Back to the gym after 9 years

Kris_90 · 5 Jul 2015 at 12:40

Hi All,

I used to frequent the gym when I was in school but sadly I haven't been for over 9 years and I've got ridiculously lazy - so it's time to make a change

My goals are to generally look good and gain a decent level of fitness.

I'm going to use GordyR's beginners guide as a rough guide and work on:

Monday (Chest/Shoulder/Triceps)
Wednesday (Back/Biceps)
Saturday (Legs/Abs)

The days are not set in stone but I'm planing on going 3 x a week.

My initial plan is to use the machines for 1-2 months until I gained a decent amount of strength then move onto free weights.

Age: 25
Bodyweight: 16.2st (28/07/15)
Height: 6'0"
Bodyfat: Unkown

Any tips appreciated

Bodyweight (in lb's):

226 - 28/06/15
222 - 05/07/15
220 - 12/07/15
219 - 19/07/15
218 - 26/07/15
220 - 02/08/15
218 - 09/08/15
219 - 16/08/15
219 - 23/08/15
217 - 30/08/15
216 - 06/09/15
216 - 13/09/15
215 - 20/09/15
213 - 27/09/15
212 - 04/10/15
211 - 11/10/15
211 - 18/10/15
208 - 25/10/15
207 - 01/11/15
209 - 08/11/15
207 - 15/11/15
206 - 22/11/15
207 - 29/11/15
204 - 06/12/15
204 - 13/12/15
207 - 27/12/15
205 - 03/01/16
204 - 10/01/16
207 - 17/01/16
202 - 24/01/16
202 - 31/01/16
200 - 07/02/16
199 - 14/02/16
197 - 21/02/16
195 - 28/02/16
193 - 06/03/16
194 - 13/03/16
192 - 20/03/16
190 - 28/03/16
189 - 03/04/16
188 - 10/04/16
188 - 17/04/16
186 - 24/04/16
184 - 01/05/16
182 - 08/05/16
181.75 - 15/08/16
178.75 - 22/05/16
178 - 29/05/16
177.75 - 05/06/16 - eating at maintenance for the majority of the week
175.75 - 12/06/16 - eating at maintenance for 5 days and cutting Fri & Sat
174.5 - 19/06/16
173.5 - 26/06/16
171.75 - 03/07-16 - end of cut
172 - 10/07/16
173.5 - 17/07/16
172.5 - 24/07/16
173.5 - 31/07/16

Kris_90 · 5 Jul 2015 at 12:51

05/07/15

I worked on Chest/Shoulder/Triceps this morning. I didn't want to push too hard as I wanted to find the correct weight to train on but it was a bit depressing finding the 'light' weights heavy.

Warm-up - A few stretches and 5 mins on the cross trainer.

Shoulder press 2 x 8 15kg, 1 x 8 25kg
Chest press 3 x 25kg
Tricept press 1x 15kg, 3 x 25kg
Pectorial fly 3 x 35kg

Warm-down - 5 mins on the rowing machine.

I'm not sure if I did enough but my plan was to go and find out what machines/free weights etc the gym has. My shoulders and triceps feel quite sore but my chest feels fine. I assume I need to increase the weight of the chest press or could I double the amount of reps or should I just train my chest with free weights?

Kris_90 · 7 Jul 2015 at 13:22

Leg day today but I woke up with cramp in my calf so I avoided exercises involving my calves which didn't leave a great deal of exercises.

Warm-up - A few stretches and 5 mins on the cross trainer.

Seated leg press 3 x 55kg, 3 x 65kg
Leg curls 3 x 25kg

I didn't have much time this morning but thought it was better than doing nothing at all

akilleazy · 7 Jul 2015 at 17:12

I reckon machines will do for now until your body adapts to lifting again! It will be a few weeks of being very sore after workouts until you adapt! You should notice some pretty good strength gains in the first few months so I wouldn't worry about light weight feeling heavy for very long!

And a tip for cramp, things high in potassium like bananas can help!

Keep up the good work!

GSVBagpuss · 7 Jul 2015 at 22:32

Cramp is also linked to hydration so get chugging that water

mrthingyx · 8 Jul 2015 at 07:25

Bro tip: don't be fooled by lifting with machines. These will make you "strong" when lifting with machines.

Free wwifhts - even light ones - are infinitely better for both mass and practical strength because you have to stabilise the weight and not the machine. This also helps get your nervous system ready for heavy stuff, too.

So ditch the machines for assistance/finishing work only, and head to the free weights for more gains than you could possibly imagine.

