Jump to content

The Gym Thread...


downhill_rob2@hotmail.com

Recommended Posts

You'll shit all over that course Dave, I promise. I've met some that have passed it and they didn't know their arse from their elbow. That's not to discredit the course, rather that I know you know what you're talking about. Relax and let it happen and you'll pass no problem.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Little update from me, not been on the forum much recently as I've been super busy but here's what I've been up to.

I'm now 5 weeks into my cut and am about 4.2kg (9.25lb) down, I attribute some of this to water weight from dropping my carbs. I think I'm probably losing weight a little fast as I was aiming for around 1.5lb per week so have upped my calories a little.

I'm using Legion Athletics Phoenix, which claims to add an extra 0.5lb per week, which means I'm actually on target. Although I've always been sceptical of supplements claiming to help you lose weight this has definitely contributed to the most success I've ever seen in terms of body composition change. There could be an element of me sticking to my diet more as these fat burners were expensive, nothing like monetary motivation!

I'd say I've got from a little over 20% body fat to around the 14% area, though this is just from looking in the mirror and taking calliper readings (no bodpod or any of that jazz). Currently taking a week off Phoenix to maintain sensitivity and the appetite suppressant component of it is definitely showing and I'm eating a bit more. Can't decide whether the effectiveness of it is due to the appetite suppressant or the 'increased basal metabolic rate', but given that I'm finally making progress I don't particularly care!
 

Also what's the deal with this Kimera Koffee? Seems like a lot of fitness people are raving about it, seems like it's a coffee with some supplements blended in? I think maybe @isitafox uses it and could share some knowledge.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's from the Dominican Republic (which is usually good coffee anyway) with added Taurine, L-Theanine, Alpha GPC and Deanol. 

The Alpha GPC is supposed to be a cognitive enhancer and has been used to treat alzheimers. 

The L-Theanine is an amino acid and has been proven to lower anxiety, aid better sleep and when paired with caffeine it gives faster reaction and memory reaction times. 

Deanol has similar cognitive enhancements to Alpha GPC along with improved red blood cell function which helps with oxygen efficiency, muscle function, etc... 

Taurine has a number of functions which I can't be bothered to list as I'm on my phone but it's essential in the body, Wikipedia gives a lot of good info on it. 

Definitely works for me as a pre-workout over regular coffee, I've got a bag of the regular and the Jujimufu dark blend which I'm currently working through. This one has quite a strong dark taste to it which I like, will definitely be getting more when this is gone! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually have a coffee before/as I'm climbing so it sounds like something like that might be useful for me, although when I looked into it the other day it looked £30-35~ which is a little out of my price range for something to try on the off chance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I went out and bought some l-theanine after doing some research, I'm studying at the moment and it seems like the ideal supplement. 

I took two 200mg doses yesterday (both without caffeine), the first (2pm) made me feel quite blunt and a little tired - not conducive to a good days work! The second (9pm) contributed to what I'd say is the most restful sleep I've ever had. I went to sleep at 10:30pm and woke up naturally at 2am feeling like I'd had 8 hours sleep, I then woke up every hour and a half roughly as my body simply wasn't tired any more. I really was the strangest feeling. 

Today I took a 200mg dose in my morning coffee and I've been powering through all day, far more efficient than I've been in ages. Thought this nootropics business was a bit far fetched, but I'll definitely be purchasing some of this coffee having experienced the effects of one of the ingredients. Highly recommend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Alright, So after a lot of hard work, ive managed to get my body fat down just above 9% which i'm super happy with, but at the beginning of next year i want to really start to pack on more muscle and up my weight, at the moment i'm sitting very comfortably at 71kg, and have spent the past year using  lean whey. but i'm not sure if i should start to steer away from the LEAN whey to help add a little more weight to my body, and just opt for the standard whey instead, i understand the basic principles of gaining mass, eat more of the right thing, lift more etc but the last thing i want is to basically undo all my hard work this year by packing on loads of useless weight, i have zero interest in using any mass building supplements, with a picture of a giant veiny bull on the front of it headbutting a grenade. id rather stick to just whey protein and good old fashioned food, as much as possible.

