Help me fine-tune my training plan

Wacky said:

birdwhacker said:

Wacky said:

Smiter said:

Correct your wrist. What's going on? Wolverine or GLOW might be useful.
Basically, whenever I do shoulder press or bench press, keeping my wrist and forearm aligned is a struggle — my wrist ends up rotating about 90 degrees, and during my working set that brings pain.

birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
Appreciate the video, but I'm not looking to add extra peps at this point. Right now reta is the only pep I'm on, since it's the only one I've researched thoroughly. Once I dig deeper into other peps, I'll start using them.

wildweasel said:

some guy is asking how to improve his training plan and all anyone says is to add more peptides, seriously?

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

What are you actually aiming for?

Is the aim fat loss? Getting stronger? Putting on size? Looking better? What exactly are you after
LOL FR.

My plan is to drop fat while keeping or building muscle mass.
No problem at all.

Wacky said:

Smiter said:

Correct your wrist. What's going on? Wolverine or GLOW might be useful.
Basically, whenever I do shoulder press or bench press, keeping my wrist and forearm aligned is a struggle — my wrist ends up rotating about 90 degrees, and during my working set that brings pain.

birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
Appreciate the video, but I'm not looking to add extra peps at this point. Right now reta is the only pep I'm on, since it's the only one I've researched thoroughly. Once I dig deeper into other peps, I'll start using them.

wildweasel said:

some guy is asking how to improve his training plan and all anyone says is to add more peptides, seriously?

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

What are you actually aiming for?

Is the aim fat loss? Getting stronger? Putting on size? Looking better? What exactly are you after
LOL FR.

My plan is to drop fat while keeping or building muscle mass.
Wow man, it seems like you ought to use HGH or ipa/tesa so that mass gain / fat cut gets sped up significantly
right now I'm running reta, and I haven't done any real digging into ipa/tesa or HGH so far. That said, HGH did catch my attention because my goal is to go from 6'3 up to 6'5-6'6. The catch is I'd absolutely need an AI, something like skeldev or erdafitnib, but those come with eyesight risks so idk 😭😭😭 honestly though I don't figure I'm at that point yet. My thinking is that if I sort out my mild pelvic anterior tilt and drop some fat, which should let my spine decompress, I might get to 6'5 on my own. Any chance you could break down tesa/ipa as thoroughly as you can so I can wrap my head around it (things like dosing and how to stack it alongside reta)? I'll look into it more myself afterward.
Honestly, that was just me messing around, playing off the whole "someone asks about lifting advice and gets peptide recommendations instead" bit.

That said, ipa/tesa — or the CJC+ipa combo, which tends to be tolerated a bit less well — are HGH secretagogues. What they do is boost the body's pulsatile HGH release, whether that happens at night or in the morning. Plenty of folks who are wary of HGH and don't want to run a fasting blood glucose test go with these instead. As far as I know, tesa specifically has solid research behind it and is approved for human use.

Hormones and aromatase inhibitors are outside anything I know about, so that part is up to you.

On "stacking with reta" — peptides don't really work like vitamins. For the most part they don't interact with one another or with medications. I can't think of any pep that can't be stacked with reta, though there are quite a few supplements I'd steer clear of while taking it. Broadly speaking, supplements pack more of a punch than peptides do.
 
Wacky said:

Crowreap said:

wildweasel said:

some guy is asking how to improve his training plan and all anyone says is to add more peptides, seriously?

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

What are you actually aiming for?

Is the aim fat loss? Getting stronger? Putting on size? Looking better? What exactly are you after
lol ikr!

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.
Roughly 3 years back I got into lifting, and pretty quickly my wrists started holding me back too. What worked for me was dropping the load and doing each rep a bit more slowly, with cleaner technique and more control. That appeared to clear it up. The same pattern hit my left shoulder or left clavicle, particularly on bench. The cause was simply ego lifting. Once you ditch the ego, reduce the weight, make a big improvement to your form, and push the reps up into the 10 to 15 range, staying there and going to failure, then no joints ache. I've kept at this for a while now. The hypertrophy I'm getting is insane. So it's great that your strength has increased significantly, but maybe stop chasing heavy numbers and instead prioritize form and how good each single rep is. After I made that switch, every bit of my joint pain gradually vanished. I train daily for two hours (ppl split) and have zero joint pain. So my question to you is whats your rep range looking like? are you ego lifting?
I wouldn't call it ego lifting—more like my grip is off. Everyone keeps telling me the wrist ought to stay aligned with the arm, and I can manage that for a few reps, but then I revert to the bent-back wrist position. I keep attempting to fix my form, yet I just can't lol. The pain showed up after I began using 35+ kilos on incline/flat benchpress. I'm aware not to ego lift because I tested ALL of my 1rm on every machine back when I started and ran the 60-80% calculation (I stayed at 65% initially), and my method is to target 8 clean reps; once I hit 9-10 clean reps without my form shifting too much, I add 2.5kg and build my reps back up, cycling like that. Lately, though, I've been stretching my wrists and doing wrist curls before chest + shoulder exercises.

rettta said:

Let your wrist recover, forget about perfecting every detail, and pick exercises that don't cause pain—it doesn't matter if your routine isn't "perfect". What counts most is a workout you're able and willing to stick with. You won't make progress if your wrist takes you out of the game.
yeah I kinda agree, but I don't want my shoulders to fall behind lol, my shoulders are pretty weak compared to the rest of my body.

Crowreap said:

Smiter said:

Every one of those workout numbers holds up, sure — yet if the wrist is hurting or injured, none of it counts for much. I've dealt with wrist problems myself, one of them serious. After 7 years of treatments that went nowhere, the sidewinder finally sorted it out. Much like the ankle, the wrist is a fragile joint, but you can't do any upper-body work without it. Once I got it treated, it turned into the body part I most enjoy training.
The reason I brought up all those workout metrics is that I figured his wrist pain showed up once he started training on a regular basis. So right now, I can't tell whether the wrist pain was something chronic—present even before he began training consistently—or whether it emerged afterward. If it came afterward, then the workout metrics are definitely useful. If it's been a long-standing problem, I honestly don't know what the move is 🤷‍♂️

in that case, your point about it possibly being a medical issue, like arthritis, and needing some peps to address it might be on the money
The wrist pain only began a month ago when I started getting stronger on certain exercises, and I think it works like this: the muscle group I'm trying to bias is strong enough for the weight, but the supporting muscles/joints aren't, so maybe I need to focus more on forearm + wrist exercises so my wrists stop lagging behind.
consider neutral grip variations: pull ups, push ups with dumbbells as handles, and dips. my shoulder was bothering me and my wrists /grip were weak. after making these my main movements, my shoulder feels great, grip got better, and i haven't hurt my wrists.
 
Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of this workout at all. Since you're a beginner, an arms and shoulders day isn't necessary, and doing bicep isolation work before bigger muscle groups and compound lifts doesn't make sense. A beginner also has no reason to spend time on wrist curls, particularly with an active wrist injury. If you were a competitive bodybuilder trying to bring up a body part like biceps, then starting with bicep curls would make sense—but not for someone new to lifting.

With the routine you have now, keep in mind that most compound exercises work your arms to some degree. Rows and lat pulldown involve your biceps, bench press and overhead press involve your triceps, and so on. So the way your routine is set up, you're hitting the same arm muscles on multiple days in a row.

In my view, a standard push, pull, legs split would be much more logical, or even an upper/lower split. Begin with your compound lifts, and if you still have time, wrap up with some feel good isolation exercises.

Congrats on getting stronger—that's real progress! I'm not trying to crap on you at all; you're putting in hard work and making progress, which is great either way. The most important thing is just staying consistent and working hard. And I'm no expert—I have been training for 25 years—but don't take my word on the advice, just my opinion.
 
birdwhacker said:

Wacky said:

birdwhacker said:

Wacky said:

Smiter said:

Correct your wrist. What's going on? Wolverine or GLOW might be useful.
Basically, whenever I do shoulder press or bench press, keeping my wrist and forearm aligned is a struggle — my wrist ends up rotating about 90 degrees, and during my working set that brings pain.

birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
Appreciate the video, but I'm not looking to add extra peps at this point. Right now reta is the only pep I'm on, since it's the only one I've researched thoroughly. Once I dig deeper into other peps, I'll start using them.

wildweasel said:

some guy is asking how to improve his training plan and all anyone says is to add more peptides, seriously?

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

What are you actually aiming for?

Is the aim fat loss? Getting stronger? Putting on size? Looking better? What exactly are you after
LOL FR.

My plan is to drop fat while keeping or building muscle mass.
No problem at all.

Wacky said:

Smiter said:

Correct your wrist. What's going on? Wolverine or GLOW might be useful.
Basically, whenever I do shoulder press or bench press, keeping my wrist and forearm aligned is a struggle — my wrist ends up rotating about 90 degrees, and during my working set that brings pain.

birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
Appreciate the video, but I'm not looking to add extra peps at this point. Right now reta is the only pep I'm on, since it's the only one I've researched thoroughly. Once I dig deeper into other peps, I'll start using them.

wildweasel said:

some guy is asking how to improve his training plan and all anyone says is to add more peptides, seriously?

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

What are you actually aiming for?

Is the aim fat loss? Getting stronger? Putting on size? Looking better? What exactly are you after
LOL FR.

My plan is to drop fat while keeping or building muscle mass.
Wow man, it seems like you ought to use HGH or ipa/tesa so that mass gain / fat cut gets sped up significantly
right now I'm running reta, and I haven't done any real digging into ipa/tesa or HGH so far. That said, HGH did catch my attention because my goal is to go from 6'3 up to 6'5-6'6. The catch is I'd absolutely need an AI, something like skeldev or erdafitnib, but those come with eyesight risks so idk 😭😭😭 honestly though I don't figure I'm at that point yet. My thinking is that if I sort out my mild pelvic anterior tilt and drop some fat, which should let my spine decompress, I might get to 6'5 on my own. Any chance you could break down tesa/ipa as thoroughly as you can so I can wrap my head around it (things like dosing and how to stack it alongside reta)? I'll look into it more myself afterward.
Honestly, that was just me messing around, playing off the whole "someone asks about lifting advice and gets peptide recommendations instead" bit.

That said, ipa/tesa — or the CJC+ipa combo, which tends to be tolerated a bit less well — are HGH secretagogues. What they do is boost the body's pulsatile HGH release, whether that happens at night or in the morning. Plenty of folks who are wary of HGH and don't want to run a fasting blood glucose test go with these instead. As far as I know, tesa specifically has solid research behind it and is approved for human use.

Hormones and aromatase inhibitors are outside anything I know about, so that part is up to you.

On "stacking with reta" — peptides don't really work like vitamins. For the most part they don't interact with one another or with medications. I can't think of any pep that can't be stacked with reta, though there are quite a few supplements I'd steer clear of while taking it. Broadly speaking, supplements pack more of a punch than peptides do.

hmmmm alright thanks, i'll check those out. i'd be down for HGH as well but i have no clue how to even get started with it lol, all i see is tons of tiktok clips about fgfr3 inhibitors + AI's for height maxing and it just gets confusing lol.

rettta said:

Wacky said:

Crowreap said:

wildweasel said:

some guy is asking how to improve his training plan and all anyone says is to add more peptides, seriously?

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

What are you actually aiming for?

Is the aim fat loss? Getting stronger? Putting on size? Looking better? What exactly are you after
lol ikr!

