Stevo985 Posted August 6, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 6, 2012 Shouldn't wear glvoes for deads anyway because it widens the bar. Sore hands I think are pretty unavoidable. But it gets easier. As for grip, I don't use anything yet but you can get chalk to stop slipping. Some gyms might not take kindly to there being chalk everywhere so make sure you clean it up if you use it. Alternatively there are some sort of liquid equivalents, I think, that are much cleaner. You can also buy straps which help your grip. Again I don't use them personally but I know people who do. Again it won't stop your hands being sore but it'll strengthen your grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 6, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 6, 2012 Once I move gyms in September my gym will be on the way home from work and (hopefully) quiet enough that I can ACTUALLY go straight from work. Which will be great. Means I don't have to muster the motivation to get my arse of the sofa at 8:30 in the evening Fair play Stevo, absolutely no way would I be motivated enough to go at half eight at night! It's really tough. But I'm proud that it's been nearly 3 months since I missed a single gym session. But even when I go on a Saturday, I now go at 8am just to get the gym when it's quiet! When I got free passes to Virgin (which is where I'm moving to) we went at midday on a Saturday and it was practically empty. Only one other guy was using the free wieghts. Absolute bliss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa_shere Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 my (limited) experience of virgin active us that its a poor gym for free weights. The one in Solihull charges about £60-70 per month and it has 2 benchs only one squat rack and no additional bars for deadlifts. Never mind not having the environment to feel free to make as much noise as you want. There are some good gym here is a lil clip of me training in the gym down at Joseph Chamberlain college. Good facilitites and crowd and under £25 per month. (video is 6 months old but phone wont let me upload more videos for some reason :-s ) clicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante_Lockhart Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 DLs.. what kind of grip do you use? Have a look at this I use cycling gloves for my DLs. Thin (not padded) and just protect my hands a little. The missus HATES calluses so it's more for her than me. Not nice to get massaged with rough hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 7, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 7, 2012 my (limited) experience of virgin active us that its a poor gym for free weights. The one in Solihull charges about £60-70 per month and it has 2 benchs only one squat rack and no additional bars for deadlifts. Never mind not having the environment to feel free to make as much noise as you want. There are some good gym Your experience is flawed then. I've been there (The solihull one) a couple of times now on free passes and have 2 friends who are regulars. They have plenty of benches (6 from memory), more dumbells than I've ever seen at a gym (the one I'm at currently has one set per weight, in 2.5kg intervals). They do only have 1 squat rack from what i could see, but so does my current gym. Virgin do have additional bars though. Plus it's very quiet. They charge £49 per month. Which is a lot. But it's only £15 more than I pay now, and I'd be happy to pay that for the quietness of Virgin alone, let alone the fact that it includes all the spa facilities and classes etc. Oh, and the clunge there is top notch It's a cracking gym from what I've seen and heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa_shere Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 my (limited) experience of virgin active us that its a poor gym for free weights. The one in Solihull charges about £60-70 per month and it has 2 benchs only one squat rack and no additional bars for deadlifts. Never mind not having the environment to feel free to make as much noise as you want. There are some good gym Your experience is flawed then. I've been there (The solihull one) a couple of times now on free passes and have 2 friends who are regulars. They have plenty of benches (6 from memory), more dumbells than I've ever seen at a gym (the one I'm at currently has one set per weight, in 2.5kg intervals). They do only have 1 squat rack from what i could see, but so does my current gym. Virgin do have additional bars though. Plus it's very quiet. They charge £49 per month. Which is a lot. But it's only £15 more than I pay now, and I'd be happy to pay that for the quietness of Virgin alone, let alone the fact that it includes all the spa facilities and classes etc. Oh, and the clunge there is top notch It's a cracking gym from what I've seen and heard. Isnt it £49 for under 25s? Peak times it is very busy, i guess if you are going to train between 5-8 you chances of squating and DL'ing will be tough.IMO of course. The totty is quality tho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 7, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 7, 2012 Well both my mates are over 25 and they pay £49 so no I don't think so. Granted I haven't been there at peak times, but they go at around 6 pm and say they don't usuall have many problems DLing or squatting. I went around midday on a saturday last time and there was only one other guy using the free weights. It was amazing. If I went to Tudor GRange at midday on a saturday it would be absolutely