Appreciate the rawness of some of these points, you really spoke from the heart and it showed. The point about Louie particularly resonated with me; even as a bodybuilder, I somehow always managed to get something from his Q&As, and you helped me understand why: despite being the Pope of Equipped PL, he somehow also was one of the least dogmatic voice in the sport. He believed in his methods and was adamant that they were best, but if something came up to prove him wrong he was always willing to give it a try and integrate this new variable in Westside training. This mix of confidence and open-mindedness is a trait that every single lifter needs, natural or otherwise.
I appreciate you NH, that was the intention. Keeping it as raw as possible and letting the passion consume me, I'm happy this was well received. Love what you wrote here about Louie, he was open minded, went beyond typical Powerlifting, crazy confident, and always evolved until the very end. Every lifter can learn from his messages, whether a bodybuilder, natty, etc.
A sudden lack of open-mindedness is the first and most nefarious sign that an influencer has sold out. Dogma of any kind basically only appears once people are trying to sell products. Because the dogma says "do / buy THIS, and definitely avoid THAT".
Ya know? As a teenager , people like Alex , Sean , GVS give me so much hope for the lifetime natty community. Thank you for setting the way for us and please do NOT stop! Love you AD.
I Am happy I discovered Alex early on in my lifting life. He is definitely one of the main influences on me not hopping on juice bc I couldn't get the results I want. He also encourages Even in this video different was on how to train, If not i would still be stick trying to do 3x5 amd be upset that I wasn't able to hit normal intermediate numbers on that approach.
@Kugelfrosch yeah I tried getting into some of his content but he posts anime-ish content which just doesn't go by me. But some of his videos are really informative.
SO TRUE about how not one thing works, it ALL works. Im 45 yrs old and been lifting since 14. I've literally done EVERYTHING over these years. I have achieved some decent lifts and have good size at 6'2" and 265 LBS. Lots of people ask me if Im on anything so its very clear that I lift. I've lifted rocks, logs, chains, Iron pieces, tires, and whatever the hell was lying around. I've done thousands upon thousands of push ups, dips, pull ups. I've lifted weights in the gym with every possible program imaginable, High reps, low reps, heavy, light, singles, triples 20 reps, German high volume 10x10, Powerlifting big 3 lifts only, Strongman training. I've bulked, I've cut haha. If some one asked me what I've done to get big and strong and maintain the size and strength all these years even into my mid 40's I couldn't really tell you. All I can say is that I wont be outworked and I just went fucking HARD at everything I was doing. I was relentless. No gym fuck it I'll walk into a gravel pit and find rocks to press, I'll walk into the woods and flip logs and do chin ups from branches all damn day. Working in the oil fields with no gym around.....fuck it I'm curling chains and lifting semi truck tires over my head, you understand. No matter what, no matter when with anything at my disposal. When you are truly hungry you'll eat anything!.
@@nmanisbig Nah im no beast, just a hard working guy with no quit. When I first started there literally was no youtube and no internet. I had Joe Weiders Muscle and Fitness magazine as my only guide and source of knowledge. There I was a total newb 15 yr old kid trying to follow Ronnie Coleman and all the other pro bodybuilders routines etc. I definitely spent a lot of time spinning my wheels trying to train like a pro bodybuilder for many years as a teenager. Its only been the last 10-15 yrs that actual real info and content has been put out by natural guys on the smart way to train and eat etc.
This has got to be the coolest thing ever. I was the one that gave Basement Bodybuilding the idea and he shouted me out in that video. Since then all my favorite natty UA-camrs have made a video based off this idea. This is such a great community man 👍🏽
Much love brotha, cheers for these amazing topics and having the courage to express your honest criticisms of the common dogma!! The natty fitness community is much better with you around. Enjoy.
Hey Alex, really relate to the part of getting pushed into powerlifting when the goal at first was to just look like a jacked anime character. You and NH really made me realise this and now my training has been better than ever the past few months. Much love 🙏
This is wisdom. Talking about chasing goals you don't really care about is serious. I've done it before and ended up hating my training and feeling miserable.
You know it bro.. one of the worst loops to be in. The sooner we train for ourselves and set REAL goals, the better everything will be. Mindset, gains, enjoyment, etc.
This feels like such a genuine release, it's so nice to hear how you feel on these topics and being able to have your insight on being in this space is remarkable. Been watching since 2016 and the charecter development, mind and body has been insane. Proud of you bro
Man, 10 years ago there was almost zero natty channels on UA-cam that talked about lifting for size. There were a few natty strict powerlifting focused channels but not much of anything else. Glad to see guys like you, GVS, Natural Hypertrophy, Basement Bodybuilding, Bald Omni Man, etc growing an audience. I’ve been around PED use in the gym or friends that use PEDs and it’s something I’ve just never been interested in and I’ve felt the “peer pressure” for sure. There’s a UA-cam natty renaissance coming and I’m glad. People and content I can actually relate to
I feel like the progressive overload and Strength = Size mentality is fine but the minimalist approach of just doing the big 3 is an issue. Adding more presses variations, horizontal and vertical pulls, direct arm work, abs, calf raises and other isolations lifts with quality volume and making small improvements over time is what I enjoy and give me the best results, that happy medium of not super high volume pump training but also not minimalist powerlifting training.
Definitely wish I knew: 1. The best program is one you can stick to 2. Higher stability movements can benefit hypertrophy more (seated OHP blew up my delts way more than the years I spent focusing on standing variations) 3. Compound movements are not enough for arm development 4. Stimulus to fatigue 5. Coaching is valuable, wish I started sooner
Bro, discovering your channel has been more than a breath of fresh air. I haven't stepped foot in the gym, or even gotten on the floor to do a push-up in 4 years. The level of our of shape I am in is actually really sad. Especially because for the decade before the last 4 years I was a certified gym rat. I'm not even sure how your channel came across my radar since I don't look up fitness stuff anymore, but you have seriously inspired me to get back into it. I'm obviously starting from basically zero now, minus hopefully some muscle memory and a lot of knowledge, but getting on the floor to do a set of push-ups was not something I could even do. Last night I for the first time my entire life had to do sissy push-ups. But at least I did them. And that's more than I've done in 4 years. Thank you, man. Seriously. I feel better about myself than I have in a long time after doing the light work I did last night, and I'm about to do some more calisthenics here in a minute. And I seriously have you to thank for this.
I can understand you brother ,I also stopped working out for a whole year. I regret it, lost all of my progress but now I'm stronger than before took me 1.5-2 yr to get here but I'm happy that I didn't lose hope and didn't stopped working out . Keep working hard 🔥💪
The body builder that I've learned the most from is John Meadows. Nothing but an endless supply of useful information on his channel, and a super nice, humble guy. RIP JM. 🙂
17:20 So relatable man. I wasted a lot of time in high school training like a strength athlete because that's what everyone in my gym class did. What I didn't know was the guys I was listening to were training for football. So yeah, who you get advice from matters. Thankfully my dad who was a bodybuilder gave me the right advice and saved me a lot of time, but it can be tough if you don't have someone to show you the ropes.
