Board 8 > Fitness/Exercise/Health topic

(+) Yeah! (+)

Logged in to make a weightlifting topic again and saw this one!! Glad to see so many people still at it

i have been doing really well with the weights over the past few months. I have done fantastic with avoiding any injuries and have gone all but one day since like Labor Day. I also feel age starting to catch up to me in a lot of ways. Hard to make the same progress that I used to, and while my strength is fine my cardio gives out pretty quickly on a lot of things over 6-8 reps. But Im quite happy with how things have been going! My physique is at a good spot even though I just need to accept that Ill never be able to eat in the manner that would produce good abs

currently at 177 pounds. A lot of my lifts have gone down PR wise but I have just been focusing on intent and technique more lately as opposed to hitting nice numbers

Training maxes currently
bench 225
incline 205
overhead 175
squat I have zero clue but I did 265 for 8 this morning so probably 325-345
deadlift 375

This photo was probably 3 weeks ago ish when I was 173, put on a little more muscle since then. Im getting fucking old as shit yall

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/6/0/AAbg9iAAD5mY.jpg

This morning was a mostly good lift

ohp: 120x12, x12, x11, x10
incline bench: 140x14, 150x11, 160x8, 170x5, 180x3
flat bench: 175x8 (normal), 175x3 (3 second pause on chest), 175x2 (five seconds going down, five going up)
weighted dips: 70x5, x4, x4
pec deck: 240x4, x3, x3
cable lateral raise: 15x8, x6
overhead cable extension (superset 1) 50x12, x10, x9, 8
hammer curl (with that Tricep/close grip curl bar thing, super set 1) 55x4x14
hanging leg raises 15x2 (superset 2)
cable Tricep push downs 40x2x20 (superset 2)

im at the stage in my current cycles where my first two compound lifts are so high rep that it bombs out my triceps for the rest of the workout. Like that 175x8 on flat bench was to failure LOL. Ive been trying to add some more high volume Tricep work to help out with it. But Ill also be at the moderate to heavy weight in a few weeks so they wont be as tired hopefully like they get from the high rep work

Tricep fatigue is the reason I switched OHP to my bicep/arm regimen instead of my pec regimen. So now my arms focus mainly on my delts/triceps/biceps and forearms. My pecs are basically all just different variations whatever mainly focuses on the actual pec muscles instead of delts/tris ect(cross overs-flys(light loads), decline press). Obviously it's hard to avoid that on most main pectoral exercises, but my triceps strength has improved dramatically since I switched.

My workouts are usually;
Day 1-Squat(focus specifically on the quads)
Day 2-Pecs
Rest
Day 3-Deadlifts, back of the legs(hamstrings, calves) and upper back-Basically any muscles that is on the back of my body gets worked out here
Day 4-Core and cardio
Day 5-Arms
Rest
Repeat.

Anecdotal, but I imagine that since I have such long 'rests' between pecs and arms/shoulders it's benefited in the long run for me.

I haven't been eating totally properly since like Thursday but at least I've been sticking to my workouts so it hasn't hit me too badly yet. Gotta refocus tomorrow.

Sorozone posted...

Tricep fatigue is the reason I switched OHP to my bicep/arm regimen instead of my pec regimen. So now my arms focus mainly on my delts/triceps/biceps and forearms. My pecs are basically all just different variations whatever mainly focuses on the actual pec muscles instead of delts/tris ect(cross overs-flys(light loads), decline press). Obviously it's hard to avoid that on most main pectoral exercises, but my triceps strength has improved dramatically since I switched.

My workouts are usually;
Day 1-Squat(focus specifically on the quads)
Day 2-Pecs
Rest
Day 3-Deadlifts, back of the legs(hamstrings, calves) and upper back-Basically any muscles that is on the back of my body gets worked out here
Day 4-Core and cardio
Day 5-Arms
Rest
Repeat.

