How was your workout? [Archive]

D-A-C

17th July 2013, 22:48

I've been trying to get my diet sorted for the past month or two now to get in a pattern I'm comfortable maintaining before starting to do some exercise around three times a week that will consist of:

1. 5 Ipod Songs on an Exercise bike, then adding an extra song and adjusting the difficult of pushing the pedals when I feel capable up to a maximum of around 10 songs in a row (roughly 30 mins total but I hate doing exact exercise times).

2. Using dumbells in several positions and 10 motions in each of them (they game with an excellent chart of suggested exercises for them that work each muscle) and then add in 5 more motions in each position when ready up to around 30 in each.

3. 50 skips of a skipping rope adding 50 in each two weeks up to a maximum 250.

However, last night I ate an Oreo cookie for the first time (no joke) ... I finished the packet an hour later. Im not pleased with myself.

:o

Ceallach_the_Witch

18th July 2013, 22:00

Could have been better. Spent some time on excercise bikes (about 35min on the normal ones and 20 minutes on one of those spinner bikes. Then I did a round of stuff for my legs (leg extensions and presses and all that) for some time (can't remember how long) and did some abdominal/chest/back stuff.

unfortunately I had trouble with some stuff and couldn't do a lot of what I wanted to since my left wrist isn't the best at the moment, I jarred it very badly on a bike ride over some very rough roads and it still hurts some. Difficult to grasp heavy things

Ele'ill

18th July 2013, 22:13

2 mile jog before work, then work itself

I've noticed with the increase of oatmeal per smoothie/meal/day I'm holding weight differently and not feeling as energized so I'll probably cut back and also switch my workout routine to be way more active for a while and work back from that instead of trying to work up to something, basically push day followed by a sprint day followed by a pull day followed by a long jog day with push and pull days both also including core with jump rope on run days and shadow boxing as often as I can.

I am hoping to be able to afford to get back into a boxing gym soon, either western or muay thai

Vladimir Innit Lenin

24th July 2013, 14:23

new Judo club last Sunday. Absolutely mental. A combination of not really training much for the past few weeks/months and an incredibly physical session meant I spent Monday and yesterday unable to walk. Literally. So much pain.

Quail

24th July 2013, 20:27

I'm on holiday with my family but I went to the local Judo club on Monday. It wasn't a very difficult session compared with what I'm used to, so I feel guilty for not having trained hard enough (irrational probably, I know). Still, it was the first time my dad had seen my Judo since I got back into it and he seemed fairly impressed with my techniques, so that was nice. :)

Hegemonicretribution

24th July 2013, 20:50

Rock climbing, indoor, and trad. 'Nuff said. Need to shake last few silly injuries and I will be back up to 20+ hours a week. Taking it easy before a competition on Friday.

Landsharks eat metal

24th July 2013, 21:07

Haven't done any sort of workout in a while. I used to do taekwondo for years but I kind of unofficially quit back in May because it made me feel fat, ugly, and worthless.

so that's how it goes for me

Comrade Jacob

24th July 2013, 21:14

Bland but mainly non-existent.

ВАЛТЕР

24th July 2013, 21:31

First I ran, then I did some conditioning workouts, then I rested and took a nap. Then came the normal training, focus pads, movement, etc. finished up with 5 rounds of sparing.

Ele'ill

24th July 2013, 22:32

would those of you active in combat sports say that you have a low tolerance for what seems to be that typical clique attitude in gyms/schools and resentment towards folks new to the gym/school

it is something that I cannot stand, I want to go to train and focus not be a part of a social club, the social shit totally ruins it for me, the last thai gym I was in didn't have that at all it was all very quiet and generally respectful

*also added endless speed rope to my morning whatever-day routine

Ele'ill

29th July 2013, 18:54

today is my day off from running so I'll probably do squats, lunges, heel raises and other leg lift type stuff also holy shit at this watching some of those plank twists make my shoulders actually dislocate just sitting here. Some of the training stuff is pretty funny like having to train after the camp got flooded I guess

http://youtu.be/XGRUjR66LCs

bcbm

3rd August 2013, 22:42

quit smoking and drinking for all of august. hopefully the quitting smoking will last longer than that.

decided to ring in my month of sobriety with a jog on august 1. did 3 miles or so, at about 10 minutes a mile, which i don't think is too bad for my first jog in god knows how long. felt good, though my calves are still a bit sore. going to do about a 13 mile bike ride tonight and probably hit the gym for some upper body shit later this week. plus more jogging.

Ele'ill

3rd August 2013, 23:18

2 (small) bottles of sake and a couple beers after two days of eating healthy but very off my diet

bcbm

5th August 2013, 07:11

ran another three miles today. seemed easier than the last one but i can tell my calves are going to be pissed tomorrow

Buzzard

5th August 2013, 07:19

I rode my bike for about an hour this morning, and swam laps for about an hour as well. now i'm smoking and throwing it out the window. :cool:

bcbm

7th August 2013, 16:43

was lazy last night and didn't do what i wanted to do. gonna goto the gym today and flagellate myself on various machines as punishment

Vladimir Innit Lenin

7th August 2013, 17:03

hitting judo tonight and sunday, playing football tomorrow.

Just as well because my diet is just horrendous :(

Quail

7th August 2013, 18:05

Yesterday's Judo session was okay, felt quite on the ball and pulled off some okay techniques in randori :)

Mari3l - the Judo and Jitsu clubs I train at both have quite a social aspect because they're university clubs, but I haven't noticed much hostility towards new members. I guess the only off-putting thing about them is the male dominated atmosphere. I wish there were more women in Judo.

bcbm

7th August 2013, 21:49

was lazy last night and didn't do what i wanted to do. gonna goto the gym today and flagellate myself on various machines as punishment

ended up doing a pretty light 2 rep round on some upper body machines (arms, chest, abs, i dont remember what all i did) that felt pretty good and did a 15 min or so jog on the treadmill which i have decided i detest. now going to mow a lawn for some extra cash to round out my day and hopefully get some of this gyro out of my system.

tomorrow 4 mile jog.

Ceallach_the_Witch

13th August 2013, 11:19

moshing counts as a workout, right?

not looking forward to going to the gym tomorrow in any case, I still ache from the festival :rolleyes:

sixdollarchampagne

13th August 2013, 17:05

Three times a week, I do 200 crunches on the abs machine at the gym, then I use free weights to try to develop biceps and triceps. I also use a machine to strengthen the quads. Every time I go to the gym, I put in a mile on the treadmill. On the days I am not at the gym, I walk into town and back (I love walking – I walk everywhere I can), which is at least a couple of miles and is good for my tan. (I live in the sunny South.)

Vladimir Innit Lenin

13th August 2013, 22:14

signed up to a local gym as it's dirt cheap and my mate goes, only to be told there's a ~3 week waiting list after i'd set up the direct debit, cheeky!

So did some interval training, 50 press ups and 2 mins plank at home, and a bit of stretching. For some reason that knackered me out, got a serious fatigue problem at the moment.

Vladimir Innit Lenin

19th August 2013, 22:34

Good Judo session, in some respects. Fitness has definitely improved, got through the whole session no injuries and cardio-wise didn't feel too bad. Unfortunately I seem to have lost a lot of confidence with my Judo, need to really get it back.

Ceallach_the_Witch

19th August 2013, 22:51

ugh, I suspect I really did crack a rib at bloodstock. I was cycling over the humber bridge and I was doing 27mph downhill on the lincolnshire side of it when I hit a pretty jarring bulge in the surface and pretty much felt pain explode from the right side of my chest. I doubt going to the gym the previous day helped either. Not much I can do apart from take it easy, unfortunately.

Ele'ill

19th August 2013, 23:18

I have been increasing my body fat % by eating junk food and drinking seasonal pumpkin beer (which isn't junk food)

Ele'ill

19th August 2013, 23:19

why am I trolling my own thread

Brotto RÃ¼hle

20th August 2013, 19:34

Non existent. I do intend to start a routine of every 2nd or third day lifting weights or doing cardio, and starting a healthier, less carb filled diet. Though, that would require I actually exert some will power...

Bea Arthur

20th August 2013, 20:05

This month I have practically worn out my Richard Simmons Party Off the Pounds video.

Quail

20th August 2013, 22:37

My Judo was crap tonight :( Seriously felt like everything I did was clumsy and awful, except a couple of okay throws in randori at the end.

Vladimir Innit Lenin

20th August 2013, 22:41

^^Do you ever feel as though it's difficult to transmit what you practice in uchi-komi into randori?

I sometimes feel so crap after randori if I can't break their balance and get any nice throws in.

Quail

20th August 2013, 23:34

Honestly, there's stuff that I always fuck up in uchi komi but seem to pull off in randori, probably because I can get the timing/movement better when I've got an active opponent. There are also some throws I can practice nicely but never make the space for in randori. I think it takes practice to get the timing right when you first actually try new throws in randori and everyone puts in crap throws from time to time. I've seen a lot of failed tomoe-nages (never tried it myself though lol don't think I could pull it off).

I rarely seem to get people with nice throws though :( Sometimes when I throw people I'm surprised to have caught them out with what feels like clumsy rubbish. It always makes me happy when I pull off something nice and elegant.

Ceallach_the_Witch

20th August 2013, 23:39

I was going to risk going to the gym but I decided against it, did a short 10-mile cycle instead so I at least went outside

bcbm

21st August 2013, 00:23

5 mile hike on saturday which gave me some sweet blisters on my ankles.

2.5 mile run last night. not as far as i wanted, but i pushed it a lot harder so felt good. knee is a little fucked up today though, so that sucks.

why am I trolling my own thread

this is the only reason i post threads

Vladimir Innit Lenin

21st August 2013, 08:32

I've seen a lot of failed tomoe-nages (never tried it myself though lol don't think I could pull it off).

I was thrown/attempted to be thrown by about a dozen tomoe nages in the space of 15 minutes the other night, some by a yellow belt (in which case I landed on top of him, silly him), and some by a brown belt, in which I was ippon'd almost every time, haha :(

Vladimir Innit Lenin

21st August 2013, 23:32

busted my rotator cuff tonight in the most innocuous of ways in Judo - wasn't even throwing/being thrown, it just clicked out as I went to grip someone's sleeve. Madness.

Another few weeks out, then. :(

bcbm

22nd August 2013, 17:00

did some more treadmill running at the gym yesterday, i really loathe those things. worst of all the tv on it was broken so there was no way to distract myself and push my body to its limit. still did pretty well though, kept a good pace for about 20 min. then i did a few rounds of weights and then retired to the hot tub and sauna, the truly important part of any workout.

Ceallach_the_Witch

22nd August 2013, 22:25

Still not feeling up to the gym, although i did cycle again (pushed myself harder since it was at night and lovely and cool, went another 5 miles too)
I'm going to just bite the bullet and go tomorrow even though I'm pretty sure it'll hurt a bit, maybe I'll just stay well away from anything involving my chest.

Quail

23rd August 2013, 01:20

Jitsu was fun, although again not as intense as Judo and I drank like loads of beer afterwards.

bcbm

28th August 2013, 03:29

wow running in the humidity/heat here was intense, glad i waited til dark. was a good workout though. a bit over 3 miles again, little faster clip i think though i didn't time it.

