I’m taking Beast Pharm Big D lemon flavour (lol at the name) for my creatine, more expensive, has other stuff in it which you may or may not care for, but it tastes great.
ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ ||| The 2023/2024 Gym Rats Thread ||| ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ
- Thread starter Somnambulist
- Start date
Had a long break from any workouts due to a cycling injury, the good side of 4-5 weeks needed to recover from shoulder and wrist impact but have been back in now for a bit with climbing, gym and callisthenics as can lift my own weight again without shoulder feeling like collapsing. Otherwise only been able to do pure callisthenics in that downtime and only pushing moves, even still have managed to gain 1.1KG in muscle mass with no change in diet. My custom smoothies are still the same at around 1000 calories a serving and normal meals in between as well as the usual burgery junk throughout the weeks.
I have been doing new things since being back at the gym though which has been quite interesting:
1: Never done an active dead hang before so first attempt was 1 min 8 seconds and only had to drop due to losing grip, so have added grip strength exercises daily. 2-3 mins hang should be an easy target based on this experience soon.
2: Boxing punch bag, not touched boxing in years since doing UWCB, so found my old gloves and hit the bag at the end of each gym session, this I think has been the biggest workout.
I have not bothered with doing upper days lower days etc as the callisthenics covers this all in one anyway, my goal is just to gain weight in muscle mass and this new consistency and routine seems to have helped so far although I would say this is still the "newbie gains" phase given I know what is working now so am expecting it to tail off at some point in the next couple of months and I will need to work much harder after that.
I have been doing new things since being back at the gym though which has been quite interesting:
1: Never done an active dead hang before so first attempt was 1 min 8 seconds and only had to drop due to losing grip, so have added grip strength exercises daily. 2-3 mins hang should be an easy target based on this experience soon.
2: Boxing punch bag, not touched boxing in years since doing UWCB, so found my old gloves and hit the bag at the end of each gym session, this I think has been the biggest workout.
I have not bothered with doing upper days lower days etc as the callisthenics covers this all in one anyway, my goal is just to gain weight in muscle mass and this new consistency and routine seems to have helped so far although I would say this is still the "newbie gains" phase given I know what is working now so am expecting it to tail off at some point in the next couple of months and I will need to work much harder after that.
Soldato
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Just had such a demotivating pull day. I think I'm doing my workouts too close together - did legs yesterday and push on Tuesday, so weds, thurs, fri. It's just really hard to juggle going to the gym around work and childcare, even if I get up early to go like today and Wednesday.
In more exciting news, I've registered and got a date (7th Feb) for a qualifier for the ABPU (Amateur British Powerlifting Union) tested. I'm really excited - I've got no big lifts in the bag, but I've got until February to up everything. I haven't done 1RMs, but my biggest lifts so far have been 75 kg bench, 130 kg deadlift, and only an 80 kg squat (squatted for the second time this week in about 8 years, so that's a slow burner).
In more exciting news, I've registered and got a date (7th Feb) for a qualifier for the ABPU (Amateur British Powerlifting Union) tested. I'm really excited - I've got no big lifts in the bag, but I've got until February to up everything. I haven't done 1RMs, but my biggest lifts so far have been 75 kg bench, 130 kg deadlift, and only an 80 kg squat (squatted for the second time this week in about 8 years, so that's a slow burner).
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If you're finding you are struggling to recover between workouts and you cant have more rest days (i.e. you only have specific days of the week to train and they are close together), you could try reducing the volume and upping the intensity. For example, instead of 5 sets of 8 or whatever, do 2 sets, and one of them go to failure. So for legs, you could do squats: warmup set, another much heavier warmup set of 8-10, then do a set with more weight again where you struggle to get 6-8 reps but try and get them and if you do, try to get 2 more reps, and keep doing that, until you cant get another rep no matter how much you try. You may find that you thought you could only get 8 reps, but end up getting 15+! This is a bit difficult on squats without a spotter, but if you have a squat rack for the safety pins it should be okay incase you fail the rep. The difficulty in these sets is not so much the actual movement but the mentality - you will be tempted to stop way way earlier thinking its "enough" but then you will immediately regret it, and think you need to do another set - DO NOT do another set! But next week try to beat that rep number. Make sure to warmup up properly before the working sets. If done right you will not want to do another similar set, and then you can move on to another exercise like leg extensions etc, and keep the same principle.
Not only are the workouts shorter, but you will be able to recover better as well. You may feel like you arent doing enough initially, but stick to the plan.
