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 dogma wrote:

 Matthew wrote:
Does anyone know how well biking compares to running? I love running, but since I've started biking to school I'm too tired to go running.

What kind of biking? What are you riding?

I'm... Not sure. All I know is that I bike at around 15-20 km/h and run at around 5-6 minutes per kilometer.

 Matthew wrote:
Does anyone know how well biking compares to running? I love running, but since I've started biking to school I'm too tired to go running.

Hey dude you asked about being a teenager and gaining muscle at home. I'm 19 now and lifted since I was 17. Try doing your basic lifts with the heaviest ones you have. This means bicep curls and front and side lateral raises. If you can do 3 sets of 10 for each exercise with 90s rest between sets, the first time you attempt the workout and feel like you have more energy, its too light. Let us know how this goes.

Anybody else got recommendations for him? This is pretty much what I started out doing, I got decent bicep and shoulder beginner gains from it.

I don't weight lift, but I run alot more and I also do core strength and other things.

I have an agile build so I can't really lift weights. I tried to before, but I am not too interested in weight lifting.

MaxZ wrote:

 Matthew wrote:
Does anyone know how well biking compares to running? I love running, but since I've started biking to school I'm too tired to go running.

Hey dude you asked about being a teenager and gaining muscle at home. I'm 19 now and lifted since I was 17. Try doing your basic lifts with the heaviest ones you have. This means bicep curls and front and side lateral raises. If you can do 3 sets of 10 for each exercise with 90s rest between sets, the first time you attempt the workout and feel like you have more energy, its too light. Let us know how this goes.

Anybody else got recommendations for him? This is pretty much what I started out doing, I got decent bicep and shoulder beginner gains from it.

Thanks for the advice! A routine I've started is to do 12x3 reps of bicep curls with a 4kg dumbbell, and following that up with 10-20 push ups. I do this twice a day usually, once in the morning and once before bed. Although I've noticed I am getting stronger, I can't find any weights in my home that are heavier. I do have 8kg bells, but they're too heavy, and I have a bar weighing 1.5kg with 4 1.25kg weights. Any more tips?

I watched a video a while back of Arnie giving tips and one was he would put weight on a dumbbell so that he could only do one rep, then take off a weight and do two reps and so on. I've given that a try and it does work.

Typically, do people include the weight of the bar in the total weight they are lifting? I'm pretty sure mine is about 10Kg so it seems silly not to include that weight.

Only time you wouldn't count the bar is (potentially) with loose dumbbell weights.
You definitely do with barbell otherwise my squat would be even sadder.

Haha, yes, this was kinda why I was asking. I was using a very light hollow bar because it came with my bench but then I needed more weights and invested in a proper solid bar so I didn't need as many plates on even thought it was a bit heavier overall.

 Gogsnik wrote:

Typically, do people include the weight of the bar in the total weight they are lifting? I'm pretty sure mine is about 10Kg so it seems silly not to include that weight.

Lol, unless you're using anti-grav technology, the bar still weighs something

For the free weights obviously count the bar. For machines its not worth looking up the TARE weight of each machine and then adding the weights unless you are really that OCD about it. I just add the weights I put on it.

Looking for some advice.
For a while I have been doing 5x5 but I want to add some bodybuilding onto that, looking to add size in the most aesthetic areas e.g. chest, triceps/biceps, lats, traps. Advice for a way to conveniently add/change my current program to include exercises for these? I prefer compound, but beyond "use higher reps" I have no idea what to do.

MaxZ wrote:
Looking for some advice.
For a while I have been doing 5x5 but I want to add some bodybuilding onto that, looking to add size in the most aesthetic areas e.g. chest, triceps/biceps, lats, traps. Advice for a way to conveniently add/change my current program to include exercises for these? I prefer compound, but beyond "use higher reps" I have no idea what to do.

size is, according to the body builder who was training me, much more about how much and how often you eat than it is how much you lift.

Triceps/biceps are gonna be your curls and extensions on the arms.
Chest is gonna be bench and chest press, flies and that sort of thing.
Traps is gonna be shrugs for the most part.
Lats you're gonna want lateral pull-downs, and another exercise that I have no real name for, but is a lat killer. I forgot till I went to google for the last exercise: seated rows are another good exercise.


edit 2: that lat killer was a bent over, straight arm pulldown. probably best done via cable machine. But, get the form down right and keep the reps nice and slow and under control, and it's a great exercise.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

MaxZ wrote:
Looking for some advice.
For a while I have been doing 5x5 but I want to add some bodybuilding onto that, looking to add size in the most aesthetic areas e.g. chest, triceps/biceps, lats, traps. Advice for a way to conveniently add/change my current program to include exercises for these? I prefer compound, but beyond "use higher reps" I have no idea what to do.

size is, according to the body builder who was training me, much more about how much and how often you eat than it is how much you lift.