Edit: summary

Is using a Diet/lean whey as apposed to a standard whey going to dramatically decrease my chances of building more muscle 

Edited by Davetrials
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 No diet whey will not affect growth as long as you consume enough complete  protien along with carbs and fats. Diet whey will not keep you lean either if your training for a bit of muscle . May be cheaper just to use a standard whey isolate . 

On the subject of staying lean there is no need to shy away from fat either. Needed to shuttle nutrients and produce hormones for mass building . 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's my take from what seems like a similar position to you. I'm sure some of the people who like to know the science behind stuff can pick holes in what I'm about to say, but how's about just don't? Dave seems to want a simple route, and doesn't seem to need results yesterday, so here's how I've done stuff with similar goals. I started probably about a year ago trying to put on some weight, started at 65kg/14%, now around 73kg/12%

  • Eat more, of the right stuff
    • Boring but true. I can't stand eating breakfast, so I went for cereal bars. I eat chicken and rice every lunchtime during the week. The rest of my meals are outside of my control, but my wife does make sure we're eating relatively healthily. I haven't really bothered with protein shakes after the first few months, although I'm thinking about making them more regular again as I've plateaued a bit.
  • Lift more, with variety
    • I do weight oriented stuff on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I think blocking out a specific time to go do stuff, and keeping yourself free in that time is a massive factor. I leave the office for the gym at 10:15 on each of those days, so have to keep my day free a little bit either side to make sure I go. 
    • I generally go chest and back on Monday, arms and shoulders on Wednesday, and legs on Friday. I superset everything, and do abs as active rest throughout – I think that really helps keep the heart rate up. It probably comes at a detriment of full lifting power, but I'll get to that.
    • I don't have a specific plan of when I'm going to do high reps/low weight and vice versa. I basically just go with how I feel in a given week. Make sure you do get some of both in though.
  • Cardio.
    • I run on Tuesdays & Thursdays, and try to get one in at the weekend as well. As far as I'm concerned, this is easily the most important part of my training. Ultimately this part is about being healthier, rather than just vain. The fitter you are, the better. I don't think trials counts, it needs to be something that you can be in constant pain during for at least half an hour. 
  • f**k the numbers
    • I have no idea what my one rep maxes are, and I don't care. I also don't go into any session thinking of what I lifted in the previous session. Each exercise I do my warmup, see how I feel, and lift a weight that is an educated guess based on that. If I was aiming to do 10 reps but I've clearly chosen a weight too light, I'll carry on to 15 or whatever and make sure I up the weight next set. The only aim is to feel sick at the end of every session, and the level at which that happens will change depending on your fuelling, your mood, or whether venus is in retrograde.
  • Enjoy it.
    • Stop weighing yourself, just go to the gym because you want to. Run because you want to. Eat well because you want to. Then when you do remember to weigh yourself, or measure your biceps or whatever, you'll be pleasantly surprised at your progress.

As I mentioned, I am not some prophet of the most efficient way to put on lean mass, but my way has been enjoyable and sustainable while allowing me to put on 12% of body weight in about a year. Not being too strict also means I get to drink beer and eat takeaways, yay!

Edited by JD™
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, isitafox said:

Bit random but what milk do you drink? 

i don't drink milk, i mix everything with water. 

11 hours ago, JD™ said:

Here's my take from what seems like a similar position to you. I'm sure some of the people who like to know the science behind stuff can pick holes in what I'm about to say, but how's about just don't? Dave seems to want a simple route, and doesn't seem to need results yesterday, so here's how I've done stuff with similar goals. I started probably about a year ago trying to put on some weight, started at 65kg/14%, now around 73kg/12%

