Been a long time viewer of the channel, since about 2016. One thing I love about you is that you get straight to the point within 5 seconds, no long drawn out shit. Your advice and insights have been invaluable to my lifting journey, and I owe a lot of my current physique to you. Cheers, and keep up the great work
No time wasting over here, much love OG Nav! I'm grateful for your long-term support and very happy that much of your gains were accelerated through watching my videos. Cheers to many more 💪🏻💪🏻
Damn, pushing the envelope with the physique and wisdom after so many long years. If anything, you inspire me and many others to just continue chasing our physique goals for the long run.
as an experienced lifter whos a lot bigger than alex, hes barely scratching the surface of gains. his knowledge has come a long way, but dont be surprised to see a lot more growth. Re. deadlift. how much lift you weight IS NOT the key. can you lift the weight for 10 reps with a 3 second negative without slamming the weight on the floor? thats a completely different type of lift that will engage the lats A LOT more.
Vote guys if you want to see a completely new hypertrophy focused program for absolute beginners who are new to fitness, bodybuilding and strength training, to build a solid foundation for his conjugate approach like he mentioned on the last q and a. A program that takes all his new knowledge he gained the last decade into account to get buff and jacked as possible without milage and minimalism. I would appreciate your help even if you are into lifting for a while. thank you very much
Alex back to his energetic self. I feel so happy now that you can be normal again after that amazing self coached bodybuilding performance. True inspiration.
Feeling soooooooooo much better brother!! Bodybuilding is no joke especially when you don't have hormones helping you out. You literally feel like DEATH at the end, and it's crazy how shortly after comp the body starts to rebound in energy, size, and performance.
Im so grateful for creators like you, that prove with actions that progress and improvement is possible every year, without the need to hop on gear. Nothing but respect!
I can attest to specializing in the powerlifts. I squatted 360, benched 280 and pulled 460 at 162lb bodyweight but I was fat (25-30%) When I cut down, I didn't even have abs in the low 140s. Switched to bodybuilding type training and my body loved it. I was underweight in the form of muscle tissue.
So you're saying you were in the 4-5th strength percentile at 162lbs 25% bodyfat? And u had no abs at 140lbs despite that working out to 10-15% bodyfat
More likely closer to 30%. I would say slightly above 15%. Definitely not 10%. I had a coach and was part of team. Competed 4 times. First two meets were 2nd place and by my 3rd meet, I was getting weaker and getting pain in my elbows and constantly tweaking my back. As far as those stats you gave, I'm not sure. I always thought I wasn't strong enough compared to the other guys.
@Burrito Dog I'm 5'8, and most of my fat is around the waist. I've always been skinny fat bro. In high school I weighed about 125 and yes, literally no abs. I think I would've looked like the dude from the "no carbs after 6, trust me bro" meme.
I took your advice though Alex and did calisthenics all throughout my bulk and its actually insane what happens when you lose a bit of weight. Just started my cut and it already feels like I'm floating on my pullups. Keep killing it bro.
@@epicchrist2941 Calisthenics on off days would just be to grease the groove as Alex says, not to build muscle. I just do them on regular training days. Weighted pullups and weighted dips. You can also use rings for pushups, pullups and dips. Even deficit handstand pushups if you are an absolute beast. Lots of potential for calisthenics to replace regular free weight or machine exercises. Alex has plenty of videos on it.
Regarding that first point. I believe more and more individuals (especially novice lifters) are subconsciously placing themselves near the advanced/elite end of the spectrum by bombarding themselves with fitness content. You gotta have the years under your belt before you start training like Alex. That being said, we can all learn something from Alex. Thank you for the great content sir.
I've been getting back into lifting weights after stopping around 2020 when the gyms closed. Now I have the luxury of doing it at home with a home gym but I've been missing the tough love from some of the gym bros. Alex's content hits the spot though. Re-fed Alex is another beast too, love the energy.
Great content. Held a up a mirror to me and made me realize despite years of lifting I’m probably closer to the end range of novice than I’d like to admit. Not strong enough or big enough for the time put in. I’d like to say your one of your videos on getting cut was really helpful for me as well. Im down 10 lbs and have been maintaining weight while maintaining strength/reps as well. Slowly upping the calories
All these years, on and off. Always come back to Alex. Seen this dude in all forms, bear-mode to shredded. Alex a real one. Preach brother. As I get this workout in. Let's Go!
Loving heavy calisthenic movements at the minute, heavy dips, rows pull-ups and pushups have become a staple, working on wall assisted hspu and the progress has been great. Calisthenics absolutely has a place.
Warm weather really caught me by surprise! Progressing in workout difficulty was the simplest, most mindless, snd the most influential change I made in contrast to minimalist routine planned out. Also, total body tension is the most important term imo, for calisthenics at least.
I think the biggest underlying factor is always and will always be 'Ego'. I do write programs and semi-coach some of my younger friends and most of them are always talking about 'why not more?'. they are sacrificing the 'good' just to get lost in the path to find the 'perfect'. They overestimatw what they can do in a yeat of 6 months but underestimate what they can do in 2 decades. the want to reach greatness is infact the biggest factor in ruining their progress.
To add to your first point- I think a lot of guys (myself included for a long time) try to skip the basics because everyone else does them. There's always that drive to set yourself apart. Some guys do that for status, but I think most just don't want to do what everyone else is doing. I think that's a good thing, but the truth is getting strong at the basic compounds lets you become a master at whatever you decide to specialize in a lot sooner. It's like you always say, strength is strength, and the big heavy compounds build a lot of it.
