Gym Routine

[gharperr]

 you would have said "clearing in the words who train in groups of 3+" if it didnt matter. but w.e. No point going back and forth over it. i could hve read it differently than what you intended...

 

Edited July 26, 2015 by gharperr

[Stevo985]

So anyway, tomorrow im going to join a gym. I have really skinny limbs/chest but starting to get quite a bit of fat on stomach/face. What should my calorie intake be? Should it be the standard 2k-2.5k cal for getting bigger or should i aim for around my daily burn # to get rid of the fat on face/stomach??

Also, how bad are machine weights compared to free? I heard some people say free weights work more muscles but machine helps with the "fundamental muscles"? Do both or start with machine or just go straight to free weights? Im weak as ****.

Finally, Im a vegetarian in Philippines which means the food options which are protein is even more limited (quorn and linda mccartney have quite high protien #'s, and im an awful cook)...how bad is heavily using shakes to get my protein? say 4-6x a day? I dont really know the difference between shake protein vs food protein. Supposed to be 100g+ of protein per day right? no idea how i can hit anywhere close to that number in this country unless for a lot shakes

sorry if these questions are easily found in google...theres just so much different and potentially false information i dont know whats legit and what isnt. thanks

Calories: this will totally depend on you, how much you weigh, how much exercise you do etc. Google TDEE calculator. This will calculate the amount of calories you need to eat to maintain your weight. You need to decide if you want to lose fat or add muscle. My suggestion would be to find out that amount, subtract 500 from it and use that as your starting calorie intake for a couple of weeks. But this is only a guideline. If it's not working then lose a few more calories the following week and try that instead. That should burn off some fat, and if you're a beginner you'll probably add some muscle early on while you're losing fat.

After the newbie gains though, its very difficult to lose fat and add muscle at the same time.

Free weights vs machines: I'd always advise free weights over machines but people in this thread seem a bit touchy about that. Both forms of resistance have their place. My advice would be to find a good beginners routine on the internet to follow and stick to that. Do whatever free weights or machines they advise to do. Most likely itll be a combination of both.

You need protein. The general guideline is 1g per pound of bodyweight.

I don't think there's anything wrong scientifically with getting a lot of that from shakes, but I wouldn't imagine you'd feel very good after doing it. 6 shakes a day will probably upset your stomach.

I'd try and get more from your food if possible. Quorn mince and quorn chicken would be a good source. Eggs, fish (depending on your stance on fish), nuts and certain veg will all help but you'll probably need to do a bit of research.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Stevo985

[PongRiddims]

When you boys are hitting it hard, what do you do about alcohol? Complete abstain or spirits?

[rjw63]

When you boys are hitting it hard, I'll be hitting your girlfriends

[PongRiddims]

When you boys are hitting it hard, I'll be hitting your girlfriends

Hahaha RR you kill me man [emoji1]

[JB]

When you boys are hitting it hard, what do you do about alcohol? Complete abstain or spirits?

Hell nooooo. I don't live to lift. My main priority is actually having a life. In my late teens/early 20s when I was out every weekend, I didn't even notice it impacting on my training/results at all to be honest. I don't go out so much anymore but over the past few years my occasional nights out have had a bit more of an impact. I guess I do try to minimise caloric excess by generally sticking to spirits and diet mixers when I can. But if I fancy a beer I will have one. For example, at the London 7s in May I was on pints during the day then switched to spirits in the evening.

Of course it all depend on goals so each to their own. The most boring, antisocial person I know is national champion bodybuilder. He's missed so much stuff because of his crazy dieting.

[YGabbana]

When you boys are hitting it hard, what do you do about alcohol? Complete abstain or spirits?

Hell nooooo. I don't live to lift. My main priority is actually having a life. In my late teens/early 20s when I was out every weekend, I didn't even notice it impacting on my training/results at all to be honest. I don't go out so much anymore but over the past few years my occasional nights out have had a bit more of an impact. I guess I do try to minimise caloric excess by generally sticking to spirits and diet mixers when I can. But if I fancy a beer I will have one. For example, at the London 7s in May I was on pints during the day then switched to spirits in the evening.

