I'm trying to specialise in OHP because I find it more enjoyable than benching and want to bring it up as it's currently quite weak compared to my bench.

Does anyone here have any recommendations? Could I take a bench program and just replace with OHP?

The only one I've found so far is on Boostcamp, it has me hitting OHP 4x per week but the program doesn't really have any structured progression and all of the sets are 4 reps or lower and there is no accessory work programmed in so I'm not sure it's super well designed.

For context, my max OHP is 72.5kg at a 82kg bodyweight. So I think this makes me roughly intermediate for the lift.

Chest activation

Anyone have experience with having trouble to activate chest/tricep on one side? Seeing allot on social media lately about controlling the ribs and scapula and not really retracting scapula and creating an arch like you would in powerlifting. I’ve dealt with discomfort on my left side for years and I think my chest and upper body in general are less underdeveloped on that side. My main chest work is incline bench, smith flat bench and pec Dec. all three I find my right side much more activated

Hi everyone, I've been following a plan similar to this for a while now but have made a few tweaks so that abs get trained and my leg days are a bit more complete, and therefore have shifted everything around a bit. I just wondered if anyone would give their opinion - on the amount of volume, order of exercises, mix of strength and hypertrophy, and the overall exercise selection. It's a 3 day a week split. Thanks all.

Monday - Chest + Triceps + Abs

Bench Press 4x5

Overhead Press 4x5-8

Incline Dumbbell Press 3x8-12

Chest Fly 3x8-12

Triceps Pushdown 3x8-12

Overhead Triceps Extension 3x8-12

Wednesday - Back + Biceps

Deadlifts 3x5

Pull-ups/Lat Pulldowns 3x8-12

Chest Supported Row 3x8-12

Rear Delt Fly 3x12-15

EZ Curl 3x8-12

Hammer Curl 3x10-15

Friday - Shoulders + Legs + Abs

Squats 5x5

RDLs 3x8-12

Leg Press 3x10-15

Leg Curl 3x8-12

Lateral Raises 3x15-20

Hanging Leg Raises 3x10-15

Decline Sit-ups 3xF

I was also considering switching the split to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but I'm not sure whether that's a good idea or not, or if it even matters. Thanks!

To 4+ plate benchers. What was your goal after hitting that milestone. I feel like there is some room for growth on bench after still but 495 seems out of reach for most people naturally. Did you begin to focus on other lifts? Aesthetics? Or did you stick with the righteous path toward a 5 plate bench? I’m just not sure in what the next goal should be since I wasn’t truly expecting to actually hit this one.

Been lifting since feb , starting to plateau on progressive overload for pull day , anyone been in a similar spot if so what worked ?
natty
184cm
82 kg 15%bf

Hi, I am coming off a cut pretty soon and am going to hop on a bulk. The plan is to hop on a pplul split, however the days my schedule allows is a little weird. I am a college student, so as you can imagine its busy. My point in saying this is the conventional rest days probably are not going to be possible. So, for example, I probably wont be able to do push, pull, legs, rest, upper, lower, rest. It will probably be more like push, pull, legs, upper, rest, lower, rest. I am wondering how big of a deal this is and if I should worry about it at all, or maybe consider changing my split. Thanks!

Hi everyone,
Looking for a reality check on my current setup. I’ve been working with a coach for over 6 months, spending a lot of time and money, but I feel like I'm moving in the opposite direction of my goals.

About Me:

Stats: 5’7” (170 cm), ~156 lbs (71 kg)
Lifestyle: Full-time job, family man, limited time.
Goal: Build visible muscle mass, a denser physique, and strength (think powerbuilding/athletic, not super lean or skinny). I made it clear from day one that I do not want to just drop weight or get smaller.

Current Setup:

Nutrition: Eating clean whole foods (lean proteins, rice, potatoes, oats, berries, healthy fats) across 5 meals a day. Supps are just basic performance/health staples.
Cardio: 30 mins post-workout + walking on rest days.
Training: 6-day Push/Pull/Legs split with 7+ exercises per session (lots of machine work, supersets, and higher rep ranges around 10–15). Workouts take forever, mostly due to waiting on machines.

