Just looking for a bit of advice on my weights routine

It's not meant to be easy. ;)

I'm still unclear as to why your knee hurts with squats but is fine with the leg press. At a guess, your squat technique is probably not right...

If I'm honest, leg press has been irritating my knee as well, so at least the problem is not exclusive to squats. Think I will get back on them shortly.
 
If you're only on your first few weeks of training, you nervous system is simply getting used to the activation patterns. This means your muscles get more of a zap when contracting, and so contract harder.

You'll find your weights shoot up for specific lifts for a while, and then they'll stop increasing anywhere near as quickly, simply because your muscles reach their limit and have to start growing properly.

With regard to rep routine, I'd stick to variations that have you around 24/25 total reps, i.e.

2*12
3*8
4*6
5*5

Ad nauseum.

Fewer reps over more sets is better for strength, but you'll pile the mass on if you et and ret correctly.
 
I think you lost me with that last sentence.

I've been lifting weights for a lot longer than a few weeks, just not as part of a proper routine as now.
 
Yup.

Regarding reps vs. sets, you can lift bigger weights fewer times, but smaller weights will result in loads of reps. The key thing s volume at the end of te day: i.e. total weight shifted. I prefer fewer reps with more sets, as I get a kick out of a protesting nervous system. :)
 
Hey again

So all settled in now, was thinking of adding in a couple of supplements to give me a bit of a boost. I think I'm eating at a small surplus, as I'm gaining about 1/2 pound a week, but lifts aren't always increasing every week.

In terms of supps, there seems to be too many, all promising wonderful benefits, generally with mixed reviews...

What would everyone recommend? Currently on just using fish oil/multivit/whey
 
Most supplements do sweet FA (from a science perspective) when it comes to strength and mass.

Consuming whey as you do is just another way of getting food down your neck.

There are very few that will actually do anything effective on a physiological level over an appropriate diet: creating is one, and caffeine is another.

Creating loading works by storing more glycogen in muscle tissue, meaning you can go harder for longer, as such. And no, if it worked in bed, Pfizer would never have scored with Viagra.

Caffeine has a rather interesting effect on the brain's response to 'fatigue' hormones: it blocks prolactin receptors in the brain, meaning the user doesn't feel like they're getting as tired, as quickly. The last study I looked at showed something like a 30% increase in exercise duration (for cyclists) when jazzed on 300mg of the stuff.

There are other supplements that have comedy effects (nitric oxide supplements, for instance) like increasing 'the pump,' but do nothing from a gains perspective.

Other stuff like Jack3d contains pseudoephedrine, which is a bit like caffeine crossed with speed, and definitely has a marked effect as a result. However, it is also a substance banned by WADA.

Bottom line? Eat more, sleep more. ;)
 
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