Gym Routine

[V01]

Switching to 531 BBB next week, an extra day in the gym and more frequency on my upper lifts plus not having to squat before bench/ohp should help my progression.

 

Doing the 13 week challenge version, I'm expecting to be experiencing DOMS for the first time in a while.  

[BOF]

Speaking of re-ordering lifts to affect or help others.  I went back to chin-ups last night for the first time in a while, and my usual bicep isolations went to pot afterwards   Duly noted!

[markavfc40]

On 30/07/2016 at 05:22, V01 said:

 

Age 35   Male

Weight: 18st 6lbs - 117.3kg 

Height: 5'11.6" - 1.82m  I've either grown or improved my posture

Ideal weight: 9st 9 to 13st - 61.2kg-82.8kg

BMI: 35.4

Ideal BMI: 18.5 to 25

Body fat: 30.7%

Ideal: 14.5 to 24.5

Bodyfat mass has gone from 49.1kg > 44.4kg > 42.7kg > 37.9kg > 36kg

Ideally it should be 18.5 to 30.8kg

 

Squat 82.5kg (dropped down from 107.5 to fix my knees caving)

Bench 70kg to 72.5kg (hurt my shoulder and missed a week then had to deload, missed a rep when I was trying 75kg)  

Row 72.5kg to 75kg struggling to move past this.

Overhead 52.5kg (had to deload because of my shoulder from bench, missed a rep on 55kg tonight)

Deadlift 127.5kg to 140kg (Remembered my chalk today, last few inches on final rep were tough, managed to grind it out though)

Interesting seeing your progress every month. You are doing fantastically well. Notice your age stat changed as well :-) keep it up mate.

[V01]

Numbers are going ok, but looking in the mirror is a cycle of noticing I look a little smaller or my moobs have got pert then a few weeks of feeling like I look fat as ever.

 

It's been a terrible week for me, dodged Monday to try an upper lower split Tues/Wed then was ill on Wednesday so missed out on doing any upper body work. The nipper brought some kind of bug back from a party and I spent all day scared to fart then shitting through the eye of a needle. Struggled with eating anything, protein intake would have been virtually zero if I hadn't risked a protein shake late on.

[V01]

3 sessions into to BBB, going well.

 

Did squats today followed by 5x10 deadlifts, absolutely wiped out. Totally shocked at how lighter weights can be challenging. Hit some leg curls then couldn't summon the energy/motivation to walk back to the calf press.

Yesterday was a challenge to, bench then ohp 5x10, really struggle with barbell curls after doing cable row, lat pulldown, facepulls and dip machine.

[BOF]

Well I think I need a week or 2 of de-loaded exercises.  Every single time I go to the gym, I'm going in to try and break my maximum, and I've long been at a weight where I can't do it consistently.  I bounce around that weight for weeks and months, which; granted; keeps me at a standard, but doesn't progress me.  Plus it's very physically demanding to constantly be at or very close to your limit on the big compound lifts.  I've heard that upping the reps and lowering the weight can even help you to break through your ceiling.  I'm not particularly interested in breaking through my ceiling (as I've been there long enough by now) but just the thoughts of going for a workout and not having my body at almost-breaking point on every rep I must admit is quite appealing.

[JB]

Have you thought about changing up your training by doing a 6-8 week block of pure hypertrophy training? Can work wonders in my experience. Give yourself a break from chasing maxes on the big lifts and train for a pump instead. Keep rep ranges between 6-20 and use more isolation exercises. You can still (and probably will) get stronger.

[villaglint]

Did a 1 rep max weighted pull up today of 34kg which I was quite pleased with. Think could go a bit higher but ended up doing more reps than anticipated to get there. 

[BOF]

21 minutes ago, JB said:

Have you thought about changing up your training by doing a 6-8 week block of pure hypertrophy training? Can work wonders in my experience. Give yourself a break from chasing maxes on the big lifts and train for a pump instead. Keep rep ranges between 6-20 and use more isolation exercises. You can still (and probably will) get stronger.

