Random Fitness Questions

Alf Veedersane

new2tri19 wrote: »

Thanks thats promising that you can still bulk up while maintaining cardio training. I do ramp up and down the training and 80% of that cardio is easy stuff.
I am a peak training amount now mostly because the longer days means more long bike rides. When winter comes it will be closer to 8 hours.

The plan is to do weights now and work on form and mobility so I can do the exercises correctly , I've been working on hip mobility and squatting before putting any heavy weight on a bar as I don't want to get injured for starters.
Then when I get it dialled in I can spend more time lifting in winter.

In regards lifting to get bigger is it best to lift short reps with heaviest weight you can manage ? Also I do 3 sets of say bench press then move to squat then next excercse until done . Is it better to do 1 set of bench , 1 set of squat and then repeat the whole thing 3 times or is there any difference ?

I don't eat that much pretty standard every day , breakfast is cereal and coffee , lunch sandwitch and some fruit , dinner your standard meat and veg , tea and bar of chocolate. Snack very little , long bike ride a fullfil bar or 2 and same with hard swim ill take a fullfill bar. Before gym ill grab some kind of protein nut bar and have a protein shake afterwards. I'm 5ft 11 and 67kg I could probably do with getting that weight up.

I am dropping back the running as it's very hard to gain weight , my easy lunch time runs have been replaced by the gym. I'm just clueless on so many thinks when it comes to weights , like do you do your legs one day and upper body the next ? How many days a week to lift weights. You google it and there is so much conflicting information.

Couple of decent articles to read:

Cardio Isn’t Going to Kill Your Gains

Practical Considerations for Combining Cardio and Lifting

Mr. CooL ICE

Well it sounds like you're approaching this with the right frame of mind, i.e. working on mobility and avoiding injury, but a few things I'd like to point out.

What is your training schedule like now and how will it be in winter? If say, you are running in the morning before going to the gym and squatting, you wouldn't be doing yourself any favours. Doing your run the day before squatting would be better but still isn't ideal.

You'll need to eat more. How you do that is up to you. A protein shake after the gym isn't completely necessary. If anything, you'd be better off getting in some carbs after the gym as replacing your glycogen stores would be priority, especially if you're using the same muscles for cardio later that day. Consuming protein immediately after the gym/metabolic window is more bro science; just make sure you are consuming enough per day overall.

Getting bigger is mostly down to progressive overload, i.e. lifting a little bit more than you did the previous session. If you look at any of the beginner lifting programs out there, they all have the same thing in common; you do the same exercises with reps/sets over and over, but add a tiny bit more weight each session. You start light slowly get heavier and the body adapts by increasing muscle to deal with the stimulus of increasingly heavier weights. There are limits to how long you can run these beginner programs but the principals of progressive overload generally stay the same for all levels. tl;dr overall growth depends on the sheer number of reps you lift, so 3x10 can be the same as 10x3.

Before a program can be suggested, how much time do you have to train in your lunch breaks and is it 5 days/week?

Cill94

new2tri19 wrote: »

..

Same as what lads above have said.

Main thing is to only chase one goal at a time. If muscle gain is it then you need to accept your cardio stuff is going to have to take a back seat. I would do the minimum needed to maintain your current fitness levels and then devote rest of your energy to the strength stuff and upping your food intake.

You’re new to strength training so I’d recommend at minimum following a reputable beginner programme and/or doing a few sessions with a coach who could teach you proper technique.

TJ Mackie

If someone is overweight (near obese on the BMI scale - 28/29) and goes from little activity to doing intense weights sessions 4 days a week while tracking calories, what is likely to happen in each following scenario -

- 500 calorie deficit
- 500 calorie surplus
- No surplus or deficit, maintenance hit

Let's assume that the right macros are all being hit and it's a good protein-rich diet.

I'm really enjoying doing the weights and I'm happier than I've ever been (there's that dopamine for you) and would love to build muscle, but not sure what happens if someone overweight combines a (good) calorie surplus with weights-heavy workout regime. Well, I've read what should happen but would be concerned the calorie surplus it was just go on as extra bodyweight and not necessarily muscle weight.

Likewise, worried about doing all those weights and having a deficit undo the hard work.

new2tri19

Mr. CooL ICE wrote: »

Well it sounds like you're approaching this with the right frame of mind, i.e. working on mobility and avoiding injury, but a few things I'd like to point out.

What is your training schedule like now and how will it be in winter? If say, you are running in the morning before going to the gym and squatting, you wouldn't be doing yourself any favours. Doing your run the day before squatting would be better but still isn't ideal.

You'll need to eat more. How you do that is up to you. A protein shake after the gym isn't completely necessary. If anything, you'd be better off getting in some carbs after the gym as replacing your glycogen stores would be priority, especially if you're using the same muscles for cardio later that day. Consuming protein immediately after the gym/metabolic window is more bro science; just make sure you are consuming enough per day overall.

