OT: Help from the gym/fitness addicts?

[syscrusher]

I just started getting back into the gym to do some work out last Monday with the bro. Needless to say, I over worked myself. Yeah, I'm in bad shape. Being laid off kind of allowed me to slack off. So I'm pretty sore. It's getting better now. Doc said I developed a mild case rhabdomyolysis. Said to just monitor it and stay hydrated or come back in if symptoms get worse.

 

 

Guess I'll have to start at the bottom again and SLOWLY build myself back up to previous levels.

 

What is the advice from you gym fanatics?

[RussAnderson]

Go easy and lift light with high reps and very good strict form ,also allow your body to rest at least a day or 2 after every workout. Eat clean & healthy and drink plenty of water and get good rest .Its all pretty basic you have got to learn to ready your body and do what works .Variation is a good factor as well try and change your workout plan every few weeks so your muscles find it difficult to adapt which forces them to grow more. Also no more than 3-4 times a week and keep your workouts under 1hr in the gym and u should be good to go.

ps also get some good protein absorbed after workouts to help repair and heal the muscles faster.

[RSBro]

Well it just makes sense to ease back into it.

If when you last quit going you were benching 200lbs, chances are if you haven't been in 2 years you might wanna start with less...

I'm guilty of the same thing though. I just started running again and yeah my treadmill about killed me!

[FastRedPonyCar]

+1 to what russ said.

 

go easy. don't kill yourself. go at a pace that is both comfortable but still challenging at the same time. That happy medium.

 

Get some quality protein in you after the workout, focus on light dumbell workouts rather than machines to get more stablizer muscles working and at least 1 day a week try to focus on lower body even if no weights are involved.

 

- Calf raises, high rep sets of body weight squats, stepping up onto a bench then back down then stepping back up with the other foot, walking lunges, etc.

 

if you focus on your lower body where most of your muscle mass is, the rest of your body will keep up when it comes to growth.

 

 

 

Oh and inb4fagan

[charveldan]

If your middle aged or more, Doctors call that "Boomer-itis" as in baby-boomers over exerting themselves, very common.

[syscrusher]

If your middle aged or more, Doctors call that "Boomer-itis" as in baby-boomers over exerting themselves, very common.

I'm 43, guess I got boomer-itis.

I'm taking the weights off next time and slowly increase them from there to find the sweet spot. I'll look like a girl lifting just the bars.

The lower half of me shouldn't be to bad, at least I use that to walk every day.

[Kenny Powers]

wait, so whats your question?

Yeah start out by finding your max weight for every exercise (meaning 1 rep is near failure) and do 50% for sets of 9-12 for everything. Over a 4 week period you should be developing endurance and a base. After that move up to 75% of the original failure rep weight for 4 weeks. After those 4 weeks, re-evaluate your failure rep weight and rinse/repeat.

Look into HIIT programs so work in between your weight training days. Great solution to boring cardio programs, and will help develope some lean muscle mass.

Most importantly, have fun. whether it be good tunes, or just approaching exercises in a fun way, do what it takes to stay focused and having fun

[FourT6and2]

Um, rhabdo is usually from direct trauma, like getting crushed by a falling brick wall in an earthquake. How the hell did you get crush syndrome by going to the gym? You must be crazy out of shape.

[syscrusher]

Um, rhabdo is usually from direct trauma, like getting crushed by a falling brick wall in an earthquake. How the hell did you get crush syndrome by going to the gym? You must be crazy out of shape.

I'm crazy out of shape.

It can happen if you work out to hard too. Common among marathon runners.

[syscrusher]

wait, so whats your question? Yeah start out by finding your max weight for every exercise (meaning 1 rep is near failure) and do 50% for sets of 9-12 for everything. Over a 4 week period you should be developing endurance and a base. After that move up to 75% of the original failure rep weight for 4 weeks. After those 4 weeks, re-evaluate your failure rep weight and rinse/repeat. Look into HIIT programs so work in between your weight training days. Great solution to boring cardio programs, and will help develope some lean muscle mass. Most importantly, have fun. whether it be good tunes, or just approaching exercises in a fun way, do what it takes to stay focused and having fun

That's what I'll do the next time. I have no idea what my max weight is, so I need to find that. The HIIT programs look like fun and not so boring. Thanks for the tip.

[jbviper4]

Just alternate cardio days with lifting and follow the advice to take it easy with the weights. Gotta move yo {censored} every day to get in shape.

[vic]

also make sure you do it every week its a lot harder when you take time off exercising

[syscrusher]

wait, so whats your question? Yeah start out by finding your max weight for every exercise (meaning 1 rep is near failure) and do 50% for sets of 9-12 for everything. Over a 4 week period you should be developing endurance and a base. After that move up to 75% of the original failure rep weight for 4 weeks. After those 4 weeks, re-evaluate your failure rep weight and rinse/repeat. Look into HIIT programs so work in between your weight training days. Great solution to boring cardio programs, and will help develope some lean muscle mass. Most importantly, have fun. whether it be good tunes, or just approaching exercises in a fun way, do what it takes to stay focused and having fun

Seems to be working so far. I have increased up to 65% of my max failure weight. Things was getting a bit to easy for me. Bench pressing still sucks but I'll have to focus on that. I have noticed my cardio has got a lot better. I can bust it out and not be out of wind. I seem to recover by the end of the day now, not three or more days. Lost some fat too. I do it every day for about 60 to 90 minutes a day. Then use the weekend to rest.

