*** The 2019 Gym Rats Thread ***

DanTheMan said:
DL: Failed miserably at 85kg on Monday. 75kg feels pretty easy.
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Just to check a couple of things.

Are you making sure you are using the biggest plates on the deadlift to make sure the bar is at least the minimum standard height off the ground? roughly 9" off the floor (22.5cm to be more precise). Starting height can make a big, impacting effect.

Secondly have you been doing the right amount of deadlifting? the program advises 1x5 but this is not even close to enough for starting out lifters who really should work on 3x5 working sets for the deadlifts minimum to help build in the movement pattern.
 
iBSOD said:
3/4 weeks into bulk, started at 73.5kg now 79kg. absolutely bloated. eating 5.1k cals, avg 650c 135f 305p
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5.2k cals is waaaaaay to much for someone who started at 73.5kg. 5.5kg in 3-4 weeks is mental when reasonable natural muscle gain is ~3lb per month towards the top end..

How tall are you, how often do you train, and is this natural or assisted, and how did you come up with 5.1k cals per day?

That's one crazy ass dreamer bulk right there.
 
TheOracle said:
73.5kg and 5.1k cals :eek:

You need to see a nutritionist at your gym. Sounds like twice as much as what you actually need. You're going to be doing yourself damage.
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Why? This isn't something that requires a specialist....it requires basic knowledge, which currently appears to be lacking (not meant in a bad way, we all start out knowing nothing about new things).
 
Kixkal said:
45-60 a day? It seemed longer when I read it.
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Depends how long you spend doing nothing for I suppose. When I'm focused and motivated, I take minimal rests, so 1 min between warm up sets, 1.5 mins between working sets (if I can), and then 1.5 mins between exercises. 1 set of anything doesn't really take very long either.
 
iBSOD said:
3/4 weeks into bulk, started at 73.5kg now 79kg. absolutely bloated. eating 5.1k cals, avg 650c 135f 305p
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I'm around 105kg and that would be way too many calories even for me! It's not surprising you're feeling rubbish, you'll feel even worse at the end and realise you've got tens of kilos of extra fat to now get rid of.
 
Those macros are insane. I'm 6ft and weight 76kg, up from 70kg about six or seven months ago, and my macros are 2700-2800 calories, 155g protein, 375g carbs and 79g fat. You're about double what you should be imo.
 
Plz read for future bulks - a bigger surplus does not = more muscle gained

You need to be in a surplus for a considerable amount of time to gain any appreciable amount of muscle, so at your current rate of gain you're going to fall into super-heavy territory by the end of the year. This is fine if you have aspirations of becoming a sumo wrestler, but I'd imagine you want to look good naked and so at some point you're going to have to diet all that fat off... and when you have that much to lose, you're going to need to diet for a looooong time, which is super sucky because:
1 - weight gain could have been at a more reasonable rate meaning a way shorter diet/more time spent getting bigger/stronger (i.e. gain for a 6-8 months, 4-6 week mini-cut, repeat)
2- dieting that long is a psychological chore
3 - dieting that long often results in performance increases and muscle mass loss if you diet as cavalierly as you bulked

Also people who dreamer bulk tend to quickly get fed up with how they look and diet back down (and thus don't spend long enough in a surplus to gain much muscle), so you can easily end up in a yo-yo state of bulking/cutting without actually gaining much of anything and just putting a lot of stress on your body.
 
Finally dropped below 16st and still feeling strong after cutting down from just under 18st in April. Apart from a cheat meal every two weeks on Saturdays, and a few nights out with friends, I've stuck to 2000 calories religiously during that time.

Five weeks of 3x10 down, another four to go and then it's bulk time :cool:

Edit: Been taking my blood pressure readings this week and I'm averaging 120/72 which is the lowest it's been for around 15 years. I've always had high blood pressure, as have a lot of my family, and the last reading I took at the start of the year was 140/80. Happy with that.
 
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I seem to be getting weaker every time I go to the gym.

From yesterday I upped my calories to 2100 (up from 1800ish) so I'm hoping that'll be enough to start getting some strength back.
 
Pigeon_Killer said:
Finally dropped below 16st and still feeling strong after cutting down from just under 18st in April. Apart from a cheat meal every two weeks on Saturdays, and a few nights out with friends, I've stuck to 2000 calories religiously during that time.

Five weeks of 3x10 down, another four to go and then it's bulk time :cool:

Edit: Been taking my blood pressure readings this week and I'm averaging 120/72 which is the lowest it's been for around 15 years. I've always had high blood pressure, as have a lot of my family, and the last reading I took at the start of the year was 140/80. Happy with that.
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Congrats my man! Should be very proud :)

Started on my big cut myself this week. Not got a particular time frame in mind but my general goal is to get to 12 stone no matter how long it takes. 13.3 at the moment. Gonna be a long hard slog but I'm determined to get there :)
 
ShortWarning said:
I seem to be getting weaker every time I go to the gym.

