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Weight Loss and Fitness 2014

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I wonder is doing chest three times a week, just for two months, would be a good idea.

 

If you do make sure you do back three times a week too, or at least mix in some upper back/rear delt work with your extra chest stuff.

 

Trouble is most people have have tight front muscles and rounded shoulders as it is, from bad posture and sitting too much. Doing loads of extra chest/anterior delt work is going to make it worse and probably lead to injuries/pain as well as bad posture. So to prevent that you'll have to do more back.

 

You don't necesarily have to do more taxing heavy rows or pull ups. Maybe more lower weight, higher volume posture work. E.g. face pulls, bent over flies, band pull aparts, bat-wings etc, and stretch your chest and anterior delts (and maybe biceps too) often, the doorway chest stretch is a good one.

 

Additonally you may find that the extra back/posture stuff improves the look of your chest itself.

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What exercises do people do for triceps at home without weights, and at what kind of rep/set ratio? I've been doing triangle pushups at home but I've sort of plateaued at 24, thinking of putting some plates in a backpack and doing it that way. What say ye?

 

Anyway, I've been back at the gym for the last month and a half doing a lean gain and trimming fat and just about got myself to being able to dumbell press 2x34s for 10 reps as my max (can do quite a bit heavier on a barbell but don't want to risk it because I don't have a spotter because I don't have any friends) but I'm being held back like a bastard by my triceps which seem to have atrophied more than any other muscle group over my year and a half absence from the gym.

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What exercises do people do for triceps at home without weights, and at what kind of rep/set ratio? I've been doing triangle pushups at home but I've sort of plateaued at 24, thinking of putting some plates in a backpack and doing it that way. What say ye?

 

Anyway, I've been back at the gym for the last month and a half doing a lean gain and trimming fat and just about got myself to being able to dumbell press 2x34s for 10 reps as my max (can do quite a bit heavier on a barbell but don't want to risk it because I don't have a spotter because I don't have any friends) but I'm being held back like a bastard by my triceps which seem to have atrophied more than any other muscle group over my year and a half absence from the gym.

 

Bench/chair dips?

 

Be careful though, some people find these wreck their shoulders so they aren't for everyone.

 

Also you can try this:

Get into a reverse plank like this, with your hands pointing forward.

 

Then, keeping your hands where they are and your legs straight, very gradually slide your heels backwards so your hands end up slightly closer to your hips. This will cause you to lean back slightly and put more stress on the triceps. You shouldn't have to move much to get the desired effect, only an inch or two, anymore and you might risk your elbow joint. Don't try to make it harder by leaning back too much, just shoot for holding it longer, or doing more sets. It might not replace your pushups but it might be something you could add for more time under tension on the triceps.

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I'll try the plank, looks like it'll be good for building up stamina since it's not really weight they can't take but more that they just tend to crap out into the fourth set. Dips pretty much work seem to work in the same way as triangles except you're bearing less weight so that probs won't be too helpful. Might just start doing kickbacks with random household objects. I've got a couple bricked xboxes sitting around somewhere :heh:

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Just ran for 30 minutes without taking a break or walking. Distance: aprox 4km.

 

This may seem like nothing for most of you but it's actually really great for me. :)

My stamina has been in the dumps since I quit football at the age of 17. Now I'm slowly working on improving.

 

Have to think about a realistic goal I could set for myself. Maybe being able to run 12km without a break 6 months from now or something like that. Will look through the web and figure it out : peace:

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Making some good progress at the gym but man, I'm getting some serious cramps in my foot when I'm deadlifting. It's absolutely horrendous.

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Kind of at a weird intersection of wanting to hit the gym hard and being so bloody exhausted all the time. Had a hectic six weeks or so at work and while that is calming down, it's completely wiped my energy. I've not cycled in ages, and think I've only hit four days in the gym once in the last few months. I've cancelled by current gym membership (due to finish end of December) and looking to sign up to the one near home and switch from mornings to evenings.

