What is working for me so far: training

I’ve trained with a personal trainer before. It definitely works, having someone waiting for you at the gym at a specific time, who adjusts your session based on how you feel, is incredibly effective for consistency. But it depends on logistics: my trainer only worked at one gym, I moved far from it, and that was the end of it.

I’ve had a gym bro, it also definitely works, you agree on a time, you show up because someone is counting on you, you push each other and it’s fun. But again, if schedules don’t work out, it can be hard to keep it working.

I’ve also trained solo, following a routine from my trainer. At least for me, this was the hardest, it was too easy to stay in the comfort zone without the external accountability.

Usually, with topics like these, the usual advice is to “find something that works for you”, so I thought I’d share what’s working for me right now.

What I’m doing: a spreadsheet.

Specifically, Candito’s 6 Week Strength Program. You enter your one rep max of the three main lifts (bench press, squats, and deadlifts), it generates all the weights for 6 weeks, and it auto-adjusts if you fail in some of the sessions, but it’s thought to be challenging enough for your level.

Why this works better than anything else I’ve tried when training solo:

• No self-negotiation on weights. The spreadsheet tells me what to lift. If I was doing this on my own, I’d forever stay at a weight I’m comfortable with.
• Automatic adjustment. If I underperform, the system lowers the load. I had to reduce my squat max in cycle 3 because I only hit 7 reps when I needed 8. The program dealt with it, I just kept going.
• Gradual progression. Every cycle the weights go up a bit. Not enough to be scary, but enough that ~22 weeks later, things look different.

Combine this with having the rule of being in the gym at 3pm every training day (I chose this time because gym is

Bench Press

• Cycle 1: 79.1 → 84.6 kg (+5.5 kg, +7.0%)
• Cycle 2: 84.6 → 90.0 kg (+5.4 kg, +6.4%)
• Cycle 3: 90.0 → 95.5 kg (+5.5 kg, +6.1%)
• Cycle 4: 95.5 → 98.0 kg (+2.5 kg, +2.6%)
• Total: 79.1 → 98.0 kg (+23.9%)

Squat (note: I do front squats here instead)

• Cycle 1: 98.2 → 103.6 kg (+5.4 kg, +5.5%)
• Cycle 2: 103.6 → 109.1 kg (+5.5 kg, +5.3%)
• Cycle 3: 109.1 → 103.7 kg (reduced due to failed reps) → 109.1 kg (+5.4 kg from reduced base)
• Cycle 4: 109.1 → 117.3 kg (+8.2 kg, +7.5%)
• Total: 98.2 → 117.3 kg (+19.5%)

Deadlift

• Cycle 1: 141.8 → 150.0 kg (+8.2 kg, +5.8%)
• Cycle 2: 150.0 → 160.9 kg (+10.9 kg, +7.3%)
• Cycle 3: 160.9 → 166.8 kg (+5.9 kg, +3.7%)
• Cycle 4: 166.8 → 167.2 kg (+0.4 kg, +0.2%)
• Total: 141.8 → 167.2 kg (+17.9%)

The numbers are modest, still no real 100kg bench press, nor I got to my 120kg PR in front squats. By just trying to progressively increase the weights on my own each session, I’d have probably gotten similar or faster results, but there’s no rush for me, I’m trying to optimize for consistency and continuous improvement, and I feel this just hits that exact spot!

I’ve been training for 22 weeks so far, with 2 of those weeks off: one due to vacations, and the other deliberately taken as rest (the spreadsheet allows you to choose if you want to do this, so even this rest period is built-in).

Lots of points are left to improve: better technique (where a gym bro or personal trainer would work best), nutrition optimization, etc., but I’m glad that I’ve already gotten great results in terms of consistency.