Random Fitness Questions

Repeating the same workout 3 times per week, week in week out, is not optimal. I would look to write yourself a "B" and "C" workout so that you're only repeating a workout every third session.

There are no 'bad' exercises in what you list above, but as a workout it could be more balanced.

You've got only one quad dominant movement (the split squats). If you were programming a quad slot in another workout I would do something like safety bar squats, hack squat, quad dominant leg press, leg extension... Whatever you like really, that's quad dominant. Lunges are an option if you prefer single leg for some reason.

Then you have two very similar hamstring movements. I would just retain one of them, and do the other one in one of your other workouts. If you do want another lower body movement here you could do something glute dominant like a barbell or dumbbell romanian deadlift.

Next you do your v-bar pulldown... Fine, I'm not the biggest fan, but for your other workouts you could program a wide or medium grip pulldown, or a single arm pulldown here.

DB row... Again, fine, you could program a landmine row, DB incline rows or seated cable row also for other workouts.

Dips... Your only chest / tricep movement. Alternatives for other days could be any kind of machine press, or DB bench etc.

Other general comments:-

You've got no direct arm training at all... No bicep, forearm or tricep work. No shoulder or rear delt work. There is no rule that direct training of these should be included, but I normally would look for them, personally.

The rep scheme of 5x5 is something you could also revisit, I just don't see it fitting well with the exercise selection here, it's probably more appropriate for compound lifts than if you're including a lot of single joint movements. On some of the single joint movements you've selected, like the leg curls, I would feel a bit more comfortable with what's going on if you warmed up properly and then did some higher rep sets, I'd be a little wary of loading heavily for low reps on a movement like that (personal view). Maybe look at 3x8, 3x10 or even a couple of warm-ups and one top set of 10.

Workout to workout I presume you're looking to progress weight and reps. So if you did your split squats with a set of 14kg DBs in one workout, and got all your reps, the next workout you'd pick up a pair of 16kgs. If you can't get all your reps with the chosen weight, you might look to 'rep it out' until you can.

To be honest, you would be better off following someone else's programming unless you are very clear that you know how to program correctly.

I'm training a long time and although I make exercise substitutions based on injuries, or select exercises to address weak points when that's providing for in a program, I still tend to use other people's programming generally, when I understand how it works and I can see that it has stood the test of time and delivered results for others.

I agree with the general thrust of the argument made by the baby bull elephant above. If you are following a well designed program it should be the right mixture of intensity, volume and frequency to allow you to progress your numbers for a considerable period of time. I don't know what your age and bodyweight is, but, if you're a male, then a 100kg squat should have been a very achievable goal for you for example. There's no inherent risk in increasing loading as often as you can, provided your form does not deteriorate. Remember that as the weight increases you are also physically adapting to it, you should arguably be getting more resilient, not less.

There's a famous interview where one of the strongest powerlifters to ever live, Ed Coan, was asked how his heaviest deadlift felt like. The interviewee was a lot weaker, and Ed asked him what his heaviest deadlift felt like, and said that for Ed it felt just like that. It's all relative.

If you followed a beginner's linear progression like Starting Strength, Greyskull LP or StrongLifts you could expect to run that for several months. At that point you could switch to a more intermediate program like 5/3/1 or WS4SB and those are programs that you can run for years at a time, they are very flexible.

There's a thread on classic beginner programs (which are strength focused but can also work for hypertrophy or athletic development, most of the them) that would be worth digging up.

If you've been stalled for a while, I would take a little break and go back to the drawing board with one of these and really try to get the most out of it before moving on to something longer term.

If your goals are to get stronger then you probably don't want to be in a calorie deficit, although a lot of people can still get reasonably far down the road with terrible diets before it catches up with them. I would probably be trying to take in 1g of protein for every lb bodyweight every day, but this is a target that a lot of people generally struggle to meet.

There's no rule against sweet treats or even being in a calorie surplus if you just mainly want to get stronger. But if you have weight loss or body transformation goals then unfortunately your diet would have to be tighter and it's something most people struggle with, myself included.

That program you linked to looks like a very stripped down linear progress, you could certainly do it if you are strength oriented. I would also suggest looking at the Starting Strength novice program, although it's not that different. The Starting Strength novice program is very well-supported by videos, books, forums etc. You're not doing it forever, just a matter of a few months.

If you read the novice page for SS it’s pretty clear, probably clearer than I could write it.

Although it’s “only” 3x5 on squat, bench and press, bear in mind-

1. That’s after warm-ups, those 3x5 or 1x5 on dead are your work sets.
2. Early on they will feel light and be light. But if you are adding weight to the bar every session just keep in mind that you might be squatting 70kg 3x5 early on, but 3-4 months later… Do the maths.. And 2 months after that.. The difficulty of a linear progression is not evenly distributed, it’s loaded to the end. Most people quit near the end, everyone sails the beginning.

Although it’s a novice / beginner program if you haven’t had a proper run at it or are stalled then you can still benefit. Just don’t stay on it forever or keep returning to it.

As far as failing a squat goes: If the pins are set up right you can just use those to abandon the lift at the bottom, by controlling it to the pins and wedging yourself out, if bailing out as outlined above freaks you out. In a commercial gym it will also cause less of an issue with some staff. I learned to bail first though, and it’s valid obviously!

With regard to tracking calories and macros, there probably isn't a better option at the moment than using one of the many apps out there that will let you log it and it does the maths.

Determining what your macros and calorie intake should be is a little harder. For what it's worth, I did the maths myself a few years ago, based on what I wanted (Slight calorie deficit, and macros geared towards higher protein but carbs and fats supporting lifting and training several times a week), and then I compared that with what was generated as a recommendation for me by one of the tracking apps, I think it was My Fitness Pal. The difference between them was pretty negligible, I was surprised the app was very on the money, maybe I shouldn't have been.

Absolutely not, put that from your mind.

Ah, I was thinking 55+, or older even.

In your thirties and forties … Still can get very strong.

Actually even 55+ can get good numbers with the right coaching and maybe a bit of athleticism.

I tweaked my upper back today, very annoying. Was fine for hours after and now seizing up. Probably that’s the rest of the week gone for lifting. Annoying.