official fitness thread 2024

[-GD-X★ 8,235]

1 minute ago, Twinblade said:

 

Yeah it almost feels like I was unintentionally doing a Keto diet, and I know people have had great results losing weight with that type of diet but I think if you're trying to lift heavy and build an aesthetic physique then thats probably not the way to go.

keto is fine if you have an event coming up in a week or so, and you want to slim down fast. long term, it's garbage. 

[-GD-X★ 8,235]

I trained at a Planet Fitness today (guest pass). I know they get trashed by “the bros”….but it was actually a good experience. Every machine worked and looked new. There were plenty of benches and smith machines available. The dumbbells only hit 70, which is probably the only drawback, but it’s not terrible. I only did the machines to see if I could get a quality workout without dumbbells or barbells. I did lat pull downs, shoulder press, rows, bench press,  reverse flies, tricep extensions, hammer curls. They all allowed for unilateral moves with a neutral grip (easier on shoulders and elbows). I think the only one I didn’t care for was the curl. I just couldn’t get it to feel natural.  The workout was very satisfying, and a lot less draining than a calisthenics or dumbbell routine. As for the people there, I was surprised to see quite a lot of fit individuals there. Some of the women were hot AF. I didn’t see a single person take a selfie, which is refreshing. All in all, I was quite surprised. I will go again to see if I can get a quality leg day in. 

[Long Ball Larry 1,339]

49 minutes ago, -GD-X said:

I trained at a Planet Fitness today (guest pass). I know they get trashed by “the bros”….but it was actually a good experience. Every machine worked and looked new. There were plenty of benches and smith machines available. The dumbbells only hit 70, which is probably the only drawback, but it’s not terrible. I only did the machines to see if I could get a quality workout without dumbbells or barbells. I did lat pull downs, shoulder press, rows, bench press,  reverse flies, tricep extensions, hammer curls. They all allowed for unilateral moves with a neutral grip (easier on shoulders and elbows). I think the only one I didn’t care for was the curl. I just couldn’t get it to feel natural.  The workout was very satisfying, and a lot less draining than a calisthenics or dumbbell routine. As for the people there, I was surprised to see quite a lot of fit individuals there. Some of the women were hot AF. I didn’t see a single person take a selfie, which is refreshing. All in all, I was quite surprised. I will go again to see if I can get a quality leg day in. 

Each location is different. I went to one for a little like 12 years ago. The dumbbells didn’t go over 50 and they only had smith machines (no actually benches). Everything else was nice tho. 
 

they also give free pizza once a month

Edited July 29 by Tears of the Cows

[Twinblade★ 4,185]

1 hour ago, -GD-X said:

I trained at a Planet Fitness today (guest pass). I know they get trashed by “the bros”….but it was actually a good experience. Every machine worked and looked new. There were plenty of benches and smith machines available. The dumbbells only hit 70, which is probably the only drawback, but it’s not terrible. I only did the machines to see if I could get a quality workout without dumbbells or barbells. I did lat pull downs, shoulder press, rows, bench press,  reverse flies, tricep extensions, hammer curls. They all allowed for unilateral moves with a neutral grip (easier on shoulders and elbows). I think the only one I didn’t care for was the curl. I just couldn’t get it to feel natural.  The workout was very satisfying, and a lot less draining than a calisthenics or dumbbell routine. As for the people there, I was surprised to see quite a lot of fit individuals there. Some of the women were hot AF. I didn’t see a single person take a selfie, which is refreshing. All in all, I was quite surprised. I will go again to see if I can get a quality leg day in. 

 
I don’t hate it but my main issues when I tried it were the lack of squat racks (too much of a reliance on smith machines) and also there weren’t many e-z curl bars. It’s still a ok gym for the cost but I prefer LA Fitness.

[Casual 779]

I switched up to mornings a couple months ago. Mostly because I'd been wanting to try out a PPL split thats best as a 6 day routine and although I can usually go on my lunch, sometimes shit comes up and throws it off.  Mornings just make everything about my day more consistent so I'll probably stick with it for a while - we'll see what happens in winter when it's dark and cold at that time, not sure how motivated I'll be to scrape the car off and go to the gym at 630 then.

 

It took me a couple weeks to adjust to working out that early and on an empty stomach but it's actually been really nice, feels good to get it over with that early in the day. It's also far less busy, I haven't had an issue with getting the equipment I need and it's also a lot less humid (lunchtime there in the summer is awful, there's also a window right above the bench section so you're getting cooked while you lift). I also feel a lot more rested overall, it's nice having the 3 days off for each muscle group, feels like I more or less fully recover by the 2nd day each week.

 

Program for anyone interested

 

Monday/Thursday (Legs):

 

Squat 3x5

RDLs 3x12

Leg Press 3x12

Calf raises - 5x20

Leg Curls - 3x12

Leg Extensions - 3x12

 

Tuesday/Friday (Push):

 

Bench Press - 5x5 - I usually throw in a final set on the machine cause it's hard to fail on bench without a spot

Overhead Press - 3x8-12

 

2nd push day I reverse these, so heavier on OHP and more volume on bench

 

Incline Press (been alternating between DB and Smith, not sure which one I like more - I prefer both to barbell though as I feel like I can get closer to failure) - 3x8-12

Cable flys - 3x8-12

Tricep work, whatever I feel like that day - 6 total sets of 15, supersetting with sets of 15-20 lat raises

 

Wednesday/Saturday (Pull):

 

Deadlift - 1x5 (just the one working set but I warm up to it with very gradual increases)

 

2nd pull day I do 5x5 barbell rows instead of deadlifts

 

Pull ups - 3x whatever I can do. I gotta get something for doing weighted pullups

Cable rows - 3x8-12

Bicep work - same concept as triceps, supersetting with facepulls (5x20)

 

 

Edited July 29 by Casual

[-GD-X★ 8,235]

31 minutes ago, Twinblade said:

 
I don’t hate it but my main issues when I tried it were the lack of squat racks (too much of a reliance on smith machines) and also there weren’t many e-z curl bars. It’s still a ok gym for the cost but I prefer LA Fitness.

oh yeah, for those looking to do the big 5 lifts, with barbells,  i would never recommend it.

[Twinblade★ 4,185]

1 minute ago, -GD-X said:

oh yeah, for those looking to do the big 5 lifts, with barbells,  i would never recommend it.

 
I do use smith machines for over head presses. I need the extra stability or my shoulder pain starts getting out of hand.

[-GD-X★ 8,235]

31 minutes ago, Casual said:

I switched up to mornings a couple months ago. Mostly because I'd been wanting to try out a PPL split thats best as a 6 day routine and although I can usually go on my lunch, sometimes shit comes up and throws it off.  Mornings just make everything about my day more consistent so I'll probably stick with it for a while - we'll see what happens in winter when it's dark and cold at that time, not sure how motivated I'll be to scrape the car off and go to the gym at 630 then.

 

It took me a couple weeks to adjust to working out that early and on an empty stomach but it's actually been really nice, feels good to get it over with that early in the day. It's also far less busy, I haven't had an issue with getting the equipment I need and it's also a lot less humid (lunchtime there in the summer is awful, there's also a window right above the bench section so you're getting cooked while you lift). I also feel a lot more rested overall, it's nice having the 3 days off for each muscle group, feels like I more or less fully recover by the 2nd day each week.

 

Program for anyone interested

 

Monday/Thursday (Legs):

 

Squat 3x5

RDLs 3x12

Leg Press 3x12

Calf raises - 5x20

Leg Curls - 3x12

Leg Extensions - 3x12

 

Tuesday/Friday (Push):

 

Bench Press - 5x5 - I usually throw in a final set on the machine cause it's hard to fail on bench without a spot

Overhead Press - 3x8-12

 

2nd push day I reverse these, so heavier on OHP and more volume on bench

 

Incline Press (been alternating between DB and Smith, not sure which one I like more - I prefer both to barbell though as I feel like I can get closer to failure) - 3x8-12

Cable flys - 3x8-12

Tricep work, whatever I feel like that day - 6 total sets of 15, supersetting with sets of 15-20 lat raises

 

Wednesday/Saturday (Pull):

 

Deadlift - 1x5 (just the one working set but I warm up to it with very gradual increases)

 

2nd pull day I do 5x5 barbell rows instead of deadlifts

 

Pull ups - 3x whatever I can do. I gotta get something for doing weighted pullups

Cable rows - 3x8-12

Bicep work - same concept as triceps, supersetting with facepulls (5x20)

 

 

that's nicely balanced. it's similar to a routine i did, back in the mid 2010's. now, i need a good 2-3 days for my nervous system to rest.

[Twinblade★ 4,185]

1 hour ago, -GD-X said:

that's nicely balanced. it's similar to a routine i did, back in the mid 2010's. now, i need a good 2-3 days for my nervous system to rest.

 
I would legit die if I did that much volume for legs  I had a short leg workout yesterday where I did 3 sets of reverse lunges and then 4 sets of barbell squats, and I can already tell I’m gonna be sore as hell for the next 2 days at least

[-GD-X★ 8,235]

Just now, Twinblade said:

 
I would legit die if I did that much volume for legs  I had a short leg workout yesterday where I did 3 sets of reverse lunges and then 4 sets of barbell squats, and I can already tell I’m gonna be sore as hell for the next 2 days at least

i would probably ditch leg press. it's a bit quad heavy. back in the day, i would alternate between lunges and squats (separate days).

