ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ ||| The 2023/2024 Gym Rats Thread ||| ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

Fuzz said:
No homo and all that but is there a thread where you post your progress pics and suff in here or is this it?
Click to expand...

[[[The 2022 Gym Rats Thread]]] ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

Bit of mid year motivation, today is the start of the second half of the year, I hope everyone has had a good first half, and / or is up for pushing the second half of the year! Any 2nd half of the year goals for anyone? I am aiming to bulk now through to the end of the year, goal is to gain...
forums.overclockers.co.uk forums.overclockers.co.uk

That was my latest update. I'll do another one at the same time this year.
 
Fuzz said:
You've all been around the forum as long as I have, so I'm guessing most of you are also past their prime years...
Click to expand...
Past my prime years, turning 40 this year, but comfortably in the best shape ive ever been in. I think i posted some progress pics last year either in the gym rats thread or the weight loss thread.
 
I've lost 21kg since I came out as trans, got a steroid injection into my spine for a slipped disc and started taking care of myself. Now have a personal trainer and my weight has been constant as I've regained some muscle from my calorie controlled diet. Still lost half an inch from my waist and widest point since my weight stabilised.

Really glad with the progress of becoming who I want to be all around.

I always stuck to the machine before but I'm using weights and doing dynamic exercises now.
 
I'm 47, I'd never even thought about joining a gym until 18 months ago, in fact I used to constantly take the micky out friends who did go to the gym and do squats and things like that.

Now I'm heavier than I've ever been having added 25% of my weight and not really any additional fat, despite having a borderline eating disorder when i first started where I just couldn't even eat as much as my 12 year old daughter without feeling sick. I was relying on weight gainer shakes to get calories and protein in.

More to the point, squatting and everything else I love to do now has pulled me out of that dark mental place and the chronic back pain I used to get has pretty much disappeared now my core is so much stronger.
 
If people that watch the latest Peter Attia MD / modern wisom podcast that was uoloaded yesterday and not think deeply about life and the NECESSITY of going to the gym afterwards, I don't think they are facing reality.
 
Exercise and mental health are so closely linked. It's great that you've discovered it. Also big compound movements have been proven time and time again to have the biggest hormonal response and general response to muscle growth and helping with a plethora of other elements. That said, any form of physical exertion for longer than 20 mins again has a multitude of benefits. Good on you!
 
Lets talk flat bench and incline bench for a min.

If given the scenario where you do bench twice a week would you do flat bench twice or flat bench once and incline once?

Both have advantages and disadvantages.
 
Also in all my time looking at routines why are the (basic) upper days of an upper lower routine never structured like this:

Flat Bench 3x6-8 3m rest
Barbell Row 3x6-8 3m rest
OHP 3x6-8 3m rest
Pull ups 3x6-8 3m rest
Some tricep isolation
Some bicep isolation

Usually the final two are done in the higher rep ranges like 8-10 or 10-12 with a 2m rest and pull ups would be substituted for lat pull downs for this very reason.

I mean clearly its for fatigue reasons, but is that really the case?

Is the above set up really that bad?
 
Last edited:
@opethdisciple regarding bench, both variations hit the chest slightly differently. If you only plan to bench twice per week and your not focused on powerlifting or specifically improving your flat bench then do each one once for best coverage.

Regarding the upper workout you posted thats pretty standard. As for the reasoning for isolations of smaller muscles being in the higher rep ranges, this is generally because they need that different stimulus compared to the bigger compound/multi joint movements. Its not about fatigue, you would still higher rep ranges for the isolation work even if you did it first in the workout.
 
Syla5 said:
@opethdisciple regarding bench, both variations hit the chest slightly differently. If you only plan to bench twice per week and your not focused on powerlifting or specifically improving your flat bench then do each one once for best coverage.

Regarding the upper workout you posted thats pretty standard. As for the reasoning for isolations of smaller muscles being in the higher rep ranges, this is generally because they need that different stimulus compared to the bigger compound/multi joint movements. Its not about fatigue, you would still higher rep ranges for the isolation work even if you did it first in the workout.
Click to expand...

Ah sorry, when I said the final two I meant the last two main movements (pull ups and OHP) not bicep and triceps.
 
For reference, I'm 6ft and 12.5 stone. So not big by any stretch, but i don't think I'd look out of place at a boxing weigh-in in terms of tone/definition.

I do one PT session a week and then go to the gym 3/4 times a week.

The PT sessions are great as she is working more on form etc using free weights so that when I work on my own at home or the gym I'm doing things the right way and don't injure my aging body!

However i don't do leg days or body days or whatever, I'll typically go and do every machine I like using in the gym with some free weights thrown in if I'm feeling confident enough to use the things she's shown me.

Normally that involves

Chest press
Chest flys
Lat pull downs
Seated rows
Tricep machine
Bicep curls
Overhead press
Leg press
Adductor
Abductor
Calf raises
Abdominal machine

With some of those repeated depending on machine availability and how long I can keep going.

My routine tends to be 3/4x10 reps alternating between legs and body / arms for 45-60 mins.

Is focusing on legs or body each time more productive than my way of doing things at the stage I'm at in terms of building muscle mass?
 
In terms of whats most productive to building muscle mass, you probably want to priorities Diet > Rest/Sleep > Training.

As for training thers a few variables that can impact whats more efficent or not. General rules of thumb though for natural lifters are hitting each body part at least twice per week with 48-72hours rest in between, or full body routines. You could switch to an Upper Lower, which allows you more emphasis on each day and can allow you to focus on lagging elements but honestly getting your diet (most importantly protein intake) sorted and rest sorted first will have a bigger impact over muscle gain.

Being consistent in going to the gym is more important then how / what your lifting, as long as intensity is enough to make you feel like youve worked out.
 
Diet is definitely holding me back more than anything. I've never been a massive eater (I dont even get the munchies in Amsterdam!) and my metabolism is such that I've always been a lean 10-10.5 stone no matter what I eat or drink, even into my 40s I was still 30/32 inch waist despite drinking way too much, still is that size in fact.

I have to make a conscious effort to maintain my calorie intake. I've given up drinking so much which also helps sleeping and eat loads of chicken, steak and eggs these days, plus oats and yoghurt for breakfast. I should also buy shares in M&Ms because I get through loads of the peanut grab bags as easy protein and calories..

The 48 hour rest bit makes more sense of the whole leg day idea though.
 
wesimmo said:
The 48 hour rest bit makes more sense of the whole leg day idea though.
Click to expand...
Its not full rest between sessions its rest between hitting the same bodypart again. Like i do upper lower split 4x per week monday tuesday thursday friday, which gives my bodyparts the 48+ gap between sessions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom