gym

[final coral]

Use SAVE50 code at checkout

So it's $40

[shy zenith]

I'll have to skip this sale

Next time

But I'll bookmark

[final coral]

That's what I'm ultimately about

It's damn expensive to eat protein

Chicken ain't that cheap either

Are you using something that has 40g per scoop?

[shy zenith]

Not anymore. I just eat chicken

I used to. I'll have to look it up

[hard cape]

Crossed 500 miles on the bike and treadmill as of today for the year

[red onyx]

Depends on your body weight, but like Jp said a bunch of chicken, and then I mix it up with beef, eggs, dairy products like cheese sticks and a high protein milk

If you’re planning to do a high protein diet tho just make sure to hit proper macro percentages https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/macronutrients-101--what-to-know-about-protein--carbs-and-fats.h00-159774078.html

[silk cove]

ohoh

[storm garden]

320 lb single rep, nearly 3x my body weight

[shy zenith]

Nice nice

3 times....sesh

[hollow dirge]

I never used leg press machine yet

I wonder what I could do but I just have a negative stigma of it

Walking lunge torture

[shy zenith]

Just don't lock your knees , bruh

[hollow dirge]

I know

[coarse pond]

its great for strength

i do legs twice per week

on my strength day i got leg press

on my hypertrophy i got lunges

[lucid meadow]

Good job!

[storm garden]

thx lol

[lucid meadow]

If your open to tips, I recommend activating your muscles before pushing the sled.

[storm garden]

How so?

[lucid meadow]

Once you have a good sense of muscle control, flex the muscles you use for pushing the sled to about full force then push and let the bars down.

@storm garden

That's how I keep weight like this from dropping on me when letting the bar down, has saved me more than once.

[storm garden]

Alr

[lucid meadow]

Your movement will be stiff but secure.

[lucid meadow]

This was about 810lb and I weigh approximately 215lb.

[storm garden]

Dude what

That's insane

[lucid meadow]

Thank you.

For calve raises on the sled press I do about 450lb single leg (10 rep), 1,260lb both legs (10 rep) and my best 1 rep max with both legs is 1,475lb. Here is a video of 1,080lb 30 reps.

@storm garden

[storm garden]

Daaang

[lucid meadow]

Old but this was my first time doing 1,260 10 reps

[lucid meadow]

My biggest piece of advice is to start looking into strengthening your bones and tendons once you get into the 4-5x your bodyweight range.

[red onyx]

This is pretty impressive but be careful man, it seems like u locked your legs out a few times in that vid

Btw if you’re training for strength, lower weight and more rom could be better

[lucid meadow]

Never locked. I do straighten more than most to keep the weight distributed a bit more so the pressure point isn't on my knees though.

[lucid meadow]

Strength and Endurance. I've hit the point where I need to switch between Strength and Bone + Tendon training to make sure I don't exert too much pressure on my legs.

[red onyx]

Well just make sure to pay attention to how your body feels, bc the method you’re doing is a bit extreme. Bones strengthen gradually with any moderate weight applied to them, and there are other methods to strengthen tendons as well that are less extreme. Here’s a few examples

[coarse pond]

lets not do seated calf raise

[lucid meadow]

The method I saw best results with for bone is:

• Load weight with as much as I can comfortably hold (about 1,200lbs)

• extend my legs outward like you would at the end of a leg press

• Doing very minimal movement to avoid lockups and hold the weight for about 2-3 minutes.

.
For tendon training I perform it very similarly, load a little less weight, feet on the sled like I am doing calve raises then very slowly perform minimal movements to focus on stretching and relaxing the tendon vs activating the muscles.

[hollow dirge]

I think I only used that once

The one I like is that horizontal leg press knee raise above it

I like that one

[slender lantern]

Rip. Didn’t make it to half a pound :(

I think like 3500 calories make up for a pound, right? Maybe that’s just made up numbers idk

[storm garden]

"Don't lift with ur back"😭

Won't be doing anything with it now

[red onyx]

That machine looks like it places a lot of stress on the mid to lower part of your back since the foam is placed so high up

[storm garden]

it does in fact do that

my back REALLY hurts

[red onyx]

U should prob rest for a few days and avoid lifting for a week or two

[storm garden]

yeah

[hollow dirge]

You can lift with your back if its something like a hyperextension and you ease it in

Dont go crazy the first time because your spine muscles will freak out

And I guess you went crazy on the first time

[coarse pond]

the back extension is one the stupidest machines ever created

just popularized by stupid mentzer

just for reference i can max out that machine yet i can only do hyperextensions with 20kg

[hollow dirge]

hyperextensions are so brutal i love it

[lucid meadow]

My entire body is soar every day... Been doing a lot of landscaping work with power tools for 6-8 hours straight every day.