Triceps/biceps are gonna be your curls and extensions on the arms.
Chest is gonna be bench and chest press, flies and that sort of thing.
Traps is gonna be shrugs for the most part.
Lats you're gonna want lateral pull-downs, and another exercise that I have no real name for, but is a lat killer. I forgot till I went to google for the last exercise: seated rows are another good exercise.


edit 2: that lat killer was a bent over, straight arm pulldown. probably best done via cable machine. But, get the form down right and keep the reps nice and slow and under control, and it's a great exercise.

I've heard the meal timing is important, have you any experience with this?

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

MaxZ wrote:
Looking for some advice.
For a while I have been doing 5x5 but I want to add some bodybuilding onto that, looking to add size in the most aesthetic areas e.g. chest, triceps/biceps, lats, traps. Advice for a way to conveniently add/change my current program to include exercises for these? I prefer compound, but beyond "use higher reps" I have no idea what to do.

size is, according to the body builder who was training me, much more about how much and how often you eat than it is how much you lift.

Triceps/biceps are gonna be your curls and extensions on the arms.
Chest is gonna be bench and chest press, flies and that sort of thing.
Traps is gonna be shrugs for the most part.
Lats you're gonna want lateral pull-downs, and another exercise that I have no real name for, but is a lat killer. I forgot till I went to google for the last exercise: seated rows are another good exercise.


edit 2: that lat killer was a bent over, straight arm pulldown. probably best done via cable machine. But, get the form down right and keep the reps nice and slow and under control, and it's a great exercise.

I keep on flaking out on back (besides deadlifts and pull ups) and I really need to start doing it again.

Also I never mentioned it here but I got a PR of 365 last week on deadlifts pretty easy so I may shoot for 405 in the coming weeks.

MaxZ wrote:

I've heard the meal timing is important, have you any experience with this?

I have not heard that myself, but I can see it making sense at the elite levels. The only exception to this is in regards to the timing of when I eat after workouts. And that was a "hard cap" of 30 minutes (as in, you'd better start eating within a half hour after finishing a workout)

For me, when I tried doing the 6-7 meals a day diet, with fairly strict meal plans, I was fething hungry all the fething time. I was told that once my body got used to that diet, things would get better.

My nutritionist said to eat every four hours with a light snack inbetween.

Hey guys! Just wanted to say I'm doing progress: Lifting doesn't feel heavy anymore! I've adopted a program I read online though: 12x3 bicep curls (8kg bar), 10x3 hammer curls (4kg dumbbells), 12x3 shoulder presses (4kg) and 15x3 tricep extensions. I try to do this once a day, sometimes twice. Any advice?

Do that for too long of a period of time and you might end up over training. If its just arms you are going for, then do that 3 times a week instead of every day.

I have done targeted workout programs like that where I would add that on to my normal workout plan. Currently doing a Lat program along those lines. After I finish my normal workout I go back and do barbell rows, cable pull downs with pauses, one arm pull downs with my body back at about 30 degrees with pauses, and chin ups with pauses at the top and bottom. All of these I do 4x10. I do not go heavy on weights so I am far from my max on them.

On back day I actually do them heavy. But since they aren't the primary muscle group of the day working them light does the trick. Seen improvements for sure.

Just remember to be drinking your weight(in pounds) in grams of protein per day.

Started working with a medical doc last Thursday, who gave me phentermene for appetite control and energy.

Started tracking all my stuff again.

Started working out again.

Started eating more protein vs carbs again.

Started at 220.2 Friday morning

Started at 216.0 Tuesday morning

Back on track!!!

Goal is 170/180


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Even did a 15 min mile this morning. Which for a fat old fuy like me...I was impressed to do. Especially when it was already 80 some degrees at 0930...and crushing humidity!

Sorry for the necro, I'm hoping to start another discussion here.

I started going to a gym in december, back then I benched 20kg max, could do 15kg curls and 13kg lat pulldowns.

Now I'm pretty proud of myself! Yesterday I did 61kg lat pulldown, 42,5 bench and 35,5 bicep curls.