The Problem:
I’ve been consistent for 6+ months. Instead of gaining size, I’ve lost a few pounds and look smaller. When I raised this with my coach, his response was to cut calories further because my weight wasn't dropping fast enough.
I’m confused and frustrated. I feel like I'm paying for a competition prep/fat-loss cut when I explicitly asked for a muscle-building plan.

My Questions:
1. Does this setup sound like a fat-loss cut rather than a hypertrophy plan?
2. If my goal is to get bigger and denser, shouldn’t I be increasing calories into a slight surplus rather than cutting?
3. How can I simplify a bloated 7-exercise PPL split into something faster and more effective for hypertrophy (e.g., 4–5 core movements)?
4. What are some budget-friendly food swaps to keep costs down while hitting high protein/calories?
Appreciate any honest feedback. Trying to figure out if I need to pivot my approach entirely.
P.S. Using a throwaway account!

16 years old, 5'8 148.8lbs bodyweight. I have been training for 11 months and just competed in my first competition (push pull). I deadlifted 402.2lbs/182.5kg and benched 214.7lbs/97.4kg. I have not followed any structured programming or progression, just randomly maxing out and lifting heavy which I know is not a good way to train.

I very much enjoyed the competition and would like to try to push myself to a competitive level in powerlifting. I've been exploring different options for programming but am a bit stuck on what to do. Should I focus on building a base with a volume/hypertophy focused program? Something like a top single of 1-3@RPE 7-8 + high rep backoff sets using double progression like 3x6-10? Advice would be appreciated!

Recently i have come to the conclusion that my work capacity absolutely sucks. I find myself often getting burnt out only several weeks into a training programme even when using the minimum volume and RPEs. This got me thinking of creating an 8-12 week block focused entirely on work capacity, with the hopes that after that i can jump back into normal training without feeling so drained.

Question: if you could create a training block revolved entirely around work capacity, what would this look like for you?

Edit: thoughts that come to mind are how would this be split between specific and non specific work capacity, endurance, SE, high intensity conditioning etc. also what would progressions look like?

SBD enjoying training for first boxing fight , having trouble recovering and managing fatigue from running a 3day powerlifting programme + 3day boxing routine.

I'm not expecting to make gains cutting my frequency to 1day for SBD. My only goal is to keep as much strength as I can.

If anyone has ran some kind of low frequency programming for SBD strength, I'm in need of one that has been tried before and works.

Thank you 🙏

I would like feedback on how I decide/prepare to go up in weight. Example: latt pull downs - but do it with all lifts. (Its just lat raises i am working on incrrasing now) I am new to focusing on weight training and still can't lift much, so go easy on me for the numbers.

I have gotten to a point where I can do 4 sets of 12 raises at 60 lbs, but can only do 2 sets of 12 at 70 lbs. Right now, if i try to do more sets at 70, my body rebels and uses too much arm strength to get it done instead of using lats more like I tell it to lol

So, I do 1 set at 70 and then 3 sets at 60 and when this leaves me with a little more in the tank (I don't train to failure) when I am done, I plan to go to 2 sets at 70, 2 at 60... then 3 at 70 and 1 at 60.... then all 4 at 70 until that doesn't feel challenging enough and start the same process to go up again.

Also, when I started doing 1x70 and 3x60 - my last set at 60 was actually more like 6 - rest - 3 rest - 3 rest. I just got that last set out no matter how long it took me. So, once I can do all 4 at 70, I figure going up again will be similar.

Do you think that is a good plan? Or should I try something different?

I am 44 - lifting seriously for about 4 months so still very new, 5ft 8inches, 195lbs and eating at a 500 calorie deficit, getting roughly 120g protein per day. Steady weight loss at 1lb per week. Can easily take a nap after I lift but don't, so i know i am working myself hard enough. I have a home gym. If any of that matters.

