The gym (gainz) and fitness thread

[Danny Dowling]

@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.

Nice. Yeah having Taekwondo since I was 4 (23 now) meant my legs are really strong, especially for their size. When i was training for Rio I was doing 350kg 8x3 leg press. At -80kg that was pretty sweet. After leaving I left serious training for a few months, lived my life a bit lol. I haven't really been touching the squat rack etc. yet but I could still hit 100kg back squat a couple months back. My squat strength isn't amazing tbh. I can jump squat 50kg, deadlift 170kg with a hex bar (always hex bar for deadlift) and Romanian 80kg (if my spider arms will let me lol) but the most I squatted was 120kg.

Something else I had on point was my chin ups. I could do 30kg weighted (2-3 tops) and could bang out sets of 10 with horizontal leg extension for the mid back/core drilling.

Today I pushed 14/12/10/8/6/4/2 with two hand curls and tricep pull downs on the wire thing (you know what I'm talking about, with the adjustable height and changable grips). Started at 22.5 on the curl and 27.5 on the tricep. Think my recently deceased tkd instructor came to help me on the later end it was hard asf lol.

 

[tippy2k2]

I've always been a bit of a fatty fat fat but it's only recent that I have decided to actually do something about it.


I started at 220lbs (I'm 5'9" for reference) just trying random stuff that I knew/could look up at the gym. While this was somewhat effective, it became much better once I enlisted my younger brother (a college soccer player) to help me. I also have a few gym-rat coworkers who got me on some protein powder. Unfortunately, I had hurt my knee in September of 2014 so zero cardio and all weights. For nutrition, I used a calorie counter app to help me see what I was eating and keep my food intake in check. Went to the gym 3 times a week with a bicep/back day, tri/chest day, and shoulders/legs day.

This has been very effective at making me stronger and giving the muscles I have some great definition (especially my arms!) but it wasn't quite meeting what I wanted. I'm looking more to slim down than to gain muscle (I want the soccer player physique of skinny and toned if you want a mental image). I kicked the protein powder since bulking up isn't all that necessary (see fat fat, fatty above) and have dumped the calorie counter (I felt that I wasn't getting the fuel I needed so rather than count calories, I'm just more aware of what I'm eating; more fruit, less pop/Monster). I also now do a mix of cardio and weights now that my knee is (mostly) better and I go to the gym 5 times a week (with tennis and golf mixed in there as well).

Now it's a bit premature to celebrate but I am at 210 right now with almost double the strength (in terms of lifting ability and whatnot) and I feel where I'm at exercise/nutrition-wise is where I need to be to meet my goals. As...well...everyone has told me, this is going to take time but doing it the right way is the way to stay with it. As my nutritionist/sister-in-law keeps saying, "It's a lifestyle change, not a diet. You can have "bad" stuff but keep it in moderation. Do you NEED ten Oreos or do you think three is good?".

 

[theevilgenius60]

Damn. It's like serendipity. I finally get off the narcotic meds I'd been on for my back and got back into the gym this week after ~15 years(still look fit, but am not) then I come back to the escapist from about a 2 month absence and this topic's up. Hate to be weird, but thanks for posting. My current plan is to go 3 times a week alternating arms and legs( 2:1 one week, 1:2 the next) I'm using the inverted pyramid system I was raised on, 3-5 reps heavy, 7-10 reps mid, 12-15 reps burnout, followed by negatives. Can't do squats, deadlifts or clean type workouts(back problem) so the leg press is seeing plenty of work. I didn't know how much I missed the post-lifting pain til I got it back last Monday. Just glad to be back

 

[HardkorSB]

I'm a bboy (or, like the mainstream media call it, a breakdancer) and I do it on a daily basis.
I've been doing it since summer 2000 and it's, in my opinion, the best kind of workout you can do - definitely more fun and less repetitive than the gym (plus, the ladies respond really well if you can show them some fancy moves
I do some additional exercises but I don't like to do the same boring stuff everyone else does so I create my own exercises.
I'm not big and I don't really want to be but my muscles are strong and well defined (I think my body fat is around 8-10%).
I eat healthy, don't drink alcohol or take drugs, don't drink coffee or tea, don't even consume sugar outside of the sugar in fruits and vegetables.
I used to be really flexible (splits, putting my foot behind my head and all that) but a few years ago, I had a serious problem with my knees and back, which forced me to completely stop stretching for over a year. I'm getting it back though.

Overall, I think I can consider myself a 1%-er when it comes to my physical fitness

 

[LetalisK]

I'm on a plan of full-body body-resistance training with interval cardio. Plus a strict diet on work days. I naturally carry some tummy on me, so I have to be very proactive.

 

[FPLOON]

The gym? You mean that one place I tried to apply a job for some time ago? Nah, I don't go there... However, I have been doing a lot of cardio while incorporating some yoga... For the most part, it's all to keep me toned and shit...

Other than that, I got nothing... but a weight scale to keep track of my overall progress, of course...

 

[Tsun Tzu]

Ahem.

