Weight Lifting

[Jones28]

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Stay away from 1 rep max unless you’re going for power lifting stuff.

1 rep max is for ego otherwise. Better 3 sets for 10-12 reps at 80-90kg

Not done a test for a while - do you never do testing sessions so you can see where you are?

I find it useful - especially as lots of programmes I’ve come across use % of 1RM as their weights instead of specific weights.

[Jones28]

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95kg bench is impressive, especially given it's above body weight.

I've been on my upper / lower and 2 x football routine for 7 weeks now and I'm having to take a rest / deload week this week as I am absolutely shot. I'm then on holiday next week, so that should be a nice recovery time.

I probably won't be able to keep it up once I get back, so I need to have a think and see what I want to do moving forward. Probably 3x a week, but the easiest time for me to go is a Monday night, Friday night and Saturday morning, which isn't really ideal.

Going to drop the barbell squats and try and just do them on either smith or hack machine, I can get much deeper that way.

Will probably try and focus a bit more on the upper as even though I'm squatting 120 and leg pressing 240, my bench is only around 45-50kg! Would like to try and really move that up.

Cheers, its my favourite exercise in the gym, always feel good after a bench session and rarely feel as good after squatting or deadlifts.

TBH if I could get away with it I wouldn't do either but with limited kit for legs and back work they're unavoidable.

You've done really well to stick with what you were doing for so long. It sounds very tough.

Re your bench, what reps and sets are you doing for that weight? If you're going for 10 reps at 3 or 4 sets then you could try upping the weight incrementally for fewer reps but maybe trying 6-8 reps for 4 or 5 sets? It's a good middle ground of keeping the volume up but spreading it over a couple more sets.

Don't be afraid to use the small plates - 1.25/1/.5 kg plates are there for a reason, an incremental increase of a single kg is still an increase.

[Onceinawhile]

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Cheers, its my favourite exercise in the gym, always feel good after a bench session and rarely feel as good after squatting or deadlifts.

TBH if I could get away with it I wouldn't do either but with limited kit for legs and back work they're unavoidable.

You've done really well to stick with what you were doing for so long. It sounds very tough.

Re your bench, what reps and sets are you doing for that weight? If you're going for 10 reps at 3 or 4 sets then you could try upping the weight incrementally for fewer reps but maybe trying 6-8 reps for 4 or 5 sets? It's a good middle ground of keeping the volume up but spreading it over a couple more sets.

Don't be afraid to use the small plates - 1.25/1/.5 kg plates are there for a reason, an incremental increase of a single kg is still an increase.

I've mostly been doing 3 sets of 8. Although, I don't really enjoy it too much as an exercise so that probably helps explain it.

Going to move onto doing 5x5x5 up until the end of June doing weights every second day and cardio twice a week.

Not quite going for a recomp, but hoping to lose some fat and gain some muscle and get in a good shape for the summer holidays.

[Jones28]

Does anyone follow Dorian Yates on Youtube? He's got some brilliant tips, keeping things short and intense, training 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes.

Real Mike Mentzer style stuff. Some of his stuff on Youtube is well worth watching too.

[HarpOnHibee]

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Does anyone follow Dorian Yates on Youtube? He's got some brilliant tips, keeping things short and intense, training 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes.

Real Mike Mentzer style stuff. Some of his stuff on Youtube is well worth watching too.

I don't follow him. But sounds like he's recommending super sets? They can be a great time saver, but are usually more suited for advanced lifters. My workouts generally take 60-80 minutes on average, but I require a decent amount of recovery time between sets or I end up with strains that can keep me out for weeks.

