Board 8 > Fitness/Exercise/Health topic 2

(+) Yeah! (+)

So per the last topic, over a year ago I weighed in at 153 and my PR's were;
Bench-195
Squat-205
Deadlift-275

Currently weigh 165, and current lifting numbers are;
Bench-240(done yesterday)
Squat-300(done a couple days ago)
Deadlift-325(done today).

Excited to see in another year!

Everyone else, keep it up!

New topic, new check in

this has been a solid stretch of lifting. I have avoided injuries and major setbacks so have been able to stay consistent. Im the strongest I have been in probably 7-8 years, and have a lot to be proud of. Physique wise, Im incredibly happy where Im at, and dont feel like anything is lacking or that I absolutely have to improve on something, which is a nice feeling when you can tell the body dysmorphia to suck it

goals for the foreseeable future are 500 deadlift, and to rep 2 plates on the incline. Some minor goals include the I be able to do reps with decent form of 45lb lateral raises, and to do a 3 plate weighted dip

Also, since this is a new topic, for anyone who is brand new to this stuff, or is curious about where to begin, I know that myself and many others in this topic would be overjoyed to help you out. This is a judgment free zone and we all started somewhere before we turned into jacked gods. Please post if you have questions or want any advice!

iiaattgg posted...

Also, since this is a new topic, for anyone who is brand new to this stuff, or is curious about where to begin, I know that myself and many others in this topic would be overjoyed to help you out. This is a judgment free zone and we all started somewhere before we turned into jacked gods. Please post if you have questions or want any advice!

I'll also echo this sentiment. :)

Lift today

weighted pull-ups 50x3x8
barbell rows 190x10 210x5
db curl 40x3x12
lateral raises 35x3x12
lat pull-down 235x4 210x6 185x8 160x10
cable curl 50x12 52x9 55x6
seated cable row 60x2x10
rear delt cable fly 15x2x12
hammer curl 40x16 35x16 30x16
db pullover 70x2x10
cable wrist pushdown 65x3x12

Nice to see someone making progress!

On squat day I skipped back squats after I felt my usual right hip/glute discomfort even at very low weight. Instead I substituted a bunch more low weight Zercher sets. Max was 10 reps at 125. I'm kind of enjoying the very different feel of the Zerchers at the moment. Also did some leg press, which I'm not really a fan of, but it's better than nothing.

OHP went really well on its day though. My shoulders were feeling the best they've felt in weeks with no soreness. Was able to do 2 singles at 142.5. First single felt really good and strong, just not enough in the tank for another rep. Took a brief rest and then was able to get another.

Goals for this bulk;

-Aiming to get around 180-185lbs- so a good 15-20 pound bulk session. Gonna try to keep it clean as much as I can, but I'm not going to shy away from a burger and pizza every once in a while. Gonna try to keep it within a range of 2600-2800 calories. Will up to 2900, 3000 when I'm around 175.
-315 bench (Current PR 285)
-405 squat(Current PR 365, old topic said 395, I'm positive that's a typo and it's 365).
-500 Deadlift(Current PR 450). My deadlift and squat PR are years old at this point, my 285 bench press was my PR from last year tho, so I'm super confident in my bench progress.

And lastly, to dunk a basketball, just for fun. No timetable on it, but I think I can actually increase my vert quite a bit by just doing pylometrics as a warmup to each leg day. That alone will be making me hit my legs 2-3 times a week.

I'm also specifically aiming to 'explode' with more power on my reps, and control the negative/descent.

Seanchan posted...

Nice to see someone making progress!

On squat day I skipped back squats after I felt my usual right hip/glute discomfort even at very low weight. Instead I substituted a bunch more low weight Zercher sets. Max was 10 reps at 125. I'm kind of enjoying the very different feel of the Zerchers at the moment. Also did some leg press, which I'm not really a fan of, but it's better than nothing.

OHP went really well on its day though. My shoulders were feeling the best they've felt in weeks with no soreness. Was able to do 2 singles at 142.5. First single felt really good and strong, just not enough in the tank for another rep. Took a brief rest and then was able to get another.

love the zerchers, glad you are doing them. And the transfer to day to day life strength is unreal. I should probably start doing them again, I stopped because I thought I had a hernia but that ended up being something else.

and hell yeah on the Ohp! Always got mad respect for the one plate club

Something I always have to keep in mind is that I'm 5' 6'', ~150lbs.

