*** The 2010 Gym Rats Thread ***

It really does look like a great gym, some sort of combination between the real spit n' sawdust type places and the machines from an upmarket establishment. I've got to sort myself out and visit your new pad and the gym while I'm there at some point, probably have to be in December though if that's ok as I should really be revising for most of November.
 
can anyone help me with this,how do you speed up weightloss using weights? i say this because since january i have dropped from 22st 4lb to 17st 5lb ,i havent went to a gym yet,but planning on joining.I have some dumbells and kettle bells 8kg and 16kg.I started about 6 weeks ago doing excersises on my arms ,but after a few weeks i was getting heavyer.i ended up putting on about 4lb even tho my diet was the same.I started doing weights to try tone up my arms,but i have been told i shouldnt touch weights untill i finish dieting.
 
If you're at the early stage where you are losing weight and building muscle, your weight might not keep going down, because muscle is heavy! Doesn't mean the fat isn't disappearing though.
 
Just a quick question, will doing about 45mins cardio straight after (generally on treadmill) effect a normal days workout, chest tri etc... I want to get a bit more fitter so to speak, but dont want it to effect my muscle growth, after working out.
 
Swifty123 said:
Just a quick question, will doing about 45mins cardio straight after (generally on treadmill) effect a normal days workout, chest tri etc... I want to get a bit more fitter so to speak, but dont want it to effect my muscle growth, after working out.
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Either get something down you immediatley after training before doing your CV. Or spend 20 minutes before and then 20 minutes after on CV and then get something in you straight after. Within half an hour of finishing your resistance workout is the 'golden half hour'.

Or do you CV on a different day with some stretching, conditioning or any injury rehab.
 
BennyC said:
Either get something down you immediatley after training before doing your CV. Or spend 20 minutes before and then 20 minutes after on CV and then get something in you straight after. Within half an hour of finishing your resistance workout is the 'golden half hour'.

Or do you CV on a different day with some stretching, conditioning or any injury rehab.
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Ok thanks what I could do is 20 mins CV before, then do workout, then 20mins CV, but problem is takes me about 20 mins to get home. I mean I could get a protein bar for like £1.50 before that last 20 mins. Although might be a bit expensive :confused::confused::confused:
 
Cheers for the advice Freefaller. That looks like a good gym you go to, I just go to a rubbish chain gym called Virgin Active, its the Health Centre in leeds at kirkstall.

Its rubbish because the DB's only go upto 40kg, and I can bench more then that so 40kg is rubbish when I want to use DB's instead of bars for a change.

And also the one thing that really bugs me is the staff and members have no gym etiquette, so like for example, when am squatting, at times the staff have picked up weight beneath me and I'm like WTF! just so stupid! And the staff at my gym are like these tiny little guys, you know what I mean, and I feel like seriously going ape s*** at them but I don't.

I think I need to find a hardcore gym where I can be pushed, but at my gym I'm at top of the food chain, whereas I know if I go to a proper hardcore gym they'll all be on steroids and they'll all prob look 10x bigger and better then me and I'll be back at the bottom of the crop, but I think its what I need coz people say it motivates you more.

Also, in 3 years of going to the gym, I have never asked anyone for help or advice, at the gym, because I look around, and I just see hopeless people on their mobile phones and messing about, or just look tiny compared to me and no good bodies, and also groups of 6 guys taking it in turn to use one machine for like 25 mins...and so I think what's the point.

So everything upto now I've learnt from watching youtube videos with Ronnie Coleman and other bodybuilders and also Greg Plitt who you prob haven't heard of but I'm doing his workout routine at the moment, he's number one fitness model in America and I paid access to his site which is like £7 a month or something like that and his routine is really good.

I think if anyone did a workout with me for an hour at full intensity they'd know my routine was perfect. I used to have weak points in my routine a year ago, but just from reading online and watching videos I've learnt so much. There's only a couple of other guys in my gym that seem to know what they're doing, everyone else is just their to keep fit and social aspect lol.

I take it really seriously and I feel like I'm addicted to the gym, I look forward to going everyday, I cant wait to get into the gym. This might sound strange but I didn't realise how many other people felt the same way as me until I started reading forum post on here and also on bodybuilding.com, it's good to know I'm not the only gym freak on OCUK lol.