If it makes you feel better, I have learned a LOT from you. Like you literally changed my life, I was down and so damn depressed without even a fragment of a goal. But you gave me something to focus on and to think about, learning all of the principles and the whys an whens of strength training. I was really blessed to find your channel and your content in general.
I love how all the natties have converged to cut through all the bullshit and provide us with excellent information ranging from mindset - programming - tips here and there from all their experiences through their lifting journey.
One time Jason Blaha received an order from his commander that would have gotten his squad killed. What did he do ? The only thing that could be done. He waited until he was using the latrine then rolled a nade under the door and walked off. Non negotiable.
Almost all people in my gym that are jacked don't know shit about anything. But you know why they are jacked cause they started lifting before they knew how to write their own name and still comes to gym even if there is a natural disaster out there.
Fantastic thoughts in this video, Alex. Very inspiring to see how you've evolved/progressed over the years. Also - 34:37 makes me think of someone struggling to trim the edge of an exceptionally thick and yoked lawn.
For me it’s Natural Hypertrophy and Basement Bodybuilding that kept me from going the powerlifting route. Both made me realize the only thing I care about is improving my physique, not strength
@@squirrellsquats8428 They just made me realize that strength is not my priority but of course I still need progressive overload which is basically strength.
My 5 are: 1. Fuel your body (Sleep is non negotiable and bulking =/= fat) 2. Progressive Overload above pump and soreness (Not following a program) 3. Consistency and Effort beats perfection 4. No movement is inherently dangerous 5. Form changes are acceptable (no need to reduce the weight if your squat hinges a bit more)
I train hard as hell and eat a shit ton, but I can't really sleep that much cause I'm in school. 4-5 hours of sleep at most. Doesn't matter cause I'm built different. It is negotiable
What you said about consistency is so true🔥 I tried to do PPL split but I always ended up stopping for long periods because I didn't recover enough. Then I switched to upper lower split and now I've been doing that since May consistently and it's the most consistent I've ever been in my training in my life and I'm seeing the benefits of that consistency
I'm guessing that's typical now that I think about it actually. I'm really pushing trap bar dead right now and maxing out weekly so don't want to hit my back without a rest day in between
@@stephen8996 I do upper lower too, my split looks like this - U L R U L W R W = upper weak points/recovered muscles. Everyone's different but my biceps and forearms recover really quick and generally do some alteration of an exercise that I've done during the week.
You never disappoint bro, great list and great points. Always appreciate how you keep things real but always keep the body, the mind, and the spirit connected. The best lifter works hard, gets smarter, and loves the game: we benefit from your knowledge and passion, keep it up bro, I hope to talk to you again soon. University has been taking up most of my time lately
AWESOME VIDEO! I've been following you Alex since you were benching 275 and preaching conventional 5x5 minimalist training. It's amazing to see how you've evolved over the years and I am so thankful for your channel. I love the meta understanding of how we move through paradigms while lifting just like anything else in life. Sometimes you've got to drink the Kool-Aid for a bit in order to transcend community trends and develop your own unique style. Today I've got a focus on full body general strength while also incorporating plenty of yoga and cardio. I would never have developed such a love for fitness if not for your channel. Thank you!
Everything does work. 1.Got 26 inch legs by mostly low bar squatting. 2.Powerlifting bench makes it a decline and builds the lower packs. U have to be flat to build ur upper packs. 3.Triceps don't get built by just benching. I grew from 16.5 to 17 inch arms in just 2 and a half month just by adding close grip bench 6 sets per week. 4.Overhand and neutral grips on ur compound pulls will not fatigue your biceps more than ur Brachialis. So u absolutely need to do isolation for ur biceps. And if u really want big biceps loosen ur wrists allowing them to hang. Ur forearms will be mostly out of the curl putting more emphasis on the biceps.
Love my man Alex, he got a rare quality which most people lack of especially fitness influencers, the willingness to admit he is wrong in the past and learn valuation lesson from it.
_"Stop trying to impress others who will not be there for you in the long-term."_ Great quote Alex, especially in this day and age where we can lose so much time playing these status games...
the part about powerlifting is definitely right in my case but i see it in others too, we naturally want to belong to a group, but it just made me more unhappy, i just want to be buff and aesthetic but i wasted so much time and energy on something I am not.
Great videos this Info needs to be keep repeating over and over again , cause to many channels like athlean x kill your gains and confuse the shit out of people , when all that matters is consistency over long term ,cheers!
Love your point on learning biomechanics. Where would be the best place to start learning this? Any good books or youtube channels that I could start with?
Great list Alex! Other than that, I'd say to give yourself time to rest between sets. I use to do the 1 1/2 min rest periods between sets and when I upped it to even just 3min, what a difference! Yeah, your training will go a little longer, but it'll feel that much better! Too many people on PEDs screwing over others saying their way is optimal/the best, when sure, for people on PEDs, but the normal joe/jane, not even close!
So as far as nattys not taking advice from steroid abusers, I have a question: how come Mike israetel gets a pass on this? All of the Noble Nattys I follow (you, GVS, Alec Enkeri, etc) all seem to be perfectly fine with Mike and I don't understand. I'd follow him for those juicy crannogman skull gains, but otherwise I just see him as another steroid abuser.
It’s not solely about being a drug user it’s about if they “know how to train”. If you ask me my honest opinion I think Alex and Bald Omni Man are in a totally different league than everyone else. When I watch other people truthfully half the stuff they’re saying I disagree with. I think Alex was being pretty humble in this vid
Thank you for this amazing video Alex! Keep pursuing your goals, ypur goals. It was Basement Bodybuilding that made me realise that I don't care about bench and squat numbers to the point that I replaced them with other exercises. Tbh I don't care about my legs at all (maybe like 10%) but not more. And that ok, you don't need to care.
One thing I learned that the answer is often in the middle and its never black and white. Whenever something gets proved or debunked people take it to the opposite extremes. For example when it was proven that bro splits with doing million exercises and endless volume arent the optimal way to train but people took it to other opposite extreme with extreme minimalism. Variety of exercises and nonminimalism doesnt mean you train like a bro. Or that size equals strength and then people think they need to train like powerlifter when in reality there is benefit from both lighter/higher rep sets as well as few heavy "strength" sets and even if your goal is to get stronger that doesnt mean that all your focus has to be squats/deadlifts.
Love the list, man, and I also enjoyed how far in depth you went with each point. Even for a seasoned fitness consumer, such as myself, I found a lot of wisdom in listening to your breakdown. Really appreciate people like you! Hopefully, with the help of you and others, we can shift this industry 💪🤓
This was an awesome, long segment! Definitely one of your Magnum Opus. Thank you for being one of the experienced lifters who share your lessons, so the young guns who follow you (like me!) can learn from the mistake of our Sensei's so we can develop ourselves without the same setbacks. I believe this is how humanity grows and evolves - learning from our predecessors, both their successes (thanks for showing us what is possible with your lifts!) and their mistakes/failures (covered in this video). Keep up the great content Alex!