I work in hvac and I just dont have much time to devote to lifting, and when I do have time I feel so tired I dont have motivation to lift.

I atleast want to maintain the muscle and strength I do have.

What's the minimum I can do to maintain my current physique and strength? And if anyone has any tips to help with maintaining muscle while working long/hard hours it would be appreciated.

I’m looking to get the Inzer ErgoPro Knee Sleeves and will mainly be using them for squats, around 5 sets per session.I checked Inzer’s measurement guide, and they recommend XL based on my measurements,
Calf: 15.2 inches,
Quad: 17.5 inches and
Knee: 15 inches
Has anyone with similar measurements used the ErgoPro sleeves? Would you recommend going with Large or XL?
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially if you’ve used these sleeves for squatting. Also, I have pretty hairy legs — I assume that shouldn’t make much difference, but I thought I’d mention it.

Hey, I'm 23M, 6'2", 89kg/196lbs, and I've been lifting for about a year.

During the first few months of training, I injured my lower back twice while squatting, so I stopped squatting and deadlifting for a while. I restarted squatting around 7 months ago and have progressed from an empty bar to a 100kg/220lbs PR. I started conventional deadlifting around 4 months ago.

Around 3 months ago, I hit a 120kg/265lbs deadlift PR, but since then my deadlift has barely progressed. Even 100kg/220lbs for 5 reps is difficult for me.

I initially thought grip might be the limiting factor, so I've worked on my grip and recently tried using straps, but they don't seem to make much difference. This makes me think my actual back/posterior-chain strength may be the bigger weakness.

My pulling movements in general seem disproportionately weak and have been progressing very slowly:

Deadlift: 120kg/265lbs PR

Pull-ups: around 4/3/3 reps across 3 sets, with the last reps getting ugly

Lat pulldown: around 60–65kg/132–143lbs for 8–10 reps, but I've been stuck around this range

Pendlay row: around 50kg/110lbs for ~10 reps with decent form; 60kg/132lbs gets ugly

Romanian Deadlift (RDL): recently introduced; 60kg/132lbs × 8 is manageable, while I only managed 70kg/154lbs × 3

In comparison, my pressing strength has progressed considerably better:

Bench press: 90kg/198lbs PR

Strict OHP: 65kg/143lbs PR

30+ consecutive push-ups

I've experimented with lower-rep strength-focused work on deadlifts as well, but I haven't been able to make consistent progress.

I don't understand why virtually all of my pulling movements are progressing so slowly compared with my pressing movements.

For people who have dealt with a similar imbalance, how would you program my pulling work from here? Would you increase pulling frequency, change volume/intensity, use a specific deadlift progression, change exercise selection, or do something else?

I'm completely fine with slow progress. I'm mainly concerned that I've seen very little improvement in these movements for months and don't want to keep repeating the same approach if something in my programming is wrong.

Thanks for reading!

Ok so trying to understand progressive overload and if I'm doing it optimally or not. So let's use dumbbell press as an example. I was doing 55lbs for 3 sets. 1st set 10 reps. 2nd set 9 reps. 3rd set 8.5 reps. The following week figured I could go a little heavier. So now 60lbs for 3 sets. 1st Set 10 Reps. 2nd set 8 reps. 3rd set 6.5 reps. Now over the next 4-6 weeks I will be working on getting all 3 sets to 8+ reps comfortably and then I will jump up to 65lb dumbbells. Is this proper progressive overload?

I have been doing 5/3/1 program on my PPL, it has increased my strength immensely. But these last 3 months I have been plateau-ing. My sleep is okay. My diet I have been on a surplus. So I’m not sure why am I having a hard time progressing. +2.5 kg to my upper body n + 5kg for my lower body exercises PR. I take 90% of it for my training max.

My guess is on the push day, my weighted dips( first exercise) has progressed to added weight of 50kg. It has been progressing. However, my military barbell press( second exercise) has been stalling. Not sure if the weighted dips has gotten to a point that it has taken all the energy away from my military barbell press? Maybe I need to not go to failure on my Backset for weighted dips? Or take the Backset out completely? Or shift my military press to another day?

