I just joined a gym now what? - Page 8

would never folllow anything that someone with a neck tattoo says

Muscle-ups look fun. Tried them today but cannot do them for the life of me. Maybe I'm not using enough momentum, because I could do ~12 pull ups np.

12 pull ups is bare minimum for attempting muscle up. from there on you have to work on technique. Gotta get good at L-sits and Dips as well. Start practicing weighted pull ups or harder variations.

Join GTA is better :>

I'm sore every morning. I workout about 5 times a week. Is that okay? Or does soreness mean that I need more time to recover. Would supplements help? I do split workouts chest/tricep, back/bicep, shoulders/legs.

Replaced leg press with lunge variations and step ups.

Added kettlebell clean's to my shoulder/leg day.

Started doing weighted pull ups and L-sits.

Using step master at the end of my workouts. I seem to get a high off it and it's fun.

Still need to try deadlift again. With trap bar like you guys suggested.


Finally seeing progress in my lifts. 180 bench 4x4 (with bar), 45 dumbbells overhead press 3x8, weighted pull ups 3x6 25lbs.

Although, I feel like my diet is still holding me back. Must eat more. I'm 176 6'3 now. Gained 6 pounds in the past 6 months. Slow progress. I'm going through a 1kg tub of raw almonds each week.

On December 24 2018 20:06 k4ir0s wrote: I'm sore every morning. I workout about 5 times a week. Is that okay? Or does soreness mean that I need more time to recover. Would supplements help? I do split workouts chest/tricep, back/bicep, shoulders/legs. Replaced leg press with lunge variations and step ups. Added kettlebell clean's to my shoulder/leg day. Started doing weighted pull ups and L-sits. Using step master at the end of my workouts. I seem to get a high off it and it's fun. Still need to try deadlift again. With trap bar like you guys suggested. Finally seeing progress in my lifts. 180 bench 4x4 (with bar), 45 dumbbells overhead press 3x8, weighted pull ups 3x6 25lbs. Although, I feel like my diet is still holding me back. Must eat more. I'm 176 6'3 now. Gained 6 pounds in the past 6 months. Slow progress. I'm going through a 1kg tub of raw almonds each week.

Soreness doesn't necessarily mean you are working out too much and it also doesn't mean that you had a good workout. I've worked out everyday and was sore everyday. I've worked out 3x a week and was mostly sore specifically after a tough leg day. But, something like walking lunges will make one sore more than say a 1 arm dumbbell row. I was always a proponent of eating well, getting enough rest, and taking some form of ZMA (mostly for a pure form of magnesium). Now, I have overdone it. Especially on a split like your on. It's more so how you feel in the gym after warming up. Sometimes I have just hit patches of less motivation or less gusto. That has been a byproduct of overtraining in the different forms that takes. It's why it's important to get a good program going. On another hand I think this overtraining thing can get in people's heads. But, for whatever reason there are times you just aren't FEELIN' it in there ya know? What comes to mind though is some advice from Jocko Willink that I tend to agree with. If you aren't feeling it and have something scheduled for that day do that workout and take the next day off. Or, if you have warmed up and you feel like shit finish that workout and take the next day off. There are also different things you can do for recovery if you want to take it to that level: Cold showers/baths, contrast showers/baths, GPP (General Physical Preparedness).

Nice on the transition away from the leg press. Joe Defranco said the only use a leg press machine has is to try and squat it.

I like the addition of the kettlebell clean. It fits in nicely for a leg/shoulder day. Make sure you have the form down as it is definitely a complex movement.

Weighted pull ups and L-sits are two of the best movements around. Bad ass.

Yeah, I've been known to like some cardio at the end of training. Step up machine is actually a great glute movement especially if you pay extra attention to activate and squeeze like a bodybuilder. Ronnie Coleman utilized this strategy. So, you can be an obsessive bodybuilder or not the step up machine is still a great movement. However, you are trying to gain weight so be careful with how much cardio you are doing. If you are serious about gaining weight you shouldn't be doing any.

YES, YOU NEED TO DEADLIFT!

Lifts look good but you need a squat and a deadlift.

1 kg of almonds seems like a lot! You only need a handful a day (every day) to see health benefits and there is no more benefit to eating more nuts in a day. You are utilizing a protein powder right? Today, I will only advocate for a vegan diet but at the end of the day it's all about the calories and macros when it comes to gaining weight. I don't want to simplify it that much because I want to care about the anthocyanin and a variety of nutrients. With that said, I use to just buy bulk chicken and potatoes and eat that for every meal. That is not healthy or desirable but that's how I did it. No junk food. if I were looking to gain mass today my diet would be different but not that much different. I would probably cook up bulk portions of lentils and potatoes and rice. Think Indian and Thai curries. Anyways, I have to go.

^ Great advice. Thanks.

I never warm up before working out. Maybe that's the issue? I do remember reading a thread on here where many people agreed that stretching has no benefits. I suppose I could do a light set to warm up.

Glad you recommended switching away from leg press. I'm feeling the lunge variations and step ups so much more in my legs.

The main issue is that I'm simply not eating enough. I'm not using supplements or protein powder. I'm lactose intolerant so whey protein gives me stomach aches. I used to take vegan protein powder (derived from brown rice I think), but it's overpriced. I think I hit my protein requirements without protein powder. It's why I eat so much almonds-- easy protein. I eat a few mcdoubles every other day and always feel like shit afterwards, but it's quick & easy calories after the gym.

Farmer's walk -- yay or nay? I tried it a few times because I want to include an exercise that improves posture. May add it to Back day.


My current plan: (Still want to add deadlift. May add it to Back day and remove hyperextension and curls, since that day will become intense.)


Back/Bicep: Weighted Chin-Ups, Pull-Downs, Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows, Hyperextension, then curls if I'm in the mood.


Chest/Tricep: Barbell Chest Press, Incline Dumbbell Press, Dips, Tricep Extension.


Shoulder/Legs: Reverse and Forward Lunges, Step-ups, Kettlebell Clean, Overhead Dumbbell Press, Lateral Raises, Pull Ups

Not warming up is not the issue if by issue you mean soreness. There are a lot of interpretations of "warming up" and I definitely don't mean static stretching besides stretching the hip flexors. In your type of split it may just mean adding in some sets to get some blood to the muscles and the movement in groove. Read up on it a little bit and find something reasonable that you are actually going to do.

"I eat a few mcdoubles every other day and always feel like shit afterwards, but it's quick and easy calories after the gym" ... smh

Why not bring a shake with you if you are that concerned or just have a shake when you get home?

Oatly Oat Milk and Organic Plant Protein. Have some raisins or some bananas with the shake. Get your pre, peri, and post nutrition game on lock. Get a good breakfast down pat. Don't ever eat McDonald's for fuck's sake.

I am a big fan of farmer's walks. I would do them on shoulder and leg day but make sure to rest before pulling as it will effect grip. Doing them on back day would work too.

I am a fan of adding deadlifts to back day. I would drop the pull ups from leg/shoulder day. Depending on how easy pull ups are I would replace pull-downs with pull ups if you could do 2 or 3 sets for 10-12 or just drop pull-downs all together. If you eat enough which may have to be 4, 5, 6, 7 meals in a day you should be growing nicely on this split. Make sure to switch up the movements every 4 weeks or so. So, for example, change the weighted chins to weighted pull ups, 1 arm db row to a bb row, trap bar deadlifts at different heights.

Get after it!

At last, I weighed 180 yesterday. I gained about 8 pounds since my goal to gain weight 8 months ago. Little did I expect, my appetite steadily grew and now I'm able to consume 3k+ calories without much force. It's obviously a slow bulk. Slow, steady and healthy. And I'm going to keep gaining until I weigh at least ~185 on an empty stomach.

I'm disappointed by my bench press. It's definitely one of my weaker lifts and I haven't been progressing. I'm only lifting 165 (with bar) 5x5. My form probably needs work. I added incline dumbbell to my routine a little while ago. Hopefully that will help me progress.

Also struggling with dips and showing little progression there. 5x5 bodyweight dips are still fairly challenging for me.


Shoulders seem to be one of my strongest points. I am always seeing progress with my shoulder exercises.

Slow, steady and healthy is the way to go.

