erik [he/him]

Agree. Elden Ring is the only one I’ve liked personally. And a big reason is being able to fuck off and go do something else if you find a boss battle or section of the game too difficult. There’s so much to do and explore and check out that it didn’t feel like I was “grinding” ever.

Thanks. And yeah, I agree. There are some seriously strong folks here and it’s nice to see.

At this point, age I think. Don’t want to doxx myself, but I’m thoroughly middle aged and I think I’ve maxed out what I can do without gear given my age. I’m almost at a three plate one rep max for bench, 435 lbs squat, almost 500 lbs deadlift. Without juicing or at least testosterone supplementation, I think this is probably about the best I can do. Which is fine, I’m plenty strong for someone that just wants to be strong and isn’t an athlete or something.

I would agree with @sobuddywhoneedsyou@lemmygrad.ml again and say you’ll want to focus on big complex lifts then. Bench, overhead, squat, deads, barbell rows, etc. The dips you’ve got are good, and I’d add some sort of pull/chin-up. Wide grip is the most effective in my opinion, but they are rather difficult and you do have lat pull downs, so neutral grip could be good too.

Once you get more comfortable with lifting, I’d say Olympic lifting might really be where it’s at (assuming you have the space/equipment for it). Moving bigger weight with a wide variety of muscles is a great way to build mass and health. We all love curls and having pump in the arms, but for health and mass, you can’t beat a powerful clean and press. Big weight, lots of muscles involved and puts a good amount of stress on your cardio system for health.

You have some good specific recommendations from @sobuddywhoneedsyou@lemmygrad.ml, so I’ll talk more about high level, type stuff.

I’d worry less about the specific amount of weight and reps and more about RPE (rate of perceived exertion). Make sure you are pushing yourself to change through progressive overload. I don’t know what your progression plan is, but if you don’t have one, you should consider having a plan in place. You need to stress the body to change or it won’t, that includes muscle growth, strength or whatever your goals are.

That leads to my other point, it’s great to get active and improve your health, but part of what will inform a good program is what your goals are. Are you looking at health, practical strength, sport, aesthetics? There’s overlap in all of those, of course, but knowing what you want out of your time at the gym can better inform what you want your routine to look like.

Yeah, there’s a lot to be said for optimized training and getting the most out of your time in the gym. But the best program is the one you’ll actually do. Especially for those of us that aren’t like, professional powerlifters or something and need to hit certain lofty numbers.

My bench has always been my worst lift of the big four. I’ve never tested my 8RM, but my 1RM is 280 lbs. and has been for years. Would love to get up to three plates, but I don’t know if I ever will at this point. But, I’m also addicted to trying out new programs, maybe if I really sat down and picked a bench focused program like Smolov Jr. or something I would get it moving. I’ve been program lifting for almost a decade, to at this point the actual workout being fun is more important to me than hitting bigger numbers and I don’t know if heavy benching four days a week is all that appealing haha

I’m just not sure if Joe Barry is the guy. He’s never been the guy anywhere in his career it seems, but he runs the type of defense that Shanahan et al like and so that’s the big reason he’s there. The player talent is undeniable, but I’m just worried about Barry.