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.
I’m continously surprised by the inclusion of myo reps in the program of someone just starting out.
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.
The way this is phrased makes it sound like every set in your workout are myo reps, but surely that isn’t what you mean?
If you want to become good at pull ups, you’ll need to do pull ups. Get some bands that can assist you.
Also, have you considered not doing full body workouts? Push, Pull, Legs would give your legs much more rest time.
They are all myo reps, yes. I was able to do at least 5 reps on each set. This is the reason I am gassed out. Lesson learned.
It isn’t clear, but I think that they recommend at least 6 months of experience before starting out. I had already bought the program at that point, so I followed through to the best of my abilities.
I thought of splitting the training, but I would like at least two day of training for arms, core and legs for better results.
But I am not ready yet to commit 5-6 days a week. I just finished my parental leave, started working again and it’s hard enough adjusting as it is.
I liked the full body workouts for that reason. Even at 2 times a week, I would train each muscle groups at least twice a week.
I will try straight sets for my legs and see how they heal.
As for the pull-ups, I will start with negatives and inverted ring pulls to build a bit a strength before formally trying real pull ups. I understand that to be good at something, you need to do the thing, but the consensus seem to be that exercises that mimic the motion of pull-ups are better.
They are all myo reps, yes. I was able to do at least 5 reps on each set. This is the reason I am gassed out. Lesson learned.
Yeah, no wonder you gassed out, a full myo rep program is crazy, and against Mike’s own advice regarding them. As a beginner, you should grow almost regardless of intensity, starting at full psycho offers very little benefits in return for a lot of fatigue. Your next program should start a lot easier with less intensity
I thought of splitting the training, but I would like at least two day of training for arms, core and legs for better results.
But I am not ready yet to commit 5-6 days a week. I just finished my parental leave, started working again and it’s hard enough adjusting as it is.
That’s fair, you could try an upper, lower body split, with two days for upper body and one for lower body. But full body three times a week should be doable, just don’t myo rep everything.
I will try straight sets for my legs and see how they heal.
Try straight sets for every muscle group for a while. Learn how your muscles are responding, and then maybe try to spice it up with myo reps for smaller muscle groups if you feel you can benefit from it. You should probably focus on managing your fatigue, so start light and ramp up as you feel.
You are right, I should start with straight sets.
I don’t know enough yet, so my reflex is to stick to what I know, even if that is not the right thing for me.
I like myo reps, but I can just start with straight sets and add them here or there for the muscles groups I would like to focus on.
Thanks for all the insight, really appreciated.
If you wanted to make your life easy I would suggest downloading Boostcamp and onboarding yourself with the Dumbbell PPL program. It’s three days per week and includes instructions and progressions. If you don’t like bent over rows swap them out for rows on your rings
That’s a great suggestion, I didn’t think about trying out programs on app. It would remove a lot of thinking and I can continue to learn and see what I like, don’t like.
Thanks
If you have any questions or anything or need help let me know. I find the simplicity super helpful, hopefully that does the trick for you!
Thanks, I checked the program and it seems simple enough. I will replace the bent row with reverse ring rows, and I should be golden for that cycle.
Yeah and it should be laid out in a way to give your muscle groups lots of time for recovery so you’re not feeling burnt out mid cycle
I think reduced sets will be the key to not burn out. Compounds exercises like squats and push-ups are brutal as 5 myo-reps sets.
I checked the PPL program on boostcamp and it has a deload note where if you can’t progress, you need to go down in weight and work your way back. That should do the trick.
