[Maark Abbott]

Coco with marshmallows, on 04 February 2018 - 05:28 PM, said:

So anyone else going for any new fitness targets this year?

I decided to binge on calisthenics and am aiming for a stupidly high number of pushups/dips/pullups through the course of the year.

May also grade in my martial arts too, since i haven't bothered for a few years.

Also looking to finally break that 1.75*BW bench (been stuck around 1.5 for a while now)

Hit mine (550kg leg press). Need to ask the gym if we can rig the machine for any more weight now.

[Nicodimas]

Was a total bum at the end of last year! Back at the gym solidly this last month:

Swapping between:
Hot yoga/hit/Pilates (90/45/75 mins)
Lifting (high reps)
Running (still hate it)

So psyched overall , woke up sore everywhere this morning!!! Feels great.

Pilates are my newest found gym item that I love !! Between this and blacksmithing my abs are redic. Hit Pilates 3x week and I have been torched on this .

@ando : clever ploy I have .. for every pound your over 200.. your heart has to push the blood an extra mile. If you can’t run it , you shouldn’t be over it.

In terms of pull ups! I used to 10x sets 50 reps (body weight). Assisted pull ups and rep out , bucket pulls ( weighted bucket at bleachers), super wide lats. To get lots of pull ups join a climbing gym.

Rep out and time over tension ( slllllooowww down)!!!!

This post has been edited by Nicodimas: 28 February 2018 - 12:14 AM

[Aptorian]

Update on my progress.

Hit 90 kg this weekend (Then consumed a lot of pizza and cola).

I changed to a 3 day split bodybuilding program a while ago. It's been great fun but I've also learned some fascinating things about your diets influence on your performance.

This has been my first time trying out very low carb diet combined with training. It does a number on your lifts. I've noticed that on days where I've not had any cheat meals my over all energy and strength really suffers, there's no reserves for you to push yourself past prior highs. It feels like a slog to just do your average some times.

A lack of carbs also ruins your ability to get a pump. I could do squats or flies or bicep curls all day and I'll barely feel a surge of blood to the muscle. I don't get a particularly painful milk acid build up either. It's super weird but also fascinating.

It's made me completely re-evaluate whether or not training fasted in the mornings is actually a good idea at all.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 26 March 2018 - 11:51 AM

[Aptorian]

I've been trying out a new programme this week. I've started to lean heavily into the bodybuilding/pump aspect of training and shying away from heavier more strength based training. It's less taxing on the system and I don't feel like I my joints are breaking down.

So I've decided to try out a programme made up entirely of supersets and giant sets, as in two or more exercises trained in tandem. I'm trying to pair antagonistic muscle groups, though it not always easy to find a matching counter part, especially when targetting the shoulders.

Anyway, the point of this post was that I was wondering if anybody wants to share what their training program looks like currently. Are you doing any kind of advanced shit or are you just messing around at the gym?

My old program looked like this:

Spoiler

 program 1.JPG (251.26K)
Number of downloads: 0

Current program I am working on looks something like this, though I am still tweaking it to try and find optimal exercises that hits the muscle groups just right.

(Back and chest) and (Legs and Shoulders) are working fine but I'm having a hard time actually finding synergy between the arm exercises. Something like BB curls super-setted with Skullcrushers works fine but as soon as you get creative it's hard to really feel the benefit of doing biceps with triceps:

Spoiler

 Program 2.JPG (172.46K)
Number of downloads: 0

EDIT: Not sure why the pics suddenly got gigantic.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 07 April 2018 - 07:18 PM

[Coco with marshmallows]

running a slightly modified 5/3/1 with BBB backoff

Biggest modifications being that i'm doing it 2 days a week instead of 4 and switch the BBB work
- so i do squat and ohp on one day, with deadlift and bench BBB

then deads and bench on the other, with squat and ohp BBB

Also doing the BBB stuff EMOM just to really get a sweat on.

[Nicodimas]

I’m deep into my routine and trying to commit to 3x days from this point until my body falls apart.

So morning Lift, run at work lunch and after HOT Pilates/HIIT.

I’m still cutting and going allllll the way down to freshman in college weight (170). I decided to start over on the whole lifting thing and start from basics.

I’m switching from a 30 rep routine to a 20 rep though.

[Aptorian]

What does your program look like? Sounds strange.

Why on earth are you doing 20 or 30 reps? That's basically just cardio.

And 3 workouts a week with a days rest in between shouldn't tax your body near enough to make it feel like you're breaking down.

Unless you've somehow manage to find a super effective combination of West Side Barbell and ultra high rep schemes!

[Battalion]

There's nothing wrong with this rep range. Progressive overload and structural hypertrophy are scientifically proven to build muscle mass, and both are achived in high rep range.

[Aptorian]

High rep ranges are typically described as +10-12 reps. I've never seen anyone advocate doing more than 15 reps for any kind of lift beyond Cross Fit. Maybe 20 rep squats and the like, which I do myself.

