Gym Routine

[Dante_Lockhart]

Your looking at two different routines.

As Don said, reps are for size, and those kind of splits and reps are used by bodybuilder type trainers to get pumped.

strongman/strength training will be low reps. But obviously with getting stronger your muscles will become larger and defined, but not to the same extent as a 10+ rep workout.

Not really. Eating well and working out at high weight / low reps will obviously increase your muscle mass and size, and strength. Once you have hit your desired levels it's all about diet. You cut down your calories and hit your macros whilst maintaining the strength and you cut the body fat, you'll be lean in no time. So you've got the size, the strength AND the definition. No need for high reps / low weight unless you're just going to the gym to 'pump' up or 'top up' your muscles before a night out / vain purposes.

[tommybringsgiants]

I have always been a 3x10 man, but after taking the advice of a PT friend I have moved to sets of 5. Deffo noticed size increase and less DOMS, so I am sold!

[Dante_Lockhart]

Aaah DOMs. Making you walk like a robot after doing squats.

[tommybringsgiants]

Squat DOMS are hilarious when going downstairs or trying to get into a car!

[Stevo985]

I did squats on Sunday, then had 5 aside on Monday evening.

I was strrrrruuuuuugggling!!

As for high reps = definition, that's basically not true. Anything 12+ is for endurance. It won't tone you any more than lifting heavier weights for less reps.

As Dante suggested, the most important work for getting toned is done in the kitchen.

[TheDon]

As Don said, reps are for size

I never said that at all.

I said 8 reps builds size.

Doing more than that builds endurance and has rapidly diminishing returns when it comes to building muscle mass.

At higher weights for less reps myofibrillated hypertrophy dominates, this is what builds stronger muscles.

At less weight for slightly more reps, sarcoplasmic hypertrophy dominstes, this is what builds "bigger" muscles.

This chart shows it quite well.

[ED]

My God^^

[BOF]

First proper free weight day report.

Nearly killed myself on the bench press. Dangerous bastard of a yoke

Can't lift anything like the numbers I could on anything other than the T-bar.

Struggled for technique primarily because I was trying to lift too much (over-doing it is bad mmmkay). Next visit (tomorrow) will be better. I'll know what I can lift and I'll therefore be able to do it all properly. I'm still feeling the benefits of that workout though. I still had to use the ab cruncher machine as there isn't a free-weight equivalent. Funnily enough I have DOMS in my legs despite no leg work. Probably because they do a lot of keeping you still, centred or crouched etc. Another thing machines don't do.

So, as a first day it was pretty much as I expected. Learning the ropes and being the wimpiest **** in there

[TheDon]

Struggled for technique primarily because I was trying to lift too much (over-doing it is bad mmmkay).

This is the mistake so many people make.

There's no point trying to target the max you can lift straight away. You'll quickly move up to what you can lift in a few weeks, lifting too much though will set you back months. It's just not worth it.

I always advise people to start off with an empty bar. Even if you've been using machines for years, when you move to free weights, you start off with an empty bar. Get the technique right with an empty bar, and then add weight. It's just far too easy to seriously injure yourself otherwise.

[Stevo985]

Agree with everything The Don says. start low and make sure the form is perfect.

Form is so much more important than weight

[Xela]

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)

[Stevo985]

18 weeks. 2 pounds a week. Very doable.

Good luck, keep us updated

[Brumerican]

I routinely drive past two gyms twice a day . I am already feeling the benefit in my wallet.

[Xela]

18 weeks. 2 pounds a week. Very doable.

Good luck, keep us updated

Cheers. Cut out bread, potatoes, pasta and rice as well. Just basically eating chicken, turkey, fish, fruit, salad and veg.

I was 14st 6 at the start. Aiming to get to 12st (ish).

To think I weighed 9st 6 when i was 23! Although that was practically anorexic!

[TheDon]

Cut out bread, potatoes, pasta and rice as well.

Good job.

Horrible horrible foods, absolutely no nutritional benefit to eating them.

[Dante_Lockhart]

I loves pasta (whole wheat), potatoes and rice (brown). Always have one of them on workout days.

[Stevo985]

Yep, there's nothing wrong with any of them, although Wholewheat is the way to go, and I'd rather have sweet potatoes than normal. I personally don't eat bread, but that's just because when I do, I can't stop, so I just don't ever buy it so I don't have that temptation.

Xela, it's about calories in vs calories out. That's the long and the short of it. BUt on days when you're exercising, a healthy dose of carbs is ideal. As long as you're eating a calorie defecit, you don't need to steer away from those things.

However, if that's what you're doing now and it's working for you, I'd say don't change it until you stop seeing results.

[TheDon]

Xela, it's about calories in vs calories out.

The problem with that is the old saying of "a calorie is a calorie" is the biggest myth going, sure, all calories are "equal" in that 1 calorie of protein is the same amount of heat energy as 1 calorie of carbohydrates, but, our bodies don't run on calories, so the equation isn't exactly an easy one to chart seeing as accurately measuring "calories out" is an impossible task.

The first problem we face is that calories are simply the amount of heat given off when food is burnt, and last time I checked we don't burn food, we're not a furnace. We break down food, some types of food take more effort to break down than others, ergo the harder it is to break down the less use our bodies get out of that calorie, as the net gain is lower, "calories out" have increased simply by virtue of making our bodies work harder to digest out food.

Then we have the fact some break down into things that have differing effects on our body. Carbs for one spike insulin, raised insulin levels make our bodies behave differently, they trigger fat storage, they decrease the "calories out" side.

Whereas Low carb diets push people into ketosis, where ketones are then released in the breath, sweat, and urine. One of the Ketones is acetone, acetone is a fuel, it has it's own calorific content too, so being in ketosis increases the "calories out" side of the equation, so eating the same amount of calories, actually results in greater weight loss than if you were eating the same amount of calories on a higher carb diet.

Then you've got the fact our bodies kinda like holding on to our food stores, and it's pretty easy to trigger it's starvation mechanisms if you diet poorly, the lower you take the calories, the lower "calories out" goes as well, our bodies are awesome at slowing down and dramatically cutting it's energy usage, stockpiling it instead.

There's a ton of things that mean "calories in vs calories out" is an extremely poor way to run a diet, in fact I'd say it's like saying you can run a car on both petrol and diesel, they're both just fuels after all, it's surely just about the calorific content of the fuel!

[Shillzz]

Quick question chaps:

I'm currently aching from yesterday's workout, which focussed on a particular area of strength, am I OK to work out a different area today? Or is it best to do nothing?

[chrissmith921]

Anything for a bit more explosive power? I've tried the throws on a Smith machine for chest/slight-arm, trying to 'explode' through each rep - ie hold it and then fire through, hold at finish and return slowly (so a 1/2 second:3 second pair for up/down for example)

I've dropped about half a second off a forty metre sprint in the last 12 months but upper body explosiveness would be good for sport too...

Cheers muchly for any advices.