Quail

28th August 2013, 09:46

Judo was good last night. Aching today :) The sign of a good workout.

Vladimir Innit Lenin

28th August 2013, 20:32

Doc said he's gonna send me for a scan on my shoulder. Obviously with the NHS this means waiting for a few weeks. Pain has gone down to nothing, and mobility is i'd say at about 70-80%, just have problems reaching across my chest towards my right shoulder and delts.

Did 40 minutes interval training on the bike yesterday. Love it....:blink:

bcbm

29th August 2013, 22:37

did a nice run for a warmup and then some weights at the gym. the arch of my foot is really bothering me though so it wasnt the best workout it couldve been. trying to stretch/deal with the foot now, hopefully back out there soon i like jogging. doing a lot of biking over the weekend, looking forward to it

Zukunftsmusik

29th August 2013, 22:55

Will try a intro lesson with judo first monday. Will try kung fu later, but I'll probably land on judo. Will also try to swim regularly if not too expensive (probably is, unfortunately).

Am doing some sporadic strength training (push ups, sit ups etc every other or third day) to prepare myself to start work out regularly again.

Quail

30th August 2013, 00:10

Had fun this evening at Jitsu :) I need to remember to keep doing strength exercises between martial arts sessions though because I feel lazy and I need to do more exercise. Could probably do with doing some cardio too but I find running so boring.

Vladimir Innit Lenin

3rd September 2013, 23:58

40 minute interval training again. Not a bad session, decent bit of stretching.

One of the personal instructors also asked me if I was a Boxer, so can't be quite as out of shape as I thought. :thumbup1:

Quail

4th September 2013, 00:44

Grr stubbed my toe so no randori for me :( In the past I've told myself i was being a baby and should participate anyway, but every time I did that I injured myself furhter. Darn dangerous sports.

Vladimir Innit Lenin

4th September 2013, 19:50

hard 20 minute interval training, followed by 100 steps on the balancing thingy, then hamstring curls and quad extensions.

All in all a good session, and my diet has been cleaaaaaaaan today. :cool:

Zukunftsmusik

5th September 2013, 13:54

Judo was fun, kung fu was not so fun - very technical, I'm looking for a good workout, not some intricate fighting system you need ten years to fully master. Was at judo yesterday too, will continue for the rest of the year and hopefully until summer, at least. I'm sore all over, so I guess that means it's good for me.

Ceallach_the_Witch

7th September 2013, 22:42

I went to the gym and the air-con was bust and it was super-humid and I left after only about 30 minutes because i was so uncomfortably soaked - to the extent that the rain didn't make any difference whatsoever :/

Pulled a muscle helping my dad move the back seats out of his car too so it was a doubleplusbad day all round.

Ele'ill

10th September 2013, 21:47

pullups with my pack

work

walking with my pack

bicycles and planks

sake and pumpkin ale and beans and veggies

bcbm

12th September 2013, 05:28

nice jog on monday night, three something miles again. did a nice round of weights at the gym today and tried to work on my form and what not so it was a very good workout. then a nice leisurely half hour in the sauna.

Ele'ill

12th September 2013, 20:21

I've read that walking a certain distance burns almost as many calories as jogging the same distance. Someone else should look this up but I think it depends on the speed of your run.

Vladimir Innit Lenin

12th September 2013, 21:49

Terrible. I didn't have pretty much any time to workout - like 20 mins. So nearer 10 mins accounting for stretching etc.

Did 10 mins interval training and I dunno if I set the resistance too high but my legs felt so weak. Perhaps it's cos i've not trained since Sunday, or didn't eat/drink enough today. Fuck it. Will have to go extra hard tomorrow and make sure i'm fuelled properly.

Vladimir Innit Lenin

15th September 2013, 18:09

Good workout. Did 15 minutes of intervals on the bike, followed by a bodyweight jumping squat-lunge routine i've developed, hamstring curls, quad extensions, some core work and lots of stretching.

Quail

3rd October 2013, 18:02

Tuesday's Judo session was really tiring and I didn't do any randori at the end because I had no energy. Think it was because I was ill over the weekend and hadn't fully recovered. Tonight won't be too difficult because there will be loads of beginners so we're basically just going to have a fun session to try and get the freshers hooked!

My university is having a competition at the beginning of November so I have a month to really sharpen up. And maybe gain like 5 kilos of pure muscle/awesomeness because I'll be fighting under 57kg.

bcbm

8th October 2013, 06:03

my workout this evening was really good. i did a nice round of weights, doing 2 sets of 13-15 with as much weight as i could do at that many reps. then i went for a nice jog around the track for i dunno 20 minutes. not sure how far that is, i wasn't keeping track, but i pushed myself and it felt good.

then i sat in the sauna all by myself for 20 minutes. was fuckin' awesome.

Vladimir Innit Lenin

9th October 2013, 17:57

My university is having a competition at the beginning of November so I have a month to really sharpen up. And maybe gain like 5 kilos of pure muscle/awesomeness because I'll be fighting under 57kg.

get on the potatoes and pasta! Jealous that you can put on 5kg!

I haven't worked out for like a week, was gonna go tonight but my spine is aching from the Osteopath cracking it yesterday, so giving it a rest for a day or two. Sucks.

Ceallach_the_Witch

10th October 2013, 13:08

i was all hopeful about stepping it up at the gym and going more often as of this week - and then I managed to get a cut on my arm - and then it got infected - and then it got MORE infected :/ Feeling very under the weather and my right arm is good for very little other than writing and typing. I'm even having to cycle one-handed.

On the up-side it's swelled up so much that it looks like I've been hitting the gym hard.

Quail

10th October 2013, 13:44

get on the potatoes and pasta! Jealous that you can put on 5kg!

Ha, I don't really have the motivation to put on muscle mass... although it would probably help me. I need to get back to doing strength exercises on top of my martial arts but I'm a bit lazy :(

i was all hopeful about stepping it up at the gym and going more often as of this week - and then I managed to get a cut on my arm - and then it got infected - and then it got MORE infected :/ Feeling very under the weather and my right arm is good for very little other than writing and typing. I'm even having to cycle one-handed.

On the up-side it's swelled up so much that it looks like I've been hitting the gym hard.
Sounds really nasty. Have you been to the doctor about it? Hope it heals quickly.

Zukunftsmusik

10th October 2013, 13:55

last night's judo lesson sucked cause I sucked

Quail

10th October 2013, 14:09

last night's judo lesson sucked cause I sucked
What went wrong? Sometimes I have "off nights" where basically everything I do is really shit for no apparent reason.

Zukunftsmusik

10th October 2013, 15:40

Sometimes I have "off nights" where basically everything I do is really shit for no apparent reason.

It was probably an "off night". I just couldn't get anything right. I've had a pretty bad week, so it might have influenced my training.

bcbm

15th October 2013, 05:13

did my usual round of weights but it didn't feel very productive because the tendon (?) in my elbow joint was starting to bother me. then i tried to do a jog but both my knees shitted out after a mile and one is so sore i am icing it now. ugh. i try to improve my body and everything just goes to hell

Zukunftsmusik

15th October 2013, 19:26

did my usual round of weights but it didn't feel very productive because the tendon (?) in my elbow joint was starting to bother me. then i tried to do a jog but both my knees shitted out after a mile and one is so sore i am icing it now.

I dunno but the knee thing could have to do with poor shoes or even running style.

ugh. i try to improve my body and everything just goes to hell

the world is not a thankful place

La ComÃ©die Noire

15th October 2013, 22:01

Every other day 4 days a week

Sit ups: 3 sets of 30

Crunches: 3 sets of 30.

Push ups: three sets of 20

Free weights: 3 sets of 15 each arm. 30 lbs

Bench press 2 sets of 30. 70 lbs

Over head bar 3 sets of 15. 70 lbs

Free weights on the ground 3 sets of 15 each arm. 30 lbs

Aerobic

Try to do free weights 20 lbs each arm 3 sets of 20 as fast as I can

Various stretching.

It's a good routine for losing weight, but it only builds a little muscle in certain places. I always wanted to go to a gym and do a more specialized work out because I always top out on this routine and just get bored with it.

Also I have a high risk factor for diabetes, so it's not good going up and down in weight. I'd really like to build a lasting fitness this time.

Quail

15th October 2013, 23:46

Had an okay Judo session :) The room was way too warm though. I think my groundwork is good (won pretty much every fight tonight, which I was happy with) but I'd like to improve my standing. I never feel like I'm at my best by the time we get to standing practice though because I'm tired after a hard session, and the past two weeks the room has been so hot it's made me feel a bit ill training too hard.

VDS

17th October 2013, 08:46

Finally got into the gym 2 weeks ago and got a membership. Been off revleft and everything for a while. Seems like things have been going better since I started the gym.

Workout today was great. had to miss out on doing back and biceps yesterday so I went ahead tonight. Really feel good about the progress I'm making. I feel like I should focus more time on my lower back though, and spend some extra time on my core.

Ele'ill

17th October 2013, 20:49

still doing weighted pull ups, weighted pushups, minor core work, long walks, upped quota at work so lifting a lot, probably too much all together. Drinking about every 3 days and not all that heavily. Still smoking.

Ceallach_the_Witch

17th October 2013, 21:16

i went on tuesday but I was fucking miserably cold and tired from cycling there in a storm (am I an idiot - yes!) so I really didn't last long at all. My right arm is mostly healed but I think the infection did a fair amount of evil to my right tricep so that was a bit of a non-starter too. Hopefully Friday will be more productive and significantly less wet.

Quail

18th October 2013, 00:06

Judo was fun tonight :) Still ache from Tuesday though haha... probably the sign of being a bit unfit.

Zukunftsmusik

19th October 2013, 14:46

JoeHoganSmokyDaHeefa

19th October 2013, 15:11

Mine was pretty good.

Woke up did 60 push ups and 60 bicycle crunches and went for a 2 mile walk to the market.

Later in the day I did about 100+ push ups in sets of 20 in between boxing combinations and shoulder conditioning exercises and then did a plank routine with 1 minute holds for each and ended with some slow sit-ups.

Have you thought of doing some barbell training? I don't know if you are a woman or a man but I find alot of girls don't do barbell programming because they are not "supposed to" because of the dumb marketing and gym automation gyms push on women.

A few women at my gym were sick of being told to go on the treadmill and do crunches and jumped on the starting strength program and now one of them squats over 200lbs at a bodyweight of like 135lbs.

Her glutes are awesome, you sound like you are in great shape with no muscle imbalances or mobility issues, bodyweight exercises are great but you would really benefit from something you can keep loading with and making linear progress.

As Rippetoe says

training > exercise> nothing > dead

Quail

15th November 2013, 11:20

Mt workout last night was terrible. I'm still not feeling well so my judo was really, really bad. I'm usually good at fighting on the ground but last night I pretty much just passively allowed people to win. I have a competition tomorrow and I don't know if I'm really up for it... but I've paid my entry fee and made sure I'm going to make weight so I'd be annoyed at myself if I didn't compete now.