[MagicSwirlingShip]

Dorian Yates and Mike Mentzer are all about super low volume. Makes sense for them seeing as they are lifting rediculously heavy weights, often beyond failure with intensity techniques. Might work for competing bodybuilders but that’s not really what I’m after

[HarpOnHibee]

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Dorian Yates and Mike Mentzer are all about super low volume. Makes sense for them seeing as they are lifting rediculously heavy weights, often beyond failure with intensity techniques. Might work for competing bodybuilders but that’s not really what I’m after

It certainly works well for "enhanced" lifters who can recover at unnatural speeds. For the more natural lifters among us it's generally better to go at a slower pace, focusing on great form and prioritizing adequate recovery time between work outs. That's not to say that you should be spending hours on end at the gym. But sticking to moderately heavy weights that are challenging, but allow you to perform 5-12 reps with proper form per set and giving yourself a good 2-3 minutes between sets is generally a good idea. Good nutritional and sleep habits during recovery are pivotal also.

[Jones28]

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I don't follow him. But sounds like he's recommending super sets? They can be a great time saver, but are usually more suited for advanced lifters. My workouts generally take 60-80 minutes on average, but I require a decent amount of recovery time between sets or I end up with strains that can keep me out for weeks.

I don't think supersets are what either are advocating, they both argue, in slightly different ways, that over training is what leads to slower recovery and injury.

Mentzer would train, say, chest on a Monday. He would do a single set to muscular failure, then do partials or myo-reps to failure. He wouldn't go back to chest again until the following Monday.

Yates does similar, with more in the way of warm up sets, but then its a single, all out working set to failure then to partials, then failure again.

I suppose a summary would be their efficiency of work out. Now, they're body builders, I most definitely am not, but I'm not training for athletic performance. So I want to take my muscles to failure in the quickest way. Muscular failure + optimum recovery = growth.

For someone like yourself who is spending an hour plus in the gym it could be ideal to cut that time down.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Just started going to the gym again for the first time in about a decade.

I’ve always been lucky that I’m naturally fit, I run, play football etc, but it’s been a real eye opener how much strength I’ve lost when it comes to lifting in the decade I’ve not been. Have went from dumbbell chest press of about 26kg to 16kg and curls with 12kg dumbbells rather than 16kg. Massive drops

[Hibs4185]

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Does anyone follow Dorian Yates on Youtube? He's got some brilliant tips, keeping things short and intense, training 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes.

Real Mike Mentzer style stuff. Some of his stuff on Youtube is well worth watching too.

I watch some of his stuff. It’s a principle he’s sworn by for years. All blood and thunder type training. 45 mins in and out, no messing around.

Essentially rest and recovery is really important.

Not for everyone because it’s fairly brutal but it works for him.

If your smashing as much gear as these guys then you can pretty do what toi want and still grow .

[Hibs4185]

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Just started going to the gym again for the first time in about a decade.

I’ve always been lucky that I’m naturally fit, I run, play football etc, but it’s been a real eye opener how much strength I’ve lost when it comes to lifting in the decade I’ve not been. Have went from dumbbell chest press of about 26kg to 16kg and curls with 12kg dumbbells rather than 16kg. Massive drops

I don’t take it but TRT can be a game changer for some guys! Follow dr max draper on instagram, he’s a TRT specialist

[HarpOnHibee]

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I don’t take it but TRT can be a game changer for some guys! Follow dr max draper on instagram, he’s a TRT specialist

Certainly if needed due to naturally low t levels. But it's perfectly reasonable to lose weight lifting strength when it hasn't been done in a good while, even if keeping physically active in other ways. Sometimes it can simply be down to a loss of overall body mass from more cardio orientated exercises and they may just need to consume more calories to put on a bit more body weight in order to get back to lifting those heavier weights.

[Jones28]

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I watch some of his stuff. It’s a principle he’s sworn by for years. All blood and thunder type training. 45 mins in and out, no messing around.

Essentially rest and recovery is really important.

Not for everyone because it’s fairly brutal but it works for him.

If your smashing as much gear as these guys then you can pretty do what toi want and still grow .

That’s a fair point on the steroid use tbf.

I did deadlifts last night and feel mining already this morning. Usually takes a couple of days to hit but not today.

[Onceinawhile]

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I don’t take it but TRT can be a game changer for some guys! Follow dr max draper on instagram, he’s a TRT specialist

You can essentially get TRT gels from online pharmacists with very little effort these days. I've no idea if gels actually help though - tbh, I've always thought that steroids needed injecting!