I wouldn't be so discouraged. I think people expect a big bench more than anything. Especially if you have small joints and long arms it can be a challenge. Kevin Durant could not even bench press 185 lbs. in his NBA combine test. Whereas I have a friend with those running from lions West African genes (Whatever that means !?!?!?!?) who was All-State in American Football. He could not lift for 6 months roll out of bed and throw 2 (45lb) plates on each side and just start repping it out for 3 sets of 12. He'd throw on some 25 lb. plates by the next week with out much of a sweat and be up to 315+ lbs. for reps in no time.

If you want a large chest investigate what Arnold Schwarzenegger does. If you want a bigger bench investigate what the powerlifters do. The sticking point in the bench press is typically the triceps. Investigate some triceps movements. This will also help you with your dips. Remember you will never see great gains in your dips as you gain weight. It is like bench pressing a growing cow. You ARE continually getting stronger but I know it is tough to just be putting in your all and grinding it out just to achieve the "same" results.

Good. Shoulders are important. I don't think it's a good thing to have "retarded" shoulders or anything like that but they are one of those areas that show pretty well. You gotta at least have a bit of a shoulder cap and the "real men" have the "cantaloupe" delts.

--- Nuked ---

On December 24 2018 20:06 k4ir0s wrote: I'm sore every morning. I workout about 5 times a week. Is that okay? Or does soreness mean that I need more time to recover. Would supplements help? I do split workouts chest/tricep, back/bicep, shoulders/legs. Replaced leg press with lunge variations and step ups. Added kettlebell clean's to my shoulder/leg day. Started doing weighted pull ups and L-sits. Using step master at the end of my workouts. I seem to get a high off it and it's fun. Still need to try deadlift again. With trap bar like you guys suggested. Finally seeing progress in my lifts. 180 bench 4x4 (with bar), 45 dumbbells overhead press 3x8, weighted pull ups 3x6 25lbs. Although, I feel like my diet is still holding me back. Must eat more. I'm 176 6'3 now. Gained 6 pounds in the past 6 months. Slow progress. I'm going through a 1kg tub of raw almonds each week.

fwiw i am far from an expert on this matter and mainly just talking through personal experience but I use to think not being sore the next day = not working hard enough. I don't think that's the case anymore. From what I've learned, optimizing recovery is much more important. I have started going into the sauna after lifting for at least 30 mins and sometimes up to an hour. Every time I do this the soreness and inflammation is way less the next day. Although I have never tried any of these other recovery methods, I would imagine doing things like cryotherapy or perhaps massage therapy would help a lot as well.

Sounds like you're crushing it as far as your work ethic though. That is the biggest battle to making gainz imo. 5x a week is awesome. Diet I'm sure is a hugely important factor too. This is probably my biggest leak in improving my lifts. One of these days, I will post in this thread exactly what I'm doing in the weight room because I would like to hear opinions from a lot of you guys that are way more knowledgeable than me

Got the flu earlier this month, lost 6-8 pounds in 2 weeks. GG gains. Took me ~5 months to gain that weight.

I thought the loss would be mostly fat and water loss, but my strength is not where it used to be.

Still going to the gym 5 times a week, but that's the easy part. It's the diet that's difficult. I should be eating 3500+ calories. You know how much food that is? One chicken breast is 180 calories. I eat high calorie snack like: nuts, peanut butter, dark chocolate, but I'm still not making the calorie goal and wasting time in the gym.

GFs talented photographer friend needed people to refresh her portfolio and I volunteered. Will get everything from work pics, fitness pics and boudoir pics with GF. The shoot is in a few weeks! The pressure! I have no six pack, but I'm hoping the rest of my body will be fitness photo worthy.

I think it's in your head. The 6-8 lbs. probably mostly was water weight and if you were relatively fasted during that period than yeah some fat and muscle too. I would bet that you should regain strength pretty quickly. Are you mixing up your workouts every 3-4 weeks?

