Random Fitness Questions

Mr. CooL ICE

If your diet is well rounded, supplements probably aren't necessary. If you take in a decent amount of different veg, a few protein sources and good carbs every day, along with ensuring you get 8 hours sleep a night, you're probably all set. But chances are, your diet isn't as well rounded as you think. Things like fish oils are good if your fish intake is low, etc

As for pre workout; different strokes for different folks. I've had pre workout before and thought I was going to die after it. Coffee does me. Iirc, there's even been research that caffeine inhibits hypertrophy, but I can't remember the validity of this.

Mr. CooL ICE

Mr. CooL ICE wrote: »

If your diet is well rounded, supplements probably aren't necessary. If you take in a decent amount of different veg, a few protein sources and good carbs every day, along with ensuring you get 8 hours sleep a night, you're probably all set. But chances are, your diet isn't as well rounded as you think. Things like fish oils are good if your fish intake is low, etc

As for pre workout; different strokes for different folks. I've had pre workout before and thought I was going to die after it. Coffee does me. Iirc, there's even been research that caffeine inhibits hypertrophy, but I can't remember the validity of this.

The only good thing about my diet is that it isn't sugary or particularly fatty. It's definitely not diverse enough to get what's ideal. Home cooking happens maybe once every two weeks. A lot of my meals are basic noodles type dishes.

Sleep is a lot better recently. Six and a half to seven is my max and I'm getting that most days.

Alf Veedersane

[Deleted User] wrote: »

A couple of questions about supplements and weight lifting.

In general, is it worth taking a multi-vitamin like ON Opti-Men? I currently don't take anything. How about fish oil as well?
Creatine and Beta-Alanine. I'm interested in these if they can help me progress better. Should I just start taking them? I already take protein three times a week after the gym.
Pre-Workout. The internet seems split. I already have a big coffee before the gym. Is there any other ingredient I should look at individually to help give a boost?

Anyways, things are going well since I got back into it over the last few months. It was a bad few months for stress and weight loss before that, and figure I may as well go all in while the motivation is there and I'm putting the weight back on in better places. I was 65kg. Plan was 70kg. Dropped to 59.2kg. Back up to 61.5kg. Really want to get back to 65kg.

How much protein you supplement with depends on your diet but I would be trying to keep protein intake constant and not only have it on days you go to the gym.

Take creatine.

Coffee will do as a pre-workout.

Sunrise_Sunset

My schedule has changed recently and it looks like I might only be able to make it to the gym twice a week on consecutive days, for the next while. Is it any use in doing full body strength training on both of these days? It obviously means only 24 hours of rest after the first session, which is sub-optimal. I have no equipment to work-out at home. I'm female and usually do 3 lower body and 2 upper body sessions per week.

caviardreams

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

My schedule has changed recently and it looks like I might only be able to make it to the gym twice a week on consecutive days, for the next while. Is it any use in doing full body strength training on both of these days? It obviously means only 24 hours of rest after the first session, which is sub-optimal. I have no equipment to work-out at home. I'm female and usually do 3 lower body and 2 upper body sessions per week.

Personally in that context I would switch to either an upper and lower day, or a push day and a pull day, if they are going to be consecutive rather than 2 full body days.

Alf Veedersane

caviardreams wrote: »

Personally in that context I would switch to either an upper and lower day, or a push day and a pull day, if they are going to be consecutive rather than 2 full body days.

I would agree. Its the fact that they're consecutive days.

Full body two days in a row is sacrificing recovery for frequency and thats a bad trade off because frequency means sweet FA training two days in a row.

Sunrise_Sunset

Thanks for the replies. One session for upper and lower hardly seems like enough though. I suppose I could go bodyweight exercises at home 2 days too. Better than nothing?

Alf Veedersane

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. One session for upper and lower hardly seems like enough though. I suppose I could go bodyweight exercises at home 2 days too. Better than nothing?

It all depends on your circumstances. If you can only do 2 sessions, then don't worry about what you can't do but focus on what you can do.

If you can do some more at home, great

Sunrise_Sunset

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

It all depends on your circumstances. If you can only do 2 sessions, then don't worry about what you can't do but focus on what you can do.

If you can do some more at home, great

I'm hoping my new schedule is only temporary.
I'm really annoyed that I can only make it there twice a week now. I don't have a good track record with my self motivation at home.

Cill94

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

I'm hoping my new schedule is only temporary.
I'm really annoyed that I can only make it there twice a week now. I don't have a good track record with my self motivation at home.

I train plenty of people who can only do 2 sessions a week. Very feasible to make progress at least for a while.

You will make better progress if you can space them out to allow you to train full body both days.

new2tri19

cant be

Greyfox

Should i do squats on weights day or cardio day?

