There are other naturals who have been on RUclips as long as him, but i feel like he’s the only one who kept going hard the entire time. Some of the other OGs of RUclips fitness either stopped making videos, or stopped going as hard on their training.
@@johnfoster8643 Alan Thrall went pretty freaking far, but he could probably have gone even farther. Still pretty impressive guy, though I think Alex' deadlift is heavier than his.
@@TheBcoolGuy Yea he did. Of course his goals have evolved over the years, and they’re not necessarily the same as Alex’s, so it hard to compare. He evolved from a serious powerlifter, to a strongman/general fitness guy. But he’s a great guy to take advice from too. Him and Alex are both trustworthy guys, and they don’t look at things in black and white. They don’t make blanket statements like “if you don’t deadlift 600 lbs, you suck”. They realize that the way you should train depends what your goals are.
I can physically feel my nutrition (or lack thereof) during my lifts. The difference between a good workout and a bad workout is a few dozen grams of carbs and protein.
increased my bicep curl from 22kg to 38kg in a week of bulking now, is it possible I actually gained real strength in a single week? sure. Nearly doubling it? no. I was just underfed and undertraining
@@feferson492 Make sure you're not progressively cheating, too. One way to ensure this is to include strict curls as a variation (standing against a wall or pillar, feet no more than 30cm away from it, butt and upper back touching the wall at all times)
The most important thing to ascend from intermediate to advanced/elite is the ability to self coach imo. Knowing the ins and outs of programming, nutrition, recovery etc. and being able to apply the right changes at the right time in your training career. Especially for strength, coaching your own lifting technique is very difficult and takes time.
ppl who are advanced train (and eat) based on intuition. there is no such thing as a 'structure' - sorry to burst your bubble folks. But if you wanna reach elite tier, get ready to trial and experiement with your body to see what works for YOU.
As an intermediete I realised that I've been 85kg BW for nearly 3 years now. A bulk is what I need and thats exactly what I've just started doing. Thank you Alex for your efforts in educating us
Had the same problem here. Was constantly around 160lbs (72.5kg) for years. Bulked from my lowest at 157lbs (71kg) up to 191lbs (86.5kg), and just finished a cut down to 170lbs (77kg), leaner and heavier than I was at my lowest
@@OmarsGym Tbh I didn’t track the bulk, I was just focusing on eating 5x a day. Not the smartest way to do it as I had multiple weight gain plateaus when I would lose motivation and accountability to eat, but it lasted about a year. Then I cut for 4 months, now tracking macros and eating about 2,500 calories per day. For this next bulk I plan on continuing to track my macros but eating about 3,500 calories per day for 8-9 months
@@Sbarrett1 how tall are you? interested as you were pretty much the same as me, ive bounced around 72-74 for years, due to calorie inconsistency, and want to bulk up. how long did it take also?
My biggest intermediate mistake has been losing the battle to my ego with each new milestone. Once I was able to finally bench 3 plates, and deadlift 5, i was so proud of being able to, I did not bump the weight back down and train with a weight that would have been most effective for me. All it earned me was a couple of high fives and a brutally long and discouraging plateau.
Respectfully, I think with a 3 plate bench and 5 plate deadlift, you could consider yourself advanced. I feel like the intermediate range is more like a 225-275 bench, 315-365 squat, and 405-455 deadlift.
Been lifting for a year and 1 month and I can't bench two plates 😢😢. My max is 95 Kgs (I don't know what's that in pounds). Now I have prioritized bench press three times a week, I must lift two plates in the next three months. I have gained a sizable amount of muscle though, but I'm not as strong as I look, which 💯 sucks.
@@brendan638 there aren't really numbers associated with different levels. Intermediate is the level at which you can still make linear progress but with need for some added complexity like variations . It also might take a couple a couple of sessions to progress instead of progressing every session. Advanced is like, you have to have every one of your ducks in a row or you won't make gains. You also might only make progress once every few month. Being advanced sucks. I got to a 4 plate bench pretty linearly, with minimal complexity. For some people, intermediate level is represented by high numbers.
Alex and his probably saved many people by implenting videos like these, the realist natural lifting mindset without the ego is the ideal mentality, people understimate what they can do in 2 decades and overestimate what they can do in a year and this is one of the reason they stay in the intermediate purgatory
Ha, I've said this to other people except the novice version - most people overestimate what they can do in a month and underestimate what they can do in a year.
I appreciate that you make content often, while keeping the educational value high. A lot of creators resort to bullshit/drama territory because there's only so much you can talk about, and I can't fully blame them because the way the algorithm works incentivizes that. I just wanted to say I find it really impressive, the effort shows man.
@@AlexLeonidas How do you do this? It seems like you always have something to discuss. I think you mentioned recently you were gonna try to read like 50 fitness books this year or something like that so I’m guessing you get some inspiration from that?
Not bulking was my biggest mistake for a couple of years. I always mention to people that I should be way bigger given how long I've been lifting, had I only decided to do periods of lean bulks instead of maintaining leanness & getting leaner.
Im lean as fuck naturally. Im lifting and getting leaner. Bro, I just want some weight. Bulking is HARD for me. Wish I could eat meals like I hit the weights. Obviously, ALL I need to do is eat more. Easy to say. So very easy to say
bulking is useless, muscle gain is very slow anyway and can be achieved at maintaince or deficit just don't ever go above 15% be patient you don't need to bulk
I built my base solely with calisthenics so adding in hip hinges, barbell squats and some shoulder and tricep isolation really made a massive difference in correcting weaknesses
I did this exact thing. Couldn't accept I'd hit the intermediate stage because the numbers I could lift still seemed low to me. Finally said screw it and started doing a more Conjugate style after watching your vids and progress started back up!
I feel you on that! One of my regrets is that I didn't start conjugate sooner, would have had my 405 bench some years earlier. Would've done it the MOMENT I hit intermediate. Glad you realized this early on.
Definitely want a part two! Biggest mistake is not listening to your body. I set myself back a lot running bro splits. It didn’t fit my free time and instead of realizing this I tried to force it. Push pull legs was a god send. Now I hit everything twice a week in the time I would work almost all my muscle groups. You got to be honest with yourself.