[lucid meadow]

Anyone have tips on how to help a pulled ham string recover quicker? Ice Baths, Saunas, are not available. I do have a heating pad though but wasn't sure if that would actually help since all that does is increase blood circulation.

[humble patio]

Blood circulation is much preferable to help with healing

[red onyx]

Keep your leg raised/elevated

Helps with blood glow

Flow

[storm garden]

we use the oppositr thing in first aid for exactly t he opposite reason

[red onyx]

interesting but it makes sense

[lucid meadow]

Thank you.

[storm garden]

I tried to do a 375lb leg press(it was what was on the machine at the time) and pulled both my quads. I might need to stop going to the gym

Amd yes I can still walk, with pain

I can walk up stairs too but it's excruciating

[shy zenith]

oh crap

be careful next time

[storm garden]

Yea

I might also mention i did 10 reps at 195 lbs

[shy zenith]

congrats

just watch you weights next time and know your limits

safety over ego

[lucid meadow]

Agreed.

[shy zenith]

Lmao

[storm garden]

Me is stronk

[shy zenith]

Indeed

[dire bough]

Back to bulking, in 2 weeks I added 10kg to my bench press thanks to muscle memory

[lucid meadow]

My father and I have been walking 1hr30m at a good pace for the past few weeks about 3 days a week twice in a day (1hr30m each way).

[shy zenith]

its ben 3 month, guys

😔

since gym

[severe escarp]

RIP

I just hit lats....
for the first time in months...
Feels bad and good at the same time.

[pliant copper]

I restarted too after like 3 months off, Lost like all my size and strength. So I feel ya

[severe escarp]

What's your goals?

[pliant copper]

It was to get to 165 lbs and 10% body fat. I got to a consistant 159 and was shedding 1% body fat per month going 4 times a week. I might just slow things down a bit this time because I burnt myself out real bad

I think last weigh in I was at 148. so its a bit of a climb

[severe escarp]

oh... this man has far different goals than i

i need to lose weight

[shy zenith]

10 percent... sheesh

Nice

[severe escarp]

ikr

[pliant copper]

not too crazy. I had 7% when I was 22 and lifting before I went into the marines. Just built muscle really slow but got pretty strong that way.

[shy zenith]

Wow

Me and my 15 percent

[shy zenith]

The Marines. How did that go?

[pliant copper]

Poorly XD

Have injurys from it that never quite healed right. Usually how it goes

[shy zenith]

):

Well I'm opinion, it was never worth it.

But glad you got out of there

[shy zenith]

It's kind of hard to maintain for most folks

[severe escarp]

i overdid it on abs

i did the ab roller 3 sets of 5 reps

on my knees

my abs are hurting on the second day of recovery T_T

[shy zenith]

good

no pain, no gain

[severe escarp]

My goal is to do 21 pushups with 50 lbs on my back

[shy zenith]

you didnt rip anything

[lucid meadow]

The pain will never go away but the strength will be worth it.

[severe escarp]

My abs still hurt

pretty sure I overdid it

I shouldn't workout until I heal up a bit more

[storm garden]

I almost got whiplash from this

30lbs on ab crunch

[severe escarp]

I see gym post. I upvote.

Do you time yourself during sets

[storm garden]

Nah

I mean

I try to get under 30s a set

Reason I got whiplash is bc I forgot to check it, and I'm used to doing 90 lbs on that

[pliant copper]

When you get a new container of protein out and cant find the scooper even after playing excavator with a butter knife, so you give up and use the old one

5 lbs container problems

[storm garden]

Better idea: use straw🔥

Hehe

[severe escarp]

my abs still hurt sooo hard T_T

[storm garden]

I did 60 crunches at 90 lbs

Mine hurt too

[hollow dirge]

Because you didn’t hit then with enough load until now when you brutalized them

Next time won’t be as bad

[severe escarp]

this is exactly why

[hollow dirge]

And the more compound exercises you do, the more ab work you passively get in

I do a couple planks like once a week

[pliant copper]

before I stopped I was doing the crunch machine stepping up from 145-160 lbs sets, start at 20 and step down -2 reps per set till hitting the max. abs twist machine I maxed the machine at 170 lbs at 6 sets of 15, 2 minute planks, 4 sets. Leg lifts in sets of 30, and hanging knee ups. Took me like 3 months to get to those numbers. Just keep with it!

I might have to swap to the crunch machine with ankle locks so it doesnt pull me out of the seat this time and see how far I can go

[lucid meadow]

My personal best (this is prior to hurting my back) was 300 situps without a break in one go (took me 3 months starting at 40 reps max to get there) in a situp bench like this one.

Currently on the weighted crunch machines I can do about 30-40 full range reps with 100lbs.

Included is a spoiler image of what I looked like when I was doing the extreme amount of situps.
@storm garden, @hollow dirge, @severe escarp

[lucid meadow]

My abdomin genuinely felt like I tore something for the following week and a half after that.

[storm garden]

I woke up last night with the worst stomachache and the feeling that my abs were gonna explode, a few hours after I'd tried stretching them

[severe escarp]

D:

I wasn't able to do a pushup yesterday due to my abs, hopefully i can do some today. my abs are still sore

[storm garden]

@lucid meadow @severe escarp how deep should I go on leg press

[lucid meadow]

It varies by person but the golden rule is don't over extend.

[storm garden]

I usually go abt half of my knees rom

[lucid meadow]

Oh wait those are my calve raises

@storm garden notice how my knees and hips are never inline.

Uploading the vid

Always keep your knees/thigh bone angled away from you.

[storm garden]

Yea

[lucid meadow]

If it's inline with your hip that's how you hurt yourself because then the weight forces your legs backwards into a crawl position

Other than that, opt for full range of motion.

@storm garden

[storm garden]

Alr

[lucid meadow]

Oh also keep your legs and feet in a comfortable extension pose like your squatting up and down. You don't want the legs rotated in a uncomfortable way.

[storm garden]

Right

[dire bough]

Wish I had room for a normal home gym, all I have is a pair of adjustable dumbbells and abit more stuff

[severe escarp]

I was able to to 10 pushups yesterday

hopefully i can do 20 today

my abs will have recovered enough

[wraith walrus]

Yeah your body will go through shock many times. Like Brittney Grier the infamous idiot who tried to smuggle Medical CBDs into russia, I also find that it helps immensely with inflammation, and it just straight feels amazing.

[lucid meadow]

@severe escarp have you tried monitoring your recovery time yet? Full Recovery vs Functional (just enough to repeat what you did prior).

[severe escarp]

i know my body roughly. i just need to take it slow and CONSISTENT. I used to have a log. I need to find the weights my body can handle and load them gradually

[severe escarp]

i did mess up my full recovery vs functional recovery a TON though...

i just wanted to get so much better faster

[lucid meadow]

Advice:

• Do full recovery vs functional

• Eat plenty of food (fruits, meats, vegetables not just rice and chicken. Organ meats are best)

• Stretch fully so you can do progressive overload vs trying max weight at the start

• Consuming large amounts of water and Creatine can help with recovery time.

• During rest periods actively flex the muscles you are working on to get better at muscle control. Most people aren't able to exceed ~30% or so muscle usage due to lack of training and the brain prohibiting it. For this, in increments flex the muscle then continue to tighten the flex as much as you can slowly.

[severe escarp]

i did not stretch as much as i should have. i did flex my muscles which is why i can flex my chest whenever. it was REALLY cool

i needed more water

i did not have creatine, but i did have 70+ grams of protein

(i needed "170" grams of protein

but i couldn't

[lucid meadow]

I've honestly stopped with the whole micro-tracking of nutrients. I find what my body needs and usually craves then just eat till satisfied.

[severe escarp]

nice

if i was consistent, that would've worked

too bad i took a break from working out

today's my regular day of getting back to it

so hopefully it'll go well

[wraith walrus]

It's hilarious to me that so many people in the gym completely skip stretching.

Then I see them cave out in cardio after like 5 minutes.

I spend at least 8-10 minutes doing breathing & stretch work. Controlling your breaths in slow, deep and steady while pushing your stretch to the limit for at least a 15 second count

First I pregame, I make a cup of extra strong coffee, mix directly with splash of milk and scoop of protein powder, take a few sips of this before and save rest for post workout. I do 3-4X a week, 2 hours in the gym, 1 hr of just cardio, 20 minutes Elliptical doing HIIT at near max resistance, 20 minutes treadmill all at near max incline for half, then flat plane running alternate during the last 10 minutes, then 20-25 minutes of Bodyweight Exercises (Pushups, Planks, Squats) and assorted weights for each muscle group like lat pulldowns, rowing, chest press, etc.then 40 minutes of spa & pool doing freestyle and on the back butterflies for about 12-14 laps until my legs literally say they're done moving and my arms are just doing all the work.

