*** The 2016 Gym Rats Thread ***

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I've been training first thing in the morning before work (still get to work between 8-830) and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. It's only a 30-40 min session, but intense/hard, but it does wake you up and set you up for the day!

Come 9pm I'm ready for bed, but that's not such a bad thing. :)
 
Is there a proper way to find out your 1RM safely? I'm thinking do the warm up sets I normally do with stronglifts then start adding on 2.5KG for bench and 5kg for squats and deadlift until it gets harder then drop down to 2.5KG, starting 1 weight above what i normally do for 5x5.
 
It was good to see nothings changed couple of bros in there for a full hour doing every form of curl imaginable.

Strength is down but not massively so. Should be back up to full speed in a month or so, major issue is dropping the chunk I've picked up.

Picked a good day to go back though, headed down to the pool and steam afterwards and there were a few women in there for a spa day and :eek: I'm glad my goggles are mirrored.
 
NexusK said:
Is there a proper way to find out your 1RM safely? I'm thinking do the warm up sets I normally do with stronglifts then start adding on 2.5KG for bench and 5kg for squats and deadlift until it gets harder then drop down to 2.5KG, starting 1 weight above what i normally do for 5x5.
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Pretty much that although (and this is especially true with deadlifts because you can get away with completing a lift with horrible form more so than the other two) go by a technical 1RM rather than a true 1RM - i.e. what you can squat/bench/deadlift for 1 rep without your form going entirely out the window. So if you benched 90kg and it was hard but you managed to stay tight, 92.5kg was a massive struggle with loads of elbow flare and your butt coming off the bench and you tried and failed 95kg, go with 90kg. You're not competing for a podium place so it's better to err on the side of caution and go by what you can lift for a single rep reasonably well rather than what you can lift for a single rep without any consideration for your spine or rotator cuffs.
 
Freefaller said:
I've been training first thing in the morning before work (still get to work between 8-830) and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. It's only a 30-40 min session, but intense/hard, but it does wake you up and set you up for the day!

Come 9pm I'm ready for bed, but that's not such a bad thing. :)
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This post is like a trailer for a French art house film: gives a little hint as to how sexy the full reveal will be, but only just enough to get us hooked. ;)
 
Freefaller said:
I've been training first thing in the morning before work (still get to work between 8-830) and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. It's only a 30-40 min session, but intense/hard, but it does wake you up and set you up for the day!

Come 9pm I'm ready for bed, but that's not such a bad thing. :)
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I've been enjoying training in the mornings before work these last few months. Mostly starting at 9 rather than 8 this year has really helped this of course. Need to try to get into the gym just that little bit earlier though!

Went to the gym for a second time this evening to try to pick up where I left off with the DL plan. Plugged in 1RM of 170 to the formula and started with week 1. Next week is going to be really interesting! I might need to plan extra time in the gym for a good sit down between sets!
 
Training at 530am is a bit of a shock, but I'm amazed at how quickly I got used to it. The alternate days, I do stretches and HIIT (skipping mainly). It's a good balance. But getting to bed early is vital.
 
Freefaller said:
Training at 530am is a bit of a shock, but I'm amazed at how quickly I got used to it. The alternate days, I do stretches and HIIT (skipping mainly). It's a good balance. But getting to bed early is vital.
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Do you lift in the morning or more HIIT? I tried squatting at 7am last time and I just found that I could not match my performance later in the day?
 
I used to train at around 5.30am when I was trying to find a time that meant the 24/7 gym wasn't full of gold chain drench cretins and it's certainly a bit of a shock especially as it wasn't even close to summer but your body soon adapts.

I have to say I do prefer heading in around 7 now though hour on the weights and 30-45 minutes in the pool/steam room it's a nice end to the day.
 
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Yup lift at 530! My performance has equalised now, and I'm just as effective, if not more than later in the day when I'm just tired. Also I can take a preworkout or strong coffee and not worry about being jittery later in the evening.

Initially I did feel weaker, but now I feel no different, other than enjoying it more. I'm just tired in the evenings and the likelihood of me going "meh, I'll train tomorrow" is a lot higher.

I also train fasted, which again I have found not to be a problem at all.

You just have to let your body adapt, small steps.

I just like having my evenings to myself, and also, sometimes (rarely) I work late, and it's just nice knowing I've done my workout. Of course winter may be different altogether! But I have power in the garage, so a heater can be installed no problem! :D
 
The sound of having available evenings are very appealing, I think I may have to give it another go. However, our gym opens at 7am which makes it tight for work!

tom_e - Did the painkillers work? :D

ff - Do you now regularly train at home?
 
tom_e said:
My DOMS usually kicks in full force 2 days later so this morning I'm feeling relatively good although I can feel them brewing so tomorrow morning I may need all the painkillers just to swing my leg over my bike :o:D
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Haha, is that not the most satisfying and frustrating feeling ever? :D
 
I may have been a little optimistic with tomorrow. Just stood up from my desk, nearly fell straight back down then hobbled away to get some water.

Drives me up the wall shuffling along like an old man, but it does feel rather good too :D

Giving blood tonight so won't even be able to get in for a quick swim to loosen up but at least I'll get a free biscuit or 2 out of it.
 
DarkShadow said:
The sound of having available evenings are very appealing, I think I may have to give it another go. However, our gym opens at 7am which makes it tight for work!

tom_e - Did the painkillers work? :D

ff - Do you now regularly train at home?
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I only train at home now. I live in the countryside effectively, there is a leisure centre, but that's not exactly suited to my needs! :D

mrthingyx said:
I think Eric Cressey did a piece on early morning workouts... One of the key things was having a hot shower BEFORE lifting to raise your body's core temperature...
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I do a few dynamic stretches, very basic mobility and a few extra warm up reps, but I leave the mobility work for either in the evening or the alternate day when I do my HIIT session. I know it's not as good as doing stacks of mobility before, but I still give it a good 10mins. I'm not lifting silly weights at the moment, if I wanted to do a big PL session I'd do it on the weekend after a bit of lie in (7am :p).
 
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