I'm a nerdy indoors sort, but a recent blood clot (I was sitting with my leg pressed up against a plastic lip on my chair, for hours, which caused a blockage) has made me a lot more conscious of activity levels. Not fat in the least bit. 5'11", 160 or so, but yeah, sedentary lifestyle and a job where I sit a lot.

I do a couple miles of walking a day on a treadmill. Debating beginning a more rigorous training regime.

Some day.

Maybe.

Probably.

A 24-Hour gym would probably be right up my alley though.

 

[Danny Dowling]

Finally weighed myself after about 3 months today. 84.8kg and roughly 8% body fat at a look. Planning to fight again next year so need to get down to -78kg.

Plan is to drop my body fat to around 5%, water 1kg at weigh in and the rest will unfortunately come from lean muscle I guess

 

[DefunctTheory]

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

Failure to do even one push-up is typically a problem of arm positioning (Or EXTREME morbid obesity/muscle weakness ). Where are your arms when you try to do push-ups? Some people do them close (Hands pretty much under their shoulders, elbows when bent tuck into your sides), and some do them wide (hands out past your shoulders, form a cross with your back when you go down). Try switching up your hand positions (Usually, wider is easier, particularly at first).

As for the original topic, I don't live near a gym and don't work out. When I was in the Army, I blew out a vertebra, and I have spinal arthritis. Even before that, I hated working out - Even when I was at 210 pounds and 15% body fat, I despised every sit up, every push up. Its always hurt.

A month ago, I decided I was too fat though, and started dieting. So just dieting and going on short hikes has gotten me from 270 pounds (122.5kg) to 255.6 pounds (116kg) in a month. Surprising what cutting refined grain, soda, sugar, fatty beef, and Little Debbies from your diet can do. I'm even documenting some of it. [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17IRN5VO2lVKoirBdk_IBTjcGoNXHoBy4sH6FfX9ePQc/edit?usp=sharing] The goal is to get to 220 pounds, bonus of 210 pounds - I actually like having a little bit of a gut (And I'm actually fairly wide framed, to the point where most people always under guess my weight because its distributed over so much bone, so 220 isn't as bad as most would think for someone who's 5' 10").

To all the people exercising here, good job! Just make sure to rotate muscle groups and do cardio.

 

[Dr. Crawver]

Huh, find this interesting since I quite literally just got back from the gym.

Anyway, I'm not one for working out my arms. I'm mostly legs, core and fitness myself. I got a slight back injury from my old rowing days, so plenty of the weights are off the table for me (though back when I did them I peaked at 110kg deadlift and 50kg bench press).

I go about twice a week, and my workout often starts with a half an hour cycling, followed by a 12 minute run, and then leg press, calf press, any others I feel like doing, and finish on 50+ situps.

As for sets I do, I do the standard 10/10/10 sets.

 

[Zen Bard]

Surprised there isn't already one of these.

Yeah. Damn near spat out my morning coffee when I read that. But good on you for bringing something different to the party!

I train in kung fu three nights a week, with a sparring session on Friday. So I get a pretty solid cardio/body weight training workout from that.

On the off days, I go to the gym to throw my weights around. It's mostly to keep the fat down (muscle helps burn fat) and to recover more quickly from injury (strong muscles don't necessarily just mean big and bulky).

Before kung fu, I did other weird fitness things like parkour and muay thai. Even while doing those, I always went to the gym to lift.

As an old school lifter, I used do separate the muscle group workout days ("back and bicep day", "chest and tricep days", etc...). But the parkour guys got me into doing compound exercises that hit multiple muscle groups and trained the body in more natural way.

After all, no real life motion is going to require just your biceps or only your quads.

So these days I make sure to hit arms, legs, chest, back and core on whatever equipment is available. Keeps things more interesting!

Seems to work. I'm 5' 10" and 168 lbs. Not bad for an old guy...

 

[Odbarc]

It takes me about 55 minutes to walk to the gym and there's one less than 10 minutes from me. But it isn't 24/7 so I'm not entirely enthusiastic about switching and they have a $100 something initiation fee nonsense too.

I've been working out for nearly a decade now and I never found that working out every single day was good for results. At least not for me personally. There are those individuals who go every day for like 2~3 hours and I just can't afford the diet associated with that kind of routine.

I found, and slightly irritated with, I get better results going half as often for half as long as I'd prefer. 30~45 minutes every other day. I wouldn't mind doing an every day for two hours but that never got the gains I was aiming for.
I also have a limited budget so that means I can only eat so much as well.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

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

Failure to do even one push-up is typically a problem of arm positioning (Or EXTREME morbid obesity/muscle weakness ). Where are your arms when you try to do push-ups? Some people do them close (Hands pretty much under their shoulders, elbows when bent tuck into your sides), and some do them wide (hands out past your shoulders, form a cross with your back when you go down). Try switching up your hand positions (Usually, wider is easier, particularly at first).

My arms are straight down from my shoulders. Elbows going out..
I experimented a bit and managed to do 5 push-ups, but that last one took 2 days to complete...Well, it felt like days.