rammed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted August 8, 2012 Moderator Share Posted August 8, 2012 Almost found a new way to injure myself today. Flys on bench til I fail. Eventually failed to raise 20kg with right arm and it nearly came down on my head Rolled out of way onto floor Went back for more though. I won Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villarule123 Posted August 10, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 10, 2012 Just went on a cycling machine for the first time in ages, is 1km in 1:33 any good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condimentalist Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 OK so I'm a pretty much a skinny **** with a thin layer of belly fat - kind of like a streaky bacon - and I'd like to bulk and tone a bit. I'm not looking for outrageous results but some visible improvement over the next 6-8 months would be great. I can't be at the gym more than 2-3 times a week and I'm not prepared to give up beer/bread etc because I like them too much. As I say, I'm not looking to smash any records. I've being going to the gym for the last couple of months, I usually do about half an hour on the machines and then swim for half an hour. Is this wasting my time? Do I need to go and look inadequate next to the tattooed monsters lifting 100k on the freeweights in order to progress? Any advice and tips would be welcome here chaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LockStockVilla Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 OK so I'm a pretty much a skinny **** with a thin layer of belly fat - kind of like a streaky bacon - and I'd like to bulk and tone a bit. I'm not looking for outrageous results but some visible improvement over the next 6-8 months would be great. I can't be at the gym more than 2-3 times a week and I'm not prepared to give up beer/bread etc because I like them too much. As I say, I'm not looking to smash any records. I've being going to the gym for the last couple of months, I usually do about half an hour on the machines and then swim for half an hour. Is this wasting my time? Do I need to go and look inadequate next to the tattooed monsters lifting 100k on the freeweights in order to progress? Any advice and tips would be welcome here chaps. I'm not a big dude, but I have a somewhat decent toned body (sounds a bit gay). I do not do too much in the weights department yet I do not have the scrawniest arms ever. What I typically do, mind you about 6/7 a week is 8km on the treadmill and then do about the same or less on the bike (usually 10-15 minutes). Then I will typically do about 75-100 push ups (sometimes elevated) followed by a couple of things involving my abs with the medicine ball such as these: And then on days you cannot make it to the gym you can at least take a small portion of your time to do some push ups and there is plenty of ab stuff to do at home. Following this for the past few years has worked pretty well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArteSuave Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 OK so I'm a pretty much a skinny **** with a thin layer of belly fat - kind of like a streaky bacon - and I'd like to bulk and tone a bit. I'm not looking for outrageous results but some visible improvement over the next 6-8 months would be great. I can't be at the gym more than 2-3 times a week and I'm not prepared to give up beer/bread etc because I like them too much. As I say, I'm not looking to smash any records. I've being going to the gym for the last couple of months, I usually do about half an hour on the machines and then swim for half an hour. Is this wasting my time? Do I need to go and look inadequate next to the tattooed monsters lifting 100k on the freeweights in order to progress? Any advice and tips would be welcome here chaps. Read the links from TheDon on the first page. Starting Strength is a very good program and will give you considerable visible noob gains in 6-8 months. It doesn't require you to eat clean and 3 one hour gym visits a week is plenty. It will definitely require that you conquer your fears of inadequacy in the freeweight section but if you stick to it for six months you'll laugh at the fact you think it takes a monster to lift 100kg. Rippetoe knows what he's doing (and some of his videos are quite amusing), so I'd recommend you watch the instructionals, read up about the program and if you're feeling really motivated buy the book (it doesn't matter too much which edition but it probably makes sense to go for as new as possible, I have a copy of 2 but 3 is available now). I **** wish I had found it when I started lifting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 10, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 10, 2012 OK so I'm a pretty much a skinny **** with a thin layer of belly fat - kind of like a streaky bacon - and I'd like to bulk and tone a bit. I'm not looking for outrageous results but some visible improvement over the next 6-8 months would be great. I can't be at the gym more than 2-3 times a week and I'm not prepared to give up beer/bread etc because I like them too much. As I say, I'm not looking to smash any records. I've being going to the gym for the last couple of months, I usually do about half an hour on the machines and then swim for half an hour. Is this wasting my time? Do I need to go and look inadequate next to the tattooed monsters lifting 100k on the freeweights in order to progress? Any advice and tips would be welcome here chaps. Read the links from TheDon on the