Anecdotal, but I imagine that since I have such long 'rests' between pecs and arms/shoulders it's benefited in the long run for me.

honestly man Ive been looking for a change even before this wall and that looks like something that works with what my brain likes

one set in today, just want to say fuck pull ups

iiaattgg posted...

one set in today, just want to say fuck pull ups

That's me almost all the time on the shoulder press and quads.

Underleveled posted...

That's me almost all the time on the shoulder press and quads.

i used to love them. Used to be heavier and could do more weight with them. I have no idea. Just cant hack it

i have been doing more of the assisted pull-ups at the end of my workout just to focus on the movement and the muscle connection and it has helped a lot with my lat growth actually

Today was

weighted pull ups 25x8, x5, x4
dead rows 115x3x10
standard db curl 30x13, 35x10 40x7
lateral raise 40x10, 35x11 30x10
seated row machine 200x10, 210x7 220x5, 230x3 240x2
lat pull down 200x7, 215x5, 230x3, 245x1
hammer curl (bar) (superset 1) 55x3x14
dumbbell pullover (superset 1) 65x3x7
hammer curl (dumbbell) (superset 2) 30x13, 30x10, 30x7
incline reverse fly (superset 2) 25x10, x9, x8
hanging leg twists 8x2
assisted pull-ups -70x2x10

felt fairly weak for most of it honestly

getting back at it. had finger surgery, which got infected, and just couldn't use my left hand for a couple of months. and after that I ate goldfish crackers for a few months :) but yeah gotta drop 12 pounds now.

I am not doing too well. Having an Anime con all weekend didn't help things. With coming up too, I'm scared to weigh myself...

I just need to keep walking and lifting. I can work on adjusting my diet later. Need to get back to intermittent fasting to reduce portions.

Hopefully this will go according to plan.

neonreaper posted...

getting back at it. had finger surgery, which got infected, and just couldn't use my left hand for a couple of months. and after that I ate goldfish crackers for a few months :) but yeah gotta drop 12 pounds now.

Goldfish will add up quickly

also my crackhead ass hit five years of no drugs/alcohol last week old man.

So, I'm really struggling. Covid completely wiped out my stamina. I used to do sports like volleyball and hachijojima daiko and go running 3x a week, but now I get winded after 2 flights of stairs. Because of that, I've put on a ton of weight in the last 3 years. Like almost 30kg.

I hate it. I want to feel better. I'm sick of things like being on my hands and knees being painful, you know?

I've tried asking doctors here for help but japanese doctors just say "lose weight", like, they won't even entertain the thought that I might be TRYING to but it doesn't just magically happen

I guess I need to just... not think about what I used to be able to do, and approach this like i'm literally starting from 0. Do you guys have suggestions for the lowest of low impact? Obviously "walking" is a big one, and I have been doing that! but it's almost winter in Hokkaido so unless I invest in snowshoes that won't be so easy soon...

Swimming is wonderful and easy on the joints

lol that's a big "easier said than done" for trans people

RoseChevalier posted...

I guess I need to just... not think about what I used to be able to do, and approach this like i'm literally starting from 0. Do you guys have suggestions for the lowest of low impact? Obviously "walking" is a big one, and I have been doing that! but it's almost winter in Hokkaido so unless I invest in snowshoes that won't be so easy soon...

So I actually have the opposite story. I've actually lost about 86 pounds in the past few years (almost 40 kilos to you), and that's just my net loss. I've built a fairly decent amount of muscle in the past year and a half-ish to go along with that, so I probably lost a few more pounds of fat than that. Prior to this I had been extremely overweight (well into obese territory and getting close to morbidly obese). Literally I started one day by saying I was going to the gym. I did 30 minutes on the bike that day. I did that 3-4 times that week. Then the next week I added about 20 minutes on the arc trainer, and this was my routine for a long time. I started out slow, and then built up the intensity. Meanwhile I didn't go on a strict diet, but made better choices. I went from having takeout/fast food 3-5 times a week to having it once in a while as a treat. I had salads for lunch almost every day and gradually made them healthier. I started having smoothies and gradually made those healthier as well.