I have actually pivoted from bb to pl. I'm 34 now and I don't care about hypertrophy as much as when I was younger, but pl gives me objective goals and I'm a numbers guy, also at my job. I love spreadsheets and all that stuff. Back in the day I would be super excited about the Mr. O. Now I'm disgusted by the guys in the open category. It's a complete saucefest and natural bb just isn't that spectacular on a stage. Classic physique is a good direction for the sport, but guys like Cbum are also sauced to the gills. I don't half-ass my hypertrophy work but I have always loved the flat barbell bench, the deadlift and recently learned to love squats. They have been my best mass builders too. I would do 10 sets of bench just because I love the movement. With time, I have found other exercises I love just as much, like the reverse grip barbell row or smith machine shoulder presses. Now I'm doing what I love and also track every set of every exercise in my app with graphs, 1rm conversions for multi-rep sets and just focus on making prs on every lift, even just an extra rep on cable crunches or the calf press machine. The visual aspect nowadays is a bonus.
The one thing I wish I knew: you don't need to squat 315x5, bench 225x5 and deadlift 405x5 to graduate to an intermediate program. I spent too long chasing those while running a modified version of SL 5x5.
Thanks to Alex I no longer focus on Squat, Deadlift, Bench. I focus on trapbar deadlifts, deep belt squats, DB bench press. Keeps my joints and back feeling a thousand times better and can use those movements to train like a bodybuilder with high volume. I stick to more natural movement patterns than the dogmatic lifts I spent 10 years chasing numbers on.
About the powerlifting point: I am really glad you changed your perspective and shifted towards BB again. I had been following you for quite a while, but at some point decided to unsubscribe because you kept focusing so heavily on powerlifting to get big, which did not appeal to me at all. This also related to an earlier point you made, that mostly everything works for building muscle. I feel like some are too dogmatic about their approach to getting bigger/stronger, when in reality there are many ways that lead to Rome. BB/calisthenics/etc., whichever style allows you to progress consistently and most efficiently, for you! Consistent effort, taking the best from all approaches and not being afraid too try something new are what I have learned rather recently about lifting (after +/- 5 years of lifting, during mostly of which I have been following you). Once I noticed you changed your approach I resubbed and for the better, as I can now continue learning from you. Keep at it man! 🏆
The less ego lifting is what i've been trying lately. Dropped the weight by half on most of my exercises and focus on control/slow speed/contraction pause for 3-5 seconds/ and super slow stretchy negatives and man............ I'm getting super sore in places that I had challenges getting sore going heavy before ( biceps/back usually). Loving the light weight super controlled Phil Heath style.
When I started training five years ago, I just wanted to be stronger. I wanted to feel better about myself. Along the way, though, I conflated 'stronger' with 'strong'. I hit the 140kg deadlift after two and a bit years and felt stronger. But according to much of the community I had attached myself to, I was not 'strong'. It's easy to lose sight of wanting to be stronger when everyone in the sphere of lifting is reminding you that you're not strong, that you're not big. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm strongER and biggER. And that's what matters.
I wish I didn’t chase numbers on the big 3 for so long too, not that they wasn’t useful but I feel like I could of been doing better things to get towards my goals 👍🏼
Alex I admit. I started cause wanted to be buff. And After years of training I dont give a fuck about the weight I lift in the big 3 movements. I built a aesthetic muscular body without them.
Love the powerlifting rant, it got big because of social media and people trying to flex, because it's faster to flex a lift you're good at than actually do a bunch of reps to failure and build visual muscle. When you have people who are just fat as shit, all they do is 1-3 reps, 10 min between sets, it's the furthest thing from "fitness". Also, these super skinny twigs who do nothing but deadlift, pull sumo, move the bar 3" off the ground and hitch it at the top, does any of that carry over anywhere to life? It certainly doesn't help them look better, I doubt that strength is applicable anywhere in the real world. Most people do this shit because they think they have to. I added 200lbs to my low handle trap bar deadlift and looked the same, but hurt more, have a hiatal hernia that is acting up and possibly a regular hernia now, fuck all of this shit. That increased deadlift strength was not noticeable anywhere else in life either. Also, despite allllll of this knowledge and the sarms goblins etc, the average regular lifter people at the gym looked a lot better 20 years ago.
Great video Alex! Are you still planning on making a whole video on the chest expander? I just bought one in hopes to fix my traps, rhomboids, and rear delt weakness and I love it so far but I’m sure I could use a few tips
Hey man thanks for the donation, I will be doing a complete video on the Chest Expander (hopefully this month) where I discuss all the benefits, showcase the best exercises/possible routines, and buying options. Stay tuned!
While you're trying out your expander, experiment with some rows with a more upper back bias (pull toward your chest / sternum rather than lower). OHP, upright row and pullups / pulldowns all hit your upper back in a fantastic way. So many good exercises to try out - I'm sure you'll find something that works (and especially something you enjoy). 💪💪💪
Sadly the "too much investment in powerlifting" is super accurate for me. I think we grew up in our 20s when youtube fitness and powerlifting intersected perfectly from around 2012 - 2018. Focusing super hard on low bar back squats has been one of my biggest time wasters for example. It's incredibly un-athletic with zero carryover to my current interests in MMA, BJJ, muay thai. I never ever once cared about doing a powerlifting meet, but I was convinced that these arbitrary numbers like a 500lb squat was first and foremost necessary to be "strong."
I disagree. The low bar back squat has been a game changer for me in BJJ. Squats have really boosted the mobility in my hips and ankles while building strength through my core.
For people like us, I agree, consistency was key because we auto-regulated. For the average person - consistency is part of it, but the right program needed to be in place too. If the average person consistently go no results, they will likely quit.
“I LIKE the barbell bench press”. Holy shit that’s great. People get so caught up in the ego trip of ‘grinding’ and being able to brag about how hard you work that we forgot that training is supposed to be enjoyable.
I’ve been a follower for about 3 years now and over this last year I’ve definitely been able to see your perspective on bodybuilding change. I feel like the approaches you took and the lifts you started doing reflect that you’ve been more open to trying more “normalized” training in a sense. For example, instead of doing all the crazy overloads like slingshot pin press with chains (just saying a random variation here, that was probably an exaggeration) or banded z press, you’re sticking to more basic lifts like seated shoulder presses and Larsen presses. That’s not to say accommodated resistance is bad, but it’s definitely not something you’d normally see in the bodybuilding world. Your training was more powerlifting biased, which makes sense because if you’re strong you’re usually big. It’s what you’ve preached for years. I was definitely influenced by some of your older full body and upper body workouts. I used to binge your playlist, I looked into the conjugate method, hell there was a period where some of my UA-cam channel had things like swiss bar pin presses and rack pulls above the knee. But as a skinny guy who is literally 10 lbs away from even having a 1000 lb total, I’ve drifted away from that stuff. All I need is the basics and it’s refreshing to see you doing what you’re doing now.
Dude I love this commentary! Definitely, the longer I train the more simple my ideologies become.. especially for Bodybuilding. All those variations you mentioned are good when approached correctly, but it's true that there was a very strong strength bias that confused a lot of people. It's crazy how much our training can change over the years.
