*** The 2018 Gym Rats Thread ***

.:SAmSuNG:. said:
Im a bit of a newbie but im looking to start going to the gym 3 (Mon, Wed, Fri) evenings a week for 1-1.5 hours per session.

I do mostly cardio or circuits 5 days a week at work so just looking to focus on weights.

I'm 32 5.10 and 76kg.

I'm not overly focused on my legs as they get pretty worn out from my exercise during work.

So want to focus on my upper body.

Any suggestions on how to split the different areas of the upper body up for those 3 sessions and what sort of reps and sets I should be going for to build size?

Cheers
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If you're a beginner then stick to a full upper body day x3 a week. You could either do something like HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training) or do an A/B/A, B/A/B style thing (that's 6 sessions over 2 weeks on M/W/F sort of thing) where you could have something like Eric Helms Novice Bodybuilding Program's upper days.

I'd still train legs though, otherwise...

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And remember, kids: if you don't strengthen your legs and back through compound lifts, your cardeeyoh will probably cause knee, hip and lumbar problems eventually! And you'll be slower... ;) :D
 
Somnambulist said:
You cycle so you wouldn't be totally sedentary. Activity multipliers are annoying in a way because there's never much point of reference for what 'lightly active' for example means. Relating it to step count seems to work okay in my experience.

Anyway, just do x12 to start and monitor your weight for a week or two then adjust, numbers are always just starting points after all. Losing too fast = eat a bit more. Going slower than you want = eat a bit less.
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Alright, thanks.
Any good calculators for macro split? I've used: https://healthyeater.com/flexible-dieting-calculator before and it's spitting out this:

1831 CALORIES PER DAY
Carbohydrate
211g 46.1%

Protein
132g 28.9%

Fat
51g 25.0%

That look like a good start?
 
Off on holiday next week so last chest workout before I go away. Decided to test my strength and managed 120x3 and 130x2. Messed up the 3rd rep because for some odd reason I paused my 2nd rep. Still pretty good going considering a) I wasn't benching over 100kg when I got back into the gym in Jan and b) I weigh 76-78kg.
 
LiE said:
Off on holiday next week so last chest workout before I go away. Decided to test my strength and managed 120x3 and 130x2. Messed up the 3rd rep because for some odd reason I paused my 2nd rep. Still pretty good going considering a) I wasn't benching over 100kg when I got back into the gym in Jan and b) I weigh 76-78kg.
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And you're still a bar steward. ;) :D
 
Been out of the gym for around 6 months as the house has been renovated and the gym (read garage) has been out of action. Initially thought it would be a couple of months hence not joining a gym, but its been 6 and I am itching to get back.

Looking to get back in but trying to not go full whack and injuring myself thinking i can lift what I did 6 months ago. Anyone recommend any workout to strengthen the core etc and to get going in the right way (weights mainly). I have a power cage and olympic weights etc.
 
GiraffePencils said:
Alright, thanks.
Any good calculators for macro split? I've used: https://healthyeater.com/flexible-dieting-calculator before and it's spitting out this:

1831 CALORIES PER DAY
Carbohydrate
211g 46.1%

Protein
132g 28.9%

Fat
51g 25.0%

That look like a good start?
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I'd probably go for higher protein (you weigh more than me I think) at the expense of some carbs/a little fat. Ultimately a lot of it is dictated by your food preferences; if you find you're consistently ending up going over your fat target just reduce your carbs a bit so it works with what you're eating.

Also work with ranges - you're not in a prep diet so there's no need to be super precise, so something like:

140-150g protein
190-200g carb
45-50g fat

If you're at the higher end of the fat intake, go for the lower end of the carb intake etc etc. Weigh daily, get weekly average, adjust in 100 calorie increments. Weight change can stall now and then but the trend should be pretty obvious with a moderate to aggressive deficit.
 
