Bought a workbench and weights...
Discussion
chris watton said:
Crush said:
Agree with this.
http://stronglifts.com/deadlift/
The above link is pretty good for perfecting your form
Thanks for that - I will work on my form for DL's again next week - I guess this is where a PT could come in handy!http://stronglifts.com/deadlift/
The above link is pretty good for perfecting your form
chris watton said:
doosht said:
wow, great transformation. Im 43 and thinking of having a go. Did you change your diet much?
Thank you, and yes, diet changed completely, and for good. It cannot be a temporary change. I took advice from some good people on this very forum, downloaded My Fitness Pal and went from there. The four months in the run up before last Christmas was hard, as I was on 1200 calories per day, plus training. It worked, though, and I made every one of those 1200 calories count, all good nutritious food (and protein shakes...). First things I cut out after reading advice and doing a little research was bread and sugar.You can still 'cheat' now and again, I had a cheeseburger and chips the other night, and have an Indian sometimes at weekends, but it's all about moderation and keeping an eye on daily calorie intake.
chris watton said:
doosht said:
wow, great transformation. Im 43 and thinking of having a go. Did you change your diet much?
Thank you, and yes, diet changed completely, and for good. It cannot be a temporary change. I took advice from some good people on this very forum, downloaded My Fitness Pal and went from there. The four months in the run up before last Christmas was hard, as I was on 1200 calories per day, plus training. It worked, though, and I made every one of those 1200 calories count, all good nutritious food (and protein shakes...). First things I cut out after reading advice and doing a little research was bread and sugar.You can still 'cheat' now and again, I had a cheeseburger and chips the other night, and have an Indian sometimes at weekends, but it's all about moderation and keeping an eye on daily calorie intake.
Still early days for me, am down by 15 pounds, body fat from 31.5 to 28.1, had started doing weights a couple of months back but have only really focussed on the diet the last month or so and that is when I started seeing results.
LordGrover said:
FWIW Rip's dl vid here: click.
Another great instructional vid! I may do a de-load session later and at the end, do some more form practice on the DL's (Although I always feel like de-loading on Mondays, as I still ache slightly from the week before, but once I get warmed up, that goes out of the window.. 
)J4CKO said:
I have changed mine a lot, am working on 1500/1600 cals and like Chris says, you have to make them count, going from eating as much crap as you want (not saying you do) to eating 1500 cals of crap is a recipe for hunger and misery, it is actually fairly easy on 1500 if you eat the right stuff, Lean Meat, Baked spuds, Scrambled Eggs, porridge, salad, nuts, seeds, pulse etc, eating 1500 cals of Crips, cakes and pastries might make you lose weight but it wont be pleasant.
Still early days for me, am down by 15 pounds, body fat from 31.5 to 28.1, had started doing weights a couple of months back but have only really focussed on the diet the last month or so and that is when I started seeing results.
If you keep it up, after 6 months, you will be glad you did. I found that, after the first three months, the fat started to disappear at quite a rate during the next 3-4 months.Still early days for me, am down by 15 pounds, body fat from 31.5 to 28.1, had started doing weights a couple of months back but have only really focussed on the diet the last month or so and that is when I started seeing results.
I still do not eat so much (but I am quite short anyway, so don't need what perhaps a larger 6 foot+ guy needs), I have a stacked protein shake (added BCAA'a, L-Glutamine, taurine, HMB) for breakfast (Never used to have breakfast at all), another an hour before training (with Beta Alanine), with a banana and yoghurt (and sometimes a few nuts if I still feel a little hungry), and another (this time with a little dextrose, creatine, BCAA's) during or immediately after training, plus another banana. And for tea, meat, veg and small potatoes or meat/seafood and salad with hard boiled eggs. I do have around 5 or 6 mugs of coffee per day too, so that's about another half a pint of whole milk.
This seems to work well for me, but obviously bigger guys would need more, I would think...
Already glad Chris, my jeans fit again, I was getting to the point where I had none that were comfortable.
My only fly in the ointment is two weeks in mexico, all inclusive.
However, though I dont doubt stray from the path, I am going to try and not go mental, swim plenty, eat plenty of salad and lean meat and visit the gym there when I get spare time, which will be loads, its a holiday !
Then back on it when I get back.
My only fly in the ointment is two weeks in mexico, all inclusive.
