The get fit, stay fit thread

[Gaz]

Just out of interest, is it Starting Strength you're doing?

[ICTChris]

Just out of interest, is it Starting Strength you're doing?

I’m not doing them but I do use online stuff that is connected to SS. Barbell Logic have good videos on YouTube covering the lifts.

I’m avoiding doing a programme because depending on what I’m doing with my son I might not make it to the gym for a week or so. Also depends in work, I am sometimes away for a week and can’t train.

[dorlomin]

On 16/07/2018 at 12:25, Ross. said:

Still managing 2-3 times a week but noticed recently that I have put a wee bit of weight back on and I am now only 1kg lighter than when I started, having lost around 3.5kg at one point. Might drop a bit on the weights and concentrate more on cardio again.

Weight is not the greatest measure. You have (sort of) two main components:

1)Lean body mass.

2) Body fat. 

The important thing for health is not the over all weight but the ratio of body fat to weight. 

Your lean tissue is your bones, organs, muscle etc. The other is your body fat. 

A person at 90kgs with 60kgs lean body mass will look very different to someone with 90kgs and 80kgs of lean body mass. 

There are various ways to measure it, most gyms have machines, you can use online calculators with tape measures or you can buy a cheap skin fold caliper. 

Dropping the resistance training\weights could lead to you losing muscle for fat, even with the extra cardio. 

[dorlomin]

On 25/07/2018 at 22:45, Thistle_do_nicely said:

Tried going from 2.5kg at the start and adding an extra 2.5KG each week, nice and straightforward at first but pretty much now hit a plateau on most of the exercises @ about 10kg per dumbbell. Saying that I managed to bump the standing dumbbell row up to 12.5kg today and a combination of increasing the exertion + the heat made me work up some amount of sweat, was literally dripping off my forehead!

Lateral raises for my shoulders are a fucking nightmare, can do them relatively comfortably at 5kg but every time I've tried bumping it up to 7.5kg I physically can't raise them wide enough without getting pain in both shoulders and sometimes even my neck, which is shite.

Couple of possible tips. Start varying the "cadence" that is the rate at which you work. The best is to aim for  one second on the concentric and three seconds eccentric. Concentric is when the muscle is shortening the eccentric is when it is lengthening. so pulling up on a curl is concentric and when its going down this is the eccentric on the curl. This is because the eccentric is where you are stronger and will build more muscle. 

Also have no fear of varying your reps and you seek to increase your weights. 1-6 reps of a heavy weight will build more strength, 6-12 will build more "hypertrophy" that is muscle size and 12-20 will build more endurace, the underlying physiology here is about muscle fibre types. 

Dont be afraid to mix your sets during a week so if you are aiming for 3*10 curls but want to build to go a weight up aim for 11 or 12*3 (and keep pushing on the reps) on the 1st and 3rd work out but add the 2.5kgs and live with a 6*3 rep set in the middle (or less till you build up the strength). Then as you get more strength perhaps switch the whole week to being able to do 8*3 then spend the week doing 8*3 one weight up till you plateau there again and go to for the split again. 

Edited August 7, 2018 by dorlomin

[ICTChris]

One thing I was going to ask was how’s best to incorporate HIIT into my routine?

[dorlomin]

5 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

One thing I was going to ask was how’s best to incorporate HIIT into my routine?

After the weights and abs work as a finisher.  Unless you want to do it on a separate day. 

The general idea is start with the biggest most complex movement  lifts, your dead lifts, squats, pull ups. Go to your smaller more isolation lifts like your curls and shoulder presses, then your abs and finally your cardio. The most complex and demanding (in terms of muscle control) stuff first then work smaller until you do cardio with what you have left. 

[Dee Man]

Been going to Crossfit for a couple of weeks and had found all the workouts relatively enjoyable until I did 5 minute non-stop 24 kg kettlebell swings yesterday. Fucking hell. 

[ah-dee]

just read through about 10 pages and seen that someone mentioned muscle foods somewhere but i cant bloody find the post now!

 

anyway ive had to give up exercise at the moment but have still carried on with muscle foods. the quality of their products are fantastic and value for money. i tried them as an alternative to butchers meat and have stuck with them. apart from their lean steak mince it was piss poor!

 

i had to take the packs apart and freeze the individual fillets singularly to maximize space. i have a picture of one of the £40(ish) hampers i have got somewhere so will have a look for it

 

eta found it and the picture doewnt do as much justice as i thought but here it is

[ah-dee]

by the way my missus sent the picture to me. hence that piss annoying writting on the picture

[Aufc]

Been going to Crossfit for a couple of weeks and had found all the workouts relatively enjoyable until I did 5 minute non-stop 24 kg kettlebell swings yesterday. Fucking hell. 

Crossfit only works if you tell everyone about it

[MONKMAN]

Last couple of times I’ve ordered from muscle food, it’s been pretty poor. Quality seems to have declined and the prices are definitely on the increase.

Tried a place Rendall’s of Stirling and probably wouldn’t go back to muscle food now.

https://www.onlinebutcher.co.uk/

[Dee Man]

1 hour ago, Aufc said:

 

Crossfit only works if you tell everyone about it

 

Ok. 

[ICTChris]

39 minutes ago, MONKMAN said:

Last couple of times I’ve ordered from muscle food, it’s been pretty poor. Quality seems to have declined and the prices are definitely on the increase.

Tried a place Rendall’s of Stirling and probably wouldn’t go back to muscle food now.

https://www.onlinebutcher.co.uk/

I just buy my meat from Lidl  

That £70 freezer pack looks great though.