Somnambulist said:
I'd probably go for higher protein (you weigh more than me I think) at the expense of some carbs/a little fat. Ultimately a lot of it is dictated by your food preferences; if you find you're consistently ending up going over your fat target just reduce your carbs a bit so it works with what you're eating.

Also work with ranges - you're not in a prep diet so there's no need to be super precise, so something like:

140-150g protein
190-200g carb
45-50g fat

If you're at the higher end of the fat intake, go for the lower end of the carb intake etc etc. Weigh daily, get weekly average, adjust in 100 calorie increments. Weight change can stall now and then but the trend should be pretty obvious with a moderate to aggressive deficit.
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I'm ~73kg
I'm pretty good at eating in a really boring way, so I'll try and get a meal plan together and then I'm fine to just eat the same thing every day haha
 
GiraffePencils said:
I'm ~73kg
I'm pretty good at eating in a really boring way, so I'll try and get a meal plan together and then I'm fine to just eat the same thing every day haha
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Cool, just remember that variety is a good thing with food as far as hitting your micros as much as your macros - a really 'bro' diet can be as nutritionally deficient as a pop-tart filled IIFYM one.
 
I'm usually fairly good with rotating the veg I eat.
Also my partner's vegi and evening meals are dictated by her so there'll be some interesting adjustments to portion sizes to accommodate the plan haha
 
At least she's not vegan, that makes things much more of a headache with protein when dieting (since nearly everything is protein+carb or protein+fat). You could always just throw in a shake with dinner if need be (20g+ per meal is usually a minimum to aim for) since protein is the easiest macro to be low in with veggie dishes, and the bio-availability is less than with animal proteins, although it's arguable if it matters when the others meals you eat that are omnivorous.
 
I've got a whole chicken in the oven now to have with in some prepped meals. Chuck some veg then make up the carbs with couscous/pasta/rice
I could do with some shake powder actually, it helps balance things
 
npinn001 said:
Been out of the gym for around 6 months as the house has been renovated and the gym (read garage) has been out of action. Initially thought it would be a couple of months hence not joining a gym, but its been 6 and I am itching to get back.

Looking to get back in but trying to not go full whack and injuring myself thinking i can lift what I did 6 months ago. Anyone recommend any workout to strengthen the core etc and to get going in the right way (weights mainly). I have a power cage and olympic weights etc.
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Strong lifts 5x5 or download Five3one pro app and do that. I'm currently doing it and love it.
 
Somnambulist said:
At least she's not vegan, that makes things much more of a headache with protein when dieting (since nearly everything is protein+carb or protein+fat). You could always just throw in a shake with dinner if need be (20g+ per meal is usually a minimum to aim for) since protein is the easiest macro to be low in with veggie dishes, and the bio-availability is less than with animal proteins, although it's arguable if it matters when the others meals you eat that are omnivorous.
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my partners vegan and I'm vegetarian, I'm really struggling with keeping my protein levels anywhere close to what I need them to be.
now Quorn have a vegan range that seems to be helping need to learn how to cook tofu better, but a lot of our meals are very very high in carbs!

Edit : do we have any vegan lifters on here? I would be interested in your diet
 
kaptainmarc said:
my partners vegan and I'm vegetarian, I'm really struggling with keeping my protein levels anywhere close to what I need them to be.
now Quorn have a vegan range that seems to be helping need to learn how to cook tofu better, but a lot of our meals are very very high in carbs!

Edit : do we have any vegan lifters on here? I would be interested in your diet
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We have had one notable contributor, but I think he subscribed to the "40 bananas a day" regime...

There may be others, however!
 
You should check out huel
kaptainmarc said:
my partners vegan and I'm vegetarian, I'm really struggling with keeping my protein levels anywhere close to what I need them to be.
now Quorn have a vegan range that seems to be helping need to learn how to cook tofu better, but a lot of our meals are very very high in carbs!

Edit : do we have any vegan lifters on here? I would be interested in your diet
Click to expand...

You should check out huel :)
 
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