This is what I’ve been saying to my friends who’ve been lifting the same exact time as me and acuse me of having extraordinary genetics. They miss the gym one to two months and when they return to lifting they use this hyper optimized effective exercises. Yet, I can literally curl their bench (yup, they’ve been lifting for three years now and barely bench 80-100 lbs). What Alex said is so real, the ones that you will find doing hyper optimized exercises in the gym are the skinny guys. I’m tired of seeing a skinny dude grab a bench to do chest supported low tempo cable rows when they have like 11 inch arms instead of focusing on basic exercises like pull ups or pull downs.
Why don't you mind ur own business and focus on improving yourself. Sounds like you're too busy looking at everyone else and should be looking at yourself.
@@DannyBoy426 because the notion of an “ideal” exercise is really marketable. Especially for beginners who think they will get huge lats doing “optimal” movements.
I'd make the excuse that cardio is overrated but when I was doing it with weights and going for endurance when I went into a powerlifting mindset I blew up my squat now after 2 years since of lockdown I hate terrible cardio and a session has me breathing like I'm 300lbs of fat ass doing just 175 for 5 Also gym bros bash cardio but it's more than just aestetics I coild stay awake all night and smash the gym and would feel great constantly now I'm sleeping 12 hours a night have shit cardio and feel like garbage and depressed...but hey I have muscle tjo brah
Funny enough most of the time they don't care, they'll just keep having fun. Once I went for a water break, came back and some kid was using my rings copying the major movements 😂💪
I think I'm approaching late novice. Bench 165x10. Box Squat 185x10. OHP 95x10. Barbell row 155x10. RDL 205x10. Pullups are pretty bad, but I'm a little on the fat side and have long arms so I'm still doing my negatives and working towards that goal. Currently 225 lbs 6'3''. 200 is my goal weight.
I watched your videos before going gym and the exercise selection/changing variations have allowed me to juice out those gains all I care about is being strong asf
Alex , I have recently found you. And you have changed my view on Natural Potential...like really. We would like to see much more on Novice Training and workout videos will help too.
My novice mistake is severely overtraining to the point i couldn't remember words and couldn't do work and slept 12 hours a day and had to take long breaks after every 3 weeks
I am beginner...and for first two months...I only did 3 compound exercises a day and rest on other...Sqt, Bech, Standing OHP and Deadlift, Bent over Row, PullUps on other . I became significantly better in just 2 months with not so good diet. I now follow two full body workouts in alternate order and one day rest in between. My deadlift has gone from 120 kg pr to repping 130 kg for reps and sets easily.
1. Focusing on niche movements for improvement. Novices and advanced trainees fundamentally lift differently. If you can't bench for plates, stick to the default compounds instead of aiming for these specific variations. 2. Hyper specializing towards powerlifting or any sort of specialization will do just that, specialize you towards that particular category, but cause you to lack on other bodybuilding and strength aspects. 3. Doing biased movements when you can't even nail the basic motions is ridiculous. Isolations are ok to do, but not these overly biased movements that target the "lower lats" and extremely specific parts of a muscles motion. 4. Not trusting the process and being hesitant about the lower volume approach your novice body allows you to tackle. Doing even more volume, dirty bulking and program hopping. Maingaining and lean bulking are excellent, theres no need to go insane with dirty bulking. In the same vein, you dont want to add volume for the sake of adding volume when your current linear progression is serving you well. Complete the main storyline before going for these side quests. 5. Neglecting your calisthenics and cardio, getting caught up in the lifting/ aesthetics isn't serving you. A mixture of these different movement patterns will help your health the most. Start early on, being able to run and do muscle ups while still having layers of muscle on your body will serve you better than just simply looking good.
You always say the hard truths. Love the tough love and no b.s style of advice and content you always give us natural guys. Also, for me, I wouldn't consider myself a novice and maybe not even a late novice. Probably more intermediate considering I've had a few years of training but with a year or more off because of life issues and injury. But been at it for over 9 months consistently now and just this week wrote out a new program for this next meso cycle, and ever I had to do what you are advising to do. I had to cut down my variation. Get back to more consistent and TRACKABLE exercise selection. Tweaked my volume and added some frequency. And even just two days in. I can already tell my body is responding much better and my SFR is much more manageable. I found myself doing so many different movements through my working splits the last few months. And having a hard time tracking progress. Even with strength and size gains. I knew I was leaving allot more gains on the table. And taking the time to sit down and really put a lot of thought and intelligence and realistic shit into my a disciplined program is what I needed and probably so many more do to. Winging it and changing your movements up left and right. No. Stick to the basics. Some isolated work. Progress. Track it. Stay consistent. And then review after a mesocycle or few months. And adjust as needed if needed at all. Love the advice brother. Love the isanse physique your built. Keep it up. Thank you.
The back guys at the cable machines are what I see everyday lol. This is an amazing list, I almost fell for most of these and see so many others who have fallen for them. One thing I wanna add is the people who focus way way too much on absolute perfect form on the most optimal exercise. At first I fell into this, but once I realized that sometimes you just gotta gorilla some weight up there is when my progress took off.
Thanks for reminding us to get bsck to the basics! Ive fallen for being to hyper focused on biomechanics, resistance profiles, low fatigue etc and ended up using cables and unproven excercises to much. Ive just recently switched back over to some more of the big basics and reducing the reps on first 1 or 2 exercises
My biggest regret of my early lifting days was foregoing the back squat entirely for the front squat. I lost out on a ton of hip strength and never quite learned how to eccentrically control squat movements properly with the hip flexors and hamstrings, leaving me for a very long time afterwards with a tendency towards patellar tendonitis and severe hip flexor soreness after getting back into back squatting. But that's the best part about lifting - you can overcome your past mistakes through introspection and hard work and come out even better than you started.
Thank you so much Alex, I have been following you for a long time now, always coming back whenever I have any questions about my training, and although I am not a novice anymore, this video still opened my eyes a bit. Thank you so much for the top tier content!!