Typically I see powerlifters spend 3+ hours in the gym doing what seems like 10s of sets of 1 or 2 reps with heavy weight. If you dont have that time then give the above a shot. Blast through those squats and get that 80kg max to 160+!
Man of Honour
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I was curious to my calorific intake as I haven't really ever monitored properly, I sort of ate/eat as I feel, and recently (well past few months, my appetite has really grown significantly. That's mainly because the average BJJ/Striking session uses anything between 700-1000+ calories (if you trust those polar HRMs - seems to be relatively accurate to be honest), and my average gym session is around 350-400 or so. Since I'm not bothered about being super lean (although at c. 14-15% I'm not complaining especially as I'm nearer 50 than 40 now 
), I tend to eat a lot. However, I've seriously reduced/cut out UPF (although impossible to cut out completely and I can't be bothered too), and don't really have a sweet tooth, so I've just been eating mainly whole foods. I tend to have 4 large meals a day, with maybe a little snack (mainly fruits and nuts) between.
Anyway it seems that instinctively have been hitting my calories pretty well, I'm on around 3600 cals per day at the moment which is helping me maintain 96kg ish (I need to stay in the weight bracket of 94-100.5kg). I probably want another kg or two, but slowly getting back into some larger volume workouts, with strength and conditioning being my main focus.
It's amazing after over 25 years of lifting and learning about nutrition it's remarkable how instinctively you end up eating just what your body needs - ok I'm atypical as I understand metabolism and nutrition more than the average person, but it just proves if you arm yourself with some good information and live your life around it you can achieve some amazing results.
Although I'm one of the older people in my MMA club, I'm certainly punching way above my weight (excuse the pun), certainly my podium finishes seem to concur, but also I have 30 year olds expressing their surprise (not really admiration as such) at my ability to be so active and tough despite my age. Dad / old man strength and grit plays a lot into it too! ha!
Now this has been nearly 3 decades of work, learning and practice, I know those that have met me realise I'm not full of poo (I hope!), but it really does prove this is a long term game and you just have to keep at it. When I had my kids, I had pretty much "given up" on decent physique and I look back at photos and whilst still in shape, I was less lean, softer, and certainly less solid. After getting over a bout of mental health ****tiness I bounced back (mainly after lockdown, god that was awful and destructive) got back into MMA but really took S&C seriously again which honestly both physically and mentally have brought me back from the brink. I often am not in the mood, and I sometimes don't even progressively overload and just do an "easy" workout, or just kick the **** out of my punch bag, but it's better than nothing. Now that I take BJJ/MMA a bit more seriously it's driving my decision to train harder again, certainly for a older gent, but longevity too, my cardio is now remarkably better than it was, I'm more flexible, yet still deceivingly strong. Sure my powerlifting lifts are now ******* but I'm not training for that, and my training is very much functional / useful - hence things like Zercher squats, and DBSS and glute bridges etc...
I guess what I'm saying is, don't focus on today, or tomorrow's goals, even worry about your weekly / monthly, consistency over years is more important. However I concur consistent rubbish isn't going to help anyone but you have to be honest with yourself to whether or not you're REALLY trying or not. If you're not breathing hard or swearing mildly during a workout you're not trying hard enough. If you're snacking on crap food, you're not trying hard enough. I realised I was making excuses a lot rather than actually pushing myself (I'm not suggesting anyone here is, this is more of a self reflection).
Having a goal to aim for I think has been key, mine has been to make sure I'm fit and healthy for my kids (being an older parent) so that I can look after them and enjoy activities together for as long as I can. I had that moment of clarity one day when I realised that I'm not far off having teenage kids, and I want to be able to be active with them and them be able to rely on me, and for that I need to be fit and healthy and around to do that. It's one hell of a motivator.
What's your weekly agenda like? Juggling childcare, work and workouts is hard work - but you can make it work, it just requires some sacrifices here and there, maybe some compromises elswhere, but also some grit and determination too. Happy to have a chat (offline) or whenever (meet up for a coffee again!) if you want
Now signing up for a comp is HUGE!!
That's one hell of a motivator and thing to aim for! Well done mate - if you want a fanboy to come and whoop for you let me know!
), I tend to eat a lot. However, I've seriously reduced/cut out UPF (although impossible to cut out completely and I can't be bothered too), and don't really have a sweet tooth, so I've just been eating mainly whole foods. I tend to have 4 large meals a day, with maybe a little snack (mainly fruits and nuts) between.Anyway it seems that instinctively have been hitting my calories pretty well, I'm on around 3600 cals per day at the moment which is helping me maintain 96kg ish (I need to stay in the weight bracket of 94-100.5kg). I probably want another kg or two, but slowly getting back into some larger volume workouts, with strength and conditioning being my main focus.