Then COVID hit and the gym closed, but my lifestyle changed quite a bit anyway. I began having really balanced meals three times a day and I took up running in the morning. I had NEVER been anything remotely resembling a runner but I started out running two minutes at a time, and gradually built that up. Then once the gyms re-opened I decided I wanted to start building some muscle as well and so I saw a trainer who showed me how to use the weight machines and gave me some other exercises to help me reach my goal, which I described as "Not The Rock, but maybe a little bit of a beach bod," which he said was well within reason for me. Since then I've gradually added more exercises and have a few great routines that I do. I'm still not at the point where I'm doing an intense bicep day or a quad day or anything like that but I do upper body day, lower body day, and cardio day.

I'm currently going to the gym 4-5 times per week. I went from being 236 lbs to 150 lbs, which for a 5'7.5" man is well within the healthy BMI range. I've also gradually increased my weights on the machines to build a little muscle (I'm nowhere near Sess's 200+ numbers haha) after having never lifted a thing in my life, and went from getting winded from running from my car to my front door to having run a 5K on the treadmill earlier this year. I'm also still not on a strict diet. I get pizza at least once a month, my freezer is always well-stocked with ice cream, I love to go out for drinks and apps with my friends and you better believe I made it to McDonald's for the McRib Farewell Tour. But most of the time I make healthy choices that focus on a great balance of protein, carbs, and other nutrients and getting lots of fruits and veggies. And I'm still nowhere near where I want to be, but three years later I'm still running into people that I haven't seen since I started getting into shape who take one look at me and go "holy shit" and that keeps me going.

I'm sorry that this ended up being a rant of my whole journey but I hope you can take something from it and apply it to your own journey, while keeping in mind that everyone's body and everyone's goals are going to be different and you might not find that 100% of what worked for me will work for you. Whatever you choose to do, I think if you start out small and gradually add more to your routine, you'll see the most success. I think a lot of people (including myself in prior attempts to lose weight and get in shape) make the mistake of going from 0-100 on their first day and that wears them out very quickly and they give up after a week or two. I think starting with just a daily 30 minutes of light cardio and a few small dietary substitutions and letting it snowball from there was the smartest thing I did.

I really appreciate that! thank you very much for telling me the story.

Maybe it will help to share the small steps here...

RoseChevalier posted...

So, I'm really struggling. Covid completely wiped out my stamina. I used to do sports like volleyball and hachijojima daiko and go running 3x a week, but now I get winded after 2 flights of stairs. Because of that, I've put on a ton of weight in the last 3 years. Like almost 30kg.

I hate it. I want to feel better. I'm sick of things like being on my hands and knees being painful, you know?

I've tried asking doctors here for help but japanese doctors just say "lose weight", like, they won't even entertain the thought that I might be TRYING to but it doesn't just magically happen

I guess I need to just... not think about what I used to be able to do, and approach this like i'm literally starting from 0. Do you guys have suggestions for the lowest of low impact? Obviously "walking" is a big one, and I have been doing that! but it's almost winter in Hokkaido so unless I invest in snowshoes that won't be so easy soon...

reading this, my single piece of advice is for you to push yourself beyond what you are currently comfortable with or what you think you can presently handle, whatever method of getting back into shape you choose

iiaattgg posted...

reading this, my single piece of advice is for you to push yourself beyond what you are currently comfortable with or what you think you can presently handle, whatever method of getting back into shape you choose

It's really scary though. Like, before Covid? Absolutely, pushing for that last lap at the track or that last set on the weight bench, or the first time I ran a lap carrying a tire, that was the good kind of pain where you feel like a damn champion afterward.

when I (mostly accidentally) push myself now it's legit scary, like if i have a cardiac event alone in my apartment how many days until anybody notices kind of scary. idk it's hard to put into words the daily fear I have every time I have random chest pain.

Oh possible cardiac events are involved

yeah ignore what I said lol

So I feel like this topic is always a curse for me

textual flow chart:

1. i kill it for three ish months and get in fantastic shape
2. as a result of doing well I wish to talk about it with others and end up posting here
3. within like a week of doing so I get injured
4. i lose my motivation/progress and run away as I know longer want to talk about it

now thankfully I am not injured this time, but I woke up with a gigantic fever and feel as sick as Ive felt in years. I needed a rest day or two but not like this lol

iiaattgg posted...

Goldfish will add up quickly

also my crackhead ass hit five years of no drugs/alcohol last week old man.

that is impressive!

RoseChevalier posted...

So, I'm really struggling. Covid completely wiped out my stamina. I used to do sports like volleyball and hachijojima daiko and go running 3x a week, but now I get winded after 2 flights of stairs. Because of that, I've put on a ton of weight in the last 3 years. Like almost 30kg.

I hate it. I want to feel better. I'm sick of things like being on my hands and knees being painful, you know?

I've tried asking doctors here for help but japanese doctors just say "lose weight", like, they won't even entertain the thought that I might be TRYING to but it doesn't just magically happen

I guess I need to just... not think about what I used to be able to do, and approach this like i'm literally starting from 0. Do you guys have suggestions for the lowest of low impact? Obviously "walking" is a big one, and I have been doing that! but it's almost winter in Hokkaido so unless I invest in snowshoes that won't be so easy soon...

It may be helpful to think of exercise as a way of dealing with stress. And using your diet to control weight.

People who use exercise as a way of managing weight, but don't adopt exercise as a lifestyle, typically gain the weight back (and then some). But the results are incredible for a short while.

I'd advise getting SelectTech dumbells (the 5-50 pound ones are great) and an inexpensive bench that fits your needs, and you can lift whenever you want. You can look into a light cardio program of lunges and squats and sit ups.

I guess my main thought is that you should be mindful of activities that are transformative but aren't part of your lifestyle. It's better to see small results in a lifestyle that you will maintain your whole life.

I was starting to feel like my leg days were lacking in activities (especially compared to my upper body workouts) so today I added 10 minutes of stairmaster and I think that's going to become a fixture.

Here's something fun that I might do every now and then. Here's what came up on shuffle for me at the gym today (I have a specific playlist for the gym that currently has 648 songs and counting):

Icona Pop - I Love It
Imagine Dragons - Enemy
Tiffany Alvord - Change
The Cars - Shake It Up
Robert Palmer - Addicted to Love
Stacie Orrico - (There's Gotta Be) More To Life
Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle
MGMT - Time to Pretend
Beastie Boys - Girls
Green Day - Basket Case
Electric Light Orchestra - Do Ya
Ben Harper - Diamonds on the Inside
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
The Beatles - Birthday
Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)
AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Linkin Park - Crawling
MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This
Jackson 5 - ABC
Stevie Wonder - Uptight (Everything's Alright)
The Lonely Island - I'm On a Boat
Taylor Swift - Speak Now
Avril Lavigne - Cannonball
Eminem - Drug Ballad

My gym playlist is like all anime hardstyle

Menji posted...

My gym playlist is like all anime hardstyle

I listen to anime playlists too.

Honestly I dont have any designated playlists for working out. I generally just listen to whatever is going to put me in a good mood vs something thats considered workout music.

Recently thats been a lot of Charli XCX and Carly Rae Jepsen haha

Also question for everyone here: Is your dominant arm less flexible in your shoulder compared to the other arm?

My playlist is all 90s metal.

Sorozone posted...

Also question for everyone here: Is your dominant arm less flexible in your shoulder compared to the other arm?

no because my left shoulder gets hurt very easily - my shoulders are easily my weakest upper body area

My gym was open until noon today so you better believe I got my ass out of bed to get in a great workout.

