Doing SL5x5, as recommended by the program I started lifting just the bar. I can lift way more but following the program to the letter will allow me to at least build the routine of going to the gym and following a schedule, and adapt my body to slowly increasing the weight before it gets truly heavy.
Since the weights are light I obviously don't need much rest between sets so I banged out the whole workout in about 20 minutes. On the way out of the gym I encountered the personal trainer who signed me up a few days ago. He began giving me shit saying I didn't spend long enough in the gym and I'm never going to gain by doing what I'm doing. I had explained the program to him when I signed up and I explained it again to him but he didn't seem to grasp that it's a beginner program and the first few workouts are just about practicing form and building consistency. You'd think a personal trainer would understand that more than the average person.
Anyway I paid $300 the other day in signup fees and first months membership for me and my girlfriend and the total cost will be $70/month for us both. At that price I can walk in, fill my water bottle and walk out if I damn well please. It's not his place to tell me what I should be doing.
Unfortunately this is the only gym within a 15min drive of my house and I feel like I'm going to continue to have conflict with him.
At those prices why not just get a home gym, or do you live in a small apartment?
Owen Ward
Yeah I live in an apartment, I don't really have room for a power rack unfortunately.
Dylan Moore
PT dude is right. That program is shit and you'll never be happy with the results. There is practically no worse program to choose from.
Ryan Collins
No ambition having BITCH! Lift the most you can otherwise get the fuck out, you weak piece of shit. Your girlfriend is embarrassed. Imagine from the POV of a woman, going to the gym with your man and all he lifts is the bar, never trying to lift at least a 10kgpl8, because "internet guide told me to". Seriously pathetic. Your trainer is right.
Asher Sanders
Sure but that's not his place to say. I didn't ask him for advice but he thinks because I am skinnier than him (not by much) and just started that he can interject and tell me that I'm doing it wrong when he doesn't even know what I am doing. He had never heard of SL5x5 before I explained it to him, and so definitely hasn't read the page to understand why it says to do what it does.
Aside from that, even if SL5x5 is a shitty program you can't really argue with the core logic of the issue at hand, slowly increasing the weight means that after 5 or 6 weeks you are lifting decently heavy and the lighter weeks have prepped your body and mind to keep the routine. Just because the earlier weeks are lighter/quicker workouts doesn't itself mean the whole program is shit.
Isaac Turner
Why would I lift the most I can now? Then when I go to add weight next workout I will fail. Then I have to deload and fuck around and probably have shitty form and it just isn't a sustainable way to lift.
You will probably have a different attitude when I can lift more than you.
Also he's not my trainer just some rando trainer that was standing at the front counter when I left. If I had actually paid him to give me that advice I wouldn't be angry
Sebastian Williams
You're doing the right thing user. Most PTs and gym employees are fucking retards who don't know how shit and/or disingenuous grifters who want you to spend $50/week so they can put you on giant inflatable balls and shoulder press 8lb dumbbells. I spinned my wheels for six months with three different trainers and got almost exactly nowhere. I cut weight but was already skelly mode, so what use was that? Six months of SS saw my lifts go up enormously and required so much less time and money.
James Ross
I've seen guys fit a small, 2 post rack in their bedrooms, plus plates/bar. You could've definitely found all this 2nd hand for what you already paid.
Cooper Cooper
Sl 5x5 is fine but it’s genuinely not necessary to start with the bar. No need to max out but even starting squat/dl at 135 and bench at 90ish will give you plenty of workouts to work on form before it starts getting heavy.
Christian Ross
If you're learning form properly and putting so much focus on that there is no way you finish within 20 minutes.
Jonathan Reyes
Since you mentioned SL5x5 I'm gonna hop in and ask for advice. I'm a skinny dude (182cm/60kg) and I'm gonna start working out to gain weight (plus diet of course). I've been looking for beginner workout plans and SL5x5 was one of the ones I've found. What are some other, maybe better, programs that use compound exercises? My main goal is gaining weigth and muscle, not strength, although I understand that naturally comes with it.
Stop being mad about unsolicited advice and listen to him when he's right.
Matthew Thompson
Lol. A personal trainer is not a fitness position or a coaching position. It is a sales position. Once you learn this you wont be so mad; he's literally just doing his job. His whole goal is to get as many people doing crappy machine workouts and fillng slots as possible. Just give some meme answer if you run into him like you just want to learn it on your own or experiment and you dont care about results or some shit. Or just be upfront and say you're straight up just not interested, ill see you around, yadda yadda.
Jack Baker
Most personal trainers are shit. If he's not flexible with your goals, disregard. At best, I'd ask him for form advice. If a personal trainer doesn't look the way you wanna look or isn't as strong as you want to be, depending on your goals, they're not the trainer for you.
Luke Kelly
>My main goal is gaining weigth and muscle, not strength God noobies are so fucking retarded
Austin Wood
> Increase weight or reps when last set didn't make you fatigued or keep it in 8-20 rep sets. Three times with rest only calming down breath.
Chin ups, back squats, push press and bench press for the absolute muscle building only.
Isaiah Bell
>My main goal is gaining weight and muscle (not strength) I know you said you understand they are kind of linked, but you really, really need to grasp that until you are 2/3/4/5 for 5 reps, and as long as you're natural, muscle size and strength are all but inextricable. There are no natties at your gym that have big chest and arms that are benching less than 3 plate, and no natties at your gym with big quads and glutes that arent squatting 4pl8 for 5s.
Just literally do SS + Gomad until you can squat 250+ for 3 sets of 5. after each SS workout, feel free to do as many sets of biceps and triceps as you can squeeze in in 10 minutes, difficult sets of 8 to 20, whatever feels the best (dumbbells, cable, w.e). otherwise do SS exactly as written
If you can get to 250 for 3 sets of 5 easily, then keep going until you plateau. Once you get stuck, switch to TM 4 day program, and once you are about 180lb, drop the gomad to half gomad, and once you're about 200-220 you can drop the milk entirely
Daniel Gray
SL is not a good beginner program, trust me on this bro. I ran it. stick with it max 3 months. the sqt volume will destroy you, the jumps are pretty large and even with newbie gains you'll quickly need programming. rip says SS should be 3 mnth max. mehdi is a bit of a scamster and you dont need to obsess over the app and program