It's amazing after over 25 years of lifting and learning about nutrition it's remarkable how instinctively you end up eating just what your body needs - ok I'm atypical as I understand metabolism and nutrition more than the average person, but it just proves if you arm yourself with some good information and live your life around it you can achieve some amazing results.
Although I'm one of the older people in my MMA club, I'm certainly punching way above my weight (excuse the pun), certainly my podium finishes seem to concur, but also I have 30 year olds expressing their surprise (not really admiration as such) at my ability to be so active and tough despite my age. Dad / old man strength and grit plays a lot into it too! ha!
Now this has been nearly 3 decades of work, learning and practice, I know those that have met me realise I'm not full of poo (I hope!), but it really does prove this is a long term game and you just have to keep at it. When I had my kids, I had pretty much "given up" on decent physique and I look back at photos and whilst still in shape, I was less lean, softer, and certainly less solid. After getting over a bout of mental health ****tiness I bounced back (mainly after lockdown, god that was awful and destructive) got back into MMA but really took S&C seriously again which honestly both physically and mentally have brought me back from the brink. I often am not in the mood, and I sometimes don't even progressively overload and just do an "easy" workout, or just kick the **** out of my punch bag, but it's better than nothing. Now that I take BJJ/MMA a bit more seriously it's driving my decision to train harder again, certainly for a older gent, but longevity too, my cardio is now remarkably better than it was, I'm more flexible, yet still deceivingly strong. Sure my powerlifting lifts are now ******* but I'm not training for that, and my training is very much functional / useful - hence things like Zercher squats, and DBSS and glute bridges etc...
I guess what I'm saying is, don't focus on today, or tomorrow's goals, even worry about your weekly / monthly, consistency over years is more important. However I concur consistent rubbish isn't going to help anyone but you have to be honest with yourself to whether or not you're REALLY trying or not. If you're not breathing hard or swearing mildly during a workout you're not trying hard enough. If you're snacking on crap food, you're not trying hard enough. I realised I was making excuses a lot rather than actually pushing myself (I'm not suggesting anyone here is, this is more of a self reflection).
Having a goal to aim for I think has been key, mine has been to make sure I'm fit and healthy for my kids (being an older parent) so that I can look after them and enjoy activities together for as long as I can. I had that moment of clarity one day when I realised that I'm not far off having teenage kids, and I want to be able to be active with them and them be able to rely on me, and for that I need to be fit and healthy and around to do that. It's one hell of a motivator.
What's your weekly agenda like? Juggling childcare, work and workouts is hard work - but you can make it work, it just requires some sacrifices here and there, maybe some compromises elswhere, but also some grit and determination too. Happy to have a chat (offline) or whenever (meet up for a coffee again!) if you want
Now signing up for a comp is HUGE!!
That's one hell of a motivator and thing to aim for! Well done mate - if you want a fanboy to come and whoop for you let me know!
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Soldato
- Joined
- 10 May 2004
- Posts
- 5,283
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- Middlesex
Can anyone recommend any good 3x per week power lifting routines I can find on the net? I'm an intermediate lifter and the guy who's been programming me has been super flakey lately so may as well go it along.
Is 5,3,1 still the way to go?
Considering swapping it out for a body building routine in future but I'm not sure 3x per week is really enough for that? (I can't reliably train more than 3x per week at the moment).
Is 5,3,1 still the way to go?
Considering swapping it out for a body building routine in future but I'm not sure 3x per week is really enough for that? (I can't reliably train more than 3x per week at the moment).
StrongLifts 5x5 intermediate
Soldato
- Joined
- 10 May 2004
- Posts
- 5,283
- Location
- Middlesex
Thanks, looks good! Didn't know there was an intermediate program. It's been a while since I did the beginners stronglifts.
Been taking a quick look a the numbers. I'm guessing PR attempts are week 13? Week 12 shows 5x94%. Is that expected? Seems quite heavy for 5 reps.
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Man of Honour
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- 5 Jun 2003
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Lots of modifications you can do with basic programmes like 5x5 or 5/3/1 things like drop sets, reverse pyramids, or standard pyramids you can do 3x5 instead as it gets heavier. Ensuring the right assistance work is being done is also really helpful.