*** The 2012 Gym Rats Thread ***

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Gym was lovely and quiet tonight, perfect time to get some Squats done!

60kg
x10
90kg
x8
x8
110kg
x8
120kg (PB)
x6

And this is the first proper session I have done it without the pussy squat pad, so easy once you know how!

So pretty happy with this week, two new PB's in DL and Squats :D
 
"Long" time reader, first time poster, was pestered to join by another member :D

Basically I'm looking to pack on some mass. I've been going to the gym for 3/4 months now and so far have just been doing whatever I fancy, now I feel it's time to get following a plan. From what I've read I need to be following a hypertrophy programme of some sorts, any recommendations?

Current state
6"2
86Kg
Around %12 body fat

To give you an idea of my goals, I'd like to be around 90Kg and %10 body fat before uni next year, does this sound feasible?
 
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4kgs of lean mass? That will be interesting.

It is perfectly possible, particularly as you're probably young, haven't been training properly (I.e no leg work), and not eating the right stuff in the right way.

What do you currently eat?
How often do you workout?
What is your current 'routine'?
How hard are you willing to work?
Why do you want 10% bodyfat, and was your current value measured or guessed?
 
86kg and 12% bf with hardly any training that's some pretty impressive genetics you've got there! (or a very inaccurate bf calculation ;))

Keep hitting the gym and hard, make sure you do the big compounds and dont just go and do cheat and arms 4 days a week.

Answer the questions that mrthingyx has asked and we can be a bit more helpful
 
mrthingyx said:
4kgs of lean mass? That will be interesting.

It is perfectly possible, particularly as you're probably young, haven't been training properly (I.e no leg work), and not eating the right stuff in the right way.

What do you currently eat?
Fairly clean I think, typical day;
Big bowl of porridge with a bannana
Two large wholemeal rolls with chicken/beef
Then maybe mince with 7 veg and rice or fajitas.
I sometimes have a tin of tuna or feast out on some chicken for supper

How often do you workout?
I'm quite busy with school so I usually end up going 2 weekdays and both days on the weekend, so 4.

What is your current 'routine'?
I recognise it's better to hit one muscle group per session, so far i've just been googling exercises for each body part and doing those, with no structure what so ever so far :(

So far this year I have lost 4Kg which I think is through eating better and going to the gym. I've been doing 30 mins cardio every second session, usually on the erg.

How hard are you willing to work?

I'm not shy to work hard, I want to make this work.

Why do you want 10% bodyfat, and was your current value measured or guessed?

Yeah, it was guessed, just been doing some googling and maybe that was a bit optimistic! I've posted in the bodybuilders thread, what do you think I am? http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=22778980
Click to expand...

Syla5 said:
86kg and 12% bf with hardly any training that's some pretty impressive genetics you've got there! (or a very inaccurate bf calculation ;))

Keep hitting the gym and hard, make sure you do the big compounds and dont just go and do cheat and arms 4 days a week.

Answer the questions that mrthingyx has asked and we can be a bit more helpful
Click to expand...

I had a look at the 531 programme people were talking about and that seems to be focused more around the big compounds but doesn't seem to add as much mass? Or am I missing the point?
 
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Might have one problem with deadlifts though, my hamstrings are really tight. iirc last time I tried I couldn't get my back straight at the bottom of the lift. Probably something I should work on :)
 
No probably about it - you should work on it.

You can hit more than 1 body part in a session - it's called a push / pull split.

How did you get your bodyfat measured?

Gaining 4kg lean, and losing bodyfat (so effectively you'll be gaining more than 4kg lean - perhaps up to 6kg of lean muscle in that space of time, naturally? Not a chance. Sorry.

However, you can improve your physique and drop bodyfat, absolutely.

10% is a VERY tough percentage to reach. Aim for about 14-15% first. :)

As long as your lifts include squats, deads, chins, and BORs - I don't care what else you do.

I'd do a lot of single leg work for stability, and core improvements.

You want mass? Do big compounds... and a lot of volume.
 