However, though I dont doubt stray from the path, I am going to try and not go mental, swim plenty, eat plenty of salad and lean meat and visit the gym there when I get spare time, which will be loads, its a holiday !
Then back on it when I get back.
Wow - just found this thread and read it from start to finish, I think you are truly inspirational and you've made fantastic progress
I started to weight training nearly two years ago and I have focused much more on building strength, rather than aesthetics but I'm coming round to the idea of cutting some fat and revealing muscle and you've done a fair amount to prove the case for it. Well done!
You might find that people would be interested in your story elsewhere like Reddit or Bodybuilding.com
I started to weight training nearly two years ago and I have focused much more on building strength, rather than aesthetics but I'm coming round to the idea of cutting some fat and revealing muscle and you've done a fair amount to prove the case for it. Well done!
You might find that people would be interested in your story elsewhere like Reddit or Bodybuilding.com
declasm said:
Wow - just found this thread and read it from start to finish, I think you are truly inspirational and you've made fantastic progress
I started to weight training nearly two years ago and I have focused much more on building strength, rather than aesthetics but I'm coming round to the idea of cutting some fat and revealing muscle and you've done a fair amount to prove the case for it. Well done!
You might find that people would be interested in your story elsewhere like Reddit or Bodybuilding.com
Thank you!I started to weight training nearly two years ago and I have focused much more on building strength, rather than aesthetics but I'm coming round to the idea of cutting some fat and revealing muscle and you've done a fair amount to prove the case for it. Well done!
You might find that people would be interested in your story elsewhere like Reddit or Bodybuilding.com
It's funny looking back, I know I made a couple of 'noob' errors to begin with (I still consider myself a 'noob', just with a little more experience), like concentrating too much on crappy isolations and using too much weight, hurting my elbow by curling too much etc. I think that on the whole though, I used the first six months to lose the weight and then started proper weight training after this, as in eating properly and training hard.
At the moment, I do the following split routine - sometimes, it can be more or less, depending how I feel, but the main compounds are always the same, these are set in stone. I have found that this works pretty well for me:
Monday and Thursday:
Squats - 5x5 plus a drop set (sometimes add front Squats and Calf Raises)
Bench Press - 5x5 plus a drop set (Sometimes add Incline Bench Press and Fly's)
Bent over DB Row - 4x10
Pendlay Row - 5x5
Lat Pull Down - 4x10
Seated Pulley Row or Pull Ups - 4x10
Tuesday and Friday
Strict BB Overhead Press - 5x5 plus a drop set
Upright Row - 5x10
Shoulder Shrug - 5x10-20
Face Pulls or Reverse DB Fly's (or both) - 4x10
Triceps exercises x 2 - 4 sets of 10 reps each (These can be any two of Narrow Grip Bench Press, Extensions, Pushdowns, Skull crushers)
Biceps exercises x 2 - 4 sets of 10 reps each (These can be any two of Preacher Curl, Standing BB Curl, Alternate DB Curls, Chin Ups, and a few other variations)
Saturday - Deadlifts
I don't need to work on fat loss so much now, so I just concentrate of strength and muscle building, while keeping to a good diet - it has become a way of life, I think it has to in order to progress...
As I have said before, I honestly thought it would take at least a year, maybe two to get to grips with the fat and training properly, but it happened much quicker than I imagined.
When I started back last May, I remember my legs wobbling with 60kg on my shoulders for Squats, now, I have done 150kg for Squats, 80kg for Strict Overhead Press, and 122.5kg for Bench, (Although am still a little behind on Deadlifts at 170kg, but I only started those at the beginning of this year, am aiming for 185kg by the end of this year) - sometimes, I find it hard to believe I can shift these weights, and, even harder to believe I haven't incurred any serious injuries!
I think I need to split it down into separate workouts and get more focused, am seeing results but I feel like I am still farting about.
Weight wise I have ended up at about 16.10 and am not moving, diet isnt quite as good but not slipping totally off the wagon, I guess I must have put on some muscle weight as my arms feel bigger and more solid, as do my chest and shoulders.
When you say you can bench press 125 kilos, is that once or for a number of reps, I am up to 80 kilos for 6 - 8 reps, I reckon I could do 100 once but nobody around to spot me and I dont want to end up wearing a fat blokes worth of iron disks or rupture something.
Am concentrating on watching Youtube videos for some new exercises to do.