EDIT: Also, I am not one of those people that go to gym and moan that I have to do legs or anything like that, I have done legs since I first started because I read that legs are important for the rest of the body to develop and my legs are my best assets, I believe I have the biggest and bestest legs in my gym!!! haha but seriously, for me, shoulders, legs, back, chest, arms, I look forward to each one, each workout, each exercise, there's nothing in my head going "oh I don't want to do this"....I say this because so many people in the gym moan about doing legs, but I always felt legs was my hardest thing so I just made it my favourite day and made it my strong point and thats how I overcome all that sort of attitude. I like not being able to walk the next day haha
 
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Swifty123 said:
Ok thanks what I could do is 20 mins CV before, then do workout, then 20mins CV, but problem is takes me about 20 mins to get home. I mean I could get a protein bar for like £1.50 before that last 20 mins. Although might be a bit expensive :confused::confused::confused:
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You can get bars/whey much much cheaper. Alternatively you can just take some lean meat or a sandwich or something full of protein to have after. Though the quickest absorbing is whey and would be more preferable if you can afford it, but more importantly need it. If your protein macro is upto standard then there's no need. Just pop your CV on a different day. Or do it in the middle of your workout. Say if you were working Back/Bi's or Legs/Shoulders. Do you back/legs then your CV then your bi's/shoulders. Be tough though but is the other option.
 
SkScotchegg said:
Cheers for the advice Freefaller. That looks like a good gym you go to, I just go to a rubbish chain gym called Virgin Active, its the Health Centre in leeds at kirkstall.

Its rubbish because the DB's only go upto 40kg, and I can bench more then that so 40kg is rubbish when I want to use DB's instead of bars for a change.

And also the one thing that really bugs me is the staff and members have no gym etiquette, so like for example, when am squatting, at times the staff have picked up weight beneath me and I'm like WTF! just so stupid! And the staff at my gym are like these tiny little guys, you know what I mean, and I feel like seriously going ape s*** at them but I don't.

I think I need to find a hardcore gym where I can be pushed, but at my gym I'm at top of the food chain, whereas I know if I go to a proper hardcore gym they'll all be on steroids and they'll all prob look 10x bigger and better then me and I'll be back at the bottom of the crop, but I think its what I need coz people say it motivates you more.

Also, in 3 years of going to the gym, I have never asked anyone for help or advice, at the gym, because I look around, and I just see hopeless people on their mobile phones and messing about, or just look tiny compared to me and no good bodies, and also groups of 6 guys taking it in turn to use one machine for like 25 mins...and so I think what's the point.

So everything upto now I've learnt from watching youtube videos with Ronnie Coleman and other bodybuilders and also Greg Plitt who you prob haven't heard of but I'm doing his workout routine at the moment, he's number one fitness model in America and I paid access to his site which is like £7 a month or something like that and his routine is really good.

I think if anyone did a workout with me for an hour at full intensity they'd know my routine was perfect. I used to have weak points in my routine a year ago, but just from reading online and watching videos I've learnt so much. There's only a couple of other guys in my gym that seem to know what they're doing, everyone else is just their to keep fit and social aspect lol.

I take it really seriously and I feel like I'm addicted to the gym, I look forward to going everyday, I cant wait to get into the gym. This might sound strange but I didn't realise how many other people felt the same way as me until I started reading forum post on here and also on bodybuilding.com, it's good to know I'm not the only gym freak on OCUK lol.

EDIT: Also, I am not one of those people that go to gym and moan that I have to do legs or anything like that, I have done legs since I first started because I read that legs are important for the rest of the body to develop and my legs are my best assets, I believe I have the biggest and bestest legs in my gym!!! haha but seriously, for me, shoulders, legs, back, chest, arms, I look forward to each one, each workout, each exercise, there's nothing in my head going "oh I don't want to do this"....I say this because so many people in the gym moan about doing legs, but I always felt legs was my hardest thing so I just made it my favourite day and made it my strong point and thats how I overcome all that sort of attitude. I like not being able to walk the next day haha
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I think going to a proper gym will motivate you more. I've been to plenty of gyms where I've been among the "average" sized people - it doesn't phase me as I'm there for me, but it does give you motivation! More so when you're lifting as much if not more than people juiced up to the eye balls! ;)

I think you've definitely got a "want to improve" attitude, and you're sure of yourself which is good. It's good to understand that there's always lots more to learn no routine or diet is perfect, and your body is a dynamic thing that is constantly changing, being challenged, fighting off illnesses, fixing you, building muscle, blood cells, skin cells etc... there's so much that goes on.

Just keep concentrating on your achievements and you'll get there - however I'd agree - move to a better gym if you want motivation. :)
 
I just have a quick question if someone wouldn't mind answering.