More out of less weight doesn’t mean much when the most amount of weight you can lift is pretty low. Also, your physique is absolutely insane. Super happy for you scratching that competitive itch, excited to see how you use more of what you have learned to pave the way forward for what’s possible.
Exactly brother, everything is already more out of less weight, and heck, maybe that's a key reason why novices respond so well to training! It all boils down to the recovery factor which can be matched in more experienced lifters with those self-limiting variations. Thank you, the itch was real as last year I regretted not going on stage. There will be more fun journeys.
11:30 really good point there. how would you even know if your "bar" path for that illiac pull down if you don't have any connection to it. I see the same thing bro, teens with nothing doing illiac pull down. "how can you bias... when you have nothing to bias"
My ass can only bench 165 x 4, holding my breath throughout the entire set and using optimal leg drive after 1 year of lifting. During that year the Benchpress has always been my priority and be the first exercise of all my workouts. I went hard, and by hard I mean HARD, there were periods where I'd get a spotter for each set, so I could fail safely and the amount of times I was stuck under the bar / had to do the roll of shame are also double-digits. I gained 25lb over the span of 5 months, August - January and added a total of 12lbs to my bench during that time. I slept 9 - 12 hours per night and also tried up to 4 rest days between sessions to rule out overtraining (originally started at 1 rest days, benching 3 times per week), nothing made a difference. Also, when I went to 3+ rest days between sessions, my chest would always be sore af the day after, so I was effectively hitting the main mover. I'd blame genetics if I hadn't put on an inch of size to my arms in just 2 months (October - December) when I started doing my Skull Crushers and Curls at home instead of at the end of my workout. They only grew .7 inches before despite doing Dips, Chin-ups, Barbell Curls and EZ-Bar Skull Crushers 2-3 times a week for 8 months, guess it was all junk volume despite giving it my all, just like with the benchpress.
I had to take a hard look at myself last year with that first one😂 “why you doing chest supported rows to spare your lower back? You have no lower back!”
Dude yeah! When i moved my focus from the compounds and added more shoulder, tricep, bicep isolation, my arms exploded! Still do squats, bench dl but not just minimalist.
The funny thing is that part of being a novice is not wanting to admit to yourself that you’re a novice. Most people at my gym can do 2-3 cheated overhand pull ups max, bench 110-140 for reps and can’t even RDL 225, let alone squat it, yet if I asked them I’m pretty sure they’d say they were intermediates.
Hope a lot of people get to see this. It took me a while of searching and training to realize that bodybuilding is actually simple. At least until elite level but most don't get there anyway. Great video as always, take care Alex.
i've been in the same program, for like a couple of months. 2x a week dips and pull ups, started with 3x8 with 20 kg dips and 3x4 with 20 kg pull up, today i hit 5x8 reps with 40kg dips and 5x4 pull ups with 40kg. When i reach a certain amount of weight for 5 reps for pull ups and 10 reps for dips, i add 10 kg and go back to 3x3. it works well, and today i am with 81 kg, literally banging half of my bodyweight for reps in pull ups, not shredded, most likely 15% bodyfat. Stick to a plan that works and it will do wonders for you.
Saw a novice in the gym teaching another novice what he called pulse reps for squats (basically 1 & 1/2 rep). Bro could not even squat 185 for reps properly. Wish they would find and learn from your channel.
AHAHAHAHAHA, What you said at 10:18 to 11:15 is legit what i've been told to my gymbros after i joined a commercial gym this year, i'm literally you, telling them that 80% of the guys doing one arm pulldown and "feel the muscle brah" type of BS are almost always the small guys, love it, perfect.
Dude I ocassionally watch your videos and I must say you evolved into epitome of what most people hope to become when they start lifting. Unfortunately many don't get that it actually takes extraordinary effort. And other use cheat code chemicals to get to endgame right away.
i just recently found you, searching for forearm workouts, as i'm an aspiring armwrestler. i was real excited to do the wide fat grip pullups.... i could only get 4.... ha! looks like i'm going to need some more basic work before i'm repping those. I was pretty surprised. I wouldn't consider myself above novice, but, I've got 16" upper arms and 13.5" forearms. i'm one-arm-rowing over 100#, so, I'm not exactly frail. But, damn, I can't hit those. thanks for your content, man! i'm a 40-year-old natural 160#er, and what you've done is incredibly inspiring.
spot on with the first point. Absolute load concerns for a lift should only be a worry when they put undue recovery constraints for neurological, connective/tendon/ligament tissues. This is only a consideration when the neural pattern for strenght has ben so fucking honed in for a movement that your fiber recruitment is extremely efficient (hardly a conocern for novices), and the tendons and supporting structures have been strenghtened until their cap. So yes 1000000% with you here
Alex I want to get your thoughts on this new routine I plan on doing. I'm taking a high frequency, high specificity, high intensity approach to training my squat, bench and deadlift Workout (Done 4x a week) A. Squat B. Bench C. SPEED Deadlift (2-3 Optional Assistance exercises for weak point training, 2-3x10-12) Percentages for Squat & Bench Week 1: Day 1 & 4: 5x2 @ 80% Day 2 & 5: 5x2 @ 70% Week 2: Day 1 & 4: 5x2 @ 85% Day 2 & 5: 5x2 @ 75% Week 3: Day 1 & 4: 5x2 @ 85% Day 2 & 5: 5x2 @ 75% Weeks 4-6: Same as Weeks 1-3 but with heavier weight For SPEED Deadlift: WEIGHTS CAN EITHER BE LOWERED BY 10% AND/OR KEPT THE SAME BUT WITH A REVERSE BAND
Cardio is essential. I’m the strongest person on my university course out of 35 ish athletic individuals yet my vo2 max is one of the lowest. Conditioning is crucial I think walking and LISS cardio is good for fat burning and cardio. But 2-3x a week lifters need moderate-high intense cardio to improve their fitness. Sprinting uphill is good for fitness and cardio
Exactly! Man I've seen beginners trying to put icing on the cake, even though there is no cake to begin with. They have no muscle foundation whatsoever, yet they're occupying the Cable Machine doing low to high cable flyes. Trying to work the upper chest, even though they have no chest to begin with. Just start with push-ups. Studies show that for absolute beginners, a properly performed push-up actually generates the MOST chest activation compared to ALL other exercises.
