*** The 2014 Gym Rats Thread ***

Cutting weight - I'm looking at about a 2.5-3kg water cut with a same day weigh in. Anyone experienced this sort of cut?

From some googling it seems like it's not that much but I've no real experience with this (and in the past I've weighed in fully clothed with shoes etc....times have changed!)

Looks like there'll be 6 hours between weigh ins and my first lift of the day so that goes in my favor I guess.
 
XeNoN89 said:
Has anyone tried the ready meals from musclefood ? If so what are they like?

I'm trying to find something easy to add an extra meal at work when I start bulking again.

These look pretty good: http://www.musclefood.com/meat/protein-ready-meals/slow-cooked-beef-rice-48g-protein.html
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Are these actually any good? First time i have seen these. I'm paying around £3.70 for chicken and either egg noodles or packet of veg per day so i would be saving money for a meal which is better for me? Is there enough to feel full?
 
Little bit of advice if I can people.

I have been going to the gym for about 2 months now and have seen some reasonably good gains in strength and muscle since I was helped on here with a workout plan (thanks all). Probably seen the biggest gains in my back and chest, but gains all over - so it's all good.

However, one of the exercises I do for my shoulders - Lateral Raises, I have not been able to increase the weight I lift at all. I am not a 'big' person at the moment - to give an idea my shoulder press (with dumbbells) is 18kg. With the lateral raise I can only manage 8kg (3x8). If I try to go up to 10kg I am struggling to get 5-6 reps out of the first set.

Is there anything I can do to help improve this, and why is it so hard?
 
With excersises like that, there isn't much need to worry about progress. Worry about progress on your 'main' lifts and the smaller ones will follow, though at smaller incriments.

Might be able to get some adipowers for £60~. If I seen the right ones. Worth it? I don't do any oly lifting, yet.
 
Begbie said:
Might be able to get some adipowers for £60~. If I seen the right ones. Worth it? I don't do any oly lifting, yet.
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If you don't do Olympic lifting, a lot of high-bar/front squatting, there isn't much point.

For £60, however, and provided you already have decent ankle mobility, they're a good gym shoe, so why not?

I squat and deadlift in them, simply because I can't be bothered to take mine off, but you have to be mindful that they will make changes to your technique that can have quite pronounced impacts.
 
mrthingyx said:
If you don't do Olympic lifting, a lot of high-bar/front squatting, there isn't much point.

For £60, however, and provided you already have decent ankle mobility, they're a good gym shoe, so why not?

I squat and deadlift in them, simply because I can't be bothered to take mine off, but you have to be mindful that they will make changes to your technique that can have quite pronounced impacts.
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Yep, will need to re-check the shop. Wasn't till I got back I realised quite how expenisve they are.

Shall re-check form when I give them a try. Thanks
 
davejh666 said:
However, one of the exercises I do for my shoulders - Lateral Raises, I have not been able to increase the weight I lift at all. I am not a 'big' person at the moment - to give an idea my shoulder press (with dumbbells) is 18kg. With the lateral raise I can only manage 8kg (3x8). If I try to go up to 10kg I am struggling to get 5-6 reps out of the first set.

Is there anything I can do to help improve this, and why is it so hard?
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Because relatively speaking, that's a 25% increase in weight, on what is an isolation exercise for a fairly small muscle group.

Apply the same logic to any other lift and I'd be impressed if you could increase it 25% and achieve a full set.

As mentioned, add some negatives and continue to do smaller sets with heavier weights.
 
BennyC said:
Because relatively speaking, that's a 25% increase in weight, on what is an isolation exercise for a fairly small muscle group.

Apply the same logic to any other lift and I'd be impressed if you could increase it 25% and achieve a full set.

As mentioned, add some negatives and continue to do smaller sets with heavier weights.
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To be fair, just doing them explosively up, hold (to remove momentum) and then a slow eccentric movement will make even 6kg thoroughly miserable.

As BennyC and Begbie have pointed out, this isn't (or shouldn't) the exercise to be cranking huge weights: the lateral delts stabilise the shoulder when doing other stuff (like benching/pressing/pulling) and so they don't necessarily need to be massively strong as who lifts anything through abduction?

The key thing with delts (for me) is that they should be strong (yes) through other movements, but full of lovely tissue quality, healthy fibres and supported with a happy rotator cuff.
 
First workout in about a month and a half where I found it "easy", upped going from 2 to 3 times a week and suddenly boom added weight to all my routine and feeling great!

Not watching what I eat massively, just cut out all the crisps, chocolate and other rubbish and seeing a big improvement in my arms, shoulders and back. Hoping for a bit more on my chest soon.

Need to work on my core and lower back now.

Finally understand the addiction people get!
 
Thanks for the replies all. I do the 'down' part of the lateral raises slowly anyway, but will add a little pause at the top of the exercise anyway.

Are there any other good exercise's for core strenghenting? I do hanging leg raises and barbell rollouts, but to be honest am getting a little bored of them - and I am not finding that the rollouts are doing that much anymore. I have tried some reverse cable crunches in the last week or so, and they seem okay.
 
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