Ceallach_the_Witch

15th November 2013, 12:08

i haven't had the chance to go to the gym for a couple of weeks now :( Damn essays.

Ele'ill

15th November 2013, 18:57

Have you thought of doing some barbell training? I don't know if you are a woman or a man but I find alot of girls don't do barbell programming because they are not "supposed to" because of the dumb marketing and gym automation gyms push on women.

A few women at my gym were sick of being told to go on the treadmill and do crunches and jumped on the starting strength program and now one of them squats over 200lbs at a bodyweight of like 135lbs.

Her glutes are awesome, you sound like you are in great shape with no muscle imbalances or mobility issues, bodyweight exercises are great but you would really benefit from something you can keep loading with and making linear progress.

As Rippetoe says

training > exercise> nothing > dead

At one point in my life long ago I used to lift heavy/all free weights in combination with several sports. I don't have the money for a gym membership right now.

bcbm

16th November 2013, 07:15

my routine has really fallen off and i don't like it, but my body seems to get really fucked when i do stuff so its hard to find a balance, especially with working a lot more

Ele'ill

17th November 2013, 23:41

my routine has really fallen off and i don't like it, but my body seems to get really fucked when i do stuff so its hard to find a balance, especially with working a lot more

I dunno how badly it has fallen off but you should do some research into just how much 'damage' taking a week or two off from a regular weight training program does, it doesn't do much from what I understand. It depends a lot on diet though. If you notice that you feel stronger at the end of your time off or visibly look bigger or leaner it is because your body has continued to repair itself and it can be beneficial to take time off or ease off the intensity.

WilliamGreen

18th November 2013, 00:01

Being working class destroys my body enough

haha

Honestly sore every day and that's what drives the fight ;)

Orange Juche

18th November 2013, 10:52

I'm starting to do cardio, but as a trans person I'm not interested in building shoulder/upper torso/etc muscles, though I do want to build muscle. So I have no idea what to work on there, in terms of what's better, and feminization.

bcbm

21st November 2013, 09:20

did a jog and it made me feel like infinity bucks then i did some lunges and push ups and other shit and oh man why did i stop doing this i fel amaxing

oh yeah then s tarted drinking

I dunno how badly it has fallen off but you should do some research into just how much 'damage' taking a week or two off from a regular weight training program does, it doesn't do much from what I understand. It depends a lot on diet though. If you notice that you feel stronger at the end of your time off or visibly look bigger or leaner it is because your body has continued to repair itself and it can be beneficial to take time off or ease off the intensity.

i meant when i was doing stuff it seemed like i always ended up injuring my joints in my elbow or knee or whatever which was discouraging.

Zukunftsmusik

2nd January 2014, 21:51

went for a run today partly in shame for about a month of inactivity, where the closest I've been to working out has been irregular strength training and irregular sex and the only regular thing I've done is getting drunk and eating crap, and partly to prepare myself to work out regularly again. Plan on doing at least a run or a session of strength training or preferably both each day until Monday when I go back to study and begin at judo again.

Ele'ill

18th July 2014, 22:00

http://livehealthy.chron.com/sprinting-up-stairs-you-7036.html

Did stair sprints today after a bit of hiking around. I'm not sure how long I was doing them but I think close to an hour, in varying ways.

Also did core work and push ups

tomorrow is hiking around + distance trot with pack after pull ups, assuming I can walk

Ele'ill

19th July 2014, 20:32

decided against pullups since yesterday was push + sprint and I was pretty sore when I woke up. I did a sustained hike followed by relatively sustained hills jog although I spaced out and did a lot of stretching after 20-30 minutes and then resumed again for another 10-20. I hate distance running although I am not terrible at it when I try to train for it.

So basically my overall morning walk to and from workout area, with a pack, is about 5 miles. That is not including the hike + jog or hike + sprint workouts, or the calisthenics push/pull with core. I usually walk a little bit during the day, not much though, but I walk a lot at night. Probably another 2-4 miles if not more.

I can't get a decent calculations on calorie burn if anyone is good at that let me know.

Hermes

19th July 2014, 22:14

Been almost completely inactive.

I usually run, and do core exercise, which I acknowledge isn't really sufficient, but even that has been difficult to do, because the only real motivation I've had to do so is to do well on a XC team, and since the college I'll be going to this fall has a team almost entirely composed of people I loathe being around, my motivation has dropped a lot.

I realize that I should just be doing it for myself, but at the same time I've just kind of stopped caring.

Trap Queen Voxxy

19th July 2014, 23:11

Pretty tiring.

-get out of bed
-walk
-shower
-walk
-sitting and working
-walk

I'm so tired. My cheeks hurt from fake smiling so much today. Might have to ice em yo. :(

#firstworldprobz

Ele'ill

20th July 2014, 19:21

1 hour or longer of relatively sustained cardio after pullups, then I ran steps twice for fun, tomorrow is hike and core only day

Ele'ill

21st July 2014, 20:12

hike and core day turned into another sustained cardio and core day, keep in mind I am homeless and don't wear socks because there is no reason to and the shoes I have are very old and have lots of holes in them and no soles on the inside and today I ripped out the next layer on one of them. This coincides with just getting unemployment check finally so I may today or tomorrow go buy new kicks and new dive watch and probably spend too much but ordering online isn't nearly instantgratificationism enough for me

cliffs- good high intensity core work today but probably bordering overtraining the cardio

bcbm

22nd July 2014, 01:17

physical therapy is a lot more painful than i expected

Bala Perdida

22nd July 2014, 02:59

I ate too much, and waited to little before my run. I ran with cramps, but at least I ran I guess. My foot hurts, possibly because of it.

Ele'ill

23rd July 2014, 23:41

jumped rope this morning in the park under the overhang of a building because it is raining (bye summer), did about 30-40 minutes of stop and go. I also did core work today and that at least went better than the jumping rope. I usually train core twice a week, sometimes 3 times, and I like to change the workouts every time I do them. I will sometimes not do specific core workouts but do light core work every day after other regular training but that is maybe 1-2 weeks out of the year.

tomorrow rain or shine is stair hiit day

bcbm

23rd July 2014, 23:59

got off my bus early cuz it was stuck in traffic due to yuppies flooding downtown to watch outdoor concert shit and walked the remaining two miles or so home.

getting frustrated with my pt exercises because they really fucking hurt and i do them a lot and i don't feel like i am making much progress.

Ele'ill

24th July 2014, 00:06

I knew someone who broke their wrist and had the external pins sticking out of their arm. They had a difficult time with the physical therapy but they said it got a bit more routine if not easier. Then a dog jumped up and hit their pins. <3 you will get through the pt maybe tell them that you don't feel like you're making progress if you haven't already, they might change something

bcbm

24th July 2014, 00:09

well my first week out i made a lot i felt like, this week i just feel like nothing is happening. have an appt on friday, will talk it through.

The Intransigent Faction

24th July 2014, 00:37

I try to stick with an exercise routine, but then I have a spurt of laziness until something upsets me to the point of not being able to sit still. When that happens, I seem to overdo it. I'm trying to find the right balance between routine and using pushing myself in exercise as a better outlet for bad feelings.

CaptainCool309

24th July 2014, 00:53

Today I lifted weights for 45 minutes, Jogged with a running pal of mine for 45 Minutes, and then played some tennis with the same guy for 2 hours. Tomorrow I'll focus on Calisthenics. That's basically how my workout routine goes. Alternating between those activities throughout the week.

Bala Perdida

24th July 2014, 05:27

I got home from work and went on a run. Then I did my muscle exercises and resulted with a shirt soaked with the day's sweat. That can't be good for my skin. Oh well, I'm not wasting a shirt!

Ele'ill

24th July 2014, 20:43

shortly after waking up jumped rope for about 15-20 minutes just to practice, then did pull-ups in a pyramid format 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 = 64 then 4 close grip palms down and 6 close grip palms up. Jumped rope half-assed for about 10 more minutes.

ate small snack

Walked 2 miles with pack to work-out spot, hiked up mountain once got heart rate up once or twice and went back down. Then I did HIIT stairs. 97 very steep stairs were sprinted up, 2 at a time 3/4 of the way up then 1 at a time the rest of the way, with rest at top and careful jog back down after about a minute or so. 15-20 minutes of that, about 9 times up. Cardio felt great, leg muscles did not, was the main reason I did not extend this to 30-40 minutes. Was at complete failure by the 9th sprint. First 3 times up it took me 22 seconds or less then a bit slower.

Ele'ill

25th July 2014, 19:02

jump rope then core: I am so pissed off at jump rope, I want to love it, I need to get good at it so that I can use that on rainy days as an alternative to other stuff, but we're not getting along. Core work is pretty fantastic right now am happy with progress can see all my abs and no lower back problems like last time.

1min plank
1min side planks
stretch
1min bicycle
1min legs up knees bent crunch focusing on pushing elbows into knees/thighs
stretch/stand up
hanging leg raises x 5
1 min reverse crunches
stretch
1min plank
1min side planks

done

Ele'ill

26th July 2014, 19:21

jump rope- am getting better

pushups - my back was bothering me the previous day, wasn't this morning, but I decided to do a deliberately odd workout with pushups doing a pyramid but still hitting low reps

1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+15+14+13+12 +11+10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1=272

Then after a brief rest- 30, 20, 15, 10=75

347

Was not at failure, also did 1 slow pull up into a hanging stretch after the main pyramid.

HIIT

28 minutes of stair sprints after 2.5 mile hike mostly uphill. Heart rate spiked twice significantly during hike.

Five Year Plan

26th July 2014, 19:25

I can't believe I went running out in this heat. Must have expelled two gallons of fluids. But that cold shower afterward. Pure bliss :grin:

Ele'ill

27th July 2014, 19:18

I am going to add 1 can of black beans per day to my diet to see what happens over the next 2 weeks.

Five Year Plan

27th July 2014, 19:20

I am going to add 1 can of black beans per day to my diet to see what happens over the next 2 weeks.

Do you plan on being in any elevators for prolonged periods of time with others?

bcbm

28th July 2014, 01:42

well my first week out i made a lot i felt like, this week i just feel like nothing is happening. have an appt on friday, will talk it through.

i actually made a bunch of progress and dont have to go see pt doctors anymore, just continue on my own. so it went well

(A)

28th July 2014, 03:47

I have been lazy this summer but today I did some pushups, situps, kettle bell swings and some dead-lifts then did a lap around the block.

My cardio sucks but I need to improve it for my Judo.

Ele'ill

28th July 2014, 21:30

pull-ups, about the same as last time but I did rows on the shorter bar that was completely useless but fun/looked like stupid asshole.

not adding much to diet since strength and performance are both increasing still

did 12.7 mile hike with pack, feel good

Ele'ill

29th July 2014, 20:17

*edit, yesterdays over all mileage was around 15

Today was core and stair sprint day. Core went okay I think, I am focusing more on lower volume higher intensity exercises. Stair sprints sucked, I went 45 minutes of it and my legs wouldn't do it anymore but my cardio was like 'when are we going to start'. Had tons of energy left over. I think I might do stairs as a muscle building session from now on and do HIIT on hills. Otherwise I will split HIIT between stairs and hill sprints so that I can really push my cardio. I definitely got the almost blackout, going to throw up, oh-my-god-theres-no-more-air-to-breath feeling of pure elation though, so this may have more to do with the subtle diet change up I made regarding carbs (last night) where I am actually pushing myself a lot harder but it simply still isn't meeting my unrealistic expectations. I dunno.