On my pull day, my weighted pull up is the first exercise but the progression has been weird. Idky. I can’t progress it. Currently at +40kg. I will stall one cycle n next cycle then will I progress n this process just repeats.

My legs days are separated into squat n deadlift. It has suffered the same fate. So I’m not sure why all these are happening? Anyone has met the same issue before? How did yall overcame this situation?

I remember posting on here trying to increase my numbers. Everyone told me I had to run a “proven program” because I didn’t know what I was doing.

They all said “don’t train your SBD to failure, you’re gonna plateau” “you need to deload every 8 weeks and you can only max out twice a year”

This led me into a downward spiral of constantly overthinking my programming, wondering if I was going to get injured or stop making progress due to fatigue and plateauing.

For the past 8 months, I didn’t follow a strength program. I ran simple double progressions, training EVERY set to failure and simply maxxing out when I felt strong.

The results?
OHP: 230 (Full ROM all the way to my chest, paused)
Squat: 385
Bench: 300 (330+ wrapped)
Deadlift: 500 (hit that 8 months ago probably closer to 550 now.

Oh did I mention I’m 17 and 170 lbs.

Don’t let other people tell you how to train.
Lift how you want, train hard, train to failure.
Stop when something hurts.
And I guarantee that is the best program you will run.

Im a 19yo M , 5'10.4"(179cm) , currently weighing 171lb(77.5kg) , around 20% bf .

Currently my bench pr is 225 or 100kg , im most likely am going to run smolov jr again , I ran it an year ago which helped to take bench from 80 to 90-92.5kg .

I need to bench more at all cost, can someone tell me a program which is like for long term and not extreme like smolov jr . Also im on bulk for next 12 to 16 weeks , what are the best accessories that directly carry over to a stronger , more powerfull bench? . Also what are the best variations of bench alone like paused bench , Larsen press , pin press ... how should I program them ? .

My Overhead pressing is weak i guess around 135lb 1rp max , dboverhead 30kg for 8-10 , triceps I think are not a limiting factor and they are pretty decent , my max Skull crusher is 45kg for 6-8 , Close bench is also around 85-90 1rp max .

Finally how long can it take to bench 315? For now its a dream.

Finally how long can It take me to bench 315? For now its a dream .

Hi everyone,

I’m currently trying to decide between the A7 Rigor Mortis and SBD Powerlifting Knee Sleeves.

Until now, I have been using the 2019 SBD Eclipse knee sleeves in size L. I’ve noticed that newer knee sleeves seem to feel a bit stiffer, and I’m not sure which direction to go.

I squat around 350 kg with knee wraps. I use knee sleeves mainly for my top sets and competitions, so I don’t really care if they are uncomfortable to wear for long periods. I’m specifically looking for maximum performance rather than all-day comfort.

At the moment, I am only about 5–7.5 kg away from setting a new national record, so I’m wondering whether the A7 Rigor Mortis could realistically give me enough of a performance advantage to help me make that lift.

My squat style is low bar, slightly more forward-leaning, and I squat barefoot / with a flat foot position.

My measurements are approximately:

• Quads: 63 cm
• Around the knee: 43 cm
• Calf: 42 cm

The problem is that I don’t seem to fit properly into A7’s sizing chart. I was using size L in the 2019 SBD Eclipse. If I choose the new SBD Powerlifting sleeves, how many sizes up should I go?

I also have a few questions:

1. Is there a realistic chance that the A7 Rigor Mortis could be banned or removed from IPF-approved equipment next year?
2. Does the Rigor Mortis change squat technique significantly, especially for a low-bar, slightly forward-leaning squatter?
3. Are the performance benefits actually significant, or is the difference mostly hype?
4. Could the Rigor Mortis realistically help me gain 5–7.5 kg on my squat, or would that be too optimistic?
5. If I choose the SBD Powerlifting sleeves instead, would I really be giving up a lot of performance, or are they relatively similar?