Maintaining tension and focusing on your lift becomes extreme if you have to do 30 good reps. Unless of course Nicodemas is just a monster and is actually doing 30 reps that already feel gruelling at rep 5 and he just continues to shred muscle fibres for the next 25 reps.

[Coco with marshmallows]

alternatively he could mean total reps at top weight across as many sets as it takes - so somedays maybe 3*10, some days 5*6, others maybe 10/8/5/5/2 etc..

speaking of crazy sets though, personally intend to do the bodyweight back squat * 50 at some point, a la Dan John.

exactly what it sounds like, load the bar and do 50 in one set without re-racking.

[Shinrei]

Anyone here do/try intermittent fasting?
I am doing it for weight loss, but want to integrate weight training without screwing something up. Lost 2.2kg in 4 weeks, trying to get rid of that belly fat. Initial goal is about 3.5 more by July-ish.

[Aptorian]

You could lose that in a week if you're just determined enough. Cut down your calories to 1000-1500 and exercise for a couple hours preferably morning and evening.

You'll feel like death but it's easy if you hate yourself enough.

EDIT: This is of course assuming you're a normal sized human being and not either a tiny woman or a Norse giant.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 22 May 2018 - 09:14 AM

[Shinrei]

I want to lose it and keep it off. I hate dieting because if it's a ripped bod or my favorite foods, I happily refuse the ripped bod. But fasting and losing weight slowly and still eating what I want (when i do eat) seems to be working perfectly.

And before anyone doubts, I am careful at least to get a balanced diet taking care ti get my veggies/protein/beer etc.

[Nicodimas]

Shinrei, on 23 May 2018 - 03:52 AM, said:

I want to lose it and keep it off. I hate dieting because if it's a ripped bod or my favorite foods, I happily refuse the ripped bod. But fasting and losing weight slowly and still eating what I want (when i do eat) seems to be working perfectly.

And before anyone doubts, I am careful at least to get a balanced diet taking care ti get my veggies/protein/beer etc.

I do carb cycling .. it’s easier to do. Basically I do this, you get to eat more of you want. It’s not hard lifestyle wise really.

180 P/150c/50f

And

220P/50c/80f

I workout 3x day ... mostly 30 mins at time.

[Maark Abbott]

550kg leg press two weeks on the bounce killed my knees. Ooof.

[Azathmaster]

Finally broke through a hang clean plateau that I had been stuck on since last summer, up from 250lbs (114kg) to 260lbs (118kg). My shoulder has been acting up lately which has definitely been affecting my bench progress lately, thinking about making an appointment sometime before the end of the summer to get it checked out.

[Andorion]

Asking on behalf of my SO
What exercises are recommended for somebody who is thin/slightly underweight for increasing muscle tone and mass in the legs/hips/lower body area?
I thought it was squats, but am not sure.

[Aptorian]

"Toning" is a myth. There's no exercises that's going to magically make your butt or legs look slimmer or more ripped.

Weight lifting will make your leg or ass more round and full, while losing body fat will accentuate the lean body mass you slowly build up.

Arguably, nothing beats squats, deadlifts and some kind of lunges (I love walking lunges) for beating the shit out of your lower body.

Deep high bar squats for 10-15 reps will focus on your quads, stiff-leg dead lifts for 10-15 reps for your lower back, glutes and hamstrings, and 20 steps of walking lunges with long deep strides will tear you a new ass and generally sculpt your legs into somwthibg the Greeks would worship.

If your gf doesnt walk around in high heels all day, I'd also recommend throwing some kind of calf raises in at the end. People neglect their calves. A pair of well built thighs look weird if you don't also build some meaty calves for aesthetics.

Edit: I overlooked the underweight part.

Heavy compound exercises in general are great for putting on weight. Squat, deadlift, bench press, standing shoulder presses, bent over rows, pull downs, etc. Exercises that recruit a lot of muscle groups.

I'd recommend doing exercises for the whole body, not just the legs if you can convince your gf.

But the most important thing to emphasize is that if you have eating disorders or just naturally have problems gaining weight, YOU NEED TO EAT A LOT AND SLEEP A LOT. Look up diet recommendations for a "hard gainer" and try to figure out how to hit a caloric goal each day. Doesn't matter if you have to drink chocolate milk and eat cheeseburgers. You need to eat.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 17 July 2018 - 07:28 PM

[Coco with marshmallows]

back on the routine after several lengthy holidays lead to extended training breaks.

it's disgusting how much strength i lose in a couple months of not training. That's the true natty curse.

[Azathmaster]

2 new PRs right before my week vacation in the sun, hit a new Bench max at 250 and a new deadlift max at 405, which puts me exactly on 1000 lbs combined between squat, deadlift and bench. Great way to start off vacation!