Feeling lost, not sure how to keep progressing

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

I’ve been doing 531 or 1 of the multiple variations of it for 1-2 yrs and ultimately I feel like I’ve just been treading water looking back. So now I’m looking for some advice from other reliable sources. Last week I decided to work up to a solid max on the 4 big lifts to establish like a baseline to gauge progress going forward. I’m not a competitive powerlifter, considering entering a local meet just to get some experience sometime this year, and I didn’t do a peaking cycle, these were my #s: sq: 420, bp: 300, dl: 560, ohp: 190. All felt strong and smooth & weren’t nosebleed causing grinders. I’m 32, weigh about 225-230, have a 42.5” waist & am 5’10” tall & have been lifting pretty consistently since high school. Texas method caught my eye, but it seems like you’d stall awfully fast if every week you’re trying to set a new 5rm in the sq & bp. I’m just going by what I’ve read online so my opinion is only theoretical. Thanks in advance for advice u guys may have

2

CRFs,

You a Honda fan? One of my last dirt bikes was a 2009 CRF 450. That bike had a lot of handling and power gremlins, as it was Honda’s first fuel-injected dirt bikes in a new chassis. I liked it a lot after we remapped the ECU and got the suspension done. Okay, enough about that…

A couple things jump out to me here:

  1. Your waist circumference is high and you’d benefit from reducing it via weight loss to ~ 37".
  2. We would not recommend 5/3/1 or TM (https://startingstrength.com/article/into-the-great-wide-open-the-texas-method-and-5-3-1 )
  3. I would recommend jumping on The Bridge (https://www.barbellmedicine.com/the-bridge/) or one of our other templates (https://www.barbellmedicine.com/product-category/digital-training-templates/) and would recommend the General Strength and Conditioning template or Powerbuilding I.
1 Like
3

Ok thanks & no Hondas here, but I am a mechanic for a General Motors dealership so I know my way around stuff with engines at least haha! Thank you for the links, I’ll check them all out after work for sure & I’ve cleaned up my eating over the past week & my waist has already gone down 1/2”. Do you guys offer any ebooks or have any recommendations from other ppl about nutrition? That 37” waistline would be great, I’m aware it won’t happen over night or even a month, but hard work & discipline have never been an issue for me once I develop a goal. Unfortunately I do fall into “paralysis by analysis” if I get lost googling stuff on my own sometimes lol so any recommendations would be much appreciated

4

For nutrition, I’d start here: To Be A Beast - Barbell Medicine

Let us know if you have any other questions!

-Jordan

5

Thank you for the training & nutrition links. I’m not familiar with RPE unless it’s for singles (ie squat to a max everyday, which didn’t work out for me awhile back), but I’m willing to try & figure it out. As for the nutrition article I haven’t gotten through it all yet, but 1 thing that stood out to me was not changing anything & using myfitness pal for a week to establish a baseline and going from there. A lot of stuff I’ve seen before just says take ur body weight & multiply it by 10-15 or w/e and use that. Another thing which might be a big deal is that I have quite a large appetite, any tips for someone such as myself or does it just come down to just willpower? Conditioning work is starting to appeal to me now that I’ve joined a gym that has a prowler sled & boxes to jump on, but tbh idk how to get started. It’s a commercial gym in the northeast & I’m sure I can ask 1 of the staff, but seeing them coach new trainees on the barbell lifts makes me cringe lol so I’d appreciate any advice in regards to that or is steady state cardio on like a treadmill or stationary bike just as good?

6

I think either way can work well, but would defer to the article’s advice unless a professional is specifically helping you,

Sure, there’s a certain element of will power, but the real key to engaging in behavioral changes long term is to take ownership in the role you play in your own health, obtain skills and resources to engage in those behaviors, and and also leverage support of those around you.

We offer coaching that may be helpful with this endeavor.

We specifically describe conditioning work in the template listed. The treadmill or bike would be fine. I would not recommend box jumps for conditioning.

7

I’ll have to look into the online nutritional coaching you guys offer, I’d be interested in that