Poll: ***The all new gymrats thread***

Do we archive this thread and start a new one for 2010?

  • Yeah good idea.

    Votes: 11 78.6%

  • Nah I'm happy with this one.

    Votes: 3 21.4%
  • Total voters
    14
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toxic said:
DJ...be Carefull with pain in the shoulders while squating. Ive screwed both of mine this year....and im pretty sure the cause was squating on both occasions. 4-5 moths later...ive just done a workout and they are both aching....Im not sure if they will ever be the same now. So watch...if its really uncomfartable and feeling strained....drop back a bit. I never when if felt awkward...and now wish I had.
Click to expand...
Aye, which is why I'm going to see my chiropractor, and if the pain sticks around I'll get to my GP's. :)

It's from incline DBPs I'm pretty sure, got very wobbly on those. Anyway.. feels a lot better today, but I'll see what the 'practor says. :)
 
What do you lot think of my current routine? I quite like it; I do exercises I enjoy.

I don't like training the same muscle more than once a sessions so split isolation and compound. Also don't really want any more size in my legs so trying to just go for strength, while trying to build tris, biceps and lats.

It's annoying; the comments I get from my female friends after getting back from uni are that my chest and biceps have got much bigger (unforced comments - wasn't expecting them). Thing is, I haven't done any bench or anything at uni, was focusing on legs, arms and back with dips/chins and squats :/
Still, compliments are all good. :o

anyway here it is:

Day 1:


warm up - intervals for 6min (20s hard, 30s rest) rowing machine level 5/10.

Barbell Squats:
1set of 5x60kg warm up
2sets of 5x110kg
2sets of 5x100kg (as many as possible)

Chin/pull ups:
3sets of 5x Bodyweight chinups
1set of 5x bodyweight pull ups (wide grip)
2sets of 5x bodyweight chinups
1set of 5x bodyweight pull ups (wide grip)

Forward leaning, overhead tricep extensions (cable)
5sets of 5x 40kg

Dumbell Shrugs
3sets of 8x 35kg per hand

sitting cable rows
2sets of 8x 86kg (wide grip)
2sets of 5x 110kg (close grip)

Crunches:
1set of 10x bodyweight
1set of 10x side crunches each side

press ups
2sets of 10x bodyweight, wide

lying twists (suspending torso horizontally above decline bench).
2sets of 5 twists per side, 10kg in hands.




Day 2:


Rest day (usually game of squash)



Day 3:


warm up - intervals for 6min (20s hard, 30s rest) rowing machine level 5/10.

Dips:
5sets of 3-5x bodyweight, slow down, fast up.

EZ Curl bar bicep curls
5sets of 5x bar+20kg

DB bench press:
5sets of 5x 22.5kg per hand

sitting cable rows
2sets of 8x 86kg (wide grip)
2sets of 5x 110kg (close grip)


Crunches:
1set of 10x bodyweight
1set of 10x side crunches each side

press ups
2sets of 10x bodyweight, wide

lying twists (suspending torso horizontally above decline bench).
2sets of 5 twists per side, 10kg in hands.


Day 4:

Rest day, (game of squash)


Rinse, repeat.

Comments?
 
Started on advanced GVT (so not like what Benny is doing but a slight modified version)

Flat BB - 4s lowering phase, quick explosive concentric phase. The whole point of this is that the eccentric phase builds the muscles by really saturating the muscle fibres with blood (ergo nutrients) but also rips the muscles more than the concentric movement (micro tears.) 90-120s pause between sets.

The 4s lowering phase makes it hard work!

I went for 60% of my 1RM, which in hingsight might have been better to have gone with 65% but anyway I've started and I'll see how it goes.

5x80
5x80
5x80
5x80
5x80
5x80
5x80
5x80
5x80
5x80

Wide grip chins - 3s lowering phase, explosive concentric (upward towards chin bar).

5xbw
5xbw
5xbw
5xbw
5xbw
5xbw
5xbw
5xbw
5xbw
5xbw

This got very difficult towards the end the last 2 sets were agony and I ensured my form was absolutely spotless, the 90-120s pauses seem to shoot by far too quickly!! My BW is around 98kg at the moment so when I increase in the next phase I'll use a weight belt.