Getting bigger is mostly down to progressive overload, i.e. lifting a little bit more than you did the previous session. If you look at any of the beginner lifting programs out there, they all have the same thing in common; you do the same exercises with reps/sets over and over, but add a tiny bit more weight each session. You start light slowly get heavier and the body adapts by increasing muscle to deal with the stimulus of increasingly heavier weights. There are limits to how long you can run these beginner programs but the principals of progressive overload generally stay the same for all levels. tl;dr overall growth depends on the sheer number of reps you lift, so 3x10 can be the same as 10x3.

Before a program can be suggested, how much time do you have to train in your lunch breaks and is it 5 days/week?

Can go the gym for about an hour 2 to 3 times a week, I have been doing bodyweight exercises at home aswell one day a week can add more there.

Training now

Monday am - Gym lifting compound exercises 3 sets of 6-8
Monday pm - Bike 1 hour easy
Monday pm - Stretching and some core work

Tuesday am - Hip mobility 20 mins + full body mobility and stretching
Tuesday pm - Bike V02 max set or zwift race

Wednesday am - bike commute
Wednesday lunch - swim 1 hour
Wednesday pm - bike commute
Wednesday pm - easy jog 45-1 hour and yoga + stretching

Thursday am - bike commute
lunch - gym compound exercises
Thursday pm - bike commute
Thursday pm - rest or easy jog or bike session on zwift

Friday am bike commute
Friday lunch - swim 1 hour
Friday pm bike commute
Friday pm - rest or easy bike/run and core work

Saturday am long bike endurance
Saturday pm body weight muscle endurance youtube video 20 mins

Sunday am long run
Sunday pm rest or yoga or open water swim .

Winter ill likely drop the long bike endurance , the open water swim and ill cut back on the commute , i'll run home from work and cycle in so that I don't have to go for a run in the dark and cold later on. A few minor adjustments means that training reduces from 13-15 hours to around 8-10 .
Nothing is set in stone. I'd like to add weight training to my overall training plan and not have it as something i do for 3 months then stop. I think weight train is very important for athletes especially as we get older.

Cill94

TJ Mackie wrote: »

If someone is overweight..

My 2 cents:

Eat maintenance calories.

Focus on getting stronger.

When newbie gains wear off (unable to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously) then cut calories until you're at a healthy weight. From there you could look at a surplus to gain muscle.

Montageofhell

Hello. I was googling stuff and happened upon this thread. People seem to know what they're talking about so I thought I'd ask a few questions if that's fine?

So this is probably a common issue. I have lost a good bit of weight but I can't lose my belly fat! I'm basically skinny everywhere except my belly. Any tips on getting rid of the belly fat?

Then a follow up question. Just say I manage to lose my belly fat and I'm very skinny. If I try to bulk up by doing weights and eating more, will the fat just go straight back onto my belly first? Anyway of avoiding that?

Cheers,
Tony.

bladespin

Find your maintenance and stay on that for a while, start a building program, if your weight starts to drop then adjust your calories up, if you haven’t really trained properly before you should see good results, don’t worry overly about bulking etc until it becomes an issue.

silverharp

Seated row, any idea what the weights are or more importantly what the weight increase is between 10 and 11,I'd guess 4KG and then 5KG . I keep track of the overall volume as a number so just want to add it in correctly eg 1.25 x reps

Mellor

No way of knowing. could be up to 10kg. could be in lbs too.

bladespin

We used a force meter to measure a stack once, messed around with different pulleys and angles too, nice toy to have.

Cill94

silverharp wrote: »

Seated row, any idea what the weights are or more importantly what the weight increase is between 10 and 11,I'd guess 4KG and then 5KG . I keep track of the overall volume as a number so just want to add it in correctly eg 1.25 x reps

As long as you use that machine consistently you'll be able to gauge progress based on going up that scale.

More importantly - it's just a row. The exact weight really doesn't matter.

Alf Veedersane

silverharp wrote: »

Seated row, any idea what the weights are or more importantly what the weight increase is between 10 and 11,I'd guess 4KG and then 5KG . I keep track of the overall volume as a number so just want to add it in correctly eg 1.25 x reps

Tbh, I wouldn't be bothered what the actual weight is on a machine like that. You're just trying to increase resistance and maintain good technique. What the increase is in a kg figure is largely irrelevant.

funkey_monkey

Does anyone have a link to the Lean Gains guide?

ancapailldorcha

Does anyone have any recommendations for sites about fitness routines, diet, recipes, exercises and such? I've gone back to my gym and have a routine but I'll need to change it at some point.

Thanks.

Mellor

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Does anyone have any recommendations for sites about fitness routines, diet, recipes, exercises and such? I've gone back to my gym and have a routine but I'll need to change it at some point.

Thanks.

If the current routine is a good one, then there’s no real reason to change it unless your goals change.
Of course, may or may not be good depending where it came from.

ancapailldorcha

Mellor wrote: »

If the current routine is a good one, then there’s no real reason to change it unless your goals change.
Of course, may or may not be good depending where it came from.

The one I got was a basic one for my arms. I feel like I should be changing it up every so often as the body can get used to one specific routine. I'm also getting a bit bored of it.