I have a question regarding time spent: I usually go three times a week: biceps/stomach/back, shoulders/triceps/chest and then legs/stomach. How many sets should I do per session? I usually do 12-15 sets per session, but I've reached 40 in longer sessions.

 Matthew wrote:

I have a question regarding time spent: I usually go three times a week: biceps/stomach/back, shoulders/triceps/chest and then legs/stomach. How many sets should I do per session? I usually do 12-15 sets per session, but I've reached 40 in longer sessions.

Generally speaking, what I've done in the past would look a bit different, but here's how I would break down a lift:

example: Bench: 1 "warm up set" (very light weight, easy to hit my rep number), then 3-5 working sets. So on a week where each set is 10-12 reps, I should be hitting a spotter at about the 8-9 rep mark on each set. If you hit your first set where you hit 12 reps with no spot help, then I bump up the weight a tiny bit (usually the smallest plate for bench, a 2.5 lb plate in the US; or the next plate (a 5lbs. one) larger for a lower body set). Do 3-5 of these working sets, with roughly 1 minute of rest between sets. Back when I was in school, we were "assigned" working groups of 3 people, and the 1 minute rest would be when you'd knock out curls/auxiliary lifts).


So generally speaking, I would suggest 3-5 working sets for all primary lifts.

Oh man this is back

lost another 20 pounds from that last post. so now from 220 to 150 from just dieting alone. i think its time for me to start actually working out :X

 Matthew wrote:

I have a question regarding time spent: I usually go three times a week: biceps/stomach/back, shoulders/triceps/chest and then legs/stomach. How many sets should I do per session? I usually do 12-15 sets per session, but I've reached 40 in longer sessions.

However many you feel like and however much time you want to put in?

Sets of how many? Count total reps not sets. Since your days are split on a push/pull split already, as a rule of thumb I would organize your push day (shoulders, tris, chest) to have roughly the same number of total reps as your pull day (bis, abs, back), then hit squats and/or dead lifts on your leg day. Back is a huge muscle group and tends to be under trained. Adjust accordingly on areas you're lagging or want to focus on.

As for repXset schemes, I found better success in getting my numbers up with low reps/high sets. But pick whatever works for you, most people have around 6 months of guaranteed 'newbie' gains before their lifts plateau.

I am extremely overweight (like, well over 300 lbs.) and have just started cutting down my calorie count and doing like 30 minutes a day of cardio at my local gym. I'm breaking myself of my bad habit of grazing on snacks while playing video games and watching TV, which was probably the biggest contributor to my current sad condition. Is it enough to get some cardio in and cut calories, or is there more I should be doing? I eat cereal for breakfast most mornings; is it really as bad for you as they say? I know to avoid the obvious deathtrap foods like candy, ice cream, and non-diet soda, but eating healthy is hard because I'm often too tired and/or lazy to prepare good meals.

Also, does lifting burn a lot of calories? I sometimes put in some time on the exercise machines at the gym, usually doing a few reps on several of them to work all the muscles a little bit. Is this a good idea for me, or should I wait with this until I get skinnier?

 ZergSmasher wrote:
I am extremely overweight (like, well over 300 lbs.) and have just started cutting down my calorie count and doing like 30 minutes a day of cardio at my local gym. I'm breaking myself of my bad habit of grazing on snacks while playing video games and watching TV, which was probably the biggest contributor to my current sad condition. Is it enough to get some cardio in and cut calories, or is there more I should be doing? I eat cereal for breakfast most mornings; is it really as bad for you as they say? I know to avoid the obvious deathtrap foods like candy, ice cream, and non-diet soda, but eating healthy is hard because I'm often too tired and/or lazy to prepare good meals.

Also, does lifting burn a lot of calories? I sometimes put in some time on the exercise machines at the gym, usually doing a few reps on several of them to work all the muscles a little bit. Is this a good idea for me, or should I wait with this until I get skinnier?

Lifting is, not ironically, even better for cutting weight than cardio is, when done right. By this I mean that you should be fething sore when you walk out of the gym. If it's leg day, you should be dragging the soup form of yourself out of there, your legs should feel rather like jelly and unable to support your weight.

Now, if you are of a size where you cannot do a lot of freeweight lifts, then yeah, I would definitely say you need to be active and cutting what weight you can until you can doing lifts.


As for diets, yeah, cereal (and grain in general) is pretty bad. There was an article I read a few years back now that said we Americans tend to eat our nutrients backward. What they meant is that you should be loading up the bulk of your proteins during breakfast, and your final "big" meal of the day (dinner/supper) should have little to no proteins. If sweets tend to be a problem, maybe try dehydrated fruits as an alternative?

