*** The 2011 Gym Rats Thread ***

[p4radox]

Oh cool, a new thread. Might as well re-iterate my aims for this year.
Current stats:

Bodyweight: 91kg
Height: 6'3" (191cm)
Squat: 140kg (reps)
Deadlift: 137.5kg (reps)
Bench: 75kg (1RM)
Press: 40kg (reps)

I'm looking to put on some weight this year, mainly to back up my strength increases. I've seen my lifts go up dramatically over the last 9 months or so since I started Stronglifts rather than bodybuilding splits. Most pleasing was going from about a 70kg deadlift all the way up to 137.5kg.

My bodyweight has gone up by maybe 2kg overall which is nothing, and since my lifts are starting to stall I'm going to make a decent effort at tracking how much I'm eating and getting enough food in me to make some big gains.

To put some numbers to it, I'd like to see a 170kg squat and 170kg deadlift by the end of the year . For me that'd be a huge achievement since I've got my masters exams and a busy year ahead of me.

 

[UltimateBadger]

Some solid numbers there p4radox. Your press does seem weak though in comparison?

My goals are to get my puny squat up to at least 100kg within 6 months. Damn you matchstick legs!
My bench has stalled so I'm going to drop the weight a little and start smashing out more reps. DL and press are still progressing nicely so I'm not too worried about those.

 

[T1Cybernetic]

Good idea, might as well stick down some aims for this year too, Something to look back on.

Current Statistics as of 31.12.2010 (Friday was my last lifting day of 2010 ) Great day to end on.

Bodyweight: 100kg
Height: 6'3"
Squat: 140kg (5x5)
Deadlift: 180kg (5x1)
Bench: 80kg (5x5)
Press: 70kg (3x5)

I am definitely aiming to put a few Kg's onto my lifting totals this year, I started Stronglifts a few months ago so I have basically gone from running 5-10k a day and Zero weights to practically Zero Cardio and lifting weights like a mad man
Admittedly I joined a health and fitness gym with a few weight machines and tons of cardio equipment but I was mostly testing the waters, learning machines and doing everything wrong with minimal gains But we all have to start somewhere.

Originally a skinny 13 stone before I started Stronglifts which Google tells me is (82kg) a huge amount of weight gain in my book, Not all of it is fat either judging by my lifts and my girlfriend would be peeved if I became a fatty and she isn't complaining. I literally was a skinny runt before I picked up a weight, I can't tell myself if I am that much different looking but the weight must have gone somewhere.

My lifts are stalling here and there which could be a number of things which I'm not really going to worry about though as I know I have made huge progress from where I started.

This year I would like to see my squat go up a little to 1.5BW and a 200kg deadlift by the end of the year would be awesome, I am not overly worried about bench and press because I've been having one or two problems with my right shoulder which means I've skipped a lot of bench and press

All in all it was a good year and a total turn around for myself!

 

[icecold]

My initial target was to get to 2x BW for deadlift, 1.5x Squat and building up to 0.8 - 0.9 xBW OHP (that'll take a while I know), I still have a fairly high body fat (at a guess 15-20%). I am still progressing on stronglifts but it is slowing down in regards to the squats and OHP. Deadlifts still progressing ok *touch wood*,

My weight has remained fairly static throughout, I presume this is probably under eating even though I am attempting to eat more. I'm just not sure If I should just carry on stronglifts or start to head else where. I've been doing stronglifts for quite a while as I had to take a large deload at one point as I wasn't happy with my form and progress has been slow and my strength was silly low to begin with.

How long have you been doing stronglifts for now? If it's been a while then it might be time to mix it up with a different routine. If you have stayed more or less the same weight but have increased your lifts it's likely you've added some muscle mass, but the increased strength is probably largely due to improved neuro-muscular activation.

What specifically are your goals at the moment? Strength in deadlift/bench/squat, increasing lean mass or reducing bodyfat?

 

[Morba]

Since when is 15-20%bf 'fairly high'? lol

 

[p4radox]

Some solid numbers there p4radox. Your press does seem weak though in comparison?

My press and my bench are both weak. However, by "reps", I do mean 5x5. I haven't tried for a 1RM so I'm not sure about it. But my legs have always been much stronger than my upper body. I feel I should try hard to rectify it but I really enjoy deadlifting more than I expected I would.

 

[p4radox]

Good idea, might as well stick down some aims for this year too, Something to look back on.

Current Statistics as of 31.12.2010 (Friday was my last lifting day of 2010 ) Great day to end on.

Bodyweight: 100kg
Height: 6'3"
Squat: 140kg (5x5)
Deadlift: 180kg (5x1)
Bench: 80kg (5x5)
Press: 70kg (3x5)

I am definitely aiming to put a few Kg's onto my lifting totals this year, I started Stronglifts a few months ago so I have basically gone from running 5-10k a day and Zero weights to practically Zero Cardio and lifting weights like a mad man
Admittedly I joined a health and fitness gym with a few weight machines and tons of cardio equipment but I was mostly testing the waters, learning machines and doing everything wrong with minimal gains But we all have to start somewhere.

Originally a skinny 13 stone before I started Stronglifts which Google tells me is (82kg) a huge amount of weight gain in my book, Not all of it is fat either judging by my lifts and my girlfriend would be peeved if I became a fatty and she isn't complaining. I literally was a skinny runt before I picked up a weight, I can't tell myself if I am that much different looking but the weight must have gone somewhere.

My lifts are stalling here and there which could be a number of things which I'm not really going to worry about though as I know I have made huge progress from where I started.

This year I would like to see my squat go up a little to 1.5BW and a 200kg deadlift by the end of the year would be awesome, I am not overly worried about bench and press because I've been having one or two problems with my right shoulder which means I've skipped a lot of bench and press

All in all it was a good year and a total turn around for myself!