Im a beginner when it comes to weights so im doing 3 full body weights workouts a week and my diet is very good at the moment. Losing fat and getting fitter is nice but building muscle is my priority. I normally do cardio straight after weights but im now going to try doing cardio on 2 seperate days inbetween my weights days as im told this is better. (I exercise in the evenings as morning exercise is never going to happen)

So lets say weights on tuesday and cardio on wednesday. But if i do leg exercises and jog the next day would i be risking not giving enough recovery time? What if i did upper body weights tues and wed i did leg exercises and jogging.. my jogging performance would suffer but would burning out my leg muscles like this be a good idea? Should i just do squats on weight days?

Alf Veedersane

Greyfox wrote: »

Should i do squats on weights day or cardio day?

Im a beginner when it comes to weights so im doing 3 full body weights workouts a week and my diet is very good at the moment. Losing fat and getting fitter is nice but building muscle is my priority. I normally do cardio straight after weights but im now going to try doing cardio on 2 seperate days inbetween my weights days as im told this is better. (I exercise in the evenings as morning exercise is never going to happen)

So lets say weights on tuesday and cardio on wednesday. But if i do leg exercises and jog the next day would i be risking not giving enough recovery time? What if i did upper body weights tues and wed i did leg exercises and jogging.. my jogging performance would suffer but would burning out my leg muscles like this be a good idea? Should i just do squats on weight days?

It really comes down to priorities. If weights are your priority then the running takes the hit

But you need to manage recovery. The only considerations aren't whether to do cardio after a level workout or the next day. How often do you do a lower body/leg workout?

Black Sheep

I wrote a big post but Alf said what I was going to say.

If you are not particularly into running, or are willing to try something different, you could also consider just keeping your lifting three days a week, and finish each session with a short but intense "finisher" that would get your heart rate up and give at least some conditioning benefits. Push a prowler / drag a sled ... Do a barbell complex for a couple of rounds with a light weight ... Do a short circuit with 2-3 exercises etc. As with the runs though there is a point where they'll definitely detract from your lifting in strict terms.

Alf Veedersane

Actually, sorry...I re-read it properly. You're doing 3 full-body workouts a week so roughly every second day.

In which case, I'd say like Black Sheep advised and do it at the end of the weights session, especially if its just cardio for maintaining/improving cardiovascular fitness.

Think of yourself like a well. You drain the well on training days and allow it refill on the days between. If you drain it to some degree on the days between workouts, your starting point gets lower and lower until it gets low enough that it starts impacting your workouts and you get less from them because you're just not recovered.

Greyfox

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Actually, sorry...I re-read it properly. You're doing 3 full-body workouts a week so roughly every second day.

In which case, I'd say like Black Sheep advised and do it at the end of the weights session, especially if its just cardio for maintaining/improving cardiovascular fitness.

Think of yourself like a well. You drain the well on training days and allow it refill on the days between. If you drain it to some degree on the days between workouts, your starting point gets lower and lower until it gets low enough that it starts impacting your workouts and you get less from them because you're just not recovered.

Thanks, im going to stick with cardio at the end and just mix up my cardio type as its easier to get it done while your already in the gym. Also 3 days a week and really pushing myself is something ill definitely stick with long term

D'Agger

If I'm doing a push/pull/legs split, and I'm hitting chest and triceps quite a bit on Push, will leaving bicep exercises to the pull day hold me in good stead, or should I be hitting biceps for a 'finishing' exercise before I leave the gym given my triceps are knackered. Or would doing the pull session the day after the push session with some cable curls etc work just the same.

Basically if I'm hitting enough sets/reps per body part, per week it shouldn't really matter but what would the general preference here be out of interest?

Alf Veedersane

Just do them at the end on any given day. They're unlikely to affect any of the lifts that matter.

D'Agger

Thought as much, cheers Alf

vafankillar

anyone else's anxiety through the roof with the prospects of the gyms closings announcement every day

Mellor

vafankillar wrote: »

anyone else's anxiety through the roof with the prospects of the gyms closings announcement every day

Not in the slightest. Gym are a convenient way to work out. But there are many other ways of working out in isolation with minimal equipment.

A dependence on the gym, to the point of crippling anxiety seems absolutely counterproductive in terms of (mental) health.

vafankillar

Mellor wrote: »

Not in the slightest. Gym are a convenient way to work out. But there are many other ways of working out in isolation with minimal equipment.

A dependence on the gym, to the point of crippling anxiety seems absolutely counterproductive in terms of (mental) health.

What a stupid comment. We're going into the peak of winter and many people have **** all room at home mate.

Alf Veedersane

Mellor wrote: »

Not in the slightest. Gym are a convenient way to work out. But there are many other ways of working out in isolation with minimal equipment.

You can do a workout at home but still miss the gym. Not to the point where your anxiety is through the roof but I was glad to get back to the gym because certain things you can't replicate with what I had. And frankly I just enjoy squatting, benching and deadlifting so I can empathise with missing having access to the gym and the equipment.

Some people also miss the impetus to workout that physically going to the gym gives them.