Alex, you’ve built an amazing natural physique, for real. You are approaching natural bodybuilding champ status. I think you would win bb shows for sure. I’d be curious to see you compete, but I know that lifting is what you live, not competing in bb shows. Great work, brother. 🏆
This a is a great video, correlates well with me, I did your novice program for a year back in 16 got intermediate numbers 320,375,425 before moving on to something else, super easy program that I stuck to that worked. And I thank you greatly for it cuz I got yoked. My buddy kept doing more "advanced" forms and never broke 225 Bench goes to show novice syndrome can catch anyone!
I just want to jump in and say a huge mistake I made was spending too much time in a novice program. I was running stronglifts 5x5 for only 4 months and kept stalling at 235 on squats. I felt super run down after each workout and felt a lot of overuse, but thought I needed to stick to the novice program because I didnt hit 315 yet and felt like 4 months was not enough time as a novice. But once I changed to 531, I immediately overcame the plateau (now at 315x5 and easily still going up from here) and feel excellent after each workout.
Man, This is something i realised very recently. I am pushing really hard and yet i recover in 24 hours. like I am just not strong enough to wreck myself. Like Deadlift is one place where i am strong so i cant do a lot of it as it wrecks me. But bench or squats i could just do them every other day and be okay cause i am just not strong enough.
I know this is diet related, but I know so many people who are stuck as novice because they’re afraid to gain weight and fat. At some point you will have to gain weight to continue getting stronger.
My lifting journey became really better than before by the time I started watching your videos, geoffrey, NH, basement bb guy and the whole natty community.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
The progress you've made over the last few years is absolutely inspiring. Keep it up man
Been a long time viewer of the channel, since about 2016. One thing I love about you is that you get straight to the point within 5 seconds, no long drawn out shit. Your advice and insights have been invaluable to my lifting journey, and I owe a lot of my current physique to you. Cheers, and keep up the great work
No time wasting over here, much love OG Nav! I'm grateful for your long-term support and very happy that much of your gains were accelerated through watching my videos. Cheers to many more 💪🏻💪🏻
Damn, pushing the envelope with the physique and wisdom after so many long years. If anything, you inspire me and many others to just continue chasing our physique goals for the long run.
as an experienced lifter whos a lot bigger than alex, hes barely scratching the surface of gains. his knowledge has come a long way, but dont be surprised to see a lot more growth.
Re. deadlift. how much lift you weight IS NOT the key. can you lift the weight for 10 reps with a 3 second negative without slamming the weight on the floor? thats a completely different type of lift that will engage the lats A LOT more.
Vote guys if you want to see a completely new hypertrophy focused program for absolute beginners who are new to fitness, bodybuilding and strength training, to build a solid foundation for his conjugate approach like he mentioned on the last q and a. A program that takes all his new knowledge he gained the last decade into account to get buff and jacked as possible without milage and minimalism. I would appreciate your help even if you are into lifting for a while. thank you very much
hell yeah!
take my money sir
You fell for the meme...basics work the best. His novice program is pretty solid.
Alex back to his energetic self. I feel so happy now that you can be normal again after that amazing self coached bodybuilding performance.
True inspiration.
Feeling soooooooooo much better brother!! Bodybuilding is no joke especially when you don't have hormones helping you out. You literally feel like DEATH at the end, and it's crazy how shortly after comp the body starts to rebound in energy, size, and performance.
Truly you don’t need to target weak spots when you’re starting out, because as a novice your whole body is a weak spot
Exactly
Im so grateful for creators like you, that prove with actions that progress and improvement is possible every year, without the need to hop on gear. Nothing but respect!
Knowledge acquisition > gear
Much love brother!
That first one is a huge pet peeve not gonna lie 😂😂😂
Mannnnnnn it's been adding up so just had to make this a major point 😂😂😂
"i'm stuck at 185 lbs x 5" proceeds to do 5 sec paused bench with 100 lbs
@Stev-ifficult supersetted with face pulls
@@innovatixn99 are u tall ?
@@YouHaveToLiveIt with 60 seconds rest between sets 😂
I can attest to specializing in the powerlifts. I squatted 360, benched 280 and pulled 460 at 162lb bodyweight but I was fat (25-30%) When I cut down, I didn't even have abs in the low 140s. Switched to bodybuilding type training and my body loved it. I was underweight in the form of muscle tissue.
this makes no sense to me. "fat" but only 162 lbs? must be shorter then alex
So you're saying you were in the 4-5th strength percentile at 162lbs 25% bodyfat? And u had no abs at 140lbs despite that working out to 10-15% bodyfat
More likely closer to 30%. I would say slightly above 15%. Definitely not 10%. I had a coach and was part of team. Competed 4 times. First two meets were 2nd place and by my 3rd meet, I was getting weaker and getting pain in my elbows and constantly tweaking my back. As far as those stats you gave, I'm not sure. I always thought I wasn't strong enough compared to the other guys.
@Burrito Dog I'm 5'8, and most of my fat is around the waist. I've always been skinny fat bro. In high school I weighed about 125 and yes, literally no abs. I think I would've looked like the dude from the "no carbs after 6, trust me bro" meme.
