Soldato
What about Converse for lifting? just jumped back into the gym and stuck mine on and feel good.
ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ ||| The 2023/2024 Gym Rats Thread ||| ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ
- Thread starter Somnambulist
- Start date
I don’t have any direct experience with their general training shoes but nobody seems to like their (Olympic) weightlifting shoes these days compared to legacy models from them you can’t buy any more, so take what you will from that. If you’re looking to avoid spending £90+ maybe look at the UnderArmour Tribase Reigns as those are also a ‘suitable for leg days’ trainer and they’re in the Jan sales ATM.
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They’re okay but you miss out on a small but useful heel lift (useful for 95% for squatting movements if you‘re aiming for full ROM), greater lateral stability and a harder base under the foot which starts making a difference when you’re dealing with relatively heavy weights. Also some people dislike the aesthetic… including me.
Associate
I recently started the gym and incorporated 3 weight training days, However I have noticed my body is taking ages to heal, I last did chest, shoulders and triceps on Monday 25th dec for example and it is still aching (not as bad as next day but I still feel sore) and its my second workout for those same muscles since I started, am I going too extreme on my workouts or is this expected when getting back into it after years?
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Soldato
When I first started I found it really took it out of me (especially squats and deadlifts) and took a few months for my body to get used to what I was asking of it, I'd guess a big chunk of that is down to my age (51). Listen to your body and don't be in a rush to up the volume/weight, think of it as a marathon not a sprint.
Associate
Yeah I'm going to maybe do less exercises next week and look at an actual beginner workout program rather than making my own up, going to start calorie counting as well so will try and eat around maintenance to start of with and see if that helps. I am quite out of shape so that's probably why
Are you eating enough food to recover properly?
Associate
Not really counted my calories but I must be eating around 2500 - 3000 at least, my diet contains tuna, fish, meat and chicken. Think it might be due to my weight (115kg) and the fact I havnt touched weights in 15 years and am nearing 35 years of age
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You'd be surprised how much food 3000 cals is. What carbs are you eating?
I'm 37 and 110kg, 5'9, but I have been bodybuilding for 15+ years. Im not as strict diet wise so don't eat any where near as much as I used to, to maintain the muscle mass I had then compared tonow, but if im eating below my maintenance too long, my recovery will slow down considerably, and I am on trt as well so my recovery is always going to be better than a natty.
Associate
Ill have porridge with milk in the morning, a couple of handful of cashew nuts throughout the day on average, then tend to have lunch and dinner where the main carbs are usually white rice or pasta (around 150g of either in a sitting), but I am also eating foods like fish fingers with baked beans twice a week and the oddcan of vegetable soup so its not perfect. Think I need to keep a log of what I eat which am gonna do from Monday
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You are exmplaining DOMs, delayed onset muscle soreness, and this is always much worse as you are beginning to train. Its not bad, its not harmful and it will reduce as your body gets more used to training. Post up your workout if you want a more balanced review of if you are going too extreme or not, but chances are you really arent.
2500-3000 for someone (assumption being made here) is quite sedentary is actually quite a lot of food. Probably already over maintenance by 500-1k cals. In terms of macro breakdown I've always found protein to be the biggest factor from a dietary perspective. You need to make sure you are hitting at least 1g per lb of lean body weight, and going above that even is not a bad thing.
150g dry weight? if so in both examples that's a huge chunk of calories per day, 520-700 cals per 150g portion if that's the case! At this point what you are eating is less important than the macro breakdown and total cals you are eating. Getting a handle on your requirements first and then refining what you eat to better qualities of food is perfectly fine stepping stone.
Im currently bulking on 2.7k calories a day for example.
I would be interested to hear about how you get on with TRT etc, im getting older and its something ive considered looking in to. At the very least getting my levels check.
I believe some others here area also on TRT.
Man of Honour
TRT crew checking in. It's not the magic bullet a lot of people try and sell it as but it's definitely made a huge difference to my life but in very small ways if that makes sense
I'm 37 now, I started when I was around 32. I definitely needed it a lot sooner than that though. I'm not certain whether some steroid cycles in my early 20s were the cause, or i just had naturally bad production. I've always been quite stocky, but can get fat quickly. However, I could barely grow a beard, it was always thin and patchy, until I started TRT. Within the first year, of TRT i had almost a full beard.
It has not been an easy ride for me in regard to TRT. I am what some people call a "Hyper Responder", which means i need an extremely small amount to get my levels where they need to be, otherwise everything else in my blood work goes out of wack. The private clinics could not figure this out, and i ended up taking over and doing it myself. I learnt how to read my own blood work and mange things that way. I would not recommend doing it yourself at all though, and i would also not recommend going with the NHS, for one, unless your in your 50s/60s+ they're not interested and even if they are, you have to have off the scale low test. They just give you nebido most of the time, which is a once every three month injection. You end up dropping below your test levels before you started by the end of the first month, and suffer for the next two, until your next injection.
