Weight Loss/Muscle Gain/Gym Regimes

[The Shrub Dragon]

so yeah share ur workout plans here mostly so i can scrub them off u and look healthier and more attractive than i do right now


i haven't actually started yet but the plan is jus to do a butt-ton of cardio ie run one day swim one day until i've lost a bit of weight with thursday and sunday as rest days (yoga/pilates on thursdays probably although the yoga is relaxation and not bikram)


so yeah share ur schedules here

[Kpyna]

well... my gym at school here in italy really sucks. they have a weight room with like... 5lb weight, 15 lb weight, 25 lb weight, and 50 lb weight and squat rack... all with no mirrors!!! like ok guess i'll just get pudgy because i dont wanna injure myself lol

at school though i'd usually do like 40 minutes of free weights. I try to just mostly work my top half. I do like 3 or 4 sets of 8 bench presses with 25 lb weights (so for 50 lb total). then i do lateral raises which i can usually manage 10 lbs on, same with the 3 or 4 sets of 8. then i do the same set (though sometimes i can handle 15 lbs on) for frontal raises. then i do alternate bicep curls at 20 lbs, i do 7 reps with each arm, then rest and do 4 sets of that. then i do some one arm rows with 20 lbs.

then i do a few sets of lunges with my 25 lbs, and then i move onto squats. I can only squat the bar plus like 30 pounds haha. I do 5 sets of 5 on the squats.

then i do high intensity of the step machine for 20 minutes, and when i'm done with that, i do some mat exercises. i usually do about 20 sit ups, then i break it up by doing 10 lady pushups (still can't do more than 2 normal ones without collapsing... curse these boobs), and repeat that 3 times. then i do some static stretches and call it a day!

i've been told i should just split these exercises up, spend more time of my legs, and then go every day for like 40 minutes, but i like just going every other day haha. if i happen to injure myself i cut the weights down to half, or less if i have any sort of struggle with half the weight. usually i feel better the next day.

but yeah this was my workout last semester and i liked it a lot, but i tend to switch things up a little bit after i go on breaks. writing this makes me realize i forgot to put a tricep exercise in...

this makes me miss going a lot

[Pam-the-Lamb]

 I'll usually do

Benchpress 5x5 45kg
OHP 5x5 30kg
Squats 5x5 (depending on my knees tbh) 40kg

For my main lifts but I might swap squats for deadlifts soon.

Curls 5x5 7kg
Shrugs (until failure I guess) 20kg - 26kg
Raises 5x5 7kg

For the accessories.

When it comes down to cardio, I'll spend about 30 minutes walking to and from the gym so I'll do about 5 or 10 minutes of cardio where I'll increase the resistance or speed every 1 or 2 minutes.

Literally no back work but I was in the process of adding rows before the whole kidney thing and I was meant to look into back exercises.

All the lifts are at the heaviest that I can currently manage and I was planning on progressing slowly so I don't mess up my form lifting a heavier weight like I did with my squat which caused me to hurt my back. I think I can generally lift a lot more than this but I like doing five sets of five reps so the weight is lower.

There was a period where I was doing C25K on my rest days since I lift on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but that stopped with uni.


Generally weight loss is just calories in vs calories out. Cutting out the fizzy drinks and excessive fast food will cause some weight to melt off and so will short walks. Generally, protein is important and so is keeping saturated fats to a low.

Idk. I did really well with my diet but I'll go "sod it" and eat whatever occasionally and that's very counter productive.

Cottage cheese and tuna are amazing for low calories/high protein. If you're biologically female don't be afraid to touch weights because the lower test levels mean that you'll grow muscle at a slower rate so you're not going to look like a Machamp after touching the weights. Like, check out Barbell Brigade on YouTube since Geo lifts and she's still pretty petite even though she's a power lifter (unless she's changed things up recently).