[ah-dee]

Last couple of times I’ve ordered from muscle food, it’s been pretty poor. Quality seems to have declined and the prices are definitely on the increase.

Tried a place Rendall’s of Stirling and probably wouldn’t go back to muscle food now.

https://www.onlinebutcher.co.uk/

i cant fault the quality bar the aforementioned steak mince. everyones different though. will most likely give your link a go though next time for a vhange so thanks

[ICTChris]

9 hours ago, dorlomin said:

After the weights and abs work as a finisher.  Unless you want to do it on a separate day. 

The general idea is start with the biggest most complex movement  lifts, your dead lifts, squats, pull ups. Go to your smaller more isolation lifts like your curls and shoulder presses, then your abs and finally your cardio. The most complex and demanding (in terms of muscle control) stuff first then work smaller until you do cardio with what you have left. 

Thanks.  I've read conflicting things about doing cardio in the same session as weights.  If I did them on different days I'd have to go to the gym five day a week.  

Usually I do HIIT on a stationary bike, ten minutes at the end of each session could be doable.  Will see how it goes.

[Gnash]

On the subject of meat to help with muscle building, you can't do much better than ostrich.  More protein than beef, way less fat and almost unbelievably about half of the calories. 

Tastes great as well, if cooked properly.

[WullieBroonIsGod]

11 hours ago, Gnash said:

On the subject of meat to help with muscle building, you can't do much better than ostrich.  More protein than beef, way less fat and almost unbelievably about half of the calories. 

Tastes great as well, if cooked properly.

Turkey steaks are pretty decent too.  Though you have to be on the ball cooking them or they can be pretty dry/bland.

[Gaz]

Just ran two miles in 12 mins, 54 seconds

[Ross.]

On 8/8/2018 at 09:57, ICTChris said:

Thanks.  I've read conflicting things about doing cardio in the same session as weights.  If I did them on different days I'd have to go to the gym five day a week.  

Usually I do HIIT on a stationary bike, ten minutes at the end of each session could be doable.  Will see how it goes.

Pretty much the problem I have. I manage 2/3 visits to the gym a week and it would take significant effort to manage any more than that, which I simply cannot be fucked with. Usually just do my usual stuff with the weights and then cardio after. Would probably get better results if I was more focused and structured but I'm not sure I would have the patience or enjoy it as much.

Just renewed the gym membership for another 6 months. Might look at changing my routine a little. Pretty much been doing the same thing on each visit, 3 sets of 10 with the weight increasing gradually:

Leg extensions - 66/73/80kg

Leg curls - 68.5/75.5/82.5kg

Pec fly - 40/47/54

Chest press - 33/40/47

Lat pull down - 54/61/68

Seated bicep curl - 31/38/44

Tricep extension - 29.5/35.5/41.5

Finish is with various combinations of core work, depending on time, then usually 30m HIIT on the bike,

I'm fairly comfortable with the above and not sure what changes I should make. I reckon I should probably add something in to do a bit more for my back and my shoulders, but not sure whether to add or change. Anyone able to make a suggestion?

Edited August 16, 2018 by Ross.

[Raithie]

1 hour ago, Ross. said:

Pretty much the problem I have. I manage 2/3 visits to the gym a week and it would take significant effort to manage any more than that, which I simply cannot be fucked with. Usually just do my usual stuff with the weights and then cardio after. Would probably get better results if I was more focused and structured but I'm not sure I would have the patience or enjoy it as much.

Just renewed the gym membership for another 6 months. Might look at changing my routine a little. Pretty much been doing the same thing on each visit, 3 sets of 10 with the weight increasing gradually:

Leg extensions - 66/73/80kg

Leg curls - 68.5/75.5/82.5kg

Pec fly - 40/47/54

Chest press - 33/40/47

Lat pull down - 54/61/68

Seated bicep curl - 31/38/44

Tricep extension - 29.5/35.5/41.5

Finish is with various combinations of core work, depending on time, then usually 30m HIIT on the bike,

I'm fairly comfortable with the above and not sure what changes I should make. I reckon I should probably add something in to do a bit more for my back and my shoulders, but not sure whether to add or change. Anyone able to make a suggestion?

Whilst I'm no expert I did pick up some hints and tips when I did go to the gym (I now workout at home) and was always told to mix things up a bit every few weeks. Something to do with 'muscle memory' so you're body, over time, will know what to expect if you're doing the same exercises time and time again to the point where your progress will stall. I'm a big fan of super-sets and always incorporate them into my workouts. I only have dumbells in the house but have found heaps of different exercises that can be done for each muscle group. I'm doing this 4 week 4 day workout and already have noticed a difference. As you'll see each day concentrates fully on the relevant muscle group rather than just trying to cram exercises for your entire body. 

Monday - chest and back

Tuesday - biceps and triceps

Wednesday - meant to be a rest day but I play 5's at night

Thursday - legs and abs

Friday - shoulders

Weekend - rest

 

Week 1 - 4 sets of 10

Week 2 - 4 sets of 12

Week 3 - 5 sets of 10

Week 4 - 5 sets of 12

 

Chest and back all super sets:

Floor press

Hammer bent-over row

Dumbell press up

Reverse flye

Wide dumbell press up

Renegade row

 

Biceps and triceps all super sets:

Bicep curls

Tricep extension

Hammer curl

Tricep kick-backs

Spider curl

Narrow dumbell press up

 

Legs all super sets:

Squat

Woodchop

Lunge

Halo

Goblet squat

Crunch

 

Shoulders all super sets:

Overhead press

Lateral raise

Arnold press

Upright row

Front raise

Shrugs