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Nice work, you can definitely seen a big progression. You can even see the chest improvement from the front.

 

As far as legs go you'll need to do more than just a sports activity once a week. Figure out what exorcizes you are able to do and get in at least 3x a week.

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hey guys, just an update, i just weighed myself, and it looks like i've gained between 7-8 kilos since about 6 months ago (about 15-18 pounds), going from around 72 kilos to 80( about 158 to 176)

i'm surprised, i didnt think i had gained that much, i don't feel like i've gained that much in fat though, but i have gained some fat too which i'm beginning to become self conscious about

anyway,. over the past 6 months i have been "bulking" well, as best as i can,

 

anyways, any advice? i feel like the sensible thing would be to bulk for like another 6 months, because i'm still kinda skinny, but the belly fat is starting to get to me lol

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  • 1 year later...
  • 3 weeks later...

so it's been a few weeks, been consistently going to the gym, and eating enough, i feel like i'm noticing some differences, mainly in triceps, shoulders and chest

might post some pics later today or tomorrow, currently doing still 5x5 for upper body, and about 20x10 for first machine for legs, then about 5-7x 20 for a few more machines

 

i've added another solid rep on my pullup, currently at 3, and almost 4, i would really like to be able to do a wide grip pull up, so that's a goal for my future

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An unassisted wide grip pull up is also on my list of goals in the near future! I am still on the assisted machine, but on the last (15 lbs) plate! Have you noticed that when you do the assisted pull-ups, that having that platform under you really helps you mentally to do the exercise? When my legs are just hanging there, mentally it feels so awkward. I have yet to ask someone to at least grab my feet and hold them stationary and see if I can do it.

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never really thought about it, honestly atleast for pull ups, if i can physically do them, i will. try ti ignore the mental aspect as much as possible, for me its purely the extra upwards force ethe assistance thing gives

today was pull day, was able to do 4 full pull ups... last rep was a bit janky but i think i got close enough lol

so about a month ago i could do 1 or 2 so i think its good progress

 

also for wide grip... idk maybe i should try them on the assisted pull up... atm i have been just training it on the lat pulldown machine, i know like... machines are a little frowned upon but.. eh idk, i just prefer having greater control over the weight..

also... idk if anyone else has this but... the cable pulldowns/row machines feel super awkward to me... like they are really nasty angles for your joints, and just not ideal movements to train the muscles... anyone know anything about that? for now i have been using the back machines and free weights as much as possible

 

oh yeah... back on the wide grip pull ups... on the pulldown machine, i can get fairly close to my current weight if i'm totally fresh... though usually i have been doing about 55kg 5x5, but i can do about 70 kg for 1 or 2 reps if i do it as soon as i get there

 

also, my weight is now about 82.5... still feel fine about the way i look... but i might want to set a point where i'll cut the calories back a bit and get to a lean bodyweight

 

even though i am fairly sure i am gaining fat.... i kinda feel like even with the fat, i'm starting to look more athletic.. the fat is shaped more pleasingly xD

 

i havent been training core really... i think maybe i need to either tack on 20 mins after every gym session for core, or do it in all my off days, what do u guys think?

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Sorry if this may sound a bit harsh, but this is a bodybuilding forum so.. You should go hard!

 

I'll be honest. Although there's definitely a progress in what you're doing, my opinion is that you can do much more than that. It is kinda slow for a 2 years span.

Some general tips that I can give are:

- Lift as often as possible. 5 times a week is good, sometimes even twice a day is fine, if it is not too long. Keeping weights at home would help, as you practically need 5 to 10 minutes in order to do biceps/triceps/shoulder workout. Also, do extra push-ups every day, no matter if you were in the gym the same day or not. You can do it in the morning or/and before sleeping.

- Increase the weight. You don't need to go too hard all at once and double the weight, but try to increase slightly every time you workout, while still doing the exercises and breathing properly.

- Pay attention to the food/nutrition. In my experience, most of the job is done by the exercise, but it is far more effective if the food is proper.

 

Good luck! Lets see some bigger muscles next time you post an image

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- Lift as often as possible. 5 times a week is good, sometimes even twice a day is fine, if it is not too long. Keeping weights at home would help, as you practically need 5 to 10 minutes in order to do biceps/triceps/shoulder workout. Also, do extra push-ups every day, no matter if you were in the gym the same day or not. You can do it in the morning or/and before sleeping.

