Stop doing squats and deadlifts. A gymcels guide to body aesthetics.

DaddyT

DaddyT

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Visit any body building forum, r/bodybuilding or the misc and the standard, canned advice du-jour for newbies is “do the big three”. Bench, squats and deadlifts. These lifts are also the basis for programs like 5x5 stronglifts. You're a gymcel, you know all this already. What you might not know is that these programs originally existed just to get new lifters into the gym and into the routine of lifting heavy shit. They should be abandoned as soon as possible if you want to grow, but somehow they've developed into a quasi-religion.

Bench is okay (there are better, safer alternatives), but JFL if you've been lifting for more than a few months and you're still doing squats and deadlifts in 5 sets of 5 reps.

Stronglifts is a powerlifting routine. Do you want an aesthetic body or do you want to brag about your 1 rep max deadlift to your bros while looking like fried twinkie filling? Because if you keep drinking gallons of milk every day and doing heavy glute work, you will end up looking like shit and wasting your time.

zMgmcoS.png


Squats and deadlifts will make your glutes and your lower back thick as fuck. Do you know who likes seeing tight glutes and a strong back on dudes? Other dudes.... while they're plowing them from behind.

Also, the thicker your back and bigger your ass becomes, the more muscle you have to build on your shoulders and arms to counter-balance it. Bodybuilding is all about proportions. If you have wide shoulders and a think waist, you will look jacked regardless of your actual measurements. You ever see a dude on Insta that looks aesthetic as fuck only to find out he's a turbo manlet with a 26" waist? Yeah, you got frauded by his proportions and so did all the girls that swiped him on Tinder.

You want a skinny waist and wide as fuck shoulders. Logically there are only two ways to get there:
1. Lose fat on your waist.
2. Gain size on your shoulders.

If you're thickening your back up with endless deadlifts and squats, you have to do so much more work than the paltry 5 sets of 5 on the bench twice a week to outpace those gains.

Gymcels are slowly beginning to realize this and are dropping the ego lifts. You can see this in the rise of calisthenics which focus almost exclusively on upper body and upper core exercises. You know, the kind of training that develops wide shoulders, a thin waist, and abs. The things that 10/10 qt JBs love to crush on.

So, how do you get there?
Drop the squats and deadlifts (and the ego) and replace them with the new King of Lifts: the chin up and the pull up.

To get an aesthetic, natural v-taper, you want to be building up your lats (underarms muscles), delts (shoulders), pecs (duh) and triceps (easier to grow than biceps). Slow, controlled sets of 20 chin ups and pull ups with a slow descent/negative will give you a ton of time under tension of all of these muscle groups in the same set. If you've never done hard sets up chin/pull ups before you can expect your back to blow up like a fucking cobra in no time.

But what about leg day? I surely can't be telling me you skip leg day? Leg days is a fucking meme mostly perpetuated by skinny cunts on bb and Reddit who's grip strength can't even crack open a bottle of Soylent. Those 10/10 qt JBs don't give a flying fuck about aesthetic legs. You've been lied to. Leg day is a fucking scam.

Lift for aesthetics and save your time and energy for moneymaxing and dermarolling your NW3.
 
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High iq, didn't read
 
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Wow this thread is unbelievably low iq. Working out legs and doing those heavy compound lifts like squats and deadlifts will make the intensity and heartrate go up a lot and legs have the largest muscles in the mody that release more testosterone. By skipping legs you essentially decrease your natural testosterone and also decrease the effectiveness of your upper body pushing and pulling workouts. I do agree that 5x5 is not optimal but leg day needs to be included (I do 3x12 progressive overload). Also idk about other people but I usually am one horny bastard after leg day, I also just feel a lot more energetic.
 
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best advice you will read itt:
don't take gym advice from someone that tells you not to squat and deadlift
 
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I agree that stronglifts 5x5 GOMAD is a DOGSHIT MEME. But that doesnt mean squats and deadlifts are all shit.