It took me about 2 years to get properly dialled in because of the hyper responder issue, but usually, if you're with a good clinic and you don't have too many issues, stick to their protocols etc, 6months to a year is usually enough.
As far as how i feel now, it is night and day to how i was before. I was extremely depressed (runs in my family) but it has helped me get out of big ruts. It hasn't fixed the depression completely, but i can manage it a lot better. Obviously the physical benefits and recovery are great, but don't expect to build muscle and loose fat just by taking it, you still need to put in the work, the same as if you were not on TRT. I struggled really badly loosing weight, no matter how clean i ate, or how long i spent in the gym. Now if my diet is in check and my cals in vs out is right, fat will come off. I've never really had much issues building muscle, but it is now easier for me.
Sex life is much better, before I couldn't really care less about sex at all. My mood is generally always better, i dont dwell on things anywhere near as much as i used. Sleep is generally better, and if i have a bad nights sleep, you can get through the day with a lot less hours like when you were younger.
If there is anything else you want to know, feel free to ask.
This ^^^
Thanks for the detailed response its great. In terms of putting in the work, im making a good effort to do that. Im pretty consistent with 4 days a week weights training and ive managed to go through cut and bulk phases quite well, although the fact that I weigh and track everything i consume is critical here.
With TRT its more a consideration for me manly now due to age, i turned 40 last year and im starting to notice some of the symtoms of low test, however having never checked my levels its a complete unknown if thats related or not.
With TRT its more a consideration for me manly now due to age, i turned 40 last year and im starting to notice some of the symtoms of low test, however having never checked my levels its a complete unknown if thats related or not.
No problem.
As far as symptoms, it is very hard to tell, there is other factors that can make you have the same symptoms as low test. The only way to find out is a blood test. The NHS one, 90% of the time, they'll test testosterone, and not free test as well which is critical.
If you want to know, the private blood tests aren't expensive really for just a hormone panel.
Man of Honour
Optimale offer a pretty comprehensive test for an absolute bargain compared to most if you want to get tested
Soldato
Lets talk Barbell vs Dumbbell Rows.
The program I am on has both barbells on one day (3x6-8) and dumbbells on the other (3x8-12).
I switched the barbell rows to dumbbell rows because I just don't think (due to my form) that I get much out of barbell rowing.
However the issue is with dumbbells when going heavy I will hit a plateau much earlier than with the barbell.
So for sets of 6-8 on the dumbbell I am rowing 32kg. I imagine 34kg and beyond will be super slow progress because I am just not that strong to deal with such heavy dumbbells.
So I tried today to do barbell rows instead. But I just don't think they are that effective. (at least with my form)
I find the range of movement limited compared to the dumbbells. More importantly I just don't feel much contraction in the back muscles.
Is it just that I have to stick with it and practice the movement or should I just go back to doing heavy dumbbell rows if that's what I think I get the most bang for buck from?
This suggests that dumbbells rows are superior anyway.
The program I am on has both barbells on one day (3x6-8) and dumbbells on the other (3x8-12).
I switched the barbell rows to dumbbell rows because I just don't think (due to my form) that I get much out of barbell rowing.
However the issue is with dumbbells when going heavy I will hit a plateau much earlier than with the barbell.
So for sets of 6-8 on the dumbbell I am rowing 32kg. I imagine 34kg and beyond will be super slow progress because I am just not that strong to deal with such heavy dumbbells.
So I tried today to do barbell rows instead. But I just don't think they are that effective. (at least with my form)
I find the range of movement limited compared to the dumbbells. More importantly I just don't feel much contraction in the back muscles.
Is it just that I have to stick with it and practice the movement or should I just go back to doing heavy dumbbell rows if that's what I think I get the most bang for buck from?
This suggests that dumbbells rows are superior anyway.
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Soldato
I struggle with feeling engagement in my lats with rows but I've found I feel way more with a barbell when more upright. Before I'd either do pendlay rows or rows from the angle of pendlay and never really got anything out of them. I changed to more of a 45-60 degree hinge at the hips (as opposed to 90 degrees) and now when I squeeze the barbell back to my hips, I feel a lot more engagement. I feel more with a barbell row.
TBH my mind muscle connection to my back is terrible and by far my weakest.
TBH my mind muscle connection to my back is terrible and by far my weakest.
Soldato
OK lets talk another subject. Bulgarian split squats.
Who does them? Are they really as good as I read online?
If you had a primary slot for legs on one out of two leg days are Bulgarian split squats really worth doing over a leg press for example?
(I already do heavy squats on the other leg day)
Who does them? Are they really as good as I read online?
If you had a primary slot for legs on one out of two leg days are Bulgarian split squats really worth doing over a leg press for example?
(I already do heavy squats on the other leg day)