Ele'ill

31st July 2014, 22:07

yesterday did 380 pushups, pyramid, and did a 20-30 minute jog

today did core and went on a brief hike

tomorrow begins max rep workout, going to see how many pull-ups I can do in one set and then pyramid down from that, instead of pyramiding up to it and back down. Going to do the same thing with pushups in 2-3 days. Also going to do HIIT tomorrow.

next week begins weighted planks, push-ups, and pull-ups.

Ele'ill

1st August 2014, 19:12

Workout strategy for the month has worked, did a set of 16 pull ups. Followed it up with pyramid pull ups.

motion denied

2nd August 2014, 02:22

felt good and full of energy, could take more heavy stuff.

then I drank milk+banana+pear shake.

Ele'ill

2nd August 2014, 21:08

did stair sprints today again, and core, tried to do part of manny pacquiao's core workout and I swear that guy must have a lot of padding over his tailbone or something cause fuck that

Sewer Socialist

3rd August 2014, 21:48

Rode hella bikes on quiet rural roads, bearably sunny day, gonna eat hella food with all the veggies!

I'm new here, but this is mostly what my workouts consist of. Well, maybe the sun isn't a year-round thing. Anyway, if comrades need cycling advice, hit me up!

:))))

Ele'ill

4th August 2014, 22:02

after my early am adventure with some poop-head I did core and hiit stairs again today and then did light hill intervals for like 3 minutes to chill my hips out and did core again while resting. A mediocre workout although my abs feel worked

my new thing might actually be to buy a thing of oats and carry it around with me in another bag for a cheap source of carbs, protein, and general calories.

Ele'ill

5th August 2014, 19:56

Weighted pull-ups. Was meh. Strained muscle up near base of skull.

Also going to cover up all 8 of my abs now, hopefully gradually

Quail

5th August 2014, 21:20

Going to do some exercise tonight when I finally get my son to bed. Feeling a bit fat and out of shape at the moment with no Judo.

Ele'ill

10th August 2014, 20:58

leg and light core day

200 squats
200 lunges
calf raises and shadow boxing as cool down

100 situps to warm up
2 minutes of bicycles
and then half the normal core workout

Ele'ill

11th August 2014, 19:51

about 480 pushups with a 15lb pack

Ele'ill

13th August 2014, 21:57

today did back, shoulders, and then biceps directly. all body weight exercises except for the the use of my pack for pull ups and curls

Tim Cornelis

13th August 2014, 23:20

started doing StrongLifts 5x5. woop woop I guess. I really like getting (noticeably) stronger, so powerlifting was/is more my thing, but I don't like looking skinny-ish in the meanwhile... So I'm not sure if I'll stick with this for very long.

motion denied

14th August 2014, 17:57

yesterday it was very cold (10ºC/50 F) and strongly rainy, I ended up doing some push ups. :glare:

Ele'ill

17th August 2014, 02:06

Stopping the calisthenic workouts within the next week and getting a gym membership. I can't do these ridiculously high rep exercises anymore I have transcended most of what calisthenics can offer me. 500 weighted pushups broken into various sets was the deal breaker. The other days were getting about to that level and they weren't gassing me out, it has mostly become a time crunch issue that I will face once I head back to work, I won't have hours to do all this. This was essentially my goal when I started out, to stick with it enough to know that I would stick with a gym membership again. I over achieved this goal by getting my diet on point down to within 10 calories on a daily level, all of my macros are worked out, and I actually had people compliment my physique. I guess I am back in this lifting thing again. Time to cover my abs up and bulk a bit this fall/winter.

Right now I am around 2680-2780 calories per day depending on what I do. I am tempted to just hit 2800 and keep it right there and see what happens over the next 2 months while lifting in the gym (or god forbid doing hundreds of calisthenic reps)

Ele'ill

17th August 2014, 02:14

2,900-3,000 would probably be right about where I'd need to be once work starts up

bropasaran

17th August 2014, 02:34

500 push-ups? Could you describe how you do them? Specifically these details- when I do push-ups they're about 2 secs to push my body up, one second hold in the upper position, about 3 seconds to lower my body down, 1 sec hold in the lower position, my lower position is the chest/ chin almost touching the floor, my upper position is my elbows almost locking out, the (pecs, triceps) muscles are tense during the entire set. I have a few friends doing high-rep exercises, and almost none of them do push-ups the way I do them.

Ele'ill

17th August 2014, 02:41

Ele'ill

17th August 2014, 18:55

Today I wanted to see where I'm at. I did a warm up set of 5 regular pull ups pretty slow then did my normal warm up. Then I did a set of 20 pull ups and it was easy. I could have done more but I didn't want to sabotage the rest of my work out. Then I did weighted pull ups about 5 sets of 5 reps. Then I did curls. My elbows feel so much better when I do curls after back days. Main goal was 20+ pull ups and I did it. It was a goal because I've gained weight and weight gain + rep, set, or strength progress = yay especially with body weight exercises. Next week's unrealistic goal is 25-30.

bropasaran

17th August 2014, 19:28

I either break them into a pyramid set and go up the pyramid like 1+2+3+4 etc.. and then back down or sometimes starting at 10 so 10+11+12 etc.. and back down again or I will do a max set and then pyramid down from that. I do this with a pack on usually and will then take the pack off and do more afterwards. I do them with proper form but quicker tempo. I will sometimes do them slower to warm up or cool down.
I don't think that exercises should be done at quick tempo. Not only do people sometimes compromise form by "wiggling" their body parts altering alignment to aid the main targeted muscles by including syngergist and stabilized muscles more, and/ or changing the angle of push/ pull to make it easier for the muscles, also a common "cheating" mechanism used is to rest the muscles in the upper/ lower position (in the push-up to to lock out the elbows or touch the floor with your body) and the most common "cheat" is to use momentum. Do you do any of these?

Ele'ill

17th August 2014, 20:23

Do you do any of these?

No, the weighted push-ups are quicker tempo with fine form. There is nothing wrong with doing quicker tempo exercises. There is actually quite a lot to be said for them, which is why so many athletes will utilize explosive and quick movements in their training (lifts or exercises that compliment leg and hand speed think hockey and boxing as examples of sports I have trained for and competed in)

The same logic you're using could be said with doing exercises slow. Ever watch someone cheat when doing and holding a plank position? They sag and shake. While doing squats? Knees start moving, arch in back changes drastically. Bench press? Elbows flair out or tuck too far in, weight visibly transfers from one side of body to the other or butt leaves bench. Good form is the main objective regardless of what you're doing.

bropasaran

18th August 2014, 01:06

Ele'ill

18th August 2014, 03:00

Sure, good form is very important, and it's true that you can compromise it both when you do slow rep and when you do fast reps, I've seen people doing curls for biceps slowly, but cheating by moving the elbows, I'm just saying that my experience has been that people doing fast reps generally 'cheat' much more then people doing slow reps, and the biggest problem is momentum, which can be only in the retraction part of exercise (in push-up when going down you use gravity instead of opposing it and lowering the body using the muscles), or throughout the exercise, which a lot of people do without even noticing it.

When I am referring to a quicker tempo rep I don't mean a rep that is so fast that it is either a half-rep or compromising form. I mean it is a rep that doesn't engage in or hold a negative count to any meaningful degree (in other words a meaningful degree would be down over 4-8 seconds or down with a hold).

Don't get me wrong, I don't do reps only slowly. Every few weeks I do a week of explosive reps where I necessarily do multiple "cheats" I mentioned, but the point of the explosive exercises is not to gain muscle mass, strength or endurance, but muscle fiber twitch speed, because some studies suggested that if you only do reps slowly that will impair muscle power.

I can't acknowledge your conclusion that explosive movements involve cheating in fact they have to be as or more controlled. Regarding fitness research most of it is a running debate and I literally mean most.

But when doing fast reps, you will as a rule use the momentum which will make the exercise much easier for the muscles, even if no other 'cheat' is used, and if you do only fast reps, you're missing out on gains that you would achieve with incorporating slow reps.

I don't understand what you mean by momentum regarding the specific exercises we're talking about, pushups and pullups. I don't kip when doing pull ups and I can't imagine how someone using gravity to rush to the ground in either exercises would benefit by it by then having to stop that downward momentum and push back against it, hence clap pull ups / push ups which are more challenging than standard pullups or pushups. My workouts don't consist of quick tempo reps all the time I will often hit a particular number and then do slower reps. To give you an example as to how I am not necessarily arguing with your chosen method of working out, slow/negative reps, I love planks, I enjoy negative count pull ups above the bar with weight, I will do wall sits in between squats, I will hold squats down in a negative count pyramid workout, I enjoy planks and elbow crawls and other various methods of torment and I will do slow push ups although usually slow down and as explosive as I can coming back up. Every so many weeks I will change the work load type.

People usually come to see that they did use stuff like momentum when they try and exercise a little doing super slow reps- with multiple seconds for every of thel four parts of the movement (contraction, retraction, lower position hold, upper position hold) while, of course, maintaining proper form and tension in the muscles during the entire set. If you haven't done done, give the super slow reps a couple of tries to see.

to side track this conversation for a minute but still kind of relevant, why do you think that a lot of people who can bench heavy as an example, cannot do a lot of push ups, or pull ups, how exactly are we gauging fitness levels

Tim Cornelis

18th August 2014, 11:43

than*

Ele'ill

18th August 2014, 20:09

*than <---you want the notation icon that you are using to be at the beginning of the correction so that those reading it can immediately identify that they are looking at a correction- when you are reading through something quickly it can become confusing when you get to the end of a sentence or bullet and only then realize it was a reference to something previously written

Ele'ill

18th August 2014, 20:15

squats, squat jumps, squat walks, lunges, followed by core

you may have noticed that the day is lasting longer than usual that's because I am doing my reps so fast that I have changed the earth's rotation and orbit around the sun.

motion denied

21st August 2014, 17:23

Changed my training routines.

Did shoulders and traps today, pretty intense. Feeling fucking good.

Tim Cornelis

21st August 2014, 19:14

Maaaayne........

Two spotters ruined my set on the bench. First guy was too helpful, it felt like 15 kgs lighter. And then he said "one more" and it confused me and I did, and I did one rep too many. I need 5 reps max for strength gains. I asked a different person to spot, he was even worse, he one hand sideways deadlifted on each of my reps, and it felt even lighter....... And then he was like "you need to go lower and then push", yeah thanks mate, if you didn't casually pull on the bar each rep it wouldn't throw me off my game... I want strength gains god damnit.

also I went on a holiday, before that I stopped tracking macros, except protein. In hindsight I'm guessing I ate about 2,500 - 2,700 calories a day........ I made no gains -- even a lil' bit of loss -- in a month except chest, and a bit of strength gains. Fuuck. More than a month of wasted time.