I'm also extremely flexible so I think that works against me when I have to rely on such things as wrist muscles to train other muscles.
I don't think it helps that I can rotate my wrists 360 degrees sideways and 130 up/down (If I help with the other hand).
My fingers can also be bent flat completely inwards against the palm..etc.
This applies to most every ligament in my body, which I can also "crack".
Toes, ankles, knees, hips, spine, neck, jaw, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and three different ways for my fingers.

 

[Hieronymusgoa]

was there an actual question tied to this thread? im confused ^^

i go to the gym since a bit more than 10 years. did a lot wrong in the beginning. overall i got 10 kgs of muscles over that time. of course i could do better (or worse) but with going to the gym four times a week and with the amount of stuff and kind of stuff i eat i am not willing to put more effort into it than i already do. now im 77kg on 180cm and get a lot more compliments than when i was a bit above 80kg so i might just keep it like this.

my strength standards differ a lot since i never really squatted until a year ago but benched a lot (yes, yes, yes i know how cliche), did a lot for my back, but didnt do a lot of shoulder stuff. powerlifters laugh over what i lift but i am actually quite happy that i bench a bit more than i weigh.

 

[Cheesy Goodness]

I've been training in Krav Maga for nearly 5 years. Our opening workouts usually consists of high intensity tabatas and bag drills, with a possible sparing session at the end. We work a lot on conditioning and body weight exercises.

As for a typical gym routine, I am not disciplined enough to just walk in a gym and start working out. However, on off days, I usually do workouts from YouTube videos at home. These usually consists of power yoga, pilates and free weight exercises. The regimen I'm on has allowed me to stay very lean while also gaining a little muscle.

 

[Guffe]

At a younger age I did a lot of sports. Football, Tennis, Badminton etc. At about the age of 17 I had stopped with everything else but the football, which I still play occassionally (2-3 times a month) but not in a team at the moment. That's also the age when I started hitting the gym and jogging. Which is a shame, since I enjoy the running after a ball a lot more than most other ways of excercise.

In the gym I usually do 10 reps 3 times, so benchpress is 3 rounds of 10 upsand-downs with about 80kg.
My gymming goes in 3 day sets. first day is chest and legs, second is biceps and shoulders and third day is triceps and upper back. Every muscle(group) I do I do 4 different trainings with the 3x10 as described above. Then at the end of each day I do some corestraining, with that I mean abs and lower back (not sure if that is what core actually is... ).

So 3 day cycle, then maybe jogging or swimming or football and maybe a day of if my body feels like it and then the same routine again

I really enjoy working out and I hope I will always have time for it, if not as much as at the moment, at least for a few trainingsets a week. Work and such has lowered my time and energy for training, which got even lower (time, not energy) when I got a girlfriend and still have to keep up with friends, family and other hobbies.

If anyone is interested in getting in tips on what I do or how to maybe get starting, don't be afraid to ask. I answered another thread about a year ago were one member wanted to get healthir habbits and my answer there got very good critique from many members, so I'd love to help out

 

[DrownedAmmet]

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

Failure to do even one push-up is typically a problem of arm positioning (Or EXTREME morbid obesity/muscle weakness ). Where are your arms when you try to do push-ups? Some people do them close (Hands pretty much under their shoulders, elbows when bent tuck into your sides), and some do them wide (hands out past your shoulders, form a cross with your back when you go down). Try switching up your hand positions (Usually, wider is easier, particularly at first).

My arms are straight down from my shoulders. Elbows going out..
I experimented a bit and managed to do 5 push-ups, but that last one took 2 days to complete...Well, it felt like days.

I'm also extremely flexible so I think that works against me when I have to rely on such things as wrist muscles to train other muscles.
I don't think it helps that I can rotate my wrists 360 degrees sideways and 130 up/down (If I help with the other hand).
My fingers can also be bent flat completely inwards against the palm..etc.
This applies to most every ligament in my body, which I can also "crack".
Toes, ankles, knees, hips, spine, neck, jaw, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and three different ways for my fingers.

I started working out about a year ago, when I was 24 and couldn't do a single pushup. What worked for me was doing "beginner" pushups (or girl pushups, but I prefer beginner) for what felt like months until I could finally do a real one. But damn it felt awesome when I finally did one. Also, this video helped me with some basics like positioning, especially the bit about the four points of the palm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR1IxZDX8jQ

I still love doing pushups, chinups, and pullups, just being able to crank out a few of each when I have a couple seconds to spare is a great confidence-booster.

Can anyone point me to a good book or site that discusses muscle groups and how to train each one? I've been wanting to switch from doing the same workouts everyday to doing a different muscle group each day, but I'm not sure where to start finding info on that

 

[Politrukk]

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.

Can you describe your usual posture?

It's not a shame to spread out your legs, bend your back a bit whilst pushing your shoulders in.
Also try to find your appropriate placement for your hands.
And look at where you're lifting, is it closer to your head or to your chest/tummy?

On topic:

Anyone here have tips for a guy with weak wrists trying to do pull-ups/chin-ups ?

 

[Fdzzaigl]

I guess I do some lifting and fitness at home using weights and just plain exercises. But other than that I've never been to a gym, ever.

I mostly do a lot of swimming / running. Seems to do the job just as fine