Also took a Turkey Day selfie and thought this might be a good opportunity to show a glimpse of my transformation. The first pic was taken almost four years ago and might be me at my all-time low in terms of physical fitness, not to mention grooming and personal hygiene.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/2/1/AAaSYmAAD63B.jpg

I've found that the ultimate workout song is Push by Dio. Also that I should probably cut back on the comedy podcasts during compound lifts

Didn't quite hit my goal of 150, but I figured to hell with it I wanted to bulk up. Starting my bulk session trying to figure out where my maxes are. I have a bunch of different workouts that I'm working and tweaking on.

After 2 days, my bench max to start out is around 195-200 and squat is 250. Will be doing deadlift in a couple of days. I expect to improve this by quite a bit by the end of the year.

first workout since my pinched nerve that i was actually happy. Bench back down to 185 after hitting 335 and 225x17, but oh well. Today was the first 185 bench since the injury, and didnt feel too shitty.

Deadlift my right arm has just lost so much grip strength from the nerve pinch which sucks, but im back up to 495 after a max of 615 and used to be able to do 495 x 6 to 7.

Squats have actually gone a tad up since this pinched nerve a few months ago. Probably because i spend more energy on leg days since i enjoy them more, combined with spending less energy on the other days. My squat is 485, but i think i could do 495 for a not quite full rep.

Shoulder press is lol, been just doing dumbbells for 45 to 55 lbs depending on how my energy i have. Nowhere near my old dumbbell shoulder press, but oh well.

Did OHP 115 x 3 today, didn't quite max but based on the amount of effort I had to do to get that 3rd rep I imagine my current one rep is at around 125-130. Better than expected. Still tinkering with workout plans but I'm excited to see my strength go up again.

Been sleeping on dumbell presses. Tried for 100 in each arm yesterday, failed halfway. However, did a few sets of 8-5-3-1-12(timed rests in between, for instance 8 reps=90 seconds of rest, 5 reps=2 minutes of rest, ect) where I then finish off a little bit on a lower weight amount at the end at a faster pace. Did this on regular dumbell presses, incline and decline. I haven't been this sore in my chest in a long time.

I do sets of 8 - > 5 - > 3 -> 1. Was able to improve each set by an additional 5 pounds this week for squat. Decided to up the 1 from 235 to 250. Got stuck at the dreaded 3/4 mark going up and had to bail. Solid improvements overall. Excited for bench tomorrow to see if I have any improvements there.

Sorozone posted...

Been sleeping on dumbell presses. Tried for 100 in each arm yesterday, failed halfway. However, did a few sets of 8-5-3-1-12(timed rests in between, for instance 8 reps=90 seconds of rest, 5 reps=2 minutes of rest, ect) where I then finish off a little bit on a lower weight amount at the end at a faster pace. Did this on regular dumbell presses, incline and decline. I haven't been this sore in my chest in a long time.

My goal is to get to 100. Finally feeling pretty comfortable at 90 but the progress is slow.

Gained 2 pounds, up to 156

My 1 rep of bench went from 185 to 200, and I did the 200 pretty easily. I'll probably try for 215 next time. Each set on my regular bench/incline/decline also improved by 5 to 10 pounds each.

Deadlift failed halfway(didn't want to throw my back out trying) so I dropped it. I'll probably be able to hit it next time I deadlift. Got it off the ground, I figure I can make the next push through after a week or more of training.

Taking the next couple days of for work business, but I hope the gains continue.

Hit 200 in front squat's today. I probably could go higher but I think I'll just max out on that for a while. Form was falling apart near the end. I also hit 120 x 3 on OHP. More good gains.

Have my second chest workout for tomorrow. Hoping to hit the 100's this time around on the dumbells.

Sorozone posted...

Hoping to hit the 100's this time around on the dumbells.

Failed again, but! It was still a good attempt. Got higher up this time just couldn't push it through. The rest of the workout was easier than last time too. Fully expect to hit it on the next time, and fully expect to be back at 225 on regular bench in a couple of weeks. Yay progress. Gonna weigh myself tomorrow.

Here's my 2022 results, as I take a break for the rest of the year for the holidays to rest and recuperate.

Body Weight: ~147.5 lbs

Bench: 2 reps @ 210, 1 rep @ 212.5 - Either result is a personal best. Pretty happy with that.