first page. Starting Strength is a very good program and will give you considerable visible noob gains in 6-8 months. It doesn't require you to eat clean and 3 one hour gym visits a week is plenty. It will definitely require that you conquer your fears of inadequacy in the freeweight section but if you stick to it for six months you'll laugh at the fact you think it takes a monster to lift 100kg. Rippetoe knows what he's doing (and some of his videos are quite amusing), so I'd recommend you watch the instructionals, read up about the program and if you're feeling really motivated buy the book (it doesn't matter too much which edition but it probably makes sense to go for as new as possible, I have a copy of 2 but 3 is available now). I **** wish I had found it when I started lifting. This. And if you're worried about "toning" that's all about your bodyfat. Diet and cardio as well as your weights and you'll lose fat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidlewis Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Went to the gym for the first time in years Wednesday as Thursday. Ran 9k over those two days and swear I've torn something in the bridge of my foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condimentalist Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 LockStock and ArteSuave, many thanks for your words of wisdom. Stevo, you mention cardio - I can't stand running machines so like to have swim for that, although I've heard that doing too much cardio at the same time as a weights session can negate the impact of the lifting. Is this true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 11, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 11, 2012 Yes that is true. Avoid doing cardio before you lift if you can. You'll lose a lot of power in your lifts if you're knackered from cardio. Basically, it's difficult (not impossible but difficult) to put on muscle AND lose fat at the same time. In terms of diet, they're counter productive. You should be eating less calories than you require daily when you're cutting, and more calories than you need daily when you're bulking (putting on muscle) If you consider yourself to be skinny, then my advice would be to follow a muscle building program, like the one Arte has advised (what LockStock does would be ok for cutting and conditioning but you won't build any muscle from it), for a few months. Make sure you're eating enough to build the muscle. Here's a good article about muscle building with a good section on diet Expert Guide to Building Muscle Then once you've built a bit of muscle, go on a cut to get rid of any fat you already have and any fat you'll have inevitably gained in the bulk stage. So you'd still be lifting weights, but you'd be lifting to maintain the muscle you've put on rather than make any huge gains (although you probably will still make some gains, just not as big as before). Then you add in a lot of cardio to help burn off that fat. Again, here's a good article on fat loss Expert Fat Loss Guide Given your timeline, something like 4 months of bulking followed by a 12 week cut would probably see decent results. Then you just repeat the whole process. As I said, it's not impossible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, especially when you're new to lifting. But it is difficult and best to stick to one or the other. Reading those two articles is a good start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condimentalist Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Cheers mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante_Lockhart Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 I started on Stronglifts and I can't recommend it highly enough. Give it a go. I've found massive improvements in all my lifts and also my physique. It's 2 routines that you alternate between, and each cycle you add a little bit of weight (you start with just the bar and work up). It's free to sign up to and you get an e-mail with a starter pack and excel sheet to log your progress. To give you an example this is how much I've improved; Squats: 20kg to 120kg Deadlift: 20kg to 150kg Overhead: 20kg to 60kg Bench: 20kg to 100kg Rows: 20kg to 70kg All those are with perfect form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Well i've just joined a new gym... Lichfield Virgin Active (the old Esporta). Its very nice.. well, should be at the price! Main aim is to shed as much weight as possible (too many pizzas, currys and beers in the last couple of years). Been going two weeks and lost 6.2lbs. Mainly cardio combined with eating much healthier. Quite pleased so far. My aim is to lose 35lbs my November 17th (date I fly to Asia for 3 week adventure) Just to give an update, now lost 11.5lbs in 6 weeks. Not as fast as I'd have liked but had a stag weekend and a few heavy nights in there. I can fit into work shirts that I couldn't do the buttons up on 4 weeks ago and I need to buy some new trousers as my current pairs are too baggy. Overall, reasonably pleased. Got to hit in hard for the next 3 weeks now before a holiday to Egypt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 13, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted August 13, 2012 2lbs per week is a really steady rate to lose weight at. I'd be chuffed with that to be honest mate. Usually the faster you lose weight, the easier it is to put it back on. So the fact you're sticking to 2lbs a week is a good thing. Fair play and keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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