I dont care what anyone says. I'm pround of my 535 Deadlift and 385 Squat (Bench isn't bad either its 295)
best advice you will read itt:
don't take gym advice from someone that tells you not to squat and deadlift
man of culture right here :feelsez::feelsez::feelsez::feelsez:
 
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You should definitely squat and deadlift but after 3 plate squat and 4 plate deadlift it's mostly cope if your goal is aesthetics

Agree that pull ups are the best upper body exercise. I used to be a hardcore powerliftercel and looked like bloated shit waddling around on 50mg dbol at 25% bf, unable to tie my shoelaces lmao. Now my routine is 90% calisthenics and cardio and I'm irl stronger and feel/look much better
 
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i read the best way to get wide was breathing squats and pullovers tbh
 
I was once like op and avoided squat and deadlift like the plague. But once I picked them up again and got decent numbers my physique got to the next level.
I strongly recommend them. They will give you the college athlete look a real pussy wetter and guys will be intimidated by you.
how you look like at the end depends wholly on your diet. the guys op mentions are people that dont give a shit about a lean bulk and only want to rack up numbers so they eat non stop. Do the big 4 shoulder press bench deadlift and squat and get your diet perfectly and you will look like the sculptures from Ancient Greek.
if you don’t believe me you can pm me for pics.
 
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avoid squats and deadlift , the two most important exercises lol
 
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I think ivysaur 448 is a good beginner program, I gained both strength and muscle back when I used it, also focuses slightly more on upper body.
 
Strong second post tbh.
 
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Why not just do double the amount of volume for upper body compared to lower body? Surely legs and lower back are still important for aesthetic, just not as much as upper body
 
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Why not just do double the amount of volume for upper body compared to lower body? Surely legs and lower back are still important for aesthetic, just not as much as upper body

I think both should be treated equally, not for aesthetics, but because it is important to maintain balance, neglecting certain muscle groups can cause serious complications later on
 
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best advice you will read itt:
don't take gym advice from someone that tells you not to squat and deadlift
Thank you for being a reasonable voice in the echoes of retardation surrounding this site
 
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false dichotomy. not everyone who squats and DLs does dogshit programs like starting strength.

actually well programmed full body or upper lower splits containing lots of good mornings, box squats, and sufficient upper body volume which SS has nowhere near, will give results. and u can always do side laterals and curls to round off aesthetics.
 
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Women love male ass, what is this cope
 
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Hamstrings help with running and thrusting, quads with carrying.

You can do Romanian deadlifts to focus on hamstrings, can use lighter weights overall to spare spinal discs from deadlift and prevent compression (=short) from squats

Movements should be not be slow, but you must protect your back with perfect form. Explosiveness also depends on muscle composition and genetics, and neural training
 
Lol I stopped doing them anyways because they will reduce your height
 
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ban OP for being a fucking retard and spreading bullshit tbh

@Lorsss @BigBiceps
 
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That said, V taper is indeed most important. Beyond bones, we will work on the most sexually dimorphic muscles, the traps, neck, delts, lats
 
Lol i workout for mma training my genetics are being lean forever so i will never be higher bf than 16%
I do shitload of leg workout and my legs are still skinny asf but strong
 
Just based on the title this guide is complete bullshit

didn't read
 
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@Deliciadecu
 
They don't
Im pretty sure Rob from Celebheights say .
That exercises like squats and deadlifts will wear out your spine if you do often.
And make you shorter permanently because of damage
 
I agree that stronglifts 5x5 GOMAD is a DOGSHIT MEME. But that doesnt mean squats and deadlifts are all shit.

I dont care what anyone says. I'm pround of my 535 Deadlift and 385 Squat (Bench isn't bad either its 295)

man of culture right here :feelsez::feelsez::feelsez::feelsez:
age and years of lifting?
 
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ban OP for being a fucking retard and spreading bullshit tbh

@Lorsss @BigBiceps

Ban an opinion you don’t agree with? What is this, Reddit?

Jfl this site. I’m out.
 
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JFL at not training ass. Girls love a nice ass on a man.
 
Legit thread
Squatcopers BTFO
 
Wow this thread is unbelievably low iq. Working out legs and doing those heavy compound lifts like squats and deadlifts will make the intensity and heartrate go up a lot and legs have the largest muscles in the mody that release more testosterone. By skipping legs you essentially decrease your natural testosterone and also decrease the effectiveness of your upper body pushing and pulling workouts. I do agree that 5x5 is not optimal but leg day needs to be included (I do 3x12 progressive overload). Also idk about other people but I usually am one horny bastard after leg day, I also just feel a lot more energetic.
I agree with this and yes whenever i train legs I feel more high T as well. Just use your common sense OP, if you feel your lower body is wider than your upper body then focus on upper more. I'm don't always do deadlifts and squats especially when i train while fasting but it's really help for posture and overall gains from my experience.
 