I am trying to cut out most of my carbs but I do enjoy cups of coffee throughout the day. Yes I did have 1 tsp of sugar in a mug and I might replace that with a sweetner. But what I am asking is. Will I be better of with an instant coffee or percolated coffee?
 
I don't think any particular coffee is better than any other in the carb respect. However using sugar/sweetners will spike your blood sugar levels and then result in a trough (feeling of fatigue/tiredness) when low carbing you can feel a bit tired depending on your exact diet so I'd use as little sweetner/sugar as you can get away with as it'll come back and slap you in the face ;) Good thing about low carbing is that you don't get the big highs/lows of a normal diet. I found I could jump out of bed in the mornings. Though I was in bed by 9/9:30 in the evening and sleeping like a log :D

I used to have a cup of tea with my scrambled eggs in the morning and found it was a good pick me up. But once I'm out of bed and showered I'm pritty much 'booted up' so to speak.
 
Thanks for telling me your experience mate.

I have only really started low carbing the past 2 weeks. Now I have energy to always complete my gym sessions but throughout the day I feel very lazy/mentally-tired/no "get up & go" sensation.

Did you have any of this?

James
 
Saw a girl in the gym today powercleaning 65kg for reps. Dat ass.

Also got 115kg squat with a bit shaky form for 2 sets of 5.

Also did a drop set of front squats and ended up with just the bar but got sharp head pain I've read this can be from lack of salts? bought a electrolyte drink afterwards anyways and Im feeling alright now.
 
I've read salt is rather important for the gym, if your into weights, not sure about Cardio, but I guess it makes sense aswell, because once you get into the life of bodybuilding, and you start eating better and stop eating processed food and just eat healthy all the time, you find aswell that you dont get much salt in your diet, so I have to add salt to everything I eat now, its the only thing I crave, just salt. I do regulate it though and make sure I dont have too much, but I've heard bodybuilders say its important part of their diet and thats its natural and they add it to every meal.

As for carbs, I think if your not bulking and your trying to lose weight you should stick to no more then 50-100g of carbs a day, and try to eat good carbs, not bad carbs, you can look that up online, theres websites that list thousands of foods and tell you which are good carbs and which are bad carbs.

If you were bulking, depending on your size and your training, you could need 250-500g of carbs a day.

I'm also keeping my carbs low at the moment, even though I do kinda want to bulk, I need to get my body fat lower first, so I try eat less then 100g a day, I used to keep a food diary, but now I dont bother coz I know how many grams of carbs, protein, fats are in the food I eat, so I no longer need to do that, but I would suggest keeping a food diary for the first month untill you get the hang of things.

On bodybuilding.com they say if your body fat is 15-20% then cut, and if your 10-12% then bulk...so am following their advice.
 
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jrwagh333 said:
Thanks for telling me your experience mate.

I have only really started low carbing the past 2 weeks. Now I have energy to always complete my gym sessions but throughout the day I feel very lazy/mentally-tired/no "get up & go" sensation.

Did you have any of this?

James
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I've got a thread knocking about 'Diet Evaluation - The Final Push' which was a log of my diet/training/feelings about it all.

I was on my feet in the workshops at uni during this. I was generally exhausted due to all the expletive intervals. I can't quite recall in all honnesty. If you find my thread have a read as it'll be much more accurate than me telling you now. I did find it very tough towards the end as I had been on a restricted diet (less than normal) for about a month before I went on to my full on cutting diet.

One thing I can tell you is that your re-carb days should be taken very seriously. You may not feel like you want to carb up for lack of progress but I found when I didn't my progress stagnated and when I did my progress would go backwards for a day or two and then the day or two after shoot fowards and I'd be 1-2lbs lighter. It's also a good chance to enjoy yourself and kick back. They're also important for burning fat :)
 
This question goes out to freefaller and anyone else who agrees with or just knows the answer.
Im looking to bulk up and put on strength and i know the 3 big compound moves are important bench press, squats and deadlifts. But i noticed freefaller doesnt rate the benchpress at all, but he must be right being a big bear and lifting huge weights.Im not very good at bench pressing all my heavy lifting comes from squats and deadlift and i can tell there making a physical difference to my whole body, so why do most people (well in my gym) think benchpressing is the key to getting massive, surely deadlifts is much better?


Edit: While im posting, i train 4 times a week without fail on a tues/wed/fri/sat, ive only been doing a 4 day split now for about 2 months is there any reason i cant to 5 day split or is that overkill and not letting your body recover?
 
