I'd post this on the fitness sub but they're mostly a bunch of pretentious pricks, so bear with me..

So I've been going to the gym regularly for the last month and a half, and it's been great. I've been improving immensely (noob gains ftw) on everything except bench press (but that's not why I'm posting).

Basically I've just been going to the gym and doing random lifts with no real plan, routine, program or anything else. The only consistent thing about my trips to the gym is that I do pyramid sets with nearly everything, and that I squat a lot, and when I do go, I go hard every time.

I looked up programs but not sure what to go with, what I should be doing, what I shouldn't be doing - for example I want to do a 4 day split - Arms, Legs, Chest, Back?, or something like that but I'm concerned with the efficiency of what I'm doing, and I'm left with several questions:

  • Which area should I be working on my 4th day? And is my split structured in the best order?

  • Besides eating (my diet isn't the problem) how do I structure my lifts for the best results for strength and noticeable aesthetic differences?

  • How many times/week should I be squatting?

  • Why isn't my bench press improving?

  • Should I even be doing pyramid sets?

  • How many workouts and sets should I be doing each trip to the gym? How much is too much?

..and many others.

Like I said - I'm clueless. I'm really devoted to getting the most from the gym and going 4-5 times per week is no problem. When I leave the gym, sometimes I feel like I wasted my time, or at least didn't get the most out of the time I spent there.

It's like the quote: "Work smarter, not harder". I hate feeling like I'm not doing this the right way. I know if I had all the knowledge I needed that I would have no problem crushing my workouts and meeting all of my fitness goals.

Tips? Advice?