The get fit, stay fit thread

[D.A.F.C]

Anybody got/used one of these :

For the past 6 month or so I've started getting a lot of bother with my wrists when my palms are flat on the ground when doing things like press ups - but they're fine if I do it clenched fist. 
Looking at getting one of these but unsure if the build quality etc is any good. 

I've got one, pretty solid.
Theres a cheaper version on ebay from China. Couldn't see any different except price. Theres one of the back positions that's a total killer. The wide position blue one is really easy and feels like the board helps.

[D.A.F.C]

Got myself a pullup bar at home. Did 20 or so along with workouts four days in a row.
Now walking about like a robot, or it feels like that anyway.
[emoji38]
Definitely pleased with it not felt this much upper body pain since bench pressing years ago.

[Ross.]

2 hours ago, D.A.F.C said:

Got myself a pullup bar at home. Did 20 or so along with workouts four days in a row.
Now walking about like a robot, or it feels like that anyway.

Definitely pleased with it not felt this much upper body pain since bench pressing years ago.

Pull ups or chin ups?

I can manage 8 or so chin ups and 2 pull ups. Frustrates the life out of me that no matter what I do I can't seem to make a dent on either. Even using the weighted bar in the gym, I am fucked when I try and go below 25kg on the pull ups.

Everything else I do I have gradually increased the weight I can manage. Those two have stayed largely static and it pisses me off.

Edited November 29, 2019 by Ross.

[D.A.F.C]

Pull ups or chin ups?
I can manage 8 or so chin ups and 2 pull ups. Frustrates the life out of me that no matter what I do I can't seem to make a dent on either. Even using the weighted bar in the gym, I am fucked when I try and go below 25kg on the pull ups.
Everything else I do I have gradually increased the weight I can manage. Those two have stayed largely static and it pisses me off.

Not in a row. I've only just started.
From fresh maybe five wide pullups or ten chinups.
Not sure about form as I swing a bit.
Got the pullup mate thing so you can also do dips.
I'm just using it as an add on to free weights and multi gym.
I guess unless you build muscle on shoulders then it would be hard to progress? I find it works similar muscles to the lateral pull down exercise which must be helping as I can lift about 80kg on that.

[Ross.]

3 minutes ago, D.A.F.C said:

I guess unless you build muscle on shoulders then it would be hard to progress? I find it works similar muscles to the lateral pull down exercise which must be helping as I can lift about 80kg on that.

Shoulders are probably the muscle I struggle with most. Really need to do more work there but find it too frustrating that they are so weak compared to the rest. Lat pull down I can get up to 60kg or so, then I am done. That ties in with the pull up machine as my weight tends to float around the 82kg mark.

[SaltandPepe]

One month and 6 days since rejoined the gym after 10 months off!
1 stone down, several inches off belly, waist, hips.
Just getting a routine and habit of going to the gym before work, 45 mins on the x trainer (changing the exercise between sprint, hills modes) and at the weekend usually 2 hours with a movie downloaded on skyq!

Amazing how quickly you begin to enjoy it and get addicted by it again!

[LondonHMFC]

When I'm doing something like a bicep curl, my left wrist feels like it's about to give. It feels so weak in comparison to my right one. 

I broke my arm around 15 years ago, and I'm wondering if it's a knock on from that. When I play golf, my wrist clicks as I follow through. 

Got the doctors on Monday, so hopefully able to suggest something. 

Overall been a decent year, bit annoyed at myself for stopping halfway through the year, even still, managed to shift 2 stone this year, and look a lot better for it.  Hopefully continue into 2020.

[sugna]

On 30/10/2019 at 15:06, sugna said:

Brought DL & (slightly inclined) BP back into my training a month ago. Extrapolating 1RMs, I'm at least at the following:

BP: 96% BW

DL: 160% BW

Sort of OK with those, given that I'm just getting back to it but slightly sobering to compare to my numbers from some years ago:

BP: 140% BW (age 20)

DL: 200% BW (age 18, dabbling; suspect I could have gone a air bit higher).

Updates

BP: 105% BW

DL: 181% BW

BP could probably go a bit higher, as I'm still doing inclined and haven't 1RM-tested on a flat bench since 6 October. Hoping to test on 22 December, and would like to get 80kg. (Haven't been over 100kg since 1984.)

DL, not certain about the accuracy, because I'm lifting from slightly higher than floor level (going to sort that out over the holidays with some cunningly-dimensioned MDF).

However, I've found that going public-ish on here has helped me stick to a schedule, which I suppose is really the point of this thread.