[The Shrub Dragon]

^i was gna do some gentler strength stuff as pt bc im dyspraxic so my muscle tone is really weak so i'll see where that takes me and then kind of work my way up


but yeah you two are both hardcore that looks intense

[Kpyna]

definitely! just start low, it's okay to only lift a little. as long as you feel a little bit of struggle finishing your set, you're doing good. fyi, if you do a small set (like umb's 5x5s) you're going to need to lift pretty much to your potential and that's it, and its a really good way for muscle growth. a good workout and keeping your muscles in check is to do longer sets, usually i'd say anything above 12 reps though is unnecessary. that way you can use a lower weight to not risk hurting yourself. your growth will be slower, but even weight lifting not to build your body is a great workout, don't fool yourself

continuing on what umb said, definitely don't be scared of the weights... like i post pictures of myself non stop in the photo topic and you see i'm like... just not the she-hulk. a lot of female body builders follow really strict diet regimes that let them build muscle on top of muscle, and some tamper with hormones, etc. just eating normally, you're not gonna beast mode, contrary to like every girl i've ever spoken to's beliefs. i've gotten a couple of my female friends into weight lifting after i tell them how much i go and then flexing and you hardly see anything LOL

and the not drinking soda is so spot on. my friend had a new years resolution to cut out potato chips and soda because he used to have them almost every day, and he stuck with it and dropped... i can't remember if it was 50 or 70 pounds. he didn't even work out. just stopped eating 2 kinds of trash food.

and umb are you sure your squat position is A+?? it shouldn't hurt your back, i squatted too much once using proper form and i just couldn't walk because my butt and thighs were in so much pain lol. this video showed me a great tip, the whole thing is good really, it's done by Ross from Friends, but the main tip that stuck with me is at 3:30 he gives an awesome tip to squeeze your glutes and that will make your position perfect near every time. it also might have something to do with you gettin' too low when you squat. this is why i love mirrors cause i drop it like its hot if i'm not paying attention.

this is my absolute favorite guide that got me started on lifting and caring about my health, you should read it, it will really give you a good introduction. at least read the nutrition part, nutrition is a big part of weight loss. but keep in mind, nutrition and cardio will only get your skinnyfat. even if you can't do weights, try push ups, sit ups, pull ups, whatever, and that will help you get some muscle definition that will help you look awesome

ok now i'll step off the podium since i mean, its not like i've properly worked out in like a month anyways

edit: it may be helpful to have a PT if they're available at your gym help you with coordination. i was doing some reading and apparently you might have to work up to effective weight lifting, but there's some routines i found that involve doing some running, jumping, catching, and balance for a few weeks until you're like able to see concrete improvement and then you can move on. i was reading too that keeping up with a routine can help your coordination immensely. i mean, i'd really encourage you to try it, i'd be really interested to see if you notice some physical improvements. this guide says to start with machines when you're coordinated enough to use them effectively until you develop the muscle memory to do free weights... sounds legit to me

[lets all go out for some frosty chocolate milkshakes]

ooh ooh //flaps// beginners exercises for clumsy babies i do that!!!!!!

i follow a modified version of the brain over brawn workout. (free book as in free beer or w/e the no strings one is. dude makes up money thru purchases of the paper book, kind of like a name ur price bandcamp affair) there's like an A set of exercises and a B set of exercises and the A set is shoulder pull, hips push. the B set is shoulder PUSH and hips pull.

A set = Bent over rows (shoulder pull) and body weight/weighted squats (hip push)
B set = Press Ups (shoulder push) and deadlifts (hip pull)

i ought to get more exercises in time but that'll happen once i outgrow my weightlifting training pants haha

weight methodology is (as ive droned on about before) several litre water bottles in Strong shopping bags and the workout is me starting at ~4-5 water bottles in each bag (10ish kg altogether) and adding 2 water bottles to each bag. a Max Weight is where i can do 6 reps of each exercise before going "aahhahhhah ffhfhfhh" and losing form, to which i do 3x6 reps and that is my Workout. i then cool down by taking weights back out

i.e my recent fitocracy workout (follow me on the fitocracy!!!)



i go up....up...then reach my max...and cool back down again. its Noticeable when oyu dont warm up and cool down cos i did my max reps only and it caned to hell and back the next day. you absolutely must do warm up and cool down reps.

if i can do 8 reps its not enough weight, if i can only do about 3 then its too much. if you perservere you will notice ur max weight slooowwwllly going up. eventually you'll be able to deadlift 25kg no sweat and then ur ready for buying a barbell weight or w/e but if you're a bit Fragile and Nerdy like i am this is a slow n gentle way of gettin swole

after about a month or three of this im finally at deadlifting 20kg max and bent over rowing 16kg. its wimpy as all hell but im proud of it.

my form isn't Great but im having to try to commit it to muscle memory cos of what i suspect is Clinical Clumsiness altho after about 5 weeks i finally got a squat down! which is good. you bend the knees and the hips at the same time and its a really Weird movement to try and do but once you get the idea that ur knee shouldn't move forward past ur foot on the ground it Clicks into place. (the movement, not ur knee)

ofc im a dumb butt and i need knee braces on occasionally and i suspect the tendons etc in my knees arent as good as they should be but the only way to train those up is slllooowwwllllyyyyy with support so get urself some knee braces if ur prone to the ol wabby knees like i am. 

if you can't do straight up pushups then wall pushup until you can do 25 no hassle. start with ur feet close to the wall and then bring them away slowly. then when ur an expert at ~45 degree wall pushups  then do what they call incline pushups. eventually this'll ready you for a Genuine Pushup (knee pushups are bad for u and dont develop ur upper body strength at all)

likewise, if u can't do a squat, you can do body weight supported squats and if thats too hard you can sit down on a computer chair and try to drive urself off it with the weight on your heels. if thats too hard just getting up and down off the chair is where u start. kind of like a supported box squat but backwards.



weights will (afaik) actually burn the most fat surprisingly haha. you might need cardio (i should probably do cardio idk but running is a bad idea for me and swimming....well...uh...i have Certain Reservations about it like wth to even wear) so for now its weights and the odd walk about the place.

its in the book but make sure you have a Peak Meal (high carb hi sugar) meal after workouts or it'll feel like you're discontinuing off some bizarre drug u forgot to take recently or s/t.


edit: once u get Good and youve outgrown water bottles in bags (i still aint and ive been doin it for a good few months now haha) then you shoud move onto a regime called Starting Strength


also make sure you're giving urself adequate rest! i had to have about week/week and a half rest between my Workout Days (slowly bringing it to about ~4 days between workouts) or id end up getting sore throat n feverish stuff going on and sorta-colds happening (adrenals freak out and throw cortisol everywhere and suppress ur immune system cos ur overdoing it) so ignore this stuff thats all "you should be doing it 3x a week". work up to it.

EDIT: just saw you were doing yoga so maybe disregard the next paragraph

if you need to get a bit more Flexibility or just want to get ur muscles Stretched Out you can do this nice (and somewhat homoerotic) yoga vid by these couple kiwi guys.. yoga is good cos its the Bare Minimum Exercise u should be doing and if ur a bit of a chronic anxiety mess like me then it does help chill u out. once i was having a horrific panic attack For No Reason as u do and a minute of Warrior Pose just made the thing crash down like snow on a roof all around my shoulders. it felt gr8.

both the weights n the yoga are great for anxieties cos theres just s/t about getting ur muscles used that ur body's primal response goes "huh i guess we're Swole enough to fight this nonexistent threat off ourselves we dont need to Panic constantly and get the adrenaline all up in here"



anyway this was my Lifting carepost. sorry for a lot of typing that is prolly written badly but yeh tl;dr: take what u can from the brain over brawn book and mix it in w a bit of everything else to get a Workout that suits u. good luck!

and umb are you sure your squat position is A+?? it shouldn't hurt your back, i squatted too much once using proper form and i just couldn't walk because my butt and thighs were in so much pain lol. this video showed me a great tip, the whole thing is good really, it's done by Ross from Friends, but the main tip that stuck with me is at 3:30 he gives an awesome tip to squeeze your glutes and that will make your position perfect near every time. it also might have something to do with you gettin' too low when you squat. this is why i love mirrors cause i drop it like its hot if i'm not paying attention.

ooh ooh i know this one!!!! it's called "butt wink" and its when you extend too far down in a squat and u kind of end up curling the base of your spinal cord under to eke out a little more extension (idk how to describe it) and it has a habit of not showing up until the next day. all the people in the youtube videos for butt wink shout too loudly so i can't reccommend any of them but thats the Official Name for it and s/t to watch out for when squatting.

given im going from sedentry clown baby i know i aint got a lot of flexibility yet which is why i just try to get my squats barely parallel to the floor haha. ive done a butt wink to myself a good couple times

[Pam-the-Lamb]

and umb are you sure your squat position is A+?? it shouldn't hurt your back, i squatted too much once using proper form and i just couldn't walk because my butt and thighs were in so much pain lol. this video showed me a great tip, the whole thing is good really, it's done by Ross from Friends, but the main tip that stuck with me is at 3:30 he gives an awesome tip to squeeze your glutes and that will make your position perfect near every time. it also might have something to do with you gettin' too low when you squat. this is why i love mirrors cause i drop it like its hot if i'm not paying attention.