I hadn't thought about it until recently but yes that sounds close to what I'd like.  I will probably still do stuff like the bench but instead of e.g. bouncing around the 85kg mark I'll just do loads of 60-65kgs instead.  Similar approach in OHP.  I'll have a look and see what kind of isolations I can do, because I think my body has also become used to the exercises that I do and I need to not only mix up the weights but mix up the exercises too.  Which will be awkward as I don't like change  

[V01]

On 30/07/2016 at 05:22, V01 said:

Age 35   Male

Weight: 18st 6lbs - 117.3kg 

Height: 5'11.6" - 1.82m  I've either grown or improved my posture

Ideal weight: 9st 9 to 13st - 61.2kg-82.8kg

BMI: 35.4

Ideal BMI: 18.5 to 25

Body fat: 30.7%

Ideal: 14.5 to 24.5

Bodyfat mass has gone from 49.1kg > 44.4kg > 42.7kg > 37.9kg > 36kg

Ideally it should be 18.5 to 30.8kg

 

Squat 82.5kg (dropped down from 107.5 to fix my knees caving)

Bench 70kg to 72.5kg (hurt my shoulder and missed a week then had to deload, missed a rep when I was trying 75kg)  

Row 72.5kg to 75kg struggling to move past this.

Overhead 52.5kg (had to deload because of my shoulder from bench, missed a rep on 55kg tonight)

Deadlift 127.5kg to 140kg (Remembered my chalk today, last few inches on final rep were tough, managed to grind it out though)

Age 35   Male

Weight: 18st 11lbs - 115.1kg 

Height: 5'11.6" - 1.82m

Ideal weight: 9st 9 to 13st  - 61.2kg-82.8kg

BMI: 34.7

Ideal BMI: 18.5 to 25

Body fat: 28.2%

Ideal: 14.5 to 24.5

Bodyfat mass has gone from 49.1kg > 44.4kg > 42.7kg > 37.9kg > 36kg > 32.4kg

Ideally it should be 18.5 to 29.4kg

 

I'm actually disappointed with this, I was 113.5kg prior to the weekend (missus took the nipper to pontins so it turned into a cheat weekend and I couldn't go to the gym on Monday because work are shit and couldn't get one of the 300 new members of staff to cover my colleagues holiday) 

 

I've switched 531 BBB since my last weigh in, used some of the alternate modifiers for the template so it's turned into an 863 with jokers and first set last amraps, found a handy app that makes it easy to track everything and it's telling me my 1rm's are:

Deadlift: 158kg 

Bench: 88kg

Squat: 104kg

OHP: 59kg shit out on the amrap last week, combination of having an off day and being a noob leaving the default timers of 60 seconds between lifts, I always needed the fuill 3 minutes when I did stronglifts, should see this start climbing again soon.

 

Minor rant time, My tub of whey powder was nearly empty so I grabbed the 5kg pouch I'd ordered to top it up, open it up and it's bright yellow, this doesn't look like chocolate. Check label, banana split. spend 5 minutes cursing then check the order online, it also says banana split. I **** up not them. I'm not gonna handle however long it takes drinking banana split shakes, those words removed better have a decent discount going soon.

 

Saw a right idiot at the gym yesterday, went into a power rack and set up a bar with 10s on it, gets into a kind of sumo stance with the bar on the frame then has what appears to be an epileptic fit to get the cheatiest shrug I've ever seen before having to drop the bar on the frame before starting again. 

[BOF]

That's still very good progress though V01.  Once you're still going in the right direction then that's all that matters.  Keep it up

[BOF]

Broke my PB on the bench yesterday Got to 95kg. Tried for the magic 100kg but just couldn't get the bastard. Didn't bother with 97.5 I want that ton. 

[tarjei]

I'm a skinny guy, but made some commitments to myself 3 months ago and since then I've put on about 6 kilos, while doing lots of cardio in addition to weight training.

It's mostly muscle that I've put on, maybe a little bit of fat.. I'm certainly not losing my belly fat though. My one sin is drinking way too much beer. Average of maybe 2L each night, 5-6 nights a week. I recently started brewing my own now so there's that. I'd guess that my body fat is somewhere around 13% and nearly all is on my belly.

Anyway,  I got idea that I would try not drinking beer for a while and going on a keto diet (less than 20g carbs pr day, caloric intake from fat and protein), just to see what happens

It's only been 48 hours... so far I've peed a lot and lost about 2.5kg of what I guess is water-weight. I'm feeling a bit weird, like in a haze. Urine has changed smell so I guess that an indication my body is in ketosis, or transitioning towards it. I'm currently on pain killers after pulling a tooth, so if I have a headache I wouldn't know about it. I've heard the initial keto-flu can be quite bad.

My stomach is stable and enjoying life. Occasionally I used to get very bloated, especially the day after a beer session.

Since starting I've had two 60 min sessions on the elliptical (to get rid of glucose storage) and two 60min low to med intensity weights sessions. Feel fine really, I'm actually not tiring out as quickly as I usually do. I've tried done any high intensity stuff yet though.. I imagine I'd hit a wall there.