I'll watch some videos on Youtube and see guys doing 200 pound OHP for reps. But most of those dudes are 6+ feet tall and 220+ pounds. Everyone's always talking raw numbers and not strength to weight.

This one guy did something like a 220 lb OHP and mentioned that he's recovering from injuries and that's not yet a body weight rep. Granted, this motherfucker is built like a house and 100% objectively stronger than me by any measure. But it puts things in perspective. There is literally no way on Earth I will ever OHP 220 pounds. But I should be proud that I'm able to OHP 95% of my bodyweight, not dejected that it's only 65% of what this big ass dude is doing.

You OHPing your bodyweight is always going to be impressive, and the overwhelming majority of people in an average gym are not going to come close to that

Yeah 200lb's is also insane for anyone regardless of your body weight.

My PR is 175, but hoping to hit the 200 mark during this strength/bulkup.

Felt fairly weak today lol

incline bench 185x6 x4 x2
ohp 145x8 x5 x3
bench 180x2x8 180x10
weighted dips 62x7 72x4 82x2
Tricep pushdown 60x3x11
lateral raise 40x8 40x10 20x20
cable overhead extension 47x14 50x9 52x6

Deadlifts felt damn good today. Only 280x5 for the heaviest but there was more in the tank if I had wanted it. My hip/glute issue thankfully was very quiet today, likely owing to taking it easy on squat day. It's nice to know that I can continue to progress with heavy deadlifts.

I will always respect people who have abs. I dont know if respect is the right word. I acknowledge the discipline it requires to not eat a completely trash diet constantly. If I eat at a deficit for more than a day I honestly want to kill myself.

iiaattgg posted...

I will always respect people who have abs. I dont know if respect is the right word. I acknowledge the discipline it requires to not eat a completely trash diet constantly. If I eat at a deficit for more than a day I honestly want to kill myself.

lol this why I started my bulk. I didnt quite get to exactly where I wanted but I just couldnt stand the hunger pains any longer.

I might do a mini 21 day cut in the middle of this bulk tho, just to stay a bit lean and kind of a deload situation.

Im also gonna try supplementing trimeythlicide which some new studies have shown that it helps burn fat while actually growing muscle. Crazy stuff. It can be found in beets and shrimp among food, but I think you need like 2 to 3g of the stuff to see the benefit.

I ordered some and Ill see if they do anything. Kind of seems pretty ideal for a bulk session.

It's kinda crazy what muscle memory, and having extra fuel in your body can do to get results. My first leg day was 4 days ago, and finished with a 1 rep of 280 on squat. Today my 1 rep was 305.

I think I'd die if I did heavy squats twice a week. I take it you're managing the overall workload so that the DOMs are manageable.

Yeah my sets/routine are pretty much set so rest and soreness is at peak condition. I haven't had debilitating DOMs in a while. Overall systematic fatigue will be my biggest concern moving forward, but I think if I do a deload every 5-6 weeks I'll be fine.

I also fully recommend taking a magnesium supplement before bed on an empty stomach. I've been taking magnesium for like 6 months now, and my soreness and recovery rate is much more manageable than ever before, and I'm pretty sure I'm hitting the gym harder than I ever have.

Hadn't heard of taking magnesium before. I looked and I get 100mg in a multi-vitamin I take.

Turns out Costco's got it on sale this month: https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-magnesium-citrate-250mg%2c-270-softgels.product.4000106829.html

...might just pick that up. My DOMs have been pretty minimal lately since I'm not able to really stress the lower body, and it was the quads/hams/glutes that were the issue most of the time.

Yeah magnesium rules, and most people don't get enough of it in their diet.

It's also hard for the body to absorb, so that's why I recommend taking it on an empty stomach/before bed.

Yeah I destroy my legs twice a week with squatting and deadlifting on the same day, and other squat variations in the workout. And I cant remember the last time I had doms. consistent protein and creatine is the solution for me there

Ill be working out of town the next two days, and I far more value the two days of rest than just going to some shitty hotel gym so Im excited to rest guilt free. Im getting close to peak incline sessions so will need all the rest I can get over the coming weeks

Hey I need some advice regarding my routine. I've started going to the gym again 3 weeks ago after not going for like 18 month due to various small niggling sports injuries that wouldn't go away.
I'm doing a push/pull split at the moment. Push day then pull day alternating monday to friday with rest days on a weekend. I'm increasing either my reps/sets or weight each time. The issue I have is that while I'm working out the last few sets are always a struggle. Maybe need to break the sets up and have a short 5-10 second rest before completing the full set, which I think is fine. My concern is that I'm not having any soreness or muscle pain. Like even though the work out is challenging and I feel a good pump, later that day - nothing. The next day - nothing. I'm worried that means I'm not working hard enough but the fact that the sets are challenging at the end makes me think I am.
Should I be working harder or is the lack of muscle soreness not an issue?