Do you find yourself incessantly checking out your progress in the mirror, it isnt "damn" I look great narcissism, more deciding what needs more work
Weight wise I have ended up at about 16.10 and am not moving, diet isnt quite as good but not slipping totally off the wagon, I guess I must have put on some muscle weight as my arms feel bigger and more solid, as do my chest and shoulders.
When you say you can bench press 125 kilos, is that once or for a number of reps, I am up to 80 kilos for 6 - 8 reps, I reckon I could do 100 once but nobody around to spot me and I dont want to end up wearing a fat blokes worth of iron disks or rupture something.
Am concentrating on watching Youtube videos for some new exercises to do.
Do you find yourself incessantly checking out your progress in the mirror, it isnt "damn" I look great narcissism, more deciding what needs more work
J4CKO said:
I think I need to split it down into separate workouts and get more focused, am seeing results but I feel like I am still farting about.
Weight wise I have ended up at about 16.10 and am not moving, diet isnt quite as good but not slipping totally off the wagon, I guess I must have put on some muscle weight as my arms feel bigger and more solid, as do my chest and shoulders.
When you say you can bench press 125 kilos, is that once or for a number of reps, I am up to 80 kilos for 6 - 8 reps, I reckon I could do 100 once but nobody around to spot me and I dont want to end up wearing a fat blokes worth of iron disks or rupture something.
Am concentrating on watching Youtube videos for some new exercises to do.
Do you find yourself incessantly checking out your progress in the mirror, it isnt "damn" I look great narcissism, more deciding what needs more work
The Bench and OH Press numbers are both one rep max. I wouldn't even try the Bench Press (and heavy Squats) without spotters - you must try and get a cage, or half cage at some point. I don't think you can progress to heavier weights and be safe/confident without one (with adjustable spotters for both Squat and Bench press). My main aim now is to get my Deadlift up to 185kg, then I'll be happy. (Before setting a new goal/target).Weight wise I have ended up at about 16.10 and am not moving, diet isnt quite as good but not slipping totally off the wagon, I guess I must have put on some muscle weight as my arms feel bigger and more solid, as do my chest and shoulders.
When you say you can bench press 125 kilos, is that once or for a number of reps, I am up to 80 kilos for 6 - 8 reps, I reckon I could do 100 once but nobody around to spot me and I dont want to end up wearing a fat blokes worth of iron disks or rupture something.
Am concentrating on watching Youtube videos for some new exercises to do.
Do you find yourself incessantly checking out your progress in the mirror, it isnt "damn" I look great narcissism, more deciding what needs more work
I wish I had taken more pics of my progress, but at the start, I was so out of shape that I was too embarrassed to, I just wanted to be thinner above all else, and I knew I'd be disappointed if I looked in the mirror too often (We only have one mirror anyway, a small one in the bathroom).
I do like wearing clothes that actually fit me, compliment my body, rather than buying XXL to try and hide it (all thrown away now apart from a few that I wear when training in the cold garage in Winter), and I love the fact that I not fit a lot better in my Tamora!
Your splits look good, I am considering moving to a push / pull split with squats and bench and triceps / quad accessories for one split and deadlift, pull-ups and pulldowns and biceps and hamstring accessories making for the other, alternating priority of squat and bench as the focus of the push workout. I have an aim to get to a 6-plate (so 260kg) deadlift before next summer along with a 3-plate (140kg) bench and a 200kg squat (current lifts are 120/180/230 at 103kg ). It's hard though because I am drawn to working on aesthetics and fat loss a bit right now which isn't entirely compatible with strength increases.
declasm said:
Your splits look good, I am considering moving to a push / pull split with squats and bench and triceps / quad accessories for one split and deadlift, pull-ups and pulldowns and biceps and hamstring accessories making for the other, alternating priority of squat and bench as the focus of the push workout. I have an aim to get to a 6-plate (so 260kg) deadlift before next summer along with a 3-plate (140kg) bench and a 200kg squat (current lifts are 120/180/230 at 103kg ). It's hard though because I am drawn to working on aesthetics and fat loss a bit right now which isn't entirely compatible with strength increases.
Great numbers there! I think that for me, even a 200kg Deadlift is well over a year away! I sometimes do a few rack Pulls, Stiff Leg Deadlifts and Good Morning at the end of some sessions, to help with Deadlifts, usually after the lighter arms and shoulders days.
