OcUK Health Seekers: Post your progress pics

[kai]

Don't think i'd like chest and back on the same day

Totally agree; i would say training both on the same day is a mistake. Both are large muscle groups and require seperate day splits. Recently i have been training back as a single session as before i used to combine with bicep. The results have been good.

This is the split that i am seeing work largerly for me at the moment;

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Chest
Wednesday - Back / Traps
Thursday - Delts/Abs
Friday - Triceps/Biceps
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Legs/Abs

 

[LiE]

Mine:

Monday - Chest/Biceps
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Legs
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Shoulders/Triceps
Saturday - Back/Core
Sunday - Rest

 

[Freefaller]

I quite like push/pull splits personally and have been doing a lot of them. However if you do do push/pull splits you do have to do those body parts twice a week.

For example, chest/back on Monday, and do it again on Thursday for example.

Works very well working the antagonist muscles - there's a lot to be said as to how your body responds to growth/strenght from that sort of stimulus.

 

[Cristian]

1.89m? seriously who uses meters? did my time machine work and im now back in the 1600's?

regardless of height your looking thick, solid and tight.

not the time machine, just the teleporting one.
the better question would be who doesn't use the metric system? Apart from England and it's former colonies that is.
Cheers

Solid. Thats pretty much my goal size but leaned out a bit. 2 years to go? challenge accepted
weighed in at ~81kg this morning

achievable if you're consistent with your training. I have kept at it but there were periods where I couldn't give it 100% due to other commitments.

As a rookie with little knowledge, since i was 16 on and off, but i found a program i liked in July, and since then i've stuck with it, and i worked out my macros etc as well.

Bulking with 10 reps and 3 sets:
Mon - Chest/Back with 5 mins skipping.
Tues - Legs/Abs with 5 mins skipping.
Wed - Shoulders/Triceps/Biceps with 5 mins skipping.

When i cut, it's basically supersets and 10 mins skipping and the same number of sets and reps.

Edit: http://www.exrx.net/Workouts/Workout3TLA.html - that without the ones in italics, takes me 45 mins, sometimes an hour depending on how taxing the squat or deadlift is.

Same as everyone else said, I'd try to get legs, back and chest on separate days.
But I did do a push/pull on GVT as well in the past and it wasn't that bad.

 

[SteveOBHave]

I've been doing circuits lately with an aim of cutting up rather than putting on muscle mass - my shirts are starting to be too small for my chest and biceps.

I'm doing something like:

15 mins cardio then

2 sets (30 second break) 15 reps each of the following

Leg press (or quad curls)
Bench press (mixing up flat, incline and decline)
Fly press (not in the same circuit as the bench and mixing up cable and dumbells)
Weighted step ups
Shoulder press
Wide Grip lat pull ups (counter weighted to allow for the 15 reps)
Bicep Curls
Cable ab crunch or hanging leg lifts
Tricep Dips

The exercises are mixed up to keep things interesting and avoid falling into a pattern.

10 mins cardio

It's working really well - my shape is really trimming up without losing an appreciable amount of muscle mass. Of course having the right diet is helping as well.

 

[Delvis]

Sounds good Steve

Try and get some before and after pics if you can, would be interesting.
What are you doing weight wise then? Dropping the weights?

 

[SteveOBHave]

Sounds good Steve

Try and get some before and after pics if you can, would be interesting.
What are you doing weight wise then? Dropping the weights?

The weight I'm using is typically around my first set building weight. For example if I'm doing bench with the intention of building then I'd do a warm up set at about bar+2x15kgs then shift to bar+2x20 for the first set. After that I'll aim for incriments to my max where I'd intend on failing at 4-6 reps unsupported (at them moment for me it's about 95kgs) but only failing on the last set, all subsequent sets to 10-12 reps depending on the exercise. So for the circuits I'll stick to the bar+2x20 for 15 reps, 30 second break then another 15 reps sticking with the same weight each time. If I feel that I can step it up I'll do it next session.

Shoulder press with dumbells I'll do around 16kgs a side with my max building weight around 32-34kgs a side. I'm not aiming for failure in the exercises (although when it comes to shoulder press and wide grip lat pull ups I either do fail or come very close to it) but for it to not be at all comfortable. Keep the intensity up so that it's everything short of a cardio workout in that following from the 15mins of initial cardio I'm sweating all the way through the session keeping your heart rate up a bit.

I'll see what I can do about a before and after shot although it's been a while since I took a before!

 

['Wes]

Same as everyone else said, I'd try to get legs, back and chest on separate days.
But I did do a push/pull on GVT as well in the past and it wasn't that bad.

Works really well for me, and i like doing 3 workouts per week, as it gives me 4 days of rest which is needed after a week of working at a Secondary school.