I never feel terrible the day after, I make sure that while I exercise I drink plenty of fluids, recover with electrolytes halfway through workout, i like vitamin water zero, Protein shake/Bar afterwards.

As i said too, I have a prescription for medical mmj, which makes exercise feel great.

Inflammation is your worst enemy, keeping your muscles and joints fluid not tight

[severe escarp]

this is a good read

[stray seal]

I can do one pullup still

Im still worthy

Lol

https://tenor.com/view/im-still-worthy-worthy-thor-chris-hemsworth-beard-gif-17509539

[shy zenith]

Good good good

[lucid meadow]

Keep it up.

[severe escarp]

https://darebee.com/

[lucid meadow]

Went to the gym this evening.

Did stretches for about 20m, some curls, then did 1 mile on the treadmill with Max Incline of 15 at 4MPH.

This is what having a abnormal heart rate at 190 BPS for 20m does to you.

[wraith walrus]

Oh damn, that's too much. That's really high I think.

My peak is steady around 170-175 that's when i scale back down

[lucid meadow]

I have a abnormally high heart rate. 100-120 is resting for me. 150ish when moving, and around 180 when doing light activity beyond walking. Around 200 when doing heavy activity.

When I did Track & Field my heart rate often was around 210-220 during 100m dashes so I regularly vomited due to it.

[storm garden]

My max bench🥀

How cooked am I yall

[shy zenith]

Yeah right. There's no way.

[storm garden]

I'm dead serious

Any more than that and my right arm fails

[shy zenith]

Alright. Well the good news is through persistent work and a good diet you can get way stronger.

Believe me.

Study proper form and do progressive overload

Also never forget your core, back, and legs.

We can't have a Mr. Incredible here lol

You're nowhere near cooked. All our muscles are capable of being Soo much stronger

[hollow dirge]

Stick with it for a while to build stability

Do not focus on weight

Focus on your control of the weight

Don’t let the weight be in control of you

If anything, you should try dumbbell bench for more stability since one arm fails

If you don’t want to, then focus more on that arm to make sure you can keep it stable at that weight

Better the form, then increase reps. Weight comes later

[hollow dirge]

Better form can also be a kind of overload

If you were getting a little sloppy on an exercise, and the next time you did it, you tried bettering your form, that is an overload because you are engaging the targeted muscles more than last time, and can then lead to doing more reps

[shy zenith]

Good point. One arm seems to be weaker than the other

🤔

[storm garden]

It's weird to cuz that's my mouse hand

So Itty should be stronger

It

[shy zenith]

You're just working your wrist

Am anyways

In a few months time, you'll be hitting 135 ez

[storm garden]

Ye

[severe escarp]

ye bro, that's about my max bench too, but u'll get it

just be consistent

[severe escarp]

Nov 21
Pushups 15lbs at 5 sets of 6 reps each

[wraith walrus]

I should start timing my laps for swimming, I've been slowly gaining more and more strength to go longer distances in the pool after my full 20 minutes on elliptical, 20 on treadmill, body weight/weights exercises

I'm really trying to work on my power kicks and butterfly backstroke

[severe escarp]

i should workout more :3

that sounds nice

[stray seal]

Soon, I will get my pushups to 50 lbs 3 sets of 5

progress is literally booming

[pliant copper]

Decided to try and cut this time around. still pushing weight again in terms of steady strength improvements but not eating quite as much. Actually weighed in at 145.8, been a while since Ive weighed so little considering my bulking push I was up to 158.

[severe escarp]

i had a person unprompted tell me my shoulders started showing a bit

would love to see others work out as well!

[lucid meadow]

I wish my gym has proper equipment. I have been limited to treadmills and dumb bells lately.

[severe escarp]

i just do most this stuff at home

i feel u man

i wish i had a pullup machine at home

[lucid meadow]

What I did when I had access to proper equipment.

[lucid meadow]

Went to the gym earlier and did:

Legs

• 3 sets of 100+ Calve Raises in Rapid Succession.
• 2 sets of Power Stomps until failure

Arms/Back (All until failure)

• 2 sets of Bicep Curls (30lb)
• 2 sets of Tricep Curls (30lb)
• 1 set of Lateral Raise (25lb)
• 3 sets of Dynamic Shoulder Raises (20lb) with a rowing motion at the end of each rep
• 3 sets of Wrist Flips (35lb)

Making good progress on legs. Mostly tissue vs bone now.