It was pretty on point up until that fateful day! I do go ATG with my squats and I was using ratty old Chucks for lifting shoes but it was so long ago and I can't remember what happened 100%.

Honest to God, I was doing OHP in the rack because I had the gym to myself so I was placing the micro plates next to me so I can increase the weight after every set and the gym instructor comes over and starts awkwardly racking the plates. I came back to a notice on the mirror directly in front of me saying something like "WHILST YOU'RE ADMIRING YOURSELF MAKE SURE TO PUT THE PLATES BACK OR I'LL GET THE GIRLS TO DO IT". So it turns out that he's a dick.

So that sign is really distracting during squats and is more of a safety breach...

Squats are going slow though atm, like you said with the form thing, it was probably off so I'm making sure to squat light and watch my form whilst listening to my body (especially my knees). Was torn on dropping them all together but you've gotta keep the glutes for the ladies and it looks odd if you don't train them when you train everything else.

[lets all go out for some frosty chocolate milkshakes]

It was pretty on point up until that fateful day! I do go ATG with my squats and I was using ratty old Chucks for lifting shoes but it was so long ago and I can't remember what happened 100%.

Honest to God, I was doing OHP in the rack because I had the gym to myself so I was placing the micro plates next to me so I can increase the weight after every set and the gym instructor comes over and starts awkwardly racking the plates. I came back to a notice on the mirror directly in front of me saying something like "WHILST YOU'RE ADMIRING YOURSELF MAKE SURE TO PUT THE PLATES BACK OR I'LL GET THE GIRLS TO DO IT". So it turns out that he's a dick.

So that sign is really distracting during squats and is more of a safety breach...

Squats are going slow though atm, like you said with the form thing, it was probably off so I'm making sure to squat light and watch my form whilst listening to my body (especially my knees). Was torn on dropping them all together but you've gotta keep the glutes for the ladies and it looks odd if you don't train them when you train everything else.

see if u can find a free bench and box squat it (like squats but ur butt sits down on the bench almost), havin something where ur butt is deffo helps. i was doing accidental butt contact w/ my bed during my squats and whoops it turns out it helps out 1040324823908 percent cos my body is an idiot


ps: sorry you got a roided out gym administrator. if it helps he probably shrunk his tackle thru steroid abuse and is Insecure about it. 

[Pam-the-Lamb]

see if u can find a free bench and box squat it (like squats but ur butt sits down on the bench almost), havin something where ur butt is deffo helps. i was doing accidental butt contact w/ my bed during my squats and whoops it turns out it helps out 1040324823908 percent cos my body is an idiot


ps: sorry you got a roided out gym administrator. if it helps he probably shrunk his tackle thru steroid abuse and is Insecure about it.

I was looking into sumo squats with kettlebells to focus on the gloots and then going on to use the leg curl machines or something I'll try box squats tomorrow since the gym will hopefully be emptier due to the half term.

He's not even on roids! He looks like a sports dad who never takes their track jacket off lol. He doesn't even look like he lifts either? He could easily be the receptionist's father.

The whole "I'LL GET THE GIRLS TO DO IT" thing rubbed me the wrong way tbh since the girls at reception are almost always doing something but he just sits in the gym for an hour a day doing nothing except plastering the mirrors in laminated signs (I guess he failed his graphics design course or something) when he should really be training people.

Like the last one was cool and he did something with the RAF and he looked in shape but the new one is a generic dad.

[Milsap]

Only eating at breakfast, lunch and dinner and going for walks.

Because when your asthma's as bad as mine that's all I can do. I've dropped from a 36'' waist to a 32 in three months. Having all those viral infections probably helped though...

Anyone bought into Juice Plus? There is no way you can lose that much that quickly

[Pam-the-Lamb]

 I'm checking their (Juice Plus) page and it seems to be capsules that supplement a diet so totally go for it if you've got the money spare. I wouldn't follow one of those juice crash diets though since they can't be healthy.

36 to 32 is pretty fantastic though if weight loss is your goal.



Tried a different routine today which consisted of squats, standing military presses, and deadlifts. My squat is back to normal, it turns out that doing warm-up sets are quite beneficial.

This new routine seems odd and I'm not sure if there's an aesthetics routine and a strength routine or if you incorporate the aesthetics routine into the strength routine? Idk, I'll read the book again.
.