Impressive stuff, especially the weight gain considering you're the same height as me. Did you do anything particular with your diet?

 

[crunchman]

Think this might as well be where I put my start of year stats:

Bodyweight: 77kg
Height: 5'9"
Squat: 110kg (5x5)
Deadlift: 115kg (5x1)
Bench: 60kg (5x5)
Press: 47.5kg (5x5)

Been lifting since July but without any real plan, switched to Stronglifts in October and seen a lot of success.

Ideally want to hang about 80kg but get more lean, well hopefully that will be near enough to fighting weight.

All in all I've had a good 2010 getting down from a big 16 stone to under/on 12 stone and 36" waist to 30"

 

[Begbie]

This is my year to bulk up and get on the weights massively!

100kg squats and bench is my goals this year.

Currently around 65.

 

[drdimmer]

How long have you been doing stronglifts for now? If it's been a while then it might be time to mix it up with a different routine. If you have stayed more or less the same weight but have increased your lifts it's likely you've added some muscle mass, but the increased strength is probably largely due to improved neuro-muscular activation.

What specifically are your goals at the moment? Strength in deadlift/bench/squat, increasing lean mass or reducing bodyfat?

I've been doing stronglifts seriously for around 7 months. My goals in the new year will be increase lean mass once I reach my deadlift/squat goals. I've been looking at follow a madcow routine, how would that suite? Too strength orientated?

I don't believe 15 - 20 % is high, I just meant that is probably higher than what you lot are at.

 

[Morba]

I'm probably about 50% after last year lol!
*posted while sat on static bike making up for last year!

 

[Ken]

Just knocked up this new workout plan...

Monday - Squat, COC
Tuesday - Bench, Cardio
Wednesday - Deadlift, Pull ups
Thursday - Overhead Press, Cardio
Friday - Squat, COC
Saturday - Barbell Curl, Ab Wheel
Sunday - Rest

COC = Captains of Crush
Cardio - will be 30 min interval session on treadmill
Weight sessions will be 5x5 increasing in weight when necessary

Any criticisms?

Wanted to stick with my old plan squating mon, wed and fri but wouldn't of been able to physically do a deadlift session anywhere.

 

[Morba]

Why curls and ab wheel on it's own day? Might as well do it on another day and have the full weekend off

 

[Ken]

Why curls and ab wheel on it's own day? Might as well do it on another day and have the full weekend off

Figured I go for 2 exercises a day and didn't want the ab wheel to compromise my efforts on the bigger lifts on the other days. Where would you suggest I place them instead? Other than that a good plan? Thanks

 

[Morba]

I'd put ab wheel on a cardio day and curls on back day. Though bench then cardio and overhead and cardio isn't really 2 exercises
Personally I'd do bench and overhead on same day then do a day of cardio.
Also, what's made up in your exercises? Bench but what?

For squats, do you do same intensity on both days or do speed lifts one day and max weight the other?

 

[Ken]

Squat - 10 reps bar, 10 reps 60 then 5x5 of my the max rep weight which increases approx every 1 or 2 weeks

Deadlift - 10 reps 60, 5x5 of rep weight

Bench - will do flat bench on one week using 5x5 with 10 reps of 40kg warm up. The 2nd week will be 5x5 of incline and decline.

That is what I have planned anyway for this new year. My aim is strength producing bigger numbers on the big 3 lifts over time but figured I include some other exercises for the following reasons...

Pull ups to work the back
Curls to build biceps and prevent a stall on tricep growth due to imbalance
COC to complement the deadlift
etc.

Haven't considered speed lifts. I have a habit of sticking to a basic routine and increasing weight over time but can see how variety and speed can help in terms of going past walls. For example, I've never benched more than 70kg since owning my Powertec rack for over 2 years so have decided to go for incline and decline too on the bench.

Woah long post. Went on a bit there lol.

 

[Morba]

Squat - 10 reps bar, 10 reps 60 then 5x5 of my the max rep weight which increases approx every 1 or 2 weeks

Deadlift - 10 reps 60, 5x5 of rep weight

Bench - will do flat bench on one week using 5x5 with 10 reps of 40kg warm up. The 2nd week will be 5x5 of incline and decline.

That is what I have planned anyway for this new year. My aim is strength producing bigger numbers on the big 3 lifts over time but figured I include some other exercises for the following reasons...

Pull ups to work the back
Curls to build biceps and prevent a stall on tricep growth due to imbalance
COC to complement the deadlift
etc.

Haven't considered speed lifts. I have a habit of sticking to a basic routine and increasing weight over time but can see how variety and speed can help in terms of going past walls. For example, I've never benched more than 70kg since owning my Powertec rack for over 2 years so have decided to go for incline and decline too on the bench.

Woah long post. Went on a bit there lol.

lol

speed reps can be very useful, a lot of powerlifters do a routine where they do 1 day of speed work, another day do max effort, seems to work very well for them.

Something like that could do you good, or look to do front squats one day (or split squats or something other than normal back) and back squats on another day.

For bench, it would be really beneficial to work the opposite muscles on your back, so an exercise like bent over rows / pendlay rows could be good.
I've found that a lot of people seem to bench with more strength coming from tris and delts rather than chest, this could be because of form issues or strength imbalances where the chest is lagging. It might be worth popping to a gym to have someone look over your form if you think that might be a problem.

Hope that helps

 

[Ken]

Will definitely put your advice into practice. Thanks

 

[Freefaller]

I need to re-build up my enthusiasm and motivation for the gym at the moment. That's the problem with holidays!

 

[alexakasloth]

I need to re-build up my enthusiasm and motivation for the gym at the moment. That's the problem with holidays!

I'm having this problem, I went for a run today and after half an hour my body was telling me to stop. It needs 'breaking in' again