[pseudo brook]

Ancient pictures

This was in 2015 ish

6'4 probably around 240-250lbs 25% ish bodyfat

currently 6'4 280 24.4% bodyfat according to a dexa

[shy zenith]

Great

[sharp needle]

What's some decent home workouts without equipment? Recently just moved and the closest gym is 45 minuets away. I've been working out pretty consistently for the past year and need something to get me through until I get my home gym up and running

[pseudo brook]

Pushups
grab a backpack, fill it with something heavy, do curls
Rep out a ton of bodyweight squats or with a heavy backpack

if you have stairs

you can do calf raises on those

Situps work too

[sharp needle]

I dont have stairs but have a few step ladders/ step stools that would probably work

[pseudo brook]

Yeah!

[stray seal]

we're moving up

[hollow dirge]

Do yall subconsciously count reps and as a result you forget how many you actually did

[storm garden]

Yes

[wraith walrus]

So my right knee started giving me trouble a week or two ago, oddly enough it's only when i'm doing squats that it tweaks, and only that made my right knee hurt... I do my full 1 1/2 hour workout including 40 minutes on high resistance/inclince/running on elliptical/treadmill regardless of that

Down about 25 lbs since July, +about maybe 10 lbs in muscle -- Up to doing 17 pushups in reps before fatigue sets in, then go till blow 2 more sets up to 11 and then 7 for the final.

Getting back into the rhythm of fast overhand freesteyle swimming and doing reverse butterfly strokes -- working on power kicks every time. By the end of my workout my legs are basically nearing their limit and can't go any further.

My heart rate starts at around 140 as a baseline then climbs to 170-175 at peak -- Still going 3X a week and skipping a day between visits to rest. All of my other joints are getting stronger every day, the nerve in my foot that was refusing to loosen up finally decided to stop freezing in place and it doesn't cramp anymore - that hurt.

Goal is to continue and drop the final 20 lbs and continue my rhythm of bodyweight exercises and then targeted weights for specific muscle groups. Honestly that's the last thing I care about is building any one area, i'm trying to do an overall build from top to bottom and hit every group

[hollow dirge]

I sprained my mcl while moving

So no legs for a bit

[stray seal]

someone say... progress?

[lucid meadow]

Great job.

[stray seal]

progress~\

29.6lbs pushupsssss

yay

my triceps are lookin decent

[balmy jay]

W

[shy zenith]

6 months without lifting. I don't recommend it, guys

[stray seal]

My holiday activity

[lucid meadow]

That's one way to add some weight lmao.

[storm garden]

135lbs deadlift

PR

[lucid meadow]

Well done!

[storm garden]

I think my highest pr in any category is leg press

~360 lbs

(I weigh 115)

[lucid meadow]

115kg or lb?

[storm garden]

Lbs

[lucid meadow]

Very impressive.

[lucid meadow]

I weigh about 220lb and my PB for the Leg Press is 810lb in a 10 rep set.

[shy zenith]

Leg man

[lucid meadow]

And core!

xD.

I can currently do about 40-50 crunches in a set and 20 reps of vertical raises (lift the entire body into the air vertically with the head on the floor and hands on a bar for stability.)

[shy zenith]

Incredible

I'm going back to the gym this month

I feel weak

[storm garden]

Should I post my before and after photos after a year of hitting the gym

Gonna blur my face obviously

[shy zenith]

Hm

Shouldn't be against the rules

[storm garden]

Alr

[storm garden]

before

After

I tried flexing my delts but just got my arms

[storm garden]

I did literally all the machines in the gym today

[shy zenith]

Don't over do it lmao

[wraith walrus]

I finally just fully recovered from a pinched clavical nerve/muscle in my shoulder, after about 2 weeks. was from after I worked out, and my posture was bad shortly, just long enough for the muscle to set wrong and twist on itself -- Even then, if you ever feel like you shouldn't do another weight, don't. It's better that you don't over-do something when your body is giving you flashing warning signs

obv lean into weight resistance, but you should know when somethings about to pop

[hollow dirge]

Bro did a bunch of junk volume

[storm garden]

I overdid it btw

My back STILL hurts

[ashen anvil]

I would gladly go back to the gym if it wasn't so expensive. $25 every two weeks mandatory 24 months, crazy.

[hollow dirge]

That’s not even that bad lol

A little pricey but there is worse out there

[storm garden]

Did 20 reps at 300 lbs

(Shin lifts)

And then I did 4 reps on leg press

Gonna do another 2 sets

And set a new 1 rep max

365 lbs

[lucid meadow]

Well done padowan. Vader is proud.

[storm garden]

lol

[hollow dirge]

I think I must widen my stance https://youtu.be/8XFkmB44XRY

[storm garden]

8.26 miles in bike in 30 minutes today

[slow pike]

assuming it was an electronic bike, what level of resistance?