Then subsidiary exercises:

Dips Bodyweight - 3s lowering phase, explosive lifting phase.

3 sets x 8 reps @ BW

Single arm row - 3s lowering phase, explosive lifting phase, I made sure that the form was immaculate, contracting all the back muslces (lat, rear delt, traps) and moved the DB in an arc movement to the hip. Held the DB at the top and squeeze for 1 second, and then down 3s etc....

3 sets 8 reps @ 21kg.

Although the weights are very small, you have to bear in mind the volume, and that in 10 days time the weights go up by 6%... then in 20 days up by 9%. So I need to be able to plan for success.

This is going to be good fun! :D
 
Freefaller said:
Snip
Click to expand...

I agree, 90 seconds does not seem long enough, about enough time to wipe the sweat out of your eyes and down some water!

The lowering phase I love, really allows you to feel the work on the positive side of the rep and all the extra muscle fibres being recruited. Whilst each exercise becomes increasingly agonising, I found keeping strict form quite easy, as with strict form, failure is failure!
 
Yup. Agreed.

If you think of the volume I'm lifting in bench alone that's 4 tonnes, and chins that's nearly 5 tonnes. 9 tonnes in 2 exercises of which they are just bench and chins and not even big DL/Squat type of exercises you know why it works.

The lowering phase is THE most important part of it IMO.

Although I'm not doing GVT but AGVT the principle is the same. GVT is best suited for gentic + help type of people, AGVT should be ok for natural peeps - but you just don't get the gains and returns that you would with "extra" help.
 
Freefaller said:
Yup. Agreed.

If you think of the volume I'm lifting in bench alone that's 4 tonnes, and chins that's nearly 5 tonnes. 9 tonnes in 2 exercises of which they are just bench and chins and not even big DL/Squat type of exercises you know why it works.

The lowering phase is THE most important part of it IMO.

Although I'm not doing GVT but AGVT the principle is the same. GVT is best suited for gentic + help type of people, AGVT should be ok for natural peeps - but you just don't get the gains and returns that you would with "extra" help.
Click to expand...

I worked out the volume for the bench/row (60-65kg) superset is roughly around 12 tonnes, dependant on rep failures. And thats shifted in around 30-35 minutes! I can only imagine what this method of training can do for you with the aid of some 'non-natural' help. I'm going to stick with the 10x10 for now until I return to uni and then move back to a short 6 week heavy/medium/light weights routine alternating reps etc before I begin AGVT.

Makes me feel a bit silly with all those wasted reps i've blasted out in my naivety!
 
Back to westside for me next week. Need to build the strength up again as I've shifted from 14.5 stone to 13 stone in about 9 weeks (low carbing, and a lot of cv). I've lost some muscle mass and a fair bit of fat, and a little strength but everyones been saying I look better so can't be bad.

Past month all I've done really is:

Day 1: Bench, Pull ups, dips
Day 2: 'strongman'
Day 3: Split jerk, military press, pull ups, dips
Day 4: Deadlift, rows, pull ups, dips

Its been very fun mind, and I'm very good at pull ups now :D Got 2 wide grip reps last week with 40kg on the belt.

Been having some fun with dips as well; been doing them with legs up on a bench putting plates on each rep. My best was a full rep with 125kg on my lap, my mate got 160kg :o Be interested to see what some of you guys get
 
160kg + BW dips?!!! :eek:

Have you tried using a parallel bar with a dipping belt?

WG+40kg for chins is also impressive - though it's like me doing it with 20kg in terms of weight :p However it's awesome work. :cool:

Hope we can do strongman meet some time :)
 
Day 2 GVT

Legs.

I mis-judged my squat weight and it was a bit light at 100kg, so next time I will have to jack it up to 110 - by the end of the 10th set whilst I was feeling a nice burn it should have come on sooner. What I might have to try is slowing it down a bit more to get more of a burn.