Ele'ill

21st August 2014, 20:21

Command your spotters like you're the captain of a pirate ship about to board an imperial freighter without taking prisoners if they lift the bar too much just cut their hands off that's the main reason I carry a machete to the gym with me 1 strike and you're handless folks line up single file opportunity of a life time

You should eat 500 over for 2 weeks and see where you stand and then back off if you feel like there's going to be an issue with bf% or other health issues. That way, you're not 100-200 over making slow gains when 350-400 might really be the magic number for you. imo as an idea/suggestion to try as a fun thing too, keep protein at .8/lb actual body weight so when/if you want to shed bodyfat in the future you can up it to 1g/lb - 1.5g/lb (or 2g/lb) while dropping carbs and increasing fats.

theuproar

21st August 2014, 20:24

For it matters (I'm a little weird about saying it out loud), I'm a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the NSCA. Pretty standard certification for career strength coaches. So if anyone has questions that they don't feel are being fielded by the general community, I'm more than happy to help, if I can.

Lately, I've been working my way through Bob Takano's Class III weightlifting template, because I'm training to regain the strength I had in my 20s. Lots of derivative Olympic lifts to help build basic lifting skills (ie power snatch, hang cleans, jerk off rack, etc). This is usually 3x/wk.

I also compete in sambo wrestling internationally, so the other 1/2 to 3/4 of my workouts are wrestling-based.

Tim Cornelis

21st August 2014, 20:41

Command your spotters like you're the captain of a pirate ship about to board an imperial freighter without taking prisoners if they lift the bar too much just cut their hands off that's the main reason I carry a machete to the gym with me 1 strike and you're handless folks line up single file opportunity of a life time

Yeah, I'm going to give clear instructions next time, or see if I can make a bench fit properly under spotter bars, but I've never had issues with spotters before; I didn't even think about it, I thought it was common sense.

You should eat 500 over for 2 weeks and see where you stand and then back off if you feel like there's going to be an issue with bf% or other health issues. That way, you're not 100-200 over making slow gains when 350-400 might really be the magic number for you. imo as an idea/suggestion to try as a fun thing too, keep protein at .8/lb actual body weight so when/if you want to shed bodyfat in the future you can up it to 1g/lb - 1.5g/lb (or 2g/lb) while dropping carbs and increasing fats.

I'm currently back to tracking macros, I take about between 3,000 - 3,500 kcalories daily.

Ele'ill

21st August 2014, 21:02

what is your macro break down like?

Tim Cornelis

22nd August 2014, 16:19

uh

about 3,300 kcalories a day
140 g of protein
60 g of fat
350 g of carbs

Ceallach_the_Witch

22nd August 2014, 16:28

I walked all the way down my garden path and then went to the bank round the corner, furthest ive been for a week

motion denied

22nd August 2014, 16:36

I walked all the way down my garden path and then went to the bank round the corner, furthest ive been for a week

no pain no gain amirite

Ele'ill

22nd August 2014, 19:03

uh

about 3,300 kcalories a day
140 g of protein
60 g of fat
350 g of carbs

I am about 200 cals short of that at around 3,100 most days and protein is 180-200, sometimes less. At 160cals per 1/4 cup, 3 handfuls of peanuts are 480 cals and 42g of fat so I assume after that my fat is a lot higher, carbs are 300-400. An adjustment is going to have to be made, I'm going to have to keep an eye on it.

Tim Cornelis

22nd August 2014, 19:34

I'm assuming by the workouts you post that yours are more intense and burn more calories. I rarely do cardio.

Tim Cornelis

22nd August 2014, 19:37

Mariel, what's ya goal anyway?

Ele'ill

22nd August 2014, 19:52

In a number of days my life is going to become grounded and consistent (assuming other stuff doesn't happen) so I plan on getting a gym membership again and gaining quite a bit of weight on more of a quasi bodybuilding routine + boxing and submission ground work. Right now my goal is to set a solid injury free base to build on. So while I am doing body weight exercises I do add weight when I can.

I also stopped doing cardio a while ago because while I am sure it was healthy, it was a bit too much. Doing serious HIIT + walking a lot of miles with a pack during the day doesn't work out because I'd have to consume so many calories. Once I get into the gym I'll likely have to adjust my calories a bit lower and macros accordingly.

Ele'ill

25th August 2014, 18:40

think I have a hernia \:lol:/

You should be able to gently and easily push the hernia back into your abdomen when you're lying down. If not, applying an ice pack to the area may reduce the swelling enough so that the hernia slides in easily. Lying with your pelvis higher than your head also may help.
Incarcerated hernia

If you aren't able to push the hernia in, the omentum or a loop of intestine can be trapped (incarcerated) in the abdominal wall. An incarcerated hernia can lead to a strangulated hernia, which cuts off the blood supply to your intestine. Surgery is needed to repair the hernia and restore blood supply to the bowel. A strangulated hernia can be life-threatening if it isn't treated.
Signs and symptoms of strangulated hernia include:

Nausea, vomiting or both
Fever
Rapid heart rate
Sudden pain that quickly intensifies
A hernia bulge that turns red, purple or dark

I am opposed to incarceration of my hernia can someone organize a prison abolition demo for my hernia/paypal fund raiser

Ele'ill

28th August 2014, 20:54

legs- tut squats down for 10 seconds then 10 reps x 3 per set did 5 sets, lots of 1min wall sits, a lot of lunges until failure, more squats, calves

core- the usual change up in exercises

4x15 of these, without touching the ground, while holding a pack
http://ywcahamilton.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/abs_vups_300x300.jpg
4x15 same with pack between feet

2min bicycles
2min half sit ups
2min half situps with feet elevated
2min leg crosses while hold half sit up position (while under tension)
side crunches
etc..

Slavic

29th August 2014, 01:55

qRuNxHqwazs

Just recently got a gym membership. For the past 4 months I've been lifting out at home; mostly different sets of free weights, situps, leg lifts, and squats. In addition I also added extra calories to my diet in the form of a mix shake that I would make every day which served as a fourth meal after my workout. My goal was primary to gain weight and build muscle since I have always been very thin.

I'm 5' 9"/10"
125lbs coming out of highschool in '07
135lbs coming out of bootcamp in '09
I've maintained 135lbs since I started working out, not I'm a steady 145lbs.

I can't get above the 145 with what I have at home. Does anyone here have any experience with strength training, primarily for someone who is slim and a hardgainer?

Tim Cornelis

29th August 2014, 15:33

Hardgainer usually means you just need to eat more.

Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength 5x5 (or 5/3/1 routine, don't know exactly what it is, but it's usually listed along these two).

Been doing Stronglift 5x5 for a while. I like it so far.

motion denied

30th August 2014, 02:42

my right side is stronger than the left... Legs, arms, shoulders :unsure:

slum

30th August 2014, 03:24

all i do anymore is run, or think about running
had to reduce my mileage this week because of knees and hips crying out for mercy
i know i should crosstrain or something on off-days but i don't have access to a gym and there's no room to do pushups in my tiny living space

Ele'ill

30th August 2014, 19:43

I'm 5' 9"/10"
125lbs coming out of highschool in '07
135lbs coming out of bootcamp in '09
I've maintained 135lbs since I started working out, not I'm a steady 145lbs.

I can't get above the 145 with what I have at home. Does anyone here have any experience with strength training, primarily for someone who is slim and a hardgainer?

You definitely can get above 145, even with body weight exercises like body weight squats, lunges, pull ups, pushups, and core work. I am not a super expert I have a lot of flaws I'd like to work on, and I always learn something, or learn of a new debate regarding nutrition and physiology, every time I sit down to read about it, but what I generally suggest for folks who are serious about crafting their physique, improving strength, or aesthetics/size, is to write out a daily meal plan that is inexpensive, simple, healthy, and provides a detailed list of the macro nutrients you consume (protein, carbs, and fats). This doesn't have to be a thing you obsess over from this point on, but imo it is great for the first week or two so you can actually see how many calories you are taking in. People always over/under estimate how many calories they are consuming and it is the magic bullet for increasing size and strength.

I am not a huge fan of fitness forums/websites but I suggest reading a wide range of them so you at least know the different takes on nutrition and exercise that exist in the fitness terrain. This thread has a fairly excellent break down of how to find how many calories you need and how to adjust them to either lose or gain weight. It also explains how to decide on the number of macronutrients you need per day depending on your goal.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=156380183

I would read that entire first post from top to bottom. It may come across as being confusing at first but after a week of figuring out what your body needs, using that sticky as a template, you may discover that you are lacking in key micro/macro nutrients. It is very helpful, and after the initial confusion of figuring that stuff out, everything gets 100x easier and imo healthier.

Ele'ill

7th September 2014, 20:11

my workout is about to change drastically cause gym membership

last workout was pull ups, I warmed up with 25 wide grip

Ele'ill

14th September 2014, 21:07

my legs, lower back, and core hurt really bad

Art Vandelay

23rd September 2014, 19:18

My workout went quite well today. I've increased the time I run on the treadmill by 5 minutes and hope to increase it by another 5 by the end of next week. Cutting back on how much I smoke has been so helpful for my stamina. I've also increased how much I lift and the amount of reputations. I somehow managed to tweak my arm, which makes lifting a bit more difficult, but hopefully it doesn't last too long.

Art Vandelay

24th September 2014, 22:57

Today was rough for me. Wednesday is the one weekday I don't run and instead I double the amount of sets I do. By the third set of weights my arms and legs were starting to get tired and by the fourth they felt like complete jello. Looking forward to getting back to running tmro.

Lanfear

2nd October 2014, 19:37

Yesterday's WOD was a 12 min AMRAP
6 deadlifts
8 ground to overhead
10 front rack lunges

I managed 4 full rounds and 6 dead lifts. I used. 40kg barbell.

Sewer Socialist

5th October 2014, 09:14

4.5 hour bike ride in the sun, 3200 kilojoules

thinking of joining a martial arts gym, nervous about the money

Sewer Socialist

24th October 2014, 05:06

i went to the cheapest gym today and checked out a kickboxing class. it was fun! my left wrist hurts from throwing all those crosses.

Sewer Socialist

18th December 2014, 20:38

When we were doing drills, my foot jab bounced off the pad and hit my partner in the chin. He was okay, just a lil stunned. And then, later, I held the pad a little weird, and him kicking the pad drove my elbow into my ribs and now I have a bruised rib. I tasted blood.

Fightin' is cool.

Ele'ill

13th February 2015, 14:42

I reached my goal of being 180lbs and actually continued upwards and hit 190. I had a PT and two other folks in the gym compliment my physique. Then I gave it all up and didn't go on so much of a cut as a drastic change in diet. I am okay with it.

RedAnarchist

13th February 2015, 17:31

I've been to the gym every day this week since Monday and intend to go tomorrow as well, although I'm thinking of having Sunday as a rest day. I'm down to 182lbs/13 stone today and I was over 220lbs last summer.

At the moment, I'm concentrating on cardio exercises as my goal at the moment is fat loss (which is actually 80% diet, 20% exercise).

BIXX

13th February 2015, 17:51

My workout last night rocked. A kick boxing cobditioning+wall sits then kick boxing technique. Sore today but feeling not bad at all.

motion denied

13th February 2015, 18:56

Probably sorted out my diet. Weights steadily going up and no noticeable fat gains thus far...