5tarscream posted...

I'm increasing either my reps/sets or weight each time. The issue I have is that while I'm working out the last few sets are always a struggle. Maybe need to break the sets up and have a short 5-10 second rest before completing the full set, which I think is fine. My concern is that I'm not having any soreness or muscle pain. Like even though the work out is challenging and I feel a good pump, later that day - nothing. The next day - nothing. I'm worried that means I'm not working hard enough but the fact that the sets are challenging at the end makes me think I am.

I mean your progressive overload is improving each week. That's the main indicator you are progressing.

Soreness is actually largely genetic. Some people get sore instantly, others don't. Having no soreness isn't always an indicator of progression. Like I said, the fact you are improving each time, and the fact that your last sets are a struggle means you are essentially going to failure, or within 1 or 2 reps of failure which is pretty much ideal. So to answer your question, you are doing just fine.

The moment your progress stops for an extended period of time means you should take a deload/rest week, and restart your body to get rid of systemic fatigue.

iiaattgg posted...

consistent protein and creatine is the solution for me there

Yeah outside of protein intake the supplements I take are; creatine, magnesium and fish oil. I mentioned it early about trimethylglycine, which I will be taking to see if it actually works. From the limited studies on it it seems promising, but they don't know what exactly causes it to do, what it does. So I'm gonna take it for about 3 months and see if it keeps my fat off during this bulk, because that would be amazing.

Yeah, dont worry too much about soreness. if you are doing effective exercises, with proper technique, and are consistently progressing on either weight or reps, then you are getting the job done.

Got my incline back up to 210, 15 pound jumps are fun(I know they'll settle down by next week). My bench is 240, and that tracks for me. My Incline tends to lag behind by 30-40 pounds. So with that being said, if I can hit my goal of a 315 regular bench, I'm hoping I'll be at the 285 range on incline.

I am specifically hitting my upper chest more and harder this bulk compared to get regular bench too(in addition to more lat work and delt work). So I think it might actually be closer by the end than I think.

Thanks, I may ask for some advice tuning my routine in a few weeks, too. Hope that's ok.

We would absolutely love to help. Its always good to get different perspectives

I was hoping the two days off would help my forearm fully heal, and yesterday through this morning it didnt hurt in the slightest. But the second I did a reverse curl, bam, shot right back up. Anything doing that kind of curl style, like hammer curls, triggers it instantly. Whatever the b muscle is called lol. Other than that I had a good loft

Today was my back day 2 where I start off with pullups and grip strength exercises, all for strength based gains-very tiring, so I am beyond pumped that I was able to hit 325 on deadlift at the end of my workout, despite the overall back and grip exhaustion. Next back day I start with deadlift so I'm excited to see the improvements.

All my extra bicep work is starting to finally pay off. My left arm has been stronger than my right, but after just a week or so it's starting to catch up, and both are getting stronger.

I love strength training. Today was the start of my second time through all my workout plans.

First week Squats were 6x(230)5x(240)3x(260)1x(280), today 6x(240)5x(250)3x(275)1x(310).

Hoping to hit 315 later this week.

Tag, have been lazy with dieting since the holidays, been slowly working back towards it this month and ready to start going hard to be ready for summer time.

Week one deadlifts 235 X6, 280 X3, 320x1

Week two 255x6 295 X3 335X1

Gains continue to be extreme. Plan on weighing myself on Saturday. Hope to be only up a pound/half pound.

Nice! Those look massive

Sorozone posted...

I love strength training. Today was the start of my second time through all my workout plans.

First week Squats were 6x(230)5x(240)3x(260)1x(280), today 6x(240)5x(250)3x(275)1x(310).

Hoping to hit 315 later this week.

I hit 320 instead. Hell yeah. Taking a day off tomorrow, and weighing myself in the morning.