Back Squats

10x5 @ 100kg

SLDL

10x5 @ 90kg

All slow tempo 40x0

Subsidiary exercises:

Step ups (leg @50 degrees):

3x8 @ 100kg (each leg)

DB Lunges:

3x8 @ 25kg in each hand (each leg)

Although the weight wasn't extraordinary and the squats were a bit light I did end up drenched and as though it was a hard workout. The 90-120s pauses really helps the intensity of it. My legs are feeling a bit "throbby" but I think I'd feel a bit more dead with a bit more weight on the squats.

I'm really going to enjoy this programme. :cool:
 
I'm still up for early August if you fancy it.

Yeh, 160kg + bodyweight. Don't forget though a fair bit is taken away as you've got your arms on a bar (we use the smith) and your feet on the bench. We broke our gyms dipping belt when my mate put 70kg on it :( thats why we reverted to this type for now, much easier to rack the weight up on it.
 
I'm going to be starting stronglifts 5x5 next week. I'll be following the workout exactly as it says (even though I'm a bit reluctant to stop doing some of the exercises I love), but I didn't know if any of you guys who've done it have any advice at all.

Workout A
Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Inverted Rows 3xF
Push-ups 3xF
Reverse Crunch 3x12

Workout B
Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3xF
Prone Bridges 3x30sec
 
Mansize_tissue said:
I'm going to be starting stronglifts 5x5 next week. I'll be following the workout exactly as it says (even though I'm a bit reluctant to stop doing some of the exercises I love), but I didn't know if any of you guys who've done it have any advice at all.

Workout A
Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Inverted Rows 3xF
Push-ups 3xF
Reverse Crunch 3x12

Workout B
Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3xF
Prone Bridges 3x30sec
Click to expand...


I've just finished 8 months of it and it's well good for your strength but not to good on the old legs, if you like doms you'll love it, squatting 3 times a week is OK until you hit big numbers but it's well fun.

I changed the deadlift from 1 set of 5 to 5x5 as i felt one set was not worth it. I'm now starting a bodybuilding split as I've taken it as far as could go without getting bored.
 
What sort of tempo do you guys use on the strength training?

I use 4-0-2 for building, just curious what the strength alternative would be as the 4 second lowering is meant to tear the muscle, which isn't really the aim of 5 x 5 is it?

Just curious :)
 
burtieb1 said:
I've just finished 8 months of it and it's well good for your strength but not to good on the old legs, if you like doms you'll love it, squatting 3 times a week is OK until you hit big numbers but it's well fun.

I changed the deadlift from 1 set of 5 to 5x5 as i felt one set was not worth it. I'm now starting a bodybuilding split as I've taken it as far as could go without getting bored.
Click to expand...

Yeah I might do something similar with the deadlifts, or maybe just do a few warm up sets on them at least. Not sure how I'll cope with the squats, hopefully I'll manage ok! Cheers for your help.
 
Jonny L said:
What sort of tempo do you guys use on the strength training?

I use 4-0-2 for building, just curious what the strength alternative would be as the 4 second lowering is meant to tear the muscle, which isn't really the aim of 5 x 5 is it?

Just curious :)
Click to expand...

The slow eccentric movement is what you need for size development, explosive concentric movement is what is needed fo strength gains - that's pretty much it. :)
 
Mansize_tissue said:
I'm going to be starting stronglifts 5x5 next week. I'll be following the workout exactly as it says (even though I'm a bit reluctant to stop doing some of the exercises I love), but I didn't know if any of you guys who've done it have any advice at all.

Workout A
Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Inverted Rows 3xF
Push-ups 3xF
Reverse Crunch 3x12

Workout B
Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3xF
Prone Bridges 3x30sec
Click to expand...
I'm on my second week of 5x5 and the squats are starting to kick in. I'm currently on 95kg, my 1.5XBW is 104 - So I'm almost there.

I'm not quite sure what to make of things. My motivation seems to be slowly dropping and I've identified what it is:
-New Gym
-Legs area is completely isolated and whenever I'm there I'm always alone
-Finished work, so I no longer have a routine like I used to.
-Train only 3xweek - 50 mins session - I feel used to doing 'more'.
-I thought I'd never say but I'm finding bulking hard, I feel constantly 'full'.
-Women issues

Whilst training I'm focused but I don't have that spark I had in me not so long ago. Time's a healer I guess.

What's your bodyweight? Let me know how you get on :)
 
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