The gym (gainz) and fitness thread

[Danny Dowling]

Surprised there isn't already one of these.

Let's talk gym and fitness

I go gym every day. Generally go for a 10/8/6/4/2 reps super set for arms on weights pretty high for my size for the bulk purposes. Also trying to get my upper back more up to speed.

Feel like the legs are somewhat lacking since I got away from full-time training in Taekwondo, but the gym I'd need to go to that would have a squat rack/Smith is 40+ minutes away whereas the gym I'm going is more like 15. Can hit 10 rep 102.5kg leg extensions (quad) and 8-10 hamstring curls at 80-90 at a struggle at 3 sets with intent to push it to 5... often failing on the hammy's lol. Unfortunately the leg extension machine is one of those lame ones where you push yourself away so I generally stay off it; the ones where you sit facing upwards and push the plate away is the way to go every time.

On a mix of SciMx bulker (42g protein per serving) and Maxi Thermabol tabs for the fat cutting, trying to keep a consistent bulk/shred thing going rather than get fat and shred up later. I do plan on shredding up properly though between November and February sort of period to fight in TKD world cup and Euros next year at 78... may have to lose some muscle for that but we'll see what I can do with the water cutting lol.

Cardio is... on limit atm don't want to lose too much potential muscle mass on the cardio haha.

 

[Summerstorm]

Ummm, yeah.

I am a fat nerd.

Never went to a gym, i am WAY to lazy. I remember fondly the time were i was dragged into some fitness-related activities and had the strength and endurance of ten computer nerds... now i am down to one. (sigh)

 

[Zhukov]

I only vaguely understand what you two just said.

But I do go to a gym about 4 times a week. I pick up the various pieces of metal and put them down again. Then repeat the process as needed. Often while grunting, panting and making strained faces. It's thrilling stuff and makes for a great topic of conversation.

I have a lingering knee injury, so I don't do squats and only light leg work.

I don't do any supplements or anything. Although I am on a no-suger, minimal carbs diet. Which I actually mostly stick to.

I also attend Brazilian Jujitsu classes. Which for me is often harder work than the gym, since barbells generally don't fight back and try to strangle you.

 

[s0denone]

I started out at 60kg mostly skin and bones to 90kg muscle in just 3 months.

The fuck? 30kg of muscle in 3 months? Either you were on some wicked steroid diet or you're lying.

@OP I started working out at around age 15 and "leg day" never really meant anything to me, as I played football(soccer) throughout my whole youth. I walked into the gym last year, having not worked out for almost a full year, and started doing 180kg leg extensions without issue.

My general problem at the gym is my bench press form. I own my own bench with weight and stuff(since I was 17) but a long period of training with poor form meant I had to start at zero pretty much, when I started training properly again - and my form is still really shit.

I bench 120kg singlerep and squat 160kg 3x5.

These days I do mostly cardio, though, just to stay in shape.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

I don't do supplements as I tend to just to eat a high protein diet: eggs, fish, nuts, oats, 0.5% milk, beans.

I mostly work with kettlebells with a very varied regime and according to the "ideals" of StrongFirst as I don't go to the gym, I do Krav Maga, they do value strength and endurance a lot. On the side I do 20-10 sec HIIT running for around 3.3 km 2 times a week, averaging around 4 min/km / 15 km/h.

However I have no goals of becoming big, I am fine around 80 kg at 179 cm.

 

[s0denone]

Nothing but the same shitty massive bland steak, sweet potatoes and broccoli for dinner the entire time.

I will say it wasn't all 90kg of pure muscle. I did have some body fat on me, but I wasn't completely shredded. And I wasn't working at the time so all I did was pretty much wake up, play some games, gym, other sorts of exercises (hell I started mowing my lawns with a 30kg weight vest on me). It was pretty much all I did. No steroids (but a fair amount of protein powder).

Still, that is an insane number. You don't have any reason to lie here, but that just seems like a ridiculous gain in a short period of time (impossible, I'd say, without steroids) - but fair play. You clearly put in a massive amount of works, so props to you for that.

The 30kg weight vest while moving the lawn though. Can't say I've ever heard about that before. That is wicked man, and given it worked out, all the more props.

I have kind of an interesting point on that aswell. All throughout highschool I carried all my books and all my stuff in my rucksack the whole time, to and from school (a couple of kilometers bikeride) and I weighed my bag in at 18kg. I had traps and wings(though minor) from just running around with that all day. So uhh, anyone reading - try it! Good exercise. Maybe throw on a weight vest aswell, cause why not ? ;-)

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Don't know if it counts but I walk 4x5km 5 days per week. Each 5km is done under 30 minutes.
Walking from home to the first bus stop, then from the second bus stop to the train.
Getting to and from work enables me to eat junk food and all that sweet sweet candy & coca-cola.
Plus, I've got a great metabolism. The most I've ever weighed was 85kg. Usual is 75.

