*** The 2019 Gym Rats Thread ***

mrthingyx said:
@madindehead and @Lakeland... Just because you have done sport before does not mean you have strong/jacked legs UNLESS that sport was any of:

  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Maybe rugby union, rowing or certain types of gymnastics (if accompanied by a strength and conditioning routine)
  • Or a combination of the above (i.e. Crossfit)
Sorry, but there is a huge difference between "strong" and "not Stickman's stunt double."

Train your legs: the rest of your bodywill thank you. And properly strong legs are just awesome. :cool:
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I know I'm super late to replying to this, but I don't think I said I wasn't training my legs anywhere in my post. I have strong legs compared to the rest of my body - from cycling and past swimming. Definitely plan on training every, my workouts are always full body!
 
My first attempt at batch cooking. I made 4 portions and ate one, saved three. It's ok but I think the chicken needs to be more spicy. It was a bit dry to eat too. I used a cajun sprinkle on seasoning here.

By my calcs this is approx 400 calories. It contains 38g basmati rice and 240g chicken breast plus the veggies (not counted). I used 32 oz capacity containers and there is room for more if I need to increase the portion size. Any thoughts?

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You could try adding a teaspoon - or however much of cold pressed olive/rapeseed oil on to the chicken. Is there any seasoning in there?

Edit: chicken is probably my least favourite animal protein but when spices are added and it's jazzed up a little, it then becomes my overall preferred choice. I like to use ground cumin/garam masala on mine. Tarragon is also a good option.
 
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I cooked it in a covered glass roasting dish in the oven with a bit of oil added.

What do you mean by seasoning, as clearly i have added cajun mix. Do you mean something different?
 
Ahh, sorry. I didn't quite read your post correctly. I'd probably add the oil afterward to lubricate the chicken/rice. Add some salt and pepper if desired.
 
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danlightbulb said:
I cooked it in a covered glass roasting dish in the oven with a bit of oil added.

What do you mean by seasoning, as clearly i have added cajun mix. Do you mean something different?
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I use Schwartz Chicken Seasoning - there are a few different versions and they all add a great bit of flavour. That or Piri piri sauce/seasoning. It is super low calorie - not that I am fussed about that.
 
arc@css said:
Out of interest, how many calories (very roughly) do you all take in per day?
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I've just upped my calories to about 2,300. I was trying to lose some weight, but reading a few things and listening to some stuff, it seems I'm better off eating a bit more for now, getting stronger, and then attempting to lose weight. I was aiming for about 1,750 before so I'm quite enjoying it!
 
I'm attempting to be on a deficit the last few weeks having been eating generously since starting SL. Sick of my gut! Cronometer has been on about 1800. Easy and pretty generous if I'm just at home.

Quite hard while travelling. I'm in Dubai for most of this week with a gym with no rack or barbell, delicious food and drink on expenses. Hard not to be greedy!
 
Chicken for 100g cooked weight is 22g Protein, 3g fat, and 116 calories.

danlightbulb said:
My first attempt at batch cooking. I made 4 portions and ate one, saved three. It's ok but I think the chicken needs to be more spicy. It was a bit dry to eat too. I used a cajun sprinkle on seasoning here.

By my calcs this is approx 400 calories. It contains 38g basmati rice and 240g chicken breast plus the veggies (not counted). I used 32 oz capacity containers and there is room for more if I need to increase the portion size. Any thoughts?
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Regarding what else you can do to help with flavour and dryness, you can reuse the chicken juices from the cooking process.

I also season before cooking with mixed spices and nandos medium source, making sure I get the top and bottom of the chicken.

I portion up my chicken and rice and then I pour the juices over the top in each container for the week. Helps with the taste and the dryness.

Also drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top, 2 table spoons (approx. 10g) for a bit more flavour and good source of cals and good fats.