Quail

13th February 2015, 19:13

My Judo workout last night was a bit crap. I think I've got a cold because I felt so weak and useless. My throws were all clumsy and lazy. My groundwork was pretty pathetic compared to usual because I had no energy to use speed to my advantage.

I also need some new tricks. My tani otoshi is good, but I really need some other stuff to work around it too. Would like to work on my uchi mata and tai otoshi, particularly from a left handed grip. I need to figure out how to work in some right handed throws and look for spaces to go on the offensive instead of waiting to counter people.

motion denied

14th February 2015, 13:25

acquaintance just went for his personal best, 4,5 plate deadlift

strong mofo fugg

BIXX

14th February 2015, 13:50

So, I have a plan for next week:

Tuesday, kick boxing tech, Wednesday, MMA, Thursday kick boxing conditioning and tech, and maybe western boxing tech on Friday. I know I should balance it a bit better from a day by day perspective, perhaps going to MMA after western boxing on Friday?

Artiom

3rd March 2015, 22:35

Pretty good, had a short but intense run and after that I hit some weights. Tomorrow, either Muay thai or wrestling.

Quail

4th March 2015, 20:55

Apparently my workout on Sunday was pretty good. It really tired me out for the rest of the day and I still felt slightly achy this morning. Ugh I must be unfit.

Ele'ill

7th May 2015, 23:33

Started off again by cutting out all the alcohol. Actually I started off drinking heavily and eating healthy then cut the alcohol out completely for now. My original goal from 185-190 was to not go on a cut but totally change my diet up to help with money and to get really lean. I started doing calisthenics about a week ago, just basic stuff to get my body ready for the gym again. I woke up this morning at 3am to go to the gym, jogged there, did brief 5min warmup on the bike although with pretty heavy resistance which kind of messed up the rest of my workout. Instead of doing a bodybuilding split that is body part oriented I am doing high intensity full body. So today was upper body, core, and cardio. Tomorrow will be lower body and cardio, the following day off, and then repeat. I am used to working out enough that I can augment the intensity of my workouts to stop any risk of overtraining. Every day I am doing boxing workouts which atm is just shadow boxing. I have 2 shoe laces tied together and hanging from the ceiling in my room that allows me to move around a bit if I want but its not really that great of a thing.

I have changed my diet pretty drastically, drinking makes me eat such shit food and so much of it. I eat very light now and low/no carbs makes me feel a lot better although I do plan to carb cycle as medium/low/no repeat. It is amazing to me how food tastes when you are eating light and training hard. Everything outside of this state is taken for granted. Peanut butter! Did you know that there are brands of dark chocolate peanut butter that have an identical nutritional profile to regular peanut butter? Be careful though it is easy to eat the entire thing.

Ele'ill

8th May 2015, 14:45

AM run and leg press and light core, maybe a PM cardio session of some type, probably the bike.

PhoenixAsh

9th May 2015, 19:32

my right side is stronger than the left... Legs, arms, shoulders :unsure:

What is your strength differential between both sides?

On the top of a hat I would say that one side will always be dominant over another. If the difference is really significant so that it is visible in muscle development then switch to dumbbell exercises (or twin cable) and using lower weights for your dominant side for a while. Do this sensibly...because it will strain your core muscles.

Sewer Socialist

10th May 2015, 06:18

To add to PhoenixAsh's advice, single leg squats (I like to do them with a shin of one leg resting on a bench behind the other leg, the one supporting all the weight) will also help to even things out.

In my own training world, I am going to have to see a doctor about shoulder issues. I may have torn something; my shoulder developed pretty intense pain, it was late at night, I couldn't drive or ride a bike with my shoulder like that, so I just walked to the store for cough syrup as a shitty painkiller. I woke up the next day with swollen shoulders (whatever the muscle is that goes between the scapula and collarbone), but not really bad at all. I've been resting them, but I'm confused how they feel back to normal so suddenly after such pain.

I wonder if it's a repetitive stress injury from work, that turned bad after the gym. Another weird thing is that this only happened about 24 hours after the gym, when I was just lying in bed, doing nothing more than leaning on one arm. I suppose I fell on that side at the gym, but it felt fine at the time.

I've never had this sort of injury - I messed up my back, I've broken ribs, wrist, collarbones, concussions... but that's all super intense, slow to heal, and obviously a bad injury. :confused:

PhoenixAsh

10th May 2015, 13:21

I AM NOT A DOCTOR < necessary disclaimer on the Internet :)

But shoulders are a big muscle group on one of the weakest joints in your body where several tendons from other muscle groups connect (bicep, triceps, rhomboids, pectorals) so the location "shoulder" is kind of vague. It also consists of several muscle locations (front, side and rear deltoids) involved in different movement patterns. Where exactly in your shoulder is the primary location of the pain? Which movement gives you pain? What exercises did you do?

In general:

Shoulders are involved in almost all upper body exercises to some extent or another. Which puts them under considerable and repeated strain which makes them really susceptible to injury. But because of their location and the interconnectivity of muscle groups it doesn't necessarily mean the injury is in the shoulder muscle itself....or even in the shoulder area (A moved disc in your neck or back could cause pain in your shoulder...hell even a slipped disc in you lower back can express itself in your shoulder)

DOMS. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness expresses itself 24 hours later. It hurts like hell and is usually felt deep inside the muscle and accompanied by swelling.

Muscle knots. Muscles are not wires. They consist of parts that when contracting contract in on themselves. I am on my phone so it is hard to upload a picture to illustrate what I mean. Sometimes parts of a fiver contract and do not relax. They stay contracted. This hurts like hell as well. And the muscle can become thick and swollen a bit. These knots can take a very long time to relax.

Both knots and DOMS can develop or show up without apparent reason. Cold, lack of sleep, change in diet, sudden small movements, different exercise whatever.

Injuries could also be caused a very long time ago and only express themselves now.

Sewer Socialist

10th May 2015, 19:31

Well, I'm definitely going to a real doctor, so we can play doctor without harm if you like.:)

It's also entirely possible I have different issues in each shoulder.

the right shoulder is the one that got the intense pain, which was again, between the scapula and collarbone. Trapezius? It was a constant pain which I thought was a torn muscle (which I've never experienced) at the time. It was much more intense than a broken bone. It also had some additional relatively minor pain, maybe where something attaches to the humerus? Deltoid?

The left shoulder has had some mild discomfort for a couple months now, maybe in the socket, maybe where something attaches to the humerus? This is more in the joint itself than any muscle. I can "pop" it by rotating it clockwise, but I can do that with other joints, too. Maybe I'm just paying more attention to it now, but it seems "wrong" to hold even a minor amount of weight out in front of me, with my arm perpendicular and fully extended. Not painful, but like I might tear or otherwise injure myself if I try to do the same movement with something bigger. Even just sitting here, it seems like there's something wrong. Maybe like something's wedged in there, or something's missing, or the ball just isn't in the socket all the way? I'm not sure how to describe it, since it's just nerve endings inside my arm.

Possible sources:

-The gym. The intense pain happened on a Wednesday. I had done Jiu-Jitsu on the Monday before, with nothing particularly notable. Someone attempted an armbar, but I quickly got out of it. More likely to have caused it was going on Tuesday, about 24 hours before. On Tuesday, I did a kickboxing conditioning class and a technique class. The conditioning class was fairly intense - lots of punches and push-ups. I also sparred lightly - throwing punches at like 25%. I did get my leg swept and landed on my right side; not hard, but it seems likely to have contributed. I didn't notice any pain in my shoulders, but they were mildly sore in the deltoids at work the next day.

-Work. I lift small boxes and stack them on pallets, with my arms extended in front of me. They're about 10 kilos, which is not a lot, but I do this all the time, so it could be repetitive stress? At that job, I worked on Monday and Tuesday. I worked at a bike messenger job on Wednesday, where I did put a large bulky package in my bag, and twisted around to get my arm in the strap, which could have put odd stress on it.

-Sitting on it weird? I was lying in bed after work, propped up on my elbow, when it started to hurt a little. The pain got worse and worse the whole night, though, mysteriously, it was gone the next day.

-Not taking it easy when the pain started. I kind of tough guy-ed it, and I lifted my bicycle in and out of my pickup truck's bed despite having some amount of pain. This almost certainly made it worse.

-Riding a bike. This seems unlikely, since even with this injury, riding bikes isn't painful at all. But I ride all the time, which puts a very slight amount of pressure on my shoulders.

-Muscle imbalance. I do a fair amount of pushups and bench press, but no rowing motion. When I looked up potential sources of muscle pain on the internet, this was suggested as a possible cause.

PhoenixAsh

10th May 2015, 20:32

Good idea to go see a doctor.

I can tell you right now without a doctors degree that the left shoulder is more of a priority than your right shoulder. And from what you tell me it is likely either an inflammation of a tendon or some form of bursitis. Either one of these is a sensible enough reason to go see a doctor / sports therapist.

It could be, when it expressed in the front deltoid, the tendon of the biceps. Which looking at the motions you make are involved in all of them directly or as a stabilizer. I mention it because it also expressed towards the humerus in the right shoulder.

The right shoulder is not something I would worry about since it is gone now. That makes it less likely to be a medium or large tear or strain. The fact that the pain was gone the next day...makes it unlikely to be DOMS...although the symptoms most definitely are the same. Usually DOMS takes 3-7 days. Knots are still possible...but don't really correlate with total swelling of the muscle...they can vanish suddenly or stay for months.

Can you use the muscle normally now?

motion denied

10th May 2015, 21:02

What is your strength differential between both sides?

Not much, but enough to impair progression. It's frustrating. Yesterday I failed a set of overhead press because of my left side, right side could do one or two more reps.

I'll do what you said though. Lower weights for dominant side.

motion denied

10th May 2015, 21:04

Also, drinking has been holding me back again. Argh.

PhoenixAsh

10th May 2015, 22:17

Well...If it is simply endurance related then you don't need to do that. Simply adjust rep amounts to your weaker side. Small differentials aren't something to be worried about....and it will eventually even put when you reach your first plateau.

PhoenixAsh

10th May 2015, 23:10

My legs are easily my weakest part because I haven't trained them much in the past because of injuries and haven't been able to exercise properly because of stomach area problems.

Today I squatted 110 kg (242 LBS) 4x8.
Hit 110 kg bench 1x5 for the first time in over a year....and followed that by 9x5 100kg (220 lbs) bench. After which I did a 6x8 95 kg (207.5 lbs) decline smith press.

So I am kind of thinking I did well.

Anyways...

I didn't train the largest part of last year due to shoulder injuries and general laziness and demoralization with just about everything. As a result...at the start of December I weighed about 92 kg (202 lbs) with 17.5% body fat. I did lose weight because of some latent medical issues...which became not so latent at the end of January.

I did start to train once or twice a week in January. And at the end of January I entered a period of really bad medical problems, job stress, relationship stress that affected my eating and just about everything else. 3 small medical procedures, a large operation, and recuperation time...which resulted in me weighing in about 78 kg (171.6 lbs) with 15% body fat at the start of the last week of February.