So many of us are intermediates, so this video will be perfect for us. Look forward to watching and learning from these tips. From my experience the biggest shift in mindset is that to get further gains, we just need to be more patient than we're used to. This is a game of patience we're playing, there is no rushing things.
well this patience mindset applies whether youre an advanced natty or juicer. you think ppl at the top of Mr O are making big gains? nope they barely gain 1-2lbs of stage weight, if at all.
Agreed. I spent a whole 18 months modifying and refining my program, but I wasn't eating right/enough. So while the work I did to improve my program worked, and I did make gains all along, now I'm bulking and I'm already noticing massive improvements within a month.
A few things that I did in my 4th year of training to see the best results of my life. 1) did a slow , big bulk. 115 to 167 2) changed programming from powerlifting to power building to Push pull legs to Pull push legs to arms & quads specific programming. Did this in the span of a year and a half. 3) Added two sessions per day
Your beginning physique at 9:22 was my freaking lifelong goal. U look so good dude. It blows my mind to think that i have even MORE potential than that. After watching you for these past few months i dont think i believe in a “natural limit” anymore
There is a limit, but most give up thinking they reached their “limit” in reality progress will still come just very slow, like 2-4 pounds of muscle a year, it will be hard to notice until a year or two passes, that’s how slow it is. So you gotta keep bulking and cutting nonestop for years I’m guessing
I think year-round consistency is a huge problem for many intermediates. Plateaus or even slight regression will cause a loss of the underlying motivation to work out, leading many intermediates to take breaks or have seasons of very inconsistent training multiple times a year - only to hop back on the same program, make surprising progress for a few weeks (because they have slacked off and lost some prior), and then eventually hit another speed bump after two months or so.
Hey Alex. Please make a part 2 explaining more details on what to do after reaching the Intermediate stage. What are the main changes going from a linear progression program into an intermediatte specialized program, And in general how to get from Intermediate into the Advanced stage (example from 225 bench to 315). That would be awesome thank you!
Alex! I’ve followed the channel for several years, thanks for everything. I fell into the intermediate trap specifically with hypertrophy training, chasing quality volume, different modalities, meals on point, etc. the one thing I was missing for over a year is focusing on getting stronger. I noticed after a year-long bulk then a cut that I was not notably stronger or bigger. I realized fairly recently that in order for me to get bigger I must run a strength oriented program. Then I’ll be hitting my old 5RM for 3 x 9 or 10. I forgot the most basic principle that size is only a by product of strength and although I can get bigger without getting stronger it has a limit. I hope it makes sense to y’all. Thanks!
@@AlexLeonidas Your confidence has grown, and you honed your presentation skill of subjects covered. Quick related story regarding bulking / diet: I was talking to a young guy, who is working out and wants to get bigger. He knew he had to eat more / get more protein in his diet. I suggested chic pea flour for a source of protein. He then told me "I am a picky eater". OK dude, Good luck.
i’m definitely stuck on a few plateaus but progressing slowly on other lifts. and honestly, i really don’t care! i love the process and always excited to learn how to level up over time.
Learning about the Heavy-Light-Medium concept finally got me moving ahead. I think the issue was that there's not a widespread understanding of the difference between beginner, intermediate and advanced training. So it took some time to understand what was appropriate for my training.
This is a pretty great video. I didnt know why ive been on a plateau for so long now. Probably 2 years which is embarassing, ive even gotten worse for health reasons. Everything you said in this video rang so clear to where im at. Thanks bro
I needed this bad Alex. Im dieting down for my first contest. Even tho everybody was very surprised when i first started the gym. I pcled a shit ton of more muscle compared to the other begginers. Even a coach asked me if i was on anything because my progress was rapid as hell. For 5+ months I've seen barelu any results if any. After my diet we are bulking hard, i will also be primed for growth after that strict diet. Thank you so much bro. I have to accept where i am right now.
Such a good point about the renowned message in the fitness community about “maingaining” or lean bulking, as if you shouldn’t expect to put on any fat in a bulk. I’ve been bulking the last 6 months and have experienced the best gains of my life, with the last 2 years being focussed on trying to be lean
Agree with so much you said here man; listen to your body, don't follow programs inapropriate for your specific needs, don't always chose the shortest road. Because sometimes, there's simply more work to be done.
looking at that old video of alex is crazy, seeing that you can continue to progress that far is mental, seriously impressive when you look at the before and afters
Man you are becoming my favorite fitness RUclipsr, next to GVS. Pure golden nuggets. It’s like your preaching to the choir brother… so many of us can attest to the bulk being the way. Going “bear mode” made me a fucking tank. Also incorporating arm specialization helped a ton. I’m .5 inches away from 17s 😩😩
Thank you Alex. Definitely would like a follow up on this. I'm an intermediate lifter, had to drop down to basics as did step into that ego lifting in my 2nd year. Now I'm forcused on progressive overload with the correct form as possible, & time under tension doing 8-12 reps per set. My trainjng programme is push, pull, legs, but now tweak it with for focus on my lagging ares like arms & shoulders
As a physio, I support this message. Very simple: find your weakest link, fix it. Find muscles, that are weak, find components of your ROM that are limited, and improve on them. It's not rocket science, but the challenge is it's often hard to see what our weak links are (that's where people like me come in), and it's also not a lot of fun to train our weaknesses, it's a lot more fun to do the things were best at, but you WILL plateau with that method before long. I know it was fun to watch your bench go up and up, but now you need to hit the weak points, so thag when you beef them up, you will establish a foundation so when you circle back to hitting bench hard again, it will magically start to increase.
this talk reminded me of how someone explained newbies gains as a rubber band, when you first start you're far away from your genetic potential for lean mass (so rubber band with a lot of tension) so you'll very quickly make gains but the closer you get to the genetic potential the slower the gains get made
alex its the first time I comment on a youtube video but iv been following you for 7 years now and you are still growing and sharing fire content with us. thank you
Plateaus suck, been stuck with weak triceps. I felt like I tried everything I could, dips, bench press, isolating them, high volume, low volume. In 15 months of training my tricep extension went up by 10% while my curl went up by 90%. Only recently have I been able to adjust it (by what it feels like overtraining (35 sets a week + drop/rest-pause sets).