[storm garden]

varying

i was doing a trail ride video

[shy zenith]

And going back to the gym Monday

[severe escarp]

congrats!

[shy zenith]

You go often?

[severe escarp]

i want to

i used to

[wraith walrus]

My Cardio Routine in Pics:

Part 1: 20 minute Elliptical HIIT Rotations - 3 minutes warmup with no arm support (Free Swinging arms with leg movement in sync paralell to chest using ab rhythm to power forward) -- Then move into 10 minutes of one minute 19/20 resistance into 1 minute 14/20 resistance) while using deep breathing and rotating between using arms to power and raw legs and abs, Then reverse Leg movement, and repeat and finish at a 3 minute no arm support sprint

Part 2 - The Climb: I'm up to maximum 20% incline on the treadmill for 10 minutes rotating back and forth to 15% incline at a steady pace

Part 3 - The Run: Cycling HIIT again between 4mph and 7.5-8mph and finishing with a 9.5 mph 1 minute sprint

Part 4 - The Swim: I shower then I hop in the spa up my shoulders and soak for about 5-7 minutes and reset, then i hop in the pool and do 2 full back and forth laps at full speed freestyle sprint with power leg kicks, then i reverse on my back and do 2 laps of butterflies also working power kicks and relaxing my breathing -- finish with a sprint lap and back to the spa to chill for a few more mins and rest

I rotate days whether after im doing the non wet cardio that i do bodyweight or set weight workouts like Planks, Crunches, Pushups, Squats or rowing/curls, etc
so between the exercise equipment and pool i do my anaerobic exercise

My HR tops out around 180, that's my red zone, i'm usually stable around 160-175 at peak

[hollow dirge]

I don't even do cardio

That changes soon though

[wraith walrus]

Cardio builds endurance, and you can also include some serious resistance training for decent muscle growth

[hollow dirge]

Yeah Ideally you would do both but I stopped doing cardio

[wraith walrus]

It takes getting used to suppose, i've been doing it on and off my whole life

Used to run CC back in High school long time back doing 7ks and 5ks

[hollow dirge]

I think the better thing to do is have a dedicated cardio day

[wraith walrus]

maybe, i'm doing weight loss focus still. Cutting from 200 to 140, about 165 now

[hollow dirge]

Good shit dude

[wraith walrus]

Yeah, its a journey

[hollow dirge]

At least for me, doing it after upper/lower is kinda brutal

It was easier to manage when I was doing ppl

[wraith walrus]

For sure, that's why you do it BEFORE 😄

[storm garden]

7.5 miles today

did an ab workout as well, sm like 100 situps(i wasn't counting)

[shy zenith]

Today….back to the gym after 8 months

[wraith walrus]

Just kick your own ass man.

[shy zenith]

best not to do that or I'll get sick

💀

[wraith walrus]

Speaking of, i can't wait to go floating in space playing some VR here when i get off

Playing Lone Echo

[shy zenith]

Day two....of gym. Pull day. 2 hours. Great. The sourness is going to be incredible soon.

[wraith walrus]

Get it man! Make it day 365

Here's a Trick to get yourself to Go: Start putting together a Gym bag and get dressed out, then you'd feel like an idiot if you DIDNT go

It's all about making that first move and just starting something, then you're committed

your brain has to want to be like "okay lets tie our shoes and do this"

[shy zenith]

Thanks.

I'll stay longer this time

Don't you just hate it when your elbows won't bend all the way after doing pull exercises?

[wraith walrus]

I've dropped 2 whole belt sizes, I was at a 34 now I'm at 32 -- I don't measure my weight, I like to just guess on that part and know that I'm making progress

[shy zenith]

Oh nice

Progress

My belt size is 30

You're almost golden

[wraith walrus]

And as of yesterday, i'm down to 160 from 200 in about 6 months - still have the final 20 to cut, same method, just gotta move

[hollow dirge]

I was wondering about hamstring strength relative to quads and glutes

Turns out having rdl weight as much as your squat is actually good

Some even say to have a little more on rdl since your glutes also assist here, but give or take squat weight is still good

Technically I’m doing more on rdl because of more reps

[hollow dirge]

You can also get obsessive by weighing in too much

Because of just day to day variance

Another realization is for rdl you gotta hump the bar, purely focusing on horizontal movement and not lifting the bar, or vertical movement

The hamstring activity went way up

I was doing kind of an in betweener where I was still hinging but not completely, and now that I intentionally focus on as much back and forth as possible, I actually had to drop a few reps

[wraith walrus]

yeah, i know that from experience. I just know that my routine is working, and that's all i need to know

but i also gave myself a time frame to lose X weight at X rate per week

and i'm on track easily

And not only that, to build X muscle while losing that weight. No crash diets, no bs, just hit the pavement

[hollow dirge]

[shy zenith]

Today's leg day

..oh god

Oh god no. Why now!