Just need to burn of that fat on my stomach. I get some good carbs and protein after the work outs. Just need to come up with some ideas for smaller meals and beak it up into 6 times a day including after the work out.

Curtis had some good ideas I like to try. Still a long ways from my goals.

Thanks for the tips guys.

[Kenny Powers]

Seems to be working so far. I have increased up to 65% of my max failure weight. Things was getting a bit to easy for me. Bench pressing still sucks but I'll have to focus on that. I have noticed my cardio has got a lot better. I can bust it out and not be out of wind. I seem to recover by the end of the day now, not three or more days. Lost some fat too. I do it every day for about 60 to 90 minutes a day. Then use the weekend to rest. Just need to burn of that fat on my stomach. I get some good carbs and protein after the work outs. Just need to come up with some ideas for smaller meals and beak it up into 6 times a day including after the work out. Curtis had some good ideas I like to try. Still a long ways from my goals. Thanks for the tips guys.

{censored}in a, good to hear!

as for food, I just make mini super salads (I am a creature of habbit and can eat the same thing 3-6 times a day, 7 days a week). I basically make everything in bulk in advance and then get little containers for each meal. my super salds contain:
spinach lettuce (high in fiber and just all around good for you)
red onions
red bell peppers (little high in sugars, but its good to compensate for the lack of carbs I intake)
tomatoes
broccoli
chicken
home made vineagrette (1 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2-3/4 cup basalmic vinegar (depends on your taste), 1-2 tbl spoons dijon mustard, fresh cracked pepper, salt to desire.

so I have these all ready to go. because of the contents, you digest them quickly, and because of the frequency, it will speed up your metabolism.

btw, have tried HIIT work outs? I started mixing them into my BJJ training (HIIT in the morning and then jiu jitsu at night) and its been really fun do-able (making seperate trips to the gym suck when you are pressed for time). I can bang a massive sweat enducing workout out in 15 minutes, and then continue with my day.

[syscrusher]

{censored}in a, good to hear! as for food, I just make mini super salads (I am a creature of habbit and can eat the same thing 3-6 times a day, 7 days a week). I basically make everything in bulk in advance and then get little containers for each meal. my super salds contain: spinach lettuce (high in fiber and just all around good for you) red onions red bell peppers (little high in sugars, but its good to compensate for the lack of carbs I intake) tomatoes broccoli chicken home made vineagrette (1 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2-3/4 cup basalmic vinegar (depends on your taste), 1-2 tbl spoons dijon mustard, fresh cracked pepper, salt to desire. so I have these all ready to go. because of the contents, you digest them quickly, and because of the frequency, it will speed up your metabolism. btw, have tried HIIT work outs? I started mixing them into my BJJ training (HIIT in the morning and then jiu jitsu at night) and its been really fun do-able (making seperate trips to the gym suck when you are pressed for time). I can bang a massive sweat enducing workout out in 15 minutes, and then continue with my day.

 

 

Same salad I've been eating. The wife made a batch of it. I'll throw in some tuna now and then for something different.

 

HIIT is what my brother got me started on. The first week was a bitch. We threw in a twist on the HIIT days with small weight training with the smaller muscles. I'll start out with the treadmill for a warm up to get my max cardio, small rest. Then a set of arm curls followed by jump rope. Triceps followed with lunges. Just mixing it up like that to keep it interesting. Some of the small muscle weight training makes a good cardio work out.

 

I've noticed more muscle mass with fat loss at the same time. Getting rid if the gut and getting the abs back in shape is going to be a challenge.

[thom]

{censored}in a, good to hear! as for food, I just make mini super salads (I am a creature of habbit and can eat the same thing 3-6 times a day, 7 days a week). I basically make everything in bulk in advance and then get little containers for each meal. my super salds contain: spinach lettuce (high in fiber and just all around good for you) red onions red bell peppers (little high in sugars, but its good to compensate for the lack of carbs I intake) tomatoes broccoli chicken home made vineagrette (1 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2-3/4 cup basalmic vinegar (depends on your taste), 1-2 tbl spoons dijon mustard, fresh cracked pepper, salt to desire. so I have these all ready to go. because of the contents, you digest them quickly, and because of the frequency, it will speed up your metabolism. btw, have tried HIIT work outs? I started mixing them into my BJJ training (HIIT in the morning and then jiu jitsu at night) and its been really fun do-able (making seperate trips to the gym suck when you are pressed for time). I can bang a massive sweat enducing workout out in 15 minutes, and then continue with my day.

 

 

Sounds like a tasty lil' meal, if you have more ideas like that please let me know. And what woud you consider "good proteins"? Don't mean to hijack the thread btw, but I figured that as long as we're going off-topic I might as well jump in and take advantage of it. I'm starting to work out again, I'm not in great shape, and I need to build muscle and endurance, as well as lose some belly fat.

