Muscle Gain Forum

A few minutes of dynamic mobility for whatever's cranky - band pull-aparts and shoulder dislocates for pressing days, leg swings and bodyweight squats for leg days. Targeted, not a 30-minute yoga session.

Strong work. Next milestones to chase: 1.25x bodyweight bench and a bodyweight-on-the-bar bench for reps. Having the next target keeps the motivation rolling after a big milestone like this.

Way too much for pressing. Half-kilo jumps will keep it moving for months. The big plates are why it feels stuck.

OHP also just progresses slowly - it's a small-muscle lift with a short range. Expecting the same jumps as squat/deadlift will feel like a stall when it's actually normal slow progress. Micro-load it with 1-1.25kg plates.

When you do switch, 5/3/1 is great for early intermediates because: It forces you to start lighter and build (saves you from stalling instantly)Slow, sustainable monthly progressionBuilt-in deloads so you don't burn outSimple to run and hard to mess up But it progresses slower than linear by design ...

Also work the mobility outside of squats - ankle dorsiflexion and hip work. Your controllable depth will improve over a few months and then the heavier below-parallel squats come naturally without rounding.

Exactly. Mobility, stance and control set your usable depth. Forcing past it under load is where people get hurt for no extra benefit.

Depth is great IF you can hit it without your pelvis tucking (butt wink) or back rounding. If you're rounding at the bottom, that depth is currently costing you more than it's giving. Train the depth you can control and expand it over time.

Pick exercises you can progressively load and actually feel. One horizontal push, one vertical, one hinge, one squat pattern, one row, one vertical pull - that backbone covers most of the body before you even add isolations.

That second day will do a lot on its own - frequency is the most underused progression lever. Logged you in.