Random Fitness Questions

Brian?

It’s unlikely you need to supplement with electrolytes, unless you have a really poor diet.

Drinking water and eat fruits and vegetables and you’ll be fine.

Mr. CooL ICE

I add a pinch of salt to my gym water bottle and salt my last meal before the gym. Don't know if it makes much of a difference but I do it anyway.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585377#Comment_121585377

You should salt your food for flavour every meal.

People who eat too much salt usually eat too much processed food. Salt is fine if you’re cooking everything yourself.

Quiet Achiever

Floury spuds with salt and salty butter

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624649#Comment_121624649

What are you looking to do in the gym? If it is running then if your knees hurt just walking that's probably a bad idea. If it is strength training or other cardio, as long as it is something that isn't hard on the knees and you start off easy enough then I don't see any problems with it and it should help you lose weight.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624649#Comment_121624649

You lose weight with your diet.

For your knees- go to a phsyio and get some recommended exercises.

But you can always diet and do upper body work.

redzerredzer

What’s wrong with this 2 day upper / lower split?

Thanks

Barbell Bench 3x8

lat pull down 3x10

seated shoulder press machine 3x10

Seated cable row 3 x10

DB Curl 3 x 10

——————————————

DB Lunge 4 x 8 each leg

Leg Press 3 x 10

DB Step Up 3 x 8 each leg

DB Romanian Deadlift 4 x8

DB Bulgarian Split Squat 3 x8 each leg

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121661888#Comment_121661888

Nothing, really. It's fine.

redzerredzer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121663398#Comment_121663398

Great to hear.

The leg day is more than enough for me. Would you add anything to upper day? Was thinking maybe rope pull down after curls?

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121665478#Comment_121665478

Yes, you could add another isolation movement in there after the curls without any issue, although probably something like a tricep pushdown would be a more traditional accompaniment to a curl.

Really though, you could do an isolation movement for shoulders, lats or whatever else if that's what you wanted.

Some people design their upper days so the body parts are hit with a compound and an isolation, but for time purposes, choices usually have to be made..

The only other thing I'd say is, assuming you've been doing your A and B workout 3-4 times a week, it might be an idea to write yourself another upper and lower set of workouts, and rotate them in. To keep yourself sane and also stop hitting a wall as quickly, in terms of progressive overload.

For example, putting options below in brackets-

Barbell Bench 3x8

(DB bench, or a machine press)

lat pull down 3x10

(Pull ups, assisted if necessary, or a pulldown with different grip variation)

seated shoulder press machine 3x10

(Seated barbell or DB press)

Seated cable row 3 x10

(Chest supported DB rows, BB row, inverted row)

DB Curl 3 x 10

(Hammer curls, cable curls, whatever)

——————————————

DB Lunge 4 x 8 each leg

(Barbell reverse lunges, split squats)

Leg Press 3 x 10

(Any compound squat or quad dominant trap bar dead)

DB Step Up 3 x 8 each leg

(Feel like a second single leg movement here is a bit redundant tbh)

DB Romanian Deadlift 4 x8

(Barbell RDL, back extensions)

DB Bulgarian Split Squat 3 x8 each leg

(Again its a lot of single leg volume, and similar enough movements.. Maybe calves here for a change?)

On the lower day I probably do wonder the way there are three unilateral movements in there, but overall still fairly sane looking.

Jennyy

Every time I want to exercise for health, I have ideas and it is difficult to take action. And you can't control yourself without a partner.😫

bladespin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121693573#Comment_121693573

There's much better available for free.

Bawnmore

Stupid question - if hypertrophy is the goal, should adding more weight always be how to progress? Or is it better to focus on more reps at lower weight? I'm probably overthinking it, but no harm checking.

I'm only really beginning (about 5 months in) but I've been making progress I'm happy with by following something along the lines of this for most exercises:

• Lift something at 3x6.
• If/when I can comfortably do that, then up to 3x8.
• If/when I can comfortably do that, then up to 3x10.
• If/when I can comfortably do that, then up the weight and start again.

I've made good beginner progress in everything and I'm still fairly consistently moving up weight across the board - I'm at a point now 3x10s in whatever exercise are reassuringly difficult before upping weight and lowering reps - do I just continue as is?

Rossi7

....

Cill94

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121710325#Comment_121710325

This is a fine approach. Doing more of weight and/or reps over time is all that matters.

Once you're getting stronger, the main driver of hypertrophy will be eating enough.

Bawnmore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121710686#Comment_121710686

OK good to know - thanks 👍️

This is the 1st time I've been focusing on eating more - have been eating at a surplus for the last 3 weeks and slowly gaining. I've always found it easy to eat at a deficit when losing weight and eating healthily at a surplus is actually harder than I thought it'd be.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121710325#Comment_121710325

You can progress multiple ways, the way I always got the best results with was keeping the reps between 6-8 and once I could do 3 sets of 8, increase the weight.