Lately I've been looking to bring out my abs but it hard going.
I've lost weight so I'm down to 72kg but that last layer of fat is tenacious.
Any advice on how to best workout (at home) to accomplish my goal?

I'll end this with a "fun fact" and admit that I can't even do one push-up.
At least, in the normal bent-toes straight-legs way.
If I use the bent-knees way I have no problems at all. Weird.

*EDIT*
Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that I always bring my backpack with me. It weights about 15-20kg.

 

[s0denone]

Lately I've been looking to bring out my abs but it hard going.
I've lost weight so I'm down to 72kg but that last layer of fat is tenacious.
Any advice on how to best workout (at home) to accomplish my goal?

Well you say you eat a bunch of junk food and candy? Seems pretty obvious to cut that out of your diet first of all.
Besides that, all I can say is stick with it... And sadly some aren't really meant to have the six-pack look, without going borderline unhealthy skinny.
If you are serious about the last layer though, I would suggest interval training (low-intensity>very high intensity>low>very high>etc)

I'll end this with a "fun fact" and admit that I can't even do one push-up.
At least, in the normal bent-toes straight-legs way.
If I use the bent-knees way I have no problems at all. Weird.

That is because your knees are carrying a lot of the weight when you do that. When you are on your toes, the weight is distributed evenly and as such, when you lower your body, you are essentially tilting your whole weight towards your arms.

What you describe is "girls pushups" if you will and does absolutely nothing for you in terms of training.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Lately I've been looking to bring out my abs but it hard going.
I've lost weight so I'm down to 72kg but that last layer of fat is tenacious.
Any advice on how to best workout (at home) to accomplish my goal?

Well you say you eat a bunch of junk food and candy? Seems pretty obvious to cut that out of your diet first of all.
Besides that, all I can say is stick with it... And sadly some aren't really meant to have the six-pack look, without going borderline unhealthy skinny.
If you are serious about the last layer though, I would suggest interval training (low-intensity>very high intensity>low>very high>etc)

I'll end this with a "fun fact" and admit that I can't even do one push-up.
At least, in the normal bent-toes straight-legs way.
If I use the bent-knees way I have no problems at all. Weird.

That is because your knees are carrying a lot of the weight when you do that. When you are on your toes, the weight is distributed evenly and as such, when you lower your body, you are essentially tilting your whole weight towards your arms.

What you describe is "girls pushups" if you will and does absolutely nothing for you in terms of training.

I have cut down a bit on the candy but I guess I have to bite the bullet and find some healthy snacks. Thanks!
I don't think I'm skinny, but it's hard to judge for oneself.
As long as I can sit down without my stomach bulging out I'm happy.
Could you describe interval training a bit more?
You mean walking slowly 1km, walking fast 1km, running 2km, walking slowly 1km?

Hmm, how can I improve my pushups if I can't do one(1) pushup then?

Thanks for the advice!

Captcha: "Cheese steak". Never heard of it before but now I want to try one.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Keep trying until you can basically. Push through the pain and the fatigue. I remember back when I was 17 and I struggled doing one. Kept trying until I could, then I did more than one. Soon enough I could pump out 50 like it was nothing.

Tenacity, huh? Seems to be the watchword for most kinds of training things. ^^
Thanks!

 

[Cowabungaa]

I've went to the gym for about 2 years when I was 18-ish, if I remember correctly. I stopped when evening shifts at work and studying got in the way. It was pretty hard to schedule as the gym was far away and hitching a ride was next to impossible, as my dad and me's schedules had to match.

These days I'd like to go back again, because I live in the city now so it'd be easy to go whenever I want. Sadly nowadays money is a problem, I can't fork over the monthly fee for a gym membership just yet. So I mostly stick to a daily routine of some exercises with barbells and push-ups and whatnot, and I generally go running about once a week.

It's alright and keeps me a little above average in terms of fitness and looks. I'll go back to the gym for some more SWEET PUMP & GAINZ when I can afford it.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I go the gym on an irregular basis (been on a business trip for the last 2 months, kind of hard to get into gym), but have no intention of delving into it more, like counting calories, looking out for the best exercises and such. Just too much hassle for me. I do my regular, self-developed program and it's worked so far. I also jog and started going swimming last spring, and am going to continue doing the last 2 as double duty once I get home.