I lost strenth when i did my cut .now im going on a hard bulk soon ...just no tha iv allway bin lean/ripped all year rond ...then i did my first ever bulk ....and iv only just finished my first ever cut its bin a huge learning experience
u r so underrated man , most related fitness guy on you tube , as a intermediate lifter i try new things and focusing on weak points and i can say it is 100% true and effective when u hit the plateau 👌
Thank you for the reminder Alex. Your advice is honestly the best because you are natural and have the experience and you have tried everything yourself. Most people just want to sell something instead of telling the truth. Excited too se your videos about HIT style training / lower volume training you have done recently.
Currently in Intermediate hell and definitely needed this video. I have glaring weak points and my progress is slowing down substantially, gotta get dialed in!
Great advice Alex and a part 2 would be really helpful. I think I've probably fallen into the intermediate trap myself in the last couple of years. Been stuck for over a year now around a 270kg deadlift, 220 squat, 130 Bench (😭). During Covid, I ran a Heavy Light, Upper Lower, which was basically just 531 on heavy days and 3 week waves of 3,4 then 5 sets on the light days. Saw fantastic gains from it but because they were so good, I've stubbornly stuck to that program ever since. It also doesn't help that I'm around 105kg at the moment, trying to get down to the mid-high 90s.
Yes part 2 is a must! Most common mistake imo is not focusing on progressive overload on isolation exercises. People complain about having small arms yet curl the same weight, same reps ect for 6 months. Or just doing fluff and pump not even keeping track of the weight you curl or pushdown
Yes! On the part two question. I consider myself an early intermediate if I'm honest and take my ego out of it. Been a few years now and maybe 1 year of real smart effective disciplined training all around the board. Always learning. But there is always that lingering doubt in the back of my mind as a proud natural guy whose passion for this makes the sacrifices easy to make and I enjoy tracking calories, Journaling my workouts, studying the movements and learning, etc. Coming to the end of a recent meso cycle of a program I built over about a year and finally decided to run it. I'm in week 5 now and in two weeks will be getting a body composition scan to see a realistic idea of where I'm at. Because the mirror tends to lie especially when the industry floods my mind with fake natty physiques and stuff. Anyways. After I finish this meso and get scanned. I will be at a crossroads between a mini cut. Or a bulk season. And programming will slightly varie depending on the bf and how much of a window I have left on the scale if any. Love the content and information as always.
Its crazy cause right before the vid started I said to myself "Im not an intermediate lifter tho I think I'm still a beginner" and the first sentence in the video just slapped me.
I'm 3 ½ years in, I'm a bit over 1/2/3/4 overall, squats a tad under, and I am very aware of my weaknesses. I've way underdeveloped my right shoulder, bicep, and tricep compared to the left side, might be the case for the back too, is certainly the case for my rear delt, and I've got some stuff that's lagging overall. Triceps (I'm way pec dominant), lats, I suppose biceps as well. I've addressed these things in my new bulking routine, but of course I will adjust my training to suit my needs better as I try things out and see how they go. Gonna do more accessory work than before. I need to just achieve a lot of hypertrophy. It'll be great. I'm gonna start bulking again soon. I'm down to 15% bodyfat. Wanna go just a bit further.
Listening to your body and not being scared to add to your program is the best advice for intermidiates. Not very related to the lagging muscles but I broke my pull-up plateau by warming up my elbows with tricep pushdowns. It sounds silly to do on a pull day, but it helped reduce pain and increase performance.
One of my favorite experiences of following you and the other great guys on here is how coincidentally your videos match up with my own experiences, like it’s divine messages. Every time I make a realization of my own, you or BOM make a video about that same subject and affirm it for me, like a pat on the back to keep pushing ahead to catch up with ya’ll. Good ass feeling man, thanks for it
Yeah. Side shoulders(the thing that grows cause of lateral raises), biceps are trash so focusing on them. Back is ok but also needs work. These are my focuses now.
This is so facts! I thought my bench was advanced at 280 because I wasn’t making any progress. I’ve just realised that it is still intermediate and now when i’ve started an intermediate bench program it has started rising again, shocking right💀. Other than that, great video! I want to see more program tips. If you could rank your favourite programs for intermediates and advanced and give your opinion on them that would also be cool to see
To me the true level up was defnitely using the bulking and cutting method, in my third true cut/bulk and as i measure and check things my strenght continues to go up and my size is getting bigger. Ive added rings in my work outs and it has truly increased my strenght. You hold gems that come from true experience, legit alot of this stuff is true, i dont think im fully out of intermediate because I dont have a means to measure my strenght, but outside of a 100lb pull up at 175lbs, achieving a front lever which isnt so great looking and gettng closer to the planche, whatever im doing its working lol. Eating right, progressively overloading, bulking and cutting, sleeping right, and changing certain workouts to make them harder with less weight, it all works man! I do want to say gains are slower but honestly thats normal and if i did what i did before for 2 years which was eat at maint id be taking even longer. Bulking and cutting is like our true method to make things better, gains gotten slower but ever bit means more and more. Imma need that part 2 and i think a huge intermediate mistake is not utilizing a bulking and cutting phase and not using their best tool, nutrition.
Jezzzz, i needed this man, I've achieved a decent physique in 2 years but I never took my arms seriously and always knew it, since the beginning of my training career ,that it would be my worst bodypart by far, gladly I did my first arm day last Saturday. Getting huge arms is my priority this year and also a huge upper back 'cause my lats are enormous but I lack thickness. Btw, part 2 would be great!
Would love a part 2. A common int. lifter mistake I remember doing a lot was never experimenting with different rep ranges or tempos on exercises and rather than do that look for a "better" alternative. In addition to not playing with different rep ranges, is failing to notate my resistance on exercises on a week to week basis, failing to realize at some point I'm just using a "maintenance load" than the desired "growth load".
