Completed my first lifting program

Checkout my three month gym review and my nine month gym review

Why start a program?

Plateauing in the gym is not fun. I'd go into the gym, pick if I'm doing chest/back/arms/(sometimes even legs) and then do roughly the same exercises as last time. I would still track every lift but I wasn't progressive overloading or have any specific goals in mind. Specifically, my app was showing my I was not hitting any PRs in the gym for weeks. This was demotivating.

I had just cut to 74kg and so I picked a new goal: 120kg barbell flat bench press. This would be a big PR above my current 100kg.

A program was a structured and planned way for me to progress towards this goal. That's better than me continuing to go in and try whatever.

How I picked my program

Tbh I didn't pick a program, it was picked for me by a much more experienced friend (shoutout to Sadiq 🐐).

I had looked at a ton of programs and in my opinion, they were all too complicated and not geared towards my goal. I really didn't want to overthink this and so my friend just helped me pick some exercises and a weight progression.

I did explore some programs such as nSuns, Sheiko, and Strong Lifts. Wasn't feeling any of them.

The program

It wasn't super concrete, but I picked a primary and secondary lift for chest, back, and legs. I then alternated between a heavy day and a light day. I would add 2.5kg to the weight for each lift.

After I'd complete those primary and secondary lifts, I would just do whatever I wanted to, although I picked a few of the same exercises to focus and progress on those too.

I then had a week zero which was almost like a deload where I just tried out those primary and secondary lifts.

Then week 1 started where I was doing 3x5 for my primary lifts and then 3x8-12 for my secondary lifts.

(In)consistency

This was my first program so it was constantly evolving as I was learning about how to do it. I realised I'm suprisingly dumb at understanding these programs. I would also track my RPE and if intensity was too high, I wouldn't include the weight next lift.

The main changes were that I changed to a longer pyramid up for my bench press and then just did a single top set and then two back-down sets.

Results

I didn't really really stick to my leg days and just slacked off during those, but I did lock in on all the other lifts. By week 7 I was getting very tired of my back days, especially the seated row.

Here are my results from week 1 to week 10:

Primary Lifts Progress

Secondary Lifts Progress

Review

I liked the simplcity of the program and that I could add 2.5kg to the weight for each lift. I liked I was PRing between weeks.

I don't think I was tracking RPE too well, however I did notice how external variables impacted my RPE (such as how much sleep I got, how much I ate, etc).

I was also recording my lifts more to get feedback on my form, and think I'll continue to do that.

In the early weeks of the program, I was way below my working weight for most the lifts, so I used that as an opportunity to improve my form and learn some techniques. In particular, I had major breakthroughs for my wrist position and lift-off for my bench press as well as leg drive.

(For wrist position this is the exact video that made it click for me. The key issue I had was that I would have my wrist bent backwards when unracking, and at heavy weights, it would be impossible for me to correct it. So I now just make sure I keep my wrist straight when unracking.)

What's next?

I'm going to do a deload week and then start a new program, working towards a 120kg bench press (which will probably take 2-3 more programs).

I'm going to try to permanently add Incline Dumbbell Press to my routine. I keep having to stop doing it because of wrist pain, but I'm going to work on that. For the back days, I'm going to experiment with some different exercises during the deload.

I look forward to getting even fatter during this journey (currently at 81kg).