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reddogkev

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Is anyone on here a weightlifter or bodybuilder?

I used to train hard six days a week back in my late teens / early twenties, then gave up after a couple of injuries and then having children.

Now I'm in my late thirties and trying to get back into it, starting with just 3 fairly basic training sessions a week.

Anyone else hitting the weights on a regular basis?  If so, any good tips or diet hints?  Is it crucial to take supplements etc?

How many times do you train the same muscle group per week, and what works best for you?

If you do weight train and also support City, perhaps throw in a few updates / ideas here every once in while ... ?

 

 

 

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11 hours ago, reddogkev said:

Is anyone on here a weightlifter or bodybuilder?

I used to train hard six days a week back in my late teens / early twenties, then gave up after a couple of injuries and then having children.

Now I'm in my late thirties and trying to get back into it, starting with just 3 fairly basic training sessions a week.

Anyone else hitting the weights on a regular basis?  If so, any good tips or diet hints?  Is it crucial to take supplements etc?

How many times do you train the same muscle group per week, and what works best for you?

If you do weight train and also support City, perhaps throw in a few updates / ideas here every once in while ... ?

 

 

 

I train 5-6 days a week, and compete at an amateur level more in fitness/weightlifting competitions rather than actual bodybuilding.

In terms of diet this could go in all directions, but I’ve always worked with the principles of:

1-1.2g protein per pound of body weight so I try to eat 180-200 per day. Reason being it’s aids muscle restoration and growth but primarily because it is good for satiety and keeps you feeling full. I try and eat it rather than supplement but I’m not good at eating in the morning, so tend to grab a shake after training.

carbs and fats are a bit of a preference, I go higher carbs lower fat because it helps with muscle growth and energy. Higher fats is typically better for endurance athletes.

 

 

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13 hours ago, reddogkev said:

Is anyone on here a weightlifter or bodybuilder?

I used to train hard six days a week back in my late teens / early twenties, then gave up after a couple of injuries and then having children.

Now I'm in my late thirties and trying to get back into it, starting with just 3 fairly basic training sessions a week.

Anyone else hitting the weights on a regular basis?  If so, any good tips or diet hints?  Is it crucial to take supplements etc?

How many times do you train the same muscle group per week, and what works best for you?

If you do weight train and also support City, perhaps throw in a few updates / ideas here every once in while ... ?

 

 

 

Depends on your goals really Kev. Diet is hugely important. As above, the right amount of protein but also carbs, fats, vitamins and amino acids. Things like enough sleep are also crucial.

What do you want to achieve?

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17 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Depends on your goals really Kev. Diet is hugely important. As above, the right amount of protein but also carbs, fats, vitamins and amino acids. Things like enough sleep are also crucial.

What do you want to achieve?

Interesting you mention sleep, I probably average just under 7 hours a night - wonder if this is enough?

Mainly training for 3 reasons - to keep active, but also to make steady gains with size and strength. 

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2 hours ago, reddogkev said:

Interesting you mention sleep, I probably average just under 7 hours a night - wonder if this is enough?

Mainly training for 3 reasons - to keep active, but also to make steady gains with size and strength. 

Cool, 7 hours is probably fine. I’ve been wearing a Whoop strap for a while and was shocked to find out I often get only around 5 hours a night.

I think for those goals I’d look at a simple push/pull programme with 3 sessions a week - maybe an additional one with a bit of cardio, stretching work and core exercises. After doing that for a couple of months you’ll have the base strength and fitness to try a more traditional bodybuilding or powerlifting/strength programme.

I’m on my phone at the moment but I’ll send a few links when at my PC.

RE cardio - if treadmill isn’t your thing, try swimming if you can and enjoy it. Much easier on the joints and ligaments if you have a history of injury. Helps build muscle and core strength too.

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11 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Cool, 7 hours is probably fine. I’ve been wearing a Whoop strap for a while and was shocked to find out I often get only around 5 hours a night.

I think for those goals I’d look at a simple push/pull programme with 3 sessions a week - maybe an additional one with a bit of cardio, stretching work and core exercises. After doing that for a couple of months you’ll have the base strength and fitness to try a more traditional bodybuilding or powerlifting/strength programme.