Having seen your pic in the other thread, I would say you have either been training a fair bit longer then 3/4 months or your genetically gifted ;)

If your main focus for now is mass over strength then I would consider a solid 4 day split

Legs
Squats
RDL's
Walking lunges
Leg press

chest/tri's
Bench press
Dips
Cgbp
Inclined DB press
Cable flys superset with cable kickbacks

back/Bi's
Deadlifts
Pull ups/chin ups (personally I do strict form pull downs as my form for pull ups is not good yet)
Seated row, dumbbell row, bent over row
Barbell curl
Hammer curl

shoulders/core/calfs
Overhead press
Lateral raises
Seated shoulder press
Calf raises/calf press
Knee raises
Plank

Work with 3 sets of 8 for each exercise and look to increase the weights of the big exercises each session

Check out the form thread for tips
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18398834
 
Last day training at a funky gym, will get some pics taken.

The only gym I've been to with a heater on and you don't feel hot ;)
 
Freefaller said:
No probably about it - you should work on it.

You can hit more than 1 body part in a session - it's called a push / pull split.

How did you get your bodyfat measured?

Gaining 4kg lean, and losing bodyfat (so effectively you'll be gaining more than 4kg lean - perhaps up to 6kg of lean muscle in that space of time, naturally? Not a chance. Sorry.

However, you can improve your physique and drop bodyfat, absolutely.

10% is a VERY tough percentage to reach. Aim for about 14-15% first. :)

As long as your lifts include squats, deads, chins, and BORs - I don't care what else you do.

I'd do a lot of single leg work for stability, and core improvements.

You want mass? Do big compounds... and a lot of volume.
Click to expand...

The whole family is naturally very tight and I've worked them before only to forget for a couple of weeks and then be back where I started, so annoying! Sorry I should have made that clear, I didn't measure it, I just had a google and guessed. I've put on 10Kg in the last 2 years, but some, maybe most of that is through height gains as well.

What do you think is a reasonable target then? The reason I said what I did is because I've found going to the gym a bit of a task recently which I think is due to me having no goals or tracking progress.

What do you class as "a lot of volume"?
 
Syla5 said:
Having seen your pic in the other thread, I would say you have either been training a fair bit longer then 3/4 months or your genetically gifted ;)

If your main focus for now is mass over strength then I would consider a solid 4 day split

Legs
Squats
RDL's
Walking lunges
Leg press

chest/tri's
Bench press
Dips
Cgbp
Inclined DB press
Cable flys superset with cable kickbacks

back/Bi's
Deadlifts
Pull ups/chin ups (personally I do strict form pull downs as my form for pull ups is not good yet)
Seated row, dumbbell row, bent over row
Barbell curl
Hammer curl

shoulders/core/calfs
Overhead press
Lateral raises
Seated shoulder press
Calf raises/calf press
Knee raises
Plank

Work with 3 sets of 8 for each exercise and look to increase the weights of the big exercises each session

Check out the form thread for tips
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18398834
Click to expand...

I've had a membership for about 6 months but have only been going for almost 4 months due to exams/holidays.

That routine looks fairly similar to what I'm doing at the moment :) 3 sets of 8 seems to be what I've read elsewhere too, great, thanks :D
 
BroB9 said:
The whole family is naturally very tight and I've worked them before only to forget for a couple of weeks and then be back where I started, so annoying! Sorry I should have made that clear, I didn't measure it, I just had a google and guessed. I've put on 10Kg in the last 2 years, but some, maybe most of that is through height gains as well.

What do you think is a reasonable target then? The reason I said what I did is because I've found going to the gym a bit of a task recently which I think is due to me having no goals or tracking progress.

What do you class as "a lot of volume"?
Click to expand...

Check out icecold's mobility thread for questions on improving mobility, tightness etc...

By doing the big compound lifts, you will benefit from getting strong as well, a side effect of volume training, is size.

A lot of volume - well that's relative. For me it's a minimum of a 10 tonnes shifted at the gym. At my peak I was hitting 30 tonnes on big sessions. However I was moving large weights - so it amplifies it quickly.

I'd say miniumum of 40 reps at 80% is a good target - though others may disagree. I don;t believe in training to absolute failure.