 

Those HITT work outs might be worth a try I guess. I want to see some actual results as soon as possible, but because of my job and family I don't have the time or energy for two huge training sessions a day or anything like that. It'll be more like 2 one-hour sessions at the gym, and then some running/cardio/HITT two other nights.

 

Any input would ne appreciated, thanks in advance. I'm sure there's plenty of websites dedicated to the subject, so if anyone wants to point some out for me I'd appreciate it.

 

Cheers.

[BerkleeBill]

Myself, I have started the Curtis.Fagen 3-month WFH

It's a little more than my body is conditioned for right now, so I'm sticking with it, but not killing myself. We'll see where I'm at after the 12 weeks

[syscrusher]

Sounds like a tasty lil' meal, if you have more ideas like that please let me know. And what woud you consider "good proteins"? Don't mean to hijack the thread btw, but I figured that as long as we're going off-topic I might as well jump in and take advantage of it. I'm starting to work out again, I'm not in great shape, and I need to build muscle and endurance, as well as lose some belly fat. Those HITT work outs might be worth a try I guess. I want to see some actual results as soon as possible, but because of my job and family I don't have the time or energy for two huge training sessions a day or anything like that. It'll be more like 2 one-hour sessions at the gym, and then some running/cardio/HITT two other nights. Any input would ne appreciated, thanks in advance. I'm sure there's plenty of websites dedicated to the subject, so if anyone wants to point some out for me I'd appreciate it. Cheers.

 

 

You could do the HIIT at home with simple dumbbells and jump rope. Curtis.Fagen has a good program going also. Search for his user name.

[thom]

You could do the HIIT at home with simple dumbbells and jump rope. Curtis.Fagen has a good program going also. Search for his user name.

 

 

Thanks for the tip, but apparently the "search members" function isn't working.

[nvranka]

Youre 43.

 

Take it easy man, you're still pretty young, but don't expect to do whatever you want without consequence..those years are over.

 

Lift light, if you feel like it's just "too" light, then do more reps. It's more a matter of getting your body used to exercising in the beginning anyways.

 

Once you do light cardio and light weight workouts for about a month or so, you can start adding 5lb increments and go from there. Just remember there is no rush...and you arent trying to be a body builder or mag model overnight.

 

I am very very built/cut (i am 22 tho..so keep that in mind)...here is my general weekly routine:

 

day1: chest/tri/ab

day2: bi/back/shoulder/ab

day3: rest

day4: chest/tri/ab

day5: bi/back/shoulder/ab

day6: rest

etc.

 

I drink a protein shake every day, 2 scoops, ~60g protein just from the shake+milk. It's important to do this within 30 minutes post workouts, and at any time during your off days, for nice solid muscle gains.

 

No need to go crazy with your diet, just make sure you are eating, but nothing bad. Eat protein oriented foods...chicken/meat etc. You can try the low carb high protein diet, but it takes a lot more planning and may turn you off the whole thing all together.

 

 

The key is to just go there and enjoy yourself. Make goals, and stick to them. Eat right, protein up, and build up your lifting weight in small consistent increments.

 

If you go up 5lb on something and simply cannot finish your sets, then drop 10lb on it and work back up from there over the next few sessions/or weeks.

 

good luck

 

p.s. you probably have noticed my routine includes no leg days and no cardio. This is because I am a team Downhill mountain biker and I get quite a bit of cardio/leg workouts from that...I do cross-train a bit, but for all intensive purposes I go to the gym to get a ripped upperbody. I dont do this for the sport either...I do it for the girls as sad as that is.

[valdiorn]

high rep sets

maybe in the beginning, for the first 2-3 weeks, but otherwise high rep sets are the biggest waste of time you can find. Sure, you can do the exercise 20-30 times, but so what? And your muscles won't actually grow that much (at all), you just develop more stamina... and who the {censored} cares about stamina

[RussAnderson]

mix it up with a week of light high sets in the 12 - 15 range and then the following heavy low rep sets ie 6-10 .Don't sacrifice good form for too heavy always make sure the muscle is being worked proper without throwing the weight aimlessly around. Join a gym use as much variation as you can on the different machines ,mark your goals and keep a log of your progress ie exercise weight sets and reps.Drop sets and supersets are also quite useful for really attacking the muscle esp near the end of your workout .Again u have to read your body correctly and experiment what works for you but for a beginner 3 days a week no more than an 1 hr each workout should be fine.

ps if you don't eat right then you are simply waisting your time going to a gym, good luck working out is awesome i love the challenge .

[syscrusher]

Thanks for the tip, but apparently the "search members" function isn't working.

 

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2647262

[syscrusher]

maybe in the beginning, for the first 2-3 weeks, but otherwise high rep sets are the biggest waste of time you can find. Sure, you can do the exercise 20-30 times, but so what? And your muscles won't actually grow that much (at all), you just develop more stamina... and who the {censored} cares about stamina

Only if you want to bone your girl for more than 3 minutes.