I’m on my phone at the moment but I’ll send a few links when at my PC.

RE cardio - if treadmill isn’t your thing, try swimming if you can and enjoy it. Much easier on the joints and ligaments if you have a history of injury. Helps build muscle and core strength too.

How do you find the whoop strap? Been thinking about it but don’t know anyone with it, I track my sleep And activity  with Apple Watch but I like that whoop gives you an idea of your recovery condition

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7 hours ago, MarcusX said:

How do you find the whoop strap? Been thinking about it but don’t know anyone with it, I track my sleep And activity  with Apple Watch but I like that whoop gives you an idea of your recovery condition

I quite like it. I think I need to up my cardio to see the true benefits really. In winter I slack off with cardio due to the weather and light. Will start running again this week as I only like running outside, not on the treadmill. I often find running to be quite draining so will be interested to see what the Whoop strap thinks.

I tried it as you can get some quite generous month off promotions if you hunt around for them. Giving it a go for 6 months to see what I think.

Functions really well, auto detects sleep etc and has a good battery life. A little flimsy but overall enjoying it after 2 months use. 

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On ‎22‎/‎02‎/‎2020 at 18:50, Phileas Fogg said:

Cool, 7 hours is probably fine. I’ve been wearing a Whoop strap for a while and was shocked to find out I often get only around 5 hours a night.

I think for those goals I’d look at a simple push/pull programme with 3 sessions a week - maybe an additional one with a bit of cardio, stretching work and core exercises. After doing that for a couple of months you’ll have the base strength and fitness to try a more traditional bodybuilding or powerlifting/strength programme.

I’m on my phone at the moment but I’ll send a few links when at my PC.

RE cardio - if treadmill isn’t your thing, try swimming if you can and enjoy it. Much easier on the joints and ligaments if you have a history of injury. Helps build muscle and core strength too.

Cheers, PF, your second paragraph is pretty much what I'm doing, so good to hear it's the right approach at the moment.

Like the advice about the swimming, in fact, I managed to go Sunday afternoon for an hour.

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2 minutes ago, reddogkev said:

Cheers, PF, your second paragraph is pretty much what I'm doing, so good to hear it's the right approach at the moment.

Like the advice about the swimming, in fact, I managed to go Sunday afternoon for an hour.

This is quite a good article on routines, I actually think the workout at the bottom is pretty solid and worth trying out for a few weeks to build up your base strength.

https://www2.aston.ac.uk/sport/tips-information/the-push-pull-legs-routine-for-muscle-gains

I have a friend who is severely overweight but has started the gym, he has decent base strength as he does a lot of manual work and lifting. He's thriving off a very similar programme to this. He likes the variety and is able to measure his progress.

It might sound a very simplistic step but one of the best things you can do is record your weights and measure your progress. It's good for your motivation but also makes sure you challenge yourself. It's very easy to spend 6 months doing a shoulder workout where you do exactly the same weight for lateral raises but to really push on it's a good idea to up the weights when you can.

It'll take you a few weeks to feel out the right weights for you in any programme anyway.

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On 23/02/2020 at 13:52, Phileas Fogg said:

I quite like it. I think I need to up my cardio to see the true benefits really. In winter I slack off with cardio due to the weather and light. Will start running again this week as I only like running outside, not on the treadmill. I often find running to be quite draining so will be interested to see what the Whoop strap thinks.

I tried it as you can get some quite generous month off promotions if you hunt around for them. Giving it a go for 6 months to see what I think.

Functions really well, auto detects sleep etc and has a good battery life. A little flimsy but overall enjoying it after 2 months use. 

I might give it a go when my apple watch payment ends in a few weeks. I like the watch, I use the calories burned as a rough guide for “stress” on the body but I assume the whoop will be more accurate. I use my watch to track sleep with a third party app which works quite well.

have you had any times where you Maybe feel ok or would train but the strap says you aren’t recovered?

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Someone might have some good advice here, I’m planning to do a 24 hour endurance event of various fitness workouts, some running/rowing/bike with body weight movements. It won’t be continuous for the 24 hours but a different workout every hour.

anyone got any tips for preparing for this type of event or done a 24 hour event before?