Really love your videos. One of the only ones who tells it how it is. I think I may have fallen into the same trap and this video has highlighted that for me.
My problem is finding what works for me. Confused as to when to change a workout program or how and I've been training for years. It is demotivating for sure
Your point about not wasting time to pursue goals you never cared about, that spoke to me, bro. I hate bodybuilding, I liked being smaller and focusing on my conditioning, my running, my kettlebelling, I only started lifting cause people kept saying I was small! Well, fck em!! I gained 20lbs and I hate how I feel and look, I'm doing what I want from now on!!!! Great video
What a character progression youve had... this is my favourite video from you. Just the right timing because i was considering maybe quitting (i struggle with staying consitent with things, or i go FULL in which ive been doing the last 3 years in the gym or i dont do it at all)
Loved this video Alex, thank you for making so much top quality content, you've helped me improve my training over the past years. My number 1 thing I wish I knew earlier was how important a calorie surplus is to growth. I started lifting 3yrs ago and unfortunately found athlean X's content. I was 64kg and 175cm at 15-16yrs old. I then proceeded to train consistently while not eating enough, causing me to lose weight (down to a shredded 60kg) and compromise my gains throughout the whole covid lockdowns. I also developed orthorexia and viewed food as good and bad. This past year and a half has seen me gain 16kg and completely change physically and mentally. I look and feel better, my performance is better, bulking is amazing
27:27 Yep 100%, I did my own version of this but I'd agree with this entirely. My main movements for Bench when I was competing were the CGBP and Feet Up Bench, but I really could have use a lot more variety and in particular harder variations which weren't as demanding on my joints and nervous system. As well as that combining periods of strictly BB work throughout the year, rather than just hammering away at getting stronger year round. Great points Alex.
Been lifting six years, starting with 5x5s and then upper lower splits. What I’ve learned by now as an intermediate lifter in my 50s is that slowly but surely is the way. Injury is the chief deterrent that can slow you down. Don’t give up and keep changing your approach as you persevere on the same basic lifts: which are: OH press Bench press Squats or leg press Sumo or dead lifts Rows Pull ups Bicep Curls Trap shrugs Lateral raises. Glute thrusts
To the point of powerlifting, that is actually what I want. I would keep my current physique (30% body fat AT LEAST) if that's what was needed to pick up heavy things and put up great numbers. I would rather be strong than attractive. As soon as I finished typing that you got into general strength vs specificity. Hm. Something to think about for sure.
You know what Alex, you are the only fitness youtube personality that is still doing the insane amount of work after all these years and you constantly provide value and share knowledge with us. Thank you so much man, we are lucky to have you.
In the powerlifting segment: Yeah, I definitely don't want to chase numbers in the long run. I want functional strength and decent size, but most importantly, I want to be able to move my body through space with zero impedance. You know, to be able to do all the things fat people CAN'T do, like sprint, jump, spin, climb, flip, etc. However, one of the only measures of progress I'll have for a long time is weight on the bar/machine. Until I cut at least 150 pounds of fat, I'm not really going to see my gains. Feel them? Sure, but it's still discouraging to wear yourself out and not see the number go up _at all_ as a newbie lifter, even after two months of benching/flys/db-press for chest and assisted pullups/pulldowns/rows for back.
If everything works in pretty much every different industry, then what is the point of people making programs/brands around a specific method, especially if those methods are fixed (ex: carnivore). Love your videos by the way!!
I feel you on this. I'm 34 and constantly asked by young guys or old guys new to the game if I'm on gear. Or what is the secret to quick results. I tell them no, program hard and learn to embrace the suck. They are disinterested.
14:20 I can't stand steroid apologists who say: "Ohhh but they still worked hard for it!" Bullshit. IF I've been taking roids since the beginning of my fitness journey I would be twice as jacked.
Appreciate the rawness of some of these points, you really spoke from the heart and it showed. The point about Louie particularly resonated with me; even as a bodybuilder, I somehow always managed to get something from his Q&As, and you helped me understand why: despite being the Pope of Equipped PL, he somehow also was one of the least dogmatic voice in the sport. He believed in his methods and was adamant that they were best, but if something came up to prove him wrong he was always willing to give it a try and integrate this new variable in Westside training. This mix of confidence and open-mindedness is a trait that every single lifter needs, natural or otherwise.
I appreciate you NH, that was the intention. Keeping it as raw as possible and letting the passion consume me, I'm happy this was well received. Love what you wrote here about Louie, he was open minded, went beyond typical Powerlifting, crazy confident, and always evolved until the very end. Every lifter can learn from his messages, whether a bodybuilder, natty, etc.
just make sure not to post hen tie again ok
@@burritodog3634 ahhhh yes Hens being tied.
A sudden lack of open-mindedness is the first and most nefarious sign that an influencer has sold out.
Dogma of any kind basically only appears once people are trying to sell products. Because the dogma says "do / buy THIS, and definitely avoid THAT".
elo juchub
Ya know? As a teenager , people like Alex , Sean , GVS give me so much hope for the lifetime natty community. Thank you for setting the way for us and please do NOT stop! Love you AD.
I Am happy I discovered Alex early on in my lifting life. He is definitely one of the main influences on me not hopping on juice bc I couldn't get the results I want. He also encourages Even in this video different was on how to train, If not i would still be stick trying to do 3x5 amd be upset that I wasn't able to hit normal intermediate numbers on that approach.
Damn you found the best guys on yt at a young age I’m so jealous . Good shit
@@salmark9080 and I'm very grateful for it!
@Kugelfrosch yeah I tried getting into some of his content but he posts anime-ish content which just doesn't go by me. But some of his videos are really informative.
Mike O'hearn is huge inspo too!
SO TRUE about how not one thing works, it ALL works. Im 45 yrs old and been lifting since 14. I've literally done EVERYTHING over these years. I have achieved some decent lifts and have good size at 6'2" and 265 LBS. Lots of people ask me if Im on anything so its very clear that I lift. I've lifted rocks, logs, chains, Iron pieces, tires, and whatever the hell was lying around. I've done thousands upon thousands of push ups, dips, pull ups. I've lifted weights in the gym with every possible program imaginable, High reps, low reps, heavy, light, singles, triples 20 reps, German high volume 10x10, Powerlifting big 3 lifts only, Strongman training. I've bulked, I've cut haha. If some one asked me what I've done to get big and strong and maintain the size and strength all these years even into my mid 40's I couldn't really tell you. All I can say is that I wont be outworked and I just went fucking HARD at everything I was doing. I was relentless. No gym fuck it I'll walk into a gravel pit and find rocks to press, I'll walk into the woods and flip logs and do chin ups from branches all damn day. Working in the oil fields with no gym around.....fuck it I'm curling chains and lifting semi truck tires over my head, you understand. No matter what, no matter when with anything at my disposal. When you are truly hungry you'll eat anything!.
Real motivation!!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥💯
jeremy you're a beast
Your level of devotion and determination is absolutely beautiful, you are an absolute beast mate
exactly! greg plit legacy! not literally though...
