Gym & Misc Member Profiles - Post yours!

[saj_21]

Time for another update;

Weighed in this morning at 89 kg. I've lost 1.5kg since the last weigh in which i am pretty happy with considering the last 4 weeks i've had work functions, Christmas Parties, weddings.....i probably drank twice as much alcohol in the last 4 weeks than i did all year and not to mention all the food.

Training has remained the same, still your basic legs/pull/push my volume peaked around 30 sets total in the 3-5 rep range. Now i have dropped the sets down to 20-24 in the 6-12 rep range, trying to pick up the intensity and give myself more time/energy to focus on running coming into footy season next year.

I will look at different style split in the new year just to focus on running and footy training;

M - shoulders / footy
T - back
W - triceps / footy
T - biceps
F - legs - running
S - chest - running

Goal is still to get down to 83kg around March. I did my first 2km run about 4-5 weeks ago it was 8:33.....i did one last weekend it was 8:12.....my goal is to get that down to around 7:30 - 7:45

Post Christmas update;

Long story short i only put on 1kg over the four week break, which i was pretty surprised with seeing as didn't hold back on what i ate or drank and my training volume was around 50% of what it normally is.

At the gym I was struggling for motivation to really push through my sets, so I decided it was time for a change in training, plus i want to allow more time for running. My training split looks like this at the moment; (same as i've outlined above footy training won't start until the 30th of Jan.

M - shoulders / footy
T - back
W - triceps / footy
T - biceps
F - legs - running
S - chest - running

The main difference being now i am only doing 15 sets total 5 exercises 3 sets each. Each exercise will be 1 set warm up 12-15 reps, next set intermediate more weight than the warm up but do 8-10 reps. The final set is all out to failure 10-14 reps. I find doing this i work the muscles a bit harder than doing more and more sets and also my workouts are down to around 40-45 mins. This gives me more time for running (i will probably test my 2km time trial by end of the next week) at the moment i am mixing up my runs from 2-6 km just a steady state, once Feb rolls round i will work more into interval running.

Goal is still to lose weight and improve my running.

 

[peasantbruh69]

May as well post here and see if I can improve throughout the year. Currently 82kg and 184cm, I'm guessing my body fat is 18-19%, because I got a dexa scan 4 months ago and was 17% body fat and I'm barely fatter than I was then.

Want to get bigger, stronger, leaner and fitter, but can't do it all at once. Was thinking to keep increasing body weight by 1kg per month till I'm maybe 86-88kg then cutting till I'm low 80's/high 70's. Also what to do about my scrawny chest and arms? Advice will be appreciated.


(pls ignore odd socks)

 

[cptkirk]

In your jocks in the gym? Wtf??

 

[DemonTim]

In your jocks in the gym? Wtf??

That was my first thought too lol

 

[saj_21]

May as well post here and see if I can improve throughout the year. Currently 82kg and 184cm, I'm guessing my body fat is 18-19%, because I got a dexa scan 4 months ago and was 17% body fat and I'm barely fatter than I was then.

Want to get bigger, stronger, leaner and fitter, but can't do it all at once. Was thinking to keep increasing body weight by 1kg per month till I'm maybe 86-88kg then cutting till I'm low 80's/high 70's. Also what to do about my scrawny chest and arms? Advice will be appreciated.

View attachment 331998
(pls ignore odd socks)

My advice, get lean first then bulk up. Bulking up when you are already 17-19% BF only then to cut back is a bit backwards.

 

[showdownhero]

May as well post here and see if I can improve throughout the year. Currently 82kg and 184cm, I'm guessing my body fat is 18-19%, because I got a dexa scan 4 months ago and was 17% body fat and I'm barely fatter than I was then.

Want to get bigger, stronger, leaner and fitter, but can't do it all at once. Was thinking to keep increasing body weight by 1kg per month till I'm maybe 86-88kg then cutting till I'm low 80's/high 70's. Also what to do about my scrawny chest and arms? Advice will be appreciated.