"bulk or stay intermediate longer than expected." This hits hard... I'm bulking since 4 months and slowly getting in an for me "uncomfortable" percentage of bodyfat (losing abs and my perceptionof aesthetics) but I want to get stronger and pack on some serious muscles. I've been training over 5 years on and off and always wanted to look aesthetic. That meant when my bodyfat got a little too high after 3 months of bulk I immediately went into a cut. Now I try to stay in a real bulk for 1 year + maybe with a 4 week minicut but not longer...I'm 5'7 currently 170ish bulking and when you, Alex, with 5'5 pushed your weight to 180 that means you really went hard on your bulk. We may have different proportions but I see that I'm far, far away from getting an advanced to elite lifter. Only my deadlift is advanced level, my bench sucks (so is my chest) and my squat is intermediate. I have terrible biceps genetics and hardly grow them...thanks for giving motivation, share your knowledge and experiences and your advice. You're one of my idols and the saviour of natural lifters and also a reason for me to not hop on gear because progress is slow
Made great gains doing 5x5s and other beginner programs. Hit some great numbers 410/275/505 then at some point all the programs stopped working. Hit plateaus constantly. Didn't make any gains for years listening to people say "Just keep squat, benching, and DL'ing" - and I'm sure it worked for some gifted lifters where almost anything worked, but for me the two keys were 1) proximity to failure and 2) admitting to myself I'm not a powerlifter and 1RM isn't everything. Spamming a handful of lifts just didn't work for me after a while. S/B/D is great don't get me wrong, but if I'm not competing and I want different physical attributes - then why do only those 3 lifts in that way above everything?
yo Alex, a few months ago you made a video aboutt "building your deadlift with bad leverages". Would love to see one about building your bench with bad leverages. love the work youre putting in to grow the natural community.
ive actually been in novice purgatory for a few years because i didnt eat enough , and a rotator cuff injury put me out for a year, but now since ive been bulking and starting to become an intermediate, im hoping that bejng stuck at novice for so long will help me progress thru intermediate
I needed to hear that years ago on my second year of lifting i plateaued for 3 years i haven't gained any strength or size i started looking for solutions researching about programming no thing worked for me until i decided to bulk and then finally i started to see results real measurable gains
loved the dark souls analogy. One thing I didnt realize as a became more advanced is how as I got stronger, my MRV would actually go down with the big lifts (mostly underestimating the amount of stress heavy deadlifts have on my body) and I was seeing the same recurring injury as a result. I've since learned the importance of implementing deload weeks. Love the content btw keep it up! Also I would very much love to see a part 2!
When I was a novice, it was quarantine, and so I started working out with calisthenics. Therefore, it had the advantage that I needed to use every resource available for me to make gains. I had the notion that you naturally need to progress in some way to make gains, and I'm also a big eater with 20%+ bodyfat, so that was also covered. My foundation is so eclectic, having to experiment to find the best methods in a limited environment, that funnily enough the only things that changed now that I'm an intermediate are frequency, volume and a having stable exercise selection with the time proven bangers, which are things that the Noble natties helped me refine. Right now, I'm just excited to follow the process and see what is next!
it's terrible when your program that was working stops, it is like a job you had to quit, you want to go back cause it was safe and it used to work for you, but progress moves forward. Change come with change.
I agree but you could also try to have different goals. Try getting faster, jumping higher, taking up a sport etc unless you’re bodybuilding there aren’t many perks to continuing to try and put on size also you don’t need to neglect one to do the other
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Seeing how far Alex has come is incredible. Literally might be the only heavily documented example of a true elite natural in both strength and size.
Much love Wayfarer!!
There are other naturals who have been on RUclips as long as him, but i feel like he’s the only one who kept going hard the entire time. Some of the other OGs of RUclips fitness either stopped making videos, or stopped going as hard on their training.
@@johnfoster8643 Alan Thrall went pretty freaking far, but he could probably have gone even farther. Still pretty impressive guy, though I think Alex' deadlift is heavier than his.
@@TheBcoolGuy Yea he did. Of course his goals have evolved over the years, and they’re not necessarily the same as Alex’s, so it hard to compare. He evolved from a serious powerlifter, to a strongman/general fitness guy. But he’s a great guy to take advice from too. Him and Alex are both trustworthy guys, and they don’t look at things in black and white. They don’t make blanket statements like “if you don’t deadlift 600 lbs, you suck”. They realize that the way you should train depends what your goals are.
@@johnfoster8643 zack telander. obviously different goals but his progress was insane over the years
I can physically feel my nutrition (or lack thereof) during my lifts.
The difference between a good workout and a bad workout is a few dozen grams of carbs and protein.
Literally, and it can happen within a couple days of not eating right.
@AlexLeonidas that's what is so fascinating, the delay. You are what you eat (last week).
@@SamSung-jn5fidamn I needed to here this
increased my bicep curl from 22kg to 38kg in a week of bulking
now, is it possible I actually gained real strength in a single week? sure. Nearly doubling it? no. I was just underfed and undertraining
@@feferson492 Make sure you're not progressively cheating, too. One way to ensure this is to include strict curls as a variation (standing against a wall or pillar, feet no more than 30cm away from it, butt and upper back touching the wall at all times)
The most important thing to ascend from intermediate to advanced/elite is the ability to self coach imo. Knowing the ins and outs of programming, nutrition, recovery etc. and being able to apply the right changes at the right time in your training career. Especially for strength, coaching your own lifting technique is very difficult and takes time.
ppl who are advanced train (and eat) based on intuition. there is no such thing as a 'structure' - sorry to burst your bubble folks.
But if you wanna reach elite tier, get ready to trial and experiement with your body to see what works for YOU.
That's the ultimate sign, being able to self coach at a high level!
@@user-kg1od9es5d 100% bro
As an intermediete I realised that I've been 85kg BW for nearly 3 years now. A bulk is what I need and thats exactly what I've just started doing. Thank you Alex for your efforts in educating us
You got a lot of potential, Omar. Let's get these new gains!!