I mean standard is to just gorge yourself on chicken and brown rice. Modify that depending on how serious you are. I am sure there is a video on it. You might just have to eat 4, 5, 6 times a day.

if you having a hard time eating 3500kcal, just eat your protein daily goal and then eat whatever you want like pizza
carbs are extremely easy to eat a lot, fat not so much

if your goals are mostly aesthetics you dont need to go full retard with healthy food

about training: keep it simple and consistent, avoid all these new age bullshit that tell you to jump boxes and roll on the floor like a dog, this will get you nowhere other than being good at jumping boxes and rolling on the floor like a dog
do a simple push pull legs, twice a week, try to increase weight every week without compromising form ( you better do some research on form because 98% of people in my gym are doing shit )

"carbs are extremely easy to eat a lot, fat not so much"

lol. you could easily drink 2000 calories of oil; try to eat 2000 calories of potatoes.

On April 25 2019 06:20 Loco wrote: try to eat 2000 calories of potatoes.

challenge accepted

On April 25 2019 02:28 drone666 wrote: if you having a hard time eating 3500kcal, just eat your protein daily goal and then eat whatever you want like pizza carbs are extremely easy to eat a lot, fat not so much if your goals are mostly aesthetics you dont need to go full retard with healthy food about training: keep it simple and consistent, avoid all these new age bullshit that tell you to jump boxes and roll on the floor like a dog, this will get you nowhere other than being good at jumping boxes and rolling on the floor like a dog do a simple push pull legs, twice a week, try to increase weight every week without compromising form ( you better do some research on form because 98% of people in my gym are doing shit )

Actually, having your food on point is super important for aesthetics

Box jumps aren't new age. Been around forever. I use box jumps kind of as a warmup-activation or at the end of a lift. Can't say for sure since I did other stuff, but I'm pretty positive it helped my vertical in basketball

no need to be on point and usually is not GTO to try a perfect diet, it becomes very difficult to keep going, you end giving up in middle and going back to ice cream and burgers

so a more flexible diet is usually GTO because is easier to stick to

and in general if you are not a fitness model trying to get under 8% BF or a bodybuilder, you def dont need to be very strict, consistency, and self evaluation ( dont know if this is the term lol ) to see if you are getting results and how you body is reacting are the most important things

this is a 8 month transformation and tbh I didnt even go hardcore, I did Ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting for about 3 months and doing again now, but I was cheating on the diet every 2-3 weeks, supposed to go 5 days a week to gym but probably averaged 4.5

fwiw I have very bad genetics to be lean, I always been somewhat fat and had never seen my abs before

went from 82kg to 68kg at my leanest but my face looked like a zombie, now im clean bulking slowly

+ Show Spoiler +

it was pretty easy to eat in a caloric deficit with Keto ( high fat and very low carbs ) I always felt full after my 2 meals and didn't have much cravings, whenever I go back to eating a normal diet is hell to not overeat because carbs are sooo easy to eat

It is easy to overeat pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, burger and fries, icecream, mac and cheese, sweet tea, coca cola, nachos, chips and guacamole due to the high density nature of the food and the interest the brain eats it up.

The other day I tried to eat a plate of slow cooked potatoes and I couldn't do it. The same can be said for pumpkin oatmeal with walnuts and blueberries. The same can be said for rice and beans (gallo pinto).

The Keto diet is gross to me. I lost 40+ lbs. on it but my cholesterol was so high my doctor was like "wtf are you doing mate^^??" Going back to like eggs and bacon in shit tons of butter, PUTTING BUTTER IN MY COFFEE, and chicken and broccoli ad infinitum - the idea makes me want to vomit. Another problem with keto is there is no exit strategy. I slowly put the weight back on (but actually not that slow). I moved to the south and ate golden delicious fried foods and drowned myself in sweet teas and the lbs. came back on pretty quick actually. I would eat vegan (or vegetarian) and lose some weight and stop eating vegan and gain weight back. I am almost back at that original weight before keto and was at that weight over the summer (210 lbs.) although last summer I was lifting heavy so probably not as fat.

It's not a mystery what the ideal way to eat is: Whole food plant based diet. I just find eating that way difficult (so maybe it isn't ideal for me). Although, my eating problem these days goes deeper than just self-control. It is similar to my drinking. I obsess about food and then I'll grab one handful of gummy bears and it's over. I'm off to the races. I don't need any of these calories it just happens again and again.