I have been pondering about delving more into the "proper" fitness stuff, and come to the conclusion that I wouldn't have the capability for it. I just see it as limiting yourself, and making your life deliberately rigid. I don't want to be thinking "I haven't gone to the gym today", or be constantly counting calories, or locking certain dishes out of my life altogether. I enjoy the spontaneous ice cream cone on a nice summer day too much. What works for me now is that I have a certain limit past which I can't let my weight grow, and that's that.

 

[Queen Michael]

Wait, gyms are real? They're not just something my dad made up to scare me?

 

[Ihateregistering1]

Surprised there isn't already one of these.

Sorry but this made me laugh on this site

Anyway, I'm a pretty big gym rat. I'm not an Olympic Powerlifter or anything, but I rank near 'advanced' (and some close to 'elite') on pretty much all the major lifts (handy chart if you need it):
http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

If you're just purely aiming to pack on muscle and get stronger, I really like Stronglifts 5x5 (you can google it, it's free). You only have to lift 3x per week and it follows a very simple regiment. My only complaint is that I think it has you doing squats a little too much, but if you have to dial it back it's not a huge issue (which I did).

Whenever humanly possible, use free weights instead of machines.

Don't use the Smith Machine. Seriously, stay away from it, it screws up your form by locking you into a motion (reason why free weights are better than machines) and no one is really sure how much it actually weighs.

Don't use gloves, get chalk if you have to but be subtle about applying it to your hands (do it over a trashcan or something). Some gyms really frown upon it. Bonus: your hands get calluses like rocks over time.

Although people have differing opinions on it, I greatly prefer using the olympic shrug bar for deadlifts. I find I'm able to target my legs much better and it's way easier to avoid throwing your back into the exercise. It's also doesn't tear up your legs.

Now for the least fun part: nutrition. If you seriously want to pack on muscle but not put on fat, your diet is going to consist largely of grilled chicken breast, tuna, broccoli, and brown rice. I'll be the first to admit I suck at proper diet because I like food too much, but just google some bodybuilding diets and stick with them as best you can.

For cardio, you're actually better off running sprints than you are jogging for long periods of time. Try and not do them on concrete if possible (it's just a lot of unnecessary force to your knees). If you are going to run long-distance, I really prefer something like this: Run ____ miles, every 5 minutes of running, you have to stop and do 50 push-ups and 50 squats, then start the timer again and keep running. Go until you complete the ___ miles. Combines HIIT, cardio, and endurance.

 

[Artina89]

I don't like gyms, I much prefer hiking and running. I also work in a lab, so I usually end up spending about 5 hours running around from lab to lab trying to find the reagents I need, so I am pretty active without the gym. I also walk to and from work about 80-90% of the time as well.

As for my diet, I am gluten intolerant, so that pretty much knocks consuming bread and grain based products on the head, and I mainly have a high protein diet, full of meat, fish and nuts as well as plenty of fruit and vegetables. I also don't really like sweets, so it means that I don't crave chocolate, soda or any other sugary things.

I would say I am fairly healthy.

 

[Danny Dowling]

Surprised there isn't a thread?

This is a forum where people recommend magic the gathering at a comic book store over exercise when it comes to "What's a hobby I should pick up?" thread.

OT: I have a pretty fucked back injury. So I haven't been able to workout as much as I used to. Back when I was injury free I just did your standard workouts. Two muscle groups, 10-12 reps at 4-5 sets depending on what I was working out. Cardio twice a week (I was more overall fitness than gains). I started out at 60kg mostly skin and bones to 90kg muscle in just 3 months. Right now I'm at about 100kg but a few inches taller than when I was in my prime.

As for supplements. I just stuck with whatever brand of Mass Gain I could afford at the time. One throughout the day and one right after a session (that sweet protein taste when you chug an entire shake in one hit after a good workout). Not that I have anything against all the other stuff people take (creatin, amino acids, pre workout shit). I just honestly couldn't be bothered with it all. Hell I wasn't even that strict on my diet and it all worked out for me in the end.

I've been involved in video game forum for 10 years now and this is the first community I've come across that didn't have a gym/fitness thread.

First I have to agree with what someone else said; 30kg in 3 months is fairy tale stuff. Unless you were severely underweight and half of that was catch up.

The other thing that rings alarm bells for me is that you say you chugged your protein shake after a workout. That actually weakens its effect rather a lot, you should be hitting that within the 20 minute window post-workout... as in the entire 20 minute window. So how you managed to put on half your body weight in 3 months is... yeah. Sorry, that is really hard to believe.

I use Thermabol as well as the bulk stuff to boost the metabolism, although tbh my metabolism is pretty freakish anyway. I walk around at 6%-8% body fat (before I started training seriously) and when I started training I fell to 4%.