My portions are 200g Chicken, 50g (dry weight) white rice, and 10g oil and it comes out at 489 cals, not factoring in the cooking juices.

arc@css said:
Out of interest, how many calories (very roughly) do you all take in per day?
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2100 average over the week. 2.4k on training days, 1.9k on off days. Aim is to cut very slowly while adding muscle. Slow process.

davejh666 said:
Is there any benefit to taking any other supplements, anything else I should be taking? I would like to maintain my strength during the cut:
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Creatine, plenty of research out there for its benefits.

Intra workout hydrolysed whey protein as well with your BCAA's.

There's some other things to consider, Vitamin D3, Omega 3 rich in DHA and EPA, potentially a good multi-vit. Zinc and Magnesium at the right times of day as well.

Really there is a lot more as well, but you cant go wrong with adding Creatine and Vitamin D3 and Omega 3.
 
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I have been on a deficit for a about 2 months, trying to get lean for a festival in a month from now (as that marks my 18 months since starting this gym/weight loss stuff). A shame i had a lot of fat to lose or I would have bulked more but I am happy with where i am now in terms of fat and i doubt an extra month or two bulking with less time cutting would have looked any better.

I have been on about 2100 daily (carbs on 20-25%) and train 6 on, 1 off. My deficit is stretched a bit further with daily LISS training. My body seems to be responding a lot better to it than before where i didn't do any LISS and was on a much lower daily intake.
 
Interesting to read about others calorie intake. As for my training, I think I'm going to have to refrain from exercising my upper body for at the very least one week, as pretty anything just results in shoulder pain. Chiropractor booked.
 
arc@css said:
Interesting to read about others calorie intake. As for my training, I think I'm going to have to refrain from exercising my upper body for at the very least one week, as pretty anything just results in shoulder pain. Chiropractor booked.
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Save your money and find a sports physio. In my experience chiropractors are great at fixing the issue, but not the underlying cause.
 
mrthingyx said:
Save your money and find a sports physio. In my experience chiropractors are great at fixing the issue, but not the underlying cause.
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I'll certainly bear that in mind though I have a good relationship with my chiro so I'll see how this goes first. It might be my age and the fact that I tend to train heavier but do less volume, so a sort of a high-intensity approach, which might be the problem. :)
 
arc@css said:
I'll certainly bear that in mind though I have a good relationship with my chiro so I'll see how this goes first. It might be my age and the fact that I tend to train heavier but do less volume, so a sort of a high-intensity approach, which might be the problem. :)
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Fair enough! :)

I got on well with the "family chiropractor," saw an osteopath and a GP before - a number of years later - a sports physio managed to fix the problem I had.
 
arc@css said:
Interesting to read about others calorie intake. As for my training, I think I'm going to have to refrain from exercising my upper body for at the very least one week, as pretty anything just results in shoulder pain. Chiropractor booked.
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Lol, I just eat atm, heaven knows what my intake is :p Most of its crap tbh atm

Should cut soon, think I got 100kg the other day haha

What sort of pain are you getting?
 
Delvis said:
Lol, I just eat atm, heaven knows what my intake is :p Most of its crap tbh atm

Should cut soon, think I got 100kg the other day haha

What sort of pain are you getting?
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Same here. Eat eat eat. It’s a vicious cycle. The more I train, the more I curve myself to eat. The more I eat, the harder I feel I need to go in the gym.

It works I guess though, making great gains and as I learn more and more - if you want gains, eat. I have a pretty quick metabolism too, so I guess I can get away with a slightly less than perfect diet.

As for shoulders. Rotation exercises and rest. I get weeks when I can’t even sleep on one shoulder or the other, then weeks like this week when I hammer them and get zero pain. Shoulders take a beating.
 
Delvis said:
What sort of pain are you getting?
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Painful pain. :D Pain that's telling me to stop, hehe.

It's definitely not something I can train through like a bit of stiffness or a mild to moderate twinge. Yesterday was the turning point; I had to concede that it needs proper rest - training just seems to aggravate it.

I shall still go to the gym this week but it will be for stretching and lower body training.
 
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