SWF GYM:(Injuries abound XD)

[Teran]

correct on both accounts. although protein wasnt designed to be downed with a tropical umbrella and bendy straw. man up and drink that s**t.

Yeah well it's better than cheap scotch don't worry about it.

 

[Chill]

It's not that bad with water. Some of the high-end stuff is actually pretty tasty.

The new creatine I got though. BLECGHK

It's basically concentrated koolaid powder and splenda.

I think I just must have gotten used to it. I tried it with water and it didn't taste that bad. I do remember that when I first started drinking it even with milk it taste like crap. My creatine is pretty good though, it taste like fruit punch so it's pretty easy to drink.

Thanks shmot, you've been super helpful.

 

[Teran]

My bro uses a tasteless creatine powder.

Pretty ballin', means you can mix in whatever.

 

[Chill]

god****it

So I finally injured myself as well. I pushed myself a little too hard while running and my right knee hurts quite a bit. Yesterday, it started out as a feeling of soreness then I was limping and soon after I couldn't even walk on it. It's feeling much better now, I can walk but I can't fully extend my knee without feeling a bit of pain when it bends.

At least I can still lift? :C

 

[Attila_]

I think I just must have gotten used to it. I tried it with water and it didn't taste that bad. I do remember that when I first started drinking it even with milk it taste like crap. My creatine is pretty good though, it taste like fruit punch so it's pretty easy to drink.

Thanks shmot, you've been super helpful.

My bro uses a tasteless creatine powder.

Pretty ballin', means you can mix in whatever.

flavourless creatine won't absorb well unless its got some sort of sugar/electrolyte in it. thats why flavoured creatines are quite good; they generally use sucralose as a sweetener. if you have an unflavoured one, id strongly advise something to help with absorption, like glucose, juice or even salt O_o

also, <3 chill

god****it

So I finally injured myself as well. I pushed myself a little too hard while running and my right knee hurts quite a bit. Yesterday, it started out as a feeling of soreness then I was limping and soon after I couldn't even walk on it. It's feeling much better now, I can walk but I can't fully extend my knee without feeling a bit of pain when it bends.

At least I can still lift? :C

obviously im guessing, but it sounds like a 'pfj injury' (feel free to look this up). in any case, rest for a while and avoid any deep squatting or similar for the next couple of weeks. its all about a gradual return; take a week off, then test the waters and see if you can bend your knee a bit, then a bit further, etc etc. hopefully shouldn't take longer than a few weeks. if it does, i'd recommend getting it getted out.

 

[deepseadiva]

Salt water creatine.

 

[theeboredone]

Yea, I've been dealing with a sore/bruised knee for a week now. Banged it in basketball, and I've been avoiding any kind of squatting, lunges, and dead lifts.

Which reminds me, what are some good alternatives to dead lifts?

 

[deepseadiva]

http://www.geekosystem.com/twinkie-diet/

wat

 

[Chill]

The twinkie had pretty much nothing to do with it though. He was eating too many calories to lose weight so when he lowered his caloric intake he lost weight. You could have substituted "twinkie" with "apple" and the results would have been the same.

 

[theeboredone]

Yea I remember reading about this. Calorie deficit = losing weight. That simple. Though I do wonder if he's gonna have diabetes or clogged arteries.

 

[MASAHIROx]

HEY GUYS
Is anyone else down to throw some numbers out there??

BENCH - 185 lbs
SQUAT - 235 lbs
DEADLIFT - 315 lbs

BODY WEIGHT - 180 lbs
TOTAL - 915 lbs

I would lOVE for the OP to have these numbers there for all of the usual posters ( i know ive been MIA lol). It helps to see where i was at like a month ago and track improvement. I KNOW im not alone on tryna GET BIG AND STRONG.

AND its GREAT friendly competition between posters. ex. see whos biggest / strongest.

ive been working on my diet
eating more!!!!

breakfast/snack/lunch/postworkout snack/dinner/before bed
Killing my stomache. Its so hard to get used to eating so much more
UUURRRRRGGHHHHH

 

[Attila_]

if there's that much of a gap between your squats and your deadlifts, i'd defs get someone (who really, really knows what they're doing) to check your form. they should be relatively close to each other...

 

[theeboredone]

Is it weird or bad if you're getting gains in certain exercises, but not in others? For example...I've made more strides in my dumbbell press and squats, then I have curls, lat pull, dips...pretty much isolated (to a certain degree) exercises.

