OcUK Health Seekers: Post your progress pics

Brumboy · 16 Nov 2011 at 21:47

pitaylor said:
Great progress mate. How much you lifting?

Cheers mate!

I don't think I'm actually very strong, although my strength has doubled I think. I wasn't strong to start with! My routine consists of basic exercises. When I started I would honestly struggle with 8kg dumbbell bicep curls, but now I can quite comfortably do 16kg dumbbell bicep curls if that's any indication. I know it's not much weight but to see a 50% increase in strength over the course of a few months, I'm very happy with that. Remember I'm only 5 foot 7 & 136 pounds so I'm small :mad:

I don't care what anyone else can lift or what my friends can lift to be honest, I only care about what I can lift. I try and increase the weights on my excercises every week.

I use a home gym by the way, I did join the gym for the first 2 months but once I started work I found it a bit tiring travelling to the gym every few days, by the time I got home, ate and showered I had barely any time left to chill out so I bought a York Fitness Bench for £100 and a 48kg York Barbell set for £100 (which I use with the 18kg dumbbell set I already had).

Oh, does anyone know a good place to get some cheap mats to use for weights?

Brumboy · 16 Nov 2011 at 21:56

Hedge said:
Very good progress there mate. Wish I could gain that rapid! Im just not good enough with diet.

As for tips. Stick to whatever you are doing. Its working. When the gains slow down, then mix it up a little.

If it aint broke , dont fix it.

Well done!

Haha cheers. To be honest my gains have been fast but like I said it's the first time I've ever lifted weights so I think the gains I'm seeing are called "noob" gains?

My diet varies week to week. But I try not to think too much into it. On the days I train I try my best to eat 500 calories above my maintenance, so 2600 calories three times a week. That consists of a protein shake, chicken, brown rice, peanuts, vegetables, milk, tuna ect.

Then on rest days I just try to have at least 120g of protein, mostly from real food instead of protein shakes. I have 250g of chicken and 70g of brown rice everyday for lunch which helps a lot with my calorie/carb/protein requirements.

Once you get into a routine and once you find set meals which work for you it's easy to follow. I tend to have the same meals every week so it's easy to guess how many calories I'm eating. When I have a tuna sandwich with the usual 4 slices of brown bread and mayo it's like 600 calories. My chicken/brown rice lunch is 600 calories. The protein shakes I make are 700 calories. You get the idea

I'm by no means an expert but I've done a whole load of reading/research which definitely gives me a better understanding about my body and in turn can help me figure out what to eat/what to train ect

sigma · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:07

You've doubled bicep strength in 5 months?

Brumboy · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:11

sigma said:
You've doubled bicep strength in 5 months?

I was terribly weak to start with though so

I don't think anyone here struggled with 8kg dumbbell bicep curl when they started! lol

sigma · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:15

I was only lifting 7.5s at the end of my session today, partly because I was ****ed and also because I have to watch my wrist, I could probably do 10s but 16kg? Not for a fair while I think! Mind you, 5 months of constant training is not too short a period.

Brumboy · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:28

sigma said:
I was only lifting 7.5s at the end of my session today, partly because I was ****ed and also because I have to watch my wrist, I could probably do 10s but 16kg? Not for a fair while I think! Mind you, 5 months of constant training is not too short a period.

I think biceps are my favourite muscle to train though, muscle memory helps too. Yeah 5 months..almost half a year, it's a decent amount of time in my opinion.

What is your weight & height if you don't mind me asking mate?

sigma · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:32

~5'10" and approx 60kg.

Skillmister · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:34

I do ~20kg bar and ~10kg dumbells for 2 sets of 10. Plenty of weight for controlled reps. Wish i had my camera in the gym today i saw the worst curl form i have ever seen. Swinging the 40kg bar around like mad and still only managing half reps

pitaylor · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:36

Rossuk89 said:
I was terribly weak to start with though so

I don't think anyone here struggled with 8kg dumbbell bicep curl when they started! lol

Could you kindly post your dumbell routine. Be interesting to compare to what I'm doing now, lifting exactly the same but just seem to be getting stronger and not bigger. Which isnt such a bad thing I guess.

icecold · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:41

Rossuk89 said:
I think biceps are my favourite muscle to train

pitaylor, if you aren't growing you aren't eating enough.

tom_e · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:43

All this talk of Biceps is making me sad! I can safely say you could all out curl me.

Pigeon_Killer · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:44

I can't rememberer what training biceps feels like it's been so long

pitaylor · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:47

icecold said:
pitaylor, if you aren't growing you aren't eating enough.

Yeah can't deny that, really need to sort out my diet. Put on about 6 kg in about 3-4 months. I'd day at least 2 is fat lol

Brumboy · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:51

Skillmister said:
I do ~20kg bar and ~10kg dumbells for 2 sets of 10. Plenty of weight for controlled reps. Wish i had my camera in the gym today i saw the worst curl form i have ever seen. Swinging the 40kg bar around like mad and still only managing half reps

Yeah, as long as you're increasing the weights every week or so then it's all good! haha was he swinging it in a way where he was lifting with the top of his back instead of his actual biceps?

sigma said:
~5'10" and approx 60kg.

Same weight as me

, towards the end of a bicep session I drop down to 10kg too.

pitaylor said:
Could you kindly post your dumbell routine. Be interesting to compare to what I'm doing now, lifting exactly the same but just seem to be getting stronger and not bigger. Which isnt such a bad thing I guess.

My routine probably doesn't seem that great but it does the job for me:

Day 1:

Biceps:

Barbell Bicep Curl = 5 x 5
Hammer Curl = 5 x 5
Standing Dumbell Bicep Curl / Push Press = 5 x 5

Shoulders:

Shrug = 5 x 5
Seated Dumbell Press = 5 x 5
Standing Scarecrow = 5 x 5
Lateral Raise = 5 x 5

If you're getting stronger but not that much bigger that isn't a bad thing mate but if you want to gain a lot more size then simply increase your calorie intake

. Try snacking on almonds/cashew nuts, 100g of those gives you about 600 calories, 45g fat, 20g protein and 20g carbs!

Brumboy · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:53

icecold said:
pitaylor, if you aren't growing you aren't eating enough.

Don't worry I train my entire body. My favourite excercises are bicep curl, bench press and shrugs

icecold · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:59

Still a sad face over here I'm affraid

What does the rest of your routine look like?

4p · 17 Nov 2011 at 00:35

kai said:

How!?

lol

Delvis · 17 Nov 2011 at 08:56

Thorpy said:
How!?

lol

Lots of bloody hard work and dedication!

How is your training going?

kai · 17 Nov 2011 at 09:56

Thorpy said:
How!?

lol

Delvis said:
Lots of bloody hard work and dedication!

As above really, I would say i am in a lot better shape now than when that was taken. Diet has been on complete lock down since visiting the nutritionist. The massive increase in liquid BCAA and fibre has done me the world of good and has packed on some serious mass quickly.

More than happy to help with any advice you want to ask but as said the likes of FF and Benny among others on here have overwhelming knowledge. I have said from the start it’s important to find something that works for you; everyone is different - what works for me wont necessary work for you.

^TANK^ · 17 Nov 2011 at 09:57

Thorpy said:
How!?

lol

A razor and soap I would imagine.