But it’s perfectly ok to increase the reps until 15. Once you’re over 15, you’re not getting much hypertrophy

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121711938#Comment_121711938

Eating a healthy surplus is tough. Nuts are your friend here.

A good method is to do it in cycles as well. Pick a body fat range you’re ok to stay in. Say 17-20%. Eat whatever you want until you get to 20% then eat clean until you’re back to 17%. Repeat.

it mimics the old bulk/cut cycles most bodybuilders did. But it’s a little healthier than eating KFC for gains.

Bawnmore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121712205#Comment_121712205

Ya that's similar alright - will stick with what I'm doing until it stops working or slows down in that case. Thanks.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121712218#Comment_121712218

Peanut butter has been a big part of the last few weeks alright - I must pick up nuts to snack on as well.

I'm at the beginning of week 4 currently, so might stick with this for 8 weeks, then cut for 4 and then review from there. Up to 20% and down to 17% might be a good way to go alright if I could measure body fat reliably.

Black Sheep

This isn't an answer to what's above, more of a follow-on really.

My current understanding is that you can potentially hypertrophy at all rep ranges. We used to think that 15+ was more muscular endurance work than having a hypertrophic effect, but I think there is more evidence these days that you absolutely can do it with sets of 15-20, the issue is that whatever rep range you're using, you've got to have really high mechanical tension, and in practical terms that set needs to be appropriately heavy, and you need to push it to not much in RIR.

I've heard people say that to an extent it's a question of what you enjoy doing, but in practical terms (and I think a lot of people say the same) they can do a heavy set of 6-10, and judging by the speed and last few reps, it is effective. But to achieve the same thing with a set of 15-20, while the weight is going to be a little lighter, it should still be a very hard set, and again, I think most people, myself included, often tap out mentally on these long sets, if it's something like a heavy leg press or high rep set of squats. Maybe it's partly training history, but I'm much more confident that I am reaching - or am close to - failure on a set of squats in a moderate range, than I am on a set of 15-20 heavy leg presses.

I also think that there's an endurance requirement in the cardio sense that is not to be underestimated, if you are doing several high rep compound sets. They will have you blowing hard.

I understand recovery is also a factor. Perhaps partly for the reason mentioned above, a higher rep set at the same RIR as a lower rep set is meant to be more taxing in recovery terms.

It was a lightbulb moment for me, though, when Joe DeFranco gave me permission to do a variety of rep ranges, particularly based on what feels better for the body part.

Anyone who's done heavy DB side laterals may - depending on their age and pre-existing shoulder issues - find that they just don't feel good. Whereas if you work in a higher rep range here, with a lower load, you'll experience a 'painful' burn in one way, I just don't think you get that same wear and tear on the tissues.

So, my take is that what was said above about progression (Whether in weight or reps) being very important is bang on, but also just to say, you needn't necessarily feel bound by rep ranges. You might be progressing in heavy top sets, in low-ish rep ranges, on compound movements, and doing a higher rep back-off, or you might just be saving your higher rep work for body parts where you have aggravated shoulders and elbows, and maybe it feels more forgiving. People always used to advocate for this on certain body parts, and sometimes there would be erroneous science that particularly muscles responded better to higher reps, or whatever, but at the end of the day, all I know is that on side delt, rear delt, bicep, brachialis and various other 40+ joints I have, if I can get a training effect without hanging the same amount of weight on the tissues, then I probably will.

The next option, then, is to consider the use of stuff like isometric holds, long eccentric tempos and 1.5 reps during sets. That further reduces the load a little again.

Somewhat more on the fence about these, although I do use them at the moment, because it's what's programmed for me. I do worry slightly that the sets become a bit complicated, and harder to track honestly, particularly over time. Straight sets are still the king here, in terms of knowing exactly where you are, relative to where you were before.

Bawnmore

Man, that's a really clear, well thought out post - thanks. I'm going to read through it properly later on but that all makes a lot of sense.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121728396#Comment_121728396

Eoinbmw

Time under tension is also a factor with weight and rep ranges!

Making sets more difficult by slowing them down is very effective!

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121728767#Comment_121728767

That’s why I like the 6-8 re range. It’s all slow reps. A weight I can do 15 times flies up the first few reps.

MacDanger

My two young daughters challenged me to do a crab, needless to say I failed miserably!! I don't have the arm/shoulder strength needed to lift my upper body - looking for some advice on what exercises I'd need to do to win this bet

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121753005#Comment_121753005

Depends. Are you in overweight? If so the obvious answer is lose weight.

silverharp

are we talking about the position you would do for a crab walk, or kids showing off doing the gymnastic crab which I doubt many adults could do?

MacDanger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121753055#Comment_121753055

No, not overweight

MacDanger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121753118#Comment_121753118

Gymnastics crab; that's not the news I wanted to hear