View attachment 331998
(pls ignore odd socks)

Dude if I was you I would try and find a lifting routine you get results from and find enjoyable so you can get some strength and muscle gains. In the early days you just want to make sure you're hitting a protein target and nt worry too much about nutrition.

After you've got your basic compound lifts to a respectable level (I'm thinking 10 chin ups, bodyweight squat, deadlift and bench press for 10 reps). Then maybe start cluing yourself up on nutrition and how best to drop some body fat.

Worrying too much about what you're eating in the early days of training can make you burn out. I think just try and get to the gym 5 times a week concentrating on the main lifts whilst trying to not eat too much more than you were as a sedentary person whilst still getting apprx 150g of protein would be your best approach

 

[phantom13]

... I'm out.

 

[peasantbruh69]

In your jocks in the gym? Wtf??

I don't own a mirror and it was like midnight at the gym, nobody was around. I walked in the other night and this guy was in his undies doing some weights, I went to the toilet and came back and he had his clothes on.

 

[peasantbruh69]

My advice, get lean first then bulk up. Bulking up when you are already 17-19% BF only then to cut back is a bit backwards.

The problem is I start a very physical job in a few months so was planning on getting leaner then. I would do the physical job, then lift heavy 3-4 times to keep my little muscles. Thought gaining a few more kg's in the meantime wouldn't be too bad?

 

[peasantbruh69]

Dude if I was you I would try and find a lifting routine you get results from and find enjoyable so you can get some strength and muscle gains. In the early days you just want to make sure you're hitting a protein target and nt worry too much about nutrition.

After you've got your basic compound lifts to a respectable level (I'm thinking 10 chin ups, bodyweight squat, deadlift and bench press for 10 reps). Then maybe start cluing yourself up on nutrition and how best to drop some body fat.

Worrying too much about what you're eating in the early days of training can make you burn out. I think just try and get to the gym 5 times a week concentrating on the main lifts whilst trying to not eat too much more than you were as a sedentary person whilst still getting apprx 150g of protein would be your best approach

Yes I do those weights but can't do the bench press, I'm not aiming to be crazy strong just strong-ish, enough for some ressies footy and looking acceptable without clothes

 

[showdownhero]

Yes I do those weights but can't do the bench press, I'm not aiming to be crazy strong just strong-ish, enough for some ressies footy and looking acceptable without clothes

Then those benchmarks I have set you are perfectly achievable and will assist you in your stated goal.

If you can't do bench press maybe do dips instead.

Also think about filling out a profile similar to the below, it well help us provide you with advice.

Spoiler

Re: Member Profiles

Age: 27
Height: 181cm
Weight: 83-85kg
Bodyfat: ~15%
Body type: Mesomorphic I guess but I have a very narrow waist considering the width of my shoulders and my legs used to be extraordinarily skinny. I've since been able to put a bit of bulk on my thighs but my calves are basically non-existent
Qualifications: None
Sports: None
Supps:
Have tried pretty much everything under the sun but I'm currently just taking WPC

Diet: Due to my food obsessed girl friend my diet is currently all over the shop like a mad woman's s**t but I've previously tried a simple calorie deficiency diet and also a no carbs diet without a tremendous amount of success.

Past: GF of 4.5 years broke up with me in October 2008 and I decided the first order of business was to get my physique back. To that point I'd intermittently played sport and done a few weights here and there but hadn't laced up my adidas trainers in anger for at least 3 years (only exercise was a small amount of water skiing) and was eating terribly. I would have been about 77kgs at that point but probably around the 20% body fat mark

Short term goal: Just getting back into the swing of things at the moment after getting slightly sidetracked due to my gf moving in and work going bananas
Long term goal: Would settle for around 10-12%

Strategy: As per short term goals only just getting back to the gym seriously after some wavering commitment

Training: 3 day split 3-4 days a week (ideally 4-5)

Current PB's:
* Bench: 90 x 6
* Squat: 100 x 6
* Dead lift: 120 x 8
* Press: 60 x 6

Currently a little off my PBs due to aforementioned commitment issues.