Monday 10 reps and 3 sets:
-Bench Press.
-Bent-Over Row.
-Incline Bench Press.
-Underhand Row.

Tuesday 10 reps and 3 sets:
-Squat.
-Deadlift.
-Standing Calf Raise.
-Double Crunch.

Wednesday 10 reps and 3 sets:
-Shoulder Press.
-Upright Row.
-Rear Delt Row.
-Skullcrusher.
-Barbell Curl.

Then the following week i use dumbbells [for the ones i can] just to bring up any lagging bodyparts and i repeat - It's worked really well for me, and my body responded fantastically to it, so i'm not changing it.

 

[SteveOBHave]

My only comment would be to shift your respective days around to avoid falling into a regimented pattern. I'm constantly surprised with how much it effects my muscles with either shifting days or using entirely new exercises. I found that if I stuck with the same routine week after week I wouldn't get that nice two day burn anymore.

 

[MoNkeE]

As long as you're on a progressive routine, I don't think you need to mix it up quite so often. This is why stronglifts and HST work so well, the weights go up every session so no workout is ever the same. Doesn't matter hitting the same exercises; just don't go hitting the same weights.

I'm NOT saying that mixing things up isn't necessary, as everyone knows it is. I just think suggesting it's mandetory isn't correct.

 

[SteveOBHave]

As long as you're on a progressive routine, I don't think you need to mix it up quite so often. This is why stronglifts and HST work so well, the weights go up every session so no workout is ever the same. Doesn't matter hitting the same exercises; just don't go hitting the same weights.

I'm NOT saying that mixing things up isn't necessary, as everyone knows it is. I just think suggesting it's mandetory isn't correct.

No, for sure I agree with you - just seemed to be a fairly fixed routine is all. I personally don't move up in weights too rapidly, but that has historically been my own fault and getting lazy toward the end of the week so I miss on decent back and tri workouts, stupid really. I've recently changed it up and stopped being such a lazy git - and feel so much better for it, not to mention jumping up in yield quite significantly, my bench has gone from around a 65-70kg max to 95kgs in around 4 months and I did my first 100kg bench the other week (seriously uncomfortable weight that is - feels really dead if you know what I mean).

Getting the process right makes going to the gym so much more enjoyable and seeing things like striations coming out in my shoulders and vascular definition coming out in my arms is really gratifying... it's just getting rid of my gut that is the challenge.

 

[SteveOBHave]

Right - these are the best I could do for before and afters... I have posted the earlier ones before.

This was November 2009 - Movember was in full swing - Around 108-110kgs or 17 Stone

July 2010 - 97kgs or 15 Stone 4lbs

And this morning - 96kgs or just over 15 Stone still

As you can see I'm still battling with a gut, it's an aspect of myself that I really dislike but now when I'm wearing a T-shirt I have too all intents a flat stomach which is a brilliant thing. I also have a lot of work to do in the upper chest area. The other photos were post workout as well and these recent ones are from relaxed so you'll have to take 'pump' into account Overall I'm pretty happy - it's been a gradual change and not without it's setbacks, after my wedding I rebounded back from 97 back to around 101-102 but kicked myself in the ass to get sorted. I'm hoping to strip back and get rid of the gut in around 4-6 weeks of seriously hard graft in prep for the snowboarding season!

 

[GarethSouthgate]

Awesome transformation there Steve, great work.

 

[SteveOBHave]

Thanks mate, still stacks to do but it's steady progress.

 

[Delvis]

Aye well done buddy

It's something I intend to do (get rid of the gut) and general fatty areas I need to trip away (legs / ****), but going to start this either before or after XMas

 

[SteveOBHave]

Aye well done buddy

It's something I intend to do (get rid of the gut) and general fatty areas I need to trip away (legs / ****), but going to start this either before or after XMas

Why wait?

 

[Cristian]

Good stuff Steve, great difference between now and when you started.

 

[Delvis]

Why wait?

Purely because i'm eating like a horse where I can at the moment, so just generally trying to put on some kind of size, then i'm going to throw some cardio in to the routines to see what effect this has.

I do a small amount of cardio at the moment to warm-up

 

[SteveOBHave]

Ah I see - fair enough. It is hard to do both although I have found myself putting on quite a bit of muscle in the process of trimming up, that's why my actual weight hasn't shifted much in the last year but I think I've kinda hit a limit to my comfortable size. I have no desire to look like a gorilla I'd say that at around 90-92kgs I should start seeing some real definition, then the really hard work starts. The main place I'm lacking shape in my own eyes is upper chest and of course gut but I suspect both of those will come with shedding the 'cover'.

 

[Skillmister]

Was browsing old pictures and found some classics so made a comparison Lol @ me wearing that vest to the gym, what a douche. Both pics are with gym pump.
Not taking any more pics till christmas