9 weeks ago, I set myself targets for both lifts by 22 December - that is, an 11-week programme to the weekend before the holidays. I made the targets "too tough" (as I thought), to give myself some hard incentives. Made the BP target after 8 weeks, and the DL target 2 weeks later. Apart from the boost of this thread, the other obvious advantage is re-introducing specific lifts: the body is desperate to adapt,and prove itself, so you get the first few weeks of improvement for free.

[sugna]

Just now, MixuFixit said:

That's amazing you've kept working out all this time, I hope I manage the same.

That's very generous, but I've tended to do different sports quite intensively, in "few year bursts" - typically taking up things like racket sports and rugby, then moving on after a while. Once I'm playing for the club first team at whatever it is, I find my drive can start to wane a bit.

I've been back at my main sport since 2002, though, which represents the longest I've ever stuck at anything. I've done "some weights" each season, mostly during the winter, and I've lifted a fair amount for 3 of those winters ahead of specific competitions. This winter, encouraged by some new pals I met at competitions in 2019, I've started earlier and with more of a committed approach.

Thinking back, I loaned my home weights to Currie RFC in 1991, and didn't have weights from then until 2003, so I must have been quietly losing strength for over a decade!

[Gaz]

Made a conscious decision a few weeks back that I was utterly sick of cutting and wanted to start building some decent muscle over the winter months. Numbers back then were 80kg squat for 3x5, 45kg bench press for 3x5 and 90kg deadlift for 1x5.

Been eating at a fair surplus of about 3,500 calories and strength is improving steadily. Currently at 102.5kg squat for 4x5, 61kg bench press for 4x5 and 102.5kg deadlift for 4x5. Pretty happy with that in 7/8 weeks considering in the summer I only weighed 154lbs at my lightest. Was 164lbs when I started bulking.

I'm still doing a decent bit of running hence why I'm able to eat a massive surplus without getting huge. I've only put on three pounds

Going to bulk until February / March time and then use training for the Edinburgh Half Marathon to lean out a bit.

[D.A.F.C]

Must be making progress put on a shirt today that used to be loose and it feels tight around top half. Going the right way just need to work a bit on intensity. Been working out a bit late also like ten at night so eating too late.

[die hard doonhamer]

Caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror today and noticed the outline of my man tits showing through my t-shirt. Have done pretty much f**k all exercise since my daughter was born at the start of October. Also recovering from a minor op at the moment, so can't make any start the next couple of weeks, then it's in to Christmas. I fear for how overweight I'll be by the new year.

Back to exercise has to happen then though, I need to arrest this slide.

[Gaz]

14 hours ago, die hard doonhamer said:

Caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror today and noticed the outline of my man tits showing through my t-shirt. Have done pretty much f**k all exercise since my daughter was born at the start of October. Also recovering from a minor op at the moment, so can't make any start the next couple of weeks, then it's in to Christmas. I fear for how overweight I'll be by the new year.

Back to exercise has to happen then though, I need to arrest this slide.

Go out walking.

[stumigoo]

I recently left a small gym at a hotel where I had been a member for a few years (we got married in the hotel so got a great deal). I’m back at one of the big chain gyms and I’m really enjoying it.

In a few months we are moving house and our new home is just a few minutes away from a David Lloyd complex. Has anyone got any good/bad/indifferent experiences of DL? I know that it is incredibly expensive but we are thinking of a family pass for the pools and the kids clubs. Are the facilities that much better than in ‘normal’ gyms, or are you paying for the whole experience and the classes, pools etc?

[Dons_1988]

2 minutes ago, stumigoo said:

I recently left a small gym at a hotel where I had been a member for a few years (we got married in the hotel so got a great deal). I’m back at one of the big chain gyms and I’m really enjoying it.

In a few months we are moving house and our new home is just a few minutes away from a David Lloyd complex. Has anyone got any good/bad/indifferent experiences of DL? I know that it is incredibly expensive but we are thinking of a family pass for the pools and the kids clubs. Are the facilities that much better than in ‘normal’ gyms, or are you paying for the whole experience and the classes, pools etc?

I use DL. I like it but they are pretty outrageous in their annual increases. I've been with them 3 years and think it's gone up between £15-£20 a month in that time.

The gym itself is much better equipped than say a Pure gym or whatever, especially if you're wanting a wider range of exercise than treadmill, machine weights etc but the price really is a big ask. A lot of members seem to use it more as their middle class social club than a gym which I also find a little irritating.

Good gym but probably not worth the expense, in short.

[sugna]

On 10/12/2019 at 15:04, Gaz said:

Made a conscious decision a few weeks back that I was utterly sick of cutting and wanted to start building some decent muscle over the winter months. Numbers back then were 80kg squat for 3x5, 45kg bench press for 3x5 and 90kg deadlift for 1x5.