Goals:
Strength and aesthetics

Photos
All taken while living in Spain in 2007

Taken in June of this year, probably at my skinniest (strong lighting angles )

Taken yesterday, probably at my bulkiest

 

[WakeUpPies]

Not my proudest fap.

Seriously though I looked almost identical to you when I first started, so I 2nd what showdownhero said. Right now you don't have enough muscles to cut down to.

Focus on lifting consistently and getting strong (getting strong will help you look good without clothes on). Your BF% will decrease and you'll look better if you gain a few quality kilos without much fat.

 

[saj_21]

The problem is I start a very physical job in a few months so was planning on getting leaner then. I would do the physical job, then lift heavy 3-4 times to keep my little muscles. Thought gaining a few more kg's in the meantime wouldn't be too bad?

You can do as you please, but if you put on 5 kgs of weight up to 4kgs of it could be fat and then you will have to lose all this fat just to get lean again. The body is far more efficient when it is lean and not carrying excess body fat.

It will be tough being on restricted calories whilst working a physical job, weight training and footy training. I would suggest drop the body fat now and then you can eat extra calories when you start work and bulk up.

But agree with Showdown's points, try and change small things doing it all at once can be overwhelming.

 

[cptkirk]

The problem is I start a very physical job in a few months so was planning on getting leaner then. I would do the physical job, then lift heavy 3-4 times to keep my little muscles. Thought gaining a few more kg's in the meantime wouldn't be too bad?

losing fat is way harder then anything else so I'd do that first then go for rig when you start work and eat your face off

EDIT - now that i just read the other posts "what saj said"

 

[peasantbruh69]

Hmm thanks everyone for the advice, seems like most people suggest getting lean first then bulk.

Anyway my goal is about 80kg lean, so I'm 5kg or so short of muscle to do that. If I continue to bulk by the time I achieve that muscle I'll be very fat. So I'm leaning towards cutting down to about 76kg now then slowly building back up (probs aiming for 200-250g increase per week). I know I need to try to maintain my strength when losing weight to keep as much muscle as possible, but how many grams of weight should I be aiming to lose per week?

Current lifts: Squat 105x6, Deadlift 100x6, OHP 42.5x6, Bench 67.5x6

 

[showdownhero]

As I stated previously. I don't really see the point in cutting first when you still have a lot of newbie gains muscle to be had.

 

[DemonTim]

As I stated previously. I don't really see the point in cutting first when you still have a lot of newbie gains muscle to be had.

I think he just bogged down with bb terms. Like as he has to choose to bulk or cut right now

Realistically beginners don't really need to worry about those things

 

[saj_21]

As I stated previously. I don't really see the point in cutting first when you still have a lot of newbie gains muscle to be had.

Because he is already 17-19% BF, yes he can make some gains now but most weight gain will be fat. He then wants to cut down, it will be a hell of lot easier dropping 5-8kgs (mid 80s to high 70s) now than trying to drop 10-12kgs (high 80s to high 70s) then slowly build back up to mid 80s

 

[saj_21]

Hmm thanks everyone for the advice, seems like most people suggest getting lean first then bulk.

Anyway my goal is about 80kg lean, so I'm 5kg or so short of muscle to do that. If I continue to bulk by the time I achieve that muscle I'll be very fat. So I'm leaning towards cutting down to about 76kg now then slowly building back up (probs aiming for 200-250g increase per week). I know I need to try to maintain my strength when losing weight to keep as much muscle as possible, but how many grams of weight should I be aiming to lose per week?

Current lifts: Squat 105x6, Deadlift 100x6, OHP 42.5x6, Bench 67.5x6

Aim to lose .5kg a week, you may find the first couple of weeks a weight loss of 1kg a week.

Jump onto google, figure out your BMR and calculate how many calories you need. Once you figure out your maintenance level for calories the approx point where you are deemed to gain/lose weight. Say it's 2500 calories take off 10% you should eat 2250 calories each day.