[lets all go out for some frosty chocolate milkshakes]

He's not even on roids! He looks like a sports dad who never takes their track jacket off lol. He doesn't even look like he lifts either? He could easily be the receptionist's father.

ohHHHHH he's one of THOSE sorts. the Middle Age Crisis types.

does he have a medallion ring???? ask him if he's got a drumkit and a villa in spain n all

The whole "I'LL GET THE GIRLS TO DO IT" thing rubbed me the wrong way tbh since the girls at reception are almost always doing something but he just sits in the gym for an hour a day doing nothing except plastering the mirrors in laminated signs (I guess he failed his graphics design course or something) when he should really be training people.

its a vague attempt at him trying to emasculate u for some reason but he's the Sad Singlies Dad working in a gym and snarking the gym goers so,

Because when your asthma's as bad as mine that's all I can do. I've dropped from a 36'' waist to a 32 in three months. Having all those viral infections probably helped though...

last British Lung Foundation meeting i went to they were all talking about Powerbreathers/Ultrabreathers for training and Shakers for breakin up the mucus, look into it if you haven't already

[Milsap]

Thanks for the tip, but I don't think it'll help. I blew 350 on my last peak flow and the nurse reckons I should be blowing double that.

[lets all go out for some frosty chocolate milkshakes]

apologies everyone for turning this into the General Health Carepost chat but Proper Self Care is important and i get caretriggered by vague disregard for it

Thanks for the tip, but I don't think it'll help. I blew 350 on my last peak flow and the nurse reckons I should be blowing double that.

so??????????? what are you doing to contest that peak flow? you've had a spirometry, right? have you tried a respiflo? (specifically designed for post-operative respiratory rehabilitation). did you even look up what an ultrabreathe/shaker was? what does your local respiratory clinic say? is it asthma or undiagnosed COPD? have you gone for a sputum test to rule out the chronic low-level infection that you can get with badly controlled asthma? had an ECG and all that done to rule out heart problems? what respiratory physio exercises do you do?

have you tried theophylline? did you go the anti-leuikotriene route with montelukast? magnesium?  (magnesium has saved me more times than i care to think about and i aint got ER bad (yet) cos dang if i let it get that bad but they give you iv mag sulphate when you are having an acute attack.) menthol crystals? mullein tea, even? (remember to filter it thru coffee filter paper to avoid the irritating barbs) what anti-inflammatories are you on? are you a brown inhaler asthmatic? or purple/pink/red/green?

like i get theres a Devils Advocate Gets Corrected With Bonus Advice way of learning here that i half-suspect you do but its incredibly bad form and its a bit "wear weird personal/esteem issues on wrist in awkward/offputting way" that sadbrains people do.

disclaimer: its p obvious but im an asthmatic along with a bunch of r****d brain n body/dysautonimia-ish stuff and had to care for someone who's chest problems arised partly from a rib fracture and nervous breakdown. spoiler: the thing that stopped theirs strangely enough was an SNRI, which have solved idiopathic chronic pain/fibro on top of unchecked depression/anxiety. it was the last step we had to take before submitting a case for a higher level investigation and whoop it worked.


this also goes for any other Sadbrains Asthmatics in the UK but if you find your local support is being useless (care delivery is a Complicated Thing and not everyone will get the best respiratory nurse ever in their local PCT) the british lung foundation helpline are better tasked to give you a more outlined idea of what to do re: a crappy and non-budging peak flow. dont make the mistake that annoying people often do re "urrgghhhh //scratches manboob under ill fitting Ford convention shirt with belly hanging out the bottom// what can a helpline of nurses do. they're just nurses." cos doctors aint trained to administer IV stuff, nurses are. doctors dont care for patients around the clock and know the ins and outs of the condition up front, nurses do. doctors are people who just somehow managed to make it thru medical school and didn't crash out into biomed or alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver.








ok thanks for being patient everyone (pun not intended) dumb and epically autistic health carepost over

[Milsap]

so??????????? what are you doing to contest that peak flow? you've had a spirometry, right? have you tried a respiflo? (specifically designed for post-operative respiratory rehabilitation). did you even look up what an ultrabreathe/shaker was? what does your local respiratory clinic say? is it asthma or undiagnosed COPD? have you gone for a sputum test to rule out the chronic low-level infection that you can get with badly controlled asthma? had an ECG and all that done to rule out heart problems? what respiratory physio exercises do you do?

It's asthma. I can't contest the peak flow because that's all I can do and I'm pretty much at the best I can be with it.

When I lived with the carrot crunchers in Lincolnshire I was pretty fit but since moving back to the Black Country it's as it was when I was a kid.