best advice you will read itt:
don't take gym advice from someone that tells you not to squat and deadlift
he has a point everyone that starts gym just gets bloated and does 5x5 if you want to get aesthetic you need to also lift in the hypetrophy range and not eat in a caloric surplus constantly
 
Im pretty sure Rob from Celebheights say .
That exercises like squats and deadlifts will wear out your spine if you do often.
And make you shorter permanently because of damage
I have read every scientific article on this and all say that i doesn't do anything to height, if you get a serious injury tho, thats different
 
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literally everyone everywhere recommends FBW 5x5 stronglifts I followed the routine and made some decent aesthetic gains and strength, just make sure to add good accessory exercises
 
Visit any body building forum, r/bodybuilding or the misc and the standard, canned advice du-jour for newbies is “do the big three”. Bench, squats and deadlifts. These lifts are also the basis for programs like 5x5 stronglifts. You're a gymcel, you know all this already. What you might not know is that these programs originally existed just to get new lifters into the gym and into the routine of lifting heavy shit. They should be abandoned as soon as possible if you want to grow, but somehow they've developed into a quasi-religion.

Bench is okay (there are better, safer alternatives), but JFL if you've been lifting for more than a few months and you're still doing squats and deadlifts in 5 sets of 5 reps.

Stronglifts is a powerlifting routine. Do you want an aesthetic body or do you want to brag about your 1 rep max deadlift to your bros while looking like fried twinkie filling? Because if you keep drinking gallons of milk every day and doing heavy glute work, you will end up looking like shit and wasting your time.

zMgmcoS.png


Squats and deadlifts will make your glutes and your lower back thick as fuck. Do you know who likes seeing tight glutes and a strong back on dudes? Other dudes.... while they're plowing them from behind.

Also, the thicker your back and bigger your ass becomes, the more muscle you have to build on your shoulders and arms to counter-balance it. Bodybuilding is all about proportions. If you have wide shoulders and a think waist, you will look jacked regardless of your actual measurements. You ever see a dude on Insta that looks aesthetic as fuck only to find out he's a turbo manlet with a 26" waist? Yeah, you got frauded by his proportions and so did all the girls that swiped him on Tinder.

You want a skinny waist and wide as fuck shoulders. Logically there are only two ways to get there:
1. Lose fat on your waist.
2. Gain size on your shoulders.

If you're thickening your back up with endless deadlifts and squats, you have to do so much more work than the paltry 5 sets of 5 on the bench twice a week to outpace those gains.

Gymcels are slowly beginning to realize this and are dropping the ego lifts. You can see this in the rise of calisthenics which focus almost exclusively on upper body and upper core exercises. You know, the kind of training that develops wide shoulders, a thin waist, and abs. The things that 10/10 qt JBs love to crush on.

So, how do you get there?
Drop the squats and deadlifts (and the ego) and replace them with the new King of Lifts: the chin up and the pull up.

To get an aesthetic, natural v-taper, you want to be building up your lats (underarms muscles), delts (shoulders), pecs (duh) and triceps (easier to grow than biceps). Slow, controlled sets of 20 chin ups and pull ups with a slow descent/negative will give you a ton of time under tension of all of these muscle groups in the same set. If you've never done hard sets up chin/pull ups before you can expect your back to blow up like a fucking cobra in no time.

But what about leg day? I surely can't be telling me you skip leg day? Leg days is a fucking meme mostly perpetuated by skinny cunts on bb and Reddit who's grip strength can't even crack open a bottle of Soylent. Those 10/10 qt JBs don't give a flying fuck about aesthetic legs. You've been lied to. Leg day is a fucking scam.

Lift for aesthetics and save your time and energy for moneymaxing and dermarolling your NW3.
Kind of true. Disagree on the ass part though. Girls really like/respect ass because they like/ want to grow their own ass.
 
I disagree. Also, lol that you are non ironically talking about "slow eccentrics", "time under tension". Intensity, volume, and reps in reserve are what matters.
I powerlifted. All I would have to do here is lose 5-8 pounds to get rid of my love handles, and I would have had a decent physique. So many powerlifters look like garbage because they are just trying to lift as much weight as possible.... extra bodyfat helps with that. If they cut down, they would look good. Have you seen some of the chinese Oly lifters? Insane physiques, and they do TONS of squatting.