[Hibs4185]

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You can essentially get TRT gels from online pharmacists with very little effort these days. I've no idea if gels actually help though - tbh, I've always thought that steroids needed injecting!

I’m a natural lifter so never taken anything but been around gyms and bodybuilders for years so I know bits and pieces!

You can get oral steroids but some can be toxic on your kidneys etc. Can’t remember why, something to do with having to be digested twice whereas injections go straight into your blood.

TRT is called TEST E I think and is predominantly injectable. You might get orals not 100% sure. Not sure about the gels.

In a couple of years, I’d be tempted to try TRT to be honest. Seems to lots of positive benefits for over 40’s

[HarpOnHibee]

The fundamental problem with anabolic steroids is that they cause enlargement of all muscles, including the heart. You hear of teenagers and 20 somethings hopping on the gear early and dying of heart failure by their early 30s.

Social media has played a major role in this problem in more recent years with body builders on social media getting sponsorship deals to sell snake oil products while being under pressure to achieve and maintain gains that would be unrealistically obtainable naturally. All to give the misleading impression that it's the product that they're selling that is responsible for those gains and not the unconscionable amount of steroids that they're taking instead.

[Hibs4185]

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The fundamental problem with anabolic steroids is that they cause enlargement of all muscles, including the heart. You hear of teenagers and 20 somethings hopping on the gear early and dying of heart failure by their early 30s.

Social media has played a major role in this problem in more recent years with body builders on social media getting sponsorship deals to sell snake oil products while being under pressure to achieve and maintain gains that would be unrealistically obtainable naturally. All to give the misleading impression that it's the product that they're selling that is responsible for those gains and not the unconscionable amount of steroids that they're taking instead.

I agree to a certain extent but bodybuilders are far more educated nowadays with blood work and a better understanding of their bodies and steroids.

If you look at guys like vigorous Steve and Dean St Martin on instagram they are pretty healthy without the side effects.

Back in the day it was just listening to ‘Big Dave down the gym’, however there is a lot of info out there and the steroids are better understood now. They are more or less the same for the last 20-30 years.

Steroids can be done relatively safely if you have the right guidance and do enough research.

Still wouldn’t do it myself but I will do TRT if I feel I need it but through a well respected clinic and clinician.

All the famous ‘educators’ say you should max out your natural abilities for 5-6 years in the gym before making any decision. They if you do decide to jump on then you have a solid foundation and can add minimal amounts for maximum effect.

The guys who train for a month or two then jump on with little experience and no guidance are crazy

[HarpOnHibee]

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I agree to a certain extent but bodybuilders are far more educated nowadays with blood work and a better understanding of their bodies and steroids.

If you look at guys like vigorous Steve and Dean St Martin on instagram they are pretty healthy without the side effects.

Back in the day it was just listening to ‘Big Dave down the gym’, however there is a lot of info out there and the steroids are better understood now. They are more or less the same for the last 20-30 years.

Steroids can be done relatively safely if you have the right guidance and do enough research.

Still wouldn’t do it myself but I will do TRT if I feel I need it but through a well respected clinic and clinician.

All the famous ‘educators’ say you should max out your natural abilities for 5-6 years in the gym before making any decision. They if you do decide to jump on then you have a solid foundation and can add minimal amounts for maximum effect.

The guys who train for a month or two then jump on with little experience and no guidance are crazy

The problem is where to draw the line. People who resort to steroids regardless of their level of experience are generally unsatisfied with their natural physique. They take a little gear to get bigger, until they feel unsatisfied again, then they take more gear to get even bigger and the cycle continues until it spirals out of control.

People who can't be satisfied with their natural physiques are never going to feel permanently satisfied, because they're forever chasing something "better" than where they currently are. So even if they take steroids to get bigger, they'll eventually feel unsatisfied again, leading to higher levels of steroid use.

