u/Jahordon

BTW, I love the app. It's been so much more convenient than the Blacknoir spreadsheets, as much as I loved those.

I have used GZCLP for probably 10 years and GZCL P-Zero for the last year. Lifting isn't my primary focus--I'm a dancer and have stayed pretty small and lean over the years--so I understand that my strength and size is low for my experience. But, I still want to get stronger and put on more muscle.

I have done these LP programs mostly consistently 3x per week, but sometimes I lift less frequently or even take a month off before an important dance competition. My lifts usually decrease a little after breaks, so my numbers yo-yo a bit. It does feel like I'm plateauing in some of them, for example my squat has consistently bounced between 185-235, and my OHP has bounced between 95-115 for 5RM. But it's hard to know if it's truly a plateau or my lack of consistency.

I've been thinking about switching to General Gainz from P-Zero, because if I am plateauing, I think GG is probably a better fit than an LP program. But I don't want to miss out on LP gains if they're still possible, and P-Zero seems to have more volume (especially in T3s), and that hypertrophy might help me put on more muscle mass.

My stats:

• Male, late 30s
• 5'8", 137lbs
• Squat 5rm: 215lbs
• Deadlift: 265
• Bench: 165
• OHP: 110

If it's relevant, I run, swim, or dance for about an hour 5-6x per week in addition to lifting, so maybe there is some interference, and I don't really have time to lift 4x per week.

Thank you in advance for any advice!

Edit: I have decided to try General Gainz. I'll do the 4-day split but cycle through the days to lift only 3x per week. Would you guys recommend changing the lifts around from the default template so it's not an upper/lower split?

For example, the default is:

1: Squat and romanian deadlift (lower)
2: Bench and incline bench (upper)
3: Deadlift and front squat (lower)
4: OHP and Chin up (upper)

Changing it to something like:

1: Squat and incline bench
2: Deadlift and chin up
3: Bench and front squat
4: OHP and romanian deadlift

That way, the muscle groups are more spread out throughout a given week.

I'm a competitive dancer and former competitive swimmer. I'm not actively training for a race, but I do like to see my times and general fitness improve (it's fun to see your LT pace improve or each park run with your friends be a new PR). I also lift to build muscle and get stronger.

I know that when I have a race or dance competition I should reduce lifting to go to maintenance mode and focus on event-specific training, but for most of the year I'm trying to get better at everything as efficiently as I can.

In hopes of doing so, I currently lift 3x per week following a program (GZCLP) and either swim or run every day. I usually do 2 quality runs per week (threshold or VO2 max intervals) and stack them on the same days I lift to keep my easy days easy. I've been wondering if running/swimming every day would actually get in the way of my recovery and hinder both my strength and running gains--i.e. would it be better to have 1 or even 2 days per week that have no cardio? And would it be better to have just 1 quality run per week instead of 2 when not training for a specific event?

Most runners I see only do a little strength training 1-2x per week for maintenance, and most lifters I see only do some zone 2 cardio to stay reasonably in shape. How would someone structure their week and workouts if they actually want to improve at both?

I can run a sub-20m 5k, swim 100 yards free in 1:00, bench 165, squat 235, deadlift 265, and OHP 115, so I'm in-shape but certainly not elite at anything. My lifts have the most room to improve, but I'm quite light at 140 pounds.

What weight should I be dropping to after failing to do the 30 reps in 4 sets? The program in Liftosaur has me going back to the weight I last used for my 60 rep attempt (even if I failed it, such as only doing 14 reps in 5 sets) plus 2.5/5 pounds. Usually, this means that I'm still unable to do the 60 reps in 3-4 sets, so I continue on to the next step which is the same weight in 45 reps.

Intuitively, I would think I should drop down to a weight I *could* do 60 reps of in 3-4 sets, such as the last time I *successfully* did so + 2.5/5 pounds. But I'm not sure I understand what the actual recommendation is.

Thanks for the help!

I've started playing again after like 6 years away. I used to be 6k (which was good then), but now I get to experience what it was like to be new and bad again as I've fallen to Archon. I have been a big Invoker spammer, so I'm always interested in how he's doing.

Seems like Invoker is doing quite well this patch, but everyone is playing him as Exort. I always thought that a faster meta would encourage QW Invoker, since he can more easily rotate and have an early impact, but the game has changed so much since I've last played. Midas seems to have been replaced by Meteor Hammer, which I'm a fan of, and I even liked it years ago to give Invoker wave clear and tower pressure that he severely lacked (though now with his Tornado aghs and the Ice Wall talent he actually seems pretty good at wave clear).