From yesterday I upped my calories to 2100 (up from 1800ish) so I'm hoping that'll be enough to start getting some strength back.
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Weren't you coming towards the end of quite an extended cut? Strength loss isn't a surprise if that's the case.
 
6 weeks into a stronglifts and OMAD routine and am seeing fantastic changes in body composition. Also 39 years old and had been neglecting things badly, with the midriff to show for it.

Work gym is limited for free weights, but it's a good start.
 
I've been going to the gym now since 2004, when I was 17 years old. I managed to get some good lifting done and probably "peaked" in about 2011/2012. I was benching 147.5KG, squatting 190KG and deadlifting 220KG, all for a few reps, not mutant strength but decent. In fact OCUK is littered with some of my old posts which make for depressing reading now :p I was single at the time so could commit more to the nutrition and training. Sadly, I tore my rotator cuff back in 2013 and I've not been able to bench anywhere near as much before getting pains, normally around 100KG is where I get issues.

Sadly, life has got in the way since then and my love for the gym has massively dwindled. I have always gone down since 2004 but have had long periods (1-2 months off) from 2014 on wards where I lack the motivation to go as I feel like I am revisiting the same weights I used to throw around and find it frustrating and would rather be out enjoying myself. I still have decent "size" but I am around 15KG heavier than I would like to be. Since 2014, I've been hitting the gym with random friends and not ever really had a goal. I've made a few life style changes and am now able to hit the gym 3 times a week, or should be able to on a regular basis. I had really good results with 5x5 SL when I did it back in 2011, would this be a good place to try and reset things? In terms of my ability now for a couple of reps, I would say 105KG bench, 120KG squat and 175KG deadlift. My one thing with 5X5 SL is that I feel the first 8 weeks are so easy that I struggle to get motivated to go to the gym and it's not even a challenge.

Has anyone else had to deal with feelings of revisiting old ground and feeling frustrated you are not a patch on what you used to be? My life overall now is much better than it was in 2011, I'm just looking to try and get more enjoyment out of the gym if possible!
 
MG42Maniac said:
I've been going to the gym now since 2004, when I was 17 years old. I managed to get some good lifting done and probably "peaked" in about 2011/2012. I was benching 147.5KG, squatting 190KG and deadlifting 220KG, all for a few reps, not mutant strength but decent. In fact OCUK is littered with some of my old posts which make for depressing reading now :p I was single at the time so could commit more to the nutrition and training. Sadly, I tore my rotator cuff back in 2013 and I've not been able to bench anywhere near as much before getting pains, normally around 100KG is where I get issues.

Sadly, life has got in the way since then and my love for the gym has massively dwindled. I have always gone down since 2004 but have had long periods (1-2 months off) from 2014 on wards where I lack the motivation to go as I feel like I am revisiting the same weights I used to throw around and find it frustrating and would rather be out enjoying myself. I still have decent "size" but I am around 15KG heavier than I would like to be. Since 2014, I've been hitting the gym with random friends and not ever really had a goal. I've made a few life style changes and am now able to hit the gym 3 times a week, or should be able to on a regular basis. I had really good results with 5x5 SL when I did it back in 2011, would this be a good place to try and reset things? In terms of my ability now for a couple of reps, I would say 105KG bench, 120KG squat and 175KG deadlift. My one thing with 5X5 SL is that I feel the first 8 weeks are so easy that I struggle to get motivated to go to the gym and it's not even a challenge.

Has anyone else had to deal with feelings of revisiting old ground and feeling frustrated you are not a patch on what you used to be? My life overall now is much better than it was in 2011, I'm just looking to try and get more enjoyment out of the gym if possible!
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Yup - priorities, pressures and circumstances change. I injured my shoulder last year and tried to hit the gym for strength/size without snatch and clean'n'jerk and it sucked. Massive ones... I trained sporadically in order to maintain movements, but nothing consistent or useful.

Since then, I've realigned what I need to achieve from the gym: I now cycle and am working as hard as I can to get faster and more powerful (from a cycling perspective) and - as much as I loathe cardio - I really enjoy the pain of the kind of cycling I am doing. It's different to what I used to do, but it gets me back in the gym and I can lift for fun again... but that's my particular circumstances.
 
MG42Maniac said:
My one thing with 5X5 SL is that I feel the first 8 weeks are so easy that I struggle to get motivated to go to the gym and it's not even a challenge.

Has anyone else had to deal with feelings of revisiting old ground and feeling frustrated you are not a patch on what you used to be? My life overall now is much better than it was in 2011, I'm just looking to try and get more enjoyment out of the gym if possible!
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Stronglifts app asks you what you current status is on the main lifts so you wouldn't be starting witht the bar like a beginner. Start where you are comfortable and then push for the linear progression. No reason to be bored that way.

I'm 45 in a couple of months, everything is more challenging but I am a lot stronger than I was 9 months ago. May be hard to achieve what you did as a youngun but you can still make meaningful progress.
 
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