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.
Roughly 3 years back I got into lifting, and pretty quickly my wrists started holding me back too. What worked for me was dropping the load and doing each rep a bit more slowly, with cleaner technique and more control. That appeared to clear it up. The same pattern hit my left shoulder or left clavicle, particularly on bench. The cause was simply ego lifting. Once you ditch the ego, reduce the weight, make a big improvement to your form, and push the reps up into the 10 to 15 range, staying there and going to failure, then no joints ache. I've kept at this for a while now. The hypertrophy I'm getting is insane. So it's great that your strength has increased significantly, but maybe stop chasing heavy numbers and instead prioritize form and how good each single rep is. After I made that switch, every bit of my joint pain gradually vanished. I train daily for two hours (ppl split) and have zero joint pain. So my question to you is whats your rep range looking like? are you ego lifting?
I wouldn't call it ego lifting—more like my grip is off. Everyone keeps telling me the wrist ought to stay aligned with the arm, and I can manage that for a few reps, but then I revert to the bent-back wrist position. I keep attempting to fix my form, yet I just can't lol. The pain showed up after I began using 35+ kilos on incline/flat benchpress. I'm aware not to ego lift because I tested ALL of my 1rm on every machine back when I started and ran the 60-80% calculation (I stayed at 65% initially), and my method is to target 8 clean reps; once I hit 9-10 clean reps without my form shifting too much, I add 2.5kg and build my reps back up, cycling like that. Lately, though, I've been stretching my wrists and doing wrist curls before chest + shoulder exercises.

rettta said:

Let your wrist recover, forget about perfecting every detail, and pick exercises that don't cause pain—it doesn't matter if your routine isn't "perfect". What counts most is a workout you're able and willing to stick with. You won't make progress if your wrist takes you out of the game.
yeah I kinda agree, but I don't want my shoulders to fall behind lol, my shoulders are pretty weak compared to the rest of my body.

Crowreap said:

Smiter said:

Every one of those workout numbers holds up, sure — yet if the wrist is hurting or injured, none of it counts for much. I've dealt with wrist problems myself, one of them serious. After 7 years of treatments that went nowhere, the sidewinder finally sorted it out. Much like the ankle, the wrist is a fragile joint, but you can't do any upper-body work without it. Once I got it treated, it turned into the body part I most enjoy training.
The reason I brought up all those workout metrics is that I figured his wrist pain showed up once he started training on a regular basis. So right now, I can't tell whether the wrist pain was something chronic—present even before he began training consistently—or whether it emerged afterward. If it came afterward, then the workout metrics are definitely useful. If it's been a long-standing problem, I honestly don't know what the move is 🤷‍♂️

in that case, your point about it possibly being a medical issue, like arthritis, and needing some peps to address it might be on the money
The wrist pain only began a month ago when I started getting stronger on certain exercises, and I think it works like this: the muscle group I'm trying to bias is strong enough for the weight, but the supporting muscles/joints aren't, so maybe I need to focus more on forearm + wrist exercises so my wrists stop lagging behind.
consider neutral grip variations: pull ups, push ups with dumbbells as handles, and dips. my shoulder was bothering me and my wrists /grip were weak. after making these my main movements, my shoulder feels great, grip got better, and i haven't hurt my wrists.

uhhh so i weigh 120 kilos, 6'3, carrying a lot of body fat. a month back i couldn't do a single pull up, but after training it i'm at 1 pull up now and still progressing. push ups are the same story but bigger scale, i can manage around 15-20 before my wrist starts killing me. dips at my bodyweight might be way too much to ask but i'll check it all out and update you. my left shoulder is pretty bad i think, because whenever i do lateral cable raises, it feels like the shoulder has to shift into a weird angle and it clicks. for instance, i can click both shoulders if i brace + lift my arm up, so yeah.

Tattoo85 said:

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of this workout at all. Since you're a beginner, an arms and shoulders day isn't necessary, and doing bicep isolation work before bigger muscle groups and compound lifts doesn't make sense. A beginner also has no reason to spend time on wrist curls, particularly with an active wrist injury. If you were a competitive bodybuilder trying to bring up a body part like biceps, then starting with bicep curls would make sense—but not for someone new to lifting.

With the routine you have now, keep in mind that most compound exercises work your arms to some degree. Rows and lat pulldown involve your biceps, bench press and overhead press involve your triceps, and so on. So the way your routine is set up, you're hitting the same arm muscles on multiple days in a row.

In my view, a standard push, pull, legs split would be much more logical, or even an upper/lower split. Begin with your compound lifts, and if you still have time, wrap up with some feel good isolation exercises.

Congrats on getting stronger—that's real progress! I'm not trying to crap on you at all; you're putting in hard work and making progress, which is great either way. The most important thing is just staying consistent and working hard. And I'm no expert—I have been training for 25 years—but don't take my word on the advice, just my opinion.

Hmmm i see your point but i want to establish that habit of isos + compounds. for me personally, isolating muscles works way better, first because the "Pump" keeps me motivated to keep showing up (i used to struggle hard with convincing myself to go to the gym because of how i looked, so having motivators like this makes it way easier) and second it's just simpler to keep it structured this way. i've tried other workout plans but none of them clicked as easily as this one did. tbh some of the exercises listed in the image are just claude ai hallucinating + filling in gaps from my weird descriptions of movements lol. i normally do 2-3 exercise types per muscle group to hit them at least 15-18 times a week, since that's what i've been told and shown is best. but with 25 years of experience behind you i'm definitely going to take what you said seriously. my main goal was big arms + shoulders, that's why i switched from conventional ppl to batman split or ppl x arnold since it matched my criteria perfectly.
 
Not knocking peptides at all (obviously, given where we're posting lol) but....

1. what's the objective you're after? getting massive? cutting? or a strongman route?

2. have you consulted a PT?

I wouldn't call myself experienced, though I'm past the noob stage, and after looking at the workout, I can't really tell what you're going for.

From what I've picked up over the years, a solid, sustainable workout comes down to three things.

1. Rep ranges, 8-12 for growth, minimum 3 sets.

2. Hitting muscles 3 times a week, or 10-20 sets per week

3. Controlled eccentric movement, the part people usually overlook

My read is that you're pushing the weight up every week so aggressively that you've hit a wall where further progress isn't possible, since the loads are too heavy and that drags your reps down too far to do anything useful. Unless you're planning on some serious steroids, muscle simply can't be synthesized fast enough. Take 73kg preacher curl, for instance — that is really heavy, biceps are SMALL muscles.

As my PT put it, you are lifting too heavy if you can't reach 8 reps, but lifting too light if you can hit 12 rep while feeling no more difficult than your first rep.

So my suggestion is to quit piling on more weight each week....in fact. GO DOWN LIKE HALF OF WHAT YOU RE DOING!

Aim for the top of the rep range (12 or 15), and make the eccentric portion slow and controlled. Total loads aren't the whole story — consistent mechanical stress is what actually builds muscle.

Maybe someone else can weigh in as I am just an intermediate lifter.
 
Gym routine: At this stage you're still extremely fresh. Experiment with a wide range of movements (/variations) until you figure out which ones you enjoy and which ones feel the most comfortable (write everything down!). Fine-tuning isn't relevant yet.