@@nmanisbig Nah im no beast, just a hard working guy with no quit. When I first started there literally was no youtube and no internet. I had Joe Weiders Muscle and Fitness magazine as my only guide and source of knowledge. There I was a total newb 15 yr old kid trying to follow Ronnie Coleman and all the other pro bodybuilders routines etc. I definitely spent a lot of time spinning my wheels trying to train like a pro bodybuilder for many years as a teenager. Its only been the last 10-15 yrs that actual real info and content has been put out by natural guys on the smart way to train and eat etc.
Your passion for lifting is what makes this channel great!
Thank you brother, I'm happy it shines through!
@@AlexLeonidas HERO
Yooo mosesgainz
Both you and Alphadestiny are legends tbh
Oh man you went hard in this vid. Great takes. 100% agree.
Much love Geoffrey, you 100 tips mofo!! Feels great to express these thoughts and I love that everyone is chiming in.
This has got to be the coolest thing ever. I was the one that gave Basement Bodybuilding the idea and he shouted me out in that video. Since then all my favorite natty UA-camrs have made a video based off this idea. This is such a great community man 👍🏽
Amazing man!!!!!
@Bieszo solid idea man 🤝
Chad
Damn this list looks intriguing! Gonna tune in now, looking forward to it brotha.
Much love brotha, cheers for these amazing topics and having the courage to express your honest criticisms of the common dogma!! The natty fitness community is much better with you around. Enjoy.
Hey Alex, really relate to the part of getting pushed into powerlifting when the goal at first was to just look like a jacked anime character. You and NH really made me realise this and now my training has been better than ever the past few months. Much love 🙏
Hell yeah man!! We all know what we REALLY want 💪
fr
same. i care more about physique than strength tbh.
This is wisdom.
Talking about chasing goals you don't really care about is serious. I've done it before and ended up hating my training and feeling miserable.
You know it bro.. one of the worst loops to be in. The sooner we train for ourselves and set REAL goals, the better everything will be. Mindset, gains, enjoyment, etc.
@@AlexLeonidas 💯
Same here bro. I trained like an athlete for a year thinking it would get me jacked. Absolute waste of time.
@@HerculesFit did you gain other useful things during that year? I'm leaning more towards athletism at the moment, having more flexibility etc.
This feels like such a genuine release, it's so nice to hear how you feel on these topics and being able to have your insight on being in this space is remarkable. Been watching since 2016 and the charecter development, mind and body has been insane. Proud of you bro
Much love OG, my messages are straight from the heart!
Man, 10 years ago there was almost zero natty channels on UA-cam that talked about lifting for size. There were a few natty strict powerlifting focused channels but not much of anything else. Glad to see guys like you, GVS, Natural Hypertrophy, Basement Bodybuilding, Bald Omni Man, etc growing an audience.
I’ve been around PED use in the gym or friends that use PEDs and it’s something I’ve just never been interested in and I’ve felt the “peer pressure” for sure. There’s a UA-cam natty renaissance coming and I’m glad. People and content I can actually relate to
Sean Nalewanyj was around then?
I feel like the progressive overload and Strength = Size mentality is fine but the minimalist approach of just doing the big 3 is an issue. Adding more presses variations, horizontal and vertical pulls, direct arm work, abs, calf raises and other isolations lifts with quality volume and making small improvements over time is what I enjoy and give me the best results, that happy medium of not super high volume pump training but also not minimalist powerlifting training.
Preach bro!
Definitely wish I knew:
1. The best program is one you can stick to
2. Higher stability movements can benefit hypertrophy more (seated OHP blew up my delts way more than the years I spent focusing on standing variations)
3. Compound movements are not enough for arm development
4. Stimulus to fatigue
5. Coaching is valuable, wish I started sooner
Coaching?
@@robbenvanpersie1562 hiring a coach to guide you at any level makes progress significantly faster if you haven't hired one before
@@Aliistrength yes. Want to do the same
Bro, discovering your channel has been more than a breath of fresh air. I haven't stepped foot in the gym, or even gotten on the floor to do a push-up in 4 years. The level of our of shape I am in is actually really sad. Especially because for the decade before the last 4 years I was a certified gym rat. I'm not even sure how your channel came across my radar since I don't look up fitness stuff anymore, but you have seriously inspired me to get back into it. I'm obviously starting from basically zero now, minus hopefully some muscle memory and a lot of knowledge, but getting on the floor to do a set of push-ups was not something I could even do. Last night I for the first time my entire life had to do sissy push-ups. But at least I did them. And that's more than I've done in 4 years. Thank you, man. Seriously. I feel better about myself than I have in a long time after doing the light work I did last night, and I'm about to do some more calisthenics here in a minute. And I seriously have you to thank for this.
You've got that muscle memory too bro. 💪🏽
I can understand you brother ,I also stopped working out for a whole year. I regret it, lost all of my progress but now I'm stronger than before took me 1.5-2 yr to get here but I'm happy that I didn't lose hope and didn't stopped working out .
Keep working hard 🔥💪
The body builder that I've learned the most from is John Meadows. Nothing but an endless supply of useful information on his channel, and a super nice, humble guy. RIP JM. 🙂
5 things I wish I knew before I started lifting
1. Alphadestiny
2. Alphadestiny
3. Alphadestiny
4. Alphadestiny
5. Alphadestiny
17:20 So relatable man.
I wasted a lot of time in high school training like a strength athlete because that's what everyone in my gym class did. What I didn't know was the guys I was listening to were training for football. So yeah, who you get advice from matters. Thankfully my dad who was a bodybuilder gave me the right advice and saved me a lot of time, but it can be tough if you don't have someone to show you the ropes.
If it makes you feel better, I have learned a LOT from you.
Like you literally changed my life, I was down and so damn depressed without even a fragment of a goal. But you gave me something to focus on and to think about, learning all of the principles and the whys an whens of strength training.
I was really blessed to find your channel and your content in general.
Have watched every single video of yours and I’m loving how honest and raw you are in this one. much respect to you always Alex
Much respect Kuss, I really let my thoughts out on this one and I'm happy you appreciate it!
I love how all the natties have converged to cut through all the bullshit and provide us with excellent information ranging from mindset - programming - tips here and there from all their experiences through their lifting journey.
Dude seriously they made like a phalanx and just are bashing their way through to greatness
One time Jason Blaha received an order from his commander that would have gotten his squad killed. What did he do ? The only thing that could be done. He waited until he was using the latrine then rolled a nade under the door and walked off. Non negotiable.
Almost all people in my gym that are jacked don't know shit about anything. But you know why they are jacked cause they started lifting before they knew how to write their own name and still comes to gym even if there is a natural disaster out there.
Fantastic thoughts in this video, Alex. Very inspiring to see how you've evolved/progressed over the years. Also - 34:37 makes me think of someone struggling to trim the edge of an exceptionally thick and yoked lawn.
Golden nuggets of info as always, Alex! Loving the content lately.
1 thing I wish I knew before I started lifting: I should've been watching Alex Leonidas from the beginning lmao.