[Casual 779]

9 minutes ago, -GD-X said:

i would probably ditch leg press. it's a bit quad heavy. back in the day, i would alternate between lunges and squats (separate days).

yeah if i were to do this id probably meet somewhere in the middle of weight and volume. maybe like 4x8 squats. the reason i like this is cause i get to go heavy on squats and still get volume in with leg press (without having to concentrate as much on form/stabilizing). for the most part i find my quads are plenty recovered by the next time...if anything my knees are the limiting factor, one every few weeks ill have to go a little lighter on them. not sure if that's form. can also probably skip leg extensions.

 

also @Twinblade the last three exercises are all isolated and machine assisted so they're pretty chill all things considered.

Edited July 29 by Casual

[Twinblade★ 4,185]

I almost passed out during a deadlfit PR yesterday. I went just over 2x my bodyweight for a one rep max and the weight itself felt manageable, but once I dropped the bar I became super light headed for a few seconds and thought I was going to faint.

 

I think my breathing technique needs improvement and I should really just get a personal trainer for a bit so I can learn how to deadlift as efficiently as possible with as good of a form as possible.

[-GD-X★ 8,235]

2 hours ago, Twinblade said:

I almost passed out during a deadlfit PR yesterday. I went just over 2x my bodyweight for a one rep max and the weight itself felt manageable, but once I dropped the bar I became super light headed for a few seconds and thought I was going to faint.

 

I think my breathing technique needs improvement and I should really just get a personal trainer for a bit so I can learn how to deadlift as efficiently as possible with as good of a form as possible.

Yeah, breathing technique is everything 

[Cell 619]

On 2024-04-05 at 10:46 PM, Playstation Tablet said:

I play to do a 14 day water fast. Wish me luck.

Isn't this a standard diet in the motherland?

 

 

[-GD-X★ 8,235]

6 minutes ago, Cell said:

Isn't this a standard diet in the motherland?

 

 

Lmfao! 

[-GD-X★ 8,235]

I went to planet fitness 5 times this week. I actually like machines now (mainly the chest press, shoulder press, rows, leg press, hamstring curl  and lat pull down). I ended up getting a membership, since it’s only $25 a month. If I feel like doing dumbbells, I can train at home. I added some cable work for arms, since I don’t really train them (my arms are big because of genetics). 
 

edit: I use each machine, unilaterally, to prevent imbalances. 

[Twinblade★ 4,185]

2 hours ago, -GD-X said:

I went to planet fitness 5 times this week. I actually like machines now (mainly the chest press, shoulder press, rows, leg press, hamstring curl  and lat pull down). I ended up getting a membership, since it’s only $25 a month. If I feel like doing dumbbells, I can train at home. I added some cable work for arms, since I don’t really train them (my arms are big because of genetics). 
 

edit: I use each machine, unilaterally, to prevent imbalances. 

 
Machines are great. Most recently I’ve taken a liking to both chest supported rows (wider grip so I can hit more of my upper back and rear delts) and the lateral raise machine. Both feel very comfortable on my bad shoulder.

 
I wish I had more patience for unilateral work. I know I have imbalances but it feels like I’m just wasting too much time when I only hit one side of my body. Until I can noticeable visible differences between one side and the other in size or definition I don’t think they will be worth it for me.

[-GD-X★ 8,235]

1 minute ago, Twinblade said:

 
Machines are great. Most recently I’ve taken a liking to both chest supported rows (wider grip so I can hit more of my upper back and rear delts) and the lateral raise machine. Both feel very comfortable on my bad shoulder.

 
I wish I had more patience for unilateral work. I know I have imbalances but it feels like I’m just wasting too much time when I only hit one side of my body. Until I can noticeable visible differences between one side and the other I don’t think they will be worth it for me.

That’s fair. I’ve done dumbbell work for so long, that I’m used to the unilateral mindset. 

[Twinblade★ 4,185]

16 hours ago, -GD-X said:

That’s fair. I’ve done dumbbell work for so long, that I’m used to the unilateral mindset. 

 

Right now the only unilateral movement in my routine is behind the back cable shoulder raises. The stretch I get with that one is on another level compared to many other side delt exercises i've tried.

[Twinblade★ 4,185]

So I didn't even remember having done so but I had taken pictures of my body back in January and decided to take some more now, and then do a side by side comparison. Im actually kind of blown away by how much better I look. I don't have a ton more muscle but just losing a bunch of body fat has made a significant difference in my physique. I didn't think I had made that much progress until I saw those january pictures and now im actually kind of disgusted by how I looked then