 

[eighteenspikes]

if there's that much of a gap between your squats and your deadlifts, i'd defs get someone (who really, really knows what they're doing) to check your form. they should be relatively close to each other...

i always thought 1xbw bench, 1.5xbw squat, 2xbw dead was the super general rule of thumb, looking at http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html his numbers seem about consistent (if you trust rippetoe). altho I know it changes from person to person. My back got fudged from the accident so my squat will probably be higher than my dead from now on

 

[theeboredone]

Isn't Rippetoe's stuff based on strength though? I remember actually doing his starting strength program when I first started working out. I believe most of his exercises were only 3 sets, 5 reps. I figure if you up the reps or sets, then that ratio may have to change.

 

[eighteenspikes]

wtf happened to this thread.

after thanksgiving i weighed in at a disgusting 199.3 pounds. i vowed never to break 200, told my girlfriend that day was the fattest she would ever see me, and started putting in work, broken wrist be damned. today was my first *real* workout back in the gym. i benched with a bent bar (i cannot even unrack an empty oly, it kills my wrist), worked up to 10x115, it felt amazing but its hilarious how weak i got. also did some weighted pullups, worked up to two sets of 5x45, but thats way short of what i used to do. did some other upper body stuff but nothing too fancy. imma be shredding myself over the next few weeks. mini-goal is dropping my bw to 185 by new years.

i wanna see some posts, everyone recap your fitness goals and what youre doing to achieve them

 

[deepseadiva]

I kept meaning to post in this thread, but I've been plateauing I think. Been stuck at 145lbs for the past two months.

I got two more weeks of school. NEED to reach 150lbs! Have too!

HEY GUYS
Is anyone else down to throw some numbers out there??

BENCH - 185 lbs
SQUAT - 235 lbs
DEADLIFT - 315 lbs

BODY WEIGHT - 180 lbs
TOTAL - 915 lbs

I don't know which exact numbers I should write down but:

Bench - 165 lbs is my normal rep weight, 190 lbs my max. Aiming for 200 by New Years.
Squat - lol like, 100. Have very much been neglecting legs.
Deadlift - wat is this.

BW - 145lbs :/

 

[TigerWoods]

I'm busy as hell johns though I just came back from mandatory training.

Will flesh out later

 

[theeboredone]

I dislocated and broke my left pinky while playing football lol. I got a more comfortable splint on today in comparison to the past 4 days, so I think I can start lifting weights. I can't bend my pinky down to use as support for gripping...but I should be okay right?

 

[soju]

Bah, lost 10 pounds through wrestling so far. Barely started the South Beach Diet, so I'm expecting to drop some weight soon and hopefully get to my respective weight class in wrestling :D If I loose enough weight I'll probably also join the swim team to show off my awesome speedos :3

 

[Yonder]

Niice you do wrestling, im in it too!

 

[Chill]

lol everyone got hurt. My knee was pretty bad so even upper body exercises hurt. Walking around the gym was a pain and any exercise that required me to put any pressure on my leg ,even just for balance, was painful. I'm better now but I have definitely fallen out of the habit of working out.

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

I just found this thread. I have no idea where to start really XD

 

[eighteenspikes]

I just found this thread. I have no idea where to start really XD

lets do pullups in michigan this weekend

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

aiight i can do those, pretty much the only thing i can do.

 

[shinobiknight0]

In August I had surgery and couldnt eat solid food until like October, so I lost a lot of weight and muscle mass.

I started lifting again at my college but I'm stuck now on some certain exercises. I do bboying, jazz, and hip hop on the side but I make time for weightlifting.

I eat about 2500 calories a day and I weigh 168.

135 bench 5x5, I really struggle on this so I switched to doing dumbbells for a month. I usually do 5x5 with 55 pound dumbbells for now.

155 squat 3x8, I usually don't have any trouble on this and I just need to work out legs more often. Before surgery I was able to do 225.

225 deadlift 3x5, this is my favorite exercise and I usually don't go so intense on these.

105 Barbell Row or 3x8 pull ups. I don't struggle so much but I don't see being able to do my bodyweight+hanging weights for pull ups.

Any tips guys?

 

[soju]

@shinobi-depends, what are you looking for? you trying to regain your lost muscle?
and the 2500 cal you eat usually consist of what? :3

oh and i feel like a fatty today since i ate some KFC :/

 

[deepseadiva]

Lol, everyone in this thread is broken.

One more week and I've successfully avoided getting sick for an entire semester!

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

spikes they gonna have a bar at MI?