I started to train in earnest after the first week of march. At that time I weighed 81 kilo's (179 lbs)with 14% body fat.

Today...I weigh 87.3 kilo's (192 lbs) with 12% body fat.

My goal for the next 3 months is to get my BF% down to 10% while increasing my mass to 89 kilo's.

That is a gain of roughly 3.2 kilo's (7 lbs) of lean muscle mass...which is possible but hard. It is good to have goals.

Sewer Socialist

11th May 2015, 01:49

Yeah, the right arm feels just like it did before. I just did some sprint work on the bike, out of the saddle stuff, torquing the bike with the upper body a lot. Felt totally fine.

Also, we must have very different body types, PhoenixAsh. Your bench is the same as your squat? My squat is 2.5 times my bench!! Do you exercise outside of lifting? Just curious.

PhoenixAsh

11th May 2015, 02:23

My squat is severely lacking. I started squats for the first time in two...maybe three years...and that was three weeks ago.

My squat is up from 70 to 110 in that period. Although I do squat every day in some variation of the squat (front, back, zercher, hack, seated) every other day (So 1 day back squats. Next day Zercher. Following day back squats. The next day Front squats. Back squats. etc.).

Ele'ill

11th May 2015, 14:40

started yesterday off early am interval run for about 45 minutes then split off to do light legs and light core. My diet and workouts are working because my abs are back (dropping body fat) and the vascularity in my abdominal obliques is back, and I feel pretty good. Then I got high later in the day but instead of eating gross shit I bought one of each type of apple that the store carries (5), 2 apricots, a bunch of freshly cut mango, a whole grain/nut roll and a thing of hummus. Those were my binge snacks for my high carb day.

Today was interval treadmill + interval bike and upper body and maybe more cardio later.

PhoenixAsh

12th May 2015, 02:16

Did 150 kg (330 LBS) dead lifts over squats today

Pretty stoked about that.

Gained almost 5 kg (11 lbs) since 27/3 in body weight with only 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) of fat increase. And I am making some serious size gains in cm's/inches.

Since 1/4:

Chest +1.6 inch
Shoulders +2 inch
Legs +2 inch
Arms +1.1 inch (flexed) +0.6 (tensed)

BIXX

12th May 2015, 04:11

Lost 1.6 lbs during practice. Obv mostly in water weight but when in my practices I'm losing 1.5-3 lbs per practice I generally only gain half that back before my next practice. This isn't a very precise rule but yeah.

Gonna start doing cardio soon not entirely sure how much of an effect that will have but seeing as in general I'm not a terribly good runner it might be nice.

Ele'ill

12th May 2015, 14:37

usually weight loss can only be accurately detected week by week, I think like 0.5-1 lb a week is considered healthy weight loss although it depends on a lot of things

I skipped my AM workout because I woke up feeling run down so I went back to sleep and got a few more hours of sleep. I feel pretty good now. Tonight is 5 min mile night. My fantastical goal atm is to be able to run 5min intervals in between weight lifting or boxing routines.

PhoenixAsh

12th May 2015, 19:06

I had the same thing. Feeling worn down. I haven't really slept well the last three months. Averaging about 5 to 6 hours of sleep with regular waking moments in between and usually only after 5 AM. It is stress, chronic pain and depression related. So it is a concern and especially because it may be affecting my recovery rate.

So today I completely changed my training routine...from strength to time under tension.

My program follows a 12 day on 4 days off routine starting with 70 to 90% 1RM squats alternating in variety of squats (back, front, push, hack, zercher). I always end with biceps and abs. That will remain the same.

Following squats it is either going to be chest, upper back, lower back or leg/shoulder/arms day. This will also remain the same. The staple are always multi joint alternating variations each session for the body parts.

The change get will be in how I do the exercises. So far I have been pushing on heavier load's. From now on these will still happen but only once a week. The rest of the exercises will be focusing on increased time under tension with a 4-4-4 no lock out rhythm at 70% 1RM. So that is 4 seconds hold, 4 seconds down or up and 4 seconds hold for 8 sets of 8 reps.

Ele'ill

12th May 2015, 23:10

I'd be interested to know how that change up works for you. I have never done tut as a main practice, only for things like warming up, planks, and getting over an injury (usually elbow, shoulder or chest related where I'll warm up or pre-exhaust with tut pushups).

Now that I'm off work I don't feel like doing anything but I kinda have to given how much progress I've made, I don't want to sabotage it now by allowing days off because I know it will spin wildly out of control in about 2 weeks. Interestingly enough I talked to someone today who is also interested in physiology and exercise, they estimated that we burn about 700-1000 calories a day doing what we do in my position. I think that could be way off though because I know what a 1000 calorie work out feels like and this is not it, although that comparison is 30min-1hour vs over a 7 hour period of time. It would however explain why I am on my 8 pack abs diet that I made for myself a year or so ago when I had 8 pack abs (the diet is mainly pertaining to body fat % while still getting enough nutrients, not for vanity) but my body is holding fat and my sudden weight droppage has stopped. I need to up my calories and see what happens, thankfully though, I am at such a minimal diet as it is that it really means I only have to add in a protein shake or 2 since my other nutrient bases are completely saturated with good stuff every day.

PhoenixAsh

13th May 2015, 13:02

After one session I can't give much of a realistic update. But so far for the first time in weeks I feel slight soreness in the entire muscle and a light uneasy soreness in the tendons.

Today I want to do upper back and shoulders.

Ele'ill

13th May 2015, 14:25

I went to the gym last night and just did about 45 minutes on the treadmill at a pretty easy 7-8min/mile pace with slightly faster intervals for about a minute at certain points. That was pretty much my day off. This morning was a full upperbody workout 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps for most of the basic lifts, obviously with a fairly light weight. Every 2 lift cycles I'd jump on the tread mill and run fairly hard for about 2 minutes. Out of all the upperbody work I focused today on shoulders, not quantitatively but the quality of form was best. I also did a 10min core workout that was meh and 2 sets on the leg press just for fun.

As far as I'm concerned I am still in my warm-up phase and will be for about a month before I start the more intense workouts, and I think its really cool that warm-up workout cycles yield results, they're not just a thing you have to do before hand.

BIXX

13th May 2015, 19:17

Honestly beginning to notice results in how I feel/look, despite not doing much Liking it.

Gotta change my diet, do more cardio and actively go to the gym more but I bet it won't be long before I'm back to not exactly peak but very good physical condition.

Tim Cornelis

13th May 2015, 20:29

twas okay

Guardia Rossa

13th May 2015, 21:03

Woke up at 5 o'clock. Geez that was the hardest thing I ever done.

PhoenixAsh

14th May 2015, 15:29

Today our gym is closed...so because Jesus went to Heaven I can't lift weights. Fuck you Jesus.

Anyways training yesterday was bloody awful. And I am still not sure what hurts more....my back or my pride.

See...some newbie was doing heavy bent over rows and he was all over the freaking place, sidestepping during his lift. This is a sure fire way to injure yourself. So I decided to help....because it never hurts to help, right? WRONG :unsure:

I showed him how to execute the movement, forgot to calculate for plate size which hit the rack...side stepped...heard a loud dry snap in my back...and 4 minutes of shooting intense lower back pain later I managed to get up off the floor.

Thankfully I had already done heavy squats so at least I got some work in. But after that it was very, very light exercises and some HITT cardio...in order to not completely waste the day.

I can walk, I can sit and I can lie down but getting up and doing anything that requires to use my back hurts.

Tomorrow I'll do chest. And after that my 3 day rest period starts.

motion denied

14th May 2015, 15:43

Didn't get a good night's sleep. Woke up with pain in my left hamstring (wtf).

Bad bad day

Tim Cornelis

14th May 2015, 16:06

My gym is basically open on every holiday, so no problems there. Plus, I recently got me a home gym. That's pretty chill I gotta say. I dunno what you mean by side-stepping, it seems you imply during the workout/set? I thought side stepping, like you step to the left or something, but why do that during the set? I dunno, explain yourself.

PhoenixAsh

14th May 2015, 16:45

...or the right. If you lift too heavy or have an incorrect angle then some people
side step to correct balance during the lift or lowering phase of the exercise.

Or...in my case...because I didn't clear the rack.

Tim Cornelis

14th May 2015, 17:26

I don't see how sidestepping would 'help' in that people would intuitively do it. I still think I'm missing something. but whateffs

PhoenixAsh

14th May 2015, 17:34

You alter the width of your stance and therefore become more balanced and you can lift heavier with a wider stance in a bend over position because your quads come into play to stabilize you and lowering the pressure and tension on your erector

Ele'ill

14th May 2015, 23:39

I did the 2-5min run, 2-5 minute lift thing again today, I felt close to overtrained when I did the run portion, my body was just trying to go back to sleep the whole time. Also did a more intense core workout that I tried to mix and match with my leg exercises, like leg press, then hip abduction machine (sorry, I like it), and then bicycles and the exercise i can't remember the name of where you lay on your back in the reverse superman position and then lift your legs and arms to the middle of your body to touch etc.. deads w/actual superman flutter kicks for lower back/glutes/hamstrings.

Of course I forgot that the freight cycle falls on today at work, so I showed up feeling that leg workout feeling of my base being completely shot without much of any core stabalization being available and grinded through a regular work day +2 hours of more very heavy continuous lifting. Half way through it my hips started locking up so I had to stretch my legs out and it helped a little bit.

I started on creatine again too and have noticed it helps my legs during longer runs, I get very little fatigue which is great because normally my cardio and everything is fine but my knees and ankles and hips start to hurt. I know, not exactly its purpose but I'll take it.

Ele'ill

16th May 2015, 19:10

Got high and ate pretty bad food last night after my main healthy meals, an additional 1k calories *at least*. Woke up feeling and looking leaner, probably because I was way under maintenance all week long and I am sure I needed the hella carb load. Of course instead of taking the day off I went to the gym and did an hour of interval running at varying inclines, and varying speeds. Distance running bores me unless I am outside in a scenic area and I don't feel gassed out in the same way I would during actual hill or stair interval sprints. Afterwards I did core work but couldn't do cable crunches because personal trainers and their clients were all over that area doing ridiculous things.

As far as body composition goes I can see the top of my abdominals, and my abdominal obliques are puffing out in a v. 12-13% bf I think. Also to note is that even with months of drinking and not really working out aside from at work, my body has probably held onto a lot of that muscle I put on previously because my upper body and legs are already in shape.

Lastly, I have become a fan of having a general area to work each day, whether its a bodybuilding split or full body workout, but so long as it is never exactly the same as the last workout. This might change if results plateau, where I'll need to do more of a bodybuilding split but right now my hand speed is pretty good and the clunkiness is gone.

Ele'ill

16th May 2015, 19:16

Regarding the personal trainers, I don't have a problem with them really but I think I could do better than what I see most of the time /arrogance. I don't like it when as an example trainers tell their clients to do a specific yoga move pre/post specific exercise because I've often found when in the position of the client when younger, that the thing didn't work for me, I hated it. I find that with some instruction towards specific exercise there is only one right way to move without getting injured however often times the little side stuff taught can be a detriment to training and bottlenecks experimentation which is the most fun part of training imo. I'd probably explain the general concept of why a stretch, yoga position, exercise, works and let the client figure it out on their own (while making sure they don't do something dangerous), or I'd give them a handful of options pre/post workout and watch them find one they like that achieves the general purpose of doing, and then elaborate from there.

Ele'ill

17th May 2015, 18:19

a very light interval session w/leg lifts and then full upperbody and core

Tim Cornelis

17th May 2015, 20:11

1k calories is nothing. The recommended average is about 2200k calories. huehuehue

Ele'ill

19th May 2015, 23:36

I think I am going to start going for hour long walks in the evening.

Sewer Socialist

20th May 2015, 01:18

motion denied

20th May 2015, 16:40

rest days make me feel lazy

luckily I'll probably play football later today

Ele'ill

21st May 2015, 23:40

Alright so I totally changed things up because I am in the neurotic phase of my workouts. My goal is still to stay lean though. My body was holding that little bit of fat on my stomach, for all intents and purposes it isn't unhealthy and it isn't that big of a deal regarding body image (i still have abs, and I still have muscle weight on me elsewhere that is increasing) however when I change my macros and calorie expenditure I usually clear the plateau and do so quickly like within a week or two. This time it didn't change.

Going to stop the carb cycling and just take in about 60g of carbs around my workouts 30 pre and post workout from oats to see if that has anything to do with it. Also going to go back to bodybuilding split instead of a fullbody workout routine at least while I am at work still because work is so physically demanding. When I was lifting heavy those many months ago and hit 190lbs I was taking in 300g/day. Total now is probably still under 100g/day with a refeed <--I call it a refeed day but basically it means bad food sometimes and movies and pot.

Invader Zim

22nd May 2015, 00:27

I repeatedly lifted several beer cans... on my own.

BIXX

22nd May 2015, 01:43

Been an off week because of adopting bunnies and trying to find a new home for myself. All workouts have been super light.

Cliff Paul

24th May 2015, 12:41

gonna start p90x3 tomorrow because my ex swears by it

I'm a little over 200 pounds right now (which going by bmi = obesity) but I'm probably like 20-22% body fat so I'm not that overweight...

PhoenixAsh

24th May 2015, 13:32

I hear mixed opinions about it. But a lot of people have seen very good results. What seems to be key is keeping to the diet part...and keeping active after the program.

For men this is a rough idea of how body fat % look. It is rough because it is a generalisation and depends on factors such as muscle mass. But it gets the idea across:
:

http://cdn.builtlean.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/body-fat-percentage-men.jpg

P90x3 seems to be about stamina, energy, fat reduction and secondary about keeping muscle mass. For men 14-17% is normal and healthy. So based on your stats that is a reduction of 10 - 15 pounds which should be no problem In 90-120 days when you reduce caloric intake and up caloric expenditure.

The rough equivalent is 35000 to 52500 calories less than normal. That is a rough 400 to 600 calories less per day....or 400-600 calories increase in expenditure over a normal diet. Depending on intensity 30 minutes of exercise will roughly burn 300 calories so theoretically you need to reduce your calories with 300. That is 1.5 liters of milk less a day....or 4 glasses of soda or sugared beverages ;)

PhoenixAsh

24th May 2015, 14:19

Several side notes @ weight oriented training in general

> Fat percentage and fat mass are key. Fat mass is the total mass of fat your body has and fat% indicates how much of your body is made up of fatty tissue In comparison to other tissue.

> Muscle tone & definition is directly linked to fat percentage. Everybody has it, everybody has a six and 8 pack. Just with some people it hides under a layer of fatty tissue. Reduce fat storage and you will steadily begin to see it appear.

> Lowering fat% can be done in one or two ways: either you reduce your fat mass or you increase your muscle mass. Both at the same time is possible but excruciatingly hard and complex....especially after the novice phase.

> Fat takes up 20% more room than the same weight in muscle.

> Fat is gained faster than muscles are build because generally speaking fat works on a 24/7 schedule and muscle on a 60 day cell renewal schedule.

> Most fat is stored in the lower body from the waist down. Your primary results will be visible in your upper body. Lower abdominal fat takes the longest to disappear

> Spot reduction is possible by training a specific body part BUT is so insignificant that you shouldn't fall for it. We are talking about % of grams

> For the most part the statement is true that fat is equally reduced over your entire body...

> Muscles burn fat. Legs are one of the largest muscles in the body...don't ignore them.

> Diet is always key and the most important part of training....whether you try to

Ele'ill

25th May 2015, 17:42

woke up late and had a pretty good workout anyways, mixed pushups in with lower rep weights, chest, shoulders and tri's.

I think around 100g of carbs a day is not nearly enough for me, when I was going up in weight I was at 300-400g/day sometimes more, and that's when I visually leaned out for a while.

BIXX

25th May 2015, 17:45

Ugh this last couple of weeks has been fucking terrible. At least I'm riding my bike as transportation more now to counteract all the not-working out.

BIXX

27th May 2015, 22:47

OK, maybe today was the first day of getting back on track. Went to the gym today, had a good practice. Worked hard, boxed two rounds with my stick fighting instructor. Not exactly sure how much I burnt calorie wise (will figure that out soon) but overall was good.

PhoenixAsh

28th May 2015, 01:21

gonna start p90x3 tomorrow because my ex swears by it

I'm a little over 200 pounds right now (which going by bmi = obesity) but I'm probably like 20-22% body fat so I'm not that overweight...

How is it working out so far?

Cliff Paul

28th May 2015, 02:33

How is it working out so far?

my legs are killing me... I was always too lazy to do cardio when I worked out before so shit like 'the mountain climber' is torture

BIXX

28th May 2015, 03:02

my legs are killing me... I was always too lazy to do cardio when I worked out before so shit like 'the mountain climber' is torture

Do bag rounds and shit I think that's probably a p. good cardio but I could be wrong.

PhoenixAsh

28th May 2015, 14:07

Do bag rounds and shit I think that's probably a p. good cardio but I could be wrong.

It does and it is.

but he is on a fixed designed Programm

as I understood the p90x3 workout it should not deviate from the exercises which are specifically tailored to work together.

PhoenixAsh

28th May 2015, 14:10

my legs are killing me... I was always too lazy to do cardio when I worked out before so shit like 'the mountain climber' is torture

hahaha. Yes I can totally relate to that :D

In fact since I am unemployed for the moment I had the brilliant idea to do cardio in the morning and weightlifting in the afternoon. Today was supposed to be the first day.

I woke up and decided that cardio was a really bad idea. ;)

But the mountain thing is a very good exercise for your core stability and endurance.

I will expand on it in my next post

Ele'ill

28th May 2015, 14:24

The AM lifting and PM cardio is a lot especially if you're busy during the day but it is way better imo than trying to fit a hard lifting session and hard cardio session together within 2 hours. Did that again for a while and my body wasn't having any of it. *Today I woke up to go to the gym but just feel right back asleep and slept through 3 more alarms and was almost late to work. I wish I had been late to work because I would have just not showed and gone to the gym. Today is an off day anyways but I want to do cardio because rest days suck.

How many of you do a regular AM/PM split and how many of you do cardio on leg days i.e. more than a 5-10min warmup jog/bike?

Cliff Paul

28th May 2015, 14:30

as I understood the p90x3 workout it should not deviate from the exercises which are specifically tailored to work together.

ideally. I've already given up on following the program to a tee because I can basically only do 50% of the exercises (no pull-up bar / not enough space in my room / having dogs that really don't like me jumping or running around in a circle). so I try and supplement the rest with other workouts.

I don't think the program is that scientifically tailored - it seems to be based on the premise that if you continually cycle through different exercises you don't get stuck into a groove/routine where you become accustomed to it.

Cliff Paul

28th May 2015, 14:32

cardio in the morning is shit for me since I work in landscaping. the other day I had to dig a trench and my legs were just wobbly as fuck the entire time...

Tim Cornelis

28th May 2015, 15:18

"ripped in 90 days with p90x30", they forgot to tell that you need to have those muscles under your fat already.

motion denied

28th May 2015, 16:30

Only slept for 4 hours last night, already weary before going to the gym. Pulled 6kgs less than expected. Meh.

Tim Cornelis

28th May 2015, 17:07

BIXX

28th May 2015, 17:21

Ah, thank you for asking Mari3l, well, my workout was okay, how was yours?

Irregardless, I wanna do some fighting sports, Krav Maga (dunno if that supports Israel tho) or Muay Thai boxing in case some boneheads wanna throw down. But I'm not sure if that's really combinable with weightlifting. Oh, the dilemma!

Yeah they're compatible if you have the time.
I really recommend muay Thai and a little bit or something armed so you can gain an edge in a situation where someone pulls a knife or tried to hit you with a chair leg or some bullshit.

The key IMO is having options and maneuverability- moving offline from your opponents is pretty great.

Tim Cornelis

28th May 2015, 17:29

Oh I'll make the time, I'll cut out two hours of computer/tv time if I have to!

How long would it take to get okay (and good) with going once a week?

PhoenixAsh

28th May 2015, 17:42

Ah, thank you for asking Mari3l, well, my workout was okay, how was yours?

Irregardless, I wanna do some fighting sports, Krav Maga (dunno if that supports Israel tho) or Muay Thai boxing in case some boneheads wanna throw down. But I'm not sure if that's really combinable with weightlifting. Oh, the dilemma!

Yes it is....combinable. In fact...it keeps your flexible and moving naturally (watch that Iron thing movie with Arnold and you can see him do ballet to relearn how to move naturally with all those big muscles ;) )

I would drop a cardio sessions and you can substitute fighting sports though...and generally apply the "rules" of cardio+weightlifting to the fighting+weightlifting

PhoenixAsh

28th May 2015, 17:49

Oh I'll make the time, I'll cut out two hours of computer/tv time if I have to!

How long would it take to get okay (and good) with going once a week?

Depends entirely on the skill of your opponent ;)

But generally fighting sports are based around insight and making movements intuitive. Getting good requires some time.

Personally if you want practical applicability the sports directed at taking down your opponent as fast as possible by any means necessary are more easily mastered than complexer sports which require athleticism, flexibility, balance and technique.

Krav Maga, Savate, Muay Thai, Boxing are "easier" than Karate, Aikido, Judo, Jitsu.

Down side of that is that those are also the sports that bruise you more easily during training and practice ;)

I did some Krav Maga and I never left the gym without bruises. I even tried MMA....Once...it still hurts to think about that fiasco -_- :D

Tim Cornelis

28th May 2015, 17:54

BIXX

28th May 2015, 19:01

I don't think my muscles are so unnaturally big I need to do ballet to move naturally again just yet...

Does doing training for muay thai cancel out a rest day? Do they make you do 100 push ups in one set?

I have so many questions. But I wont start doing any fighting sport until I've reached some of my midway goals on lifting anyway, so I got time to research. For instance, should I install steel shins? Questions, questions.

Regarding how hard they make you go, it depends on your gym.

I'd recommend getting all your bones replaced with titanium honestly. If you have never seen someone's shin break and actively wrap around your leg, its a sight to see. At least get titanium shins.