*** The 2019 Gym Rats Thread ***

Lunchtime a bit busier for me but with so much equipment, it's never a problem. The etiquette from some of the January joiners do make me :rolleyes:. Weights not racked, ab straps being left clipped on the squat rack and my personal favourite so far, the guy who did a few sets on the bench who then walks off only to come back and sit on it to eat chicken and brown rice from a Tupperware box :p. Sure there were plenty of flat benches free but why?!

Ate a lot over Christmas but i hit the Gym as normal (even going on Christmas and Boxing Day!) so i felt a lot better about stuffing my face.

Back to a calorie deficit for at least January - Not got too much to lose. After that it's time to eat big and clean, can't wait :cool:
 
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Striving to realign worklife balance this year and get back to training. 2018 was full of work travel, a house move, a few big holidays and lots of distractions. I have put on a fair amount of weight but not lost all strength or fitness.

New place is ripe for a decent home gym which is planned for February - picked up a concept 2 rower as the first bit of kit just before the new year.
 
I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere in as far as progressing as an intermediate goes, with regards to being honest with RPE and rep quality on my bigger lifts, which means I don't just keep grinding myself into stagnation and spinning my wheels, and really focusing on isolation movements being isolation movements and keeping the tension on the target muscle rather than doing junk volume. It's funny how long it's taken to get to this point.

Looking forward to my gym getting a Pit Shark this year so I can belt squat to my hearts content and grow my wheels. I really want to nail a good freestanding handstand this year and make the same kind of mobility gains I got from starting yoga; much like lifting you get these noob flexiblity gains where you think you'll be a proper bendy wendy in no time, then... nope, need to graft.
 
Well on a bright side, the gym seemed about the same in terms of attendance which is close to empty at 10:30pm.

On a different note, only two days of calorie deficit and already felt the difference in terms of strength. Was hoping to hit 40kg dumbbells by last week on the chest press but still struggling on the 38s. Barely knocked out last 2 reps without dropping them on my face :D
 
I made it through my overhead press and deadlifts yesterday but felt absolutely hammered by them and the squats are now starting to feel challenging (110 yesterday which I know is not much but certainly doesn't feel it!). Have ordered a new 3 inch belt for deadlifts as I'm finding 4 inch is digging into my ribs and hips and making a good starting position hard. I'm 5ft8 so I guess makes sense.

I think I really need to look at diet now as the lifts are getting heavier as I am getting so knackered afterwards. Any resources I should have a look at? I eat well anyway with very little processed or packaged food because I like cooking but do think I need to now consider diet properly.
 
Skidder said:
I made it through my overhead press and deadlifts yesterday but felt absolutely hammered by them and the squats are now starting to feel challenging (110 yesterday which I know is not much but certainly doesn't feel it!). Have ordered a new 3 inch belt for deadlifts as I'm finding 4 inch is digging into my ribs and hips and making a good starting position hard. I'm 5ft8 so I guess makes sense.

I think I really need to look at diet now as the lifts are getting heavier as I am getting so knackered afterwards. Any resources I should have a look at? I eat well anyway with very little processed or packaged food because I like cooking but do think I need to now consider diet properly.
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More food
 
Spent the last 2 weeks trying to not cough a lung out, which has stopped me doing anything physical :/ tbh I suspected I'd done something to my rotator cuff and the rest has probably been good for it been out of action a lot over the last month/2 months Really disheartening
 
Well not had a good start to the year..Ended up flaring up my 'Golfers Elbow' (no, I dont golf, but seems to be the same tendon thats broken).. To the point where it hurts to straighten my arm.. Entirely my fault as we had a nerf war in the office and I ended up throwing the darts rather than using the gun :D

Now to wait for this to eventually heal before I do anything. I have been eating pretty cleanly over xmas period, so havent piled on a massive amount of wait haha.
 
I'm all about wrist wraps on any bench now after messing up my right wrist last time. Lower back still on a stiff side so going to see a chiropractor later this month to see if there's anything to worry about or just body adjusting to a lot of exercise.
 
Gym was fairly quiet last night which was odd. Maybe seen one or two new faces but that's no bad thing.

I'm having to look at my routine and diet, diet is most certainly my biggest hurdle as I'm a fussy eater so I need to find something that's clean and appetising. So far I've knocked up a few salads with fruit for lunch, fasting for the morning and in the evening is where I'm struggling as my wife has no interest in losing weight.
 
Rusko187 said:
Gym was fairly quiet last night which was odd. Maybe seen one or two new faces but that's no bad thing.

I'm having to look at my routine and diet, diet is most certainly my biggest hurdle as I'm a fussy eater so I need to find something that's clean and appetising. So far I've knocked up a few salads with fruit for lunch, fasting for the morning and in the evening is where I'm struggling as my wife has no interest in losing weight.
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That sounds like a pretty extreme diet, is it sustainable?

If you are going to the gym, i certainly recommend eating more than just salad and fruit and fasting in the morning and evening.

Roughly how many calories are you eating a day?
 
Avenged7Fold said:
That sounds like a pretty extreme diet, is it sustainable?

If you are going to the gym, i certainly recommend eating more than just salad and fruit and fasting in the morning and evening.

Roughly how many calories are you eating a day?
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It's definitely not sustainable, diet is something I struggle with immensely. Only been doing it for the past couple of days but haven't particularly felt hungry from it. And apologies I didn't word correctly, only fasting in the morning... I meant I struggle with meals in the evening as my wife will literally throw any old thing together which is often not good and I just get it down me.

I've looked at zero carb diets but I'm not so certain it's sustainable.
 
Rusko187 said:
It's definitely not sustainable, diet is something I struggle with immensely.

I've looked at zero carb diets but I'm not so certain it's sustainable.
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If it isn't sustainable, don't bother with it.

Diets really far under maintenance do lead to weight loss but usually a lot of that weight is not weight you want to lose. I found that the best and most sustainable results came from a nutritional plan that didn't feel like a diet and so was easy to maintain. The first time i lost weight, i did it too quickly and though i ended up much, much lighter than i am now, i cannot say i looked any better than when i started - just smaller and skinny fat i suppose. The next time was gradual and consistent weight loss through a manageable calorie deficit and exercise and though i weighed probably about 10kg more than the first time - i looked much better and it was far easier with my appetite getting use to the new lifestyle.

What are your aims?

I would recommend recording EVERYTHING you eat through an app like MyFitnessPal. Sometimes something like this is enough to make people notice the excessive amount of calories they take when they don't need to from big binge dinners or over snacking. You may have to take the reigns on cooking in the evening if you think the dinners are what is defeating your diet. Figure out roughly what you think your maintenance calories are and then eat a bit under that amount consistently and results will come in no time.
 
Skidder said:
Have ordered a new 3 inch belt for deadlifts as I'm finding 4 inch is digging into my ribs and hips and making a good starting position hard.
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From strength shop??

I am looking at getting one as well as I have the same problem Hips and Ribs RIP.
 
I'm exceptionally busy with deadlines for the next 2 weeks so keeping the diet as simple as possible for now. Simply have a calorie cap which I don't go above and a protein target to hit so pretty easy two guidelines to follow.

Once I have a little more breathing room, I'll be looking at setting things up properly and doing batch cooking to help with time.
 
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