Had the same problem here. Was constantly around 160lbs (72.5kg) for years. Bulked from my lowest at 157lbs (71kg) up to 191lbs (86.5kg), and just finished a cut down to 170lbs (77kg), leaner and heavier than I was at my lowest
@@Sbarrett1 good man. How long was the bulk and on how many calories
@@OmarsGym Tbh I didn’t track the bulk, I was just focusing on eating 5x a day. Not the smartest way to do it as I had multiple weight gain plateaus when I would lose motivation and accountability to eat, but it lasted about a year. Then I cut for 4 months, now tracking macros and eating about 2,500 calories per day. For this next bulk I plan on continuing to track my macros but eating about 3,500 calories per day for 8-9 months
@@Sbarrett1 how tall are you? interested as you were pretty much the same as me, ive bounced around 72-74 for years, due to calorie inconsistency, and want to bulk up. how long did it take also?
Our Spartan of the 21st century, thank you Alex
Part 2 please Alex. I’ve been watching since 2017, as a 5’2” guy you gave me hope! I love seeing every accomplishment you’ve hit. Don’t stop
based and dwarfpilled
@@dddd-oq2oy LMAO
Part 2 please! I can’t wait!
@@dddd-oq2oy 5x5 Rune Crafting
My biggest intermediate mistake has been losing the battle to my ego with each new milestone. Once I was able to finally bench 3 plates, and deadlift 5, i was so proud of being able to, I did not bump the weight back down and train with a weight that would have been most effective for me. All it earned me was a couple of high fives and a brutally long and discouraging plateau.
Or he's just strong, sir
Respectfully, I think with a 3 plate bench and 5 plate deadlift, you could consider yourself advanced. I feel like the intermediate range is more like a 225-275 bench, 315-365 squat, and 405-455 deadlift.
Been lifting for a year and 1 month and I can't bench two plates 😢😢. My max is 95 Kgs (I don't know what's that in pounds). Now I have prioritized bench press three times a week, I must lift two plates in the next three months. I have gained a sizable amount of muscle though, but I'm not as strong as I look, which 💯 sucks.
@@DesmondKarani you might benefit from switching up the weight and rep range. Look into either lower or higher rep work depending on what you do now.
@@brendan638 there aren't really numbers associated with different levels. Intermediate is the level at which you can still make linear progress but with need for some added complexity like variations . It also might take a couple a couple of sessions to progress instead of progressing every session. Advanced is like, you have to have every one of your ducks in a row or you won't make gains. You also might only make progress once every few month. Being advanced sucks. I got to a 4 plate bench pretty linearly, with minimal complexity. For some people, intermediate level is represented by high numbers.
Alex and his probably saved many people by implenting videos like these, the realist natural lifting mindset without the ego is the ideal mentality, people understimate what they can do in 2 decades and overestimate what they can do in a year and this is one of the reason they stay in the intermediate purgatory
Ha, I've said this to other people except the novice version - most people overestimate what they can do in a month and underestimate what they can do in a year.
I appreciate that you make content often, while keeping the educational value high. A lot of creators resort to bullshit/drama territory because there's only so much you can talk about, and I can't fully blame them because the way the algorithm works incentivizes that. I just wanted to say I find it really impressive, the effort shows man.
Thank you, Kantum. It can be tough at times to constantly create new, informative content but I do my best and I'm glad guys like you appreciate it 💯
@@AlexLeonidas How do you do this? It seems like you always have something to discuss. I think you mentioned recently you were gonna try to read like 50 fitness books this year or something like that so I’m guessing you get some inspiration from that?
@@lewisstrongofficial Hes autistically fixated with picking up heavy things.
@@BeattapeFactory bruh
Not bulking was my biggest mistake for a couple of years. I always mention to people that I should be way bigger given how long I've been lifting, had I only decided to do periods of lean bulks instead of maintaining leanness & getting leaner.
Im lean as fuck naturally. Im lifting and getting leaner. Bro, I just want some weight. Bulking is HARD for me. Wish I could eat meals like I hit the weights. Obviously, ALL I need to do is eat more. Easy to say. So very easy to say
bulking is useless, muscle gain is very slow anyway and can be achieved at maintaince or deficit just don't ever go above 15% be patient you don't need to bulk
@@91matuch nah some people do need to eat more, a lot more
@@Un1-ju2pq right. Anytime I see people say this is crazy to me
@@91matuch HAHA NO, stupid damn teens
I built my base solely with calisthenics so adding in hip hinges, barbell squats and some shoulder and tricep isolation really made a massive difference in correcting weaknesses
Man I believe it!! Calisthenics with weight training accessories = a crazy physique
So true, entering intermediate zone is like a slap of reality, which separates those who are serious from amateurs ☠️
I did this exact thing. Couldn't accept I'd hit the intermediate stage because the numbers I could lift still seemed low to me. Finally said screw it and started doing a more Conjugate style after watching your vids and progress started back up!
I feel you on that! One of my regrets is that I didn't start conjugate sooner, would have had my 405 bench some years earlier. Would've done it the MOMENT I hit intermediate. Glad you realized this early on.
What's a conjugate style?
@@danielcorcoran5562 yea what is that
@@AlexLeonidas Any plans on providing a conjugate-style plan for intermediates, in a similar fashion to the naturally enhanced program?
@@danielcorcoran5562following in case anyone replies
definitely do a part 2 brother. appreciate the content.
12:11 That bench looks amazing! The rib expansion is maximised with the incline angle and the head not being in the way!
Fr
It's an old school moon bench!! The rib expansion is wayyyyyy more than a typical flat bench.
You’re that big bro every lifter needs. Raw facts and uncomfortable truth but necessary to hear.
Respect Alex.
Definitely want a part two! Biggest mistake is not listening to your body. I set myself back a lot running bro splits. It didn’t fit my free time and instead of realizing this I tried to force it. Push pull legs was a god send. Now I hit everything twice a week in the time I would work almost all my muscle groups. You got to be honest with yourself.
your channel has streamlined my fitness journey by dispelling all the bs and putting things in the right perspective given your experience.
So many of us are intermediates, so this video will be perfect for us. Look forward to watching and learning from these tips.
From my experience the biggest shift in mindset is that to get further gains, we just need to be more patient than we're used to. This is a game of patience we're playing, there is no rushing things.
True, also managing sleep and diet
well this patience mindset applies whether youre an advanced natty or juicer. you think ppl at the top of Mr O are making big gains? nope they barely gain 1-2lbs of stage weight, if at all.
