Poll: ***The all new gymrats thread***

Do we archive this thread and start a new one for 2010?

  • Yeah good idea.

    Votes: 11 78.6%
  • Nah I'm happy with this one.

    Votes: 3 21.4%

  • Total voters
    14
Status
Not open for further replies.
Go on then honey bunny recommend us a few better options then please:)?

Sure thing hun - just because it's you! ;) :D

If you want some carbs before bed or some slow release energy you can't beat grinding/blending some oats and pouring them ontop of cottage cheese with some cinnamon for example. Delicious and perfect - protein, and some complex carbs perfect.

The problem with weetabix is that it's so carb heavy and does contain quite a bit of sugar, and you have to take it with milk - it's stogy and not that easy to digest.

A good other alternative is soup - but you've got to be wary of the "creamy" ones as they again won't digest well - but the advantage of liquids/smoothies/soups is that it takes your stomach longer to empty, and ergo, keeps you full longer and the nutrients are absorbed over time.

Taking some carbs before bed is good/fine and can even help you sleep, but it's a balance. Weetabix is very carb heavy.

Try and balance something with low GI and some proteins, but really not a big helping. KEep away from fruits before bed too.
 
There's more than oats - I'm just saying whilst weetabix is a good cereal compared to all the other crap they sell, it's still got lots of sugars in it... But maybe I'm being excessively harsh. However 6 before going to bed is too much. 1 biscuit or 2 at the most is more than enough, the rest is just going to do nothing for you bar load your digestive system unduly before sleep.
 
Haven't posted here in ages, but just popped in to say my debut bout was moved to the 20th so it's next Friday. I'm in good shape and feel confident, I fully expect to come posting in here on Saturday that I won :D

Anyway, wish me luck :p

Good luck. Keep your guard up and your feet quick. :)

Good luck, don't get too overconfident though, that's a quick way to getting dumped on your backside in boxing I'd have thought.

And take note of this. Respect your opponent. Always.
 
Benny, you seem to like the pec dec - any reason? I really don't get on with it and find it a really unnatural movement, and find it aggravates shoulder issues, but also I just don't find it an effective exercise. Not saying you shouldn't do it, but curious as to why you are doing it. :) Or do you just do it for a warm up?
 
100kcal a week extra doesn't seem like much, at your level does it make that much of a difference? I really have no idea, which is why I'm asking ^^

I'd agree but it depends what his base level was. If it was 2500 cals, that's a 4% increase... not really a huge amount unless PK means 100cals extra week on week incrementally? But we don't know what he was starting on.
 
As I thought it was incremental. :) Very sensible way of increasing calories, minimises the body's natural reaction to harvest calories. :) How high are you going to go? Up to 2700? That would be a 500 cal increase over 5 weeks which should see you gain 0.5 a week or so if you're doing it right.


Benny, that makes sense - I love cable flies, they're brilliant, unfortunately we don't have that in our gym :( But you're right, the key is tension at all times. Great exercise!
 
10x 60kg, 10x 70kg, 5x 80kg, 5x 90kg, 5x 100, PB 1x 110kg.

Nice! :cool: On my 6th set (like yours) I just failed on 100kg - but that was push press really rather than shoulder pressing alone - so I have some work to do!! Good work mate!

new pb for me today as well, managed 6 reps with 97.5 on my flat bench press.
100kg bench, here I come! :D

Nice! It's nice breaking 4 plates - it's a big achievement, you're pretty much there I reckon.

not really been doing anything specific recently, just going with the flow.
anyway, 205kg squat this evening, just about parallel.

Monster squatting!
 
A slight bend in the arms is what you need for flies, just lock the elbows into place. You only want a slight bend mind you... Straight arms puts too much strain on the shoulder socket.
 
Yeah, he's taking in more protein than me! :D Still it's his money, if it works for him.... People know the science and my thoughts.

The only thing I don't like from the diet it the prawn mayo sandwich. I'd also spread your food out better, you seem to eat a lot at dinner - which is good as it's your post work out meal, but make sure it's not too soon before bed. :)

No eggs or fish or nuts or similar? Just wondering we can improve your breakfast and lunch a bit...

I presume you eat lots of green veg too? I saw broccoli, but just want to find out how much veg you do eat. :)
 
Cheers guys.

FF - point taken about the whey powder. I just can't bring myself to eat enough natural food for some reason.

Regarding fish, I used to eat a lot of tuna in wholemeal bread with low fat mayo, but I'm going through a phase of struggling with tuna in terms of boredom. My main fish intake comes from the occasional tin of mackarel (once per week or so) and the evening meal haddock or cod I mentioned above. So my oily fish intake is low.

At the weekends I eat scrambled or poached eggs for breakfast, but hardly ever eat eggs in the week. I'm actually allergic to nuts so unfortunately they are out of the question. This is a bummer as they seem like the ideal snack (except for the fact that they'd kill me :D).