Overhead Press: 1 rep @ 145. Ties personal best. Tried multiple times to better that, but failed the rep every time, despite feeling that I should have been able to get it based on previous weeks. A little disappointed, but it's always going to be tough to press more than your body weight.

Squat: 3 reps @ 302.5. Personal best. Really happy with this. Wearing a best has been a revelation. I worry that I'm not getting enough depth (I'm a low bar squatter), but I'd rather err on the side of a little short than a little long with my injury history.

Deadlift: 2 reps @ 327.5. Personal best for 2 reps. My one rep best is from 2019 when I did 1 rep @ 330. Could/should have beaten that, if I hadn't injured myself.

About 2 weeks ago I tweaked my back while trying to get an extra rep deadlifting. Just another reminder that, even with a belt, you've got to be very deliberate when deadlifting. A few days later, was still able to do heavy squats with no real issues. A few days after that I was also able to heavy deadlift, though I missed my 330 lb goal because I was mentally not there (mental affecting physical...). Did my usual post deadlift abdominal workout, and THAT is what caused me to tweak my lower back again something fierce. The next few days were not fun! Still continued to do my normal workouts though, just with much lower weight for lower body. Then today, as I was just bending down, tweaked the back again! Fuck a duck! Shutting it down for the rest of the year, so that I will hopefully feel 100% come January 1st.

I usually "reset" my numbers back down a bit at the beginning of the year. Assuming I'm feeling healthy, I'm going to try to do a smaller reset for 2023, so that I'm not waiting until Sept/Oct before I'm going for personal bests again. I'm not getting any younger, so even just "holding my ground" feels like good results at this point.

Great numbers my guy!

Love how everyone here has injury issues. I need to stretch my hips and abductors before I do any serious lower body lifting. They are so goddamn stiff and it takes me 30 minutes of stretching to get them loose enough where I feel like I won't flare them up. Any slight movement my body deems wrong will cause me hip pain. Shit sucks! 33 and bad hips.

Failed on a deadlift PR again today, but had a better attempt than last time. Feeling good about the next deadlift day.

I've long since stopped trying to get any significant gains because of how many little injuries pop up. It can be hard to stay motivated when you don't have any goals in mind. I like working out to stay fit, but I love working out when I'm mad or when I wanna get huge or I need to lose a few pounds.

My goals are long term and more aspirational than anything else. Much like clearing my game backlog, I kinda know its never going to happen at this point.

I felt really good on squat today. All sets were improved by 5 again. They all happened to be relatively easy, so I decided to end it on a 255 which is up from 250 where I failed last time and was able to hit. Legs already sore.

Sorozone posted...

My 1 rep of bench went from 185 to 200, and I did the 200 pretty easily. I'll probably try for 215 next time. Each set on my regular bench/incline/decline also improved by 5 to 10 pounds each.

I did in fact hit 215. Nice to go from 185 to 215 in a couple of weeks. Should be back at 225 in no time.

Hit 125 on OHP. Another improvement. Also did abs/obliques/core a couple days ago after slacking on them for a bit. My abs were definitely 'pumped up' after the workout, but my core is sore. Not looking forward to squats because of how sore they are.

Late November/first half of December were weird for me because I was sick twice, and very busy with other things, and my gym was closed for a week to replace most of the equipment, so there were weeks where I only got in like two workouts. Since the third week in December I've been going very regularly. Was going to go this morning but I've already been four times this week and will still go tomorrow so since I'm feeling a little tired, I think I can afford to make this a rest day.

Not looking forward to the January 1st crowd showing up though.

I was a Jan 1ster long ago when I started getting into lifting!

Definitely not looking forward to the crowds. Shame like 80% of them will be gone by March probably.

Cleaned out my garage and am reclaiming my gym. Have a workout buddy and we did deads and forearms for our first day. I need to make a basic weekly plan for us.

Just ordered battleropes. Need to get better mats, but cant break the bank. Any recommendations?