***The 2021 Gym Rats Thread*** ᕦ( ͠°◞ °)ᕥ

[Somnambulist]

It's a bit dated by if you go on EXRX they have gifs of basically every exercise for a body part using a barbell, dumbbell or machines. Obviously gyms will have different brands and slightly different ways of adjustment but they all tend to look the same for a given function so if gives you an idea of what does what:

Back
Shoulders
Arms
Chest
Glutes/hips
Upper legs
Abs
Calves

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Warm and humid today, not used to that! Happy to hit 128kg 5x5 bench.

Weight gain has slowed the last couple of months. Not sure why, I’m eating more than ever. I did have a couple of weeks when I lost my appetite, but not sure what’s going on since then. Would love to hit 95kg by the end it the year, but I’m off track now.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Anyone had their Covid jab then gym’d straight after? That’s my plan next Friday. Get a session in before the symptoms hit

 

[bakes0310]

Anyone had their Covid jab then gym’d straight after? That’s my plan next Friday. Get a session in before the symptoms hit

Good idea I recommend doing some OHP or some heavy squats, don't bother the fail rails.

 

[ShortWarning]

Anyone had their Covid jab then gym’d straight after? That’s my plan next Friday. Get a session in before the symptoms hit

I had my second about 6 hours before hitting the gym. Had no issues.

Some people really suffer but not normally until the middle of the night/next day it seems.

 

[BriT]

Is it normal never to get DOMS anymore? Pushing myself but feel fine next day. Am eating right so could be that?

 

[uncle_rufus]

Not pushing enough

Seriously though I have no idea, I think you probably want to feel it at least a bit though even if it isn't cripplingly bad, for me usually not the next day but the one after I can at least feel a little tightness etc. maybe slightly sore

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Is it normal never to get DOMS anymore? Pushing myself but feel fine next day. Am eating right so could be that?

Body gets used to it, I rarely get much in the way of DOMS anymore unless I take time off from the gym and then restart.

 

[Somnambulist]

Depends how new to lifting you are.

After a few months of training consistently: you shouldn’t ever get the kind of DOMS you feel after your first ever leg day or when you’ve taken weeks off from training unless you’re doing some totally new movement that hits something that’s been neglected up to that point. However, some minor residual soreness the day(s) after is probably an indicator of training hard enough and you should almost certainly feel fatigue build up over a training block to the point where you know it’s time for a deload week or week off to dissipate said fatigue and start a new cycle fresh (unless you follow a program where deloads are built into each block). You can’t make progress session to session or week to week if you’re not recovered from the last one, so there’s little utility in destroying yourself every time you go in the gym. Need to work hard enough, but not harder than is necessary.

If you’re new: basically anything works for a while training-wise and it doesn’t take a lot of stimulus to encourage adaptations, and since most beginner programs tend to be pretty low volume and the weights in an absolute sense tend to be lower, you don’t tend to get that much fatigue build up - nor do you need to till noob gains dry up.

 

[mrthingyx]

Is it normal never to get DOMS anymore? Pushing myself but feel fine next day. Am eating right so could be that?

As Somnambulist points out, adaptation happens.

Try changing the routine a little (normally drop the weight, and increase reps and volume) and you'll soon find out what you think you were missing.

Or just try deficit Bulgarian Split Squats for 8-10 reps... Potentially with a dumbell you can comfortably curl.

 

[B&W]

I do love working out my arms in front of the mirror with heavy weights at the gym.

Then you think yeah all this hard work is paying off.

On another issue I saw a young lad curling 10kg barbell today, I think some of these people are going too far with the form has to be perfect...

I think you need to push and hurt yourself a bit more...

 

[BriT]

I'm currently just doing compound exercises 3 sets of 8. I try to go failure on every set.

 

[Skiprat]

Folks after a bit of advice. I’ve got a trial session at a local gym and was planning on cycling there - about 15 mins away I think. I was thinking I might tie in a small ride before/after depending on mood, nothing hard just spin the legs out. Anyhow, would it be considered odd if I just wear my cycling bibshorts during the gym session (Crossfit/weights). I’ll take T-shirt and trainers and just swap with cycling jersey/shoes.

 

[B&W]

I'm drinking too many protein shakes around 4-5 a day, it helps with hitting my protein targets and staying in a deficit (sometimes it's just maintenance tbh..).

But I think real food is more satiating so I am going to order an air fryer. What's some quick meal ideas that I can make and then take to work for say 2 meals.

I've also got some low fat low sugar Greek yogurt what meals can I make with this?

 

[B&W]

Folks after a bit of advice. I’ve got a trial session at a local gym and was planning on cycling there - about 15 mins away I think. I was thinking I might tie in a small ride before/after depending on mood, nothing hard just spin the legs out. Anyhow, would it be considered odd if I just wear my cycling bibshorts during the gym session (Crossfit/weights). I’ll take T-shirt and trainers and just swap with cycling jersey/shoes.

It might be uncomfortable. But wear what you want as long as it's comfy, who cares how it looks to others.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

I do love working out my arms in front of the mirror with heavy weights at the gym.

Then you think yeah all this hard work is paying off.

On another issue I saw a young lad curling 10kg barbell today, I think some of these people are going too far with the form has to be perfect...

I think you need to push and hurt yourself a bit more...

There’s almost a certain learnt technique that comes with experience as to how far you can push your form and which movements you can do it safely for. If I went for 100% perfection every time I’d never progress. That said, I’ve seen some horrific form that goes too far the other way.

Had one of my worst back workouts on Friday, absolutely shattered from work. Yet the rest of the week set bench, OHP and squat pbs. My squat is finally catching my deadlift. Strongest and heaviest I’ve ever been - slowly progressing gains, but happy to keep moving forward week on week.

 

[B&W]

Yeah makes sense. I think the main 3 compounds form should be quite strict otherwise you will injure yourself. With accessories it don't have to be that strict.

 

[Somnambulist]

I'm drinking too many protein shakes around 4-5 a day, it helps with hitting my protein targets and staying in a deficit (sometimes it's just maintenance tbh..).

But I think real food is more satiating so I am going to order an air fryer. What's some quick meal ideas that I can make and then take to work for say 2 meals.

I've also got some low fat low sugar Greek yogurt what meals can I make with this?

Buy some of the High Protein Handbook PDFs. My defaults for work food is usually massive salads + lean protein source when dieting, plus various seasonings or low-calorie condiments (a lot of chilli sauces are pretty harmless)... between eating whole foods and lower calories there's only so much you can eat without it being poverty rations, it's just how you jazz it up. I can then add more/less fruit/bread/cous cous/pasta etc depending on if I'm dieting or not. Usually save vegetables both green and starchy for dinner at home. Proats (protein porridge) or Quark/skyr w/MyProtein FlavDrops plus some low-calorie fruit like blueberries. For Greek yoghurt you could just chuck some protein powder and berries in.

 

[FishPolice]

It's a bit dated by if you go on EXRX they have gifs of basically every exercise for a body part using a barbell, dumbbell or machines. Obviously gyms will have different brands and slightly different ways of adjustment but they all tend to look the same for a given function so if gives you an idea of what does what:

Back
Shoulders
Arms
Chest
Glutes/hips
Upper legs
Abs
Calves

That's a useful site. Thanks for posting this

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Arm day evening before Pfizer. Probably a terrible idea.