*** The 2015 Gym Rats Thread ***

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What are your goals and if you're stalling, then might want to also take a look at your daily food intake too :)

Is that your per day routine or do you go in and see what you feel like lifting?
 
davejh666 said:
Yeah, stalling quite a bit tbh.

As I said I ain't the strongest so please...............lol

Bench Press - 60kg (Smith Machine)
Incline Fly's - 20kg (Dumbells - each dumbell is 20kg obviously)
Deadlifts - 80kg
Squat - 80kg
Overhead press - 40kg
Lateral raises - 8kg
Barbell Curl - 37.5kg
Close grip Press (triceps) - 30kg
1 arm Dumbell Row - 38kg

Do pull up's and dips as well. Dips are unassisted and pull ups have are assisted (10kg).
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That isn't weak! :)

3*8 is great, but sitting back and admiring your fains periosically (every 3 months) is normally a good idea just to see how stuff is woeking:

- is an exercise causing pain?
- is something stalling?
- are you using a smith machine?

All good indicators that something needs to change. Guessing you want muscles, but - aak posted - what are your current stats?
 
My goals are just to get stronger tbh. I don't want to be huge, but as I have said I have never been very strong or muscular.

I split the routine up. I do chest and triceps 1 day. Back and biceps another then shoulders and legs on the final day. I go to the gym, on average, 4 times a week. I only do the weight work 3 times a week. Any more than 3 times per week I will just do cardio and core work.

No exercise is causing me pain.

All over is stalling really, but not sure whether it is to be expected or if I just need to push myself more.

I use the smith machine for the chest press. The gym I go to doesn't have a bench with the barbell stands on it. So for me, it is either do chest presses on a bench with dumbells, or do it on the smith machine.

My diet over the last month has been poor to be fair. Usually it will go something like this:

Breakfast - 2x Weetabix's with skimmed milk & a Liquid breakfast 'FUEL'.

Mid morning - Bannana and orange or apple

Lunch - Chicken or Salmon with pasta and olives

After workout (whenever I do it) - ON Gold Standard 100% Whey and 4 poached eggs on brown toast.

Dinner - Varies a bit tbh, but Meatballs and pasta, Spaghetti Bolognase, Steak and Chips, Shepard's pie - these are the types of things.

Before bed - Pint glass of skimmed milk and another protein shake.

Stats - I am 37, I am 5'9 and am 84kg.

Back to the stalling bit. I am not sure if I am expecting too much from myself. What I mean by that is at first, the first few months, the weights went up quite quick and easily. Now, I struggle with two things. Obviously the weights are not going up as quick. And I struggle to know when to increase the weight I am lifting.

What I mean by that last part is sometimes I will go down the gym and do something, lets say chest press. I manage to lift 3x8 at 60kg and I do the lot. However, next time I go down I can't manage to do 8 reps on the last set, for whatever reason, this is kind of how I get confused as to when the weight should increase.

Thanks for the answers guys.
 
No worries. :)

Your diet seems fine if a bit low on the calories front, but the question is: are you gaining weight? If you're gaining weight at stalling, I've heard a rumour this suggests you're putting on fat rather than anything interesting... functionally, that makes sense, but...

Secondly from a strength perspective, this will vary day-to-day: I just squatted a 1RM two days ago, but that doesn't mean I'll be able to hit that today or tomorrow... this is entirely dependent on your diet, sleep/recovery level, circulating hormones at the point of lifting (cortisol, prolactin, testosterone to name a few), etc. However, you're lifting sub-maximal (8 reps) so this would suggest you're not recovering (sleeping/eating) enough - from a purely simple/basic perspective.

Thirdly, when increasing weights, progressive overload is key to any strength/size regime, and there are as many different ways of approaching this as there are weights in the gym:

1) Use a popular routine (Stronglifts, MadCow, HST, etc.);
2) Increase the weight for your exercises by 2.5kg per session or increase the number of reps you bang out. If you're failing to complete, then either eat more or drop the weights and take a "volume run-up" as such (this involves more reps/sets at lower intensities, slowly building back to more of a strength approach with lower reps/higher intensities);
3) Go by feel: if a set of 8 feels easy, increase the weight until it feels ahrd...

This is where structured routines like 5/3/1, Stronglifts/whatever are very useful as they "do the calculations for you."

Finally, don't use the smith for anything. At all. Use a power rack for benching if you can. Failing that, use dumbells. This might sound like gym snobbery (and it is, I suppose, to a degree) but there is a pretty good reason:

- Taking any of the instability out of a lift (by using a smith) takes the functional strength component out of it. It also reduces the stabilising muscle activity out, too, reducing the hypertrophy potential.
- You will never actually know how much you're lifting. As a gym brofessor has once said: "nobody actually knows how much the bars on a smith weigh..." ;) :D

So, things for you to think about:

1) Eat more;
2) Change your routine to either an established on for progressive overload, or shift to your own feeling of what works (I would strongly suggest an established routine like either MadCovw, 5/3/1 or Stronglifts).

And you're not going to get huge. Not by a long shot, so don't worry. :)
 
One thing that stands out about your diet is until lunch you're really just getting a massive hit of sugary carbs, yes there's a decent bit of protein in those "FUEL" drinks but it's also rammed with sugar.
 
mrthingyx said:
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What he said :)

The other option for benching is just not to do it - OHP is a great exercise and add some dips for some chest / tricep work?

Routine wise - it sounds like you're getting a bit bored maybe? Nothing wrong with switching it your routine around to keep things interesting
 
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Further to mrthingyx's post, I've recently started the GreySkull LP routine which I'm enjoying as an alternative to StrongLifts/3x5 routines.

The 3rd set of max reps certainly keeps things interesting!
 
davejh666 said:
Breakfast - 2x Weetabix's with skimmed milk & a Liquid breakfast 'FUEL'.

Mid morning - Bannana and orange or apple

Lunch - Chicken or Salmon with pasta and olives

After workout (whenever I do it) - ON Gold Standard 100% Whey and 4 poached eggs on brown toast.

Dinner - Varies a bit tbh, but Meatballs and pasta, Spaghetti Bolognase, Steak and Chips, Shepard's pie - these are the types of things.

Before bed - Pint glass of skimmed milk and another protein shake.
Click to expand...

My 3 year old can eat two in a sitting! If you want a real view of your diet, use an app or website to track all that you eat for a week then. I use dailyburn but there are loads out there. You may be surprised!
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.

I want to order some of the Oomf Bench pressed oats to have for breakfast, just need to wait until payday at the end of January. To be honest I am not a breakfast person. I know it is important, but most of the time I am up at 4am to go to work. I bike to work which is about a 13-15 mile ride depending on which way I go. I can't be doing with anything more than 2 weetabix's to be honest as I feel rubbish on the ride to work otherwise. I then have the Fuel drink once I have got to work. I could do scambled eggs at work I guess once I have got there?

I will change the smith machine to dumbell Presses then. I was doing those to begin with, and enjoyed them, so that won't be an issue.

Will have a look at all the other things you have all suggested.

Once again, thanks. Appreciate the help.
 
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