1590429784955
 
I both agree and disagree.

I think doing powerlifting for the sake of aesthetics is stupid - its higher risk and less effective, AND it motivates overeating. With that being said, doing a lot of compound movements won't make you look bad due to proportions or stuff like that. Your arms and shoulders will grow doing bench and deadlifts, and you could and should always throw in some curls and isolation stuff.

My issue with doing bodybuilding training is that I find it so boring. Powerlifting was simply more fun to me.

In the end, diet should be the focus. Working out in any aspect is borderline cope. We all have this idea about doing some herculean effort in the gym to achieve an awesome physique, but in 2020 most men's main problem is their diet. Eating in a caloric deficit to get a low bodyfat percentage is what matters. Most top tier aesthetic men have just a small amount of muscle more than average guy, and not close to any dedicated bodybuilder. Its about fat percentage, proportions, face and height.

I'd recommend maxxing out activities that ups caloric usage and dieting that keeps calories low to maintain a low bodyfat percentage, and then doing some base level of activity / resistance training to build/maintain acceptable amount of muscle mass. If someone is passionate about lifting weights then sure, but for attracting women, its a waste of time. Bodyfat, face, height.
 
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age and years of lifting?
18 when I got my squat (385). 17 when I got my bench (295) and also 17 when I got my deadlift (535).

About 2.5 years of lifting
 
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18 when I got my squat (385). 17 when I got my bench (295) and also 17 when I got my deadlift (535).

About 2.5 years of lifting
fat powerlifter, steroids or good genetics?
 
gymcels need to understand what they want, eg strength or muscle size
then make a program off of that.
 
fat powerlifter, steroids or good genetics?
I'm natty lol. I've never touched a roid.

Not fat either. Bodyweight is around 164-167lb at around 14-15% bf.

I can PM you my YouTube channel that has my lifts posted for proof (dont doxx pls).
 
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I'm natty lol. I've never touched a roid.

Not fat either. Bodyweight is around 164-167lb at around 15% bf.

I can PM you my YouTube channel that has my lifts posted for proof (dont doxx pls).
I'm 18 as well, about to turn 19.

I'm 176 lbs @ 10% body fat.

My squat is 375 lbs and my bench is 275 lbs (I have 6'6 wingspan with long arms which makes it harder to bench). I haven't tried a 1 rep max with deadlift, it's probably in the low 400s lbs range

I thought I had good genetics but you mog me.

You have elite powerlifting genetics. 535 lbs deadlift at 165 lbs is just beyond insane. You could legit enter a powerlifting natty meet and win.

I'd love to see it, I won't dox you.
 
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i'm 20 now and been skinny fat since 16 i've been on fuckaroundlifts for a year now but as of the latest 2 weeks i've bought a pull up bar and started more focousing on bodyweight shit, mostly through a danish PT on google his name is oskar faarkrog. In these 2 weeks i've been doing push ups like crazy and a few chin ups and diamond push ups and i've felt much better than doing compound and it's hitting the right areas. it's also about small frame since a small frame guy can't take as much stress as a big frame guy and especially with small framed guys with little to no muscle mass. fuck my trash genetics anyways.

 
LIFEFUEL THREAD BECAUSE I DO CALIS INSTEAD OF GYM
 
Bullshit, i was doing squats and it hepled me a lot, becaause my upperbody was already big and i was balancig it, big quads gave me nice proportionate overall shape, squaat will not neccecerely increase glute size, it depends on anatomy of who is doing it, my glutes never grew from squats, only quads did, i had to do extra isolation exercises for glutes to balance out my body. Also you are wrong that other dudes like man's glutes, only gays like man's glutes and WOMEN, lot of WOMEN like glutes on man.

Also if one is doing squats regurally, which is very high intense exercise, body will adapt and other exercise look like crap, hovewer i agree that the beginers should not start with 5x5, they should start with high reps and learn correct form first, who the fuck will learn how to squat with 5x5???

I also agree on that who is going to the gym for women, should focus on exercises which will give them most benefits in terms of aaesthetics, which taarget the musscle groups such as triceps, shoulders, lats, neck, traps and abs of course, in short all the exercises which target muscles which give V tapper looks, but beginers should not just neglect squats aand deadlifts, they just should not embrace it a very begining, those are advanced movements and are not meant for beginers to do it in low rep ranges.
 

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