 

[terr13]

Trying to lose some fat lately, down to about 140lbs. Current stats, with goals by summer in parenthesis:
Bench: up to 5x175 (1x225)
Squat: up to 3x225 (Break 300)
Deadlift: up to 3x225 (break 300)

 

[soju]

Trying to lose some fat lately, down to about 140lbs. Current stats, with goals by summer in parenthesis:
Bench: up to 5x175 (1x225)
Squat: up to 3x225 (Break 300)
Deadlift: up to 3x225 (break 300)

wow man thats hecka impressive =w= im 20ish lbs heavier then you can only bench about 200 XD

 

[Attila_]

In August I had surgery and couldnt eat solid food until like October, so I lost a lot of weight and muscle mass.

I started lifting again at my college but I'm stuck now on some certain exercises. I do bboying, jazz, and hip hop on the side but I make time for weightlifting.

I eat about 2500 calories a day and I weigh 168.

135 bench 5x5, I really struggle on this so I switched to doing dumbbells for a month. I usually do 5x5 with 55 pound dumbbells for now.

155 squat 3x8, I usually don't have any trouble on this and I just need to work out legs more often. Before surgery I was able to do 225.

225 deadlift 3x5, this is my favorite exercise and I usually don't go so intense on these.

105 Barbell Row or 3x8 pull ups. I don't struggle so much but I don't see being able to do my bodyweight+hanging weights for pull ups.

Any tips guys?

if you're looking to regain lost mass, aim for 8-12 reps per set. this is the ideal rep range for building size.

i'd also switch from DB bench to BB, less stabilizers are involved, allowing your muscles to lift heavier, in turn making them potentially bigger.

you might want to eat more calories too; protein with carbs and fish oils are really gonna help you out here.

 

[GooeyBanana]

Hmm...finally decided to go to the Pool Room on this forum after...oh god like 8 years(used to have a dif. account). Glad I stumbled upon this thread =)

I've actually been lifting for uhhh...two months now, and I typically do lifting 2-3 times a week, it's really reliant on how available I am with working and doing 17 credit hours at school, along with a multitude of other things, namely friends. I've actually gained weight, something I haven't done in about 3 years, from like 150-160 lbs, and I'm assuming that's muscle seeing as I was a twig thanks to high school track & XC. Over this two month period, I haven't done much cardio at all because I was recovering from stress fractures in both of my shins, and I still have a persisting quadricep problem that I can't seem to fix...but I'm back to running on the days I lift.

Which brings me to my first question. Is it a bad thing that I do cardio & lift on the same day? Along with that, I do pretty much everything lifting-wise that I can thus far on the same day. I'll go through a rundown of my game plan when I work out. I first do a 5 minute moderate walk to warm up, then I stretch for about 10 minutes for my legs, then go for a 10 minute run, typically at a decent tempo pace. Then I stretch my arms and proceed to do machine workouts for my triceps and shoulders, and then back(I'd post everything I do, it's not much, but I don't know the names of everything xD). Then I go to do bicep machines, then I do this like...thing for mainly just triceps...it's like a rope you pull down lol, but I do that last for machines since after then, I'm basically done needing to use my triceps. Then I do dumbbells, which I usually do chest, shoulders, and then biceps with. Then I do that forearm thing where you have the weight at the end of the string connected to the piece of wood/whatever(lol) and that concludes everything. Typically, besides for free weights, I do 3 sets of everything, doing 12 reps with the lowest weight first, then increasing weight and dropping to 10 reps, then increasing again and doing 8 reps. Free weights, I just maintain the same weight and just do 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps.

It's awesome because I've noticed a decent amount of improvement these past two months, I still remember having trouble doing 15 lbs with the dumbbells but now I'm up to 25 lbs =P Plus, I've noticed that my shoulders are wayyyy more developed and I can't fit my hand(from the end of my middle finger to the end of my thumb when wrapped around my arm) around my biceps any longer. Hell, I can barely fit it halfway around it =D. It really sucks that I have to squeeze everything into one day though, and especially when it's at 7 at night because that's the earliest I can do it >_<...

I'm actually planning on changing things up soon because I've noticed that I'm not doing everything correctly. I don't do abs as of yet, so I am at least going to throw crunches in next time I work out. Eventually, I'll go back to doing my painful 20+ minute ab workout, but I'm scared of it now since I'm no longer doing it almost everyday like I did in high school xD Also, I don't do bench or basically anything with bars, it's either machines or dumbbells. It's just difficult to do that stuff because I have no one to spot me =( I also don't do stuff I SHOULD be doing like pushups, pullups, dips. I've found a website that has a set regime for the kind of workout I have to do, and I'll be trying it out soon, and it incorporates a lot of things that I WANT to do in an exercise.