Of course it all depend on goals so each to their own. The most boring, antisocial person I know is national champion bodybuilder. He's missed so much stuff because of his crazy dieting.

This, it is person dependant but i dont let it take over my life, i will diet but if something comes up like a night out or a meal with the mrs i wont say no, however to really reach my ideal physique i would have to at some point. I have 10 weeks until my holiday so 8 weeks of that may be ultra strict if i can

[YGabbana]

So anyway, tomorrow im going to join a gym. I have really skinny limbs/chest but starting to get quite a bit of fat on stomach/face. What should my calorie intake be? Should it be the standard 2k-2.5k cal for getting bigger or should i aim for around my daily burn # to get rid of the fat on face/stomach??

Also, how bad are machine weights compared to free? I heard some people say free weights work more muscles but machine helps with the "fundamental muscles"? Do both or start with machine or just go straight to free weights? Im weak as ****.

Finally, Im a vegetarian in Philippines which means the food options which are protein is even more limited (quorn and linda mccartney have quite high protien #'s, and im an awful cook)...how bad is heavily using shakes to get my protein? say 4-6x a day? I dont really know the difference between shake protein vs food protein. Supposed to be 100g+ of protein per day right? no idea how i can hit anywhere close to that number in this country unless for a lot shakes

sorry if these questions are easily found in google...theres just so much different and potentially false information i dont know whats legit and what isnt. thanks

Calories: this will totally depend on you, how much you weigh, how much exercise you do etc. Google TDEE calculator. This will calculate the amount of calories you need to eat to maintain your weight. You need to decide if you want to lose fat or add muscle. My suggestion would be to find out that amount, subtract 500 from it and use that as your starting calorie intake for a couple of weeks. But this is only a guideline. If it's not working then lose a few more calories the following week and try that instead. That should burn off some fat, and if you're a beginner you'll probably add some muscle early on while you're losing fat.

After the newbie gains though, its very difficult to lose fat and add muscle at the same time.

Free weights vs machines: I'd always advise free weights over machines but people in this thread seem a bit touchy about that. Both forms of resistance have their place. My advice would be to find a good beginners routine on the internet to follow and stick to that. Do whatever free weights or machines they advise to do. Most likely itll be a combination of both.

You need protein. The general guideline is 1g per pound of bodyweight.

I don't think there's anything wrong scientifically with getting a lot of that from shakes, but I wouldn't imagine you'd feel very good after doing it. 6 shakes a day will probably upset your stomach.

I'd try and get more from your food if possible. Quorn mince and quorn chicken would be a good source. Eggs, fish (depending on your stance on fish), nuts and certain veg will all help but you'll probably need to do a bit of research.

This is actually a top post, pretty much spot on.

Nail your diet firstly then advance your weight lifting program and the gains will slowly come along.

As for shakes, try not to rely on them, i usually just have 1 post workout, occasionally another if i feel i havnt had enough from the diet.

[Stevo985]

Exactly. Shakes are a supplement. So they should be used to supplement your diet, not the other way round.

[Stevo985]

When you boys are hitting it hard, what do you do about alcohol? Complete abstain or spirits?

I abstain during the week unless I have a special occasion or something.

At the weekend anything goes regarding alcohol. I usually try to stick to one day of "cheating" though.

As the others above have said, I don't let it take over my life. If you did that then you're more likely not to stick to it.

[BOF]

Personally I don't do anything special wrt alcohol.  I'm far more disciplined regarding food.  Alcohol is going to happen and exercise is going to happen.  That doesn't mean you arrive at the gym with alcohol seeping from your pores, because you won't lift.  But I don't see it as particularly detrimental to my gains if I can keep them in any way separated.  As others have said, I certainly don't live to lift.

[PongRiddims]

Yeah so if you're disciplined enough elsewhere a belly full of ale now and then shouldn't hurt the gainz?