Btw the body fat percentages I put out there were from the google image of "bodyfat percentage chart for men"
I took your advice though Alex and did calisthenics all throughout my bulk and its actually insane what happens when you lose a bit of weight. Just started my cut and it already feels like I'm floating on my pullups. Keep killing it bro.
When am I supposed to do the calithenics? Like during the rest days? Or during the work out?
@@epicchrist2941 Calisthenics on off days would just be to grease the groove as Alex says, not to build muscle.
I just do them on regular training days. Weighted pullups and weighted dips. You can also use rings for pushups, pullups and dips. Even deficit handstand pushups if you are an absolute beast.
Lots of potential for calisthenics to replace regular free weight or machine exercises. Alex has plenty of videos on it.
Regarding that first point. I believe more and more individuals (especially novice lifters) are subconsciously placing themselves near the advanced/elite end of the spectrum by bombarding themselves with fitness content. You gotta have the years under your belt before you start training like Alex. That being said, we can all learn something from Alex. Thank you for the great content sir.
the talk at the end preaching being an overall athlete rather than a lifter who cares only about aesthetics is what most people need to hear.
Been training 40 years, since discovering this channel learning lots of new tips! Even at 52 lol thanks man!!!
Just checked your channel garageman BRUTAL training keep it up old man 🔥
🎉
I appreciate you Sir, keep showing these youngsters how it's done 🔥🔥
Your physique is looking nuts man… always improving.
Only getting better my brother, thank you. With the new training I've learned, I suspect this next bulk will result in even crazier gains.
I've been getting back into lifting weights after stopping around 2020 when the gyms closed. Now I have the luxury of doing it at home with a home gym but I've been missing the tough love from some of the gym bros.
Alex's content hits the spot though. Re-fed Alex is another beast too, love the energy.
gay and thats sad
@@5FT6MAN ... is that flirting or..?
Non-clickbaity titles and informative timestamps (rather than a vague 'reason #1'). Thanks for respecting your audience 👍
Much love Xell, I'm just here to share great information! No time wasting.
You’re putting the best content out for us in the natty community Alex 💪🏻
Doing my best homie, thank you! The guys I've interviewed are also crushing it 💪🏻💪🏻
Great content. Held a up a mirror to me and made me realize despite years of lifting I’m probably closer to the end range of novice than I’d like to admit. Not strong enough or big enough for the time put in.
I’d like to say your one of your videos on getting cut was really helpful for me as well. Im down 10 lbs and have been maintaining weight while maintaining strength/reps as well. Slowly upping the calories
All these years, on and off. Always come back to Alex. Seen this dude in all forms, bear-mode to shredded. Alex a real one. Preach brother. As I get this workout in. Let's Go!
Loving heavy calisthenic movements at the minute, heavy dips, rows pull-ups and pushups have become a staple, working on wall assisted hspu and the progress has been great.
Calisthenics absolutely has a place.
Warm weather really caught me by surprise! Progressing in workout difficulty was the simplest, most mindless, snd the most influential change I made in contrast to minimalist routine planned out. Also, total body tension is the most important term imo, for calisthenics at least.
I think the biggest underlying factor is always and will always be 'Ego'. I do write programs and semi-coach some of my younger friends and most of them are always talking about 'why not more?'. they are sacrificing the 'good' just to get lost in the path to find the 'perfect'. They overestimatw what they can do in a yeat of 6 months but underestimate what they can do in 2 decades. the want to reach greatness is infact the biggest factor in ruining their progress.
At the end of the day, ego ties into all these points. Also cost me years of progress.
10:20 speaking the biggest fact up to this day, is 1st an eyesore and 2nd annoying as they always hug the cables for 15min+
To add to your first point- I think a lot of guys (myself included for a long time) try to skip the basics because everyone else does them. There's always that drive to set yourself apart. Some guys do that for status, but I think most just don't want to do what everyone else is doing. I think that's a good thing, but the truth is getting strong at the basic compounds lets you become a master at whatever you decide to specialize in a lot sooner. It's like you always say, strength is strength, and the big heavy compounds build a lot of it.
Nicely put, it often goes back to that hipster mindset which can be a problem for non-experienced lifters.
Awesome video bro. Very underrated advice for beginners.
This is what I’ve been saying to my friends who’ve been lifting the same exact time as me and acuse me of having extraordinary genetics. They miss the gym one to two months and when they return to lifting they use this hyper optimized effective exercises. Yet, I can literally curl their bench (yup, they’ve been lifting for three years now and barely bench 80-100 lbs).
What Alex said is so real, the ones that you will find doing hyper optimized exercises in the gym are the skinny guys. I’m tired of seeing a skinny dude grab a bench to do chest supported low tempo cable rows when they have like 11 inch arms instead of focusing on basic exercises like pull ups or pull downs.
Why don't you mind ur own business and focus on improving yourself. Sounds like you're too busy looking at everyone else and should be looking at yourself.
@@TheJackOfAllTrades777 I’ll never understand how iliac pull-down became so popular.
@@DannyBoy426 because the notion of an “ideal” exercise is really marketable. Especially for beginners who think they will get huge lats doing “optimal” movements.
