the last SuperSet, it takes its toll
What kind of help do I need?
I would like to start from the program I already have, and modify it to fit my needs. I would like to put emphasis on my arms and on my core.
I would like to add exercises to build my strength to do pull-ups.
I would like to remove the pain points that I have of the current program and mix straight sets with myo reps. I am open to also try myo matchs.
I would like my weight training days to be Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The weekend is always chaos, and that way, I can have 2 days to heal on the week-end, and go harder on fridays.
Conclusion
So this is why I came here to post. My first thought was to remove the exercises I don't like, and replace them with other exercises. However, I don't know how to reorganise the sets and progression to reach my goal.
I was thinking of keeping one or two SuperSets per training days and separate the other supersets into single exercises.
I was also thinking of keeping the myoreps for the arms and core exercises and going straight sets for legs exercises.
The only thing I know for sure is that I don't want to keep the one-arm rows in the program.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for your help.
She's surprised he did the same shit to her. I mean, what else do you expect?