Been eating at a fair surplus of about 3,500 calories and strength is improving steadily. Currently at 102.5kg squat for 4x5, 61kg bench press for 4x5 and 102.5kg deadlift for 4x5. Pretty happy with that in 7/8 weeks considering in the summer I only weighed 154lbs at my lightest. Was 164lbs when I started bulking.

Gaz, those are nice improvements; but both your starting and current squats are out of proportion with the other lifts. It may be that you know that already, and you may be squatting shallow intentionally; but if not, it could be useful to have another pair of eyes on your squats, and some feedback to make sure they're working as hard for you as they can.

For "proper" squats, as in competition, the received wisdom is that BP:squat:DL comes in at around 3:4:5 (scarily, sometimes expressed as 1.5BW:2BW:2.5BW). That's clearly a big simplification and there's a lot of variation from person to person; however, your other 2 lifts are in conventional proportion, and your squat is apparently about 25% higher than expected. That's more than a normal margin, which is why I'm wondering whether a sanity check would be useful.

[Gaz]

7 minutes ago, sugna said:

Gaz, those are nice improvements; but both your starting and current squats are out of proportion with the other lifts. It may be that you know that already, and you may be squatting shallow intentionally; but if not, it could be useful to have another pair of eyes on your squats, and some feedback to make sure they're working as hard for you as they can.

For "proper" squats, as in competition, the received wisdom is that BP:squat:DL comes in at around 3:4:5 (scarily, sometimes expressed as 1.5BW:2BW:2.5BW). That's clearly a big simplification and there's a lot of variation from person to person; however, your other 2 lifts are in conventional proportion, and your squat is apparently about 25% higher than expected. That's more than a normal margin, which is why I'm wondering whether a sanity check would be useful.

I'm a runner, my legs have always been strong, but my upper body strength has never been the greatest, hence why my BP / S are 'out of proportion' as it were. Did 4x5 at 105kg yesterday with no problems but failed on my second set of 62.5kg bench press.

Edited December 17, 2019 by Gaz

[sugna]

4 hours ago, Gaz said:

I'm a runner, my legs have always been strong, but my upper body strength has never been the greatest, hence why my BP / S are 'out of proportion' as it were. Did 4x5 at 105kg yesterday with no problems but failed on my second set of 62.5kg bench press.

I wouldn't have been surprised by upper body and lower body being slightly disproportionate; but when your BP & DL are "matched", the other big leg lift should(?) be about halfway between them. I could have understood the BP and squat numbers, if they were accompanied by 120kg to 130kg DL. Although it does look as though you may have a bigger DL in you right now.

We aren't out by much on our BP & DL! I did 5+5+4 (decided against going down in a blaze of glory on the last rep) at 65kg, 15 degrees (I think) inclined BP; and 3x5 at 105.75kg DL. My DL is from 2-inch blocks, which I will sort out over the next couple of weeks. BW currently 74.5kg. 

I'm planning to check 1RM either tonight or Sunday - or at a pinch on Christmas Eve. I am training on other stuff all 3 days, so I'll wait and see which night best accommodates weights. Fancying 80kg/130kg, but that may be ambitious. All 3 nights are training at Grangemouth Stadium, so you'll hear a triumphant shout in the unlikely event that I'm successful and you're in Falkirk.

[Gaz]

52 minutes ago, sugna said:

I wouldn't have been surprised by upper body and lower body being slightly disproportionate; but when your BP & DL are "matched", the other big leg lift should(?) be about halfway between them. I could have understood the BP and squat numbers, if they were accompanied by 120kg to 130kg DL. Although it does look as though you may have a bigger DL in you right now.

We aren't out by much on our BP & DL! I did 5+5+4 (decided against going down in a blaze of glory on the last rep) at 65kg, 15 degrees (I think) inclined BP; and 3x5 at 105.75kg DL. My DL is from 2-inch blocks, which I will sort out over the next couple of weeks. BW currently 74.5kg. 

I'm planning to check 1RM either tonight or Sunday - or at a pinch on Christmas Eve. I am training on other stuff all 3 days, so I'll wait and see which night best accommodates weights. Fancying 80kg/130kg, but that may be ambitious. All 3 nights are training at Grangemouth Stadium, so you'll hear a triumphant shout in the unlikely event that I'm successful and you're in Falkirk.

I could probably deadlift about 120/130kg as a 1RM, but there's no way I could do that for 4x5.

[LondonHMFC]

Some of the figures posted on here are absolutely mind boggling to me. My upper body is so weak. I mentioned earlier about my wrist, and now have some physio appointments in January to try and help. 

I don't think it helps that I know little to f**k all on how to improve my strength. I don't really have a plan to follow as such. Mostly stick to the machines, as I am not confident to do anything else in case of injuring myself.