I'd make the excuse that cardio is overrated but when I was doing it with weights and going for endurance when I went into a powerlifting mindset I blew up my squat now after 2 years since of lockdown I hate terrible cardio and a session has me breathing like I'm 300lbs of fat ass doing just 175 for 5
Also gym bros bash cardio but it's more than just aestetics I coild stay awake all night and smash the gym and would feel great constantly now I'm sleeping 12 hours a night have shit cardio and feel like garbage and depressed...but hey I have muscle tjo brah
@@TheJackOfAllTrades777 could of just reacted to what I actually said instead of being a grammar nazi
0:00
Me coming to the child's playground to do 7 supersets of pull ups & dips
(kids are terrified)
Funny enough most of the time they don't care, they'll just keep having fun. Once I went for a water break, came back and some kid was using my rings copying the major movements 😂💪
@@AlexLeonidas Lmao, epic
I think I'm approaching late novice. Bench 165x10. Box Squat 185x10. OHP 95x10. Barbell row 155x10. RDL 205x10. Pullups are pretty bad, but I'm a little on the fat side and have long arms so I'm still doing my negatives and working towards that goal. Currently 225 lbs 6'3''. 200 is my goal weight.
Hey, you still grinding?
I watched your videos before going gym and the exercise selection/changing variations have allowed me to juice out those gains all I care about is being strong asf
Hell yeah GymBro, that system of rotating will get you STRONG AF! All without injuries.
@@AlexLeonidas You only as strong as your biggest weakness
This video was the highlight of my day! Thank you Alex! Been subbed for 5 years
Alex , I have recently found you. And you have changed my view on Natural Potential...like really.
We would like to see much more on Novice Training and workout videos will help too.
It’s awesome seeing your W/Os taken outside, need more footage of ya outside gettin the Vit D!! LFG!!!
Alex you’re truly in a lane of your own on the platform, stay true to what you do and keep doing what you do🥹👑
Thank you Adriaan, this is what I love doing. Sharing my best fitness advice and growing together with this wonderful community 👑
@@AlexLeonidas Preach fam🫡 We got you!
I wonder what the novice program 2.0 would look like after years of experience when is it dropping looking forward for new content !
More gym rings workouts please 💪
Will do now that the weather is nice! 💪
Appreciate the info...weighted Pull-ups changed my game with pause and control. Natural.
For those who can do pullups right, the pause + tempo is a SERIOUS game changer. I literally use half the weight now.
@@AlexLeonidas you and Coach Greg was the a good idea. Still remember when you hit 315lbs on the bench for the first time and look at you now. 🙏
Bro you are the best in the giga chad natty community. Absolute unit, bulk is gonna be crazy
My novice mistake is severely overtraining to the point i couldn't remember words and couldn't do work and slept 12 hours a day and had to take long breaks after every 3 weeks
I am beginner...and for first two months...I only did 3 compound exercises a day and rest on other...Sqt, Bech, Standing OHP and Deadlift, Bent over Row, PullUps on other . I became significantly better in just 2 months with not so good diet. I now follow two full body workouts in alternate order and one day rest in between.
My deadlift has gone from 120 kg pr to repping 130 kg for reps and sets easily.
1.
Focusing on niche movements for improvement. Novices and advanced trainees fundamentally lift differently. If you can't bench for plates, stick to the default compounds instead of aiming for these specific variations.
2.
Hyper specializing towards powerlifting or any sort of specialization will do just that, specialize you towards that particular category, but cause you to lack on other bodybuilding and strength aspects.
3.
Doing biased movements when you can't even nail the basic motions is ridiculous. Isolations are ok to do, but not these overly biased movements that target the "lower lats" and extremely specific parts of a muscles motion.
4.
Not trusting the process and being hesitant about the lower volume approach your novice body allows you to tackle. Doing even more volume, dirty bulking and program hopping. Maingaining and lean bulking are excellent, theres no need to go insane with dirty bulking. In the same vein, you dont want to add volume for the sake of adding volume when your current linear progression is serving you well. Complete the main storyline before going for these side quests.
5.
Neglecting your calisthenics and cardio, getting caught up in the lifting/ aesthetics isn't serving you. A mixture of these different movement patterns will help your health the most. Start early on, being able to run and do muscle ups while still having layers of muscle on your body will serve you better than just simply looking good.
You always say the hard truths. Love the tough love and no b.s style of advice and content you always give us natural guys. Also, for me, I wouldn't consider myself a novice and maybe not even a late novice. Probably more intermediate considering I've had a few years of training but with a year or more off because of life issues and injury. But been at it for over 9 months consistently now and just this week wrote out a new program for this next meso cycle, and ever I had to do what you are advising to do. I had to cut down my variation. Get back to more consistent and TRACKABLE exercise selection. Tweaked my volume and added some frequency. And even just two days in. I can already tell my body is responding much better and my SFR is much more manageable. I found myself doing so many different movements through my working splits the last few months. And having a hard time tracking progress. Even with strength and size gains. I knew I was leaving allot more gains on the table. And taking the time to sit down and really put a lot of thought and intelligence and realistic shit into my a disciplined program is what I needed and probably so many more do to. Winging it and changing your movements up left and right. No. Stick to the basics. Some isolated work. Progress. Track it. Stay consistent. And then review after a mesocycle or few months. And adjust as needed if needed at all. Love the advice brother. Love the isanse physique your built. Keep it up. Thank you.
The back guys at the cable machines are what I see everyday lol. This is an amazing list, I almost fell for most of these and see so many others who have fallen for them. One thing I wanna add is the people who focus way way too much on absolute perfect form on the most optimal exercise. At first I fell into this, but once I realized that sometimes you just gotta gorilla some weight up there is when my progress took off.
Brilliant insights here alex, another cracking video. You keep leveling up in not only physique but fitness wisdom too. goat of youtube fitness!
Thank you Ash D!
@Alex Leonidas my pleasure bro 😎👊
much needed video brother 🙂thx
Thanks for reminding us to get bsck to the basics! Ive fallen for being to hyper focused on biomechanics, resistance profiles, low fatigue etc and ended up using cables and unproven excercises to much. Ive just recently switched back over to some more of the big basics and reducing the reps on first 1 or 2 exercises
My biggest regret of my early lifting days was foregoing the back squat entirely for the front squat. I lost out on a ton of hip strength and never quite learned how to eccentrically control squat movements properly with the hip flexors and hamstrings, leaving me for a very long time afterwards with a tendency towards patellar tendonitis and severe hip flexor soreness after getting back into back squatting.