  • Eat more, of the right stuff
    • Boring but true. I can't stand eating breakfast, so I went for cereal bars. I eat chicken and rice every lunchtime during the week. The rest of my meals are outside of my control, but my wife does make sure we're eating relatively healthily. I haven't really bothered with protein shakes after the first few months, although I'm thinking about making them more regular again as I've plateaued a bit.
  • Lift more, with variety
    • I do weight oriented stuff on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I think blocking out a specific time to go do stuff, and keeping yourself free in that time is a massive factor. I leave the office for the gym at 10:15 on each of those days, so have to keep my day free a little bit either side to make sure I go. 
    • I generally go chest and back on Monday, arms and shoulders on Wednesday, and legs on Friday. I superset everything, and do abs as active rest throughout – I think that really helps keep the heart rate up. It probably comes at a detriment of full lifting power, but I'll get to that.
    • I don't have a specific plan of when I'm going to do high reps/low weight and vice versa. I basically just go with how I feel in a given week. Make sure you do get some of both in though.
  • Cardio.
    • I run on Tuesdays & Thursdays, and try to get one in at the weekend as well. As far as I'm concerned, this is easily the most important part of my training. Ultimately this part is about being healthier, rather than just vain. The fitter you are, the better. I don't think trials counts, it needs to be something that you can be in constant pain during for at least half an hour. 
  • f**k the numbers
    • I have no idea what my one rep maxes are, and I don't care. I also don't go into any session thinking of what I lifted in the previous session. Each exercise I do my warmup, see how I feel, and lift a weight that is an educated guess based on that. If I was aiming to do 10 reps but I've clearly chosen a weight too light, I'll carry on to 15 or whatever and make sure I up the weight next set. The only aim is to feel sick at the end of every session, and the level at which that happens will change depending on your fuelling, your mood, or whether venus is in retrograde.
  • Enjoy it.
    • Stop weighing yourself, just go to the gym because you want to. Run because you want to. Eat well because you want to. Then when you do remember to weigh yourself, or measure your biceps or whatever, you'll be pleasantly surprised at your progress.

As I mentioned, I am not some prophet of the most efficient way to put on lean mass, but my way has been enjoyable and sustainable while allowing me to put on 12% of body weight in about a year. Not being too strict also means I get to drink beer and eat takeaways, yay!

Cheers for the help, and as you mentioned, i take a similar laid back approach , the only thing i'm quite strict about is what i eat, every breakfast is a mixture of porridge ground bran, and a scoop of lean whey mixed with hot water and 3 eggs on the side for breakfast with lunch a dinner being a variant of chicken every week day, with either broccoli green beans brown rice, and sweet potatoes, my days off(i have 2 random days off a week) are what ever i feel like, my training is a strict regime of pull ups push ups and dips as a warm up, and they i sort of cartwheel though gym picking up what ever takes my fancy at the time, which is hardly ideal id really like to have the discipline to narrow down some exact work outs, which would probably really benefit me, but to be honest, i'm not sure what i'm doing half the time. i also manage to squeeze in a good riding session 2-3 times a week as well, and as you mentioned your self i have no idea what i can lift, and i don't really weigh my self until recently, i got the works done. id really like to take my fitness by the balls and really start to get my head around it just to see what how far i can go with it really. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Disciplined workout is what you need keeping track of exact weights/sets/reps done and stick with that for 4-6 weeks. It's well worth downloading an app called Jefit, makes life so much easier regarding keeping track of workouts. I can give you a couple to try out if you want?? 

Reading what you eat it all sounds good to me just maybe worth sticking some amino acids in with breakfast, pre and post workout and before bed along with a good slow burn protein shake at night. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Cheeky bit of a bump here. 

Joined my local this last week, first session in and I actually enjoyed myself. Bit of backstory: 

always wanted to join a gym, but honestly too scared to ever get around to it. In secondary school I had some serious self esteem issues, and I remember having a minor breakdown when my family tried to get me to go swimming. It's stayed with me to this day, and 99% of the time I will never wear a t-shirt, just because of that self consciousness. (It'll always be a long sleeve rolled up/hoodie.) 

3 years of trials has definitely helped, I pretty much consider myself pretty physically fit physique wise, but I'm still not confident enough to wear a t-shirt normally. My friend and I sort of pushed ourselves constantly to go to the gym, and finally we decided "f**k it" and joined. 

my goal for myself:

to be able to wear a t-shirt and shorts normally, and not feel like I need to just get in a bin and stay there. 