Wrist: Book an appointment with a doctor. Get that sorted out.

Alternative: Simply train hard!!! or stay home!!! and take MOOOOOAAAARRRR DRUGGZZZZ!!!
 
I really wish I were in the UK... over there, all steroids are legal. Sure, my skin would break out everywhere and my liver would be completely wrecked, but damn it, I just want to draw guys in!
 
lastresort said:

Not knocking peptides at all (obviously, given where we're posting lol) but....

1. what's the objective you're after? getting massive? cutting? or a strongman route?

2. have you consulted a PT?

I wouldn't call myself experienced, though I'm past the noob stage, and after looking at the workout, I can't really tell what you're going for.

From what I've picked up over the years, a solid, sustainable workout comes down to three things.

1. Rep ranges, 8-12 for growth, minimum 3 sets.

2. Hitting muscles 3 times a week, or 10-20 sets per week

3. Controlled eccentric movement, the part people usually overlook

My read is that you're pushing the weight up every week so aggressively that you've hit a wall where further progress isn't possible, since the loads are too heavy and that drags your reps down too far to do anything useful. Unless you're planning on some serious steroids, muscle simply can't be synthesized fast enough. Take 73kg preacher curl, for instance — that is really heavy, biceps are SMALL muscles.

As my PT put it, you are lifting too heavy if you can't reach 8 reps, but lifting too light if you can hit 12 rep while feeling no more difficult than your first rep.

So my suggestion is to quit piling on more weight each week....in fact. GO DOWN LIKE HALF OF WHAT YOU RE DOING!

Aim for the top of the rep range (12 or 15), and make the eccentric portion slow and controlled. Total loads aren't the whole story — consistent mechanical stress is what actually builds muscle.

Maybe someone else can weigh in as I am just an intermediate lifter.
no no, the idea isn't to add weight every single week — that's just me lifting heavier, probably newbie gains. I also stick to the 3 components you mentioned. Cutting fat is the main thing for me, and I'm fine with sacrificing a bit of muscle along the way. The reason I began gym work was to add muscle first, so that after fat loss I wouldn't end up with a strange, uneven look from imbalances. I'm not chasing strongman numbers or trying to get massive; the muscle was only meant to be enough that a cut wouldn't leave me looking bad. For example, 73kg bicep curl — I do 12 reps, all controlled, no momentum. I've dealt with this before, even with guys at my gym. They call it ego lifting when I say my numbers, then I demonstrate and they end up agreeing it's a solid working weight. I get why my weights seem like ego lifting or like I'm just piling on plates. If that were true, I could throw on 10kg+ beyond what I use now and grind out 3-5 ugly reps. Instead I lowered things to a level I can manage without needing to brace and shake just to keep control. My approach walking in was: I'm still new, I won't be the strongest person there, so I began extremely light and added weight based on whether it felt easy or hard.

DrPEPr said:

Gym routine: At this stage you're still extremely fresh. Experiment with a wide range of movements (/variations) until you figure out which ones you enjoy and which ones feel the most comfortable (write everything down!). Fine-tuning isn't relevant yet.

Wrist: Book an appointment with a doctor. Get that sorted out.

Alternative: Simply train hard!!! or stay home!!! and take MOOOOOAAAARRRR DRUGGZZZZ!!!
After testing a few variations, ppl x arnold has worked best for me so far. Every other option felt dull (at least to me), really repetitive, and I ended up losing interest in going. So it came down to either getting lazy and stopping, or changing things up — and I picked ppl x arnold (also called batman). It covers all the essentials, but there's a midweek switch that I really like. People say it isn't optimal or whatever, but I figure enjoying my training should come first, you know?

As for the wrist, I've got a doctor's appointment coming up.
 
lastresort said:

I really wish I were in the UK... over there, all steroids are legal. Sure, my skin would break out everywhere and my liver would be completely wrecked, but damn it, I just want to draw guys in!
honestly, steroids aren't something i want to mess with — way too much hassle. that said, i figure my genetics are pretty solid (don't wanna come off as cocky), so putting in about a year and a bit of work should get me a decent physique. packing on size isn't the goal for me, i just want to drop fat lol
 
birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
I'm thinking about getting bpc-157, can you give me more details on it? @Smiter Could you break it down as well, I noticed you brought up klow, glow, and the wolverine stack — I've come across those names but honestly don't know much about them. I'll research them further and buy it at a later point
 
Wacky said:

lastresort said:

Not knocking peptides at all (obviously, given where we're posting lol) but....

1. what's the objective you're after? getting massive? cutting? or a strongman route?

2. have you consulted a PT?

I wouldn't call myself experienced, though I'm past the noob stage, and after looking at the workout, I can't really tell what you're going for.

From what I've picked up over the years, a solid, sustainable workout comes down to three things.

1. Rep ranges, 8-12 for growth, minimum 3 sets.

2. Hitting muscles 3 times a week, or 10-20 sets per week

3. Controlled eccentric movement, the part people usually overlook

My read is that you're pushing the weight up every week so aggressively that you've hit a wall where further progress isn't possible, since the loads are too heavy and that drags your reps down too far to do anything useful. Unless you're planning on some serious steroids, muscle simply can't be synthesized fast enough. Take 73kg preacher curl, for instance — that is really heavy, biceps are SMALL muscles.

As my PT put it, you are lifting too heavy if you can't reach 8 reps, but lifting too light if you can hit 12 rep while feeling no more difficult than your first rep.

So my suggestion is to quit piling on more weight each week....in fact. GO DOWN LIKE HALF OF WHAT YOU RE DOING!

Aim for the top of the rep range (12 or 15), and make the eccentric portion slow and controlled. Total loads aren't the whole story — consistent mechanical stress is what actually builds muscle.

Maybe someone else can weigh in as I am just an intermediate lifter.
no no, the idea isn't to add weight every single week — that's just me lifting heavier, probably newbie gains. I also stick to the 3 components you mentioned. Cutting fat is the main thing for me, and I'm fine with sacrificing a bit of muscle along the way. The reason I began gym work was to add muscle first, so that after fat loss I wouldn't end up with a strange, uneven look from imbalances. I'm not chasing strongman numbers or trying to get massive; the muscle was only meant to be enough that a cut wouldn't leave me looking bad. For example, 73kg bicep curl — I do 12 reps, all controlled, no momentum. I've dealt with this before, even with guys at my gym. They call it ego lifting when I say my numbers, then I demonstrate and they end up agreeing it's a solid working weight. I get why my weights seem like ego lifting or like I'm just piling on plates. If that were true, I could throw on 10kg+ beyond what I use now and grind out 3-5 ugly reps. Instead I lowered things to a level I can manage without needing to brace and shake just to keep control. My approach walking in was: I'm still new, I won't be the strongest person there, so I began extremely light and added weight based on whether it felt easy or hard.

DrPEPr said:

Gym routine: At this stage you're still extremely fresh. Experiment with a wide range of movements (/variations) until you figure out which ones you enjoy and which ones feel the most comfortable (write everything down!). Fine-tuning isn't relevant yet.

Wrist: Book an appointment with a doctor. Get that sorted out.

Alternative: Simply train hard!!! or stay home!!! and take MOOOOOAAAARRRR DRUGGZZZZ!!!
After testing a few variations, ppl x arnold has worked best for me so far. Every other option felt dull (at least to me), really repetitive, and I ended up losing interest in going. So it came down to either getting lazy and stopping, or changing things up — and I picked ppl x arnold (also called batman). It covers all the essentials, but there's a midweek switch that I really like. People say it isn't optimal or whatever, but I figure enjoying my training should come first, you know?

As for the wrist, I've got a doctor's appointment coming up.
The best routine is whichever one you actually like and will stick with. Ignore anyone claiming there's just 1 approach—there are plenty. Find what suits you and keep showing up.
 
rettta said:

Wacky said:

lastresort said:

Not knocking peptides at all (obviously, given where we're posting lol) but....

1. what's the objective you're after? getting massive? cutting? or a strongman route?

2. have you consulted a PT?

I wouldn't call myself experienced, though I'm past the noob stage, and after looking at the workout, I can't really tell what you're going for.

From what I've picked up over the years, a solid, sustainable workout comes down to three things.

1. Rep ranges, 8-12 for growth, minimum 3 sets.

2. Hitting muscles 3 times a week, or 10-20 sets per week

3. Controlled eccentric movement, the part people usually overlook

My read is that you're pushing the weight up every week so aggressively that you've hit a wall where further progress isn't possible, since the loads are too heavy and that drags your reps down too far to do anything useful. Unless you're planning on some serious steroids, muscle simply can't be synthesized fast enough. Take 73kg preacher curl, for instance — that is really heavy, biceps are SMALL muscles.

As my PT put it, you are lifting too heavy if you can't reach 8 reps, but lifting too light if you can hit 12 rep while feeling no more difficult than your first rep.

So my suggestion is to quit piling on more weight each week....in fact. GO DOWN LIKE HALF OF WHAT YOU RE DOING!

Aim for the top of the rep range (12 or 15), and make the eccentric portion slow and controlled. Total loads aren't the whole story — consistent mechanical stress is what actually builds muscle.

Maybe someone else can weigh in as I am just an intermediate lifter.
no no, the idea isn't to add weight every single week — that's just me lifting heavier, probably newbie gains. I also stick to the 3 components you mentioned. Cutting fat is the main thing for me, and I'm fine with sacrificing a bit of muscle along the way. The reason I began gym work was to add muscle first, so that after fat loss I wouldn't end up with a strange, uneven look from imbalances. I'm not chasing strongman numbers or trying to get massive; the muscle was only meant to be enough that a cut wouldn't leave me looking bad. For example, 73kg bicep curl — I do 12 reps, all controlled, no momentum. I've dealt with this before, even with guys at my gym. They call it ego lifting when I say my numbers, then I demonstrate and they end up agreeing it's a solid working weight. I get why my weights seem like ego lifting or like I'm just piling on plates. If that were true, I could throw on 10kg+ beyond what I use now and grind out 3-5 ugly reps. Instead I lowered things to a level I can manage without needing to brace and shake just to keep control. My approach walking in was: I'm still new, I won't be the strongest person there, so I began extremely light and added weight based on whether it felt easy or hard.

DrPEPr said:

Gym routine: At this stage you're still extremely fresh. Experiment with a wide range of movements (/variations) until you figure out which ones you enjoy and which ones feel the most comfortable (write everything down!). Fine-tuning isn't relevant yet.

Wrist: Book an appointment with a doctor. Get that sorted out.

Alternative: Simply train hard!!! or stay home!!! and take MOOOOOAAAARRRR DRUGGZZZZ!!!
After testing a few variations, ppl x arnold has worked best for me so far. Every other option felt dull (at least to me), really repetitive, and I ended up losing interest in going. So it came down to either getting lazy and stopping, or changing things up — and I picked ppl x arnold (also called batman). It covers all the essentials, but there's a midweek switch that I really like. People say it isn't optimal or whatever, but I figure enjoying my training should come first, you know?

As for the wrist, I've got a doctor's appointment coming up.
The best routine is whichever one you actually like and will stick with. Ignore anyone claiming there's just 1 approach—there are plenty. Find what suits you and keep showing up.
yeahhh i agree, whatever lets me enjoy my training is going to be best, but ofc i still have to follow the basic rules
 
Wacky said:

birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
I'm thinking about getting bpc-157, can you give me more details on it? @Smiter Could you break it down as well, I noticed you brought up klow, glow, and the wolverine stack — I've come across those names but honestly don't know much about them. I'll research them further and buy it at a later point
Yeah, my bad. I had assumed an injury was behind your wrist issues. After reading your later posts, though, it's clear the cause is strength gains that are uneven and excessive, which creates an imbalance. Wanting to get taller suggests to me that you're a teenager. If that's the case, there's an age threshold for when all 8 wrist bones finish developing. Also, I noticed a significant mistake in your workout write-up. Give me a second to locate it.

Wacky said:

Crowreap said:

wildweasel said:

some guy is asking how to improve his training plan and all anyone says is to add more peptides, seriously?

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

What are you actually aiming for?

Is the aim fat loss? Getting stronger? Putting on size? Looking better? What exactly are you after
lol ikr!

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.
Roughly 3 years back I got into lifting, and pretty quickly my wrists started holding me back too. What worked for me was dropping the load and doing each rep a bit more slowly, with cleaner technique and more control. That appeared to clear it up. The same pattern hit my left shoulder or left clavicle, particularly on bench. The cause was simply ego lifting. Once you ditch the ego, reduce the weight, make a big improvement to your form, and push the reps up into the 10 to 15 range, staying there and going to failure, then no joints ache. I've kept at this for a while now. The hypertrophy I'm getting is insane. So it's great that your strength has increased significantly, but maybe stop chasing heavy numbers and instead prioritize form and how good each single rep is. After I made that switch, every bit of my joint pain gradually vanished. I train daily for two hours (ppl split) and have zero joint pain. So my question to you is whats your rep range looking like? are you ego lifting?
I wouldn't call it ego lifting—more like my grip is off. Everyone keeps telling me the wrist ought to stay aligned with the arm, and I can manage that for a few reps, but then I revert to the bent-back wrist position. I keep attempting to fix my form, yet I just can't lol. The pain showed up after I began using 35+ kilos on incline/flat benchpress. I'm aware not to ego lift because I tested ALL of my 1rm on every machine back when I started and ran the 60-80% calculation (I stayed at 65% initially), and my method is to target 8 clean reps; once I hit 9-10 clean reps without my form shifting too much, I add 2.5kg and build my reps back up, cycling like that. Lately, though, I've been stretching my wrists and doing wrist curls before chest + shoulder exercises.

rettta said:

Let your wrist recover, forget about perfecting every detail, and pick exercises that don't cause pain—it doesn't matter if your routine isn't "perfect". What counts most is a workout you're able and willing to stick with. You won't make progress if your wrist takes you out of the game.
yeah I kinda agree, but I don't want my shoulders to fall behind lol, my shoulders are pretty weak compared to the rest of my body.

Crowreap said:

Smiter said:

Every one of those workout numbers holds up, sure — yet if the wrist is hurting or injured, none of it counts for much. I've dealt with wrist problems myself, one of them serious. After 7 years of treatments that went nowhere, the sidewinder finally sorted it out. Much like the ankle, the wrist is a fragile joint, but you can't do any upper-body work without it. Once I got it treated, it turned into the body part I most enjoy training.
The reason I brought up all those workout metrics is that I figured his wrist pain showed up once he started training on a regular basis. So right now, I can't tell whether the wrist pain was something chronic—present even before he began training consistently—or whether it emerged afterward. If it came afterward, then the workout metrics are definitely useful. If it's been a long-standing problem, I honestly don't know what the move is 🤷‍♂️

in that case, your point about it possibly being a medical issue, like arthritis, and needing some peps to address it might be on the money
The wrist pain only began a month ago when I started getting stronger on certain exercises, and I think it works like this: the muscle group I'm trying to bias is strong enough for the weight, but the supporting muscles/joints aren't, so maybe I need to focus more on forearm + wrist exercises so my wrists stop lagging behind.
Forearm work should never come BEFORE training a major body part. Put it afterward instead. Forearms, much like calves, react best to training that is high in both intensity and volume. That's an uncommon trait. Grippers, sledgehammer raises, plate pinch lifts, and the Sidewinder revolution 2.0 can all help you build wrist strength.
 
Wacky said:

birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
I'm thinking about getting bpc-157, can you give me more details on it? @Smiter Could you break it down as well, I noticed you brought up klow, glow, and the wolverine stack — I've come across those names but honestly don't know much about them. I'll research them further and buy it at a later point
BPC couldn't be more straightforward. I won't pretend to understand its exact mechanism—something related to improving blood flow to areas that are underserved—but the results are unmistakable. My starting dose was 250mcg, 3 times daily, then I moved to 500mcg twice daily. After just a few days, I realized I had zero muscle soreness, no aches or pains upon waking, while stretching, or during workouts. Getting going with a workout became much easier. Back pain dropped a lot. There are also some perks for sexual health.

The standard suggestion is 1mg daily, divided into 2 doses, for 1 or 2 months, then take a break.

I've got some TB4 headed my way – TB4 is trickier to source, costs more, and is essentially the "full version" of TB500. Technically its half life is shorter, but for peptides that isn't really an issue. The usual recommendation is 3-5mg weekly, and it's said to boost BPC's effects, especially in the muscles.

More users report side effects from TB than from BPC – BPC sides are uncommon.

Now that I've done a week of BPC, I'm really eager to introduce it. At only 27, I can only guess how helpful it could be for an older person or someone with genuine injuries.
 
Wacky said:

birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
I'm thinking about getting bpc-157, can you give me more details on it? @Smiter Could you break it down as well, I noticed you brought up klow, glow, and the wolverine stack — I've come across those names but honestly don't know much about them. I'll research them further and buy it at a later point

Your wrist is likely not injured, so BPC probably won't do much for you — it's more about the joint not being conditioned for a barbell yet.

When you're new to lifting heavy, wrist discomfort on some movements is normal, and BPC isn't the answer there. BPC is for repairing ligament damage. What most people actually run into with their wrists is instability from lack of conditioning. You can build that conditioning with variations that put less stress on the wrists — for instance, switching a regular bicep curl for a hammer curl, or a bench press for a barbell press.

1. Stop doing the smith incline press and use a barbell incline press instead. A barbell limits how your wrist naturally moves; dumbbells don't. Spend roughly a month doing dumbbell-only bench press, and when you go back to barbell you'll handle it better with less pain.

2. Each day, hit one muscle group and rotate. Take a 3-day-a-week example: Upper Body Pushing Muscles (chest, tricep, shoulders), Upper Body Pulling Muscles (back, lats, biceps), Lower Body. If you train 5 days a week, make days 4 and 5 Upper Body Mixed, and Lower Body Hypertrophy.

I'll DM you about other things — I don't know what your goals are, you haven't mentioned whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, get toned, etc, and I'd like to help.
 
wildweasel said:

some guy is asking how to improve his training plan and all anyone says is to add more peptides, seriously?

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

What are you actually aiming for?

Is the aim fat loss? Getting stronger? Putting on size? Looking better? What exactly are you after
The peptides are what does the working out.

/S
 
Wacky said:

rettta said:

Wacky said:

lastresort said:

Not knocking peptides at all (obviously, given where we're posting lol) but....

1. what's the objective you're after? getting massive? cutting? or a strongman route?

2. have you consulted a PT?

I wouldn't call myself experienced, though I'm past the noob stage, and after looking at the workout, I can't really tell what you're going for.

From what I've picked up over the years, a solid, sustainable workout comes down to three things.

1. Rep ranges, 8-12 for growth, minimum 3 sets.

2. Hitting muscles 3 times a week, or 10-20 sets per week

3. Controlled eccentric movement, the part people usually overlook

My read is that you're pushing the weight up every week so aggressively that you've hit a wall where further progress isn't possible, since the loads are too heavy and that drags your reps down too far to do anything useful. Unless you're planning on some serious steroids, muscle simply can't be synthesized fast enough. Take 73kg preacher curl, for instance — that is really heavy, biceps are SMALL muscles.

As my PT put it, you are lifting too heavy if you can't reach 8 reps, but lifting too light if you can hit 12 rep while feeling no more difficult than your first rep.

So my suggestion is to quit piling on more weight each week....in fact. GO DOWN LIKE HALF OF WHAT YOU RE DOING!

Aim for the top of the rep range (12 or 15), and make the eccentric portion slow and controlled. Total loads aren't the whole story — consistent mechanical stress is what actually builds muscle.

Maybe someone else can weigh in as I am just an intermediate lifter.
no no, the idea isn't to add weight every single week — that's just me lifting heavier, probably newbie gains. I also stick to the 3 components you mentioned. Cutting fat is the main thing for me, and I'm fine with sacrificing a bit of muscle along the way. The reason I began gym work was to add muscle first, so that after fat loss I wouldn't end up with a strange, uneven look from imbalances. I'm not chasing strongman numbers or trying to get massive; the muscle was only meant to be enough that a cut wouldn't leave me looking bad. For example, 73kg bicep curl — I do 12 reps, all controlled, no momentum. I've dealt with this before, even with guys at my gym. They call it ego lifting when I say my numbers, then I demonstrate and they end up agreeing it's a solid working weight. I get why my weights seem like ego lifting or like I'm just piling on plates. If that were true, I could throw on 10kg+ beyond what I use now and grind out 3-5 ugly reps. Instead I lowered things to a level I can manage without needing to brace and shake just to keep control. My approach walking in was: I'm still new, I won't be the strongest person there, so I began extremely light and added weight based on whether it felt easy or hard.

DrPEPr said:

Gym routine: At this stage you're still extremely fresh. Experiment with a wide range of movements (/variations) until you figure out which ones you enjoy and which ones feel the most comfortable (write everything down!). Fine-tuning isn't relevant yet.

Wrist: Book an appointment with a doctor. Get that sorted out.

Alternative: Simply train hard!!! or stay home!!! and take MOOOOOAAAARRRR DRUGGZZZZ!!!
After testing a few variations, ppl x arnold has worked best for me so far. Every other option felt dull (at least to me), really repetitive, and I ended up losing interest in going. So it came down to either getting lazy and stopping, or changing things up — and I picked ppl x arnold (also called batman). It covers all the essentials, but there's a midweek switch that I really like. People say it isn't optimal or whatever, but I figure enjoying my training should come first, you know?

As for the wrist, I've got a doctor's appointment coming up.
The best routine is whichever one you actually like and will stick with. Ignore anyone claiming there's just 1 approach—there are plenty. Find what suits you and keep showing up.
yeahhh i agree, whatever lets me enjoy my training is going to be best, but ofc i still have to follow the basic rules

I sent you a direct message just now. I genuinely want to give you a hand with this. I hope your account is able to respond to DMs.
 
Ah right, this slipped my mind...BEFORE ANY PRESS MOVEMENT, THE JM PRESS MUST COME FIRST. Get that movement down cold. 10000 reps.
 
Smiter said:

Wacky said:

birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
I'm thinking about getting bpc-157, can you give me more details on it? @Smiter Could you break it down as well, I noticed you brought up klow, glow, and the wolverine stack — I've come across those names but honestly don't know much about them. I'll research them further and buy it at a later point
Yeah, my bad. I had assumed an injury was behind your wrist issues. After reading your later posts, though, it's clear the cause is strength gains that are uneven and excessive, which creates an imbalance. Wanting to get taller suggests to me that you're a teenager. If that's the case, there's an age threshold for when all 8 wrist bones finish developing. Also, I noticed a significant mistake in your workout write-up. Give me a second to locate it.

Wacky said:

Crowreap said:

wildweasel said:

some guy is asking how to improve his training plan and all anyone says is to add more peptides, seriously?

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.

What are you actually aiming for?

Is the aim fat loss? Getting stronger? Putting on size? Looking better? What exactly are you after
lol ikr!

Wacky said:

I’ve been hitting the gym 6 days a week without missing a session for 3 months straight. My strength has gone up a lot (I’ll list my numbers below). As for my current split, honestly I don’t know what it’s called — all I know is that the back half of my week follows Arnold’s routine. I’ll attach a picture showing my split and which exercises I use for each muscle group. If you spot anything I should improve, please let me know. I’m still a beginner at the gym, but I’ve managed to get a handle on most of the basics. I really NEED advice for my wrist pain, oh my lord — it holds me back so much and I have no idea how to sort it out. Anyway, here are the benchmarks: (every machine is a Matrix machine)

Preacher Curl Machine: 73kg

Cable Tricep Pushdown: 37.5kg

Lat Pulldown: 93 (planning to go to 103 next week)

Incline Chest (Smith): 30kg per side, 71KG TOTAL ---------> My left wrist limits me a LOT, so now I can only manage around 25kg at about 4-5/10 pain.

Pec Fly: 120KG

Shoulder Press Machine: 40kg per side ------> Again, my left wrist drags it down to 30 kilos with 6/10 pain

If there’s any other machine you want to know about, just ask and I’ll give you the numbers.