MoDe · 8 Jul 2015 at 09:45

mrthingyx said:
better for both mass and practical strength because you have to stabilise the weight

Word.

Don't be scurred.

Kris_90 · 9 Jul 2015 at 20:16

Thanks all for the advice. I'll start incorporating free weights into my routine.

Back and biceps today.

Row/rear deltoid 1 x 25kg, 3 x 35kg
Pulldown 1 x 25kg, 3 x 35kg
I used the resistance machines for my biceps as people were using the dumbbells I needed.

Kris_90 · 13 Jul 2015 at 13:51

Chest/Shoulder/Triceps

Shoulder press 3 x 8 15kg
Chest press 3 x 25kg
Tricept press 3 x 25kg
Pectorial fly 3 x 25kg

Warm-down - 5 mins on the rowing machine.

Kris_90 · 15 Jul 2015 at 13:57

Legs/Abs

Sit-ups
10 mins on the crosstrainer
Seated leg press 3 x 65kg
Leg curls 1 x 25kg 3 x 35kg
Calf extensions 1 x 25kg 3 x 45kg

Kris_90 · 18 Jul 2015 at 09:45

Back/Biceps

11 mins on the cross trainer.

Row/rear deltoid 3 x 35kg (narrow grip) 1 x 35kg (wide grip)
Pulldown 1 x 25kg, 3 x 35kg
Bicep curls 2 x 15kg 1 x 20kg
Bicep resistance machine 3 sets.

Kris_90 · 20 Jul 2015 at 18:38

I only lost 1 pound this week but my diet wasn't too good last week so I'm quite happy with that

Chest/Shoulder/Triceps

Warm-up - 5 mins on the rowing machine.

Shoulder press 1 x 8 15kg, 2 x 8 20kg
Chest press 1x 35kg, 2 x 25kg
Tricept press 3 x 35kg
Pectorial fly 3 x 35kg

Kris_90 · 22 Jul 2015 at 18:40

Legs/Abs

13.5 mins on the crosstrainer (trying to run further/faster everyday)
Sit-ups

Seated leg press 1x65kg, 3 x 85kg
Leg curls 3 x 35kg
Leg extensions 3 x 25kg
Calf extensions 1 x 45kg 3 x 55kg

I felt stronger/fitter this week

mrthingyx · 22 Jul 2015 at 21:30

Dude, you are going to be all kinds of painful when you actually start compound lifts.

:S

Kris_90 · 23 Jul 2015 at 18:53

mrthingyx said:
Dude, you are going to be all kinds of painful when you actually start compound lifts. :S

That may be so but the gym I'm going to has a very small free weights area which consists of dumbbells, a few benches and a bench rack. Squatting and deadlifts are out of the question so I'm not too worried about moving onto free weights.

I use the gym at my local leisure centre which is probably why it's small but I plan on going swimming etc so I think it'll be fine for the next 12 months.

Thanks for the advice though

mrthingyx · 23 Jul 2015 at 19:13

Trust me - you can do all kinds of damage to yourself with dumbells...

Psyoletic · 23 Jul 2015 at 19:18

You was 16? Hardly an age to worry about gym and you're only 25 you're a baby so abuse that body!

I started 7 months with a home gym using only free weights and compared to the folk that use strictly machines in a gym I'm vastly "bigger" and stronger. As above have said use machines as a final or not at all to be honest. Just look at what builders achieved back in the day when all they had was barbells, dumbbells and a ton of free weights.

Good luck man!

spoffle · 23 Jul 2015 at 19:47

Psyoletic said:
You was 16? Hardly an age to worry about gym and you're only 25 you're a baby so abuse that body!

I started 7 months with a home gym using only free weights and compared to the folk that use strictly machines in a gym I'm vastly "bigger" and stronger.

Good luck man!

I can see where you're coming from, but that really isn't a valid comparison, some people don't grow much even if they are using free weights, for example.

Kris_90 · 25 Jul 2015 at 09:35

Thanks for the advice, I'll start incorporating free weights in a couple of weeks.

Back/Biceps

12 mins on the cross trainer.

Row/rear deltoid 3 x 35kg (narrow grip) 2 x 25kg (wide grip)
Pulldown 1 x 35kg, 3 x 45kg
Bicep curls 1 x 15kg 3 x 17.5kg

Kris_90 · 27 Jul 2015 at 13:40

Chest/Shoulder/Triceps

Warm-up - 5 minutes on the cross trainer.

Chest press 3 x 35kg
Pectorial fly 3 x 35kg
Tricep press 3 x 35kg
Shoulder press 1 x 8 20kg, 2 x 8 15kg