[shy zenith]

Alright. Done. I might not be able to walk in 24-48 hours

[lucid meadow]

What weights?

[shy zenith]

Had to started very light with dumbbells like 35lbs to 45lbs. I didn’t want to feel super sore. All good now

[lucid meadow]

Respectable. I was asking about weights for the legs.

[shy zenith]

Dumbbells

[lucid meadow]

So you were for example doing squats while holding dumbbells?

[shy zenith]

Yes

[lucid meadow]

Ahh okay

Now it makes more sense

[shy zenith]

Lunges as well as an exercise for hamstrings

[lucid meadow]

Neato

[hollow dirge]

Bulgarian split squat

[storm garden]

3.48 times my 115 lb body weight

[lucid meadow]

Well done. On a side node, why are your feet not aligned?

[storm garden]

? idk

[hollow dirge]

bro

they are supposed to be

is big dog pushing one leg harder than the other

[storm garden]

No

I was using both legs the same amount

[lucid meadow]

For safety purposes please align your feet so they bend in the same direction.

[wraith walrus]

https://tenor.com/view/youknow-you-gif-19056787

I'm not really worried about my leg strength, the other day I broke my 9:00 Mile mark and im still doing 30 minutes of extreme HIIT before that

That being said my ankle and wrist are sore, need to rest maybe

[lucid meadow]

My biggest issue right now is finding a gym that has Sled Presses with enough capacity.

While not costing half a liver.

[wraith walrus]

Where are you at in the world?

[lucid meadow]

Currently in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. About 1h30m from Cancun for context.

[wraith walrus]

Gotcha, not sure what the regions like down there, never been myself

[lucid meadow]

Finding a gym with a sled press that supports +1200lbs is very hard...

[wraith walrus]

This is the first time in my life i actually signed up for a gym, not because it was already available (apartment gym, school gym, etc.)

wow, yeah that'll be hard

Hell i'm just up to doing 60lb curls and 1 70lb chest presses, I honestly cant say the last time I tested my leg strength outright

[lucid meadow]

I weigh about 230lbs ~6"3-6"4 depending on compression in my spine and right knee. I push ~900lbs for the leg press and +1200lbs for calve raises.

[wraith walrus]

heh, I'm 5'7 and i just shrank from 200 to 160, target is 140 -- I think I could do maybe.... 400 lb leg press, maybe up to 500 if i pushed it?

definitely not that high

[lucid meadow]

For curls I max out at around 45lb. I've repped higher but not consistently. Most of my strength is in lower body and core due to having hurt my back.

[wraith walrus]

okay for reference when i say 60, i mean 30 right 30 left

[lucid meadow]

Oh okay

Thought you were repping 60lb dumb bells

[wraith walrus]

Oh shit no, my biceps would be huge

[lucid meadow]

For chest press, my best is around 270lbs

[wraith walrus]

That tracks, right now i'm just taking a couple rotations off lifting while my wrist recovers

[lucid meadow]

Not anymore but I used to rep about 330lb for shoulder press.

[wraith walrus]

Yeah, another thing I gotta watch overdoing, right shoulder can get sprained easy doing overheads/skull crushers

[lucid meadow]

Most of what I do nowadays is lower and core training with a bit of arm training with more of a focus on endurance.

I stretch, work on legs, and then usually core where I lock my head and arms in position on a bench then lift my entire body till it's straight up then slowly descend back down and repeat for about 40 reps

[wraith walrus]

For sure, i'm going for almost 2 full hours at the gym split between Elliptical, Treadmill, Body Work and Pool Work

I'm not quite at the point where i want to pivot to body building, I'm still focused on core building and weight loss

[lucid meadow]

Fair, for me I do mostly for the love of the game.

I've been going to a gym since I was 4 since my family is very tied in with the fitness industry.

[wraith walrus]

Nice, yeah not me. I just enjoyed soccer, track and cross country growing up

[lucid meadow]

My biggest issue right now is weight loss. I have the muscle and ability to consume large portions but a hard time losing the waist line. I usually eat about 5kg of food a day and if I consume less I feel like I am starving at night.