This bulk is off to an amazing start. Not only for my strength going back up at a nutty rate, but I've only gained a half pound in 2 weeks. Started at 165, now at 165.4

Its been a week yall. Nearly lost my home to a forest fire. Had just a few minutes to pack up what I could and get out. Thankfully the fireman did an amazing job holding the line, but I struggled to eat or sleep well for a few days. First day back in the gym, I lost 8 pounds lol. I know it will be back in a few days, but still. Trauma can nuke you in just a few days

UltimaterializerX posted...

I started intermittent fasting.

JFC it's a cheat code.

Dude if you get jacked, combined with the phenomenal swag, its over for everyone else

Tried my best today but just didnt have it in a lot of areas. Gonna need to keep regaining sleep and weight after the past week

incline bench 195x3 195x2 155x8
overhead press 150x6 150x4 150x2
bench 190x8 190x8 190x10
dips 65x6 75x5 85x4
lateral raises 40x9 30x10 20x10
Tricep pushdown 60x14 60x12 60x10
overhead rope extension 52x12 55x9 57x6

iiaattgg posted...

Its been a week yall. Nearly lost my home to a forest fire. Had just a few minutes to pack up what I could and get out. Thankfully the fireman did an amazing job holding the line, but I struggled to eat or sleep well for a few days. First day back in the gym, I lost 8 pounds lol. I know it will be back in a few days, but still. Trauma can nuke you in just a few days

Damn dude. Sorry to hear that. I can definitely relate though. Few years ago I had to also do an emergency evac for a forest fire encroaching on the neighborhood I lived in the time. Only could take a select few items too. Luckily nothing happened outside of not being able to get back in my house for a couple days.

Got my incline back up to 220. This has my excited for a couple reasons. It's improving again, after being stalled forever. And the fact that my PR of 245 was when I weighed 182, I'm only 25 pounds away from this, and I'm 17 pounds lighter. I think I might actually get a PR on this in the next month or so.

Also another tidbit. I remember not being able to hit the 100's on the dumbell on flat bench until just recently(I also mentioned when I finally did in the previous topic), I'm hitting 95's right now on Incline. Another milestone for me once I hit those 100's.

Sorozone posted...

Damn dude. Sorry to hear that. I can definitely relate though. Few years ago I had to also do an emergency evac for a forest fire encroaching on the neighborhood I lived in the time. Only could take a select few items too. Luckily nothing happened outside of not being able to get back in my house for a couple days.

Got my incline back up to 220. This has my excited for a couple reasons. It's improving again, after being stalled forever. And the fact that my PR of 245 was when I weighed 182, I'm only 25 pounds away from this, and I'm 17 pounds lighter. I think I might actually get a PR on this in the next month or so.

Also another tidbit. I remember not being able to hit the 100's on the dumbell on flat bench until just recently(I also mentioned when I finally did in the previous topic), I'm hitting 95's right now on Incline. Another milestone for me once I hit those 100's.

yeah pretty much word for word my experience, you know how it is. Even if everything ended up fine, the whole event itself is just not a pleasant experience to go through

UltimaterializerX posted...

I already have the muscle, I just got very depressed years back and blew all the way up to 468 pounds. Got down below 300 before covid, then went back up to 360. Been stuck at 330-350 ever since, even with a lot of diets and working out. A lot of it is simple aging keeping everything "stuck" in metabolism, but I think intermittent fasting will really work. I've been doing it for three days and already my energy levels are insane.

keep it up man. You just focusing on nutrition rn or you slinging any weights around?

Hell yeah dude, excited to see the results

Took a week off, which was nice.

First day back was squats/legs and I felt really good and fresh. Just stuck to the Zerchers rather than doing back squats and had no hip/glute issues for the first time in a long while. "Heaviest" set was 10 reps at 155, which, hey, that's 100% body weight at least. Didn't want to push any more than that.

Started taking those magnesium supplements. They're only 125mg pills, as I don't want to exceed the daily recommended limit of 400mg with me already taking a multivitamin with 100mg of it. So one pill in the afternoon/post workout and another close to bed. Not sure if it's having much noticeable effect so far.

So Im still getting my life back in order after the fire, and one of the things Im still doing is washing literally every piece of clothing I own due to all the smoke. I have learned from the years that certain articles of clothing work well for the muscle group I am lifting, and as a result have like 3 boxers/shorts that I use for leg day and squats. When I woke up this morning I realized that all 3 were still wet in the wash and I wasnt gonna have time, so just threw on non-leg day attire

split both my boxers and my shorts on my first working set