This is the issue...
On day one, when you were assembling the rack and putting everything together, wondering if you'd done the right thing spending all that money yada yada... you were dreaming of doing exactly what you're doing now - thinking it an unlikely if not impossible dream.
Yet you've achieved it!
And now you want more!
'Tis a slippery slope, indeed.
On day one, when you were assembling the rack and putting everything together, wondering if you'd done the right thing spending all that money yada yada... you were dreaming of doing exactly what you're doing now - thinking it an unlikely if not impossible dream.
Yet you've achieved it!
And now you want more!
'Tis a slippery slope, indeed.
LordGrover said:
This is the issue...
On day one, when you were assembling the rack and putting everything together, wondering if you'd done the right thing spending all that money yada yada... you were dreaming of doing exactly what you're doing now - thinking it an unlikely if not impossible dream.
Yet you've achieved it!
And now you want more!
'Tis a slippery slope, indeed.
On day one, when you were assembling the rack and putting everything together, wondering if you'd done the right thing spending all that money yada yada... you were dreaming of doing exactly what you're doing now - thinking it an unlikely if not impossible dream.
Yet you've achieved it!
And now you want more!
'Tis a slippery slope, indeed.
So true!Although I actually bought the rack four months in, after wasting money on an 'all in one' bench, which had the supports exactly where you needed your hands to be for Bench Press, and then a pair of wobbly stand-alone Squat stands - both a complete waste of money, and potentially dangerous.
My advice to anyone contemplating going down this road is to buy a full cage with spotters, a good quality bench (adjustable for incline/decline), and a 6ft minimum barbell from the start, especially if you feel you're serious enough to see it through - you will be safer once you start using heavier weights..
chris watton said:
So true!Although I actually bought the rack four months in, after wasting money on an 'all in one' bench, which had the supports exactly where you needed your hands to be for Bench Press, and then a pair of wobbly stand-alone Squat stands - both a complete waste of money, and potentially dangerous.
My advice to anyone contemplating going down this road is to buy a full cage with spotters, a good quality bench (adjustable for incline/decline), and a 6ft minimum barbell from the start, especially if you feel you're serious enough to see it through - you will be safer once you start using heavier weights..
Only mentioned because I was hunting for a 6ft olympic bar recently (Space issue) & found that 99% of the bars the distance between the collars was too small to fit my Bodymax CF375 cage, so I ended up with a 7ft bar.
Well done OP, I'm just starting out again after a few years out due to an injury. Managed to loose half a stone in the last 7 weeks.
Roastie ITR said:
Just to add, to double check that a 6ft barbell will fit within the cage.
Only mentioned because I was hunting for a 6ft olympic bar recently (Space issue) & found that 99% of the bars the distance between the collars was too small to fit my Bodymax CF375 cage, so I ended up with a 7ft bar.
Well done OP, I'm just starting out again after a few years out due to an injury. Managed to lose half a stone in the last 7 weeks.
Well done! It is so easy to put on the weight, but it does take more than a modicum of commitment to get it back off again..Only mentioned because I was hunting for a 6ft olympic bar recently (Space issue) & found that 99% of the bars the distance between the collars was too small to fit my Bodymax CF375 cage, so I ended up with a 7ft bar.
Well done OP, I'm just starting out again after a few years out due to an injury. Managed to lose half a stone in the last 7 weeks.
You're right regarding the barbell, I actually bought this one (6' 6"):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0015UKA5O?keyw...
And a pair of these (which I think are essential to replace to the spinlock collars):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lock-Standard-Inch-Barbell...
OK, it's been 3 months since I took the last pics. In that time, I have upped my diet intake and concentrated more on lifting as heavy as possible on the main compounds, and concentrating on two weak areas, shoulders and back - although I did hurt my back last Thursday when doing Squats, so I guess I need to slow down..
I seem to have only put on 2.5-3kg since January (am now between 73-75kg depending on time of day), it certainly takes time!
These were taken today, doesn't seem to be much change in the three months since the last pics, but the amount of weight I can lift has gone up quite a bit...
I seem to have only put on 2.5-3kg since January (am now between 73-75kg depending on time of day), it certainly takes time!
These were taken today, doesn't seem to be much change in the three months since the last pics, but the amount of weight I can lift has gone up quite a bit...
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