Something like AGVT and HST hybrid works well - but it's bloody taxing on the body, and the amount you will have to eat you have to not care about putting on some fat.

HST specifically with a good diet can help get you where you want to be. though of course you will be doing some cardio / HIIT won't you ;) Not only will that look after your health, it'll keep you lean too.

Syla5's programme is ok, but it has a lot of arm specific work, which to me is the biggest waste of time. You could split that 4 day split, into a push / pull routine and hit body parts twice in a week which would see you going a long way, or just 3 days plus an olympic lift day. Plus any HIIT or bodyweight stuff you can do at home for mobility/fitness would be an added bonus.
 
Freefaller said:
Check out icecold's mobility thread for questions on improving mobility, tightness etc...

By doing the big compound lifts, you will benefit from getting strong as well, a side effect of volume training, is size.

A lot of volume - well that's relative. For me it's a minimum of a 10 tonnes shifted at the gym. At my peak I was hitting 30 tonnes on big sessions. However I was moving large weights - so it amplifies it quickly.

I'd say miniumum of 40 reps at 80% is a good target - though others may disagree. I don;t believe in training to absolute failure.

Something like AGVT and HST hybrid works well - but it's bloody taxing on the body, and the amount you will have to eat you have to not care about putting on some fat.

HST specifically with a good diet can help get you where you want to be. though of course you will be doing some cardio / HIIT won't you ;) Not only will that look after your health, it'll keep you lean too.

Syla5's programme is ok, but it has a lot of arm specific work, which to me is the biggest waste of time. You could split that 4 day split, into a push / pull routine and hit body parts twice in a week which would see you going a long way, or just 3 days plus an olympic lift day. Plus any HIIT or bodyweight stuff you can do at home for mobility/fitness would be an added bonus.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was reading that before, some good stuff in there.

Hahaha, I just worked out I'd have to do 56 sets of fly's to hit 10 tonnes :p I presume you were doing 10 tonnes on deadlift days?

I've been slacking with my cardio recently, before exams I was doing about an hour a day, I do 10k runs fairly often and plan on doing some century bike rides. So yeah, that won't be ignored :)

About the arm work, I think I'm pretty lucky in that department, my arms are WAY bigger than any of my friends, and I've only ever done about 10 sets of curls in my life and they do like 30 minute sets 2 times a week.

Not sure what you mean by a push/pull routine, does that mean I'd be doing for example bench press and rows in the same day?

Thanks for the help so far
 
Push Day - Bench, Shoulders (some) and Triceps - Bench press, fly, shoulder press, dips, tricep rope pushdown.
Pull Day - Back and Arms - Pulldown, Pullup, Deadlift.

I do an arm day now in my new routine, but I only do x3 sets on Bi's (DB Curl, Hammer Curl, Superset with EZ Bar Curls) with the remainder of the workout on Triceps and Calves.

If you do a Push/Pull split, then chuck in a few exercise supersets for your Biceps as they'll be worked hard with all your back exercises as part of your Push Day!


OR if you want pain try this: http://www.simplyshredded.com/fst-7-fascia-stretch-training-7-workout-routine-nutrition-guide.html
 
BroB9 said:
Yeah I was reading that before, some good stuff in there.

Hahaha, I just worked out I'd have to do 56 sets of fly's to hit 10 tonnes :p I presume you were doing 10 tonnes on deadlift days?

I've been slacking with my cardio recently, before exams I was doing about an hour a day, I do 10k runs fairly often and plan on doing some century bike rides. So yeah, that won't be ignored :)

About the arm work, I think I'm pretty lucky in that department, my arms are WAY bigger than any of my friends, and I've only ever done about 10 sets of curls in my life and they do like 30 minute sets 2 times a week.

Not sure what you mean by a push/pull routine, does that mean I'd be doing for example bench press and rows in the same day?

Thanks for the help so far
Click to expand...

30 tonnes were normally hit on dead and squat days or leg based days

10 tonnes were on other days.

Arm work gets hit by other exercises - unless you're after vanity there's no need to hit them.

I do push pull on the same day often. So pushing exercises and pulling exercises. for example, rows and bench.
 
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