Please tell me what I should change, what to keep, and anything else you think would help.
Roughly 3 years back I got into lifting, and pretty quickly my wrists started holding me back too. What worked for me was dropping the load and doing each rep a bit more slowly, with cleaner technique and more control. That appeared to clear it up. The same pattern hit my left shoulder or left clavicle, particularly on bench. The cause was simply ego lifting. Once you ditch the ego, reduce the weight, make a big improvement to your form, and push the reps up into the 10 to 15 range, staying there and going to failure, then no joints ache. I've kept at this for a while now. The hypertrophy I'm getting is insane. So it's great that your strength has increased significantly, but maybe stop chasing heavy numbers and instead prioritize form and how good each single rep is. After I made that switch, every bit of my joint pain gradually vanished. I train daily for two hours (ppl split) and have zero joint pain. So my question to you is whats your rep range looking like? are you ego lifting?
I wouldn't call it ego lifting—more like my grip is off. Everyone keeps telling me the wrist ought to stay aligned with the arm, and I can manage that for a few reps, but then I revert to the bent-back wrist position. I keep attempting to fix my form, yet I just can't lol. The pain showed up after I began using 35+ kilos on incline/flat benchpress. I'm aware not to ego lift because I tested ALL of my 1rm on every machine back when I started and ran the 60-80% calculation (I stayed at 65% initially), and my method is to target 8 clean reps; once I hit 9-10 clean reps without my form shifting too much, I add 2.5kg and build my reps back up, cycling like that. Lately, though, I've been stretching my wrists and doing wrist curls before chest + shoulder exercises.

rettta said:

Let your wrist recover, forget about perfecting every detail, and pick exercises that don't cause pain—it doesn't matter if your routine isn't "perfect". What counts most is a workout you're able and willing to stick with. You won't make progress if your wrist takes you out of the game.
yeah I kinda agree, but I don't want my shoulders to fall behind lol, my shoulders are pretty weak compared to the rest of my body.

Crowreap said:

Smiter said:

Every one of those workout numbers holds up, sure — yet if the wrist is hurting or injured, none of it counts for much. I've dealt with wrist problems myself, one of them serious. After 7 years of treatments that went nowhere, the sidewinder finally sorted it out. Much like the ankle, the wrist is a fragile joint, but you can't do any upper-body work without it. Once I got it treated, it turned into the body part I most enjoy training.
The reason I brought up all those workout metrics is that I figured his wrist pain showed up once he started training on a regular basis. So right now, I can't tell whether the wrist pain was something chronic—present even before he began training consistently—or whether it emerged afterward. If it came afterward, then the workout metrics are definitely useful. If it's been a long-standing problem, I honestly don't know what the move is 🤷‍♂️

in that case, your point about it possibly being a medical issue, like arthritis, and needing some peps to address it might be on the money
The wrist pain only began a month ago when I started getting stronger on certain exercises, and I think it works like this: the muscle group I'm trying to bias is strong enough for the weight, but the supporting muscles/joints aren't, so maybe I need to focus more on forearm + wrist exercises so my wrists stop lagging behind.
Forearm work should never come BEFORE training a major body part. Put it afterward instead. Forearms, much like calves, react best to training that is high in both intensity and volume. That's an uncommon trait. Grippers, sledgehammer raises, plate pinch lifts, and the Sidewinder revolution 2.0 can all help you build wrist strength.
Thanks a bunch, I'll check out every one of those movements you mentioned.

On top of that, the whole wrist bone thing was news to me, so that's another topic I'll be researching. Lol I'm 18, so still a teenager. My height is 6'3 and honestly I'm a bit greedy about it lol, I figure 6'4 / 6'5 would be a chill height to land at. Since I'm pretty sure I can get there naturally, it doesn't stress me out much ( just a nice hope lol ).

birdwhacker said:

Wacky said:

birdwhacker said:

For your wrist, take BPC at 0.5mg 2 to 3 times daily, along with cartalax 1mg and KPV 1mg each day. Once you're familiar with how BPC affects you, introduce tb4/tb500 at 3-5mg weekly.

View: https://youtu.be/GmMfW2kCkeE
I'm thinking about getting bpc-157, can you give me more details on it? @Smiter Could you break it down as well, I noticed you brought up klow, glow, and the wolverine stack — I've come across those names but honestly don't know much about them. I'll research them further and buy it at a later point
BPC couldn't be more straightforward. I won't pretend to understand its exact mechanism—something related to improving blood flow to areas that are underserved—but the results are unmistakable. My starting dose was 250mcg, 3 times daily, then I moved to 500mcg twice daily. After just a few days, I realized I had zero muscle soreness, no aches or pains upon waking, while stretching, or during workouts. Getting going with a workout became much easier. Back pain dropped a lot. There are also some perks for sexual health.

The standard suggestion is 1mg daily, divided into 2 doses, for 1 or 2 months, then take a break.

I've got some TB4 headed my way – TB4 is trickier to source, costs more, and is essentially the "full version" of TB500. Technically its half life is shorter, but for peptides that isn't really an issue. The usual recommendation is 3-5mg weekly, and it's said to boost BPC's effects, especially in the muscles.

More users report side effects from TB than from BPC – BPC sides are uncommon.

Now that I've done a week of BPC, I'm really eager to introduce it. At only 27, I can only guess how helpful it could be for an older person or someone with genuine injuries.
Yeahh I can see it being helpful for older folks, my dad deals with loads of joint pain and stuff and I was thinking about getting bpc for him to help with those issues, but I don't think BPC would really solve my problem. The way I see it, bpc is more like a bandage on a wound instead of the wound actually healing ykwim? My guess is that my wrist strength is just lagging behind the strength of all my other muscles. Mostly because i kinda sorta used to skip forearm training. Whoops..
 
Smiter said:

Ah right, this slipped my mind...BEFORE ANY PRESS MOVEMENT, THE JM PRESS MUST COME FIRST. Get that movement down cold. 10000 reps.
JM PRESS IS THE BEST, I SWEAR. Everyone else at my gym that I train with can't stand it, and I'm sitting there thinking, are you serious? It's incredible. My triceps have never been wrecked like this, and honestly the soreness is great because it tells me I'm putting in the work. As for how I perform it, I keep an extremely close eye on my technique. Thanks to that (and I'm not trying to brag here), my friends — the ones who coach other people through exercises — will wave me over to check form, since they're aware I'm super picky about it.

So yeah, that's why it stung a bit when folks assumed I was ego lifting 😔
 
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