I guess if I had any goal as of now, it would be to develop my abs a bit better and in general just get stronger legs so that I can run in 5/15Ks again. I really don't have much desire to get any bigger upper body-wise. If anything, I'd just like a little bit better developed chest/pectoral region, but that's just for the ladies, lol. Kind of not a workout-related goal, but I need to work on controlling acne on my bod, mainly the shoulder region and a little bit of chest, has anyone else had this problem and found a way to control/remove it? I mean it's not TERRIBLE, but it's noticeable, and it's been around for a few years now and I want it to gtfo.

ONE MORE THING! I've been taking protein, and I have a question about it. So one "heaping" scoop with the stuff I use is supposed to be mixed with like 1/4(or was it 1/2...? I don't remember) fl oz of water/milk. That seems like WAYYY too small amount of liquid, and it makes the drink taste AWFUL, but I've dealt with it so far xD. I hear people just disregard the liquid requirement and just mix a scoop in with whatever they feel like. Is it fine to do this? Also, I take one scoop in the morning, and one like 15 mins after a workout. Is that reasonable?

Thanks if anyone can enlighten me a bit on some of this stuff, although I did make it kind of hard to comprehend probably. I just had a lot of ideas come to mind at random times so uhh...yeah! It's awesome that there's a thread like this on Smashboards ^_^

 

[theeboredone]

Bleh, so doing dumbbell press and dips actually hurt my broken pinky for one reason or another. I could still do my sets, but wasn't really comfortable doing it. Gonna have to figure something out. Had no problem doing incline barbell, so I might do barbell for bench as well.

And holy crap, long post. Will respond when I wake up lol.

 

[Pikaville]

So I'm still pumping the weights 3 times a week.

I'm getting some pretty good definition now.

My only problem is gaining bulk.

I find it hard to maintain a decent eating habit, as in I don't consistently eat the proper food to make gains.

Some days I will only have dinner where as others I will eat like a horse and have a good breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as food before bed.

I haven't posted a picture in ages so I'll show you a recent one.

My pecs and abs are looking pretty good these days, certainly compared to my old pictures from a few months ago.

 

[eighteenspikes]

everyone should take a before picture now. not only does it give you something to compare to when youre all sexy but it also is good motivation.

 

[Pikaville]

I want my arms to be bigger but it's hard

 

[Solaris1110]

http://www.primaltoad.com/grass-fed-beef-for-3-dollars/
I wanna try this lol.

who needs protein shakes when you can just rip out some organ meat for a snack.

 

[theeboredone]

I've actually been lifting for uhhh...two months now, and I typically do lifting 2-3 times a week, it's really reliant on how available I am with working and doing 17 credit hours at school

Which brings me to my first question. Is it a bad thing that I do cardio & lift on the same day? Along with that, I do pretty much everything lifting-wise that I can thus far on the same day. I'll go through a rundown of my game plan when I work out. I first do a 5 minute moderate walk to warm up, then I stretch for about 10 minutes for my legs, then go for a 10 minute run, typically at a decent tempo pace. Then I stretch my arms and proceed to do machine workouts for my triceps and shoulders, and then back(I'd post everything I do, it's not much, but I don't know the names of everything xD). Then I go to do bicep machines, then I do this like...thing for mainly just triceps...it's like a rope you pull down lol, but I do that last for machines since after then, I'm basically done needing to use my triceps. Then I do dumbbells, which I usually do chest, shoulders, and then biceps with. Then I do that forearm thing where you have the weight at the end of the string connected to the piece of wood/whatever(lol) and that concludes everything. Typically, besides for free weights, I do 3 sets of everything, doing 12 reps with the lowest weight first, then increasing weight and dropping to 10 reps, then increasing again and doing 8 reps. Free weights, I just maintain the same weight and just do 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps.

It's awesome because I've noticed a decent amount of improvement these past two months, I still remember having trouble doing 15 lbs with the dumbbells but now I'm up to 25 lbs =P Plus, I've noticed that my shoulders are wayyyy more developed and I can't fit my hand(from the end of my middle finger to the end of my thumb when wrapped around my arm) around my biceps any longer. Hell, I can barely fit it halfway around it =D. It really sucks that I have to squeeze everything into one day though, and especially when it's at 7 at night because that's the earliest I can do it >_<...

I'm actually planning on changing things up soon because I've noticed that I'm not doing everything correctly. I don't do abs as of yet, so I am at least going to throw crunches in next time I work out. Eventually, I'll go back to doing my painful 20+ minute ab workout, but I'm scared of it now since I'm no longer doing it almost everyday like I did in high school xD Also, I don't do bench or basically anything with bars, it's either machines or dumbbells. It's just difficult to do that stuff because I have no one to spot me =( I also don't do stuff I SHOULD be doing like pushups, pullups, dips. I've found a website that has a set regime for the kind of workout I have to do, and I'll be trying it out soon, and it incorporates a lot of things that I WANT to do in an exercise.

I guess if I had any goal as of now, it would be to develop my abs a bit better and in general just get stronger legs so that I can run in 5/15Ks again. I really don't have much desire to get any bigger upper body-wise. If anything, I'd just like a little bit better developed chest/pectoral region, but that's just for the ladies, lol. Kind of not a workout-related goal, but I need to work on controlling acne on my bod, mainly the shoulder region and a little bit of chest, has anyone else had this problem and found a way to control/remove it? I mean it's not TERRIBLE, but it's noticeable, and it's been around for a few years now and I want it to gtfo.

ONE MORE THING! I've been taking protein, and I have a question about it. So one "heaping" scoop with the stuff I use is supposed to be mixed with like 1/4(or was it 1/2...? I don't remember) fl oz of water/milk. That seems like WAYYY too small amount of liquid, and it makes the drink taste AWFUL, but I've dealt with it so far xD. I hear people just disregard the liquid requirement and just mix a scoop in with whatever they feel like. Is it fine to do this? Also, I take one scoop in the morning, and one like 15 mins after a workout. Is that reasonable?

Thanks if anyone can enlighten me a bit on some of this stuff, although I did make it kind of hard to comprehend probably. I just had a lot of ideas come to mind at random times so uhh...yeah! It's awesome that there's a thread like this on Smashboards ^_^

Okay, gonna break my answers down per para you have.

1. The rule of thumb is working out two times a week, maintains what you have. 3 is the minimum for gains. So try to consistently workout 3-4 times a week.

2A. I've heard people do cardio and weights on the same day, but I think that's overall more suited for athletes (I emphasize athletes...like people who go 2 a day). I personally think it would be better to do weights one day, cardio on your off day. Though if you are trying to add mass, you might want to limit cardio as that burns calories. So you'd have to eat more.

2B. Judging from your workout, do you do anything with your legs? Squats? Dead Lifts? Lunges? Leg Press? There's a big difference between cardio and weights. I don't think you want a big upper body frame and skinny legs. If anything, that would be a bad thing. Also, you might want to split up your workouts. So if you go 3 times a week...MWF. Monday would be shoulders, triceps, and chest. Wednesday would be back, biceps, and some core. Friday would be legs and core. Exercises like dead lifts and squats work your core as well. You may not get the 6 pack, but your core will be much stronger as opposed to doing sit ups and crunches.

2C. I think you're fine with your rep count. As Schmot says, 8-10 reps is for mass gaining...so if that's your goal, stick with that. 3-6 is strength. Anything more then 12 is I guess being "ripped" or muscle endurance.

3. Good to see you have received gains, but beginners tend to have that "explosion" in terms of gains and development of their body. Their diet doesn't have to be perfect either. You might plateau sooner or later, and the next step will be to incorporate better exercises and maintain a hearty diet.

4A Exercises like dips, push ups, pull ups won't necessarily increase your mass if that's your goal...simply make you stronger.

4B. Working your abs for 20 minutes straight is fruitless. Again, incorporate it into one of your workout days by perhaps doing a set of crunches, while the rest is worked through squats and etc.

5A. Well, now that I know what your goal is, this will be a bit easier lol. Unfortunately, I'm no expert on training for distant running. Though I can tell you if you don't want to apply mass to your upper body, keep your reps +10. And what do you mean by stronger legs? You may have to hit the weights, unless you just mean increasing your endurance.

6. Your fine on when you take your protein. Just remember to adhere to the fundamental rule of 1 gram per lean body weight (so don't count fat). And what brand do you use? I personally use 8 oz of water (post workout) and milk at night. Oh yes, use water after workouts...it digests the whey more efficiently. Protein shakes aren't meant to taste good, so add some of your own ingredients. Some suggestions are peanut butter, banana, nesquik, etc.

@Aidan, nice pic bro. I'm gonna upload one once I get back home form college.

 

[terr13]

I hear deadlifts are actually quite good for running, although I'm not sure about distance running.
http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/545

I personally dislike machines, I feel it takes out a lot of the work in the exercise. Every motion should consist of different muscles working together, some lifting, and others supporting/balancing. Using machines takes away the coordination, and makes it much easier than it should be. If you want stronger legs, while working your abs at the same time, you should look into doing squats. You don't really need people to spot you for squats and deadlifts, although you do need to make sure you have proper form.