 

For the time being I'd like to do more, but my knees keep playing up. I'm feeling blurgh about my body and would like to do more cardio, but I fear I may do myself harm at the moment.

 

Blah blah blah. I need energy!

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Kind of at a weird intersection of wanting to hit the gym hard and being so bloody exhausted all the time. Had a hectic six weeks or so at work and while that is calming down, it's completely wiped my energy. I've not cycled in ages, and think I've only hit four days in the gym once in the last few months. I've cancelled by current gym membership (due to finish end of December) and looking to sign up to the one near home and switch from mornings to evenings.

 

For the time being I'd like to do more, but my knees keep playing up. I'm feeling blurgh about my body and would like to do more cardio, but I fear I may do myself harm at the moment.

 

Blah blah blah. I need energy!

 

What are your goals? What sort of stuff do you do in the gym when you're there?

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For the time being I'd like to do more, but my knees keep playing up. I'm feeling blurgh about my body and would like to do more cardio, but I fear I may do myself harm at the moment.

 

Blah blah blah. I need energy!

 

When I can't be arsed working out I do bodyweight isometrics, not moving feels like working out without the effort. Eventually you can up tired but it sort of creeps up on you by which time you're already into it, I certainly sweat a lot less too.

 

The sorts of things I do are squats holds, pushup up holds, front/side/reverse planks (arms extended), 'easy' hollows hold (ie not a strict hollow), glute bridges, something where I stand on a bent leg, leaning forward, with my other leg extended behind me, and somethling like a downward dog except on my knees.

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Well I think anything involving legs is out at the moment. My right knee has been hurting for a while (seeing a doctor on Tuesday) and managed to bang and bruise my left one yesterday :p

 

In terms of what I'm aspiring to do, I'm not sure. Think I'm just going for the sake of ensuring I don't fall behind, but I'm certainly not going forward. I need a new routine, but not really sure what right now. I'm kind of rutting.

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Making some good progress at the gym but man, I'm getting some serious cramps in my foot when I'm deadlifting. It's absolutely horrendous.

 

Maybe it's because you lean to much forward when putting it down. Try raising the bar a bit above ground by putting two plates under it before lifting. And remember to push with your heel and use the toes for balance.

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Maybe it's because you lean to much forward when putting it down. Try raising the bar a bit above ground by putting two plates under it before lifting. And remember to push with your heel and use the toes for balance.

 

Now you mention it, I never got cramp when deadlifting with plates..Hmmm.

 

I'm putting my feet closer together now which has fixed the problem somewhat but still not ideal. I'm definitely noticing gains though and feel much stronger. Unfortunately work is very hectic at the moment and it looks as though I may have to take another week off :(

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I'm still persisting with stronglifts and I'm quite enjoying squatting 3 times a week. I had my rest day today and could feel that my legs were worked pretty hard yesterday. I've worked my way back up to 85kg for 5x5, so I'm excited about pushing on from here. Deadlifting on the same day actually doesn't feel that bad, tbh. I was expecting it to not work at all, but I'm enjoying it.

 

The only downside for me is that school is very busy and I'm knackered by the time I get home. The last week/two weeks has been tough, especially with that initial first set of squatting.

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Just got home from London yesterday night after three very good days there, first time ever in England as well. I felt cold, it was windy and chilly in general. However, I saw LOTS of people running around in shorts and t-shirts (with short sleeves)! Is the English less cold than others in general?

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I find our weather generally cold, but it's not unusual to see outdoor sporty types such as joggers and recreational footy player going around in shorts and short sleaves whatever the weather. Even some postmen and women will wear shorts in nippy weather, I don't know how or why they do it.

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I've managed to break the 100kg barrier for squats! :yay:

 

My legs are beginning to feel bigger and stronger, especially during the past week or so. They are also feeling more tired and I'm grateful for the rest days. Everything else is progressing. Overhead Pressed 45.5kg yesterday and managed it relatively comfortably for the first three sets, but didn't do quite so well for the remaining two.