For me it’s Natural Hypertrophy and Basement Bodybuilding that kept me from going the powerlifting route. Both made me realize the only thing I care about is improving my physique, not strength
If you are wanting to improve your physique in any significant way, your will still need more than passing interest in strength.
@@squirrellsquats8428 They just made me realize that strength is not my priority but of course I still need progressive overload which is basically strength.
Natural Hypertrophy would page people in 2022
Mine is only this - wish I had learnt about the Heavy-Light-Medium system far sooner.
My 5 are:
1. Fuel your body (Sleep is non negotiable and bulking =/= fat)
2. Progressive Overload above pump and soreness (Not following a program)
3. Consistency and Effort beats perfection
4. No movement is inherently dangerous
5. Form changes are acceptable (no need to reduce the weight if your squat hinges a bit more)
Non negotiable
I train hard as hell and eat a shit ton, but I can't really sleep that much cause I'm in school. 4-5 hours of sleep at most. Doesn't matter cause I'm built different. It is negotiable
@@iHandleNasdaq ppl who say you need 8hrs sleep are lazy, even arnie says you only need 6..
@@ransm_fts there are countless studies on the importance of sleep. 6 hours isn’t enough for the vast majority of people.
@@coppertopp2268 🤣🤣 rip piana
What you said about consistency is so true🔥 I tried to do PPL split but I always ended up stopping for long periods because I didn't recover enough. Then I switched to upper lower split and now I've been doing that since May consistently and it's the most consistent I've ever been in my training in my life and I'm seeing the benefits of that consistency
what's your typical week like? I was thinking u, rest, lower, rest, u, rest, lower, rest
I'm guessing that's typical now that I think about it actually. I'm really pushing trap bar dead right now and maxing out weekly so don't want to hit my back without a rest day in between
@@stephen8996 I do upper lower too, my split looks like this - U L R U L W R
W = upper weak points/recovered muscles.
Everyone's different but my biceps and forearms recover really quick and generally do some alteration of an exercise that I've done during the week.
You never disappoint bro, great list and great points. Always appreciate how you keep things real but always keep the body, the mind, and the spirit connected.
The best lifter works hard, gets smarter, and loves the game: we benefit from your knowledge and passion, keep it up bro, I hope to talk to you again soon.
University has been taking up most of my time lately
I appreciate you Karel and look forward to chatting it up again. Everything is interconnected!
AWESOME VIDEO! I've been following you Alex since you were benching 275 and preaching conventional 5x5 minimalist training. It's amazing to see how you've evolved over the years and I am so thankful for your channel. I love the meta understanding of how we move through paradigms while lifting just like anything else in life. Sometimes you've got to drink the Kool-Aid for a bit in order to transcend community trends and develop your own unique style. Today I've got a focus on full body general strength while also incorporating plenty of yoga and cardio. I would never have developed such a love for fitness if not for your channel. Thank you!
My date: “So tell me about yourself.”
My employer: “why should we hire you?”
Me: 13:29
*immediately takes off shirt*
Alex do you still stand by your beginner program?
biomechanics gurus: oPtiMaL tRaiNiNg
Me: *Uh.* 🦍
Really cool how all the good natural channels are making this video. Real tight knit community.
Everything does work.
1.Got 26 inch legs by mostly low bar squatting.
2.Powerlifting bench makes it a decline and builds the lower packs. U have to be flat to build ur upper packs.
3.Triceps don't get built by just benching. I grew from 16.5 to 17 inch arms in just 2 and a half month just by adding close grip bench 6 sets per week.
4.Overhand and neutral grips on ur compound pulls will not fatigue your biceps more than ur Brachialis. So u absolutely need to do isolation for ur biceps. And if u really want big biceps loosen ur wrists allowing them to hang. Ur forearms will be mostly out of the curl putting more emphasis on the biceps.
Love my man Alex, he got a rare quality which most people lack of especially fitness influencers, the willingness to admit he is wrong in the past and learn valuation lesson from it.
"We have to embrace that Guts/Berserk mentality"
A man of culture I see
_"Stop trying to impress others who will not be there for you in the long-term."_
Great quote Alex, especially in this day and age where we can lose so much time playing these status games...
the part about powerlifting is definitely right in my case but i see it in others too, we naturally want to belong to a group, but it just made me more unhappy, i just want to be buff and aesthetic but i wasted so much time and energy on something I am not.
I’ve been watching your channel since I was 15, I’m now 21. Thank you for the passion and gravity you always put into these discussions.
Great videos this Info needs to be keep repeating over and over again , cause to many channels like athlean x kill your gains and confuse the shit out of people , when all that matters is consistency over long term ,cheers!
I've tried about 50 different ways to skin the cat, but I'm still a DYEL. Do I hop on gear and curse my genetics at this point?
Love your point on learning biomechanics. Where would be the best place to start learning this? Any good books or youtube channels that I could start with?
Would also like to know this! I've asked a few of the natty channels but never got a response. It's a chink in my armor.
Great list Alex! Other than that, I'd say to give yourself time to rest between sets. I use to do the 1 1/2 min rest periods between sets and when I upped it to even just 3min, what a difference! Yeah, your training will go a little longer, but it'll feel that much better! Too many people on PEDs screwing over others saying their way is optimal/the best, when sure, for people on PEDs, but the normal joe/jane, not even close!
Amazing, I'm going to make sure to learn from this. Thank you ♥
So as far as nattys not taking advice from steroid abusers, I have a question: how come Mike israetel gets a pass on this? All of the Noble Nattys I follow (you, GVS, Alec Enkeri, etc) all seem to be perfectly fine with Mike and I don't understand. I'd follow him for those juicy crannogman skull gains, but otherwise I just see him as another steroid abuser.
It’s not solely about being a drug user it’s about if they “know how to train”. If you ask me my honest opinion I think Alex and Bald Omni Man are in a totally different league than everyone else. When I watch other people truthfully half the stuff they’re saying I disagree with. I think Alex was being pretty humble in this vid
🔥 info brotha. 45 yrs old, father of 5 and grandfather. LIFETIME NATTY IN THE HOUSE👊🏽💪🏽.
Love this. I remember when Candito was like “I need to curl”, that’s when had my oh shiiii moment, never looked back to PL.
Man, very powerful messages especially on point 3 and biomechanics. Solid solid points
Thank you for this amazing video Alex! Keep pursuing your goals, ypur goals. It was Basement Bodybuilding that made me realise that I don't care about bench and squat numbers to the point that I replaced them with other exercises. Tbh I don't care about my legs at all (maybe like 10%) but not more. And that ok, you don't need to care.
“Guts berserk mentality” I see what you did there.
Natty community content going crazy rn
It's a beautiful sight!
One thing I learned that the answer is often in the middle and its never black and white. Whenever something gets proved or debunked people take it to the opposite extremes. For example when it was proven that bro splits with doing million exercises and endless volume arent the optimal way to train but people took it to other opposite extreme with extreme minimalism. Variety of exercises and nonminimalism doesnt mean you train like a bro. Or that size equals strength and then people think they need to train like powerlifter when in reality there is benefit from both lighter/higher rep sets as well as few heavy "strength" sets and even if your goal is to get stronger that doesnt mean that all your focus has to be squats/deadlifts.