When I look in the mirror, I have the building blocks of everything (forgive my lack of knowledge, here.) abs, chest, arms and shoulders are all THERE, and they weren't at all before I started trials (thanks, trials!) 

so, here's my routine. Basically, I just want to get beefier but nothing ridiculous. Just enough so this stupid self esteem issue can be a thing of the past. And then go from there. 

Please bear in my mind I know nothing, this is just from what I think would be best. Any help is MASSIVELY appreciated. I'm also not high up on the world of moneys, so supplement etc you'll have to advise me if I need them at all, for what I'm doing. Ok!

1 mile walk/jog

quite a while on the bikes, cross trainers, building up the resistance as I go. 

Leg press. Just as much as I can, really. 

Rest of session, all the upper body machines. 

Warm down of another mile of walking.

usually 3 days a week.

I've been quite vague on reps there, simply because I have no idea.

thanks guys.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First thing to note is the warmup/cooldown. Basically if you're gonna be doing full body workouts then you want to warm your whole body up and not just your legs. Think of working on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being fresh as a daisy and 10 being absolutely slogging your guts out, you want to warm up either on a rower or X-trainer for 3-5 mins building yourself up to around a level 6-7 (maybe heart rate around 135-150bpm). Again for the cool down maybe get on a bike or treadmill and slowly lower your heart rate over the space of about 5 mins, working from your workout rate of level 7-8 down to about a 3.

If you want I'd be happy to come up with a couple of workout plans for you to try out, would be doing me a massive favour more than anything as I need to get people trying stuff out and some feedback on it all!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, isitafox said:

First thing to note is the warmup/cooldown. Basically if you're gonna be doing full body workouts then you want to warm your whole body up and not just your legs. Think of working on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being fresh as a daisy and 10 being absolutely slogging your guts out, you want to warm up either on a rower or X-trainer for 3-5 mins building yourself up to around a level 6-7 (maybe heart rate around 135-150bpm). Again for the cool down maybe get on a bike or treadmill and slowly lower your heart rate over the space of about 5 mins, working from your workout rate of level 7-8 down to about a 3.

If you want I'd be happy to come up with a couple of workout plans for you to try out, would be doing me a massive favour more than anything as I need to get people trying stuff out and some feedback on it all!

That would be fantastic dude, massively appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure I'd spend time doing cardio before weight training, you're using up a large proportion of your glycogen burning calories on a cross trainer that when you come to lift weights after you'll likely find you feel very drained. Really interested to see what you come up with Dave, been following your IG updates for a while now! 
 

In other news.. I hit 130kg on the deadlift right at the end of my workout last week (almost a PR), seems the strength is coming back after this long cut. What weight would you guys say it would be appropriate to use a belt? I squat ~100kg and deadlift ~110kg in training, I'm only 5'8 and have a small frame (small joints and 30" waist). I don't want to put too much stress on my lower back but really need to push the weight up to progress. Any tips/experience would be helpful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone on here experienced or knowledgeable with diet plans?

i had signed up for one with a trainer but didnt see enough change in the two months i was on it (i know ti obviously takes time)
I also felt there wasnt enough variation food wise (is this normal for 2 months)?

I currently weigh 80kgs but not wanting to get much bigger size wise more cut down the body fat.

Activity wise i dont trials bike as much these days so its more freeweights 4 times a week and ice hockey 3 times a week.

14872585_10154828892388968_622731091_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

My diet plan saw me drop my overall body fat percentage down a huge amount after the first month, but i went really clean, no beer no snacks, only water, my diet consisted of chicken, brown rice, sweet potato, broccoli and green beans. oats and protein shakes, and huge amount of eggs, after a solid month of that with a good gym plan i gained muscle, but lost a huge amount of body fat. it was mundane, but if you want results just look at food as fuel, and accept the fact that food will eventually just be a chore, depending how much time you have you can obviously had spices and what not, but i just kept it super simple, i've stuck with it, but allow my self to have anything i want, in moderation and just work it off the next day

Edited by Davetrials
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...