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1 hour ago, MarcusX said:

I might give it a go when my apple watch payment ends in a few weeks. I like the watch, I use the calories burned as a rough guide for “stress” on the body but I assume the whoop will be more accurate. I use my watch to track sleep with a third party app which works quite well.

have you had any times where you Maybe feel ok or would train but the strap says you aren’t recovered?

I think the strap thinks I need more sleep than I need. I have a bit of sleep trouble but can manage on 5 hours, obviously not at full tilt. Strap understandably thinks i'm not recovered enough to train but I feel ok. Then again, I've only used it for a few weeks so it's still calibrating. Just trying it for a few months to see how it works.

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A couple of years back after a long lay off I returned to the gym, I built up with cardio and resistance machines before going onto free weights, cardio once or twice a week, free weights 3 times, two upper body days and a leg day.

Progress was steady and not too bad, but I have had a pretty chronic back problem and had my right knee condemned - but too young for a replacement - I have let things slip, to the point of not having been to the gym for 3 months.  What takes 12-18 months to achieve, takes 3 months to disappear (at least at my age it does).

So, next week, it’s back to the gym, a lighter programme, with core strength, back and tear drop muscle as targets and some non impact cardio, cycling, AMT or cross trainer.  Might be training with a dose of pain killers, but it’s better than not training at all.

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On 25/02/2020 at 10:26, Phileas Fogg said:

This is quite a good article on routines, I actually think the workout at the bottom is pretty solid and worth trying out for a few weeks to build up your base strength.

https://www2.aston.ac.uk/sport/tips-information/the-push-pull-legs-routine-for-muscle-gains

I have a friend who is severely overweight but has started the gym, he has decent base strength as he does a lot of manual work and lifting. He's thriving off a very similar programme to this. He likes the variety and is able to measure his progress.

It might sound a very simplistic step but one of the best things you can do is record your weights and measure your progress. It's good for your motivation but also makes sure you challenge yourself. It's very easy to spend 6 months doing a shoulder workout where you do exactly the same weight for lateral raises but to really push on it's a good idea to up the weights when you can.

It'll take you a few weeks to feel out the right weights for you in any programme anyway.

Following this thread with interest and am going to give this plan a go.

Any nutritional/diet tips to run alongside that?  Any tips appreciated!

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16 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Depends on your goals really when it comes to diet and nutrition - what are you wanting to achieve?

Priority is to lose weight (weighing in at too much at the moment!) and to build muscle/tone as I go.   Lost about 3 stone previously pretty much through just running (and calorie counting) over an 18 month period but didn’t really do weights or anything - need to lose a similar amount as its gone back on, but whilst doing strength training as well as some cardio. 

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8 hours ago, SuperDziek said:

Priority is to lose weight (weighing in at too much at the moment!) and to build muscle/tone as I go.   Lost about 3 stone previously pretty much through just running (and calorie counting) over an 18 month period but didn’t really do weights or anything - need to lose a similar amount as its gone back on, but whilst doing strength training as well as some cardio. 

Do you track your food at all? Tracking calories with MyFitnessPal is a good place to start, keep your protein high and just aim to have a slight calorie deficit, around 10% to start and increase as you need.

you can work our calorie requirements through the app or through many online calculators

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2 hours ago, MarcusX said:

Do you track your food at all? Tracking calories with MyFitnessPal is a good place to start, keep your protein high and just aim to have a slight calorie deficit, around 10% to start and increase as you need.

you can work our calorie requirements through the app or through many online calculators

Yeah going to start doing that again, and that was part of the key to success last time.  Was more after better things to eat though, if following a strength based plan whilst doing that though?  I know protein will play a key part (as opposed to carbs presumably) but any top tips for this, especially when doing it on a budget?

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On 29/02/2020 at 20:18, SuperDziek said:

Yeah going to start doing that again, and that was part of the key to success last time.  Was more after better things to eat though, if following a strength based plan whilst doing that though?  I know protein will play a key part (as opposed to carbs presumably) but any top tips for this, especially when doing it on a budget?

