The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

Speaking of that stuff, I'm looking for suggestions on what to do and take. So a little background. I'm 34, 5' 6" and about 185 lbs. When I was on high school, I was about 200 lbs, but then in college, I dropped to 170. After graduating and moving back home, I shot up to 188. After a few years, i joined Bally's and got down to 159. I felt great. Well, life happened again and I got back to 185 where I have been for a couple of years. So, in October, I started hitting the gym hot and heavy. Been going about 6 days a week. Every other day is legs, and the arms are the opposite days. Originally when I started this a few months ago, I was doing average weights and doing 3 sets of 25 reps. I ran into someone at a party who used to be a past personal trainer. She recommended that I got for high weights, 12-15 reps and four sets. I saw a few mention that on here as well, so I switched. I can't tell if it's making a difference though. Also, each day, I do an hour of cardio. I'll do 10 minutes on the eliptical, then hit a weight machine. Then I'll do 10 minutes on a bike, and hit another weight machine. Then I'll do 10 minutes on a treadmill, and hit another weight machine. Now, I'm not much into running, so I usually do high resistance / incline to keep my heart rate up. For my eating habits, I drink a glass of cranberry juice in the morning, have a banana for breakfast, have a cup of yogurt and a cup of low fat cottage cheese for lunch, and then dinner is whatever is there, but I usually try to not overload myself. I also just (about a week ago), bought a 64 oz container that I fill with water every night and make sure to drink the entire thing the next day. It has helped to curb my appetite and I'm hoping it will help as it has cut down my iced tea and soda intake.

So, my weight hasn't dropped at all, but I am starting to see a little improvement when I look in the mirror (shoulders and arms are starting to change, and my stomach is going down a little). My goal is to become lean with some muscle tone. At this time, I am not taking anything. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to change in my workout, lifestyle, or anything that you would recommend taking?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

Welp, I'm really taking advantage of these final days of bulking. Had hot wings for dinner The only "Bad" thing I have planned for today is steak, which isn't too bad, just kinda high in fat. Eating like this since Thurs has me dragging...I don't see how folks eat like this all the time lol. After a bad meal, I just wanna lay around. Did a quick 30ish minute shoulder workout yesterday after work though:

all 4 sets of 8-15:

standing overhead dumbbell press
dumbbell side lat raises
dumbbell front raises
smith machine shrugs (2 sets regular, 2 sets behind the back)
machine rope face pulls

Wasn't bad. I only took half a scoop b/c it's 420mg caffeine and it really had me going! I'm gonna bump it up to 3/4 scoop for legs this morning. I think the flavor is berry blast or something like that and it's the best flavored pre I've ever tried. It's just like Kool-Aid. So far, I'm very impressed with it. There's just enough beta in it to get you tingling, but not so much that you wanna rip your face off.

So, are you just alternating leg day and arm day without focusing on chest, shoulders, and back?

I'd listen to your personal trainer friend on set/rep schemes. Anything over around 15 reps isn't going to do much but burn calories. The typical protocol is that 1-7 reps is for strength, 8-15 reps is for muscle growth, and 16+ reps has no real value other than burning calories. As for sets, 3-4 sets per muscle group is fine. Here's a good sample workout plan that hits every muscle group well. I'm not saying to use it, I'm just saying that this type of scheme is what most bodybuilders use to gain muscle. It is a great example of how much attention to show each muscle group.

Is what you posted your entire diet? If so, you need to eat more....even if you're trying to lose weight. There's probably less than 50 grams of protein there and you need to be getting at least 150 g per day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsB2wtH24D8

 

Gotta start buying the 5lb tubs man. More Cost effective

 

Also everything at gnc is buy one get one 50% off through Monday

 

I hate stairs.

And toilets

And people that talk me into staying out until 3 am on Friday night when I have to work Saturday morning.
Superset:
Leg press:
3 sets of 85:
20 with feet at bottom of platform
20 with feet 1-2 inches higher
20 with feet 1-2" higher
25 with feet at top of platform
Squats 3x20

Leg extensions:
3 double drop sets
12-15 reps each
1 final burnout set of partial reps with tension on the muscle the whole time. Think I had it on like 110 or 120 and made it to 40 "partial reps".

Stood up off the machine and fell down

 

Would rather let a clown do the handkerchief trick out of my piss hole than shop at any gnc around here.

 

Yeah, I usually do, but I really wanted banana creme and they only had it in the small one.

hahaha I'm the same way dude. I hate that place for so many reasons, but I always forget to make my bb.com order, so I have to go there every now and then for protein. I could rant for days on that damn place.

Also, sorry @ThunderCookies, but this just bumped out your sig haha!

 

Also, just got back from doing legs. I took 3/4 scoop and it got me going. Monday, I'm going full scoop. YOLO.

I went so hard on hamstrings, I was about juiced out on quads. I was gonna start out with squats, but a friend was in the squat rack. I would've worked in with him, but he was already up to 405 when I got there and was going up, so I had to start with hamstrings. Dude is a beast...he's also in his 40's. His big three is probably over 1500 lbs and I know for a fact he's all-natural. He has that strongman build: not tone at all, but he's probably in the high teen bodyfat numbers and is about 5'7", 230 lbsish.

anyway...

all 4 sets of 10-20:

deficit Romanian deadlifts
lying leg curls
squats
leg extensions

superset 3 sets of 15-30:

seated calve raises
leg press calve raises

 

Lol, love the disclaimer video. Thanks for the response. I actually should have said upper and lower body instead of arms and legs. I lump in chest, shoulders, and back with the arms days.

That's basically my entire diet. I do pig out on the weekends though.lol. Regarding the protein, I do eat a lot of meat, chicken, broccoli, and peas for dinner. Though it's probably not adding up to 150 grams.

 

trying to begin the slim. adding a treadmill run to the end of every workout day except leg day. Please remove some fat my boring friend cardio

also rookie move of great proportions, i forgot how much easier lifting while focusing on breathing and getting that inhale/exhale right. jesus what have i been doing

 

Bros, my tank top game just got so much stronger thanks to Wal mart. I'll post pics when I get home.

 

Lol - I've got 3 tanks. 2 from old navy and 1 from target. I usually only wear them with a bathing suit. After I bought my broscience shirts I've been thinking I made a mistake not buying them as tanks but tanks were the same price as a tee so I figured I'd get the more material for the money and cut anything off I don't want

 

Back in the gym after a week of being away for spring break and off the grid at an off-road meet. Back and bi's today.

 

Aaaaaand my favorite...

 

Pussy. Did Bi's and tri's this morning before breakfast with the fam.

 

What what Walmart has these. I'm finally getting comfortable to start wearing tank tops at the gym especially after some over head press' this morning wearing my new one from the gym

 

Nice haha. I love tank tops. Our gym just ordered some razor back tanks with their logo on it...gonna get one this week. I went and did all my food shopping for the cut that starts tomorrow. It's gonna cost me about $60 per week, which is about $10-$15 less than my bulking food. I ended my last days of shitty eating with a bang....Zaxby's for lunch and drank a 6 pack of Sweetwater Blue while painting my fender flares, wheels, and changing out my fuel filter. Also, my lower back is sore as fuq from yesterday's deficit deadlifts...if I flex, it starts cramping...love it!

 

I don't usually wear them until I've cut a little more. Like to see the feathers and the striations.

The one here in blue ridge. Also had one that says "ball so hard"...with a picture of beer pong.

Sweet water blue? One of the ladies I hung out with last summer liked that

I had a bad weekend. Food wasn't that bad, but every time I turned around someone was sitting a drink in front of me...

 

Fuck you.

Side note, anyone use straps for deadlift? I was deadlifting today and had to set it down every 3rd rep to re-grip it because I couldn't hold onto it.