As a natural lifter I definitely wouldn't advocate training that many times a week, it's just too much for the body to recover from and adapt. I also feel that training twice a day is not needed

 

IMHO you can make great gains on training hard 3 x week, maybe 4 x week at the most. In terms of training load, more is not necessarily better and you can get an optimal weights session done in just 30-40mins. You need to be able to train smarter rather than just train more often; rest is just as important as the training itself and your recovery will also largely be dictated by your nutrition. Make sure you are consuming lot of good quality, colourful and varied foods with plenty of healthy EFA's like nuts, avocado, coconut oil etc. Sleep well, drink plenty of fluids (water, herbal teas NOT soft drinks) and focus on your physique goals ~ write them down and read them before your gym session.

 

Focus and mindset is important as it's this that determines how well you apply yourself to the job at hand. All the best MF.

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@ sash, that isnt 2 years of solid working out... it's been a month at the gym and maybe 2 or 3 months doing what i can at home prior to that... honestly i think just increased calories has made a huge difference in strength and musculature anyway, but i am starting to notice some things changing in my body since starting at the gym

 

@forklift, yeah i agree, i'm not going to weight train 5 times a week, right now i am consistently going every 2nd day, only a couple occasions i had to push the schedule forwards a day... (2 occasions) due to a terminal family member.. had to spend some time with them, so yeah, that's the priority in that case, but yeah, every 2nd day works out to 3.5 times a week. although i'll say i usually am in there probably longer than necessary... usually around an hour to an hour and a half.. idk, i usually like to just be really thorough, because i feel like i still have poor mind-muscle connection, so it's a little harder to fully work the muscles until i can develop it a little better

 

also, about diet... i am really a stickler for nutrition... i dont think i've drunk a full glass of soft drink in 7 years lol (i dont think mineral water counts?) usually get lots of greens... usually broccoli, brussel sprouts and kale, currently working with a high carb, low fat/ protein diet... i know it can work for people so long as they eat enough quality calories but i do make an effort to get enough good fats for optimal health ( usually try to get 2 tbsp flax meal, and usually some avocado each day ), and probably higher protein than suggested in the 80/10/10 diet just because i like foods like peas, beans, etc

but yeah, i havent had fast food in years, no soft drink in years, stir fry vegetables sure, lots of good starches, vegetables, and fruits.. when i do drink, it's usually oolong tea, herbal tea, or most often water... sometimes indulge with a little hot cocoa... but for the most part i have no cravings.. i've read that is common on a high carb/starch diet so that's good... still kinda dubious on the whole protein deal... broscience says 1g/pound per day...studies and stuff i've read say alot less is actually needed for athletic training/performance... and i think i'm pretty confident to say that high carb diet is best for longevity and good health, which is the first priority in all this

 

maybe i should post a sample day of my food and people can tell me what they think also?

 

edit: yeah, i definately DONT plan on weight training 5 days a week.. i'm thinking of including some physical activity on my days off though... maybe cycling 40 minutes each day off, and 20 mins of ab exercises... i think that would be fine, right?

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so, went to gym today, my shoulder press has gone up... almost doubled from when i started (well, actually doubled xD)

i think 4 weeks ago i was struggling with 10kg each arm for 5x5, today i did 20kg for 2 sets, then dropped it by i think either 2.5 or 5kg each arm for 3 more sets

chest press seems to be going up a bit slower... when i started i was doing i think 18 or 20kg each arm for 5x5, today i'll do like 1 set at 24kg, 2 at 22kg, then 2 more at 20kg

 

havent paid much attention to biceps though (in the way of tracking progress, not effort)... of course the pull ups have gone up alot, but not sure if curls have gone up

i think my pulldown has improved.. today just tacked on some pulldowns after push exercises.. can do 5x5 for 68kg, so i think soon ill be atleas table to do one wide grip pull up since i weigh around 82kg

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Push day today

Was able to do 5x5 with 24kg(each arm) flat bench, without having to drop down (last session i did 22kg and had to drop down to 20/18 so its a massive improvement)

 

also was able to do 5x5 with 20kg on incline press... which really surprised me

did 5x5 with 20kg on shoulders... had to drop to 17.5kg after third set but still big improvement

 

for now i think im gonna stick with this roughly 80/10/10 diet since it doesnt seem to be hindering anything, ... its really good, because it's basically what i naturally want to eat anyway, except i would usually sometimes use some overt fats in cooking, but i'm cutting that out for now

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Might swap to high reps soon.

what do u guys think, is there such a noticable difference between low & high reps? in terms of strength/size gains?

i have been doing the low reps/heaviest possible for about 6 or 7 weeks now (in the gym, was doing stuff at home prior to that), it might be good to swap to high reps for a month or so?