For strength and muscle growth higher carbs and lower fats is fine, if losing weight is the goal then the key factor is a calorie deficit more so than the breakdown of the calories (higher protein keeps you feeling full for longer though)

Depends what you like and how much variety you need, I'm quite boring with my diet and eat the same things most days (my macros are good, though my micronutrients probably aren't perfect). You can get a pack of 8 chicken breasts from Aldi/Lidl relatively cheaply, I cook them on a Sunday for the week and have one breast each lunch time with a salad. Breakfast is usually eggs/bacon if i've got time to make it else a protein shake for convenience and probably cheaper over time. Evening will be different, either making use of the extra chicken or a spag bol/chilli sometimes fish and often with potatoes or rice. I graze during the day on fruit (apple/grapes) and/or nuts 

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We got completely fed up with our gym. Full of inconsiderate morons and can never get on what you want thanks to more and more equipment seemingly failing and massive over subscription.

So we ****** it off and made our own gym in the garage. Looking forward to doing a bit less cardio and a bit more strength and weight work.

Here’s the transformation from ‘garage full of crap’ to home gym. We are adding a spin bike shortly and then going to tart it up a bit with some niceties like a wall fan for the summer and a Bluetooth speaker. 

E696488-E-91-BE-44-D6-A7-B6-39-CFB4-BFC8

5-B2-D43-AF-6480-40-DF-943-F-13-B50483-B

EEC56336-A9-B5-4-BEB-A566-E44-F36-B9221-


901-F2-DD4-0-A7-E-4938-8-B79-4195459-D0-

55-FDCF3-E-BDA0-456-B-9-BB2-4-A57-E99082

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On 02/03/2020 at 08:14, MarcusX said:

For strength and muscle growth higher carbs and lower fats is fine, if losing weight is the goal then the key factor is a calorie deficit more so than the breakdown of the calories (higher protein keeps you feeling full for longer though)

Depends what you like and how much variety you need, I'm quite boring with my diet and eat the same things most days (my macros are good, though my micronutrients probably aren't perfect). You can get a pack of 8 chicken breasts from Aldi/Lidl relatively cheaply, I cook them on a Sunday for the week and have one breast each lunch time with a salad. Breakfast is usually eggs/bacon if i've got time to make it else a protein shake for convenience and probably cheaper over time. Evening will be different, either making use of the extra chicken or a spag bol/chilli sometimes fish and often with potatoes or rice. I graze during the day on fruit (apple/grapes) and/or nuts 

That diet is pretty much the exact same as mine. Need to eat a min of 3000 calories daily. 

If you haven't got time to cook bacon/eggs in the morning a good alternative is to make overnight oats. I usually put in oats, chia & flax seeds, unflavoured protein and put a handful of blueberries. I then smother it with 3 tablespoons of fat free greek yoghurt and some almond milk.  Can easily get 500+ calories in. 

 

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17 hours ago, BRISTOL86 said:

We got completely fed up with our gym. Full of inconsiderate morons and can never get on what you want thanks to more and more equipment seemingly failing and massive over subscription.

So we ****** it off and made our own gym in the garage. Looking forward to doing a bit less cardio and a bit more strength and weight work.

Here’s the transformation from ‘garage full of crap’ to home gym. We are adding a spin bike shortly and then going to tart it up a bit with some niceties like a wall fan for the summer and a Bluetooth speaker. 

E696488-E-91-BE-44-D6-A7-B6-39-CFB4-BFC8

5-B2-D43-AF-6480-40-DF-943-F-13-B50483-B

EEC56336-A9-B5-4-BEB-A566-E44-F36-B9221-


901-F2-DD4-0-A7-E-4938-8-B79-4195459-D0-

55-FDCF3-E-BDA0-456-B-9-BB2-4-A57-E99082

I like that, everytime I sort out our garage it gets re-filled with crap.

I've got a barbell and some weights at present, and got some flooring down. Just need to make a bit more room

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20 hours ago, BRISTOL86 said:

We got completely fed up with our gym. Full of inconsiderate morons and can never get on what you want thanks to more and more equipment seemingly failing and massive over subscription.

So we ****** it off and made our own gym in the garage. Looking forward to doing a bit less cardio and a bit more strength and weight work.

Here’s the transformation from ‘garage full of crap’ to home gym. We are adding a spin bike shortly and then going to tart it up a bit with some niceties like a wall fan for the summer and a Bluetooth speaker. 

