[Drew]

Hi Louis,

Interesting reading your thoughts. I definitely think gear is addictive to some extent, maybe just not in the usual way we think of addiction.

Were you prescribed the TRT? Or ran it yourself?

[Drew]

In the southeast-

Ripped Gym Basildon
Muscleworks Orpington
Monster gym Cheshunt
Factory Gym Witham (Essex)

[Drew]

I would give it zero thought mate.

Many people in the gym have no etiquette, no manners and no comraderie!

[Drew]

The bench press is a deceptively complex movement if you’re looking to maximise weight lifted.

Personally, I would look to hire an in-person powerlifting coach to make sure you’re doing it correctly.

Most powerlifers will also bench twice a week as a minimum

[Drew]

Similar to what the guys said, worth sticking with.

When I first started dips and was weak at them, I did something like total reps timed. So I’d choose a low target ie 10-15 body weight dips, and do multiple sets with a fixed rest time until I hit it.

Next time I’d try to beat the number of sets taken, or increase the total rep target.

Really important that you do the proper form and depth when learning them- they are a highly butchered exercise.

[Drew]

Definitely made some progress Asrar! What’s the goal now?

[Drew]

Is that the bottom of your squat? You may benefit on going deeper for more leg emphasis overall.

The way your doing it, this is more of a posterior chain emphasis squat. It will help your hamstring and lower back tremendously for deadlift, rdl, SLDL. It also develops great upper back strength, as the bar is pushing your forward.

A more leg or quad dominant way is to keep the handles pushed up high, this will force you to be more upright. MST strength on insta does a good breakdown of different ssb squatting styles.

Safety bar squats are versatile, you can do them more posterior emphasis (as I believe yours is, but hard to see from just a photo) or more leg dominant in the style I described above.

[Drew]

Looking forward to following. Do you have a goal weight in mind? Or more about the visual?

[Drew]

Great you got constructive feedback. I always feel that some people really want you to succeed, which appears the case in this scenario.

That nautilus pulldown truly is the GOAT of pulldowns, something to do with the angle and trajectory.

[Drew]

Thanks Pete and Nathan. Going to double down on the accuracy and quality of food and training now

[Drew]

Thanks Clare, appreciate your reply. I’ll keep an eye on my fat levels and adjust as appropriate. You’re a real asset on the forum btw!

[Drew]

Pics

[Drew]

You’ll never know how good you can be, until you put in the work. Ie a decade of unrelenting work and striving to progress.

Some of the most genetically gifted people I know are lazy and unmotivated, this often happens when everything comes easy initially.

So really don’t worry about the genetics thing. Consistency and passion are what will really separate you from the pack over the long term.

[Drew]

Thanks Marc really appreciate the reply.
It’s been a really tough pregnancy for my wife with HG/extreme sickness, Braxton Hicks and a few other things too.

Glad you managed to get through your wife’s challenging pregnancy!

I’m most worried about being away from my wife during the day when at work etc 😅 as we have limited family support.
With training I’m thinking of switching to a 24 hr gym that’s more local to me and training only on weekends for a while.

I’m excited and nervous at the same time!

How did you find work when so tired Marc? I prefer 9 hours so I can see this being rather different to say the least

[Drew]

No need for percentages in bodybuilding, unless emphasising strength for a bit.

But.. the actual percentage for 3×5 would vary, I would say 80% for 3×5 would be normal (if you were doing strength training).