But that's the best part about lifting - you can overcome your past mistakes through introspection and hard work and come out even better than you started.
Thank you so much Alex, I have been following you for a long time now, always coming back whenever I have any questions about my training, and although I am not a novice anymore, this video still opened my eyes a bit. Thank you so much for the top tier content!!
Was just rewatching videos! thanks for the consistent uploads alex
This video was hilarious but informative. You're great.
The absolute loss for words at 10:52 was hilarious. I see this all the time at my gym too, thought I was the only one that got annoyed by it😂
Highly encourage you guys to include burpee workouts from Iron Wolf. Your endurance will skyrocket🙌
Bro Iron Wolf has the BEST CONDITIONING WORKOUTS ON RUclips!
He changed the way I approach GPP, for life 🙌
More out of less weight doesn’t mean much when the most amount of weight you can lift is pretty low.
Also, your physique is absolutely insane. Super happy for you scratching that competitive itch, excited to see how you use more of what you have learned to pave the way forward for what’s possible.
Exactly brother, everything is already more out of less weight, and heck, maybe that's a key reason why novices respond so well to training! It all boils down to the recovery factor which can be matched in more experienced lifters with those self-limiting variations. Thank you, the itch was real as last year I regretted not going on stage. There will be more fun journeys.
THIS!
awesome video alex, id love to see what changes youd make to your novice program after so many more years of experience!
Would require a completely new program my man!
New novice program from a New and stronguer and smarter Alex
Would be Amazing
Alex you’re setting example for the future generations of lifters! 💪😎👍
That's one of my goals, thank you Max! 💪😎👍
11:30 really good point there. how would you even know if your "bar" path for that illiac pull down if you don't have any connection to it.
I see the same thing bro, teens with nothing doing illiac pull down.
"how can you bias... when you have nothing to bias"
Dude..When do you max out!?!?! lol. You just keep getting better.
holy cow you look insane, especially in that first clip
enough mirin, time to watch the video 🫡🫡
Excellent video and looking JACKED man. I'd love to see that calisthenics and dumbbell workout you hit in the park from the b-roll footage!
3:00 Ok Alex I am very impressed your physique is sick. Natural Super saiyan.
My ass can only bench 165 x 4, holding my breath throughout the entire set and using optimal leg drive after 1 year of lifting. During that year the Benchpress has always been my priority and be the first exercise of all my workouts. I went hard, and by hard I mean HARD, there were periods where I'd get a spotter for each set, so I could fail safely and the amount of times I was stuck under the bar / had to do the roll of shame are also double-digits. I gained 25lb over the span of 5 months, August - January and added a total of 12lbs to my bench during that time. I slept 9 - 12 hours per night and also tried up to 4 rest days between sessions to rule out overtraining (originally started at 1 rest days, benching 3 times per week), nothing made a difference. Also, when I went to 3+ rest days between sessions, my chest would always be sore af the day after, so I was effectively hitting the main mover.
I'd blame genetics if I hadn't put on an inch of size to my arms in just 2 months (October - December) when I started doing my Skull Crushers and Curls at home instead of at the end of my workout. They only grew .7 inches before despite doing Dips, Chin-ups, Barbell Curls and EZ-Bar Skull Crushers 2-3 times a week for 8 months, guess it was all junk volume despite giving it my all, just like with the benchpress.
I had to take a hard look at myself last year with that first one😂 “why you doing chest supported rows to spare your lower back? You have no lower back!”
Great video thank you Alex have a nice day
Dude yeah! When i moved my focus from the compounds and added more shoulder, tricep, bicep isolation, my arms exploded! Still do squats, bench dl but not just minimalist.
The funny thing is that part of being a novice is not wanting to admit to yourself that you’re a novice. Most people at my gym can do 2-3 cheated overhand pull ups max, bench 110-140 for reps and can’t even RDL 225, let alone squat it, yet if I asked them I’m pretty sure they’d say they were intermediates.
I truly didn't know I needed this video. Thank you brother
Hope a lot of people get to see this. It took me a while of searching and training to realize that bodybuilding is actually simple. At least until elite level but most don't get there anyway. Great video as always, take care Alex.
Alex, your physique is fucking beautiful. Unbelievable how you've constantly gotten better and better and better after all this time.
Nice smooth form on those burpees, Alex.
You can physically see the change in Alex’s physique year to year. Dude is making progress nonstop W
Busting out those Iron Wolf burpees there Alex! Great for cardio and muscle...and soul!
i've been in the same program, for like a couple of months. 2x a week dips and pull ups, started with 3x8 with 20 kg dips and 3x4 with 20 kg pull up, today i hit 5x8 reps with 40kg dips and 5x4 pull ups with 40kg. When i reach a certain amount of weight for 5 reps for pull ups and 10 reps for dips, i add 10 kg and go back to 3x3. it works well, and today i am with 81 kg, literally banging half of my bodyweight for reps in pull ups, not shredded, most likely 15% bodyfat.
Stick to a plan that works and it will do wonders for you.
Great content 💪🏼
Saw a novice in the gym teaching another novice what he called pulse reps for squats (basically 1 & 1/2 rep). Bro could not even squat 185 for reps properly. Wish they would find and learn from your channel.
videos turn into anatomy lessons when alex is shredded, crazy definition
AHAHAHAHAHA, What you said at 10:18 to 11:15 is legit what i've been told to my gymbros after i joined a commercial gym this year, i'm literally you, telling them that 80% of the guys doing one arm pulldown and "feel the muscle brah" type of BS are almost always the small guys, love it, perfect.