I recon that if the diet is not too inconvenient and I don't tire from the fatty meals, I'll keep it going for 2 months, or until my BF% is below 10.

Anyone tried it? Wanna share some experiences or tips?

[tarjei]

Bought some magnesium and potassium to replace electrolytes to get rid of the haze. Also started intermittent fasting. 16 hours fasting with weight lifting exercise at the end of it, and then 8 hours of fat and proteins. Feeling FANTASTIC. Have a euphoric sensation in my whole body. Hope it lasts!

[Ingram85]

Bit of beginner advice needed. I'm going down to join a gym tomorrow and all I want to do is cycling, cross trainer and rowing machine, do I go gently to begin with on the first settings? Build up slowly or set it on a medium level and just do as much as I can? How long for etc...?

 

[tarjei]

22 minutes ago, Ingram85 said:

Bit of beginner advice needed. I'm going down to join a gym tomorrow and all I want to do is cycling, cross trainer and rowing machine, do I go gently to begin with on the first settings? Build up slowly or set it on a medium level and just do as much as I can? How long for etc...?

 

What is your goal or what are you trying to work towards?

[Ingram85]

Lose belly, increase cardio and overall fitness.

[tarjei]

To lose belly fat you should workout when you have emptied your glycogen storage. The body will only burn fat when it has no easier way for immediate energy. So that means 6-8 hours after last meal (in the morning, I guess, unless you fast). You will also need to be at a calorie deficit. 500pr day or so below your needs is a good place to be. That translates to 2 pounds in 14 days.

Intervals is widely regarded to be good to both trigger fat burning and build endurance, and it will result in your metabolism staying high after workout. I think a good place to start on the bike and cross trainer is 3-4 minutes at resting pace and 1 min where you give close to everything you've got. 60min of that will give you a post-workout endorphin high. 30min on the cross trainer and 30 min on the bike, maybe?

Best way to trigger fat burning IMO is low intensity (120-140 bpm) for extended periods of time. Like a days hike or a long bike ride. But that might be hard to get done and boring on a bike, I guess.

Edited September 5, 2016 by tarjei

[Ingram85]

18 hours ago, tarjei said:

To lose belly fat you should workout when you have emptied your glycogen storage. The body will only burn fat when it has no easier way for immediate energy. So that means 6-8 hours after last meal (in the morning, I guess, unless you fast). You will also need to be at a calorie deficit. 500pr day or so below your needs is a good place to be. That translates to 2 pounds in 14 days.

Intervals is widely regarded to be good to both trigger fat burning and build endurance, and it will result in your metabolism staying high after workout. I think a good place to start on the bike and cross trainer is 3-4 minutes at resting pace and 1 min where you give close to everything you've got. 60min of that will give you a post-workout endorphin high. 30min on the cross trainer and 30 min on the bike, maybe?

Best way to trigger fat burning IMO is low intensity (120-140 bpm) for extended periods of time. Like a days hike or a long bike ride. But that might be hard to get done and boring on a bike, I guess.

Cheers for this, very helpful.

Im already averaging no more than 1500 calories a day but due to a lack of exercise I just stay the same weight.

When you say intervals, is it that you do the 5 minutes then rest until your ready to go again then another 5 minutes? How many intervals? How long is too long to rest between blasts etc? 

Sorry for the questions but I'm a noob, no idea at all

[tarjei]

No problem. I'm by no means educated on the subject, so you should read up on stuff. I've just picked up things here and there. If you are at 1500 calories you should really be dropping weight over time, so maybe you are underestimating the numbers on some things, or not counting smaller items? Anyway, if you keep eating right and working out it should be no problem.

Ideally you shouldn't take breaks when doing intervals, just changes of pace. Unless you have to, of course. I mean, if you are really out of shape, then take breaks.. but I think the body responds better to be moving always, then to stop and start. You can also vary the timings of the intervals to fit your level of fitness. Many do a 2:1 ratio of recovery/sprint, but most won't be able to endure that for very long. The fitter you get, the quicker your heart rate drops and you are able to recover more quickly. 

What I was suggesting was 4 mins of recovery pace, 1 min of sprint, no breaks .. If there's a heart rate monitor on the machine then aim to somewhere around 120-130 in recovery and close to your max when finished sprinting. I started out with 3 1/2 minute recovery, 45 sec sprints. That might be more comfortable.

Edited September 6, 2016 by tarjei