 

The problem is that Christmas is here and we'll be going to Belgium to see Ine's family. A shame to take a break now as I'm doing well with this.

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Congrats on the 100 kg! That's a major milestone. I need to get back up there with good form. Also good job on the shoulder press - I struggle at 4 reps of 43 kg for more than one set, simply can't get it up! However, my max is 48 kg so I think it's alright to do 42 kg 8x4. :)

 

I'm progressing as well but in a different way. Since I started seeing a physician, my hip/groin has become much better. The physician says that it's alright for me to do anything that doesn't hurt and deadlift and backsquats don't really hurt - in fact, deadlifts are great! I do sets of 10 and then 8 sets, going up in kg every set. In deadlft, I go from 62 to 75 kg - it's not heavy for me but I have decided to strengthen my overhand grip in stead of twisting my hands. This is the hard part. For squats, I do 50-55 and and 6 sets of 60 kg, all 10 reps. That's a bit hard on the legs, the last two sets are tough.

 

Other than that, I do 6 minutes planking every day - we call it the "meatball" because every minute I rotate. So 1 minute is normal, then Superman-hold, then right-side, then left-side, then reverse plank and at last just a normal one again.

 

Hopefully, I am free of pain in a couple of months.

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Congrats on the 100 kg! That's a major milestone. I need to get back up there with good form. Also good job on the shoulder press - I struggle at 4 reps of 43 kg for more than one set, simply can't get it up! However, my max is 48 kg so I think it's alright to do 42 kg 8x4. :)

 

I'm progressing as well but in a different way. Since I started seeing a physician, my hip/groin has become much better. The physician says that it's alright for me to do anything that doesn't hurt and deadlift and backsquats don't really hurt - in fact, deadlifts are great! I do sets of 10 and then 8 sets, going up in kg every set. In deadlft, I go from 62 to 75 kg - it's not heavy for me but I have decided to strengthen my overhand grip in stead of twisting my hands. This is the hard part. For squats, I do 50-55 and and 6 sets of 60 kg, all 10 reps. That's a bit hard on the legs, the last two sets are tough.

 

Other than that, I do 6 minutes planking every day - we call it the "meatball" because every minute I rotate. So 1 minute is normal, then Superman-hold, then right-side, then left-side, then reverse plank and at last just a normal one again.

 

Hopefully, I am free of pain in a couple of months.

 

Overhead pressing is the one that I've always struggled with. The first three sets killed me.

 

Good luck with your recovery. I too had some hip pain before that has thankfully healed over. There was a period where I almost stopped squatting entirely, especially heavy, because of the pain. Feels good to be back on it.

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I don't understand how people can push >60 kg above their heads. It's just impossible for me to grasp!

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I don't understand how people can push >60 kg above their heads. It's just impossible for me to grasp!

 

I was watching the Strongman Championships from God knows what year yesterday. Some of the weight that these guys were pressing...feelsverybadman.

 

You're going to need that perfect base to push off, so your legs and core need to be strong. Posture is important and then it's all down to the upper body. I look at the weight I'm currently pressing and I'm thinking am I ever going to get to a point where I can press double that? Seems impossible. That would be one hell of an achievement. It'll take years to even give myself a chance at reaching that.

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Yup. I'm very focused on keeping my back straight as I feel that I'm bending a bit too much backwards on the last rep. I find that it helps really squeezing my buttocks together - which incidentally also stops my leg(s) from shaking - and then I'm also focusing on holding the bar straight all the time. That's actually pretty hard as one arm tends to be a bit stronger than the other.

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I had to make a before/after poster as part of my challenge on my weight loss blog from when I started losing weight to how I look now...

 

fitspoof2014_thumb.jpg?w=286&h=402

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