As for being too tired and/or lazy for preparing real foods, I hear ya, and I think if we're honest, it's a struggle for most of us who are proper adults (meaning school and/or work, family obligations, etc.)

 ZergSmasher wrote:
I am extremely overweight (like, well over 300 lbs.) and have just started cutting down my calorie count and doing like 30 minutes a day of cardio at my local gym. I'm breaking myself of my bad habit of grazing on snacks while playing video games and watching TV, which was probably the biggest contributor to my current sad condition. Is it enough to get some cardio in and cut calories, or is there more I should be doing? I eat cereal for breakfast most mornings; is it really as bad for you as they say? I know to avoid the obvious deathtrap foods like candy, ice cream, and non-diet soda, but eating healthy is hard because I'm often too tired and/or lazy to prepare good meals.

Also, does lifting burn a lot of calories? I sometimes put in some time on the exercise machines at the gym, usually doing a few reps on several of them to work all the muscles a little bit. Is this a good idea for me, or should I wait with this until I get skinnier?

I use to be a personal trainer, like 7 different certifications deep. Here's my advice, don't other think things, and don't think of food as bad. One of the biggest problems people often have is they have a negative relationship with food. So what they'll do is go on a diet and then they'll eat like one cookie and feel like a total POS and say fudge it, then fall back into old eating habits. And really the word HABITS is the key, you don't really choose what you eat believe it or not, it's a behavior just like breathing. So here is my advice, choose one or two habits to change about your eating or exercising and keep a calendar. Can you do it 90% of the time for one month, yes? Then add another habit. No? No problem, break it down to something even simpler. Add little habits over time and your behavior will adjust. Here are the five habits I recommend people try to build

1. Eat every two to four hours, note this has nothing to do with nutrient timing or stoking the fires of the metabolism. That's not really backed by science. However if you break your meals up into 6-8 meals a day you will feel more satiated reducing the amount of hunger pangs you get.

2. For guys eat two servings of protein with each meal, so about 10-12 servings a day. For gals eat one serving. Note this is mainly because guys are on average bigger than gals. A serving of lean protein is a portion of meat about the size of your palm.

3. Eat 2 servings of fruits and veggies with every meal. A serving is about a baseball sized fruit or a cup of veggies. If trying to lose weight do a ratio of 10:1 veggies to fruit.

4. Eat 1 serving of healthy fats with each meal. Fat is super important to your diet and despite the name doesn't make you fat! 1 serving is about the size of your thumb or a tablespoon. Healthy fats include things such as nuts, avocados, oil and vinegar dressing.

5. Save starchy carbs such as breads, pastas, and potatoes for after you've worked out for the day. And try to keep it to one serving per meal.

There's five great habits that don't require too much thought like calorie counting or going on a crazy ketogenic diet that's intended for bodybuilders prepping for the stage. Lastly remember the 90/10 rule, do it right 90% of the time and who cares about the other 10%!

As far as lifting goes, do what feels comfortable. You need to enjoy working out, it shouldn't feel like a chore or dreaded task. So lift what you can and do what feels comfortable. It's better to under do things then over do them. As far as calorie burn, without going into a bunch of science mumbo jumbo lifting whether done with weights or body weight builds lean mass. Something cardio really can't do. The more lean mass you have the more calories you burn at rest, basically that means you are burning calories sitting on your couch! That's pretty awesome.

One last thing I want to leave people with is this site. This place is run by Dr. John Berardi, this guy is friggin amazing! Really smart and has helped a lot of people. You don't need to sign up for his system, there's lots of free info on the site and you can sign up for his newsletter which has some fantastic articles.

Best of luck mate but you don't need it, you'll do just fine!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And just so people can see I'm not talking out my ass, this was me at a pretty low bodyfat. According to the caliper test 6%, not sure how accurate that was, but I weighed around 170lbs. I'm kind of fat now due to some struggles with PTSD, but my mind is getting right and soon my body will be right again as well!

Stay frosty people!

 Desubot wrote:
Oh man this is back

lost another 20 pounds from that last post. so now from 220 to 150 from just dieting alone. i think its time for me to start actually working out :X

Holy crap, that is amazing. What did you do different?

I hit 240 and realized that even at my height, it was too much. I haven't made huge changes, just watching portions and trying to steer to the "healthiest" choices (IE no/small French fries if fast food, chicken sandwich, no cheese or mayo), including heavily cutting carbs. It dropped me to 215 pretty quick, but then it kind of flat lined and I am struggling to hit 200.