Regarding veg, I don't actually eat that much so when I said 'plenty', maybe it wasn't plenty. I eat maybe a fistful of broccoli on most evenings with my evening meal, none at any other time of the day. We normally chuck in some red peppers or carrots also. I've wondered recently - is the benefit of eating lots of veg that it fills you up more and prevents you eating rubbish later in the evening, or that it provides you with lots of low calorie vitamins?

cristi - I will add some oats to my shake post workout, thanks.

Veg is v. important. Certainly green leafy veggies. So kale, broccoli, rocket, spinach etc... really important. Try some mange tout, squash, sweet corn, carrots, and if you like it beetroot - amazing root veg, seriously good for you. :) Yes it does fill you up, but for the evening meal it's actually better as it's not too calorific and works well as it slows the digestion process down.

Try some smoke oily fish like mackerel - you can have it cold too. Salmon steaks, trout, tuna steaks, haddock (I try and keep away from cod just because it's over farmed... ) and sea food is brilliant too.

For snacks, try some hummous (chickpeas) and carrots/celery, very tasty snack.

I know it hurts the wallet and if it is a struggle to buy wholefoods then shakes it must be. But don't go crazy, you don't need 250g of protein. At your bodyweight 150 is more than enough, and remember that it ends up turning to glucose ultimately and it's an expensive way of doing it and ends up doing nothing for you.

Chicken thighs are great - just cook lots and take them into work with you.

Make lots of lean mince (onions, chopped tomatoes, herbs and spices) and freeze it or take it with you the next day. Bring some cous cous into work (you just need boiling water) and you've got a good protein and complex carb mix there.

Munch on fruits and cottage cheese at work.

I used to do this - but fortunately for me I have an amazing cafe next to work which is run by a gym rat, so he makes lots of low gi high protein foods and snacks. I could do it myself, but I work long hours, and the food is great quality, and it hasn't done me any harm. If I worked normal hours, I'd have much more time do that. However, I do practice what I preach a couple of times a week - just not every day, besides I'm lucky that I can afford it, which not everyone can I know.

MAke some protein flapjacks for work - great snack and cheap to make.

I often have soups and chicken for snack/lunch - I also make wholemeal pittas with chicken etc to keep me satiated. I eat lots of fruit and veg - probably 10 a day combined. I also go for jacket potatoes, salads, pasta, chilli mince (lean), bagels with cottage cheese etc...

For gaining weight and hardcore weight lifting programs you musn't be scared to eat - it's SO easy to do, you just need a bit of forethought or be lucky to have a gym rat cafe round the corner from work! :D

The diet doesn't have to be boring, but it does include a lot of eggs, fish, and chicken, green veggies (and other veggies), complex carbs and so on. It can get samey. Treat yourself to a cheat meal once a week though like a curry, or pizza etc... You have to reward yourself.

It takes a LOT of planning to get the diet right. When I used to live alone I had space and time to make vats of mince, stews and roast chickens - but even now whilst I don't, I still get 3000k calories a day with only 1 post work out shake containing protein (30g max) and carbs.

If I change jobs I'll be gutted owing to the cafe I have near me (he used to compete at an amateur level (he's in his 50s now though), but even before I moved there (1yr ago) I managed to put on some decent mass as you've all seen.

You can do it mate - it's hard work, but you can do it.
 
Chicken and what, pleeeeeeeeeeease? :D

Whoever recommended coffee and a banana before every workout should have an e-medal, it's a fantastic little trick. Really feel that extra bit of effort going in.

Back workout today, enjoying it more and more which is good considering I generally hate back workouts.

I've suggested it many times - glad it helped you. :)
 
Nice strength Benny - getting some decent numbers coming up now. :)

neon - well done on the 1/10th of a tonne - it's a great milestone, keep it up! :)
 
If you can't do WG pull up you're missing on a key strength IMO - unless of course you have shoulder problems then it's understandable. Not being able to pull your own weight up is pretty shocking tbh.
 
Not really. I bet the vast vast majority of office types couldn't pull their own weight up.
]

Which re-inforces my point, it's pathetic. It's a bodyweight exercise... like a pressup, or a bodyweight squat. It's ridiculous.

I have trouble pulling my own weight up and i'm stronger than your average person - only issue is I do currently weigh 17stone so it's a lot to pull up :)

So? Get stronger. Even at 16st earlier in the year I could do WG pull ups. Heck I do them with 20kg around my waist. No excuse.

No one would be able to to a WG pull up if they didn't go to the gym.

I know I couldn't when i first started, yet could do chin ups easily.

That's my point, people should be able to do at least 1 bodyweight WG chins. I'd probably have a breakdown if someone couldn't do NG chins! :D


I personally believe that the basic fundementals and basic body weight exercises should be achieveable, be it, dips, chins, press ups, etc... If you can't do it, you're muscularly under-developed - it's as simple as that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom