Gym Thread (2013)

[abeybaby]

Keep the great work Hutch

[Hutchoo]

Keep the great work Hutch

Will do, baberaham!

[Only Cheating Yourself]

Yeow! Well I'm a pre skinny guy.
And I can't put on any weight even if i tried.
I eat and eat and eat. But nudda.
Ive recently started doing some gym work.
But to be honest I don't know what the hell I am doing. Hehe.
I do the pec deck for chest ( i think)
Bench press ( no idea for what)
Some leg thing where I raise my legs lifting weights.
Dumb bells
And a bar bell, by over arm grip, and raising up to my chest then back down

What more could I do? Arm wise and chest wise and leg wise. Everything in general.

#Imanoob

Jump on a novice program, but my advice and if your doing V.C.E just stick to compound lifts, you don't want to spend 3 hours in the gym.  So maybe 3 days a week and if you access to the gym do
squat
bench press
barbell rows
5 by 5

and work on pull ups

And keep eating…

[abeybaby]

Now that 2013 is over, who stuck to their goals for 2013? who has big plans for 2014? any new year resolutioners joining the gym in 2014?

Remember, EVERYBODY started somewhere

[brenden]

I fell off the bandwagon a little bit before exams and lots 5 of the 6 kilos I put on through Semester 2 (mosty excess from a calorie shake).
Big goals this year. I want to lift more than Thor. What about you, abes?


To be serious, I don't really set specific goals, I just want to lift more weight than I have been motif constantly in the three main compounds.

[abeybaby]

Sounds awesome brenden, consistency is key

This year I'm doing my first set of contests - We're 8 weeks into prep and there are another 8 weeks to go till the first contest, and then there are 2 more contests about 4 weeks later, so 20 weeks of dieting all up. So far, everythings going great! 8.6kg down, roughly 8-9% body fat. I'm planning on getting the bf measured properly pretty soon.

But yeah, I want to step it up in 2014. I want to hit the 65kg mark lean (im really short )

[DJA]

So glad I found this thread
Went to school gym at Scotch for the last 4 months of term 2013 and was a great confidence booster+letting out stress. Will be continuing probs ~3 times a week in my yr 12 2014.
My school gym is being refurbished (finally) so I'm super excited to see the new equipment when school starts up again. Atm in the holidays, no gym. I just do a lot of swimming in preparation for APS and whatever dryland strength exercises I can do before swimming like squats/pushups/core exercises etc

What pisses me off though is I have practically the fastest metabolism ever and I eat like hell and I don't gain. Any advice? Because I need the weight in order to lift. I weigh ~51kg.

Can anyone contribute a good workout for a 3 times a week gym routine mon wed and fri that works the whole body?

[Only Cheating Yourself]

I recommend for anyone who is in year V.C.E stick to compound lifts, no need for curls and other isolation exercises.  Do pull ups!  I don't care how much you can lift, if you can't do a single pull ups, how much you lift then really means nothing.

[DJA]

I recommend for anyone who is in year V.C.E stick to compound lifts, no need for curls and other isolation exercises.  Do pull ups!  I don't care how much you can lift, if you can't do a single pull ups, how much you lift then really means nothing.

I do like ~5 atm from a hanging position and then die...so thanks for the reminder lol.

Could you explain compound lifts?

[brenden]

I do like ~5 atm from a hanging position and then die...so thanks for the reminder lol.

Could you explain compound lifts?

Compound lifts are lifts that use more than one joint (or work a group of muscles instead of one specific muscle).
This is opposite to isolation, which targets one muscle.


Eg: compound - squats.
Isolation: bicep curls and almost all machines.

Google Strong Lifts 5x5 DJ. What I'm doing at the moment. You don't necessarily need to put on a lot of weight to lift heavier weights. But get a weight gainer protein if you want to up the kilos.

[abeybaby]

Compound exercises are exercises that use many different muscles at once. The 4 major ones are: Bench press, squats, deadlifts and overhead press.

Getting good form on these exercises + standard push and pull exercises (chest presses/flyes, lat pulldowns, dumbbell rows, military presses, side raises etc.) is more than enough to keep you going for about 9 months.
and bodybuilding.com has tonnes of routines for beginners, just dont get lured in by the sound of crazy and whacky exercises. simple things work well.

Also, I was very similar to you when I started 3 years ago, 55kg, 168cms, 17% body fat and I ate like a pig but never gained weight. training upped my metabolism, but the real key was to eat frequently, even if it was in smaller portions. put something in your mouth every 2.5-3 hours. Good luck!

EDIT: I'm not a fan of weight gainers, they're usually about ~25% protein and the rest is carbs and sugar. I'd rather have a standard WPC shake and eat some rice or pasta.

[Only Cheating Yourself]

Compound lifts are lifts that use more than one joint (or work a group of muscles instead of one specific muscle).
This is opposite to isolation, which targets one muscle.


Eg: compound - squats.
Isolation: bicep curls and almost all machines.

Google Strong Lifts 5x5 DJ. What I'm doing at the moment. You don't necessarily need to put on a lot of weight to lift heavier weights. But get a weight gainer protein if you want to up the kilos.

Don't want to be rude… But i wouldn't use a weight gainer or any protein shake, stick to whole foods in my opinion.

Lets break it down:

what do protein shakes do?  Beginers think it builds muscle which is false, what does protein do?  Builds and repairs tissues which makes sense as when you lift weights you build muscle… But can't whole foods supply the same source of protein if not better?  Yes, they can.  Tuna, chicken etc, lean meat will provide you with protein just as the same if not better than protein shake.

What do weight gainers do?  they have a terrible protein to carb ratio, e.g serious mass per serve has 250g of carbs and 25g of protein, and that is a whopping 1250 calories or something like that, to gain weight you need to be in a caloric surplus, so all a weight gainer has is heaps of carbs, can we get carbs from whole foods?  Yes we can.  Foods such as rice, potatoes, fruits, bread all provide carbs and i would recommend getting brown rice, whole meal bread etc.

[DJA]

But get a weight gainer protein if you want to up the kilos.

I got a 65:35 protein:carb supplement in preparation for the school year. Would that suffice and help with gain+a normal health diet?

Compound exercises are exercises that use many different muscles at once. The 4 major ones are: Bench press, squats, deadlifts and overhead press.

Getting good form on these exercises + standard push and pull exercises (chest presses/flyes, lat pulldowns, dumbbell rows, military presses, side raises etc.) is more than enough to keep you going for about 9 months.
and bodybuilding.com has tonnes of routines for beginners, just dont get lured in by the sound of crazy and whacky exercises. simple things work well.

...the real key was to eat frequently, even if it was in smaller portions. put something in your mouth every 2.5-3 hours. Good luck!

So eating frequently. That is probably my problem-I only ever eat at breakkie lunch and dinner and sometimes skip brekkie altogether because i cbf. What do you suggest eating at these smaller intervals?

My problem in the gym has also been how do I learn the correct form? I'm scared to deadlift because I'm not sure of the form and I don't want to injure myself.
I squat + I think I know how to bench (some rudimentary advice from friends last year). Could you explain the overhead press? Don't think I've done that before.
Any suggestions on the best way to get form for these main 4 exercises?

Also, I was very similar to you when I started 3 years ago, 55kg, 168cms, 17% body fat and I ate like a pig but never gained weight. training upped my metabolism, but the real key was to eat frequently, even if it was in smaller portions. put something in your mouth every 2.5-3 hours. Good luck!

Unbelievable that's my exact height...
Hopefully I can put on weight this year. It's my sole new years resolution

[DJA]

Don't want to be rude… But i wouldn't use a weight gainer or any protein shake, stick to whole foods in my opinion.

My diet has always been balanced. Do you think having a shake after a gym workout would do any harm?

[abeybaby]

So eating frequently. That is probably my problem-I only ever eat at breakkie lunch and dinner and sometimes skip brekkie altogether because i cbf. What do you suggest eating at these smaller intervals?

My problem in the gym has also been how do I learn the correct form? I'm scared to deadlift because I'm not sure of the form and I don't want to injure myself.
I squat + I think I know how to bench (some rudimentary advice from friends last year). Could you explain the overhead press? Don't think I've done that before.
Any suggestions on the best way to get form for these main 4 exercises?

Basic idea is to eat high protein, and high carb to gain weight. So you can snack on some carbs (oat bars, muesli, fruits, crackers/biscuits) and have some more serious protein + larger serves of carbs in your main meals.

Best way to get form right is YouTube, it's great! just watch lots of videos. I had a personal trainer at the beginning, and they were useful to get started, but they become very un-useful very quickly.