[Stevo985]

Yeah so if you're disciplined enough elsewhere a belly full of ale now and then shouldn't hurt the gainz?

Ale, pizza, sweets, ice cream, whatever.

 

A cheat day is pretty much encouraged in most circles.

 

I go mental pretty much every week for a day with food and drink, and I've lost 2 stone this year (more or less).

 

Is a cheat day as efficient as being completely clean 100% of the time? Dunno, probably not.

But I'd be a lot more likely to fail if I didn't get a break from the diet every week.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Stevo985

[BOF]

That would be my personal experience. I'm sure if I was training for the olympics it might be different, but I'm happy with what I can do on both.

[JB]

I'm a big advocate of flexible dieting. It's not quite IIFYM but I get up to about 20% of my daily or weekly (doesn't matter) calories from whatever I want. As long as I get enough quality protein. For example yesterday, I had carbs to spare so had a big bag of wine gums. I was also a bit short of fats so added some chorizo to the what would normally just have been a chicken and vegetable paella. I've only just moved into a calorie deficit this week and I'm already pretty lean.

Up until 3-4 years ago I was pretty stupid with my eating, generally sticking to the boring and outdated fitness staples like oats, brown rice, broccoli, chicken breast etc. (ironically in your early/mid twenties it's easier to get away with eating less "clean"). Since I've become more flexible I've noticed improvements across the board, not least in terms of no longer finding eating a chore. Think I may have mentioned him before but it's worth reading anything by Alan Aragon. Pretty much the guy in the nutrition world. I haven't read it but his latest book is meant to be awesome.

Edited July 27, 2015 by JB

[BOF]

How specific are you w.r.t. calorie intake? I mean, I know I eat sensibly, but I'd still struggle to get close to guessing the calories in a bowl of stew for example. Or do you stay away from foods that you can't accurately measure, or foods that have been prepared by others where you don't necessarily know everything that has gone into it?

[NoelVilla]

Went back to the gym today after three weeks of vacation. Weighed myself before and it turned out that I haven't gained any weight at all and I haven't really held back with the beer and food. The last 2 months before this break I didn't lose any weight at all. Stuck on this weight forever?(probably not).

 

On alcohol, have any of you taken a break from it all together and what effect did it have? How long was the break?

[Stevo985]

How specific are you w.r.t. calorie intake? I mean, I know I eat sensibly, but I'd still struggle to get close to guessing the calories in a bowl of stew for example. Or do you stay away from foods that you can't accurately measure, or foods that have been prepared by others where you don't necessarily know everything that has gone into it?

I'm very accurate.

 

I track mine through the myfitnesspal app.

 

Mainly I set up a few days in that app so I know what a day's worth of food consists of. And then rotate those days throughout the week.

[Dom_Wren]

Gutted. Benched max at 225lbs x 15 today.

This pec injury has curtailed my heavy lifting days. To think I was repping 345lbs 4 times before my injury.

I had more in me stamina wise. But pec felt weak and can't handle another 3 months of not lifting.

Gutted.

[JB]

How specific are you w.r.t. calorie intake? I mean, I know I eat sensibly, but I'd still struggle to get close to guessing the calories in a bowl of stew for example. Or do you stay away from foods that you can't accurately measure, or foods that have been prepared by others where you don't necessarily know everything that has gone into it?

I'm pretty specific. I notice the difference (both in term of body composition and strength) when I bother to track my calories. I'm aiming to properly lean out over the next few months, too so I'm reducing my intake steadily by 100 calories a week.

With regards to meals with multiple ingredients, using yesterday's paella as an example, I will simply enter the values for the calorifically significant ingredients eg. 175g chicken thigh, 75g chorizo, 75g rice, a pepper, 75g peas, 50g sour cream and not bother with the really low calorie stuff like the canned tomatoes and stock.

I won't necessarily stay away from things I don't know the values of - I just won't make a habit of eating them. Like if the Mrs offers to make me something, I won't say no. Will just try and roughly estimate my portion sizes.