Dude I ocassionally watch your videos and I must say you evolved into epitome of what most people hope to become when they start lifting. Unfortunately many don't get that it actually takes extraordinary effort. And other use cheat code chemicals to get to endgame right away.
Thank you Filip, at the end of the day our muscles are for life. Roiders are borrowed, so their save files will eventually get corrupted.
More great content, man is on fire. Just watched the RP video, great work mate.
Thank you Alex ALOT. Your a Father of Iron to me. Always teaching me the right ways
i just recently found you, searching for forearm workouts, as i'm an aspiring armwrestler.
i was real excited to do the wide fat grip pullups.... i could only get 4.... ha! looks like i'm going to need some more basic work before i'm repping those. I was pretty surprised. I wouldn't consider myself above novice, but, I've got 16" upper arms and 13.5" forearms. i'm one-arm-rowing over 100#, so, I'm not exactly frail. But, damn, I can't hit those.
thanks for your content, man! i'm a 40-year-old natural 160#er, and what you've done is incredibly inspiring.
spot on with the first point. Absolute load concerns for a lift should only be a worry when they put undue recovery constraints for neurological, connective/tendon/ligament tissues. This is only a consideration when the neural pattern for strenght has ben so fucking honed in for a movement that your fiber recruitment is extremely efficient (hardly a conocern for novices), and the tendons and supporting structures have been strenghtened until their cap. So yes 1000000% with you here
Alex I want to get your thoughts on this new routine I plan on doing. I'm taking a high frequency, high specificity, high intensity approach to training my squat, bench and deadlift
Workout (Done 4x a week)
A. Squat
B. Bench
C. SPEED Deadlift
(2-3 Optional Assistance exercises for weak point training, 2-3x10-12)
Percentages for Squat & Bench
Week 1:
Day 1 & 4: 5x2 @ 80%
Day 2 & 5: 5x2 @ 70%
Week 2:
Day 1 & 4: 5x2 @ 85%
Day 2 & 5: 5x2 @ 75%
Week 3:
Day 1 & 4: 5x2 @ 85%
Day 2 & 5: 5x2 @ 75%
Weeks 4-6: Same as Weeks 1-3 but with heavier weight
For SPEED Deadlift: WEIGHTS CAN EITHER BE LOWERED BY 10% AND/OR KEPT THE SAME BUT WITH A REVERSE BAND
Thank you for getting me in the right mindset
Cardio is essential. I’m the strongest person on my university course out of 35 ish athletic individuals yet my vo2 max is one of the lowest. Conditioning is crucial I think walking and LISS cardio is good for fat burning and cardio. But 2-3x a week lifters need moderate-high intense cardio to improve their fitness. Sprinting uphill is good for fitness and cardio
For the algorithm
Great Video Alex!
Preciate you max!
Mannnn this really helping me put man. real shit! Keep up the content an mass gaining.
Exactly! Man I've seen beginners trying to put icing on the cake, even though there is no cake to begin with. They have no muscle foundation whatsoever, yet they're occupying the Cable Machine doing low to high cable flyes. Trying to work the upper chest, even though they have no chest to begin with. Just start with push-ups. Studies show that for absolute beginners, a properly performed push-up actually generates the MOST chest activation compared to ALL other exercises.
You're absolutely THE inspiration for natty lifters everywhere. Love you dude, keep showing what's possible without being a drug addict.
Alex, you’ve built an amazing natural physique, for real. You are approaching natural bodybuilding champ status. I think you would win bb shows for sure. I’d be curious to see you compete, but I know that lifting is what you live, not competing in bb shows. Great work, brother. 🏆
4:41 onwards ruclips.net/video/Igup5gRGrWY/видео.html&t
Glad I found this channel before I started lifting properly
Do one of these but for intermediates brother. Love your videos always very insightful
Speaking facts my man, speaking facts
This a is a great video, correlates well with me, I did your novice program for a year back in 16 got intermediate numbers 320,375,425 before moving on to something else, super easy program that I stuck to that worked. And I thank you greatly for it cuz I got yoked. My buddy kept doing more "advanced" forms and never broke 225 Bench goes to show novice syndrome can catch anyone!
I made my own full body wornout, can I send it to you, and you can tell me if it'll work?
I just want to jump in and say a huge mistake I made was spending too much time in a novice program. I was running stronglifts 5x5 for only 4 months and kept stalling at 235 on squats. I felt super run down after each workout and felt a lot of overuse, but thought I needed to stick to the novice program because I didnt hit 315 yet and felt like 4 months was not enough time as a novice. But once I changed to 531, I immediately overcame the plateau (now at 315x5 and easily still going up from here) and feel excellent after each workout.
I can squat 255 for 8 reps at 140 pounds do you think I'm still novice?
did you switch to 3x5 then 3x3 then 1x5 like the program says or stick with 5x5?
My go-to no bs fitness channel
Love the brutal honesty 👌
Man, This is something i realised very recently. I am pushing really hard and yet i recover in 24 hours. like I am just not strong enough to wreck myself. Like Deadlift is one place where i am strong so i cant do a lot of it as it wrecks me. But bench or squats i could just do them every other day and be okay cause i am just not strong enough.
I know this is diet related, but I know so many people who are stuck as novice because they’re afraid to gain weight and fat. At some point you will have to gain weight to continue getting stronger.
17:00 Man I've been a lazy mf by skipping cardio 😂, felt called out in that part and that's good! It's time to do cardio again like it or not
Haha let's get it Leon, just gotta find a cardio form that works for you!
Well said 🔥💪🏻
My lifting journey became really better than before by the time I started watching your videos, geoffrey, NH, basement bb guy and the whole natty community.