*** The 2014 Gym Rats Thread ***

XeNoN89 said:
Yeah nutrition definitely changes the most, but I don't fall for the marketing hype any more from the sponsored bodybuilders etc.

I could get up earlier but I'm one of those people that really needs sleep to function properly throughout the day, I used to get up just half an hour earlier than I do now and that made a big difference to me.

I'm honestly not bothered about strength at all, my focus is entirely on building some more muscle. I used to be underweight, 5'10 9 Stone before I started going to the gym, and completely hated being like that. I've maxed out weight wise over the last few years at just over 13 stone with way too much fat for my liking, but am currently a week away from the end of a cut at about 12 stone.

My goal is to be somewhere around 12 and half to 13 stone with around 10% bodyfat. That's the zone I think i will feel best in general. Any strength gains in my effort to get here are just a bonus for me!
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Well nutrition doesn't change (unless you talk about farming methods and crops quality then that starts a different debate!), it's just our knowledge changes, owing to the fact that it is still a relatively new study, and in terms of gym performance, even newer, so empirical evidence is still only now coming to light.

If you want just size, volume and intensity is key but without destroying your CNS at the same time. Compounds are still vital though with good accessory exercises. I personally would aim at around 70-75% RM.

12.5-13st @10% will be a big effort, not impossible, but just expectation management - if you allow a good year to get there then you'll be in a good position for it. :)
 
I didn't start really adding mass till I started going heavy on compounds, low reps, high volume/intensity. Strength comes along with this and it's surprising how much it helps other isolation exercises.
 
Sycho said:
Does anyone here do upper/lower split two times a week(4 days total), if so how is it working for you? do you ever get tired at the end of each week much?
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I did this for my last strength programme.

Yeah of course I was tired. I was working my ass off!
 
mark1284 said:
Can I have some advice on my routine

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Too much. No need for half of these exercises. Your exercise order is all muddled up too. Simplify it. Start each day with a heavy compound with good volume, a secondary, relatively heavy exercise and then finish with an accessory or two.

Plus, we don't know what your goals are?

Go to this website - http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/ Read through it ALL and then plan a new one.
 
Ayahuasca said:
I didn't start really adding mass till I started going heavy on compounds, low reps, high volume/intensity. Strength comes along with this and it's surprising how much it helps other isolation exercises.
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low reps, high volume/intensity?

like 10x3 - 90-95% 1rm?

If so, this is optimal for me and building strength. Aside from DLs, I applied this method to all compounds and achieved my most success with it. With DLs, I just did straight up 10 singles.
 
Does lower weight/higher volume place a bit less stress on your joints? I've been training fairly heavy for a while now and I noticed a couple of twinges over the last couple of weeks. Normally I'd reign things in for a couple of weeks but I'm on holiday for 2 weeks in just under 4 weeks time so I'd really rather continue some form of training.

I was considering either some straight set training in the 10 rep range or possibly having a go at some rest pause training. Dropping frequency down to 2x week per bodypart (upper/lower).
 
DanH84 said:
Does lower weight/higher volume place a bit less stress on your joints? I've been training fairly heavy for a while now and I noticed a couple of twinges over the last couple of weeks. Normally I'd reign things in for a couple of weeks but I'm on holiday for 2 weeks in just under 4 weeks time so I'd really rather continue some form of training.

I was considering either some straight set training in the 10 rep range or possibly having a go at some rest pause training. Dropping frequency down to 2x week per bodypart (upper/lower).
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Of course. You're essentially alleviating the amount of pressure forced upon you by lowering the weight, which will give your joints a well deserved break. Whenever I feel twitches, I usually scrap high intensity/low volume training and switch to something higher rep to help my joints recover.

If you have twinges though, it's probably a lot safer to rest that area completely.
 
Yeah thanks. I might try lower weights on Monday and if it is still twinging then perhaps an enforced week off might be worth it. Just bad timing I guess.
 
I've had a bit of weird pain lately. It tends to present itself around the inner part of my arm where I would wear a watch and the pain stretches from close to my wrist through to maybe half way up my forearm. I tend to get it right at the start of bro curls mildly and then at the end of my set I'll get a fairly sharp strong pain that lasts a few seconds. I also get it when I'm picking up heavy (for me) weights for DB bench press. Strangely I don't seem to get it much on chin ups or other exercises that involve putting pressure on that part of my arm. There's also a general ache there (very mild) that sometimes gets worse after medium-length cycle rides.

Anyone have an ideas/advice? I would guess it's some kind of tendon injury or something but I'm far from an expert :p Ideally I wouldn't (temporarily) stop doing any lifting or cycling but obviously if I have to I will.

edit: Googling a little more I notice that hammer curls are mentioned a lot with this kind of thing. I do 3 * 8 regular curls and 3 * 8 hammer usually. Should I drop the hammer?
 
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FrenchTart said:
I've had a bit of weird pain lately. It tends to present itself around the inner part of my arm where I would wear a watch and the pain stretches from close to my wrist through to maybe half way up my forearm. I tend to get it right at the start of bro curls mildly and then at the end of my set I'll get a fairly sharp strong pain that lasts a few seconds. I also get it when I'm picking up heavy (for me) weights for DB bench press. Strangely I don't seem to get it much on chin ups or other exercises that involve putting pressure on that part of my arm. There's also a general ache there (very mild) that sometimes gets worse after medium-length cycle rides.

Anyone have an ideas/advice? I would guess it's some kind of tendon injury or something but I'm far from an expert :p Ideally I wouldn't (temporarily) stop doing any lifting or cycling but obviously if I have to I will.

edit: Googling a little more I notice that hammer curls are mentioned a lot with this kind of thing. I do 3 * 8 regular curls and 3 * 8 hammer usually. Should I drop the hammer?
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From what I've read, hammer curls put a fair bit of stress on the forearms, EZ bar curls slightly less, and straight bar curls the least.

Try moving to straight bar only for a bit and see if it helps.
 
So as per my training log, I'm now into my second month back in the gym. I'm very conscious I'm trying to do two different things at the same time which don't seem at opposite ends of the gain spectrum - ie lose bodyfat whilst adding strength and mass.

My routine is 3 days per week and almost exclusively compound exercises with the aim of adding increments no matter how small to each exercise on 8 reps per set.

I've lost 6lbs so far (from the first month), and now weigh 12st 2lb - bodyfat % is just under 25%, so ideally I'd like to lose about another 8 lbs of fat to begin with.

My diet is vegetarian, supplemented with protein shakes. I'm currently keeping under 1500 cals daily with a balance of 50g fat; 80g protein; 200g carb.

My question is, does that look about right, and am I on the right track?

I'm not prissy so if you think I'm way off track don't worry about saying so!
 
Zatoichi.uK said:
From what I've read, hammer curls put a fair bit of stress on the forearms, EZ bar curls slightly less, and straight bar curls the least.

Try moving to straight bar only for a bit and see if it helps.
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Thanks. I may try doing that after I've taken a bit of a break from bro curls for a bit. I would need to buy a straight/ez bar though (only have access to olympic dumbbells right now).
 
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