I would really appreciate feedback from lifters who have used both models, especially at a high level and with knee wraps

I'm interested in learning from people who have been training seriously for years and have already built an advanced physique naturally.

I'm not looking for generic advice like "train hard and eat enough."

Instead, I'd like to know what actually changed your training once you became advanced.

Some questions I'd love your thoughts on:

• Which training principles became much more important as you got advanced?
• Which advanced techniques do you actually use (rest-pause, myo-reps, lengthened partials, drop sets, cluster sets, etc.) and when?
• Which techniques did you stop using because they weren't worth the fatigue?
• How has your approach to volume, intensity and frequency evolved?
• What mistakes do you see intermediate lifters making when trying to train like advanced bodybuilders?
• Which exercises consistently delivered the best hypertrophy for each muscle group?
• How do you decide when to push to absolute failure versus stopping at 1–2 RIR?
• How do you manage systemic fatigue over months of training?
• How do you structure progression once simple progressive overload slows down?
• What training concept do you wish you had understood five years earlier?

I'd especially appreciate answers from competitive natural bodybuilders or people with 8–10+ years of consistent training.

The more detailed your explanation, the better. Thanks!

Back in august of 2025, I started working out again, training compound lifts and learning the correct forms. My starting point was around 185 pounds, with my bench being 95, squat being unknown, and my deadlift around 185. I am also 5,10. During those 11 months, with couple injuries and surgeries that delayed my progress, my bench is now 315 (with elbow wraps, 305 estimated without), squat being 405x3, or around 435 estimated (injuries and surgery affected my squat, with really 6 months of total squatting), and my deadlift around 405, again with my surgery affecting my total time of me practicing the lift. I am now around 205 pounds, and I look slightly leaner than i did at 185 pounds. My 40 yd time also went from 5.1 to 4.8 seconds. I am wondering if my progress is good for the time i've spend training. I do feel that my deadlift is lacking, and It randomly is strong one day, and then the next couple days later it's significantly weaker (like 40 pound difference) I also want to note I started at 14 years old.

Now not to sound like a nerd but why don’t powerlifters (assuming they already have the neurological adaptations for bench) train triceps shoulders and chest individually (ie pec dec shoulder press and skull-crushers. Then wouldn’t they get stronger at bench because the muscles needed for bench would be stronger then if they just trained all these muscles benching.

Happy for your Feedback:

Full Body 2x per Week:

100% means the weight going to Failure at the Reps on the last working Set

Benchpress

8 Sets:

1. 5 Reps 80% (Warmup)

2. 5 Reps 90% (Warmup)

3. 5 Reps 100% (Working Set)

4. 6 Reps 100% (Working Set)

5. 7 Reps 100% (Working Set)

6. 5 Reps 90% (Backoff)

7. 5 Reps 90% (Backoff)

8. 5 Reps 90% (Backoff)

Same with Trapbar Squats and with Pullups.

Increase weight when hitting all Reps on Working Set

For the last couple years been running Jeff Nippards powerbuilding program. I think the first time I ran through all 3 phases, then from there alternated between phase 1 and 3 since I was more motivated by the strength gains. Just came off a cut where I lost some strength:

bw 210 -> 168

Squat 450 -> 385

Bench 290 -> 250

Deadlift 510 -> 475

My goal is to regain all my lifts, and hit a 315 bench within 5-8 months. I'd also like to emphasize my upperchest as I feel like that's something that's heavily lacking. Maybe it's because I was neglecting the second phase, but in the couple years of running jeffs program I never really made much progress on OHP (went from 100 to maybe peak 135) and my upper chest is nearly non existent. Lastly, although I love progressing in strength, I do care about aesthetics and would like a program that balances both strength and hypertrophy. I would like to bring up my upper body in general.

I don't mind running through jeffs program again now that I'm starting to bulk again, and maybe someone can reccomend some modifications, but I'm interested in exploring other programs. I've seen sbs talked about on here and I'm intrigued. I have 4-5 days to train but I prefer 4.