[wraith walrus]

Heh, my only issue is my sweet tooth

I do portion control all day, nutrition balancing on the fly anyways

My diet isnt super restrictive, I can have carbs, just don't buy bread

[lucid meadow]

I barely consume any sweets.

[wraith walrus]

I think I take in average 2k cals/day

[lucid meadow]

The only unhealthy substance I take would be about 1-2 no sugar monsters a day.

the rest is all natural foods

[wraith walrus]

Ah, I put a spoonful of sugar and a tablespoon of frangelico in my espresso, Im sure youve seen the desserts I post from time to time.

[lucid meadow]

Yes indeed xD they look great

[wraith walrus]

I usually drink vitamin water zero and a 80cal body armor drink a couple times a day for my sugar rush

And a coke or something a couple times a week

I could cut that out but honestly I've been making amazing progress regardless of that

[lucid meadow]

You've seen my foodposts. Very seldomly anything that'd be considered unhealthy. My biggest issue is consumption I feel.

[wraith walrus]

Hmmm, sounds like the Itis, where you bloat after eating too much of something

[lucid meadow]

itis?

[wraith walrus]

Lol joke from a cartoon called the Boondocks. That's part of why I always portion even at restaurants I'll plan to take half my meals home

Then again, I'm only 5'7

[lucid meadow]

Guesstimates but I am probably consuming north of 3,000 calories a day to not feel starved.

Man I smell my neighbors eating fried chicken of some sort.

Now I am craving a bucket of KFC

[hollow dirge]

Two sets of 12, bulgarian split squats

https://tenor.com/view/leg-day-gym-girl-giraffe-limp-gif-12296316

[lucid meadow]

Not quite gym related but I am happy to say my Discs seems to be finally recovering.

I haven't had to take as much of my pain meds lately and have had some better range of motion before the pain intensifies.

[shy zenith]

Excellent

[whole geyser]

Mmmm weighted vest

[storm garden]

I have this thing i do with my left hand when I listen to music, kinda like headbanging but with my hand

I listened to a lot of music during my bike run yesterday

Needless to say my left bicep is screwed up now

[shy zenith]

In a good way right?

[storm garden]

I mean I can still use it well enough

[dire bough]

Is there a way to find out how many sets exactly I need per muscle in a week for maximum hypertrophy?

I searched across many YouTube videos and everyone says it's either 10-20 or much lower than that (like 4-8) but I don't know how to test this

[storm garden]

Just go until right before your muscles absolutely sht themselves

[dire bough]

Lol they can endure lots of volume and recover (15 sets per workout twice a week for chest or back for example, actually done that for a long time) but idk if that's way too much

[wet rover]

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/volume/

It's a huge article, but there's a lot of stuff at the bottom of the article.

It depends on a few things, like frequency, how hard the sets are, etc. They have some general suggestions.

[lucid meadow]

also optimize your workouts based on the strain you want the muscles to withstand.

On the topic of exercising, it seems I am beginning to pleatue in terms of progress on my calves. I am maxing out at about ~150 reps/bursts for what I've been calling rapid-calve-raises. 0.5s per calve-raise and during the set, the heel of the foot must never touch the ground but just barely above it.

I've been training the calves that way for a while now since I haven't had access to a gym with a sled-press the supports +1,000lbs.

[shy zenith]

Woagh

[wraith walrus]

So a few weeks ago I was going to get into the pool and do my laps like usual, when I was moving my foot to the lower step to get in my right foot slipped, skinned foot and banged my tibia twisting my knee at the joint spraining it ---

Back to 85% of my workout, hurts to run still because the deep tissue is still healing in my knee so I'm just doing uphill climbing

Apparently sprains in the knee take an annoyingly long time to heal

[shy zenith]

Yikes

[shy zenith]

https://klipy.com/gifs/catjump-cat-meme--k01KS15SY4PP2BXG2J449MR5N3X

[wraith walrus]

My knee is maybe.. 85% healed now, almost good. Going back to test it tonight and see how far I can run

[shy zenith]

great!

[wraith walrus]

Well I did my entire other routine and nailed it, including maximum resistance elliptical for 20 minutes HIIT, Maximum incline uphil walking for 15 minutes, I tried to run, made it about 30 feet before my knee said NOPE NOT YET, then i said okay fine, switched to pool gear and did 7 laps total (freestyle and reverse butterfly with leg kicks)

So yeah it's maybe... 70% healed lol

Those deep tissues in the knee are serious when you sprain them

[shy zenith]

Damn. How is it now?

[wraith walrus]

Better daily, still not ready for running just yet

Bout to go to gym in the next hour