These 2250 calories are made up of;
160-180g of protein (2g per kg of body weight) have fats around 30% of your total calories. And carbs making up the remainder of your calories.

Eat as much food as you can as per above guidelines, if your weight loss stalls drop another 100 calories mostly from carbs. Always keep protein the same 2g per body kg. keep fats at 30% of your total calories (the grams of fat will decrease as your overall calories drop) carbs are the ones you need to sacrifice when dieting.

I will say like I have said before this is my method, everyone is different. One size doesn't fit all!

 

[showdownhero]

Because he is already 17-19% BF, yes he can make some gains now but most weight gain will be fat. He then wants to cut down, it will be a hell of lot easier dropping 5-8kgs (mid 80s to high 70s) now than trying to drop 10-12kgs (high 80s to high 70s) then slowly build back up to mid 80s

He doesn't need to be eating a ridiculous calorie surplus to gain strength and some size. There will probably be some natural recomposition fat loss occurring anyway

Dude if I was you I would try and find a lifting routine you get results from and find enjoyable so you can get some strength and muscle gains. In the early days you just want to make sure you're hitting a protein target and nt worry too much about nutrition.

After you've got your basic compound lifts to a respectable level (I'm thinking 10 chin ups, bodyweight squat, deadlift and bench press for 10 reps). Then maybe start cluing yourself up on nutrition and how best to drop some body fat.

Worrying too much about what you're eating in the early days of training can make you burn out. I think just try and get to the gym 5 times a week concentrating on the main lifts whilst trying to not eat too much more than you were as a sedentary person whilst still getting apprx 150g of protein would be your best approach

As I said in this post he just needs to make sure he's hitting the gym regularly smashing some PBs whilst still getting enough protein.

A calorie deficit or surplus at his level of training experience would be stupid.

 

[saj_21]

He doesn't need to be eating a ridiculous calorie surplus to gain strength and some size. There will probably be some natural recomposition fat loss occurring anyway


As I said in this post he just needs to make sure he's hitting the gym regularly smashing some PBs whilst still getting enough protein.

A calorie deficit or surplus at his level of training experience would be stupid.

No he doesn't need to be a big surplus or deficit, but his focus should be to lose body fat first. And yes there will be some body recompistion without to much focus on calories.

We don't need to reinvent the wheel, but just simply saying "smash PBs in the gym" is to simplistic for mine.

Settling on a routine that suits him, and being consistent with training is key. But needs to mindful with what he is eating.

 

[showdownhero]

No he doesn't need to be a big surplus or deficit, but his focus should be to lose body fat first. And yes there will be some body recompistion without to much focus on calories.

We don't need to reinvent the wheel, but just simply saying "smash PBs in the gym" is to simplistic for mine.

Settling on a routine that suits him, and being consistent with training is key. But needs to mindful with what he is eating.

100% agree with the bolded, I just think at this stage strength gains should be the focus instead of fat loss.

 

[saj_21]

100% agree with the bolded, I just think at this stage strength gains should be the focus instead of fat loss.

Will depend on which he wants more. Getting lean or getting stronger, it's hard to optimise both at the same time.

 

[WakeUpPies]

Yep key is definitely consistency and finding enjoyment in the gym. Skinny fat is not a great position to be in because you're either going to cut and realise you have no muscles or bulk and feel fat. all dem feels. But it's where most of us start from.

Get in the gym, don't train like a vag, stick to one goal, get in the gym, don't train like a vag, and keep smashing it consistently.

 

[vonn]

Alright gang. 6 month progress pictures (excuse my nightie). It's definitely not the final goal, but I do see small changes, especially given I never used to train back. I'm pretty happy my weight hasn't changed too much, so it's my body composition that is changing... more importantly, I feel better. Currently focusing on correcting my imbalance - (can really see it in my delts for e.g.) but I am pleased with this progress after a year off. Will add legs at a later date when I have a full-length mirror.