My job is sedentary and requires long hours, but I have been trying to include more physical activity such as taking stairs when I can (7 flights in garage + 4 more in office). I know I need to be more physically active, but when you leave before sunup and don't get home until 6-7 pm and have to burn weekends with housecleaning, laundry, yard etc. as well as frequent weekend office tasks, working out is pretty much a no go.

 jmurph wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Oh man this is back

lost another 20 pounds from that last post. so now from 220 to 150 from just dieting alone. i think its time for me to start actually working out :X

Holy crap, that is amazing. What did you do different?

I hit 240 and realized that even at my height, it was too much. I haven't made huge changes, just watching portions and trying to steer to the "healthiest" choices (IE no/small French fries if fast food, chicken sandwich, no cheese or mayo), including heavily cutting carbs. It dropped me to 215 pretty quick, but then it kind of flat lined and I am struggling to hit 200.

My job is sedentary and requires long hours, but I have been trying to include more physical activity such as taking stairs when I can (7 flights in garage + 4 more in office). I know I need to be more physically active, but when you leave before sunup and don't get home until 6-7 pm and have to burn weekends with housecleaning, laundry, yard etc. as well as frequent weekend office tasks, working out is pretty much a no go.

Where there is a limiting factor there is a solution! Here is my suggestion, get yourself a kettlebell, it's the only piece of equipment you will need. Get up about 30 minutes earlier than you would normally and perform a workout with your kettlebell or keep a kettlebell in your office and work out on a break. I don't suggest saying you will do it when you get home, that's when you are obviously least motivated, so find the time when you would feel the most motivated and pick that time. Here's a link to some sample Kettlebell workouts

https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/scorch-fat-and-build-strength-with-just-one-kettlebell.html?mcid=SM_FB_Training

Some other fast tips

1. If your office will let you, get a standing desk instead of a sitting one. They even make treadmill standing desk so you can walk while you work.

2. Start an office fitness club, this is really good if you do workout on breaks. You can perhaps convince highers to make a special break for workouts. Higher ups love community building and having people to do things with you is so much more fun.

3. Create a work, fit, push, play weekly calendar. In the work section put your three top work priorities, in the fit section put something you can do each day that involves some type of fitness. Doesn't have to be a workout, playing a sport or yard work counts!. In the play area put some leisure time in there, having leisure time is important. Too much stress can cause you to hold onto body fat. Lastly in the push section put something each day that will get you out of your comfort zone.

Hope some of that helps, cheers!

 jmurph wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Oh man this is back

lost another 20 pounds from that last post. so now from 220 to 150 from just dieting alone. i think its time for me to start actually working out :X

Holy crap, that is amazing. What did you do different?

I hit 240 and realized that even at my height, it was too much. I haven't made huge changes, just watching portions and trying to steer to the "healthiest" choices (IE no/small French fries if fast food, chicken sandwich, no cheese or mayo), including heavily cutting carbs. It dropped me to 215 pretty quick, but then it kind of flat lined and I am struggling to hit 200.

My job is sedentary and requires long hours, but I have been trying to include more physical activity such as taking stairs when I can (7 flights in garage + 4 more in office). I know I need to be more physically active, but when you leave before sunup and don't get home until 6-7 pm and have to burn weekends with housecleaning, laundry, yard etc. as well as frequent weekend office tasks, working out is pretty much a no go.

Sad to say i simply eat less.

small snack for breakfast, a regular portion lunch, almost never any dinner.

and while i dont track it, its usually a lot of veggies and meat, less grains.

this was a choice of mine as like a year and a half a go i destroyed my back. wasnt able to work out like i used to and was getting fat. its improved soooo much after losing weight.

oh also i also work at the PC 24/7 in an office setting. embarrassing or not i usually do like 30 quick squats every time i go to make some coffee (one of those kurger machines)

I've manged to lose somewhere in the rage of 20-35 lbs in the past two months without any real plan, so that's nice. I still need to loose about 80 more to be a good weight though, but I've started biking again.

I wasn't expecting to find a thread like this here. I wonder if there's a wargaming thread over at bb.com

I'm about 81kg @ 11% ish

1 reps are;

Bench - 130kg
Deadlift - 170kg
Squat - Pitiful. Probably about 110kg

I know it's weird to bench more than you squat, just how it is with me. Had an acl reconstruction, that's part of it, but always had a weak squat.