Mellor

vafankillar wrote: »

What a stupid comment. We're going into the peak of winter and many people have **** all room at home mate.

You don't need to go outside to workout. You also don't need massive amounts of room either, you just need to put a tiny bit of effort into planning. But much easier to say its too hard and call it stupid. :rolleyes:

Prisoners in solitary find a way to workout. Should not be an issue for anyone at home.

And you are completely missing the point. Health and Fitness includes mental health as well as physical health. Stressing out about a workout to the point of anxiety going through the roof is a huge negative. Focus on what you can do not what you can't.

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

You can do a workout at home but still miss the gym. Not to the point where your anxiety is through the roof but I was glad to get back to the gym because certain things you can't replicate with what I had. And frankly I just enjoy squatting, benching and deadlifting so I can empathise with missing having access to the gym and the equipment.

Some people also miss the impetus to workout that physically going to the gym gives them.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with missing the gym and good old fashion weight training. And I never suggested otherwise.
But there is a massive fundamental difference between missing or not wanting to lose something you enjoy and with being unable to see any alternative whatsoever, to the point where it's affecting anxiety badly. That mentality is not doing anyone any good.


There are certain activities that can't do done easily at home. But general working out is not one of them.

Alf Veedersane

Mellor wrote: »

There's absolutely nothing wrong with missing the gym and good old fashion weight training. And I never suggested otherwise.
But there is a massive fundamental difference between missing or not wanting to lose something you enjoy and with being unable to see any alternative whatsoever, to the point where it's affecting anxiety badly. That mentality is not doing anyone any good.


There are certain activities that can't do done easily at home. But general working out is not one of them.

Fair enough. It did read as you did a little though but that's clearer.

I did get bored of high rep everything leg related and I found myself questioning whether I would 'leave it til tomorrow' towards the end of the 4 months the gyms were closed...but it's I don't foresee gyms being closed as long again so it's easier to deal with for most.

But I can understand why people would hate the thought of not having access to the gym though but not to the extent of anxiety going through the roof.

Mellor

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

But I can understand why people would hate the thought of not having access to the gym...

Of course.

...though but not to the extent of anxiety going through the roof.

Which was the key point. That anxiety is not helping anyone, and recognising it is one of the first steps to fixing it imo.

calfmuscle

The reality is that many ppl use exercise to help them reduce or cope with their anxieties, so the prospect of not having access to a gym is heightening those anxieties. It's really understandable and I sympathise with them.

Mellor

calfmuscle wrote: »

The reality is that many ppl use exercise to help them reduce or cope with their anxieties, so the prospect of not having access to a gym is heightening those anxieties. It's really understandable and I sympathise with them.

Of course many people use sports and activities to cope with stress and anxiety. Myself included. Please don't mistake my post for not understanding the "why". And yes it's natural for lockdown to increase that stress. Being natural reaction doesn't mean people should just roll over and accept it imo.

Certain sports require training partners, close physical contact, specific venues, etc. If that's removed, there really no alternative way to train those sports. Check out any BJJ forum and see how many people haven't be able to do any training in over 6 months. There's realy no solution there, so the anxiety increase is really unavoidable - I've experienced this myself.

However, other sports are high flexible and lend themselves to going it solo. Going to the gym/weight training of one. There are lots of ways to maintaining training in that regard. And I strongly feel that focusing on what you can do is far far better for mental health than thinking the gym is the only way.

If somebody posted that their yoga studio was closed due to covid. And it was making them anxious. How would you suggest people mitigate that.

Black Sheep

Some of the challenges of having minimal or no equipment at home can be interesting. I think that's part of what Mellor is saying, in fairness.

I've always been interested in programming and if someone is limited to bodyweight and - for example - one or two relatively light dumbbells, you have to really think about what is the optimum way to train and still cause adaptation to occur. Might involve techniques like rest / pause sets... Pre-exhaustion techniques... Exaggerating the tempo... And so on.

I think a bareness of equipment does also lend itself to exploring calisthenics / bodyweight training and progressions there. There's a ton of information out there about building towards things like one armed push ups and pistol squats that could probably occupy a beginner for a long time.

There are people who choose to train this way all the time!

Not the best for getting big and jacked, but in fairness still rewarding and potentially very stimulating.

Ross Enamait, Pavel Tsatsouline, and some of the kitsch but entertaining Dragon Door publications on 'Convict Conditioning' come to mind.

I've said it before, but I think the one piece of equipment that is definitely the bedrock is a door-frame pull-up bar, or some other way of performing a decent pulling movement. There are enough bodyweight-only pushing and lower body movements that don't require any equipment, but impossible to train a pull without equipment unless you try something like an isometric pull on a doorway, which doesn't work very well I would think.

Cill94

Have to say I got realllly sick of bodyweight training after those first couple months in lockdown. If they closed the gyms and I had to start over again, I'd go mad.