E696488-E-91-BE-44-D6-A7-B6-39-CFB4-BFC8

5-B2-D43-AF-6480-40-DF-943-F-13-B50483-B

EEC56336-A9-B5-4-BEB-A566-E44-F36-B9221-


901-F2-DD4-0-A7-E-4938-8-B79-4195459-D0-

55-FDCF3-E-BDA0-456-B-9-BB2-4-A57-E99082

Nice! How much are you charging for a monthly membership though?!

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4 hours ago, Ecko said:

That diet is pretty much the exact same as mine. Need to eat a min of 3000 calories daily. 

If you haven't got time to cook bacon/eggs in the morning a good alternative is to make overnight oats. I usually put in oats, chia & flax seeds, unflavoured protein and put a handful of blueberries. I then smother it with 3 tablespoons of fat free greek yoghurt and some almond milk.  Can easily get 500+ calories in. 

 

Interesting stuff, thanks both.  Any tips re protein shakes?  For breakfast at moment am having the porridge pots you just need to add water to - not ideal but quick!

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4 hours ago, SuperDziek said:

Interesting stuff, thanks both.  Any tips re protein shakes?  For breakfast at moment am having the porridge pots you just need to add water to - not ideal but quick!

I’ve found protein shakes to be quite a personal taste thing. From my experience the “diet” ones (Low or no carb) tend to be ok if you stick to plain flavours eg vanilla or chocolate, whereas the likes of “salted caramel” and others I’ve tried tend to have a bit of an aftertaste - probably the sweeteners they use.

The “bulking” powders tend to be nicer tasting because they have more carbs, but of course more calories.

Id stick to whey If you don’t have a problem with animal products, I’ve tried some of the vegan ones to try and be a bit more ethical but didn’t like them, couldn’t even force them down had to give it away.

my personal favourite at the minute is Awesome supplements protein, either chocolate or banana whey. I’d usually stay away from banana flavoured but this ones really good.

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Anyone got any tips for snack foods? I’m currently trying to get my body fat down and am doing 5 x 30 mins intense cardio (running and spinning intervals) and 4 x weight/strength workouts (20-30 mins) per week. So let’s say 4hrs exercise per week. 

I have a very set food routine during the week

Breakfast is 200g low fat natural yoghurt and an apple

Lunch is 300g cottage cheese, 2 carrots, half a cucumber, boiled egg and 30g almonds

Dinner is something like a chicken curry or grilled fish with veg, sometimes with small amount of pasta or potatoes

Average cals in daily is about 1600-1800 which is a pretty decent deficit for me but getting hungry in the evenings especially on a day I do cardio and weight training. 

What ‘clean’ snacks do people enjoy? Currently trying to avoid the temptation of raiding the leftover Xmas chocs every night...!!

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I tend to go for grapes as a snack at work, or nuts? You can get the “pop chips” which are relatively low calorie, especially if you like eating a whole bag of crisps in one sitting!! A big 90ish gram bag is only just over 400 cals, you can get multipacks of 23g bags too

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Evening all. I started back in the gym in September when our new Pure gym opened. Managed to bag a deal for £11/month for a year. 
 

Ive always enjoyed the weights side of things, if not the cardio. I’ve resigned to always carrying a bit because I can’t be disciplined with sugar, but I set out to bulk up a little to be able to carry it a bit better. 
 

Tonight I beat my PB on the smith Machine from when I was 22. 50kgs a side for 10 reps (4 sets) and aside from a cough and slight bug I’m feeling pretty good! It’s amazing when you can see the changes in your own body happening. 
 

Keep it up all. It’s worth it. 

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7 hours ago, BRISTOL86 said:

Yeah grapes are good, was a bit concerned about endlessly scoffing nuts as they’re fairly high calorie but nutrition is a bit of a minefield for me! 

Good shout on the pop chips, they’re addictive! 

You can buy a dehydrator for £30 off amazon, marinade some topside & make Beef jerky. 
 

Other than that you can pick up a kilo of frozen chicken breasts at any supermarket for £4. Cook a pack and keep them in the fridge. Good value. 

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