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  • 2 weeks later...

so now i've started to go into high reps... right now im sort of doing a mixture of low and high reps, low raps on certain things i want to strengthen as a priority.... back exercises, want to improve my pullups so i think that will help

i'm training high reps on chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps now too, and i want to start incorporating a little daily cardio in too just for health... im thinking like, just 20 minutes run each morning

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Hey man! High reps, low reps, medium... Doesn't make too much difference imo. As long as you fatigue the muscle it's going to grow (providing you rest and eat enough)

What sort of split are you on? Eg, Monday chest, Wednesday, back etc.

would be cool to see what exercises you use regularly

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i don't have it set out per week, but i go every 2nd day, and i cycle between what i focus on, usually ill also try to do some very similar muscles on same day to really demolish it like.. might do cable triceps, then skull crushers or fixed tricep machine or something like that... also often do this just while im waiting for a machine or something

also i have been trying to mix things up... try new stuff, new machines and stuff, so each day i might try some new things

 

day 1 is pull day

usually somethign along the lines of

pull ups.. i do a couple sets unassisted then i'll do 3-4 more sets with assistance, low reps

fixed pulldown

cable row

curls+ hammer curls

flies

curl machine

frontal shoulder press.. not exactly a pull but w/e

 

day 2 rest

 

day 3 push day

dumbbell bench press+incline press.. i would do decline, but my gym hasnt got the best equipment for that.. also read that it's not that necessary

incline press machine also

shoulder press machine... i usually use the machine because it just felt like like a very awkard/injury prone movement with free weights... might be worth trying again now that im stronger

cable tricep pulldown

machine tricep thing

 

day 4 rest day

 

day 5 leg day

i haven't been oing free weight stuff like deadlifts and squats... i have an old injury that limits the flexibility in one of my ankles so it makes them much more difficult, would really like to do the, so i might give it another effort soon, for now i have been mainly doing the machines.. i also try to do high reps high sets for these, like 5-10 sets of 15-20 reps

for this i do

ham curls

leg extension

and leg press... usually do more sets of this and first because i think it hits some muscles from both push and pull

and usually some cardio, and sometimes some core on leg day

 

day 6 rest day

 

day 7 return to day 1

 

also i pretty often take like 1 exercise from whatever i did the previous gym day and include that in, then i still have like 4 days rest before i hit them again

i would like to start doing more core stuff on my days off but idk... usually too lazy lol, i bring all the motivation to the gym, harder to do that when i'm at home

if u want to suggest anything i will definately try it

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Fair enough man, looks pretty good, shame you can't do squats and deadlifts though they are absolutely unreplaceable mass builders!

 

And yeah I train at home so I know what you mean in terms on motivation... That being said I absolutely despise every gym I've ever been to.. Trainee PTs that think their way is the only way and all the shite music being forced in my ears ahha!

 

In terms of suggestions, I would consider trying to get some kind of squats in if you can, keep it light and steady, try different stances (personally I love wide stance) try just body weight at first and incorporate Dumbbells and eventually barebell, there's no rush man especially as you've said you have injuries.

All the best dude, give me a shout if you need me, you in the UK??

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na im in australia

the injury is well healed now, right now the muscle is just short, so it makes it very hard to get knees past my heels... which makes stuff difficult its not a matter of the amount of weight i can do, but the flexibility, really would like to do them, so might have to put more effort into it... if i recall correctly i can do like, wide stance squats, and deadlifts, but it's a little hard to balance for me

 

shite music indeed.. but anything is better than nothing lol... will offend someone but i feel some hatred towards people who bring their phones inside lol

 

i think i've only seen one PT who only shows up like 1/4 times i go there.. they offered me a free pt session with nutritional guidance LOL, i bet alot of the stuff is so routine, recycled stuff

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I am going to chime in and offer some advice on the ankle. Do some calf raises on the leg press. Keep the weight light, and a short range of motion on the calf raises. Go up on the balls of your feet to where it stretches the muscles around the ankle (plus the calf), and then with a rocking type of motion to keep a circular momentum going with the ankle, push down on the heel (the heel has to be off the platform) till a nice stretch is felt there. The calf raises can be done on another machine or just standing on a 4X4 piece of wood (balls of the feet are only on the wood). When I advice light weight, it is because you need to focus on the ankle, and not on the calf.

I do not know if you know what a Bosu Ball is, but doing freestanding squats on that within a range of motion that strengthens the ankles, and the knees, is the next thing I would advice. This should get you ready for a heavy squat below parallel - at least the ankles. . . knees are a different story.

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believe me, after living with it, i know all the exercises for it... it's the short calf/tendon that causes the inflexibility, so i think the only way to treat it would be to do some intense static stretches several times a day... have tried doing it before, just never been consistent enough with it to see any changes i think

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