Love the list, man, and I also enjoyed how far in depth you went with each point. Even for a seasoned fitness consumer, such as myself, I found a lot of wisdom in listening to your breakdown. Really appreciate people like you! Hopefully, with the help of you and others, we can shift this industry 💪🤓
This was an awesome, long segment! Definitely one of your Magnum Opus. Thank you for being one of the experienced lifters who share your lessons, so the young guns who follow you (like me!) can learn from the mistake of our Sensei's so we can develop ourselves without the same setbacks. I believe this is how humanity grows and evolves - learning from our predecessors, both their successes (thanks for showing us what is possible with your lifts!) and their mistakes/failures (covered in this video). Keep up the great content Alex!
Thank you as always brother!!!
I have actually pivoted from bb to pl. I'm 34 now and I don't care about hypertrophy as much as when I was younger, but pl gives me objective goals and I'm a numbers guy, also at my job. I love spreadsheets and all that stuff.
Back in the day I would be super excited about the Mr. O. Now I'm disgusted by the guys in the open category. It's a complete saucefest and natural bb just isn't that spectacular on a stage. Classic physique is a good direction for the sport, but guys like Cbum are also sauced to the gills.
I don't half-ass my hypertrophy work but I have always loved the flat barbell bench, the deadlift and recently learned to love squats. They have been my best mass builders too. I would do 10 sets of bench just because I love the movement.
With time, I have found other exercises I love just as much, like the reverse grip barbell row or smith machine shoulder presses. Now I'm doing what I love and also track every set of every exercise in my app with graphs, 1rm conversions for multi-rep sets and just focus on making prs on every lift, even just an extra rep on cable crunches or the calf press machine. The visual aspect nowadays is a bonus.
Great approach, that beat the books mentality will take you far!
You, GVS and Bald Omni Man are the only fitness youtubers I still watch
They the only ones worth watching
I also like Basement Bodybuilding and Natural Hypertrophy a lot.
Gravity training and protein-man are good too
@@mlikoipura Gravity training rarely posts
I love that the natural community is uniting! We gotta keep doing this style of videos to bring each other up
Definitely need to do more videos like this and page others, the expanding discussions are too good!!
I was thinking the same thing
Full on straight up, this may be one of the best lifting videos that I have EVER seen on UA-cam
facts
The one thing I wish I knew: you don't need to squat 315x5, bench 225x5 and deadlift 405x5 to graduate to an intermediate program. I spent too long chasing those while running a modified version of SL 5x5.
your flame is burning strong youngling, make sure to pass it forward!
Thanks to Alex I no longer focus on Squat, Deadlift, Bench.
I focus on trapbar deadlifts, deep belt squats, DB bench press. Keeps my joints and back feeling a thousand times better and can use those movements to train like a bodybuilder with high volume.
I stick to more natural movement patterns than the dogmatic lifts I spent 10 years chasing numbers on.
About the powerlifting point: I am really glad you changed your perspective and shifted towards BB again. I had been following you for quite a while, but at some point decided to unsubscribe because you kept focusing so heavily on powerlifting to get big, which did not appeal to me at all.
This also related to an earlier point you made, that mostly everything works for building muscle. I feel like some are too dogmatic about their approach to getting bigger/stronger, when in reality there are many ways that lead to Rome. BB/calisthenics/etc., whichever style allows you to progress consistently and most efficiently, for you! Consistent effort, taking the best from all approaches and not being afraid too try something new are what I have learned rather recently about lifting (after +/- 5 years of lifting, during mostly of which I have been following you).
Once I noticed you changed your approach I resubbed and for the better, as I can now continue learning from you. Keep at it man! 🏆
The less ego lifting is what i've been trying lately. Dropped the weight by half on most of my exercises and focus on control/slow speed/contraction pause for 3-5 seconds/ and super slow stretchy negatives and man............ I'm getting super sore in places that I had challenges getting sore going heavy before ( biceps/back usually). Loving the light weight super controlled Phil Heath style.
When I started training five years ago, I just wanted to be stronger. I wanted to feel better about myself. Along the way, though, I conflated 'stronger' with 'strong'. I hit the 140kg deadlift after two and a bit years and felt stronger. But according to much of the community I had attached myself to, I was not 'strong'. It's easy to lose sight of wanting to be stronger when everyone in the sphere of lifting is reminding you that you're not strong, that you're not big. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm strongER and biggER. And that's what matters.
I wish I didn’t chase numbers on the big 3 for so long too, not that they wasn’t useful but I feel like I could of been doing better things to get towards my goals 👍🏼
Exactly, there's still merit but the focus doesn't have to be so specialized.
Have been watching you since 2016! Learned a lot from you!
Thank You!
I appreciate you super OG!!!
And 1 more
3 min rest in every set
And not 46 sec -1 min like the old days ..
Training enjoyment is the most underrated, not everyone wants to do big 3, i dont even squat anymore coz they arent fun
Alex I admit. I started cause wanted to be buff. And After years of training I dont give a fuck about the weight I lift in the big 3 movements. I built a aesthetic muscular body without them.
Love the powerlifting rant, it got big because of social media and people trying to flex, because it's faster to flex a lift you're good at than actually do a bunch of reps to failure and build visual muscle. When you have people who are just fat as shit, all they do is 1-3 reps, 10 min between sets, it's the furthest thing from "fitness". Also, these super skinny twigs who do nothing but deadlift, pull sumo, move the bar 3" off the ground and hitch it at the top, does any of that carry over anywhere to life? It certainly doesn't help them look better, I doubt that strength is applicable anywhere in the real world. Most people do this shit because they think they have to. I added 200lbs to my low handle trap bar deadlift and looked the same, but hurt more, have a hiatal hernia that is acting up and possibly a regular hernia now, fuck all of this shit. That increased deadlift strength was not noticeable anywhere else in life either.
Also, despite allllll of this knowledge and the sarms goblins etc, the average regular lifter people at the gym looked a lot better 20 years ago.
Great video Alex! Are you still planning on making a whole video on the chest expander? I just bought one in hopes to fix my traps, rhomboids, and rear delt weakness and I love it so far but I’m sure I could use a few tips
Hey man thanks for the donation, I will be doing a complete video on the Chest Expander (hopefully this month) where I discuss all the benefits, showcase the best exercises/possible routines, and buying options. Stay tuned!
While you're trying out your expander, experiment with some rows with a more upper back bias (pull toward your chest / sternum rather than lower). OHP, upright row and pullups / pulldowns all hit your upper back in a fantastic way. So many good exercises to try out - I'm sure you'll find something that works (and especially something you enjoy).
💪💪💪
@@nmnate thanks bro appreciate it❤️
Sadly the "too much investment in powerlifting" is super accurate for me. I think we grew up in our 20s when youtube fitness and powerlifting intersected perfectly from around 2012 - 2018. Focusing super hard on low bar back squats has been one of my biggest time wasters for example. It's incredibly un-athletic with zero carryover to my current interests in MMA, BJJ, muay thai. I never ever once cared about doing a powerlifting meet, but I was convinced that these arbitrary numbers like a 500lb squat was first and foremost necessary to be "strong."