Alf Veedersane

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

The one I got was a basic one for my arms. I feel like I should be changing it up every so often as the body can get used to one specific routine. I'm also getting a bit bored of it.

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2058104438/1

The body gets used to it if nothing changes. But if you're changing the weight and reps, like most programmes will provide for, then it's not the same work being done.

ancapailldorcha

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2058104438/1

The body gets used to it if nothing changes. But if you're changing the weight and reps, like most programmes will provide for, then it's not the same work being done.

How do you mean changing the reps? Like 5x5 instead of 3x12?

I think I should probably do something more than dumbell lifts and a few core exercises like work on my core, back, legs and chest.

Brian?

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

How do you mean changing the reps? Like 5x5 instead of 3x12?

I think I should probably do something more than dumbell lifts and a few core exercises like work on my core, back, legs and chest.

There’s a whole wealth of info in the stickies on this type of stuff. You don’t really need to look anywhere else for info IMO.

But as to your question above. You should be working out your whole body every time you go to the gym, a full body program 3x a week is ideal to begin with.

ancapailldorcha

Brian? wrote: »

There’s a whole wealth of info in the stickies on this type of stuff. You don’t really need to look anywhere else for info IMO.

But as to your question above. You should be working out your whole body every time you go to the gym, a full body program 3x a week is ideal to begin with.

I've looked before. I'll read through them again as they do have good info.

My issue with stuff like Starting Strength is that I'd be worried about hurting myself if I tried anything like a Clean or a Deadlift. Not manly I know.

My local is one of those dire uber-corporate places. I'm happy enough with my dumbell curls for now but I'm going to look at some other things I can be doing.

Thanks all.

Mellor

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

the body can get used to one specific routine.

It can't.
That's a common myth.

Although if it just or arms, it's probably not great and could be worth changing for other reasons, including boredom.

ancapailldorcha

Mellor wrote: »

It can't.
That's a common myth.

Although if it just or arms, it's probably not great and could be worth changing for other reasons, including boredom.

Cheers. That was my thinking as well.

Alf Veedersane

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

How do you mean changing the reps? Like 5x5 instead of 3x12?

I think I should probably do something more than dumbell lifts and a few core exercises like work on my core, back, legs and chest.

If you're doing 5x5 with 60kg one week and then 5x5 with 62.5 the next week, then you're changing the stimulus. If you do the same thing over, then that's one thing. But if you change any of the variables, then you're changing the stimulus so you're fundamentally changing what you're doing.

Doing the same movements doesnt mean you're necessarily doing the same thing over and over. A change in the exercises does help mentally but that's about it

ETA: changing the exercises to work more on weak links is another reason for changing

ancapailldorcha

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

If you're doing 5x5 with 60kg one week and then 5x5 with 62.5 the next week, then you're changing the stimulus. If you do the same thing over, then that's one thing. But if you change any of the variables, then you're changing the stimulus so you're fundamentally changing what you're doing.

Doing the same movements doesnt mean you're necessarily doing the same thing over and over. A change in the exercises does help mentally but that's about it

Thanks. That's really insightful.

Cill94

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I've looked before. I'll read through them again as they do have good info.

My issue with stuff like Starting Strength is that I'd be worried about hurting myself if I tried anything like a Clean or a Deadlift. Not manly I know.

My local is one of those dire uber-corporate places. I'm happy enough with my dumbell curls for now but I'm going to look at some other things I can be doing.

Thanks all.

You're missing out on a lot if you're only training arms. The big lifts can be daunting, and you're right to be wary of them without knowing the technique.

But there are a lot of resources online that show you how to do them, and any good programme you find is going to use the deadlift, squat, press etc.

If you just like working out then it doesn't really matter, but you'll make much better progress following a programme that has you training full body lifts.

ancapailldorcha

Cill94 wrote: »

If you just like working out then it doesn't really matter, but you'll make much better progress following a programme that has you training full body lifts.

To be honest, I don't. I just want to get healthier and ideally improve my strength and fitness a bit instead of just sitting around. I feel a lot better even doing my limited program. My mood is better, I feel less bloated and, for some reason "cleaner".

silverharp

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I've looked before. I'll read through them again as they do have good info.

My issue with stuff like Starting Strength is that I'd be worried about hurting myself if I tried anything like a Clean or a Deadlift. Not manly I know.

My local is one of those dire uber-corporate places. I'm happy enough with my dumbell curls for now but I'm going to look at some other things I can be doing.

Thanks all.

A Hex bar is a good lower body work out and is low risk in terms of injury and is a good confidence builder. If your gym doesn't have one, find a new gym :pac:

Brian?

silverharp wrote: »

A Hex bar is a good lower body work out and is low risk in terms of injury and is a good confidence builder. If your gym doesn't have one, find a new gym :pac:

You and that bleeding trap bar again!

Brian?

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

To be honest, I don't. I just want to get healthier and ideally improve my strength and fitness a bit instead of just sitting around. I feel a lot better even doing my limited program. My mood is better, I feel less bloated and, for some reason "cleaner".

What gym are you in? If they made you a weights program that consists of dumb bell curls I would consider leaving it.