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The thing is though, what I just thought then is, there is loads of information to read online, and tips on losing weight and dieting, but when I first started at gym and did hardcore cardio, I remember my first week, my first 3 months at the gym, all I did everyday was I'd walk in, I'd get on the running machine, and I'd run, walk, run, walk, run, walk, run, walk, over and over and over again for 2 hours and then I'd do an hour on the weights and then go home and eat pasta with tuna and mayonnaise, and mayonnaise is bad for you right? but I only had one spoon full mixed in.

And I'd just eat 3 meals a day but I ate like 10x less then what I ate before, so basically just cut down allot, had small meals, and stopped eating chocalate, crisps, pop, cake, buns, sweets, currys, pizza, chips, bread, everything that was bad....I didnt know anything about dieting, I just did this with common sense and I lost 6 stone.

So when I look back, if I knew what I knew now, 3 years ago when I started, I reckon I could have lost 8 stone and gained more muscle!

But I'm happy with 6 stone loss, I thought that was good untill I met my cousins boyfriend, he was 30 stone and hes now 20, he said to me he was eating 800 calories a day for years....dont know how he did that like....crazy fella.

I reckon I was still around 2000 calories a day when I started, but I reckon I was eating 5000-6000 calories a day before I started at gym....I remember I'd go to shop and buy a tube of pringles, two bottles of coke, a massive bag of M&M's and a massive bag of skittles and 3 chocalate bars and eat all that in one night lol.

Where as now I'd buy one snickers on average every 2 weeks like a normal person lol.
 
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bakes0310 theres people in my gym aswell that just do them 3 exercises and they swear by em, I think they're good, and everyone should do em, but I dont think those 3 are enough if you want to sculpture your body in a bodybuilding sense and look good. I think you need a good balance of multiple exercises.

Like today in 5 mins am going to gym to do back, I'm going to do this routine:

Deadlifts = 5 sets @ 6 reps @ 140kg
T-Bar Rows = 5 sets @ Failure @ 95kg
Bent Over Barbell Rows = 5 sets @ Failure @ 70kg
Pullups(not sure of correct name?) = 5 sets @ failure @ bodyweight -35kg(I have to take 35kg off my body weight because I'm 19.7 stone lol)
Lat pulldowns = 5 sets @ failure @ 65/55/45kg (drop sets)

Then theres one last exercise I do, but dont know the name, your sat down on a seat, and your feet are out infront of you and you pull the wire with a handle back towards your stomache and it works the middle/bottom part of your back? can anyone give me the name of thise one? I also do this one = 5 sets @ failure 65/55/45(drop sets)

Basically what am showing you anyways is that you have to work all parts of your back, you cant just do one exercise and expect all of your back to grow, you need to work on the width of your back aswell as the thickness, the top of your back, the middle of your back, the lower part of your back.

Just like with your chest theres three parts you need to work and with shoulders theres three parts and legs three major parts, calves, hamstrings, quads.

But I've just explained it in simple detail, theres more to it then that. But your meant to do multiple exercises so that you hit all muscle groups, thats the point.

The biggest example of this I can give you, and am sure other members on here will agree with this comment is that its a well know fact that allot of people in the gym dont train all parts of their muscles, especially shoulders, allot of people dont train the back of their shoulders, and this is just stupid because then your posture over time looks wierd, so above all else, make sure you look after your back and train all parts of your shoulders.
 
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bakes0310 said:
This question goes out to freefaller and anyone else who agrees with or just knows the answer.
Im looking to bulk up and put on strength and i know the 3 big compound moves are important bench press, squats and deadlifts. But i noticed freefaller doesnt rate them at all, but he must be right being a big bear and lifting huge weights.Im not very good at bench pressing all my heavy lifting comes from squats and deadlift and i can tell there making a physical difference to my whole body, so why do most people (well in my gym) think benchpressing is the key to getting massive, surely deadlifts is much better?
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You'll only go and upset him if you say he doesn't rate them at all... - Freefaller loves the deadlifts and squats. He's not so bothered about benchpressing (and I'm sure he'll correct me if I've got this wrong) because it's not such a functional lift as the others of the big three. That's not to say it isn't important or that you shouldn't try to improve on yours but equally don't cry yourself to sleep if it is lagging behind your squats and deadlifts, your legs do make up a much larger percentage of your muscle mass than your arms do after all.

Benchpressing is the one gym exercise that almost everyone knows about hence the question "so what do you bench?" if you say you work out even from people who've never set foot in a gym before. Do a variety of exercises and change up what you do every so often, I suspect that's the best way to progress for almost anyone.
 
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