Are we talking about lower volume or less increase in weight over time? Where should I start being patient?
Agreed. I spent a whole 18 months modifying and refining my program, but I wasn't eating right/enough. So while the work I did to improve my program worked, and I did make gains all along, now I'm bulking and I'm already noticing massive improvements within a month.
A few things that I did in my 4th year of training to see the best results of my life.
1) did a slow , big bulk. 115 to 167
2) changed programming from powerlifting to power building to Push pull legs to Pull push legs to arms & quads specific programming. Did this in the span of a year and a half.
3) Added two sessions per day
Love the changes!
Your beginning physique at 9:22 was my freaking lifelong goal. U look so good dude. It blows my mind to think that i have even MORE potential than that. After watching you for these past few months i dont think i believe in a “natural limit” anymore
There is a limit, but most give up thinking they reached their “limit” in reality progress will still come just very slow, like 2-4 pounds of muscle a year, it will be hard to notice until a year or two passes, that’s how slow it is. So you gotta keep bulking and cutting nonestop for years I’m guessing
honestly there's no way thats just1 year of training. lets be real
I think year-round consistency is a huge problem for many intermediates. Plateaus or even slight regression will cause a loss of the underlying motivation to work out, leading many intermediates to take breaks or have seasons of very inconsistent training multiple times a year - only to hop back on the same program, make surprising progress for a few weeks (because they have slacked off and lost some prior), and then eventually hit another speed bump after two months or so.
Hey Alex. Please make a part 2 explaining more details on what to do after reaching the Intermediate stage.
What are the main changes going from a linear progression program into an intermediatte specialized program,
And in general how to get from Intermediate into the Advanced stage (example from 225 bench to 315). That would be awesome thank you!
common mistake: thinking you can only work to progress in one rep range for a given exercise. WE WANT PART 2!
Alex! I’ve followed the channel for several years, thanks for everything.
I fell into the intermediate trap specifically with hypertrophy training, chasing quality volume, different modalities, meals on point, etc. the one thing I was missing for over a year is focusing on getting stronger. I noticed after a year-long bulk then a cut that I was not notably stronger or bigger. I realized fairly recently that in order for me to get bigger I must run a strength oriented program. Then I’ll be hitting my old 5RM for 3 x 9 or 10. I forgot the most basic principle that size is only a by product of strength and although I can get bigger without getting stronger it has a limit. I hope it makes sense to y’all. Thanks!
Alex, your channel and content has gotten better and better over the years. EXCELLENT.
Thank you Aden, doing my best!!
@@AlexLeonidas Your confidence has grown, and you honed your presentation skill of subjects covered. Quick related story regarding bulking / diet: I was talking to a young guy, who is working out and wants to get bigger. He knew he had to eat more / get more protein in his diet. I suggested chic pea flour for a source of protein. He then told me "I am a picky eater". OK dude, Good luck.
Been watching for over 5 years man, your kept it true and are a true natty king.
i’m definitely stuck on a few plateaus but progressing slowly on other lifts. and honestly, i really don’t care! i love the process and always excited to learn how to level up over time.
This isn’t about training your traps at all.
😂😂😂
Bruh 😂
Learning about the Heavy-Light-Medium concept finally got me moving ahead. I think the issue was that there's not a widespread understanding of the difference between beginner, intermediate and advanced training. So it took some time to understand what was appropriate for my training.
This is a pretty great video. I didnt know why ive been on a plateau for so long now. Probably 2 years which is embarassing, ive even gotten worse for health reasons. Everything you said in this video rang so clear to where im at. Thanks bro
I needed this bad Alex. Im dieting down for my first contest. Even tho everybody was very surprised when i first started the gym. I pcled a shit ton of more muscle compared to the other begginers. Even a coach asked me if i was on anything because my progress was rapid as hell. For 5+ months I've seen barelu any results if any. After my diet we are bulking hard, i will also be primed for growth after that strict diet. Thank you so much bro. I have to accept where i am right now.
Part 2 would be great, I think many of us here are likely intermediates thanks to you advice, so more tips would help us get to the elite stage ;)
It's nice to see how you have developed as a creator, and a writer. A+ monologue.
Such a good point about the renowned message in the fitness community about “maingaining” or lean bulking, as if you shouldn’t expect to put on any fat in a bulk. I’ve been bulking the last 6 months and have experienced the best gains of my life, with the last 2 years being focussed on trying to be lean
I'm really looking forward to your new program and hope it includes a novice version and a lot of weighted calisthenics!
Damn bro haven't watched your channel in forever. The evolution is real. Holy shit.
Agree with so much you said here man; listen to your body, don't follow programs inapropriate for your specific needs, don't always chose the shortest road. Because sometimes, there's simply more work to be done.
This is one of the more comprehensive “advice for intermediate” videos that’s been put on yt
looking at that old video of alex is crazy, seeing that you can continue to progress that far is mental, seriously impressive when you look at the before and afters
part 2 for sure bro. Every thin u say is the word of god bro
Man you are becoming my favorite fitness RUclipsr, next to GVS. Pure golden nuggets. It’s like your preaching to the choir brother… so many of us can attest to the bulk being the way. Going “bear mode” made me a fucking tank. Also incorporating arm specialization helped a ton. I’m .5 inches away from 17s 😩😩
Thanks for listening to the video recommendation. 😁
( Part 2 is always appreciated)
Part 2 would be much appreciated. Thank you!
Thank you Alex. Definitely would like a follow up on this. I'm an intermediate lifter, had to drop down to basics as did step into that ego lifting in my 2nd year. Now I'm forcused on progressive overload with the correct form as possible, & time under tension doing 8-12 reps per set. My trainjng programme is push, pull, legs, but now tweak it with for focus on my lagging ares like arms & shoulders
As a physio, I support this message.