How is it unathletic? Strength is strength bro, squats have immense carryover to athleticism that's why football players and sprinters squat
I disagree. The low bar back squat has been a game changer for me in BJJ.
Squats have really boosted the mobility in my hips and ankles while building strength through my core.
For people like us, I agree, consistency was key because we auto-regulated. For the average person - consistency is part of it, but the right program needed to be in place too. If the average person consistently go no results, they will likely quit.
“I LIKE the barbell bench press”. Holy shit that’s great. People get so caught up in the ego trip of ‘grinding’ and being able to brag about how hard you work that we forgot that training is supposed to be enjoyable.
Right??? It's that friggen simple!!!! I love the barbell bench press to death so idgaf if some converging machine chest press is marginally better.
I’ve been a follower for about 3 years now and over this last year I’ve definitely been able to see your perspective on bodybuilding change. I feel like the approaches you took and the lifts you started doing reflect that you’ve been more open to trying more “normalized” training in a sense. For example, instead of doing all the crazy overloads like slingshot pin press with chains (just saying a random variation here, that was probably an exaggeration) or banded z press, you’re sticking to more basic lifts like seated shoulder presses and Larsen presses. That’s not to say accommodated resistance is bad, but it’s definitely not something you’d normally see in the bodybuilding world. Your training was more powerlifting biased, which makes sense because if you’re strong you’re usually big. It’s what you’ve preached for years. I was definitely influenced by some of your older full body and upper body workouts. I used to binge your playlist, I looked into the conjugate method, hell there was a period where some of my UA-cam channel had things like swiss bar pin presses and rack pulls above the knee. But as a skinny guy who is literally 10 lbs away from even having a 1000 lb total, I’ve drifted away from that stuff. All I need is the basics and it’s refreshing to see you doing what you’re doing now.
Dude I love this commentary! Definitely, the longer I train the more simple my ideologies become.. especially for Bodybuilding. All those variations you mentioned are good when approached correctly, but it's true that there was a very strong strength bias that confused a lot of people. It's crazy how much our training can change over the years.
Agreed, 100%, all the dyel powerlifters and their fart sniffing big 3 dogma does come across as copium.
Really love your videos. One of the only ones who tells it how it is. I think I may have fallen into the same trap and this video has highlighted that for me.
17:20
My problem is finding what works for me. Confused as to when to change a workout program or how and I've been training for years. It is demotivating for sure
Your point about not wasting time to pursue goals you never cared about, that spoke to me, bro. I hate bodybuilding, I liked being smaller and focusing on my conditioning, my running, my kettlebelling, I only started lifting cause people kept saying I was small! Well, fck em!! I gained 20lbs and I hate how I feel and look, I'm doing what I want from now on!!!! Great video
What a character progression youve had... this is my favourite video from you. Just the right timing because i was considering maybe quitting (i struggle with staying consitent with things, or i go FULL in which ive been doing the last 3 years in the gym or i dont do it at all)
holy shit what a speech, that should be a TED talk
Love this, i realized i hate conventional deadlifts and im going to just do stiff leg from now on
Likewise brother, haven't done conventional deadlifts in so long and not missing them!
Just do sumo
Loved this video Alex, thank you for making so much top quality content, you've helped me improve my training over the past years.
My number 1 thing I wish I knew earlier was how important a calorie surplus is to growth. I started lifting 3yrs ago and unfortunately found athlean X's content. I was 64kg and 175cm at 15-16yrs old. I then proceeded to train consistently while not eating enough, causing me to lose weight (down to a shredded 60kg) and compromise my gains throughout the whole covid lockdowns. I also developed orthorexia and viewed food as good and bad. This past year and a half has seen me gain 16kg and completely change physically and mentally. I look and feel better, my performance is better, bulking is amazing
27:27 Yep 100%, I did my own version of this but I'd agree with this entirely. My main movements for Bench when I was competing were the CGBP and Feet Up Bench, but I really could have use a lot more variety and in particular harder variations which weren't as demanding on my joints and nervous system. As well as that combining periods of strictly BB work throughout the year, rather than just hammering away at getting stronger year round. Great points Alex.
Well put as usual Faz and many should check out your video ua-cam.com/video/104aOI7e1NU/v-deo.html
@@AlexLeonidas appreciate you Alex 👑
27:28 "stop with the black and white bullshit" PREAAAACCCHHH!!!! 🗣
First thing first you need to love yourself and the one who love you first. After that all the noise doesnt matter anymore.
How does what you say about doing more with less weight apply to your ideas on weighted stretch movements, like rack pulls and farmers walks?
Been lifting six years, starting with 5x5s and then upper lower splits.
What I’ve learned by now as an intermediate lifter in my 50s is that slowly but surely is the way. Injury is the chief deterrent that can slow you down. Don’t give up and keep changing your approach as you persevere on the same basic lifts: which are:
OH press
Bench press
Squats or leg press
Sumo or dead lifts
Rows
Pull ups
Bicep Curls
Trap shrugs
Lateral raises.
Glute thrusts
Any idea where I can learn Biomechanics?..
To the point of powerlifting, that is actually what I want. I would keep my current physique (30% body fat AT LEAST) if that's what was needed to pick up heavy things and put up great numbers. I would rather be strong than attractive.
As soon as I finished typing that you got into general strength vs specificity. Hm. Something to think about for sure.
You know what Alex, you are the only fitness youtube personality that is still doing the insane amount of work after all these years and you constantly provide value and share knowledge with us. Thank you so much man, we are lucky to have you.
What do crossfitters, powerlifters, and strongmen have in common? They all end up bodybuilding eventually. :)
In the powerlifting segment: Yeah, I definitely don't want to chase numbers in the long run. I want functional strength and decent size, but most importantly, I want to be able to move my body through space with zero impedance. You know, to be able to do all the things fat people CAN'T do, like sprint, jump, spin, climb, flip, etc.
However, one of the only measures of progress I'll have for a long time is weight on the bar/machine. Until I cut at least 150 pounds of fat, I'm not really going to see my gains. Feel them? Sure, but it's still discouraging to wear yourself out and not see the number go up _at all_ as a newbie lifter, even after two months of benching/flys/db-press for chest and assisted pullups/pulldowns/rows for back.
If everything works in pretty much every different industry, then what is the point of people making programs/brands around a specific method, especially if those methods are fixed (ex: carnivore). Love your videos by the way!!
I am absolute agree with you alex. I hate "names", powerlifting, bodybuılding, calistenics etc. I don't feel like I belong to any of these names.
I feel you on this. I'm 34 and constantly asked by young guys or old guys new to the game if I'm on gear. Or what is the secret to quick results. I tell them no, program hard and learn to embrace the suck. They are disinterested.
14:20 I can't stand steroid apologists who say: "Ohhh but they still worked hard for it!" Bullshit. IF I've been taking roids since the beginning of my fitness journey I would be twice as jacked.