[Hibs4185]

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The problem is where to draw the line. People who resort to steroids regardless of their level of experience are generally unsatisfied with their natural physique. They take a little gear to get bigger, until they feel unsatisfied again, then they take more gear to get even bigger and the cycle continues until it spirals out of control.

People who can't be satisfied with their natural physiques are never going to feel permanently satisfied, because they're forever chasing something "better" than where they currently are. So even if they take steroids to get bigger, they'll eventually feel unsatisfied again, leading to higher levels of steroid use.

Unfortunately most people see IFBB pro’s, Mr Olympia etc and think that they are natural.

Even my wife didn’t know the difference. The fact that most pro’s don’t take about their steroid cycles, means a lot of people chase an unachievable goal.

If you google natural bodybuilding champions and Mr Olmpia the difference is extreme.

I just find the idea of injecting myself too much, I just couldn’t do it.

[HarpOnHibee]

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Unfortunately most people see IFBB pro’s, Mr Olympia etc and think that they are natural.

Even my wife didn’t know the difference. The fact that most pro’s don’t take about their steroid cycles, means a lot of people chase an unachievable goal.

If you google natural bodybuilding champions and Mr Olmpia the difference is extreme.

I just find the idea of injecting myself too much, I just couldn’t do it.

You can identify who is taking steroids as they'll be a combination of big and shredded simultaneously. Which most men simply can't achieve naturally and have to contend with either being big (large muscles but with a higher body fat percentage) or being skinny shredded (low body fat but with sacrifices to muscle size). Those who have been taking high doses of steroids for an extended period of time will usually be left with bloated abdomens due to elevated HGH levels. As you say though, the average person who isn't into muscle fitness wouldn't know if a person is on steroids or not just by looking at them.

[Jones28]

I took a circumstantial week off training last week, came back to things on Tuesday and Wednesday feeling very strong and ready to go at again.

We've got a holiday in the first week in July so going to hit it really hard for the next 8 or so weeks int he hope of getting in to some sort of decent shape before then.

I'm tearing my hair out on the best way to split things up. With the garage gym it would be quite easy to do 5 sessions a week but we often have things get in the way of a training session.

I did a bench press pyramid on Tuesday which I really enjoyed, wonder if anyone else has done something like this?

Sets
1 10 x bar
2 5 x 60kg
3 4 x 70kg
4 3 x 80kg
5 2 x 90kg
6 1 x 100kg
7 1 x 105kg
8 2 x 90kg
9 3 x 80kg
10 4 x 70kg

I felt it was a good combo of reps to weight, with a focus on working towards heavy singles to boost the ego but also build confidence that I can handle higher weights. And the bonus is that it only took half an hour so to get through.

[HarpOnHibee]

Been out for the last couple of weeks with tendonitis in my wrists and elbows (worse on my left side).

Have any other of the lifters on here experienced this issue? I would appreciate any advice for dealing with this so I can get back to the gym and continue my progress.

I've noticed a click in my left elbow when bench pressing 5-6 reps at 60kgs, followed by pain for days/weeks after travelling from my wrist to my elbow on the outer side of my arm.

[Hibs4185]

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Been out for the last couple of weeks with tendonitis in my wrists and elbows (worse on my left side).

Have any other of the lifters on here experienced this issue? I would appreciate any advice for dealing with this so I can get back to the gym and continue my progress.

I've noticed a click in my left elbow when bench pressing 5-6 reps at 60kgs, followed by pain for days/weeks after travelling from my wrist to my elbow on the outer side of my arm.

I’ve done lots of research on peptides but never actually taken the plunge. BPC157 & TB500 is amazing for stuff like this. They call it the wolverine stack

[HarpOnHibee]

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I’ve done lots of research on peptides but never actually taken the plunge. BPC157 & TB500 is amazing for stuff like this. They call it the wolverine stack

Thanks, i'll look into it. I recently started Cissus Quadrangularis. I'll see how that goes over the next few weeks and if I don't notice a difference i'll look into BPC157 and TB500.