Very simple: find your weakest link, fix it. Find muscles, that are weak, find components of your ROM that are limited, and improve on them. It's not rocket science, but the challenge is it's often hard to see what our weak links are (that's where people like me come in), and it's also not a lot of fun to train our weaknesses, it's a lot more fun to do the things were best at, but you WILL plateau with that method before long. I know it was fun to watch your bench go up and up, but now you need to hit the weak points, so thag when you beef them up, you will establish a foundation so when you circle back to hitting bench hard again, it will magically start to increase.
this talk reminded me of how someone explained newbies gains as a rubber band, when you first start you're far away from your genetic potential for lean mass (so rubber band with a lot of tension) so you'll very quickly make gains but the closer you get to the genetic potential the slower the gains get made
alex its the first time I comment on a youtube video but iv been following you for 7 years now and you are still growing and sharing fire content with us. thank you
Plateaus suck, been stuck with weak triceps. I felt like I tried everything I could, dips, bench press, isolating them, high volume, low volume. In 15 months of training my tricep extension went up by 10% while my curl went up by 90%. Only recently have I been able to adjust it (by what it feels like overtraining (35 sets a week + drop/rest-pause sets).
thats insane volume. I progress on all body parts at 8 to 12 sets per week. Something is seriously off
I lost strenth when i did my cut .now im going on a hard bulk soon ...just no tha iv allway bin lean/ripped all year rond ...then i did my first ever bulk ....and iv only just finished my first ever cut its bin a huge learning experience
Lol safety glasses with the chest expander. Good call though, the thought has crossed my mind more than once!
u r so underrated man , most related fitness guy on you tube , as a intermediate lifter i try new things and focusing on weak points and i can say it is 100% true and effective when u hit the plateau 👌
Thank you for the reminder Alex. Your advice is honestly the best because you are natural and have the experience and you have tried everything yourself. Most people just want to sell something instead of telling the truth.
Excited too se your videos about HIT style training / lower volume training you have done recently.
Currently in Intermediate hell and definitely needed this video. I have glaring weak points and my progress is slowing down substantially, gotta get dialed in!
Great advice Alex and a part 2 would be really helpful.
I think I've probably fallen into the intermediate trap myself in the last couple of years. Been stuck for over a year now around a 270kg deadlift, 220 squat, 130 Bench (😭).
During Covid, I ran a Heavy Light, Upper Lower, which was basically just 531 on heavy days and 3 week waves of 3,4 then 5 sets on the light days. Saw fantastic gains from it but because they were so good, I've stubbornly stuck to that program ever since. It also doesn't help that I'm around 105kg at the moment, trying to get down to the mid-high 90s.
Thank you. I felt so confused about what to do. You cleared a lot of things up.
Yes part 2 is a must! Most common mistake imo is not focusing on progressive overload on isolation exercises. People complain about having small arms yet curl the same weight, same reps ect for 6 months. Or just doing fluff and pump not even keeping track of the weight you curl or pushdown
Thoughts on this push day flat and incline dumbell press cable flyes triceps skull crusher push downs then lat raises
Please part 2, this was great info, thank you Alex!
Yes! On the part two question. I consider myself an early intermediate if I'm honest and take my ego out of it. Been a few years now and maybe 1 year of real smart effective disciplined training all around the board. Always learning. But there is always that lingering doubt in the back of my mind as a proud natural guy whose passion for this makes the sacrifices easy to make and I enjoy tracking calories, Journaling my workouts, studying the movements and learning, etc. Coming to the end of a recent meso cycle of a program I built over about a year and finally decided to run it. I'm in week 5 now and in two weeks will be getting a body composition scan to see a realistic idea of where I'm at. Because the mirror tends to lie especially when the industry floods my mind with fake natty physiques and stuff. Anyways. After I finish this meso and get scanned. I will be at a crossroads between a mini cut. Or a bulk season. And programming will slightly varie depending on the bf and how much of a window I have left on the scale if any. Love the content and information as always.
Part 2! And more Intermediate content bro!
Enjoying your NE program!
Its crazy cause right before the vid started I said to myself "Im not an intermediate lifter tho I think I'm still a beginner" and the first sentence in the video just slapped me.
I'm 3 ½ years in, I'm a bit over 1/2/3/4 overall, squats a tad under, and I am very aware of my weaknesses. I've way underdeveloped my right shoulder, bicep, and tricep compared to the left side, might be the case for the back too, is certainly the case for my rear delt, and I've got some stuff that's lagging overall. Triceps (I'm way pec dominant), lats, I suppose biceps as well. I've addressed these things in my new bulking routine, but of course I will adjust my training to suit my needs better as I try things out and see how they go. Gonna do more accessory work than before. I need to just achieve a lot of hypertrophy. It'll be great. I'm gonna start bulking again soon. I'm down to 15% bodyfat. Wanna go just a bit further.
The best natty channel out there if you wanna focus on actually growing fr
Listening to your body and not being scared to add to your program is the best advice for intermidiates. Not very related to the lagging muscles but I broke my pull-up plateau by warming up my elbows with tricep pushdowns. It sounds silly to do on a pull day, but it helped reduce pain and increase performance.
One of my favorite experiences of following you and the other great guys on here is how coincidentally your videos match up with my own experiences, like it’s divine messages. Every time I make a realization of my own, you or BOM make a video about that same subject and affirm it for me, like a pat on the back to keep pushing ahead to catch up with ya’ll. Good ass feeling man, thanks for it
Yeah. Side shoulders(the thing that grows cause of lateral raises), biceps are trash so focusing on them. Back is ok but also needs work. These are my focuses now.
This is so facts! I thought my bench was advanced at 280 because I wasn’t making any progress. I’ve just realised that it is still intermediate and now when i’ve started an intermediate bench program it has started rising again, shocking right💀.
Other than that, great video!
I want to see more program tips. If you could rank your favourite programs for intermediates and advanced and give your opinion on them that would also be cool to see
To me the true level up was defnitely using the bulking and cutting method, in my third true cut/bulk and as i measure and check things my strenght continues to go up and my size is getting bigger. Ive added rings in my work outs and it has truly increased my strenght. You hold gems that come from true experience, legit alot of this stuff is true, i dont think im fully out of intermediate because I dont have a means to measure my strenght, but outside of a 100lb pull up at 175lbs, achieving a front lever which isnt so great looking and gettng closer to the planche, whatever im doing its working lol.
Eating right, progressively overloading, bulking and cutting, sleeping right, and changing certain workouts to make them harder with less weight, it all works man!
I do want to say gains are slower but honestly thats normal and if i did what i did before for 2 years which was eat at maint id be taking even longer. Bulking and cutting is like our true method to make things better, gains gotten slower but ever bit means more and more.
Imma need that part 2 and i think a huge intermediate mistake is not utilizing a bulking and cutting phase and not using their best tool, nutrition.
Jezzzz, i needed this man, I've achieved a decent physique in 2 years but I never took my arms seriously and always knew it, since the beginning of my training career ,that it would be my worst bodypart by far, gladly I did my first arm day last Saturday. Getting huge arms is my priority this year and also a huge upper back 'cause my lats are enormous but I lack thickness. Btw, part 2 would be great!
I needed this pep talk Alex thanks
Would love a part 2. A common int. lifter mistake I remember doing a lot was never experimenting with different rep ranges or tempos on exercises and rather than do that look for a "better" alternative. In addition to not playing with different rep ranges, is failing to notate my resistance on exercises on a week to week basis, failing to realize at some point I'm just using a "maintenance load" than the desired "growth load".
"bulk or stay intermediate longer than expected."
This hits hard... I'm bulking since 4 months and slowly getting in an for me "uncomfortable" percentage of bodyfat (losing abs and my perceptionof aesthetics) but I want to get stronger and pack on some serious muscles. I've been training over 5 years on and off and always wanted to look aesthetic. That meant when my bodyfat got a little too high after 3 months of bulk I immediately went into a cut. Now I try to stay in a real bulk for 1 year + maybe with a 4 week minicut but not longer...I'm 5'7 currently 170ish bulking and when you, Alex, with 5'5 pushed your weight to 180 that means you really went hard on your bulk. We may have different proportions but I see that I'm far, far away from getting an advanced to elite lifter. Only my deadlift is advanced level, my bench sucks (so is my chest) and my squat is intermediate. I have terrible biceps genetics and hardly grow them...thanks for giving motivation, share your knowledge and experiences and your advice. You're one of my idols and the saviour of natural lifters and also a reason for me to not hop on gear because progress is slow
Your arms look great at this point !
Thank you Magnus!
Would really appreciate a part 2, going into specifics on intermediate programming. Great video by the way💪🏻
Need that part 2 boss
Great video! Looking forward to seeing part 2.
Made great gains doing 5x5s and other beginner programs. Hit some great numbers 410/275/505 then at some point all the programs stopped working. Hit plateaus constantly. Didn't make any gains for years listening to people say "Just keep squat, benching, and DL'ing" - and I'm sure it worked for some gifted lifters where almost anything worked, but for me the two keys were 1) proximity to failure and 2) admitting to myself I'm not a powerlifter and 1RM isn't everything. Spamming a handful of lifts just didn't work for me after a while. S/B/D is great don't get me wrong, but if I'm not competing and I want different physical attributes - then why do only those 3 lifts in that way above everything?
I always over complicate training, last few training session I just ramped up and 1rm on bench, few sets of chins, cable row and ohp and made progress
I would LOVE a part 2! I'm both a serious athlete and trainer, and I want what's best for my clients as well as my own journey.
seeing the old pics of Alex vs today is just mind blowing to be honest, what a transformation!
I watched your transformation video and I came here. I would gladly take a part two. And how to figure out where you are.
yo Alex, a few months ago you made a video aboutt "building your deadlift with bad leverages". Would love to see one about building your bench with bad leverages.
love the work youre putting in to grow the natural community.
Hey bro, show us more gym training footage ! It feels refreshing to see instead of the home gym.
A lot more gym content incoming!
Whenever I start to have doubts, this guy gives me hope.
Hey Alex why are you using glasses at 8:22?
To not go blind just in case the springs snap one day. It's 7 springs bro, lots of tension.
@@AlexLeonidasThat’s a really smart idea.
ive actually been in novice purgatory for a few years because i didnt eat enough , and a rotator cuff injury put me out for a year, but now since ive been bulking and starting to become an intermediate, im hoping that bejng stuck at novice for so long will help me progress thru intermediate
I needed to hear that years ago on my second year of lifting i plateaued for 3 years i haven't gained any strength or size i started looking for solutions researching about programming no thing worked for me until i decided to bulk and then finally i started to see results real measurable gains
"It's like dark souls"
Perfect comparison. Doing great, Alex!
loved the dark souls analogy. One thing I didnt realize as a became more advanced is how as I got stronger, my MRV would actually go down with the big lifts (mostly underestimating the amount of stress heavy deadlifts have on my body) and I was seeing the same recurring injury as a result. I've since learned the importance of implementing deload weeks. Love the content btw keep it up! Also I would very much love to see a part 2!
11:27 didn’t know Alex was a gamer too
He used to have a gaming channel, you can still watch it but he hasn't uploaded in years
Sage advice. Part 2 needed.
Yes my wrists, elbows and right knee all holding me back for now. Had to slowly retake my tricep work, curls and squat.
When I was a novice, it was quarantine, and so I started working out with calisthenics. Therefore, it had the advantage that I needed to use every resource available for me to make gains. I had the notion that you naturally need to progress in some way to make gains, and I'm also a big eater with 20%+ bodyfat, so that was also covered. My foundation is so eclectic, having to experiment to find the best methods in a limited environment, that funnily enough the only things that changed now that I'm an intermediate are frequency, volume and a having stable exercise selection with the time proven bangers, which are things that the Noble natties helped me refine. Right now, I'm just excited to follow the process and see what is next!
it's terrible when your program that was working stops, it is like a job you had to quit, you want to go back cause it was safe and it used to work for you, but progress moves forward. Change come with change.
Also genuinely mean this not finding your content earlier held me back.
I am currently experiencing the dunning kruger effect with this video. I've gotten to the point where I know enough just to know how little I know.
I personally love a double progression system for Intermediate lifters. Mix in some Myo reps and you have a great combination for plateau busting
I agree but you could also try to have different goals. Try getting faster, jumping higher, taking up a sport etc unless you’re bodybuilding there aren’t many perks to continuing to try and put on size also you don’t need to neglect one to do the other